"COLLEGE KIDS + MILK + COOKIES = TROUBLE"
The guys over at Alarm:Clock sometimes crack me up. They have a hilarious post and reference to the marketing launch of MyCollegeMarket.com:
We wonder if the marketing jock over at MyCollegeMarket.com indeed went to college as he clearly has no idea what motivates college kids.
The college-focused eCommerce company has launched a sign-up drive at the University of Michigan, UCLA, and we think UC Santa Barbara - the press release refers to UCSB and UCBS?
At any rate the winning university will get a milk and cookies party. Boola Boola! (full post)
Junto Boyz
Friday, September 30, 2005
|
CONGRESSMAN ELIOT ENGEL EXPRESSES APPRECIATION SOUTH KOREA
HatTip to Thomas... more like push:) Here's some news from The Hill:
In remarks published in the Congressional Record on September 26, U.S. Representative Eliot L. Engel (D- New York) expressed his appreciation to the people and government of the Republic of Korea, noting their recent generosity in aiding the victims of Hurricane Katrina and their long record of friendship and cooperation with the United States.
"Fifty-five years ago," Congressman Engel stated, "the United States came to the aid of South Korea, when it was invaded by Communist forces from across its northern border. This month, South Korea has come to the aid of the United States, when a natural disaster struck from across our southern coastline."
Engel explained: "With its generous pledge of $30 million in cash, services, and in-kind contributions, South Korea joins a list of more than 90 countries that have offered some form of assistance to our efforts of relief and recovery in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina."
"What is noteworthy," Engel emphasized, "is that, among those nearly 100 countries, South Korea is providing the fourth-largest offer of assistance."
Engel also pointed out that the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) has donated $10 million from Korean businesses directly to the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund. (full press release)
|
HatTip to Thomas... more like push:) Here's some news from The Hill:
In remarks published in the Congressional Record on September 26, U.S. Representative Eliot L. Engel (D- New York) expressed his appreciation to the people and government of the Republic of Korea, noting their recent generosity in aiding the victims of Hurricane Katrina and their long record of friendship and cooperation with the United States.
"Fifty-five years ago," Congressman Engel stated, "the United States came to the aid of South Korea, when it was invaded by Communist forces from across its northern border. This month, South Korea has come to the aid of the United States, when a natural disaster struck from across our southern coastline."
Engel explained: "With its generous pledge of $30 million in cash, services, and in-kind contributions, South Korea joins a list of more than 90 countries that have offered some form of assistance to our efforts of relief and recovery in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina."
"What is noteworthy," Engel emphasized, "is that, among those nearly 100 countries, South Korea is providing the fourth-largest offer of assistance."
Engel also pointed out that the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) has donated $10 million from Korean businesses directly to the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund. (full press release)
APPLE SMART PHONE IS COMING... MOTOROLA'S ED ZANDER BLASTS IPOD NANO
Motorola's Ed Zander admitted that Apple will launch their own smartphone in the future. Supposedly as a joke, he ripped into the iPod nano:
"Screw the nano," said Zander. "What the hell does the nano do? Who listens to 1,000 songs? People are going to want devices that do more than just play music, something that can be seen in many other countries with more advanced mobile phone networks and savvy users," he said.
However, while not denying the comments were made, Motorola has said they were taken out of context.
"Motorola has a great partnership with Apple," said Motorola in a statement provided to MacCentral. "Unfortunately, Ed Zander’s comments made at a conference in San Diego on Friday were taken out of context. During the Q&A session, one questioner repeatedly asked what Zander thought of the Nano. Jokingly, Zander said he wasn’t there to talk about the Nano — but to talk about the next big thing happening in the industry - the fusion of the phone and music. ROKR with iTunes was a good beginning, he said, and there’s more to come." (full article)
I assume even if Zander's comments were in jest, it reflects his arrogance being in the mobile phone industry which dwarfs the iPod and all other consumer electronic devices in numbers and revenue. And he's right that people want more than music from their cellphones (i.e. Korea, Japan, and certain European markets), which is an area of expertise that Apple has to acquire before attempting to enter the mobile phone market. It will be interesting to see what Apple's initial entry into the market will look like.
[tags: apple, ipod, nano, itunes, steve jobs, ed zander, motorola, mobile, cellphone, wireless, tech]
|
Motorola's Ed Zander admitted that Apple will launch their own smartphone in the future. Supposedly as a joke, he ripped into the iPod nano:
"Screw the nano," said Zander. "What the hell does the nano do? Who listens to 1,000 songs? People are going to want devices that do more than just play music, something that can be seen in many other countries with more advanced mobile phone networks and savvy users," he said.
However, while not denying the comments were made, Motorola has said they were taken out of context.
"Motorola has a great partnership with Apple," said Motorola in a statement provided to MacCentral. "Unfortunately, Ed Zander’s comments made at a conference in San Diego on Friday were taken out of context. During the Q&A session, one questioner repeatedly asked what Zander thought of the Nano. Jokingly, Zander said he wasn’t there to talk about the Nano — but to talk about the next big thing happening in the industry - the fusion of the phone and music. ROKR with iTunes was a good beginning, he said, and there’s more to come." (full article)
I assume even if Zander's comments were in jest, it reflects his arrogance being in the mobile phone industry which dwarfs the iPod and all other consumer electronic devices in numbers and revenue. And he's right that people want more than music from their cellphones (i.e. Korea, Japan, and certain European markets), which is an area of expertise that Apple has to acquire before attempting to enter the mobile phone market. It will be interesting to see what Apple's initial entry into the market will look like.
[tags: apple, ipod, nano, itunes, steve jobs, ed zander, motorola, mobile, cellphone, wireless, tech]
GOOGLE, NASA JOIN FOR R&D COLLABORATION... LOCAL OFFICIALS UPSET AT PLANNED FACILITIES
I think it's pretty cool that Google is working with NASA for R&D research:
NASA Ames Research Center issued a press release Wednesday shedding more light on the R&D collaboration between the space agency and search behemoth Google, which includes a vast new campus at Ames' Moffett Field in Mountain View, Calif. The two entities plan to cooperate on areas including large-scale data management and data-mining, massively distributed computing, bio-info-nano convergence and promoting the entrepreneurial space industry, according to NASA's statement.
"Imagine having a wide selection of images from the Apollo space mission at your fingertips whenever you want it. That's just one small example of how this collaboration could help broaden technology's role in making the world a better place," Eric Schmidt, Google chief executive officer, said in the statement. (full post)
It's also amusing that local officials are upset since Google is building their new R&D facility on federal property and avoiding local taxes. Was this is a factor in Google's decision? Probably. But did they just do it to avoid a few million in taxes? I don't think so, but it would be interesting to read the detailed proposal between NASA and Google. The San Francisco Chronicle has more:
Google under scrutiny Officials say it's dodging taxes by building on federal land
Dan Levy, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, September 30, 2005
Google's blockbuster partnership with NASA Ames Research Center is leaving local officials, environmentalists and Silicon Valley landlords feeling left out of the party.
Google and NASA announced a working agreement Wednesday that could result in the Internet giant building a complex of up to 1 million square feet on NASA-owned property adjacent to Moffett Field near Mountain View.
But in light of the deal, city and county officials say they are looking for ways to make Google contribute more to local government coffers.
"Any for-profit entity of (Google's) magnitude using land owned by the people should not escape paying their fair share," said Larry Stone, Santa Clara County's tax assessor. If Google were to build its campus on county land, he estimated, it could generate as much as $3 million in property tax revenue.
Greg Perry, a member of the Mountain View City Council, echoed that sentiment. "If public land is being used for private purposes, the tenants should be paying local property taxes," he said. "We have $30 million in unfunded retirement liabilities. We need the money." (full article)
|
I think it's pretty cool that Google is working with NASA for R&D research:
NASA Ames Research Center issued a press release Wednesday shedding more light on the R&D collaboration between the space agency and search behemoth Google, which includes a vast new campus at Ames' Moffett Field in Mountain View, Calif. The two entities plan to cooperate on areas including large-scale data management and data-mining, massively distributed computing, bio-info-nano convergence and promoting the entrepreneurial space industry, according to NASA's statement.
"Imagine having a wide selection of images from the Apollo space mission at your fingertips whenever you want it. That's just one small example of how this collaboration could help broaden technology's role in making the world a better place," Eric Schmidt, Google chief executive officer, said in the statement. (full post)
It's also amusing that local officials are upset since Google is building their new R&D facility on federal property and avoiding local taxes. Was this is a factor in Google's decision? Probably. But did they just do it to avoid a few million in taxes? I don't think so, but it would be interesting to read the detailed proposal between NASA and Google. The San Francisco Chronicle has more:
Google under scrutiny Officials say it's dodging taxes by building on federal land
Dan Levy, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, September 30, 2005
Google's blockbuster partnership with NASA Ames Research Center is leaving local officials, environmentalists and Silicon Valley landlords feeling left out of the party.
Google and NASA announced a working agreement Wednesday that could result in the Internet giant building a complex of up to 1 million square feet on NASA-owned property adjacent to Moffett Field near Mountain View.
But in light of the deal, city and county officials say they are looking for ways to make Google contribute more to local government coffers.
"Any for-profit entity of (Google's) magnitude using land owned by the people should not escape paying their fair share," said Larry Stone, Santa Clara County's tax assessor. If Google were to build its campus on county land, he estimated, it could generate as much as $3 million in property tax revenue.
Greg Perry, a member of the Mountain View City Council, echoed that sentiment. "If public land is being used for private purposes, the tenants should be paying local property taxes," he said. "We have $30 million in unfunded retirement liabilities. We need the money." (full article)
RANDOM NEWS QUICKLIST
"Esquire wikis article on Wikipedia"
"Kodak Ships Computer-Free Wireless Camera"
"E*Trade Buys BrownCo From JPMorgan for $1.6 Billion"
"New York Times Reporter Miller to Testify in CIA Leak Probe"
"Frists' HCA Now Under Investigation by SEC"
"Algerians Overwhelmingly Vote for Peace"
"Researchers go ape over gorilla pics"
|
"Esquire wikis article on Wikipedia"
"Kodak Ships Computer-Free Wireless Camera"
"E*Trade Buys BrownCo From JPMorgan for $1.6 Billion"
"New York Times Reporter Miller to Testify in CIA Leak Probe"
"Frists' HCA Now Under Investigation by SEC"
"Algerians Overwhelmingly Vote for Peace"
"Researchers go ape over gorilla pics"
Thursday, September 29, 2005
ROLLYO LAUNCHES... CUSTOM SEARCH ENGINE
Dave Pell, blogger at Electablog and Davenetics (now combined), has launched a new product called Rollyo. TechCrunch has a good overview:
The basic idea? Create customized searches (built on Yahoo search) that include only those sites you want to include. Search those sites for information that you know you can trust. And, see what other’s have created, and leverage those searches as well.
To set up (or “roll”) a search, you are asked to name up to 20 websites, pick a category and tag the search. A search can be public or private - public searches are ranked by popularity and listed on the site. You can also share searches with others directly. (full post)
It's a neat service, but I'm not sure if you can built a company on such a service. To me it seems like a feature or a widget that belongs to a larger set of services. The beauty of the Internet and Web 2.0 today is that you can built a lot of cool services and companies for cheap, but I believe a lot of these companies are not sustainable businesses. Anyway, check Rollyo out and here's my "Republican Rhetoric" rollyo with a "John Roberts" search result (i couldn't create a direct link without inputing a search).
|
Dave Pell, blogger at Electablog and Davenetics (now combined), has launched a new product called Rollyo. TechCrunch has a good overview:
The basic idea? Create customized searches (built on Yahoo search) that include only those sites you want to include. Search those sites for information that you know you can trust. And, see what other’s have created, and leverage those searches as well.
To set up (or “roll”) a search, you are asked to name up to 20 websites, pick a category and tag the search. A search can be public or private - public searches are ranked by popularity and listed on the site. You can also share searches with others directly. (full post)
It's a neat service, but I'm not sure if you can built a company on such a service. To me it seems like a feature or a widget that belongs to a larger set of services. The beauty of the Internet and Web 2.0 today is that you can built a lot of cool services and companies for cheap, but I believe a lot of these companies are not sustainable businesses. Anyway, check Rollyo out and here's my "Republican Rhetoric" rollyo with a "John Roberts" search result (i couldn't create a direct link without inputing a search).
JAPANESE SCIENTIST CATCH GIANT SQUID ON FILM
HatTip to Slashdot. This is pretty cool, especially for all you Jules Verne/Sci-Fi fans. Take a look at this National Geographic article if this interests you. It's fascinating to learn that this giant creature is fairly quick and nimble. Also this one was considered small at 26 feet. Imagine the larger ones that supposed grow to 60 feet. I wouldn't be surprised if they attack sharks and other large fish. Also imagine the amount of calamari you could make. Awesome:)
A set of extraordinary images captured by Japanese scientists marks the first-ever record of a live giant squid (Architeuthis) in the wild.
The animal—which measures roughly 25 feet (8 meters) long—was photographed 2,950 feet (900 meters) beneath the North Pacific Ocean. Japanese scientists attracted the squid toward cameras attached to a baited fishing line.
The scientists say they snapped more than 500 images of the massive cephalopod before it broke free after snagging itself on a hook. They also recovered one of the giant squid's two longest tentacles, which severed during its struggle.
The photo sequence, taken off Japan's Ogasawara Islands in September 2004, shows the squid homing in on the baited line and enveloping it in "a ball of tentacles."
Tsunemi Kubodera of the National Science Museum in Tokyo and Kyoichi Mori of the Ogasawara Whale Watching Association report their observations this week in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
"Architeuthis appears to be a much more active predator than previously suspected, using its elongated feeding tentacles to strike and tangle prey," the researchers write. (full article)
|
HatTip to Slashdot. This is pretty cool, especially for all you Jules Verne/Sci-Fi fans. Take a look at this National Geographic article if this interests you. It's fascinating to learn that this giant creature is fairly quick and nimble. Also this one was considered small at 26 feet. Imagine the larger ones that supposed grow to 60 feet. I wouldn't be surprised if they attack sharks and other large fish. Also imagine the amount of calamari you could make. Awesome:)
A set of extraordinary images captured by Japanese scientists marks the first-ever record of a live giant squid (Architeuthis) in the wild.
The animal—which measures roughly 25 feet (8 meters) long—was photographed 2,950 feet (900 meters) beneath the North Pacific Ocean. Japanese scientists attracted the squid toward cameras attached to a baited fishing line.
The scientists say they snapped more than 500 images of the massive cephalopod before it broke free after snagging itself on a hook. They also recovered one of the giant squid's two longest tentacles, which severed during its struggle.
The photo sequence, taken off Japan's Ogasawara Islands in September 2004, shows the squid homing in on the baited line and enveloping it in "a ball of tentacles."
Tsunemi Kubodera of the National Science Museum in Tokyo and Kyoichi Mori of the Ogasawara Whale Watching Association report their observations this week in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
"Architeuthis appears to be a much more active predator than previously suspected, using its elongated feeding tentacles to strike and tangle prey," the researchers write. (full article)
TONY PERKINS GETS FAN FOLLOWING IN OTTAWA
Tony went up to Canada for a speaking engagement and did some promotion for AlwaysOn and GoingOn. It went well and he got some press for us:
Burst Internet bubble will produce better companies, says forecaster
'Real action happens after the blowout'
The Ottawa Citizen
by Andrew Mayeda
Thursday, September 29, 2005
The way Tony Perkins sees it, there's nothing like the bursting of a bubble to lay the foundation for a great company.
As the founder and former editor-in-chief of Red Herring magazine, Mr. Perkins had a front-row seat on the dot-com boom and bust.
Once a bible of the Internet economy, the technology-oriented business magazine was once thick as a Bible as well --with ads.
But when the downturn hit, its fortunes mirrored those of many of the companies it covered, and it ceased publication. (It relaunched in 2003 under new leadership.)
Mr. Perkins can legitimately say he saw the bust coming. In 1999, he co-authored a book called The Internet Bubble that argued that many Internet companies were overvalued and only a fraction would be profitable in a few years.
His message now is similar to what it was then: The best companies emerge after a crash. (full article)
|
Tony went up to Canada for a speaking engagement and did some promotion for AlwaysOn and GoingOn. It went well and he got some press for us:
Burst Internet bubble will produce better companies, says forecaster
'Real action happens after the blowout'
The Ottawa Citizen
by Andrew Mayeda
Thursday, September 29, 2005
The way Tony Perkins sees it, there's nothing like the bursting of a bubble to lay the foundation for a great company.
As the founder and former editor-in-chief of Red Herring magazine, Mr. Perkins had a front-row seat on the dot-com boom and bust.
Once a bible of the Internet economy, the technology-oriented business magazine was once thick as a Bible as well --with ads.
But when the downturn hit, its fortunes mirrored those of many of the companies it covered, and it ceased publication. (It relaunched in 2003 under new leadership.)
Mr. Perkins can legitimately say he saw the bust coming. In 1999, he co-authored a book called The Internet Bubble that argued that many Internet companies were overvalued and only a fraction would be profitable in a few years.
His message now is similar to what it was then: The best companies emerge after a crash. (full article)
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
SENATOR EDWARD KENNEDY... HERO
HatTip to Thomas. Hilarious.
Senator Levee
Shocked by the widespread suffering of those displaced from their homes by the flooding in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) offered to plug one of the holes in the Lake Pontchatrain levee with his own ample body.
"The Bush Administration has failed to stem the tide of this cataclysm," said Kennedy. "I have had some experience with aquatic mishaps. This experience will bolster me in this hour of desperation as I plug one of the leaks myself."
(editorial note from chuck l. . . .a nice offer; unfortunately s--t dissolves in water pretty quickly.)
|
HatTip to Thomas. Hilarious.
Senator Levee
Shocked by the widespread suffering of those displaced from their homes by the flooding in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) offered to plug one of the holes in the Lake Pontchatrain levee with his own ample body.
"The Bush Administration has failed to stem the tide of this cataclysm," said Kennedy. "I have had some experience with aquatic mishaps. This experience will bolster me in this hour of desperation as I plug one of the leaks myself."
(editorial note from chuck l. . . .a nice offer; unfortunately s--t dissolves in water pretty quickly.)
TOM DELAY INDICTED, LEAVES HOUSE LEADERSHIP POST
I heard this was going down and now it's a reality. I also heard more dirt might come out. Bad, Delay. Bad. Not a good way to represent my party.
U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader Tom DeLay, the second-ranking House Republican, was indicted on Wednesday for his part in a campaign-finance conspiracy and temporarily resigned his post.
