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Leadership
2007-10-26 05:42:00
Oh Photoshop, how I've missed thee.
More About: Leadership

Remembering when $900m was high...
2007-10-25 20:04:00
I must admit that I'm surprised that MSFT took the prize away fromGoogle in the battle to get (small) piece of Facebook. Their $240mpurchase price gives the company an inferred value of roughly $15bn -which places it the top five of all 'web' companies. There are alsorumors of two additional investors (hedgefunds?) at the samevaluation, meaning Facebook may have a war chest of upwards of $750m,which can carry it for quite sometime.According to the WSJ, this valuation works out to be roughly 100xsales - which is a little steep compared the average multiple of 2xsales. Although, clearly the value of Facebook is not in its currentcashflows - but in it's potential to generate laser targetedadvertisements and the most advanced, web-based social community.Google, with arguably the leading system for targeted advertisements,relies on algorithms to match their advertisements with what itinterprets a website to be about - based on keywords, traffic, etc.Facebook, because it&#...
More About: High , Remembering , Erin

Fall season = horrible new template
2007-10-24 22:23:00
Yes, fall is upon us - a time for pumpkins, candy and horrible, browncolor schemes. Woohoo!
More About: Season , Template , Fall , Temp

Social networking to drive sales
2007-10-24 18:24:00
What about an iTunes Facebook app, for example? Each time a song ispurchased, it ends up on your newsfeed and your friends can see it -and potentially buy it too. This mindset can be expanded to any retailactivity where a purchase can be standardized and shared; it'd beinteresting to see how this would drive revenue, as most purchasedecisions are made within an informal social context anyway.
More About: Social , Social Networking , Networking , Sales , Drive

Spaceship One and Guppies
2007-10-24 03:41:00
Spaceship one came today, which should be fun. I'll likely have my hands full trying to assemble it (considering that I now need to get the stuff to assemble it with), but will work to keep updates coming. I also need to call someone - city hall? police? - to figure out where I can launch this thing in NYC without triggering a red alert. We'll see what happens.Also, I'm pleased to report that there have been no recent fish tank tragedies. I appreciate all the support after the Harry the Guppy incident; Wayne at the pet store assured me that crabs don't each fish. Lucky for remaining fish, the culprit crab escaped. The dancing crab remains, although getting less action now.

A look at caffeine
2007-07-10 16:13:00
I drink a lot of caffeine. This is a chart that shows how much of the drug (by milligrams) is in common sodas, according to the Journal of Food and Science.Red Bull is not truly 'per serving' - because the serving size is actually 8oz and it's grossed up to 12oz.That said, this site shows how much caffeine you need to take in to kick the bucket. You'd need to take about 140 shots of espresso or drink 198 cans of Mountain Dew.
More About: Caff

Tag cloud for blogger (via ftp)
2007-05-31 17:48:00
When the 'new' Blogger launched a few months ago, it restricted a number of its key features (page elements, widgets, etc) to users on the Blog-spot domain. This is, in my opinion, partially an effort to migrate users back to their servers, but doesn't help you if you publish via ftp to an external domain, like here.Anyway, I was complaining to a friend that - because of this - there is no reliable method for creating label tag clouds that were fully customizable and not widgets. A handful of minutes later he put this together. I've set it up here, and will tweak and format to this template when I have some extra time.
More About: Cloud , Tag Cloud

Street view and air mattress
2007-05-31 13:57:00
I moved into a new apartment, but I don't have any furniture yet. You can see it here on Google's new 'street view', which is a great interface for 'on-the-ground' map interaction. The images were recorded by Immersive Media using their Mobile Digital Video Recorders (MDVRs)...which are, essentially, multi-lense cameras mounted on cars. Although the picture is a bit dated, since the building is still under construction.Anyway, due to my lack of furniture, I decided to purchase an air-mattress the other day...unfortunately, my ego got the best of me and I neglected to get the air-pump too. I assumed it would take about 5 to 10 minutes to blow up the double-size mattress - just like a big balloon. Well, after 10 or so breaths and almost passing out, I ended up spending the night on top of very deflated bed. Oh-well. Yesterday, I returned and bought the air-pump.
More About: Street , View , Mattress

