January 2008

The Archives

01.18.08

Churches Are Going Niche
Pop Culture
I came across a very interesting graphic on religion in America (Click to see in full): If churches are the original and largest social networks, it makes sense to examine how trends among church-goers are playing out over time. A couple interesting observations point to mass /mainstream worship moving in a niche direction: - The influence of the central, program-based congregation is diminishing as more cell churches are being created - Many Christians have left congregations and formed house churches - small groups meeting in each other's homes
01.17.08

Um, When Did Media Conventions Go to Hell?
Pop Culture
Over the last two weeks there have been some crazy happenings in the world of media consumption… Steve Jobs informed us that 40% of Americans read one book, or less last year Gawker Media decided to rip on an innocent girl for once being overweight and the audience ate it up The AP [Reuters] declared, “Now and for the foreseeable future, virtually everything involving Britney is a big ...
01.17.08

Apples Latest New York Times Ad is Killer
Brands and Marketing
Apple has a new ad placement spot that is tough to miss – the front page of the New York Times. What’s particularly cool about this ad is that ‘PC guy’ actually appears to use the architecture of the Times’ website and clearly plays off the fact that the ad is being displayed on a newspaper's homepage (references the Wall Street Journal, etc). This is a great example of where ads are headed in 2008 (more interactive and more aware of their environment). I expect this campaign will continue to kill – I mean, even PC guy is now ...
01.15.08

News Flash! Google Isn’t Perfect
My Experiences
The other day my roommate and I used Google Maps to look up the address of a bar where we were meeting friends. The image above is the location our search returned. Clearly, 14 Orchard Street in New York City is not located in New Jersey. Google isn’t perfect. The more we come to rely on it, and other web-based companies as sources for critical information, the more scary such results are. ----- Update: Just looked at at my feed reader and Venture Chronicles is reporting that Gmail is borked...that's ironic timing
01.14.08

Startup Monetization Strategy: Brand-Claimed Accounts
Business Models, Social Media
There is a good dialogue taking place on business models started by Chris Anderson. However, one model I see left out is what I call “brand-claimed accounts.” In a recent post on handles and user names I made the point that many startups have begun to attract interest (use) from brands and other organizations who are looking to have presence on new media websites and apps. The reasoning for a brand to want presence on different sites could range from communications and marketing (Twitter) to advertising (Facebook Fan Pages) to Biz Dev (Jobster or LinkedIn) to SEO. While ...
01.14.08

Patent Reform: Boring but Important
Tech'nomics
Patent reform is an under-discussed topic among bloggers and entrepreneurs, likely because it is so complex, esoteric and costly. According to some VCs, patent defense is so improbable that they consider patents the most "overvalued assets" trumpeted by startups seeking funding. While most people understand the need for reform stemming from patent trolls, less well understood are the other issues embedded in the proposed new legislation reforms. In this weekend’s New York Times, John Markoff does a decent job of covering some of these controversies… “Passed by the House of Representatives with relatively little debate, the Patent Reform Act of ...
01.11.08

Poor Form From Startups: “The Take-Back”
Brands and Marketing
Someone is holding the Twitter handle “Geico” for ransom. While this is an anomaly, it highlights an important issue and increasingly common occurrence that I strongly oppose: Certain web companies have assumed the misguided practice of repossessing user names from individuals (who originally signed up for them) and then re-gifting those names to “more powerful” users (names like Sony, Apple, or celebrities) who are theoretically the rightful owners. First, possession of a name is not the same as a misrepresentation. Just because I have the name Apple, doesn’t mean I am a gold digger after a free iPhone. Understandably, ...
01.10.08

There’s Something Happening Here…
Brands and Marketing
Interesting stuff happening in the interactive space! Brand Architect reports via the Wall Street Journal that, “In an unusual arrangement, which began Jan. 1, (Nokia) has hired Wieden + Kennedy, an eight-office agency with a reputation for creative work, and JWT, the 196-office behemoth based in New York, to market its cellphones globally.” States Patrick, “The implications...are enormous…Global advertising agencies become the production shops of smaller agencies that are essentially the idea company.” So small is the new big, at least in terms of ideas? Can reach and creative be balanced? Innovation Playground believes so, suggesting the future belongs ...
01.10.08

A Key Difference Between Worlds
Social Networking
I’ve recently been wondering whether or not virtual worlds will replace social networks as the social environment of choice over the next few years. At this point, based on directionality and trends, I think they will not. The primary reason being that ‘convention’ among social networks is that users are actually who they say they are. For example, when I sign up for Facebook or Last.FM, I am Sam Huleatt. I may use a strange handle like Squasher98, but the information I enter tends to be legitimate and tied into my online properties (links to Leveraging Ideas, for example). However, ...
01.08.08

The Mistake That Some Startups Make
Social Media
From an investment perspective it has always bothered my that some startups launch with the goal of first obtaining scale, and only later introducing advertising or other form(s) of monetization. However, this strategy has also bothered me from my perspective as user. It wasn’t until now that I knew why. Fred Wilson over at Union Square Ventures and host of others have recently chimed in regarding Twitter’s lack of a business model. Twitter is perhaps the epitome of a startup lacking any clear money making direction and yet we all know it is coming. Facebook is another example of a ...

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