The powerful Texan, nicknamed "The Hammer" for his reputation as a tough party enforcer, could face up to two years in prison if convicted.
He denied any wrongdoing and said he was being persecuted because of his political successes by a "rogue district attorney" in Texas who was "an unabashed partisan zealot" for Democrats.
DeLay was indicted by a Travis County grand jury in Austin, Texas, for criminal conspiracy in a scheme with two alleged co-conspirators, John Colyandro and Jim Ellis, to launder $190,000 in corporate donations through the Republican National Committee for distribution to Republican candidates for the Texas Legislature. (full article)
MORE from The Washington Post, "GOP Ignores Lessons of Democrats' Past Mistakes"
|
I heard this was going down and now it's a reality. I also heard more dirt might come out. Bad, Delay. Bad. Not a good way to represent my party.
U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader Tom DeLay, the second-ranking House Republican, was indicted on Wednesday for his part in a campaign-finance conspiracy and temporarily resigned his post.
The powerful Texan, nicknamed "The Hammer" for his reputation as a tough party enforcer, could face up to two years in prison if convicted.
He denied any wrongdoing and said he was being persecuted because of his political successes by a "rogue district attorney" in Texas who was "an unabashed partisan zealot" for Democrats.
DeLay was indicted by a Travis County grand jury in Austin, Texas, for criminal conspiracy in a scheme with two alleged co-conspirators, John Colyandro and Jim Ellis, to launder $190,000 in corporate donations through the Republican National Committee for distribution to Republican candidates for the Texas Legislature. (full article)
MORE from The Washington Post, "GOP Ignores Lessons of Democrats' Past Mistakes"
ROBERT KIYOSAKI'S CON... JOHN REED'S ANALYSIS OF "RICH DAD, POOR DAD"
HatTip to Ethan at OnoTech. I came across John Reed's analysis and review of Robert T. Kiyosaki’s book "Rich Dad, Poor Dad."
Not the most orderly analysis, but a great read.
A number of people have asked me about Robert T. Kiyosaki and his book Rich Dad, Poor Dad. When I said I didn’t think he was a real-estate guru, a number of people insisted he was. Several told me I would like him, that he preaches a message like mine. Eager to find such a guru, I bought his book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad in a bookstore.
I was unpleasantly surprised. I do not like his book at all. Over time, I have received numerous reports that Kiyosaki is primarily a creature of Amway and other multi-level marketing organizations. Reportedly, his books were not selling until he allied himself with that crowd. Then the volume of sales to those MLM guys made him a “best-selling author,” which caused normal non-MLM people to think the book must be good.
.....
In 1992, Kiyosaki wrote a book called If You Want to Be Rich and Happy, Don’t Go To School? It is “dedicated to Ralph H. Kiyosaki, former Superintendant of Education, State of Hawaii, the best teacher I ever had.” This would be “Poor Dad.” But Rich Dad Poor Dad, which came out in 1997, says pretty clearly that “Rich Dad was the best teacher he ever had.
So maybe “Rich Dad” was the second best teacher he ever had. No. Actually, the 1992 book also identifies the second best teacher Kiyosaki ever had: F. Marshall Thurber.
OK. So maybe “Rich Dad” was third. No. Kiyosaki’s 1992 book has an unusually long acknowledgment section. It lists 111 people, none of whom appears to be “Rich Dad.” That is, none are singled out except for his “Poor Dad” parents, in-laws, business partner, and editors.
Mind you, according to the 1997 book Rich Dad Poor Dad, “Rich Dad” supposedly became central to Kiyosaki’s life starting in 1955 when he was nine. So where was “Rich Dad” in 1992 when Kiyosaki was so diligent at identifying the people who had been important in his life? (full post)
|
HatTip to Ethan at OnoTech. I came across John Reed's analysis and review of Robert T. Kiyosaki’s book "Rich Dad, Poor Dad."
Not the most orderly analysis, but a great read.
A number of people have asked me about Robert T. Kiyosaki and his book Rich Dad, Poor Dad. When I said I didn’t think he was a real-estate guru, a number of people insisted he was. Several told me I would like him, that he preaches a message like mine. Eager to find such a guru, I bought his book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad in a bookstore.
I was unpleasantly surprised. I do not like his book at all. Over time, I have received numerous reports that Kiyosaki is primarily a creature of Amway and other multi-level marketing organizations. Reportedly, his books were not selling until he allied himself with that crowd. Then the volume of sales to those MLM guys made him a “best-selling author,” which caused normal non-MLM people to think the book must be good.
.....
In 1992, Kiyosaki wrote a book called If You Want to Be Rich and Happy, Don’t Go To School? It is “dedicated to Ralph H. Kiyosaki, former Superintendant of Education, State of Hawaii, the best teacher I ever had.” This would be “Poor Dad.” But Rich Dad Poor Dad, which came out in 1997, says pretty clearly that “Rich Dad was the best teacher he ever had.
So maybe “Rich Dad” was the second best teacher he ever had. No. Actually, the 1992 book also identifies the second best teacher Kiyosaki ever had: F. Marshall Thurber.
OK. So maybe “Rich Dad” was third. No. Kiyosaki’s 1992 book has an unusually long acknowledgment section. It lists 111 people, none of whom appears to be “Rich Dad.” That is, none are singled out except for his “Poor Dad” parents, in-laws, business partner, and editors.
Mind you, according to the 1997 book Rich Dad Poor Dad, “Rich Dad” supposedly became central to Kiyosaki’s life starting in 1955 when he was nine. So where was “Rich Dad” in 1992 when Kiyosaki was so diligent at identifying the people who had been important in his life? (full post)
SLAWESOME ALPHA
Nivi's launched Slawesome, a voice email service. I just signed up, so I'll try it out and report back. Check it out here. One review from Solution Watch:
"Slawesome is a really… awesome service that actually lets you record your voice without the need of software and send it to someone so they can hear you for free. You are given the spotlight for two minutes as you record yourself using a simple mic and Macromedia Flash. Registration is free and easy. You get an inbox, outbox, the ability to make your messages private or available for the public to hear, and you can send it to anyone that has an email address!"
|
Nivi's launched Slawesome, a voice email service. I just signed up, so I'll try it out and report back. Check it out here. One review from Solution Watch:
"Slawesome is a really… awesome service that actually lets you record your voice without the need of software and send it to someone so they can hear you for free. You are given the spotlight for two minutes as you record yourself using a simple mic and Macromedia Flash. Registration is free and easy. You get an inbox, outbox, the ability to make your messages private or available for the public to hear, and you can send it to anyone that has an email address!"
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
GOOGLE DEFENDS ITSELF ON BLOG... ONE GOOD USE FOR CORPORATE BLOGS
Again catching up on things I wanted to post. HatTip to John Battelle on this. Google provides a great example on how to use a corporate blog effectively. Definitely not Juicy Fruit post.
I have to say, this post - defending Google's position on Google Print against yesterday's lawsuit - is damn refreshing. Google makes its case clearly, and the writing seems to be driven by conviction and passion.
|
Again catching up on things I wanted to post. HatTip to John Battelle on this. Google provides a great example on how to use a corporate blog effectively. Definitely not Juicy Fruit post.
I have to say, this post - defending Google's position on Google Print against yesterday's lawsuit - is damn refreshing. Google makes its case clearly, and the writing seems to be driven by conviction and passion.
TOM EVSLIN'S BLOOK... HACKOFF.COM
Hattip to Brad Feld. I've been meaning to post about this for a while, so if you already came across Tom's new project that's cool. If not, definitely check it out. It's cutting edge stuff and something I might try down the road. More from Brad:
Tom Evslin has launched his newest project – hackoff.com. It’s a blook (an online book distributed as a blog). I’ve been watching this evolve and occassionally helping with some of the tech ideas from the sidelines. In addition to being awesome content (this is the book that every entrepreneur from 1997 – 2001 wanted to write), Tom is using (as well as inventing) lots of blog / Web 2.0 publishing technology into the experience.
Tom's post and comments on his new blook are here:
The online serialization of my novel hackoff.com: an historic murder mystery set in the Internet Bubble and rubble has begun at, of course, hackoff.com. It’s free and licensed under Creative Commons. The hard cover edition’ll be out around the beginning of the year.
The first episode of this blook (sic, see below) has been posted. CEO Larry Lazard is found dead in the offices of hackoff.com, a company which protects e-commerce sites from hackers. The cause of death is obvious; he was shot in the head with the gun which is lying next to him. Whodunit is the question? Lots of the characters you’ll meet had a motive. He could’ve even shot himself.
I set the story in the period 1999 through 2003 because it was a fascinating time which won’t repeat in the same way again. As the CEO of a company which went public during the bubble, I experienced many of the events my fictional characters experience like the roadshow for an IPO, a trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, a soaring and plunging stock price, and hostile takeover attempts. Like all of us, I watched 9/11/01 with horror and was changed by it. So I wrote about what I know about. (full post)
|
Hattip to Brad Feld. I've been meaning to post about this for a while, so if you already came across Tom's new project that's cool. If not, definitely check it out. It's cutting edge stuff and something I might try down the road. More from Brad:
Tom Evslin has launched his newest project – hackoff.com. It’s a blook (an online book distributed as a blog). I’ve been watching this evolve and occassionally helping with some of the tech ideas from the sidelines. In addition to being awesome content (this is the book that every entrepreneur from 1997 – 2001 wanted to write), Tom is using (as well as inventing) lots of blog / Web 2.0 publishing technology into the experience.
Tom's post and comments on his new blook are here:
The online serialization of my novel hackoff.com: an historic murder mystery set in the Internet Bubble and rubble has begun at, of course, hackoff.com. It’s free and licensed under Creative Commons. The hard cover edition’ll be out around the beginning of the year.
The first episode of this blook (sic, see below) has been posted. CEO Larry Lazard is found dead in the offices of hackoff.com, a company which protects e-commerce sites from hackers. The cause of death is obvious; he was shot in the head with the gun which is lying next to him. Whodunit is the question? Lots of the characters you’ll meet had a motive. He could’ve even shot himself.
I set the story in the period 1999 through 2003 because it was a fascinating time which won’t repeat in the same way again. As the CEO of a company which went public during the bubble, I experienced many of the events my fictional characters experience like the roadshow for an IPO, a trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, a soaring and plunging stock price, and hostile takeover attempts. Like all of us, I watched 9/11/01 with horror and was changed by it. So I wrote about what I know about. (full post)
FORMER SCHOOL CHIEF IN NY ADMITS TO STEALING
This is messed up. Frank Tassone is scum and should get more than his plea bargin of 4 to 12 years. He deserves at least 20 years for abusing his office and role of public servant and educator to children.
For years, ex-Roslyn schools chief Frank Tassone admited, he stole millions of dollars in taxpayer money to finance everything from his breakfast bagel to European jaunts on the Concorde. His next big journey on the taxpayers' dime will be to prison.
Tassone, 58, of Manhattan, pleaded guilty Monday to first- and second-degree grand larceny before Nassau County Judge Alan Honorof in a scandal that state Comptroller Alan Hevesi has called "the largest, most remarkable, most extraordinary theft" from a school system in American history.
As part of a plea bargain, Tassone will spend four to 12 years in prison and pay back an estimated $2 million. If convicted at trial, he could have faced 25 years.
Four other people have been charged. Prosecutors have said they anticipate further arrests, and Tassone will cooperate in the continuing investigation as part of his plea deal, District Attorney Denis Dillon said.
About 50 district residents booed as Tassone entered the courtroom. Many, including former school board president William Costigan, said afterward they were dissatisfied with the penalty Tassone was promised.
"I think he should serve the maximum sentence," Costigan said, although he conceded he was glad to see Tassone "admit in open court that his actions had caused pain and suffering. … We have become the poster boys for school scandals." (full article)
|
This is messed up. Frank Tassone is scum and should get more than his plea bargin of 4 to 12 years. He deserves at least 20 years for abusing his office and role of public servant and educator to children.
For years, ex-Roslyn schools chief Frank Tassone admited, he stole millions of dollars in taxpayer money to finance everything from his breakfast bagel to European jaunts on the Concorde. His next big journey on the taxpayers' dime will be to prison.
Tassone, 58, of Manhattan, pleaded guilty Monday to first- and second-degree grand larceny before Nassau County Judge Alan Honorof in a scandal that state Comptroller Alan Hevesi has called "the largest, most remarkable, most extraordinary theft" from a school system in American history.
As part of a plea bargain, Tassone will spend four to 12 years in prison and pay back an estimated $2 million. If convicted at trial, he could have faced 25 years.
Four other people have been charged. Prosecutors have said they anticipate further arrests, and Tassone will cooperate in the continuing investigation as part of his plea deal, District Attorney Denis Dillon said.
About 50 district residents booed as Tassone entered the courtroom. Many, including former school board president William Costigan, said afterward they were dissatisfied with the penalty Tassone was promised.
"I think he should serve the maximum sentence," Costigan said, although he conceded he was glad to see Tassone "admit in open court that his actions had caused pain and suffering. … We have become the poster boys for school scandals." (full article)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY GOOGLE!... GOOGLE FLEXES ITS MUSCLES ON ITS BIRTHDAY
I hope Dennis doesn't mind that I took his drawing for Google's 7th Birthday celebration and posted it here. Anyway, it's amazing when you think about how far Google has come. They almost sold out to Excite.com, started to provide their search technology to Yahoo!, wandered to find their primary business model, and then became a technology juggernaut.
Also early last month Yahoo! boasted a bit that their search surpassed 20 billion documents and images and that it was more than Google, which at the time stated it indexed about 11.3 billion documents and images.
Today on its birthday, Google says, "Back at ya, dude!" Three times more than any other search engine! On its blog it states three times more, but I heard it was over 30 billion documents and images they were going to announce (yes, i heard a while back but kept the secret:). If it's three times more than Yahoo! that means they indexed more than 60 billion. I'm guessing Google's Anna Patterson didn't read Yahoo!'s announcement.
Lastly, to complete this Google-centric post, here is a good article from BusinessWeek, "Managing Google's Idea Factory."
[tags: google, search, search+engine, yahoo, birthday]
|
I hope Dennis doesn't mind that I took his drawing for Google's 7th Birthday celebration and posted it here. Anyway, it's amazing when you think about how far Google has come. They almost sold out to Excite.com, started to provide their search technology to Yahoo!, wandered to find their primary business model, and then became a technology juggernaut.
Also early last month Yahoo! boasted a bit that their search surpassed 20 billion documents and images and that it was more than Google, which at the time stated it indexed about 11.3 billion documents and images.
Today on its birthday, Google says, "Back at ya, dude!" Three times more than any other search engine! On its blog it states three times more, but I heard it was over 30 billion documents and images they were going to announce (yes, i heard a while back but kept the secret:). If it's three times more than Yahoo! that means they indexed more than 60 billion. I'm guessing Google's Anna Patterson didn't read Yahoo!'s announcement.
Lastly, to complete this Google-centric post, here is a good article from BusinessWeek, "Managing Google's Idea Factory."
[tags: google, search, search+engine, yahoo, birthday]
Monday, September 26, 2005
RANDOM NEWS QUICKLIST
"Pivotal moment in British and Irish history"
"China sets new rules on Internet news"
"US school's evolution teaching goes on trial"
"Bush Drops 'Diversity' Hint About Nominee"
"Farewell Party Planned for Greenspan"
"Wiki Mania"
"Palm Teams With Microsoft For New Smartphone"
|
"Pivotal moment in British and Irish history"
"China sets new rules on Internet news"
"US school's evolution teaching goes on trial"
"Bush Drops 'Diversity' Hint About Nominee"
"Farewell Party Planned for Greenspan"
"Wiki Mania"
"Palm Teams With Microsoft For New Smartphone"
"BREAKING THE WEB WIDE OPEN!"... MY MARC CANTER SECTION TODAY
As some of you know, Marc Canter is our advisor and lead architect for GoingOn Networks. He wrote a piece that is important and related to our vision for the next wave of web services (Editor's note at AO is a bit too strong against Yahoo! 360 in my opinion since I honestly didn't think the meeting was that negative against the service).
Also a couple hattips to Marc since his blog pointed me to In Search of the Valley, a new digital documentary which interviewed Marc, and Six Apart's Project Comet.
Breaking the Web Wide Open!
Even the web giants like AOL, Google, MSN, and Yahoo need to observe these open standards, or they'll risk becoming the "walled gardens" of the new web.
For decades, "walled gardens" of proprietary standards and content have been the strategy of dominant players in mainframe computer software, wireless telecommunications services, and the World Wide Web—it was their successful lock-in strategy of keeping their customers theirs. But like it or not, those walls are tumbling down. Open web standards are being adopted so widely, with such value and impact, that the web giants—Amazon, AOL, eBay, Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo—are facing the difficult decision of opening up to what they don't control.
The online world is evolving into a new open web (sometimes called the Web 2.0), which is all about being personalized and customized for each user. Not only open source software, but open standards are becoming an essential component.
Many of the web giants have been using open source software for years. Most of them use at least parts of the LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, Perl/Python/PHP) stack, even if they aren't well-known for giving back to the open source community. For these incumbents that grew big on proprietary web services, the methods, practices, and applications of open source software development are difficult to fully adopt. And the next open source movements—which will be as much about open standards as about code—will be a lot harder for the incumbents to exploit. (full article)
|
As some of you know, Marc Canter is our advisor and lead architect for GoingOn Networks. He wrote a piece that is important and related to our vision for the next wave of web services (Editor's note at AO is a bit too strong against Yahoo! 360 in my opinion since I honestly didn't think the meeting was that negative against the service).
Also a couple hattips to Marc since his blog pointed me to In Search of the Valley, a new digital documentary which interviewed Marc, and Six Apart's Project Comet.
Breaking the Web Wide Open!
Even the web giants like AOL, Google, MSN, and Yahoo need to observe these open standards, or they'll risk becoming the "walled gardens" of the new web.
For decades, "walled gardens" of proprietary standards and content have been the strategy of dominant players in mainframe computer software, wireless telecommunications services, and the World Wide Web—it was their successful lock-in strategy of keeping their customers theirs. But like it or not, those walls are tumbling down. Open web standards are being adopted so widely, with such value and impact, that the web giants—Amazon, AOL, eBay, Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo—are facing the difficult decision of opening up to what they don't control.
The online world is evolving into a new open web (sometimes called the Web 2.0), which is all about being personalized and customized for each user. Not only open source software, but open standards are becoming an essential component.