Feedburner...
2007-05-23 22:42:00
Well, it looks like Google is picking up Feedburner for about US$100m. I haven't had a chance to dig into the numbers yet, but strategically it makes sense. Feedburner has a great product for feed-syndication, but lacks the raw-advertising power that Google brings to the table. Doesn't take an MBA to see the synergies there. I've been using them to syndicate feeds - this one included - for a while now. I love the service and hope it doesn't get eaten up by Analytics, although I'll admit that the stats analysis has room for improvement. According to TechCrunch, the company raised about US$10m in two rounds. All told, not a bad exit for a company that's less than four years old.
More About: Burn

Link-belt 240LX
2007-05-22 02:00:00
There's a new toy at the shop. This a Link -Belt 240LX excavator with over-sized pistons and tracks. It's been outfitted by Continental Biomass Industries (CBI) with a custom stump snip - see the big yellow thing. This machine drives around and rips tree stumps out of the ground and cuts them into little pieces for transport. Nice.

Tmeline searching
2007-05-16 22:46:00
This is kind of cool; I guess it's like a lab for Google Labs or something. I do like the timeline search option. On a side note, it also started putting the apps menu on the homepage, which was expected and helps the Company cross-sell/leverage the different applications.I'm not too happy with the search results lately (which drive more than 60% of revenue). More and more I've been using Yahoo for simple look-ups that Google can't seem to get right. For example, when searching for certain companies, it will give you a crappy Hoovers write up when you need the homepage. Makes me nervous about holding shares, but I assume it's a temporary glitch.
More About: Searching

7,467,000! + 419
2007-05-16 02:17:00
It's so convincing - between the 'authentic' email account and accurate sourcing of current events. I guess it's just Rudi's lucky day that Christian Eich - and all of his immediate dependents - died in a tragic plane crash.Anyway, I think 419 scams are hilarious. I read that the number comes from a part of Nigeria's criminal code, where the crime first originated w/students taking advantage of Westerns - who wanted to fleece the struggling country of its oil reserves. There are all kinds of claims about how big this industry actual is (some have said that it accounts for 20% of Nigeria's GDP...which is far from likely). This particular email - probably because it uses a recent M&A event as the situation and goes so far as to source the crash - cracks me up. I'm going to keep collecting them.Or this guy was telling the truth and I just missed out...

What are you looking for...
2007-05-14 13:18:00
People are always looking for things, but for what? Based on this, you're probably pretty happy if you have a passport, a six pack and a girlfriend. I have 2 out 3, so I'm not doing too bad. If I could just get myself to conquer my arch-nemesis - 'the treadmill of certain death', then I would probably have a good shot at eternal utopia. That said, I am mid-stream in the process of moving countries and changing jobs...so life is a little on the stressful side. New places, new people, new stuff to do. It's all very exciting, but it can get overwhelming if you let it. We'll see where I'm at when the dust settles, but for today...I'm adopting a temporary slogan.

Cat vs. Bear
2007-05-11 13:10:00
This is a hilarious picture from National Geographic. To borrow from the article, "a black bear wandered into a West Milford, New Jersey, back yard, was confronted by a 15-pound (7-kilogram) tabby cat...and fled up a neighbor's tree."I guess even bears know not to mess with Jersey folk.It was featured on reddit.
More About: Bear

