Ideation on social media, venture capital and startups 
Leveraging Ideas
March 2008
The Archives
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03.31.08How to get a Date on Facebook
Brands and MarketingYesterday, a tweet from John Erik Metcalf got me thinking. I have experimented with Facebook Pages and carried out very targeted ad campaigns using the richness of profiles, to focus on very niche demographics. If you have not used Facebook before as an advertising platform, it’s worth a look, even if only for its user interface. As you add new variables, you can see the total number of users you can target. Someone could theoretically create a niche campaign focused on women, living in San Francisco, ages 25-30, making over $50,000 who are single… Yes! Someone (albeit someone with balls) could ...
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03.30.08Why Email is Dumb
WorkstreamrOne of the issues Workstreamr is tackling is the notion that ‘email is dumb.’ So why is email dumb? Generally, there is no database attached to email. Even if there is, email is still essentially dumb text sent from one person to another. Email is dumb in the sense that the content of a particular message is subject to the interpretation of the person receiving it. While you know things such as a) who sent the email b) the date and time it was sent, really the crux of the message is not necessarily clear. People are notoriously poor communicators and ...
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03.28.08
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03.27.08So You Wanna Be a VC
Venture CapitalHere's some wisdom and accompanying thought I’ve put together for those who aspire to one day be a venture capitalist. Fear not - it's relevant to most all other fields as well :) Start Your Own Business. If I was a VC firm looking to hire, I wouldn’t consider anyone who had not started their own company…unless I just needed a research geek. Especially now that the barriers to entry are so low for entrepreneurs, I would have serious doubts about hiring someone incapable of 1) starting their own company and 2) generating income when the job description is essentially evaluating ...
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03.26.08What Schwag Has the Best ROI?
Brands and MarketingAll startups seem to feel an obligatory pressure to produce schwag: T-shirts, stickers, pens, etc. My question is what schwag has the best ROI and why?
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03.26.08Investment Economics For Young Professionals II: Four Areas for Investment Consideration
My Experiences, Tech'nomicsA while back I wrote a post called Investment Economics for Young Professionals. In it I promised a follow-up post on the four areas where I feel young people would be wise to invest. To reiterate - I am not an investment professional - so please do your own homework and take these suggestions with a grain of salt. Shipping. It would seem to me that premium shipping companies such as UPS and FedEx are prime for long-term sustainability and growth. The amount of goods sold online continues to climb year over year. This growth will continue as more people ...
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03.24.08The Resurrection of Starbucks
Brands and MarketingIt’s been a while since I wrote about brand reputation optimization, a term I coined last year. However, Starbucks has recently been facing a storm of controversy and I believe how it is handling the adversity is well worth paying attention to. Not too long ago as I sat in a Starbucks already annoyed at having to pay $9.95 for wifi, a barista awkwardly approached me – clearly something was up. “Sir, all Starbucks will be closing early tonight. We are having a major training session among all locations worldwide.” The events of that ‘training session’ have been chronicled on many blogs. While ...
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03.23.08Tricks of the Trade: How to Meet an Influencer
Entrepreneurship, My ExperiencesIt is a fact of life: the more influential you are, the nicer the hotel you stay at. Based on this truthieness, here are two very similar hacks. Hack #1. Let’s say you’re traveling internationally and want to mingle with a jet setter crowd, but you’re on a tight budget. Simply locate the nicest hotel in your particular city and head there. In general most 5+ star international hotels have a fantastic lounge with wifi, bars and coffee. Park yourself there for the afternoon and strike up casual conversations with the folks around you. You’re likely to meet some interesting, wealthy ...
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03.21.08
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03.20.08Stupid Rich Kids Who Aren’t So Stupid. Personal Branding 101
Brands and MarketingMy sisters used to be big fans of the reality TV shows, Laguana Beach and The Hills: translation, I have seen many an episode myself. If you’ve seen The Hills, you know the names Brody and Spencer. You also most likely think that they are the quintessential womanizing schmucks. A couple of faux rich kids who probably have difficulty calculating the tip on the $300 a plate LA dinner they charge to the parents’ Amex. But, you’re wrong -- at least in part. At SXSW I stood in for a bit on the Personal Branding session and honestly was not ...
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