Many of the web giants have been using open source software for years. Most of them use at least parts of the LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, Perl/Python/PHP) stack, even if they aren't well-known for giving back to the open source community. For these incumbents that grew big on proprietary web services, the methods, practices, and applications of open source software development are difficult to fully adopt. And the next open source movements—which will be as much about open standards as about code—will be a lot harder for the incumbents to exploit. (full article)
BITTORRENT RECEIVES $8.75 MILLION
HatTip to Rafat. Interesting to see how they commercialize their service.
BitTorrent, the commercial spinoff from the P2P software with the same name, has raised $8.75 million in venture funding, reports PE Week Wire, quoting an SEC filing. The round was led by DCM-Doll Capital Management.
I ran into Ashwin Navin, the COO of BitTorrent, at Digital Hollywood earlier this week and asked him point blank about the funding, but he was coy about it. The company's also working furiously to get any inroads into the Hollywood community, but it is going to be tricky. The Snocap and Mashboxx examples I'm sure give hope to the company and the new investors.
I suggested that changing the company name might help in getting traction with the media and entertainment community, but Navin dismissed any such moves.
|
HatTip to Rafat. Interesting to see how they commercialize their service.
BitTorrent, the commercial spinoff from the P2P software with the same name, has raised $8.75 million in venture funding, reports PE Week Wire, quoting an SEC filing. The round was led by DCM-Doll Capital Management.
I ran into Ashwin Navin, the COO of BitTorrent, at Digital Hollywood earlier this week and asked him point blank about the funding, but he was coy about it. The company's also working furiously to get any inroads into the Hollywood community, but it is going to be tricky. The Snocap and Mashboxx examples I'm sure give hope to the company and the new investors.
I suggested that changing the company name might help in getting traction with the media and entertainment community, but Navin dismissed any such moves.
WEEKEND IN L.A.
This weekend Christine and I went to a wedding down in L.A. Our friends, Jimmy and Jessica, got married. It was a fun wedding and great to see a lot of close friends.
Jimmy is such a prima donna. Whenever the camera hit the vicinity, he would start posing and flashing his pearly whites. So L.A... he was the first guy I met that used eye cream several years ago before it became a major line for cosmetic companies. Actually, the other guys I met after Jimmy that used eye cream were also from L.A., and all of them are very masculine and not metrosexual types. Something about L.A. lends people to care about such things.
|
This weekend Christine and I went to a wedding down in L.A. Our friends, Jimmy and Jessica, got married. It was a fun wedding and great to see a lot of close friends.
Jimmy is such a prima donna. Whenever the camera hit the vicinity, he would start posing and flashing his pearly whites. So L.A... he was the first guy I met that used eye cream several years ago before it became a major line for cosmetic companies. Actually, the other guys I met after Jimmy that used eye cream were also from L.A., and all of them are very masculine and not metrosexual types. Something about L.A. lends people to care about such things.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
SOCIAL NETWORKING AND RECRUITMENT
Definitely a growing and crowded space. Wired News has a decent overview:
It's long been said that who you know is the single most important factor in landing a job. Nowadays, it could also land you a check.
That's the idea behind a new online recruitment service that uses social networks to track down job candidates. Founders are betting that cash payments will inspire people to reach out to their friends' friends and colleagues to find promising applicants for hard-to-fill positions.
"Between close friends, there is a great overlap in network. They know the same people," said Hans Gieskes, founder and CEO of H3.com, a Cambridge, Massachusetts, startup that is launching an online recruiting service incorporating financial rewards at this week's DemoFall conference in Los Angeles. "But if you ask someone who is a new acquaintance, you've gotten into a new network."
H3.com -- which was founded last October and completed a beta test this summer -- is one of several startups turning to online social networks as recruiting instruments. Other services, like Jobster, LinkedIn and Accolo, are employing tools such as e-mail hiring campaigns, software for tracking prospective employees, and systems to measure how connected an applicant is to an employer, in an effort to modernize recruiting.
"The truth is that most people prefer to hire someone who is known by someone whose opinion they value and trust," said Konstantin Guericke, director of marketing for LinkedIn, a networking site for professionals that publishes job listings. "But there was never before a systematic way to identify inside connections to the hiring manager." (full article)
|
Definitely a growing and crowded space. Wired News has a decent overview:
It's long been said that who you know is the single most important factor in landing a job. Nowadays, it could also land you a check.
That's the idea behind a new online recruitment service that uses social networks to track down job candidates. Founders are betting that cash payments will inspire people to reach out to their friends' friends and colleagues to find promising applicants for hard-to-fill positions.
"Between close friends, there is a great overlap in network. They know the same people," said Hans Gieskes, founder and CEO of H3.com, a Cambridge, Massachusetts, startup that is launching an online recruiting service incorporating financial rewards at this week's DemoFall conference in Los Angeles. "But if you ask someone who is a new acquaintance, you've gotten into a new network."
H3.com -- which was founded last October and completed a beta test this summer -- is one of several startups turning to online social networks as recruiting instruments. Other services, like Jobster, LinkedIn and Accolo, are employing tools such as e-mail hiring campaigns, software for tracking prospective employees, and systems to measure how connected an applicant is to an employer, in an effort to modernize recruiting.
"The truth is that most people prefer to hire someone who is known by someone whose opinion they value and trust," said Konstantin Guericke, director of marketing for LinkedIn, a networking site for professionals that publishes job listings. "But there was never before a systematic way to identify inside connections to the hiring manager." (full article)
NEW BLOGGING SURVEY ON WHY PEOPLE BLOG AND READ BLOGS
HatTip to eMarketer. This is an interesting survey for AOL conducted by Digital Marketing Services Inc. It was fascinating to discover that almost half the people blog as a form of therapy. I guess blogging for some is a stress reliever, especially if you write about family and friends.
Blogging for me doesn't create stress, but definitely isn't a stress reliever since I get a few emails each week (why not just comment on the blog people?) attacking me on my political views and religious views. Hey, I throw it out there, so I expect some back:)
Subjects that U.S. Bloggers Write About
Although bloggers say they write about personal matters on their blogs, 43.9% of respondents said that they read other blogs to get a different perspective on the news. These findings are similar to a Harris Interactive survey from March 2005, which found that about 44% of US Internet users read political blogs, including 16% who read them less than once a month. And although most bloggers read other blogs, the AOL survey found that almost one-quarter of them do not.
Reasons to Read Other Blogs
About one-half of bloggers (48.7%) keep a blog because it serves as a form of therapy, and 40.8% say it helps them keep in touch with family and friends. Just 16.2% say they are interested in journalism, and 7.5% want to expose political information. Few see blogging as their ticket to fame.
Reasons to Keep a Blog
Bill Schreiner, Vice President, AOL Community, puts it in perspective: "In a way, blogs serve as oral history. When it comes to sharing blogs and reading other people's blogs, we like to connect with people, learn about their lives, and find common ground. There's no pressure to write about a particular subject or keep blogs maintained a certain way, and it's not necessarily a popularity contest."
|
HatTip to eMarketer. This is an interesting survey for AOL conducted by Digital Marketing Services Inc. It was fascinating to discover that almost half the people blog as a form of therapy. I guess blogging for some is a stress reliever, especially if you write about family and friends.
Blogging for me doesn't create stress, but definitely isn't a stress reliever since I get a few emails each week (why not just comment on the blog people?) attacking me on my political views and religious views. Hey, I throw it out there, so I expect some back:)
Subjects that U.S. Bloggers Write About
Although bloggers say they write about personal matters on their blogs, 43.9% of respondents said that they read other blogs to get a different perspective on the news. These findings are similar to a Harris Interactive survey from March 2005, which found that about 44% of US Internet users read political blogs, including 16% who read them less than once a month. And although most bloggers read other blogs, the AOL survey found that almost one-quarter of them do not.
Reasons to Read Other Blogs
About one-half of bloggers (48.7%) keep a blog because it serves as a form of therapy, and 40.8% say it helps them keep in touch with family and friends. Just 16.2% say they are interested in journalism, and 7.5% want to expose political information. Few see blogging as their ticket to fame.
Reasons to Keep a Blog
Bill Schreiner, Vice President, AOL Community, puts it in perspective: "In a way, blogs serve as oral history. When it comes to sharing blogs and reading other people's blogs, we like to connect with people, learn about their lives, and find common ground. There's no pressure to write about a particular subject or keep blogs maintained a certain way, and it's not necessarily a popularity contest."
HUGE FLAT PANEL IS FOREVER
The graphic below doesn't describe what happened to me, but it's amusing. When Christine and I went TV shopping this past year, we both liked plasma TVs. I was thinking a 42" is good enough, but when Christine saw a 50" she calmly stated, "We're getting that."
"Okay, whatever you want, honey." (Awesome. ESPN and Monday Night Football on this! My wife is awesome.)
Flat Panel is Forever
|
The graphic below doesn't describe what happened to me, but it's amusing. When Christine and I went TV shopping this past year, we both liked plasma TVs. I was thinking a 42" is good enough, but when Christine saw a 50" she calmly stated, "We're getting that."
"Okay, whatever you want, honey." (Awesome. ESPN and Monday Night Football on this! My wife is awesome.)
Flat Panel is Forever
"ARIANNA LEARNS TO LOVE THE BLOG"
Wired's Adam Penenberg as a pretty good interview of Arianna Huffington. Nothing new, but another celebrity (with a small "c") voicing strong statements on the power of the blogosphere and discussing traditional journalism versus citizen journalism is a good thing.
Last May, when I first heard that Arianna Huffington planned to launch a blog and news site, I glibly predicted she would attract as much traffic as she did votes for California governor (she ended up dropping out of the 2003 recall election that Arnold Schwarzenegger went on to win).
Frankly, I didn't think a liberal version of the Drudge Report that would depend on the ruminations of blognorant celebrities like Laurie David (wife of Curb Your Enthusiasm's Larry David), octogenarian news anchor Walter Cronkite and actor John Cusack could be anything more than a virtual Hollywood cocktail party.
I wasn't the only one who thought this. Days after the launch of The Huffington Post, Nikki Finke in LA Weekly compared it to "the movie equivalent of Gigli, Ishtar and Heaven's Gate rolled into one. In magazine terms, it's the disastrous clone of Tina Brown's Talk, JFK Jr.'s George or Maer Roshan's Radar." Then Finke gets really mean.
But I was wrong. Not only has Huffington delivered on her promise to create an "innovative group blog," she has created a viable business. In its first month, The Huffington Post started out with more than 700,000 visitors, according to Nielsen/NetRatings. By inking deals with AOL, Tribune Media Services and Yahoo, site traffic has grown to almost 1.5 million readers a month -- a leap of more than 60 percent from the prior month -- who click through 10 million pages.
.....
WN: Some view blogs as being as powerful as the introduction of the printing press, ushering in a new age of citizen journalism. Others view blogging as a fad. What's your take on it?
Huffington: Simply put, blogs are the greatest breakthrough in popular journalism since Tom Paine broke onto the scene. I've been a fan -- and an advocate -- of the fast-moving blogstream ever since bloggers took the Trent Lott/Strom Thurmond story, ran with it and helped turn the smug Senate Majority Leader into the penitent former Senate Majority Leader.
When bloggers decide that something matters, they chomp down hard and refuse to let go. They're the true pit bulls of reporting. The only way to get them off a story is to cut off their heads (and even then you'll need to pry their jaws open). They almost all work alone, but, ironically, it's their collective effort that makes them so effective. They share their work freely, feed off one another's work, argue with each other, and add to the story dialectically. All of which has made the blogosphere the most vital news source in our country -- and led me to take a flying leap into it with The Huffington Post. (full article)
|
Wired's Adam Penenberg as a pretty good interview of Arianna Huffington. Nothing new, but another celebrity (with a small "c") voicing strong statements on the power of the blogosphere and discussing traditional journalism versus citizen journalism is a good thing.
Last May, when I first heard that Arianna Huffington planned to launch a blog and news site, I glibly predicted she would attract as much traffic as she did votes for California governor (she ended up dropping out of the 2003 recall election that Arnold Schwarzenegger went on to win).
Frankly, I didn't think a liberal version of the Drudge Report that would depend on the ruminations of blognorant celebrities like Laurie David (wife of Curb Your Enthusiasm's Larry David), octogenarian news anchor Walter Cronkite and actor John Cusack could be anything more than a virtual Hollywood cocktail party.
I wasn't the only one who thought this. Days after the launch of The Huffington Post, Nikki Finke in LA Weekly compared it to "the movie equivalent of Gigli, Ishtar and Heaven's Gate rolled into one. In magazine terms, it's the disastrous clone of Tina Brown's Talk, JFK Jr.'s George or Maer Roshan's Radar." Then Finke gets really mean.
But I was wrong. Not only has Huffington delivered on her promise to create an "innovative group blog," she has created a viable business. In its first month, The Huffington Post started out with more than 700,000 visitors, according to Nielsen/NetRatings. By inking deals with AOL, Tribune Media Services and Yahoo, site traffic has grown to almost 1.5 million readers a month -- a leap of more than 60 percent from the prior month -- who click through 10 million pages.
.....
WN: Some view blogs as being as powerful as the introduction of the printing press, ushering in a new age of citizen journalism. Others view blogging as a fad. What's your take on it?
Huffington: Simply put, blogs are the greatest breakthrough in popular journalism since Tom Paine broke onto the scene. I've been a fan -- and an advocate -- of the fast-moving blogstream ever since bloggers took the Trent Lott/Strom Thurmond story, ran with it and helped turn the smug Senate Majority Leader into the penitent former Senate Majority Leader.
When bloggers decide that something matters, they chomp down hard and refuse to let go. They're the true pit bulls of reporting. The only way to get them off a story is to cut off their heads (and even then you'll need to pry their jaws open). They almost all work alone, but, ironically, it's their collective effort that makes them so effective. They share their work freely, feed off one another's work, argue with each other, and add to the story dialectically. All of which has made the blogosphere the most vital news source in our country -- and led me to take a flying leap into it with The Huffington Post. (full article)
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
MORE ON MICROSOFT... WAKING UP THE SLEEPING GIANT
I've been meaning to post Brad Feld's thoughts on how 2006 will be Microsoft's year, but it's good that I was busy with other stuff and forgot to do so. Brad's post:
I’m often wrong (but never in doubt) and - after spending the day at PDC and an evening with a number of the project leads for various Vista technologies – it feels like 2006 is going to be Microsoft’s year.
Microsoft has been kicked around plenty the last few years by the likes of Google, Yahoo, the press, and many participants in the software industry. However, during this time, the Microsoft money machine has continued to generate cash at a prodigious rate. The home of “build it cheap and stack it high” is about to have two major project releases (Vista and Office 12) that will be relevant to over 500 million computers during the next few years. Vista, Office 12, and all the supporting technology, dev tools, platform layers, and web services equate to a massive force of change which – if history is a guide – will result in a huge amount of money flowing to Microsoft and many of the members of the Microsoft ecosystem.
.....
After listening to the Microsoft folks and the questions being bandied about, it is clear that Microsoft has an incredible wave of innovation building that is going to be released in 2006. When I compare this to the energy at PDC – which was a high as I’ve ever experienced at a developers conference – it’s easy to get excited. (full post)
Goes well with the post two below and the following Steve Ballmer interview with BusinessWeek, which is an informative article on Microsoft's fiercely competitive CEO. Ballmer and Microsoft are definitely more focused on their battle with Google after being kicked around a bit over the past few years. 2006 will definitely be a good year for fighting. Of course boxing still sucks, so tech matches will have to do.
In interviews and on blogs, some employees say you've instituted bureaucracy that is hampering innovation so much so that they question whether you should be CEO. What's your response?
At the end of the day, the proof is in the output. Do we have the innovation output? Do we have the market share? Do we have the customer satisfaction? Do we have the numbers? And do we have the talent? So you go through each one of those things and say, how are we doing? We've grown from 18% of the profits of the top 25 companies in our industry to 23% of the profits of the top 25 companies in our industry over the last five years. Profits are up over 70%, where the industry profit is up about 35%. Pretty good.
How are we doing in terms of talent? We've brought on fantastic new talent. People like Ray Ozzie, I don't think I need to say more. Gary Flake, who has joined us in the MSN area [and] is really the technical guru and genius behind everything that had happened at Overture, a fantastic addition to our team. Li Gong who has joined our MSN team in China, who was one of the leading architects at Sun Microsystems.
These are all people who have joined us in the last six months. Look at our performance in campus recruiting. According to Universum, which is an organization that surveys these things, we're the No. 1 choice among computer science students at U.S. universities as a place to go work -- 90% of people who we make offers to accept our offers. We're doing every well on the talent front. (full article)
|
I've been meaning to post Brad Feld's thoughts on how 2006 will be Microsoft's year, but it's good that I was busy with other stuff and forgot to do so. Brad's post:
I’m often wrong (but never in doubt) and - after spending the day at PDC and an evening with a number of the project leads for various Vista technologies – it feels like 2006 is going to be Microsoft’s year.
Microsoft has been kicked around plenty the last few years by the likes of Google, Yahoo, the press, and many participants in the software industry. However, during this time, the Microsoft money machine has continued to generate cash at a prodigious rate. The home of “build it cheap and stack it high” is about to have two major project releases (Vista and Office 12) that will be relevant to over 500 million computers during the next few years. Vista, Office 12, and all the supporting technology, dev tools, platform layers, and web services equate to a massive force of change which – if history is a guide – will result in a huge amount of money flowing to Microsoft and many of the members of the Microsoft ecosystem.
.....
After listening to the Microsoft folks and the questions being bandied about, it is clear that Microsoft has an incredible wave of innovation building that is going to be released in 2006. When I compare this to the energy at PDC – which was a high as I’ve ever experienced at a developers conference – it’s easy to get excited. (full post)
Goes well with the post two below and the following Steve Ballmer interview with BusinessWeek, which is an informative article on Microsoft's fiercely competitive CEO. Ballmer and Microsoft are definitely more focused on their battle with Google after being kicked around a bit over the past few years. 2006 will definitely be a good year for fighting. Of course boxing still sucks, so tech matches will have to do.
In interviews and on blogs, some employees say you've instituted bureaucracy that is hampering innovation so much so that they question whether you should be CEO. What's your response?
At the end of the day, the proof is in the output. Do we have the innovation output? Do we have the market share? Do we have the customer satisfaction? Do we have the numbers? And do we have the talent? So you go through each one of those things and say, how are we doing? We've grown from 18% of the profits of the top 25 companies in our industry to 23% of the profits of the top 25 companies in our industry over the last five years. Profits are up over 70%, where the industry profit is up about 35%. Pretty good.