New analytics layout
2007-05-10 23:03:00
To give some background, in March 2005 Google acquired a little-known company in San Diego called Urchin Software Corporation. This company worked on 'web analytics', which essentially helps webmasters monitor and optimize how traffic accesses / interacts with a website. You basically drop a snippet of code on each page that you want to track, and then the script records anonymous user data. Post acquisition, it became Google Anal ytics .Clearly, there is great value creation when using this in conjunction with Google's Adwords...effectively helping a client optimize how to place advertisements and get the most from keyword purchases. For me, I don't monetize this site - so I play with it for fun.Google is currently rolling out an updated version. The features aren't really new, but the interface is much more customizable and 'share-able'. A feature they are pushing more is 'goal conversions'...which basically monitor how many of visitors 'X' actually make it the final goa...
More About: Layout

(Poor) valuation in Google
2007-05-09 17:51:00
I played around with Google Docs again. Granted, it lacks the features of Word/Excel, but it's built around collaboration and publishing - which is more appropriate for a web-based system. I threw together a quick DCF valuation - full of errors and inaccuracies - to try out the embedding elements. It's here and can be edited here.The Spreadsheets system has a couple interesting features - like pulling pricing / market data for a ticker from Google Finance - but it's pretty basic and doesn't compare to the industry excel systems that are out there now; it's just fun to play with. I'm interested to see how the Presentations app will look this summer.
More About: Poor , Valuation

Credit card verification
2007-04-26 16:51:00
This was on reddit and made me laugh a little. Luckily, it's just a picture, otherwise I'm sure that millions would have 'checked'...only to receive the simple response: "yes".The potential for credit card theft is still an inhibitor of e-commerce. The trend now is to use reputable names (Ebay's PayPal or Google's Checkout or Yahoo's Merchant) to provide the trust element, but this still leaves the credit card - and it's limit - at risk. Also, there is no established 'cash equivalent', since most services are directly tied back to an account or credit limit.I was playing with an idea the other day for "anonymous cash cards"...the basic point is that you wouldn't care if someone stole this card or number. It could be both e-based and in card form, but it couldn't be tied back to any name or person - it would be like cash.
More About: Card , Credit , Credit Card , Verification

Hedge funds earning more than Jordan...
2007-04-25 15:57:00
Well, the top hedge fund guys - according to Alpha - are continuing to pocket shitloads of cash - last year three managers each stashed away more than $1 billion; that's a little more than Lloyd Blankfein's (of GS and the highest-paid CEO on Wallstreet) comp package - who took home a measly $54.3 million. That's a rounding error to these guys.In total, the top 25 earners raked in more than $14 billion, equivalent to the GDP of Jordan or Uruguay. Their average take was $570 million (not bad), compared with $362 million in 2005 and $251 million the year before that.Top five managers this year are:1. James Simons - Renaissance Technologies - $1.7bn2. Kenneth Griffin - Citadel Investment Group - $1.4bn3. Edward Lampert - ESL Investments - $1.3bn4. George Soros - Soros Fund Management - $950m5. Steven Cohen - SAC Capital Advisors - $900m It's also worth noting that $127 billion was invested in hedge funds in 2006, almost three times as much in the previous year...which should make f...
More About: Hedge , Funds , Earning

MoneyTree - strong quarter for VC
2007-04-25 01:04:00
There's a new MoneyTree report out, which publishes a quarterly on VC activity. Looks like Q107 - with $7.1bn invested in 778 deals - has been the strongest since Q401. This is a little misleading, since deal volume has actually declined...but it demonstrates a commitment to putting more dollars into each deal.A majority of the deal flow - both by number and amount invested - is going into expansion and later stage rounds. The startup/seed stage is the smallest contributor by far; in fact, the amount of investment in this stage has declined c. 20% from Q105 (and almost 40% from Q406).When looked at by sector, Medical Device investment is the strongest performer (with investment up 60% over Q406), followed by software investments (which actually fell 10% during the same period). I like the fact that they are going to start tracking "Clean Tech" going forward, since this is a sector that I have a lot of interest in.Files:Press releaseData setsThanks to Dan at PEHUB for pointing this ...
More About: Strong , Quarter