How are we doing in terms of talent? We've brought on fantastic new talent. People like Ray Ozzie, I don't think I need to say more. Gary Flake, who has joined us in the MSN area [and] is really the technical guru and genius behind everything that had happened at Overture, a fantastic addition to our team. Li Gong who has joined our MSN team in China, who was one of the leading architects at Sun Microsystems.
These are all people who have joined us in the last six months. Look at our performance in campus recruiting. According to Universum, which is an organization that surveys these things, we're the No. 1 choice among computer science students at U.S. universities as a place to go work -- 90% of people who we make offers to accept our offers. We're doing every well on the talent front. (full article)
THE SLOW TAIL: TIME LAG BETWEEN VISITING AND BUYING
Interesting research on consumer behavior. Long tail, slow tail... I'm sure there will be a "short tail" theory soon. Maybe even a "fuzzy tail" theory:)
Once users arrived at the sites from the search engines, orders came fast and furious: half of the conversions occurred within 28 minutes. These are the people who know they want to buy something, and they'll give you the order if you have a good e-commerce site and a reasonable offer.
Although 75% of the conversions occurred within 24 hours, the last quarter took much longer to arrive. Orders didn't reach the 90% mark until 12 days after users had clicked on the advertisement, and it took four weeks to reach 95%. Thus, the last 5% of orders happened more than four weeks after the initial click. (full post)
|
Interesting research on consumer behavior. Long tail, slow tail... I'm sure there will be a "short tail" theory soon. Maybe even a "fuzzy tail" theory:)
Once users arrived at the sites from the search engines, orders came fast and furious: half of the conversions occurred within 28 minutes. These are the people who know they want to buy something, and they'll give you the order if you have a good e-commerce site and a reasonable offer.
Although 75% of the conversions occurred within 24 hours, the last quarter took much longer to arrive. Orders didn't reach the 90% mark until 12 days after users had clicked on the advertisement, and it took four weeks to reach 95%. Thus, the last 5% of orders happened more than four weeks after the initial click. (full post)
MICROSOFT'S REORG... JIM ALLCHIN RETIRING AFTER VISTA LAUNCH
CNet has a good overview of articles on Microsoft's recent moves to make itself more nimble in its battle against Google and others. Here's one of them on their move to focus on hosted services:
Microsoft's just-announced reorganization gives hosted-software services a starring role, providing a clear picture of the company's plan to stimulate revenue growth.
In an effort to speed up decision making, Microsoft said Tuesday, the company will restructure into three divisions led by individual presidents. Significantly, the reorganization signals an accelerated commitment to hosted-software services.
In a memo to employees, company CEO Steve Ballmer said the goal of the changes is to "achieve greater agility in managing the incredible growth ahead and executing our software-based services strategy."
To make hosted services a more central part of the company, Microsoft has folded its MSN Web portal business into its platform product development group. Ballmer has also tasked Chief Technology Officer Ray Ozzie with expanding software services throughout the company.
Microsoft's decision to combine MSN with its platform products group is "a Google reaction," said Frank Gillett, an analyst at Forrester Research. "Microsoft is certainly alerted to the impact Google is having on what Microsoft thinks is their domain." (full article)
|
CNet has a good overview of articles on Microsoft's recent moves to make itself more nimble in its battle against Google and others. Here's one of them on their move to focus on hosted services:
Microsoft's just-announced reorganization gives hosted-software services a starring role, providing a clear picture of the company's plan to stimulate revenue growth.
In an effort to speed up decision making, Microsoft said Tuesday, the company will restructure into three divisions led by individual presidents. Significantly, the reorganization signals an accelerated commitment to hosted-software services.
In a memo to employees, company CEO Steve Ballmer said the goal of the changes is to "achieve greater agility in managing the incredible growth ahead and executing our software-based services strategy."
To make hosted services a more central part of the company, Microsoft has folded its MSN Web portal business into its platform product development group. Ballmer has also tasked Chief Technology Officer Ray Ozzie with expanding software services throughout the company.
Microsoft's decision to combine MSN with its platform products group is "a Google reaction," said Frank Gillett, an analyst at Forrester Research. "Microsoft is certainly alerted to the impact Google is having on what Microsoft thinks is their domain." (full article)
MICHELLE WIE TURNING PRO
Amazing. She's turning pro before her 16th birthday. I'm sure it was a difficult decision by her parents. I would have a tough time, and probably lean towards making her wait to let her mature some more.
Michelle Wie will turn pro sometime between now and Oct. 11 -- her 16th birthday -- perhaps as early as next week. In doing so, she will become the world's highest-paid female golfer.
According to sources involved in the negotiations who requested anonymity, Wie will sign endorsement deals with three companies (one believed to be Nike) worth an estimated $8 million. Adding in tournament appearance fees and other endorsements, the Hawaiian teen's compensation for her first year as a pro is expected to reach $10 million -- not counting what she wins on the course. She also will enlist the services of the William Morris Agency to secure further commercial endorsements and guide her pro career, shunning traditional golf-management companies and suggesting her long-term aspirations may involve transcending the game as much as dominating it.
The sources say Wie's first professional tournament will be the LPGA's Samsung World Championship, which begins two days after her birthday at Bighorn GC in Palm Desert, Calif., an important factor in the timing of her decision to turn pro. A source says she wants to declare as soon as possible, in order to minimize any distractions in her pro debut. "[The announcement] will happen before the end of the month," says one source familiar with the Wies' thinking. "To do it at the tournament would be a bit unsettling." (full article)
|
Amazing. She's turning pro before her 16th birthday. I'm sure it was a difficult decision by her parents. I would have a tough time, and probably lean towards making her wait to let her mature some more.
Michelle Wie will turn pro sometime between now and Oct. 11 -- her 16th birthday -- perhaps as early as next week. In doing so, she will become the world's highest-paid female golfer.
According to sources involved in the negotiations who requested anonymity, Wie will sign endorsement deals with three companies (one believed to be Nike) worth an estimated $8 million. Adding in tournament appearance fees and other endorsements, the Hawaiian teen's compensation for her first year as a pro is expected to reach $10 million -- not counting what she wins on the course. She also will enlist the services of the William Morris Agency to secure further commercial endorsements and guide her pro career, shunning traditional golf-management companies and suggesting her long-term aspirations may involve transcending the game as much as dominating it.
The sources say Wie's first professional tournament will be the LPGA's Samsung World Championship, which begins two days after her birthday at Bighorn GC in Palm Desert, Calif., an important factor in the timing of her decision to turn pro. A source says she wants to declare as soon as possible, in order to minimize any distractions in her pro debut. "[The announcement] will happen before the end of the month," says one source familiar with the Wies' thinking. "To do it at the tournament would be a bit unsettling." (full article)
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
"AOL'S NEXT MISTAKE"... THOUGHTS ON THE POTENTIAL MICROSOFT, AOL DEAL
The Motley Fool's Rick Aristotle Munarriz has a good article and thoughts on the possible deal between AOL and Microsoft. I like his last paragraphs:
Microsoft can compare its battle with Google to the way it fought against IBM (NYSE: IBM), but that's naive. That was when Microsoft was in its prime, tackling a dinosaur with broken bifocals. The Microsoft of today is a watchdog magnet. The Microsoft of today is lethargic, having grown sales this past fiscal year by a mere 8%. Beyond its core software competencies, the Microsoft of today is a follower that chases Sony (NYSE: SNE) in the video game market and Apple Computer (Nasdaq: AAPL) in digital music. The one thing that Microsoft is not is the Microsoft of yesterday. It can't just don the gloves and dance around the ring anymore.
And so we come to Microsoft needing AOL -- only it would be doing so strictly for the real estate. AOL needs to be careful here. It still has time to make itself something more than just someone else's fixer-upper.
But I'm not certain if I agree with him. He's hoping for a lot in believing in the possibility that AOL can become more than a dying relic of past mistakes. Too many "whatifs" here since AOL's has made several strategic errors and hasn't taken the necessary steps to transition from a closed system to an open system and from a dial-up service to the broadband provider.
It will be interesting though if Microsoft does close a deal and wipes Google's AOL revenue off its books. Ballmer will be grinning for a week. Microsoft has the cash to do this deal just to hurt Google's revenue projections for the year. Maybe this is a reason why Google bulked up its cash reserves to counter attack Microsoft? How important is their AOL revenue? I assume it is important enough since AOL was approximately 12% of Google's revenues last year, which was $382 million. Some more from Munarriz's article:
You don't need corporate raider Carl Icahn whispering in your ear to know that Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) America Online division has been a hotbed of blunders in recent years. Just hang out by the logoff screen. Since its usage peaked in September of 2002 with a subscriber base of 26.7 million users, every quarter has seen the once high-flying service's membership slide. Right now, the warm bodies stand at 20.8 million, and the defections are likely to continue in the short term.
Why? Well, while AOL has tried to package value into its premium-priced subscriber plans, it has also done its best to unscrew the training wheels that drove many users to AOL in the first place. Getting rid of its proprietary newsgroup reader or ditching its fast-loading message-board platform in favor of a Web-enabled slowpoke will only further fuel the exodus.
AOL has dared its subscribers to leave to faster or cheaper access elsewhere. The taunts have been successful. As a result, AOL has been hard at work beefing up its AOL.com portal as a catchall destination for all of the wired world's nomads. Internet advertising continues to gain traction with sponsors, and AOL has been served well by broadcasting Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) paid-search results in exchange for a significant piece of the action. (full article)
|
The Motley Fool's Rick Aristotle Munarriz has a good article and thoughts on the possible deal between AOL and Microsoft. I like his last paragraphs:
Microsoft can compare its battle with Google to the way it fought against IBM (NYSE: IBM), but that's naive. That was when Microsoft was in its prime, tackling a dinosaur with broken bifocals. The Microsoft of today is a watchdog magnet. The Microsoft of today is lethargic, having grown sales this past fiscal year by a mere 8%. Beyond its core software competencies, the Microsoft of today is a follower that chases Sony (NYSE: SNE) in the video game market and Apple Computer (Nasdaq: AAPL) in digital music. The one thing that Microsoft is not is the Microsoft of yesterday. It can't just don the gloves and dance around the ring anymore.
And so we come to Microsoft needing AOL -- only it would be doing so strictly for the real estate. AOL needs to be careful here. It still has time to make itself something more than just someone else's fixer-upper.
But I'm not certain if I agree with him. He's hoping for a lot in believing in the possibility that AOL can become more than a dying relic of past mistakes. Too many "whatifs" here since AOL's has made several strategic errors and hasn't taken the necessary steps to transition from a closed system to an open system and from a dial-up service to the broadband provider.
It will be interesting though if Microsoft does close a deal and wipes Google's AOL revenue off its books. Ballmer will be grinning for a week. Microsoft has the cash to do this deal just to hurt Google's revenue projections for the year. Maybe this is a reason why Google bulked up its cash reserves to counter attack Microsoft? How important is their AOL revenue? I assume it is important enough since AOL was approximately 12% of Google's revenues last year, which was $382 million. Some more from Munarriz's article:
You don't need corporate raider Carl Icahn whispering in your ear to know that Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) America Online division has been a hotbed of blunders in recent years. Just hang out by the logoff screen. Since its usage peaked in September of 2002 with a subscriber base of 26.7 million users, every quarter has seen the once high-flying service's membership slide. Right now, the warm bodies stand at 20.8 million, and the defections are likely to continue in the short term.
Why? Well, while AOL has tried to package value into its premium-priced subscriber plans, it has also done its best to unscrew the training wheels that drove many users to AOL in the first place. Getting rid of its proprietary newsgroup reader or ditching its fast-loading message-board platform in favor of a Web-enabled slowpoke will only further fuel the exodus.
AOL has dared its subscribers to leave to faster or cheaper access elsewhere. The taunts have been successful. As a result, AOL has been hard at work beefing up its AOL.com portal as a catchall destination for all of the wired world's nomads. Internet advertising continues to gain traction with sponsors, and AOL has been served well by broadcasting Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) paid-search results in exchange for a significant piece of the action. (full article)
"FIGHTING TO GET IN ON THE NEXT LITTLE THING".... DEALS HEATING UP IN THE VALLEY
The NY Times has an entertaining article on the increased activity and competition in Silicon Valley. I guess it's a good time to be an entrepreneur that's interested in funding from venture capitalists.
Four months to six months. Only a year or two ago, that was how long start-up companies generally had to cajole, fret and act nonchalant while waiting for venture capitalists to part with money--if they proved willing to write a check at all.
Even during robust times, the period between a first pitch meeting with a venture capitalist and financing typically spans three months. So imagine the surprise of those behind a start-up called XenSource when they started shopping for cash this summer on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, Calif.--the venture capital equivalent of Wall Street--and had seven firm offers within three weeks.
XenSource, which has developed software that runs several operating systems simultaneously on a single computer chip, is 18 months old. It has yet to book a dime in revenues. But so different is the current venture climate when compared with just 18 months ago that the company was able to raise $17 million. "If we had gone up and down Sand Hill, we could have had 25 offers," said Nick Sturiale, a partner at Sevin Rosen Funds. "There was that much interest in the company."(full article)
|
The NY Times has an entertaining article on the increased activity and competition in Silicon Valley. I guess it's a good time to be an entrepreneur that's interested in funding from venture capitalists.
Four months to six months. Only a year or two ago, that was how long start-up companies generally had to cajole, fret and act nonchalant while waiting for venture capitalists to part with money--if they proved willing to write a check at all.
Even during robust times, the period between a first pitch meeting with a venture capitalist and financing typically spans three months. So imagine the surprise of those behind a start-up called XenSource when they started shopping for cash this summer on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, Calif.--the venture capital equivalent of Wall Street--and had seven firm offers within three weeks.
XenSource, which has developed software that runs several operating systems simultaneously on a single computer chip, is 18 months old. It has yet to book a dime in revenues. But so different is the current venture climate when compared with just 18 months ago that the company was able to raise $17 million. "If we had gone up and down Sand Hill, we could have had 25 offers," said Nick Sturiale, a partner at Sevin Rosen Funds. "There was that much interest in the company."(full article)
RANDOM NEWS QUICKLIST
"By 2050, an Urban Planet"
"Google to bid on AOL?"
"Baidu to appeal ruling on music downloads"
"Korean online newspaper enlists army of 'citizen reporters'"
"Simon Wiesenthal, Who Helped Hunt Nazis After War, Dies at 96"
"Storm kills 34 in south India, 50,000 homeless"
"Karzai Wants End to U.S.-Led Operations"
"N. Korea Sets Condition on Nuclear Pact"
|
"By 2050, an Urban Planet"
"Google to bid on AOL?"
"Baidu to appeal ruling on music downloads"
"Korean online newspaper enlists army of 'citizen reporters'"
"Simon Wiesenthal, Who Helped Hunt Nazis After War, Dies at 96"
"Storm kills 34 in south India, 50,000 homeless"
"Karzai Wants End to U.S.-Led Operations"
"N. Korea Sets Condition on Nuclear Pact"
Monday, September 19, 2005
SAVEMYASS.COM... THIS IS DA BOMB
Of course, not meant for me, but this service simply kicks ass. What a great idea! Al Lieb (co-founder of Evite) and James Hong (co-founder of Hot or Not?) are the founders.
This would have been perfect for me years ago during my "too busy and dumb" boyfriend days. Now since I'm married and trained by Christine, this service has entered my life a little too late. But for you single guys needing brownie points with your girlfriends definitely check out this service. Hilarious.
SaveMyAss is a personal assistant that keeps your girlfriend or wife happy by sending her flowers on your behalf, on a regular but semi-random basis.
Why do I need this?
If you're a successful professional whose career demands the bulk of your time, you know the problem. You want her to be happy, but you're busy and it's hard to be on top of flowers when you have deals closing or decks to finish. Sign up for this service once, and we'll take care of the rest. She'll be happy, you'll be happy.
How does it work?
You provide us with your billing info and her delivery address. We'll periodically send her flowers every 4-6 weeks. We'll notify you before each order, and you can edit them in advance, if you'd like. We'll schedule flowers for all the obligatory dates she expects (Valentine's, Anniversaries, etc.) and we'll score you points by making deliveries she doesn't expect.
.....
Is this for real? Do people actually use this?
Yes, it's for real. Many of our customers work at Goldman, MS, JPM, CSFB, McKinsey, BCG, and other top banking/consulting shops.. as well as doctors, lawyers, and successful entrepreneurs (including a few billionaires). In all cases, our customers are people who care for or love their partners, but work in demanding careers that require the bulk of their time and energy.
|
Of course, not meant for me, but this service simply kicks ass. What a great idea! Al Lieb (co-founder of Evite) and James Hong (co-founder of Hot or Not?) are the founders.
This would have been perfect for me years ago during my "too busy and dumb" boyfriend days. Now since I'm married and trained by Christine, this service has entered my life a little too late. But for you single guys needing brownie points with your girlfriends definitely check out this service. Hilarious.
SaveMyAss is a personal assistant that keeps your girlfriend or wife happy by sending her flowers on your behalf, on a regular but semi-random basis.
Why do I need this?
If you're a successful professional whose career demands the bulk of your time, you know the problem. You want her to be happy, but you're busy and it's hard to be on top of flowers when you have deals closing or decks to finish. Sign up for this service once, and we'll take care of the rest. She'll be happy, you'll be happy.
How does it work?
You provide us with your billing info and her delivery address. We'll periodically send her flowers every 4-6 weeks. We'll notify you before each order, and you can edit them in advance, if you'd like. We'll schedule flowers for all the obligatory dates she expects (Valentine's, Anniversaries, etc.) and we'll score you points by making deliveries she doesn't expect.
.....
Is this for real? Do people actually use this?
Yes, it's for real. Many of our customers work at Goldman, MS, JPM, CSFB, McKinsey, BCG, and other top banking/consulting shops.. as well as doctors, lawyers, and successful entrepreneurs (including a few billionaires). In all cases, our customers are people who care for or love their partners, but work in demanding careers that require the bulk of their time and energy.
BLAIR PULLS THE PLUG ON THE KYOTO TREATY... NEWS OUT OF THE CLINTON GLOBAL INITIATIVE
Last week President Clinton's big post-presidency event came and went in New York City. While I still don't like the man, he continues to impress me with his energy and vision to impact the world after his presidency and build upon his strong social capital to create an event and effort that can be characterized as a "clubbier World Economic Forum."
The one of the big new items that MSM has failed to capture again is Tony Blair's final move to pull the plug on the Kyoto Treaty. I can only imagine the uproar in environmental NGOs throughout the globe, but the reality is that such a treaty cannot continued to be supported by the U.K., U.S., and other developed nations.
Tech Central Station's James Pinkerton has a great piece on this:
Kyoto Treaty RIP. That's not the headline in any newspaper this morning emerging from the first day of the Clinton Global Initiative, but it could have been -- and should have been.
Onstage with former president Bill Clinton at a midtown Manhattan hotel ballroom, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said he was going to speak with "brutal honesty" about Kyoto and global warming, and he did. And Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had some blunt talk, too.
Blair, a longtime supporter of the Kyoto treaty, further prefaced his remarks by noting, "My thinking has changed in the past three or four years." So what does he think now? "No country," he declared, "is going to cut its growth." That is, no country is going to allow the Kyoto treaty, or any other such global-warming treaty, to crimp -- some say cripple -- its economy.
Looking ahead to future climate-change negotiations, Blair said of such fast-growing countries as India and China, "They're not going to start negotiating another treaty like Kyoto." India and China, of course, weren't covered by Kyoto in the first place, which was one of the fatal flaws in the treaty. But now Blair is acknowledging the obvious: that after the current Kyoto treaty -- which the US never acceded to -- expires in 2012, there's not going to be another worldwide deal like it.
So what will happen instead? Blair answered: "What countries will do is work together to develop the science and technology….There is no way that we are going to tackle this problem unless we develop the science and technology to do it." Bingo! That's what eco-realists have been saying all along, of course -- that the only feasible way to deal with the issue of greenhouse gases and global warming is through technological breakthroughs, not draconian cutbacks.
.....
And there was some potentially significant news from Condi Rice, who was also onstage all this time, sitting with Clinton and Blair in an Oprah-like format. Speaking of world energy policy for the future, Rice said, "Nuclear power is going to have to be part of the mix." Imagine that -- nuclear power! That's been the Bush administration view all along, of course, but the W. folks haven't gotten very far in resuscitating the industry. Yet if Blair is starting to show realism on Kyoto, he and other leaders around the world will see that nukes have to be part of the energy solution.
Indeed, Rice added, "France generates something like 80 percent of its electricity from nuclear power." That's probably the first time in ages that a Bush administration official has had anything positive to say about France. Rice acknowledged "proliferation risks" from nuclear power, but made it a clear that something had to be done. "In the fast-developing world," she concluded, "we have to find a way to leverage all power [sources]."
For his part, Clinton was his usual self, declaring to Rice, "In general, I agree with you about that" -- without ever saying what he was agreeing with. And the 42nd President gave no reaction to Blair's provocative Kyoto revisionism.
In fact, nobody seems to have reacted to what Blair said. But that's OK. TCS readers have this significant scoop. And as for the rest of the world, it will soon understand that Blair has effectively pulled the plug on Kyoto. (full article)
|
Last week President Clinton's big post-presidency event came and went in New York City. While I still don't like the man, he continues to impress me with his energy and vision to impact the world after his presidency and build upon his strong social capital to create an event and effort that can be characterized as a "clubbier World Economic Forum."
The one of the big new items that MSM has failed to capture again is Tony Blair's final move to pull the plug on the Kyoto Treaty. I can only imagine the uproar in environmental NGOs throughout the globe, but the reality is that such a treaty cannot continued to be supported by the U.K., U.S., and other developed nations.
Tech Central Station's James Pinkerton has a great piece on this:
Kyoto Treaty RIP. That's not the headline in any newspaper this morning emerging from the first day of the Clinton Global Initiative, but it could have been -- and should have been.
Onstage with former president Bill Clinton at a midtown Manhattan hotel ballroom, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said he was going to speak with "brutal honesty" about Kyoto and global warming, and he did. And Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had some blunt talk, too.
Blair, a longtime supporter of the Kyoto treaty, further prefaced his remarks by noting, "My thinking has changed in the past three or four years." So what does he think now? "No country," he declared, "is going to cut its growth." That is, no country is going to allow the Kyoto treaty, or any other such global-warming treaty, to crimp -- some say cripple -- its economy.
Looking ahead to future climate-change negotiations, Blair said of such fast-growing countries as India and China, "They're not going to start negotiating another treaty like Kyoto." India and China, of course, weren't covered by Kyoto in the first place, which was one of the fatal flaws in the treaty. But now Blair is acknowledging the obvious: that after the current Kyoto treaty -- which the US never acceded to -- expires in 2012, there's not going to be another worldwide deal like it.
So what will happen instead? Blair answered: "What countries will do is work together to develop the science and technology….There is no way that we are going to tackle this problem unless we develop the science and technology to do it." Bingo! That's what eco-realists have been saying all along, of course -- that the only feasible way to deal with the issue of greenhouse gases and global warming is through technological breakthroughs, not draconian cutbacks.
.....
And there was some potentially significant news from Condi Rice, who was also onstage all this time, sitting with Clinton and Blair in an Oprah-like format. Speaking of world energy policy for the future, Rice said, "Nuclear power is going to have to be part of the mix." Imagine that -- nuclear power! That's been the Bush administration view all along, of course, but the W. folks haven't gotten very far in resuscitating the industry. Yet if Blair is starting to show realism on Kyoto, he and other leaders around the world will see that nukes have to be part of the energy solution.
Indeed, Rice added, "France generates something like 80 percent of its electricity from nuclear power." That's probably the first time in ages that a Bush administration official has had anything positive to say about France. Rice acknowledged "proliferation risks" from nuclear power, but made it a clear that something had to be done. "In the fast-developing world," she concluded, "we have to find a way to leverage all power [sources]."
For his part, Clinton was his usual self, declaring to Rice, "In general, I agree with you about that" -- without ever saying what he was agreeing with. And the 42nd President gave no reaction to Blair's provocative Kyoto revisionism.
In fact, nobody seems to have reacted to what Blair said. But that's OK. TCS readers have this significant scoop. And as for the rest of the world, it will soon understand that Blair has effectively pulled the plug on Kyoto. (full article)
CELLPHONES AND SEX... OF COURSE
HatTip to Moonsuk. Everyone knows porn was a driver of technology and adoption for the VCR and DVDs. It was just a matter of time before the wireless carriers gave into the potential revenue streams of porn-related content services. The NY Times has a piece on this:
The cellphone, which already plays music, sends and receives e-mail and takes pictures, is adding a steamier offering: pornography.
With the advent of advanced cellular networks that deliver full-motion video from the Internet - and the latest wave of phones featuring larger screens with bright color - the pornography industry is eyeing the cellphone, like the videocassette recorder before it, as a lucrative new vehicle for distribution.
In recent months, that prospect has produced a cadre of entrepreneurs in the United States hoping to follow the lead of counterparts in Europe, where consumers already spend tens of millions of dollars a year on phone-based pornography.
The major American cellular carriers have so far been adamant in their refusal to sell pornography from the same content menus on which they sell ring tones and video games. But there are signs that they may soften their stance. (full article)
|
HatTip to Moonsuk. Everyone knows porn was a driver of technology and adoption for the VCR and DVDs. It was just a matter of time before the wireless carriers gave into the potential revenue streams of porn-related content services. The NY Times has a piece on this:
The cellphone, which already plays music, sends and receives e-mail and takes pictures, is adding a steamier offering: pornography.
With the advent of advanced cellular networks that deliver full-motion video from the Internet - and the latest wave of phones featuring larger screens with bright color - the pornography industry is eyeing the cellphone, like the videocassette recorder before it, as a lucrative new vehicle for distribution.
In recent months, that prospect has produced a cadre of entrepreneurs in the United States hoping to follow the lead of counterparts in Europe, where consumers already spend tens of millions of dollars a year on phone-based pornography.
The major American cellular carriers have so far been adamant in their refusal to sell pornography from the same content menus on which they sell ring tones and video games. But there are signs that they may soften their stance. (full article)
AFGHANIS HOLD ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL ELECTION... NEWS YOU DON'T HEAR FROM CNN
Captain's Quarters has a great post and link to news on Afghanistan's recent elections. Who really believes our invasions into the Middle East were failed attempts to spur democracy? The seeds have been planted. Very cool.
Captain Ed's words are precise, insightful, and resounding at the end of his post.
The Afghanis have conducted yet another successful election, with millions of its citizens casting votes despite the threats of violence from former Taliban remnants. In fact, security held up well for the voting, with only a few isolated incidents of violence:
"Afghans embraced democracy by the millions yesterday, with voters undaunted by weeks of violence and threats of terrorist attacks to cast ballots for the first elected parliament in decades.
The vote went smoothly, with only a handful of incidents involving gunfire or militant attacks at the 6,200 polling stations. "We are going to vote for the people who will do something for the country, not just for us," said Yosof Khan, dressed in the traditional loose-fitting garb and turban donned by members of his nomadic Kuchi tribe for centuries. Mr. Khan gestured to a throng of bearded men who nodded in agreement outside tents pitched amid desolate mountain peaks east of Kabul.
With more than 12 million voters registered, election officials said 80 percent to 85 percent cast ballots -- an unheard-of turnout in Western democracies."
.....
Can anyone doubt that democracy has taken root in Afghanistan, and that its appeal truly crosses all cultural and economic lines? People willingly face death for the right to control their own nation and the leaders who have power over them. Only hope accounts for the massive march to polling stations in the face of fear, and only an honest democracy brings that hope. Contrast this with the wan response to the rigged Egyptian election, which only attracted less than 20% of eligible voters despite a lack of any threats of violence. People know the difference.
Perhaps, as Vladimir Putin told Chris Wallace yesterday and a number of pundits have claimed since 9/11, democracy cannot be imposed at gunpoint. However, freedom can be established under force of arms, and tyrants toppled by determined armies of liberty. Democracy arises when the liberated hope for a better future and use that hope to jealously guard their right to self-determination. George Bush gave the Afghanis that opportunity, and they took it for themselves. (full post)
|
Captain's Quarters has a great post and link to news on Afghanistan's recent elections. Who really believes our invasions into the Middle East were failed attempts to spur democracy? The seeds have been planted. Very cool.
Captain Ed's words are precise, insightful, and resounding at the end of his post.
The Afghanis have conducted yet another successful election, with millions of its citizens casting votes despite the threats of violence from former Taliban remnants. In fact, security held up well for the voting, with only a few isolated incidents of violence:
"Afghans embraced democracy by the millions yesterday, with voters undaunted by weeks of violence and threats of terrorist attacks to cast ballots for the first elected parliament in decades.
The vote went smoothly, with only a handful of incidents involving gunfire or militant attacks at the 6,200 polling stations. "We are going to vote for the people who will do something for the country, not just for us," said Yosof Khan, dressed in the traditional loose-fitting garb and turban donned by members of his nomadic Kuchi tribe for centuries. Mr. Khan gestured to a throng of bearded men who nodded in agreement outside tents pitched amid desolate mountain peaks east of Kabul.
With more than 12 million voters registered, election officials said 80 percent to 85 percent cast ballots -- an unheard-of turnout in Western democracies."
.....
Can anyone doubt that democracy has taken root in Afghanistan, and that its appeal truly crosses all cultural and economic lines? People willingly face death for the right to control their own nation and the leaders who have power over them. Only hope accounts for the massive march to polling stations in the face of fear, and only an honest democracy brings that hope. Contrast this with the wan response to the rigged Egyptian election, which only attracted less than 20% of eligible voters despite a lack of any threats of violence. People know the difference.
Perhaps, as Vladimir Putin told Chris Wallace yesterday and a number of pundits have claimed since 9/11, democracy cannot be imposed at gunpoint. However, freedom can be established under force of arms, and tyrants toppled by determined armies of liberty. Democracy arises when the liberated hope for a better future and use that hope to jealously guard their right to self-determination. George Bush gave the Afghanis that opportunity, and they took it for themselves. (full post)
PORKBUSTERS BY N.Z. BEAR AND INSTAPUNDIT... HOW RALLY KATRINA RELIEF
Great idea by N.Z. Bear and Instapundit. Check it out and help out if you can:
How are we going to mobilize the blogosphere in support of cuts in wasteful spending to support Katrina relief? Here's the plan.
Identify some wasteful spending in your state or (even better) Congressional District. Put up a blog post on it. Go to N.Z. Bear's new PorkBusters page and list the pork, and add a link to your post.
Then call your Senators and Representative and ask them if they're willing to support having that program cut or -- failing that -- what else they're willing to cut in order to fund Katrina relief. (Be polite, identify yourself as a local blogger and let them know you're going to post the response on your blog). Post the results. Then go back to NZ Bear's page and post a link to your followup blog post.
The result should be a pretty good resource of dubious spending, and Congressional comments thereon, for review by blogs, members of the media, etc. And maybe even members of Congress looking for wasteful spending . . . . (full post)
CUT THE FAT!
|
Great idea by N.Z. Bear and Instapundit. Check it out and help out if you can:
How are we going to mobilize the blogosphere in support of cuts in wasteful spending to support Katrina relief? Here's the plan.
Identify some wasteful spending in your state or (even better) Congressional District. Put up a blog post on it. Go to N.Z. Bear's new PorkBusters page and list the pork, and add a link to your post.
Then call your Senators and Representative and ask them if they're willing to support having that program cut or -- failing that -- what else they're willing to cut in order to fund Katrina relief. (Be polite, identify yourself as a local blogger and let them know you're going to post the response on your blog). Post the results. Then go back to NZ Bear's page and post a link to your followup blog post.
The result should be a pretty good resource of dubious spending, and Congressional comments thereon, for review by blogs, members of the media, etc. And maybe even members of Congress looking for wasteful spending . . . . (full post)
CUT THE FAT!
CLINTON LAUNCHES ATTACK ON BUSH... UNOFFICIAL LAUNCH OF HILLARY'S CAMPAIGN
Bill is like the German barbarian in Gladiator shouting his battlecry at Maximus in the opening scene of the movie. Bill is shouting the first real battlecry of Hillary's run against Bush and the Republican Party now. Of course, Maximus's reaction in the scene was, "A people should know when they are conquered."
Former US president Bill Clinton sharply criticised George W. Bush for the
Iraq War and the handling of Hurricane Katrina, and voiced alarm at the swelling US budget deficit.
Breaking with tradition under which US presidents mute criticisms of their successors, Clinton said the Bush administration had decided to invade Iraq "virtually alone and before UN inspections were completed, with no real urgency, no evidence that there were weapons of mass destruction."
The Iraq war diverted US attention from the war on terrorism "and undermined the support that we might have had," Bush said in an interview with an ABC's "This Week" programme.
Clinton said there had been a "heroic but so far unsuccessful" effort to put together an constitution that would be universally supported in Iraq. (full article)
|
Bill is like the German barbarian in Gladiator shouting his battlecry at Maximus in the opening scene of the movie. Bill is shouting the first real battlecry of Hillary's run against Bush and the Republican Party now. Of course, Maximus's reaction in the scene was, "A people should know when they are conquered."
Former US president Bill Clinton sharply criticised George W. Bush for the
Iraq War and the handling of Hurricane Katrina, and voiced alarm at the swelling US budget deficit.
Breaking with tradition under which US presidents mute criticisms of their successors, Clinton said the Bush administration had decided to invade Iraq "virtually alone and before UN inspections were completed, with no real urgency, no evidence that there were weapons of mass destruction."
The Iraq war diverted US attention from the war on terrorism "and undermined the support that we might have had," Bush said in an interview with an ABC's "This Week" programme.
Clinton said there had been a "heroic but so far unsuccessful" effort to put together an constitution that would be universally supported in Iraq. (full article)
Friday, September 16, 2005
MORE ON SKYPE... BEHIND THE SCENES TO THEIR FUNDING AND SUCCESS
Tim Draper has a midas touch. Read this interview at AO about how he funded Skype:
Draper: I came out to see Niklas because he created Kazaa. When I met him, we had a wonderful conversation. We talked about a variety of things, and then he said, 'Well, I'm thinking of starting this new business.' And the business he described was fascinating, but it had nothing to do with what we've done here at Skype. I was so impressed by Niklas that I just said, 'OK, I'll fund you, whatever it is. You go do it.'
I heard that Draper rejected Niklas's first idea and wanted to do his second, which was Skype.
PE Week Wire's Daniel Primack has some of the background information of Skype's funding rounds:
Have you heard that eBay is buying Skype for up to $4.1 billion? OK, that's just a little joke, since there already have been over 350 print articles on the deal and at least one thousand Internet mentions (it also was our top news item yesterday). The vast majority of these articles are of the "The bubble is coming, the bubble is coming" variety, with folks unable to reconcile a commerce/payment company like eBay paying so much for a communications company like Skype. My opinion on the matter is that I don't have an opinion, since my primary interaction with eBay involves searching for last-minute Patriots tickets. So rather than laud the deal for shock value or slam the deal to be popular, let me talk a bit about the original VC investment that will produce a multiple in excess of 100x.
Luxembourg-based Skype was seeded in 2002 by Draper Investment Co. (Bill Draper's firm), but got its major VC infusion -- $18.8 million -- in early 2004 from Draper Fisher Jurvetson (Tim Draper's firm, via its ePlanet arm), Bessemer Venture Partners, Index Ventures and Mangrove Capital Partners. It likely will go down as the most lucrative deal done by any of those firms (including DFJ's Baidu.com play), so I spent some time yesterday asking Rob Stavis of Bessemer why he pushed for the original investment. His answer is stunning in its simplicity.
According to Stavis, Bessemer was already looking around the VoIP space when it first met with Skype in the summer of 2003. The firm was impressed with the founding team's P2P pedigree (they previously co-founded Kazaa), and thought that the business model made sense from a scaling perspective. What really seems to have sold them, however, was the ease and reliability of Skype's software, which they initially tried out in beta. Specifically, this was one of those rare pieces of software that Stavis and a far-flung colleague could download at the same time and be using five minutes later. No firewall issues, no "this doesn't work on my PC" problems. It may sound basic, but think about all the times you and a colleague have tried to download a piece of software (particularly communications software), only to find out that it works far better on his computer better than on yours.
"Regardless of the firewall, it would traverse the network and find the connection," Stavis explains. "And then it worked 100 times better than anything else we had seen."
I'm not saying that VCs should always invest in something just because it works (and there obviously were other factors in the Skype decision), but it is worth remembering that a product is only as good as is the customer experience with that product. Bessemer understood that, which is why its limited partners are about to be much richer.
UPDATE: Matt Marshall has more on the Skype story, "Skype hunt: How VCs struck gold in Europe"
UPDATE II: BusinessWeek has an article on the Skype deal, "Skype's "Aha!" Experience"
[tags: skype, ebay, tech, voip]
|
Tim Draper has a midas touch. Read this interview at AO about how he funded Skype:
Draper: I came out to see Niklas because he created Kazaa. When I met him, we had a wonderful conversation. We talked about a variety of things, and then he said, 'Well, I'm thinking of starting this new business.' And the business he described was fascinating, but it had nothing to do with what we've done here at Skype. I was so impressed by Niklas that I just said, 'OK, I'll fund you, whatever it is. You go do it.'