Jedi masters go postal
2007-04-23 19:43:00
I spent the weekend in Boston - incredible weather and always good to hang out w/ my girlfriend and 'beantown' friends. Commentary aside, I came across a couple interesting things.The first discovery was the jedi mailboxes. These are part of a promotion between USPS and George Lucas for the 30th anniversary of Star Wars. They've been out for a while - with four hundred R2-D2 mailboxes in 200 cities - but I just got back to the states and this is the first I've seen / heard of them. The marketing tactic is for a new stamp series that the Post Office is putting out - you can vote on your favorite Star Wars stamp here through May 23. Clearly, Yoda is leading. You can pre-order the stamps starting on April 25. It's nice to see a little creativity - regardless of the form - out of the old USPS. The 'change-retardant' entity has been taking quite a beating from the likes of UPS, FedEx and DHL - who are obviously continuing to redefine and streamline the logistics sector. The worldw...
More About: Postal , Jedi , Masters , Mast , Aster

Things that you overhear in the office...
2007-04-20 22:58:00
When I'm at work, I tend to tune things out - this is best accomplished by sporadically yelling obscenities, but listening to my iPod helps too.This morning - before I was able to put in my earbuds - I overheard the following:Person One (reflective): "You have to pass an exam before you can drive. The state should have an exam for parents before they are allowed to have children."Person Two (enthusiastic): "I completely agree."At this point, I lost consciousness for about ten minutes. Further proof that iPods protect you from unexpected, blunt vocal-trauma.
More About: Office , The Office , Things , The O

Reflections
2007-04-19 06:08:00
Sometimes - like now - I wonder what the fuck I'm doing.
More About: Reflections

Build your own legos w/ fab@home
2007-04-12 21:28:00
The concept is good - transforming industrial size fabrication machines into practical 'home' versions. Imagine you just bought a new Lego kit - I just bought this one - and just as you're finishing the tedious construction you realize, to your dismay, that you're missing Chewbacca! In today's archaic world, you would be devastated and likely reduced to tears. But in the 'self-fabricating' world of tomorrow you'd just pop online, download the blueprints and fabricate the missing character.The contraption - essentially a 3D printer - uses a syringe to apply a material (plastic, plaster, Play-Doh, etc) layer-by-layer. These machines have been around since the 80s (see rapid prototyping), but this is the first product that is geared to the everyday hobbyist/consumer market.The applications extend beyond Chewie cloning. As the capabilities and materials expand, people can create their own 'products' and then share / swap the blueprints. This feels very much like the PC in the ...
More About: Home , Build

On the phone
2007-04-11 17:05:00
I think I've managed to get my phone to blog pictures.
More About: Phone

So I donated some clothing...
2007-04-11 15:29:00
Last time I was in Africa someone told me that the United States is the world's largest exporter of used clothing - and this is part of a booming international trade business across the emerging markets.I think a majority of people assume that their drop-off donations are gift-wrapped and shipped to various domestic homeless shelters, but this is not the case. In fact, the clothing is collected, sorted and then sold by the pound to various textile exporters - who then resell it, maybe $0.25 for a shirt or $0.50 for a pair of jeans, in the local markets. Want to buy a few thousand pounds of clothing? There are lots of places, like Alibaba, where you get it for as little as $0.10 per pound.There are some obvious downsides to this - for example, studies have shown that the amount of trade is putting certain local textile markets out of business. Also, some companies are utilizing the drop-boxes to give the impression that they are a non-profit entity.Planet-Aid, on the other hand, ope...
More About: Clothing , Nate , Some , Cloth

Consultant Bullsh*t
2007-04-01 17:12:00
Suffering from a momentary lapse in the ability to be remotely productive, I've created the Consultant Bullsh*t Generator...which is similar (err...identical) to the Banker one, just with different vocab - and a better picture.If you can sound smart, that's about 80% of the game.
More About: Ulta