I heard that Draper rejected Niklas's first idea and wanted to do his second, which was Skype.
PE Week Wire's Daniel Primack has some of the background information of Skype's funding rounds:
Have you heard that eBay is buying Skype for up to $4.1 billion? OK, that's just a little joke, since there already have been over 350 print articles on the deal and at least one thousand Internet mentions (it also was our top news item yesterday). The vast majority of these articles are of the "The bubble is coming, the bubble is coming" variety, with folks unable to reconcile a commerce/payment company like eBay paying so much for a communications company like Skype. My opinion on the matter is that I don't have an opinion, since my primary interaction with eBay involves searching for last-minute Patriots tickets. So rather than laud the deal for shock value or slam the deal to be popular, let me talk a bit about the original VC investment that will produce a multiple in excess of 100x.
Luxembourg-based Skype was seeded in 2002 by Draper Investment Co. (Bill Draper's firm), but got its major VC infusion -- $18.8 million -- in early 2004 from Draper Fisher Jurvetson (Tim Draper's firm, via its ePlanet arm), Bessemer Venture Partners, Index Ventures and Mangrove Capital Partners. It likely will go down as the most lucrative deal done by any of those firms (including DFJ's Baidu.com play), so I spent some time yesterday asking Rob Stavis of Bessemer why he pushed for the original investment. His answer is stunning in its simplicity.
According to Stavis, Bessemer was already looking around the VoIP space when it first met with Skype in the summer of 2003. The firm was impressed with the founding team's P2P pedigree (they previously co-founded Kazaa), and thought that the business model made sense from a scaling perspective. What really seems to have sold them, however, was the ease and reliability of Skype's software, which they initially tried out in beta. Specifically, this was one of those rare pieces of software that Stavis and a far-flung colleague could download at the same time and be using five minutes later. No firewall issues, no "this doesn't work on my PC" problems. It may sound basic, but think about all the times you and a colleague have tried to download a piece of software (particularly communications software), only to find out that it works far better on his computer better than on yours.
"Regardless of the firewall, it would traverse the network and find the connection," Stavis explains. "And then it worked 100 times better than anything else we had seen."
I'm not saying that VCs should always invest in something just because it works (and there obviously were other factors in the Skype decision), but it is worth remembering that a product is only as good as is the customer experience with that product. Bessemer understood that, which is why its limited partners are about to be much richer.
UPDATE: Matt Marshall has more on the Skype story, "Skype hunt: How VCs struck gold in Europe"
UPDATE II: BusinessWeek has an article on the Skype deal, "Skype's "Aha!" Experience"
[tags: skype, ebay, tech, voip]
REVIEW OF BUSH'S SPEECH LAST TONIGHT
Here a few reviews of Bush's speech last night...
Hugh Hewitt:
Perfect pitch returned tonight, and the president's looks backward and forward were on target. As Chris Matthews observed, it sounded a little LBJ/FDR-like in its vows about the underclass of the recovery region, but that is exactly why it worked so well: That is what needs to happen, and he identified the best approaches in the empowerment of entrepeneurs and the retraining of the evacuees. The enterprise zone could prove a turbo charged motor to the effort, and the promise of innovation was well delivered. (full post)
Matt Welch:
A good speech, I thought, and I say that through clenched teeth. I certainly would have liked it a whole lot better if he would have said something like, "You know that Transporktation Bill, and everything like it? I'm going to time-travel back and veto (v-e-t-o, I think) that sumbitch, so that we spend tax money on stuff that actually matters, and maybe not spend so much tax money, period. Also, that whole biggest-new-bureaucracy-in-three-decades thing, maybe that wasn't such a good idea." Short of that, we're reduced to finding comfort in a president demonstrating that he cares, and that he actually claims to take responsibility for a mistake. (full post)
Lorie Byrd:
Other than that, I thought the speech was one of Bush’s best. I even applaud his choice of clothing. Pitch perfect. I am not completely on board with all the spending or the increased role of the federal government and military in disaster response, but other than that, I loved the speech.
UPDATE II: A few more thoughts on the speech… I loved the religious references because they were beautiful and appropriate considering the wonderful work that has been done by faith-based organizations, but also because I could imagine all those on the Left seething with anger that the President would mix church and state. I was also very encouraged by the free market solutions the President recommended, as Black Con pointed to above, such as private home ownership incentives, tax breaks for businesses, etc. (full post)
|
Here a few reviews of Bush's speech last night...
Hugh Hewitt:
Perfect pitch returned tonight, and the president's looks backward and forward were on target. As Chris Matthews observed, it sounded a little LBJ/FDR-like in its vows about the underclass of the recovery region, but that is exactly why it worked so well: That is what needs to happen, and he identified the best approaches in the empowerment of entrepeneurs and the retraining of the evacuees. The enterprise zone could prove a turbo charged motor to the effort, and the promise of innovation was well delivered. (full post)
Matt Welch:
A good speech, I thought, and I say that through clenched teeth. I certainly would have liked it a whole lot better if he would have said something like, "You know that Transporktation Bill, and everything like it? I'm going to time-travel back and veto (v-e-t-o, I think) that sumbitch, so that we spend tax money on stuff that actually matters, and maybe not spend so much tax money, period. Also, that whole biggest-new-bureaucracy-in-three-decades thing, maybe that wasn't such a good idea." Short of that, we're reduced to finding comfort in a president demonstrating that he cares, and that he actually claims to take responsibility for a mistake. (full post)
Lorie Byrd:
Other than that, I thought the speech was one of Bush’s best. I even applaud his choice of clothing. Pitch perfect. I am not completely on board with all the spending or the increased role of the federal government and military in disaster response, but other than that, I loved the speech.
UPDATE II: A few more thoughts on the speech… I loved the religious references because they were beautiful and appropriate considering the wonderful work that has been done by faith-based organizations, but also because I could imagine all those on the Left seething with anger that the President would mix church and state. I was also very encouraged by the free market solutions the President recommended, as Black Con pointed to above, such as private home ownership incentives, tax breaks for businesses, etc. (full post)
"LEARNING FROM PRESIDENT ROH"
Th Korea Times's Mike Weisbart has a good op-ed on President Roh:
These past few weeks have confirmed two things about President Roh Moo-hyun that we already knew. First, his is a good man with a good heart, a man with only the best intentions for his country and people.
Second, he is hopelessly naïve.
.....
There are two lessons here.
One, Korean voters need to be choosier. They need a president who actually knows how to govern. This is no easy task, governing. Especially in a complex democratic society like Korea’s. It requires someone who is skilled in the art of organizing people and their competing interests around a specific agenda. It requires someone who has experience, who as already caught at least a whiff of the power wafting through government buildings. And, please pardon me for saying the obvious, it requires someone with a college education.
A quick scan of the landscape tells me that person is out there. Goh Kun, a former prime minister and mayor of Seoul is qualified. Same goes for Lee Myung-bak, the current mayor of Seoul, whose pedigree includes a long stint in big business. By definition, the GNP’s Park Geun-hye should be excluded. At another time, the country can take a risk on unproven leadership. But not after getting burned for five years after its last choice.
The second lesson is that Roh is probably right about the need to change the electoral and government systems. The debate over which system is better, presidential versus parliamentary, is a long-running one with much history in Korea. The parliamentary system is obviously not perfect. But I wonder how much longer Koreans will continue to accept the degree of fragmentation evident in the present system, in which the president can be all by himself, with the cabinet, bureaucracy, and members of the National Assembly free to act as though no political parties exist. (full article)
|
Th Korea Times's Mike Weisbart has a good op-ed on President Roh:
These past few weeks have confirmed two things about President Roh Moo-hyun that we already knew. First, his is a good man with a good heart, a man with only the best intentions for his country and people.
Second, he is hopelessly naïve.
.....
There are two lessons here.
One, Korean voters need to be choosier. They need a president who actually knows how to govern. This is no easy task, governing. Especially in a complex democratic society like Korea’s. It requires someone who is skilled in the art of organizing people and their competing interests around a specific agenda. It requires someone who has experience, who as already caught at least a whiff of the power wafting through government buildings. And, please pardon me for saying the obvious, it requires someone with a college education.
A quick scan of the landscape tells me that person is out there. Goh Kun, a former prime minister and mayor of Seoul is qualified. Same goes for Lee Myung-bak, the current mayor of Seoul, whose pedigree includes a long stint in big business. By definition, the GNP’s Park Geun-hye should be excluded. At another time, the country can take a risk on unproven leadership. But not after getting burned for five years after its last choice.
The second lesson is that Roh is probably right about the need to change the electoral and government systems. The debate over which system is better, presidential versus parliamentary, is a long-running one with much history in Korea. The parliamentary system is obviously not perfect. But I wonder how much longer Koreans will continue to accept the degree of fragmentation evident in the present system, in which the president can be all by himself, with the cabinet, bureaucracy, and members of the National Assembly free to act as though no political parties exist. (full article)
Thursday, September 15, 2005
RANDOM NEWS QUICKLIST
"Baidu dives as IPO bankers say stock is overvalued"
"Yahoo debuts beta of Instant Search"
"Microsoft, AOL discuss online partnership"
"U.S. holds out threat to freeze N. Korean Assets"
"American and Continental fly above bankruptcy peril"
|
"Baidu dives as IPO bankers say stock is overvalued"
"Yahoo debuts beta of Instant Search"
"Microsoft, AOL discuss online partnership"
"U.S. holds out threat to freeze N. Korean Assets"
"American and Continental fly above bankruptcy peril"
"SEVEN FOUNDING SINS" OF ENTREPRENEURS
Genuine VC's David H. Beisel has a good post on what entrepreneurs should avoid as they build their companies:
-Inauthenticity
-Sloth Extravagance
-Taciturnity
-Greed
-Arrogance
-Indecisiveness
|
Genuine VC's David H. Beisel has a good post on what entrepreneurs should avoid as they build their companies:
-Inauthenticity
-Sloth Extravagance
-Taciturnity
-Greed
-Arrogance
-Indecisiveness
CONGRATULATIONS TO CAPTAIN ED... CAPTAIN'S QUARTERS NAMED TOP FIVE POLITICAL BLOGS BY PLAYBOY
If you're a conservative and don't read Captain's Quarters, you should check it out and consider it one of your must read blogs. Ed has his thoughts on this honor here. Also the other winners:
Low Culture (Funniest political blog)
Matthew Yglesias (Best liberal blog)
Buzzmachine (Most influential blog)
Hit and Run (Best libertarian blog)
|
If you're a conservative and don't read Captain's Quarters, you should check it out and consider it one of your must read blogs. Ed has his thoughts on this honor here. Also the other winners:
Low Culture (Funniest political blog)
Matthew Yglesias (Best liberal blog)
Buzzmachine (Most influential blog)
Hit and Run (Best libertarian blog)
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
|
JOI ITO REMINISCES ABOUT CHICAGO... MY FAVORITE CITY TOO
Though I wasn't part of the club scene in Chicago, Joi's post brings back memories of my hometown and favorite city in the world. I love Chicago.
I think about the beautiful architecture, da Bears, and da Cubs... Food, such as burgers and brats, pizza, steaks, The Chop House, ribs, and Buffalo Joe's... Hmmmm...
|
Though I wasn't part of the club scene in Chicago, Joi's post brings back memories of my hometown and favorite city in the world. I love Chicago.
I think about the beautiful architecture, da Bears, and da Cubs... Food, such as burgers and brats, pizza, steaks, The Chop House, ribs, and Buffalo Joe's... Hmmmm...
LIVE IN SAN FRANCISCO?... SHOP AT WHOLE FOODS ON SEPTEMBER 15TH!
Christine and I are involved with the Shih Yu-Lang YMCA. They have a fundraising event with the Whole Foods Market Franklin on 1765 California Street. This Thursday (tomorrow!) 5% of the day's sales will go to the Tenderloin Youth Development Program of the Shih Yu-Lang YMCA. So if you have to buy groceries this week, head over to this Whole Foods. Thanks!
The Tenderloin Youth Development Program serves over 300 of the city's most at-risk and underserved youth and focuses on leadership development, academic success, multiculturalism, and career development. All of the proceeds will be used to fund staff and to purchase materials and equipment for the program, as well as providing financial assistance to fund memberships to the YMCA. Make your purchase count!
|
Christine and I are involved with the Shih Yu-Lang YMCA. They have a fundraising event with the Whole Foods Market Franklin on 1765 California Street. This Thursday (tomorrow!) 5% of the day's sales will go to the Tenderloin Youth Development Program of the Shih Yu-Lang YMCA. So if you have to buy groceries this week, head over to this Whole Foods. Thanks!
The Tenderloin Youth Development Program serves over 300 of the city's most at-risk and underserved youth and focuses on leadership development, academic success, multiculturalism, and career development. All of the proceeds will be used to fund staff and to purchase materials and equipment for the program, as well as providing financial assistance to fund memberships to the YMCA. Make your purchase count!
GOOGLE BLOG SEARCH
I said it would happen and of course many people expected it. Now it's here. One of those moments that many early-stage companies hate to experience and that brings them back to their initial investor meetings:
"So... what if Google starts a similar service?"
"We're not worried because of our first mover advantage..."
Yeah, right. Getting Googlized sucks. Check it out here.
UPDATE: More from the San Francisco Chronicle, "New Google feature sorts through blogs. Test search engine likely to undercut smaller rival sites"
|
I said it would happen and of course many people expected it. Now it's here. One of those moments that many early-stage companies hate to experience and that brings them back to their initial investor meetings:
"So... what if Google starts a similar service?"
"We're not worried because of our first mover advantage..."
Yeah, right. Getting Googlized sucks. Check it out here.
UPDATE: More from the San Francisco Chronicle, "New Google feature sorts through blogs. Test search engine likely to undercut smaller rival sites"
JUICY FRUIT... HOW NOT TO DO A CORPORATE BLOG
HatTip to TechCrunch and BW's Blogspotting. Wow. I'm embarrassed as a Chicago boy for Wrigley's attempt at a corporate marketing blog. Either they just threw this project at some clueless ad agency who thought they were being hip or some 60-year old graphic designer at their company who has never visited a blog until a few weeks ago. Who are they trying to target? Definitely not the teen market who are savvy and hardened to such cheesy campaigns? Must be the Geico cavemen.
|
HatTip to TechCrunch and BW's Blogspotting. Wow. I'm embarrassed as a Chicago boy for Wrigley's attempt at a corporate marketing blog. Either they just threw this project at some clueless ad agency who thought they were being hip or some 60-year old graphic designer at their company who has never visited a blog until a few weeks ago. Who are they trying to target? Definitely not the teen market who are savvy and hardened to such cheesy campaigns? Must be the Geico cavemen.
NEW YAHOO EMAIL COMING... BETA LAUNCHED
Wondering if I should ask someone at Yahoo! to test it out? Nah, I'll just wait since I'm very comfortable with my gmail. The new Hotmail that's coming out next year interests me a bit more.
Yahoo was set to unveil on Wednesday a limited public beta of its new Yahoo Mail service, featuring a new interface more like that of a desktop e-mail application and faster response time.
As first reported in June, the new Yahoo Mail beta will feature e-mail caching; message preview; drag-and-drop filing; the capability of quickly searching e-mail headers, body text and attachments; and the ability to view multiple e-mails at the same time in separate windows and scroll through all message headers in a folder rather than one page at a time. (full article)
|
Wondering if I should ask someone at Yahoo! to test it out? Nah, I'll just wait since I'm very comfortable with my gmail. The new Hotmail that's coming out next year interests me a bit more.
Yahoo was set to unveil on Wednesday a limited public beta of its new Yahoo Mail service, featuring a new interface more like that of a desktop e-mail application and faster response time.
As first reported in June, the new Yahoo Mail beta will feature e-mail caching; message preview; drag-and-drop filing; the capability of quickly searching e-mail headers, body text and attachments; and the ability to view multiple e-mails at the same time in separate windows and scroll through all message headers in a folder rather than one page at a time. (full article)
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
GATES ON GOOGLE
Interesting interview by CNet.
Well, I guess that's what you have to combat, right? They are in this phase, and when Google does anything, they get attention.
Gates: Yeah. You do me-too Google Talk, and it's a big deal. But we had our honeymoon phase, and it was fun from maybe 1985 to 1995. And we've had lots of competitors in their honeymoon phase. But I'd say, in some ways, this is the biggest honeymoon I've ever seen.
Is that a long-term threat for Microsoft? People like Google come along and they have this Web development idea and they popularize that notion and people listen?
Gates: Developers are not building on some Google thing at this point. The idea that the computing industry can simplify its offerings dramatically by having this server-equals-service approach, and having richer services, absolutely I believe in that, and we need to be at the forefront of that. The idea that management can be more automatic and software updating can be more automatic, state-replication more automatic--there are some big things here that can drive the industry forward. They are very complex, because we have to make things very reliable and very secure if you are going to do this. It's just now that we have the maturity of XML and the Web Services protocols that we can start to do (this).
So Google is not offering development capabilities yet. Of course, I expect they will. But they're not in that game at all today. In fact, they have this slogan that they are going to organize the world's information. Our slogan is that we are going to give people tools to let them organize the world's information. It's a slightly different approach, based on the platform-ization of all of our capabilities and not thinking of ourselves as the organizer. (full interview)
|
Interesting interview by CNet.
Well, I guess that's what you have to combat, right? They are in this phase, and when Google does anything, they get attention.
Gates: Yeah. You do me-too Google Talk, and it's a big deal. But we had our honeymoon phase, and it was fun from maybe 1985 to 1995. And we've had lots of competitors in their honeymoon phase. But I'd say, in some ways, this is the biggest honeymoon I've ever seen.
Is that a long-term threat for Microsoft? People like Google come along and they have this Web development idea and they popularize that notion and people listen?
Gates: Developers are not building on some Google thing at this point. The idea that the computing industry can simplify its offerings dramatically by having this server-equals-service approach, and having richer services, absolutely I believe in that, and we need to be at the forefront of that. The idea that management can be more automatic and software updating can be more automatic, state-replication more automatic--there are some big things here that can drive the industry forward. They are very complex, because we have to make things very reliable and very secure if you are going to do this. It's just now that we have the maturity of XML and the Web Services protocols that we can start to do (this).
So Google is not offering development capabilities yet. Of course, I expect they will. But they're not in that game at all today. In fact, they have this slogan that they are going to organize the world's information. Our slogan is that we are going to give people tools to let them organize the world's information. It's a slightly different approach, based on the platform-ization of all of our capabilities and not thinking of ourselves as the organizer. (full interview)
BUSH TAKES RESPONSIBILITY FOR MISTAKES
A good step for our president...
President Bush for the first time took responsibility Tuesday for federal government mistakes in dealing with Hurricane Katrina and suggested the calamity raised broader questions about the government's ability to handle both natural disasters and terror attacks.
"Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government," Bush said at a joint White House news conference with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.
"And to the extent that the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility. I want to know what went right and what went wrong," said Bush.
Facing sharp criticism and the lowest approval ratings of his presidency, Bush scheduled a speech to the nation from Louisiana for Thursday evening. It will be his fourth trip to the devastated Gulf Coast since the storm struck two weeks ago.
It was the closest Bush has come to publicly faulting any federal officials involved in the hurricane response, which has been widely criticized as disjointed and slow. Some federal officials have sought to blame state and local officials for being unprepared to cope with the disaster. (full article)
|
A good step for our president...
President Bush for the first time took responsibility Tuesday for federal government mistakes in dealing with Hurricane Katrina and suggested the calamity raised broader questions about the government's ability to handle both natural disasters and terror attacks.
"Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government," Bush said at a joint White House news conference with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.
"And to the extent that the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility. I want to know what went right and what went wrong," said Bush.
Facing sharp criticism and the lowest approval ratings of his presidency, Bush scheduled a speech to the nation from Louisiana for Thursday evening. It will be his fourth trip to the devastated Gulf Coast since the storm struck two weeks ago.
It was the closest Bush has come to publicly faulting any federal officials involved in the hurricane response, which has been widely criticized as disjointed and slow. Some federal officials have sought to blame state and local officials for being unprepared to cope with the disaster. (full article)
Monday, September 12, 2005
KOIZUMI KICKS ASS... CAPTURES LANDSLIDE VICTORY IN JAPAN
A lot of people are kicking ass this week... Tim Draper & Co., Skype, Oracle, and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
In a dramatic night that shared more similarities with a mafia movie plot than a Japanese election, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Sunday slaughtered the opposition and liquidated internal party rivals. He now begins a new reign as the undisputed godfather of Japanese politics.
Koizumi's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)has capturing 296 seats, giving the party its best election result since 1986. Koizumi focused his campaign around the issue of postal privatization, a strategy that clearly struck a chord with the majority of the electorate.
The LDP sailed past the 269-seat mark needed for an absolute majority in the 480-seat Lower House, putting the party in a position to govern alone if it decides. (full article)
|
A lot of people are kicking ass this week... Tim Draper & Co., Skype, Oracle, and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
In a dramatic night that shared more similarities with a mafia movie plot than a Japanese election, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Sunday slaughtered the opposition and liquidated internal party rivals. He now begins a new reign as the undisputed godfather of Japanese politics.
Koizumi's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)has capturing 296 seats, giving the party its best election result since 1986. Koizumi focused his campaign around the issue of postal privatization, a strategy that clearly struck a chord with the majority of the electorate.
The LDP sailed past the 269-seat mark needed for an absolute majority in the 480-seat Lower House, putting the party in a position to govern alone if it decides. (full article)
ORACLE FINALLY BUYS SIEBEL... VALLEY HEATING UP
Oracle buys Siebel for $5.8 billion. Siebel comes back to the mothership. CNet has a good series of articles on this deal here.
|
Oracle buys Siebel for $5.8 billion. Siebel comes back to the mothership. CNet has a good series of articles on this deal here.
EBAY BUYS SKYPE FOR $2.6 BILLION... DFJ KICKING ASS
Wow. It's pricey and I'm not sure it's worth it, but eBay really wanted to spice up their offerings and holdings of new technologies, especially since their advance technology director bolted for Google a couple months ago. We'll see how this marriage turns out.
Draper Fisher Jurvetson is kicking ass this year being the lead investors in Baidu and Skype.
Congratulations to Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis! They definitely deserve this especially since they never realized the full fruits from KaZaA, which is still the world’s most downloaded Internet software with more than 370 millions downloads. I believe they got only $1 million when they exited since the RIAA was hot on their tails. If they were able to build it out as they wanted to, I'm sure it would have been a similar success as Skype. These guys just know how to create viral products. Amazing. Also here's my first post on Skype back in February 2004 when I first learned about them through Bill Gurley. An article that details this deal:
eBay has agreed to buy the fast-growing Internet start-up Skype in a move to add free Web telephone calls to its online auctions and fuel growth, the companies confirmed Monday.
The auctioneer said it plans to pay $1.3 billion in cash and $1.3 billion in stock for the Web communications company. It would make a further payout of up to $1.5 billion by 2008 or 2009 if financial targets are met, giving the deal a total value of up to $4.1 billion, executives of the two companies said.
eBay is renowned for an Internet business model linking millions of buyers and sellers, but its core U.S. market is maturing, slowing to annual growth of between 20 percent and 30 percent a year, compared with 50 percent international growth.
Skype, which said it expects revenue of $60 million this year and more than $200 million in 2006, has raced to the lead in the booming Net telephony market, which is being aggressively targeted by online powerhouses like Yahoo, Google and Microsoft. (full article)
UPDATE: TechCrunch has more on the analyst call by the eBay and Skype teams and a link to the powerpoint eBay used. Of course, Om has his post and some good comments by his readers here and a letter from Niklas and Janus.
|
Wow. It's pricey and I'm not sure it's worth it, but eBay really wanted to spice up their offerings and holdings of new technologies, especially since their advance technology director bolted for Google a couple months ago. We'll see how this marriage turns out.
Draper Fisher Jurvetson is kicking ass this year being the lead investors in Baidu and Skype.
Congratulations to Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis! They definitely deserve this especially since they never realized the full fruits from KaZaA, which is still the world’s most downloaded Internet software with more than 370 millions downloads. I believe they got only $1 million when they exited since the RIAA was hot on their tails. If they were able to build it out as they wanted to, I'm sure it would have been a similar success as Skype. These guys just know how to create viral products. Amazing. Also here's my first post on Skype back in February 2004 when I first learned about them through Bill Gurley. An article that details this deal:
eBay has agreed to buy the fast-growing Internet start-up Skype in a move to add free Web telephone calls to its online auctions and fuel growth, the companies confirmed Monday.
The auctioneer said it plans to pay $1.3 billion in cash and $1.3 billion in stock for the Web communications company. It would make a further payout of up to $1.5 billion by 2008 or 2009 if financial targets are met, giving the deal a total value of up to $4.1 billion, executives of the two companies said.
eBay is renowned for an Internet business model linking millions of buyers and sellers, but its core U.S. market is maturing, slowing to annual growth of between 20 percent and 30 percent a year, compared with 50 percent international growth.
Skype, which said it expects revenue of $60 million this year and more than $200 million in 2006, has raced to the lead in the booming Net telephony market, which is being aggressively targeted by online powerhouses like Yahoo, Google and Microsoft. (full article)
UPDATE: TechCrunch has more on the analyst call by the eBay and Skype teams and a link to the powerpoint eBay used. Of course, Om has his post and some good comments by his readers here and a letter from Niklas and Janus.
Friday, September 09, 2005
"CERF'S UP AT GOOGLE"... TALENT GOES TO GOOGLE AGAIN
HatTip to Om. Here's the Google press release on this big news:
Vint Cerf, a Founding Father of the Internet, Joins Google as Chief Internet Evangelist
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – September 8, 2005 – Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) today announced that it hired Vinton (Vint) Cerf, the longtime technologist who is widely known as a "founding father" of the Internet, as Chief Internet Evangelist.
"Vint Cerf is clearly one of the great technology leaders of our time," said Google CEO Eric Schmidt of Cerf, who co-designed the TCP/IP protocols that were used to develop the Internet's underlying architecture. "His vision for technology helped create entire industries that have transformed many parts of our lives. We are honored to welcome him to Google."
Cerf will continue his leadership in the Internet community, and help Google build network infrastructure, architectures, systems, and standards for the next generation of Internet applications.
"Google has already made tremendous strides in making access to information on the web a reality for users across the globe, but we're still in the Internet's early innings," he said. "This medium will enjoy wider-spread use than television, radio or phones, and will ultimately expand beyond planet Earth. Google has always believed in doing things differently, and I believe that places us in a unique position to help bring even the wildest Internet visions into reality." (full press release)
UPDATE: More from CNet, "Why Google hired Vint Cerf"
|
HatTip to Om. Here's the Google press release on this big news:
Vint Cerf, a Founding Father of the Internet, Joins Google as Chief Internet Evangelist
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – September 8, 2005 – Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) today announced that it hired Vinton (Vint) Cerf, the longtime technologist who is widely known as a "founding father" of the Internet, as Chief Internet Evangelist.
"Vint Cerf is clearly one of the great technology leaders of our time," said Google CEO Eric Schmidt of Cerf, who co-designed the TCP/IP protocols that were used to develop the Internet's underlying architecture. "His vision for technology helped create entire industries that have transformed many parts of our lives. We are honored to welcome him to Google."
Cerf will continue his leadership in the Internet community, and help Google build network infrastructure, architectures, systems, and standards for the next generation of Internet applications.
"Google has already made tremendous strides in making access to information on the web a reality for users across the globe, but we're still in the Internet's early innings," he said. "This medium will enjoy wider-spread use than television, radio or phones, and will ultimately expand beyond planet Earth. Google has always believed in doing things differently, and I believe that places us in a unique position to help bring even the wildest Internet visions into reality." (full press release)
UPDATE: More from CNet, "Why Google hired Vint Cerf"
FEMA DIRECTOR MICHAEL BROWN RELIEVED OF ONSITE COMMAND
I don't know how much responsibility can be placed on Michael Brown. Most of the initial information indicates it was the local governments' incompetence, but the questions to the slow response remain.
Also please remember to donate if you haven't yet or donate more!
|
I don't know how much responsibility can be placed on Michael Brown. Most of the initial information indicates it was the local governments' incompetence, but the questions to the slow response remain.
Also please remember to donate if you haven't yet or donate more!
INTRODUCING THE ONHOLLYWOOD 100 COMPETITION
Check it out...
AlwaysOn is kicking off its OnHollywood 100 Top Private Company Innovators competition, and we need your help.
.....
To assist us in this competition, please e-mail me ryan@alwayson-network.com or post below the names of up to three of the best-performing private companies you do business with in these sectors. Also, if you are feeling really generous, send us the names of three other companies that you have no investment or business interest in that you think should also make the list. Below is a list of the companies that have been nominated so far; primarily from the VC community that invests in these sectors.
|
Check it out...
AlwaysOn is kicking off its OnHollywood 100 Top Private Company Innovators competition, and we need your help.
.....
To assist us in this competition, please e-mail me ryan@alwayson-network.com or post below the names of up to three of the best-performing private companies you do business with in these sectors. Also, if you are feeling really generous, send us the names of three other companies that you have no investment or business interest in that you think should also make the list. Below is a list of the companies that have been nominated so far; primarily from the VC community that invests in these sectors.
SPEAKING OF PRIVATE EQUITY IN ASIA... J.P. MORGAN PARTNERS ASIA CLOSES A $1.58 BILLION FUND
HatTip to Lenny. I received an email on this article from my younger bro, which was nice timing since I wrote an op-ed (prior post below) related to the article this past week.
Trying to get ahead of the private-equity crowd now racing into Asia, J.P. Morgan Partners Asia completed a $1.58 billion fund raising -- its second -- for the region.
"When we first entered Asia, nobody was raising money to invest in buyouts in Asia," says Arnold Chavkin, the chief investment officer of the fund. "The fact that there are so many new entrants shows that private equity in Asia is becoming a viable agent for change."
There are signs in some markets of an increasing receptivity to foreign capital. Firms that customarily have shunned Japan, such as Newbridge Capital, an affiliate of Texas Pacific Group and Blum Capital Partners LP (also in the midst of a large fund raising), and J.P. Morgan Partners LLC, the global private-equity arm of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., expect more deal flow from the world's second-largest economy. And in China, several deals that have been on-again, off-again for months if not years -- such as the Carlyle Group's acquisition of a large stake in China Pacific Life Insurance Co. -- finally appear close to completion. (See related article.)
Moreover, many of the family-owned firms of Asia, faced with generational change and the need to introduce more professional management, are more open to approaches from the buyout firms, Mr. Chavkin says. (full article)
|
HatTip to Lenny. I received an email on this article from my younger bro, which was nice timing since I wrote an op-ed (prior post below) related to the article this past week.
Trying to get ahead of the private-equity crowd now racing into Asia, J.P. Morgan Partners Asia completed a $1.58 billion fund raising -- its second -- for the region.
"When we first entered Asia, nobody was raising money to invest in buyouts in Asia," says Arnold Chavkin, the chief investment officer of the fund. "The fact that there are so many new entrants shows that private equity in Asia is becoming a viable agent for change."
There are signs in some markets of an increasing receptivity to foreign capital. Firms that customarily have shunned Japan, such as Newbridge Capital, an affiliate of Texas Pacific Group and Blum Capital Partners LP (also in the midst of a large fund raising), and J.P. Morgan Partners LLC, the global private-equity arm of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., expect more deal flow from the world's second-largest economy. And in China, several deals that have been on-again, off-again for months if not years -- such as the Carlyle Group's acquisition of a large stake in China Pacific Life Insurance Co. -- finally appear close to completion. (See related article.)
Moreover, many of the family-owned firms of Asia, faced with generational change and the need to introduce more professional management, are more open to approaches from the buyout firms, Mr. Chavkin says. (full article)
SOUTH KOREA'S RECENT IDIOTIC POLICIES AGAINST FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT
I wrote this op-ed piece at OhMyNews this week after speaking with my friend, Jeff, about the continuing negative sentiment and policies against foreign direct investment in South Korea. After speaking with him and doing some more research, it just upset me on how South Korea's President Roh is continuing to drive that nation into the ground.
I submitted the piece to a couple other pieces, so hopefully it will get more traction. The title is lame and the beginning and ending paragraphs are a bit cheesy and over the top (especially since i do bleed red, white and blue... Korean friends use to rip on me since i cheered for the U.S. over South Korea during the 2002 World Cup), but I couldn't think of a better framework at the time and didn't want to spend more than a day sitting on it. Anyway, here it is:
'Mr. Roh, Save Our Land...'
One entrepreneur asks for changes in South Korean policies on foreign direct investment
Pride fills my heart when I contemplate how quickly a nation of 48 million and an area a little smaller than my home state of Illinois has risen to become the 10th most significant world economy. A smile calmly settles into place when I reflect on how Korea picked itself up from the ashes of its economic nightmare caused by the corruption and mismanagement from its chaebols and banks.
My passport states I'm an American citizen and my principles and thinking are clearly are born from the land of Jefferson and Lincoln yet I still consider Korea my land.
So as South Korea's current administration continues towards its downward spiral in terms of public favor and President Roh Moo Hyun's approval ratings fall to the cellar, my heart drops as he continues to initiate policies that damage the long-term economic health and development of South Korea.
I see "our land" at an important nexus in its economic and national development. South Korea has become a global model in the broadband and wireless industries while continuing its worldwide leadership in consumer electronics and semiconductor technology. It has moved beyond becoming a manufacturer of quality products to a leading innovator in numerous industries.
More importantly, the nation is slowly become a significantly contributor to major advances in science. From new discoveries in stem cell research to Kim Hyun Tak's recent "Mott Insulator" invention signals the next stage of development for South Korea. In becoming an established creator of leading technology, its value and influence in the world economy will increase. But the question is will South Korea gain from these advances? Will new companies be established, new jobs created, and wealth distributed to new people? Or will the chaebols and their owners continue to reap the benefits of these advances?
I believe these questions will be answered in how effectively South Korea develops its investment infrastructure and the overall venture capital and private equity industries. These are significant engines of new job growth and new wealth creation for decades in the U.S. and a lesson for South Korea to be mindful of. So the Roh administration's treatment of foreign direct investment firms baffles me. This is a critical juncture where the nation needs to cultivate global investment and transfer of knowledge into South Korea not the opposite. (full article)
UPDATE: Comments were posted above and I gave a quick reply. This Leon guy amuses me. I'll paste it here for an easier read:
It seems to be that you live in your own little world, and do not understand how things work in the greater context. First, your "correction of my misperception of Cyworld" (on my "Where Technology Is Ubiquitous, Opportunity Abounds" article at AlwaysOn) was an odd exercise since my article was not about CyWorld and only devoted a few sentences as an example to a larger theme. Within the context of these articles and op-eds, you don't seem to understand that a writer has limited space and cannot expound upon his complete view or knowledge of that matter. To be bold with you, my friends at CyWorld, Nexon, and other Korean technology companies emailed me to ask "who the odd Korean guy" was babbling about subject matter not relevant to the theme of that article.
For this op-ed, I corresponded with two friends at the the larger private equity shops in Korea, one friend at venture capital firm in Korea, a few others at Korean corporations, and some family contacts with a better insider view than you can ever provide me. Going to one of your last comments, if Korean companies saw no need in these types of financing, why are they active in Korea? And why do Korean companies take the capital? And why are Koreans setting up similar investment funds? If these investment funds had no purporse or value, why would they be in existence?
Also do you know how many of these investments are successful? Far less than what the Korean media projects. There is risk involved that tends to lead towards failure than success (e.g. Olympus Capital did not gain on their investments and many of the bulge-bracket fund groups did not gain either), and you fool yourself if you believe there is no value created by these investment firms. I also hardly call four years a short term play for an investment such as Carlyle into KorAm Bank. I don't believe you know the details behind how much they went in to improve the operations of KorAm (e.g. tighter internal policies, implementing financial IT systems which are underdeveloped in Korea). These deals are not simply taking advantage of Korean's lack of financial understanding nor cutting costs. And I would hardly call these financial institutions world class companies, where most of these private equity funds play in, and there are still a lot of advances needed to be made within South Korea's financial infrastructure. Just look at the credit card mess over the past several years.
As for the LoneStar and Carlyle situations, do you really believe what you hear or read in Korea? You are very ignorant. Those tax treaties, which you can research on your own, were established through bi-lateral treaties long ago.
My greater desire is for Korea to build their own quality private equity and venture capital firms. This is slowly happening, but it has been a long road. To do this effectively, there has to be an open economy, which includes foreign investment firms, where the best competitive environment drives domestic firms to operational efficiency and success. My wife's mentor, Dr. Byeon Yang Ho (former MOFE director), recently started Vogo Investment ($900 million domestic private equity fund) which is an effort I applaud. My father's high school buddy, Lee Hun Jai (former Minister of Finance and Economy), has plans to create a private equity fund too. Do you think these people would start such efforts if they believed there wasn't an opportunity and needs in South Korea's market economy?
For these domestic fund efforts to be successful in Korea and abroad, such as Singapore's GIC, Roh's policies need to change and not follow blind nationalism but encourage an openly competitive environment.
[tags: south korea, private equity, venture capital, foreign direct investment]
|
I wrote this op-ed piece at OhMyNews this week after speaking with my friend, Jeff, about the continuing negative sentiment and policies against foreign direct investment in South Korea. After speaking with him and doing some more research, it just upset me on how South Korea's President Roh is continuing to drive that nation into the ground.
I submitted the piece to a couple other pieces, so hopefully it will get more traction. The title is lame and the beginning and ending paragraphs are a bit cheesy and over the top (especially since i do bleed red, white and blue... Korean friends use to rip on me since i cheered for the U.S. over South Korea during the 2002 World Cup), but I couldn't think of a better framework at the time and didn't want to spend more than a day sitting on it. Anyway, here it is:
'Mr. Roh, Save Our Land...'
One entrepreneur asks for changes in South Korean policies on foreign direct investment
Pride fills my heart when I contemplate how quickly a nation of 48 million and an area a little smaller than my home state of Illinois has risen to become the 10th most significant world economy. A smile calmly settles into place when I reflect on how Korea picked itself up from the ashes of its economic nightmare caused by the corruption and mismanagement from its chaebols and banks.
My passport states I'm an American citizen and my principles and thinking are clearly are born from the land of Jefferson and Lincoln yet I still consider Korea my land.
So as South Korea's current administration continues towards its downward spiral in terms of public favor and President Roh Moo Hyun's approval ratings fall to the cellar, my heart drops as he continues to initiate policies that damage the long-term economic health and development of South Korea.
I see "our land" at an important nexus in its economic and national development. South Korea has become a global model in the broadband and wireless industries while continuing its worldwide leadership in consumer electronics and semiconductor technology. It has moved beyond becoming a manufacturer of quality products to a leading innovator in numerous industries.
More importantly, the nation is slowly become a significantly contributor to major advances in science. From new discoveries in stem cell research to Kim Hyun Tak's recent "Mott Insulator" invention signals the next stage of development for South Korea. In becoming an established creator of leading technology, its value and influence in the world economy will increase. But the question is will South Korea gain from these advances? Will new companies be established, new jobs created, and wealth distributed to new people? Or will the chaebols and their owners continue to reap the benefits of these advances?
I believe these questions will be answered in how effectively South Korea develops its investment infrastructure and the overall venture capital and private equity industries. These are significant engines of new job growth and new wealth creation for decades in the U.S. and a lesson for South Korea to be mindful of. So the Roh administration's treatment of foreign direct investment firms baffles me. This is a critical juncture where the nation needs to cultivate global investment and transfer of knowledge into South Korea not the opposite. (full article)
UPDATE: Comments were posted above and I gave a quick reply. This Leon guy amuses me. I'll paste it here for an easier read:
It seems to be that you live in your own little world, and do not understand how things work in the greater context. First, your "correction of my misperception of Cyworld" (on my "Where Technology Is Ubiquitous, Opportunity Abounds" article at AlwaysOn) was an odd exercise since my article was not about CyWorld and only devoted a few sentences as an example to a larger theme. Within the context of these articles and op-eds, you don't seem to understand that a writer has limited space and cannot expound upon his complete view or knowledge of that matter. To be bold with you, my friends at CyWorld, Nexon, and other Korean technology companies emailed me to ask "who the odd Korean guy" was babbling about subject matter not relevant to the theme of that article.
For this op-ed, I corresponded with two friends at the the larger private equity shops in Korea, one friend at venture capital firm in Korea, a few others at Korean corporations, and some family contacts with a better insider view than you can ever provide me. Going to one of your last comments, if Korean companies saw no need in these types of financing, why are they active in Korea? And why do Korean companies take the capital? And why are Koreans setting up similar investment funds? If these investment funds had no purporse or value, why would they be in existence?
Also do you know how many of these investments are successful? Far less than what the Korean media projects. There is risk involved that tends to lead towards failure than success (e.g. Olympus Capital did not gain on their investments and many of the bulge-bracket fund groups did not gain either), and you fool yourself if you believe there is no value created by these investment firms. I also hardly call four years a short term play for an investment such as Carlyle into KorAm Bank. I don't believe you know the details behind how much they went in to improve the operations of KorAm (e.g. tighter internal policies, implementing financial IT systems which are underdeveloped in Korea). These deals are not simply taking advantage of Korean's lack of financial understanding nor cutting costs. And I would hardly call these financial institutions world class companies, where most of these private equity funds play in, and there are still a lot of advances needed to be made within South Korea's financial infrastructure. Just look at the credit card mess over the past several years.
As for the LoneStar and Carlyle situations, do you really believe what you hear or read in Korea? You are very ignorant. Those tax treaties, which you can research on your own, were established through bi-lateral treaties long ago.
My greater desire is for Korea to build their own quality private equity and venture capital firms. This is slowly happening, but it has been a long road. To do this effectively, there has to be an open economy, which includes foreign investment firms, where the best competitive environment drives domestic firms to operational efficiency and success. My wife's mentor, Dr. Byeon Yang Ho (former MOFE director), recently started Vogo Investment ($900 million domestic private equity fund) which is an effort I applaud. My father's high school buddy, Lee Hun Jai (former Minister of Finance and Economy), has plans to create a private equity fund too. Do you think these people would start such efforts if they believed there wasn't an opportunity and needs in South Korea's market economy?
For these domestic fund efforts to be successful in Korea and abroad, such as Singapore's GIC, Roh's policies need to change and not follow blind nationalism but encourage an openly competitive environment.
[tags: south korea, private equity, venture capital, foreign direct investment]
Thursday, September 08, 2005
NEWS CORP CONTINUES SHOPPING... IGN FOR $650 MILLION
Interesting that they bought these guys. Two sites I like within IGN are GameSpy and Rotten Tomatoes.
Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. agreed to buy IGN Entertainment Inc., which runs video-game related Web sites, for $650 million as part of a plan to expand the media company's Internet business.
IGN's sites include GameSpy.com and IGN.com as well as Rottentomatoes.com, a movie-fan site., the companies said today in an e-mailed statement. News Corp., the No. 4 media company, will pay cash for Brisbane, California-based IGN.
The deal marks Murdoch's third Internet purchase since July and underscores the importance of online advertising at traditional media companies. New York-based News Corp. is seeking to tap a 15 percent increase in Web marketing this year, the fastest pace of any form of media. Ad sales at top TV networks will rise 2 percent.
"All of the media companies are interested in the Internet," said Peter Jankovskis, director of research at Lisle, Illinois- based Oakbrook Investments LLC., which owns News Corp. shares among its $1.3 billion in assets. "They have to go where the advertiser dollars are going." (full article)
|
Interesting that they bought these guys. Two sites I like within IGN are GameSpy and Rotten Tomatoes.
Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. agreed to buy IGN Entertainment Inc., which runs video-game related Web sites, for $650 million as part of a plan to expand the media company's Internet business.
IGN's sites include GameSpy.com and IGN.com as well as Rottentomatoes.com, a movie-fan site., the companies said today in an e-mailed statement. News Corp., the No. 4 media company, will pay cash for Brisbane, California-based IGN.
The deal marks Murdoch's third Internet purchase since July and underscores the importance of online advertising at traditional media companies. New York-based News Corp. is seeking to tap a 15 percent increase in Web marketing this year, the fastest pace of any form of media. Ad sales at top TV networks will rise 2 percent.
"All of the media companies are interested in the Internet," said Peter Jankovskis, director of research at Lisle, Illinois- based Oakbrook Investments LLC., which owns News Corp. shares among its $1.3 billion in assets. "They have to go where the advertiser dollars are going." (full article)
EBAY BUYING SKYPE?
This is definitely breaking news. I got up in the middle of the night to get a drink and I see this news alert from The Wall Street Journal in my inbox. Wow. If Ebay buys them, it's definitely because they are not a technology firm like Google. For Skype, I believe this is the best time to sell. Actually, it was probably best a few months ago.
EBay May Buy Web Phone Firm In Strategy Shift
By MYLENE MANGALINDAN and DENNIS K. BERMAN
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
September 8, 2005
EBay Inc. is in talks to acquire Internet-telephony company Skype Technologies SA for $2 billion to $3 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, in a deal that would represent a dramatic shift in strategy for the world's largest online auction site.
The talks are in a sensitive stage and could fall apart, according to one person briefed on the matter. Luxembourg-based Skype, whose software allows consumers to make free telephone calls around the world using Internet technology, has been in active discussions with other technology companies, and none has led to a deal.
But the emergence of eBay as a suitor reveals a lot about the auction leader's growth prospects and strategy. While still dominating its field, eBay's core business is maturing, and the company is searching for new product categories and international markets. The company has made a steady string of acquisitions and investments over the last year and a half to enter markets such as rental-property listings, online classified-ad listings and comparison shopping.
.....
One major question will be how to value Skype, which has been floating a $3 billion price tag amid discussions with companies such as News Corp., Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo. The company is also considering an initial public offering and has hired Morgan Stanley to run the process. But other potential buyers have balked at such a high price, in part because they may be able to build the software on their own, and because similar technologies may diminish Skype's uniqueness over the coming months and years. (full article)
|
This is definitely breaking news. I got up in the middle of the night to get a drink and I see this news alert from The Wall Street Journal in my inbox. Wow. If Ebay buys them, it's definitely because they are not a technology firm like Google. For Skype, I believe this is the best time to sell. Actually, it was probably best a few months ago.
EBay May Buy Web Phone Firm In Strategy Shift
By MYLENE MANGALINDAN and DENNIS K. BERMAN
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
September 8, 2005
EBay Inc. is in talks to acquire Internet-telephony company Skype Technologies SA for $2 billion to $3 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, in a deal that would represent a dramatic shift in strategy for the world's largest online auction site.
The talks are in a sensitive stage and could fall apart, according to one person briefed on the matter. Luxembourg-based Skype, whose software allows consumers to make free telephone calls around the world using Internet technology, has been in active discussions with other technology companies, and none has led to a deal.
But the emergence of eBay as a suitor reveals a lot about the auction leader's growth prospects and strategy. While still dominating its field, eBay's core business is maturing, and the company is searching for new product categories and international markets. The company has made a steady string of acquisitions and investments over the last year and a half to enter markets such as rental-property listings, online classified-ad listings and comparison shopping.
.....
One major question will be how to value Skype, which has been floating a $3 billion price tag amid discussions with companies such as News Corp., Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo. The company is also considering an initial public offering and has hired Morgan Stanley to run the process. But other potential buyers have balked at such a high price, in part because they may be able to build the software on their own, and because similar technologies may diminish Skype's uniqueness over the coming months and years. (full article)
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
THREE C'S OF BLOGGING
Hugh Hewitts thoughts on the blogosphere's role in the Katrina natural disaster:
IT IS TEMPTING to speculate about how the new Supreme Court will differ from the old (Senator McConnell might want to find another complaint to file against McCain-Feingold), but that debate will rage for months into the future, and the blogosphere has had a very interesting two weeks responding to Katrina and its aftermath.
This has been the period when the blogs showed their three Cs: Compassion, connection, and correction.
First, compassion. Led by Glenn Reynolds and N.Z. Bear and beginning on September 1, a nonpartisan scrum of more than 1,800 bloggers appealed to their readers to support a long list of charities. More than $1,300,000 had been raised in a week, and that total only represents those blog readers willing not only to contribute but also to record their contribution in the N.Z. Bear log-in site.
Second, connection: N.Z. Bear, again, is pioneering an effort to post and match the needs and abilities of the hurting inside the recovery zone and those desiring to help across the country. With unlimited space, the internet allows for specificity in requested relief and response. The new portal being designed by N.Z. will list the needs of organizations in the recovery region and then allow the massive open source dynamic of the web to take over. By this time next week, institutions with specific wants will be able to post their lists on the N.Z. Bear portal, and bloggers will work to publicize the messages. Expect enormous efficiencies in the delivery of targeted relief as a result.
Finally, correction, as in the sort that follows from accountability.
There aren't going to be any secrets in this story, at least not for long. When Fox News's Major Garrett broke a story on Wednesday afternoon that Red Cross senior officials were confirming that Louisiana state officials had blocked the supply of water, food, blankets, and hygiene products to the Superdome, it was only moments later that the story had been picked up on FreeRepublic, and Garrett was booked and interviewed on my radio show. (full article)
|
Hugh Hewitts thoughts on the blogosphere's role in the Katrina natural disaster:
IT IS TEMPTING to speculate about how the new Supreme Court will differ from the old (Senator McConnell might want to find another complaint to file against McCain-Feingold), but that debate will rage for months into the future, and the blogosphere has had a very interesting two weeks responding to Katrina and its aftermath.
This has been the period when the blogs showed their three Cs: Compassion, connection, and correction.
First, compassion. Led by Glenn Reynolds and N.Z. Bear and beginning on September 1, a nonpartisan scrum of more than 1,800 bloggers appealed to their readers to support a long list of charities. More than $1,300,000 had been raised in a week, and that total only represents those blog readers willing not only to contribute but also to record their contribution in the N.Z. Bear log-in site.
Second, connection: N.Z. Bear, again, is pioneering an effort to post and match the needs and abilities of the hurting inside the recovery zone and those desiring to help across the country. With unlimited space, the internet allows for specificity in requested relief and response. The new portal being designed by N.Z. will list the needs of organizations in the recovery region and then allow the massive open source dynamic of the web to take over. By this time next week, institutions with specific wants will be able to post their lists on the N.Z. Bear portal, and bloggers will work to publicize the messages. Expect enormous efficiencies in the delivery of targeted relief as a result.
Finally, correction, as in the sort that follows from accountability.
There aren't going to be any secrets in this story, at least not for long. When Fox News's Major Garrett broke a story on Wednesday afternoon that Red Cross senior officials were confirming that Louisiana state officials had blocked the supply of water, food, blankets, and hygiene products to the Superdome, it was only moments later that the story had been picked up on FreeRepublic, and Garrett was booked and interviewed on my radio show. (full article)
MITSUI INVESTS IN FEEDSTER... SCOTT RAFER LEAVES TO DO WIRELESS GIG
HatTip to TechCrunch. Interesting events playing out at Feedster. They get an undisclosed investment from Mitsui and Scott steps down.
"We are pleased to have Mitsui as an investor," says Chris Redlitz, Feedster’s Vice President, Sales and Marketing. "Feedster is already a market leader in blog search and content syndication. With this investment we continue to distance ourselves from the field and prepare for global expansion."
The Feedster PR quote was from Chris Redlitz, VP Sales & Marketing, not Scott Rafer, the CEO. That should have given everyone a clue as to the next piece of news, which followed a couple of hours later.
Scott is stepping down as CEO and the Feedster board is searching for his replacement. Scott is not wasting any time in starting something new - he became chairman of startup Wireless Ink today.
Scott, you created one of the founding pillars of web 2.0 and we salute you. Good luck with your travels and your new venture. (full post)
|
HatTip to TechCrunch. Interesting events playing out at Feedster. They get an undisclosed investment from Mitsui and Scott steps down.
"We are pleased to have Mitsui as an investor," says Chris Redlitz, Feedster’s Vice President, Sales and Marketing. "Feedster is already a market leader in blog search and content syndication. With this investment we continue to distance ourselves from the field and prepare for global expansion."
The Feedster PR quote was from Chris Redlitz, VP Sales & Marketing, not Scott Rafer, the CEO. That should have given everyone a clue as to the next piece of news, which followed a couple of hours later.
Scott is stepping down as CEO and the Feedster board is searching for his replacement. Scott is not wasting any time in starting something new - he became chairman of startup Wireless Ink today.
Scott, you created one of the founding pillars of web 2.0 and we salute you. Good luck with your travels and your new venture. (full post)
APPLE KICKING ASS... NANO AND ROKR LAUNCHED
Apple is definitely kicking on all cyclinders...
CNet with their views here.
Guardian with there view, "Apple takes bite at mobile market with iPhone"
MarketWatch says, "Jobs taking calculated risk with 'nano'"
|
Apple is definitely kicking on all cyclinders...
CNet with their views here.
Guardian with there view, "Apple takes bite at mobile market with iPhone"
MarketWatch says, "Jobs taking calculated risk with 'nano'"
NONDESTRUCTIVE CREATION... ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS THE MOTOR THAT DRIVES THE LABOR MARKET
Good essay ('Nondestructive Creation') on entrepreneurship by R. Glenn Hubbard, dean of Columbia Business School.
Also here's my random experience this morning that reminds me how I know San Francisco does not have a strong Jewish presence like New York City and Chicago. I went to a bagel shop on Chestnut Street this morning and ordered an egg bagel with garlic herb cream cheese.
"Oh, I can also have lochs on the side with that."
Bagel employee, "The fish, right?"
"Uh, yeah, the fish," I replied.
A couple thoughts went through my head. Is she trying to confirm with me what lochs are? Or is she trying to make sure I want and know what lochs are? I never encountered this in a bagel shop in New York or Chicago. I was definitely in San Francisco, and I found it amusing that it was in a place called Noah's New York Bagels.
|
Good essay ('Nondestructive Creation') on entrepreneurship by R. Glenn Hubbard, dean of Columbia Business School.
Also here's my random experience this morning that reminds me how I know San Francisco does not have a strong Jewish presence like New York City and Chicago. I went to a bagel shop on Chestnut Street this morning and ordered an egg bagel with garlic herb cream cheese.
"Oh, I can also have lochs on the side with that."
Bagel employee, "The fish, right?"
"Uh, yeah, the fish," I replied.
A couple thoughts went through my head. Is she trying to confirm with me what lochs are? Or is she trying to make sure I want and know what lochs are? I never encountered this in a bagel shop in New York or Chicago. I was definitely in San Francisco, and I found it amusing that it was in a place called Noah's New York Bagels.
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
DISGRACEFUL ALAN DERSHOWITZ ON WILLIAM REHQUIST
HatTip to James Taranto's Best of the Web Today. One reason I won't pay for my future child's tuition for Harvard Law and encourage them to go to Yale Law: Alan Dershowitz. Just kidding. Anyway, as you know, Chief Justice William Rehnquist died of cancer this past Saturday. Fox News Channel's Alan Colmes interviews Professor Alan Dershowitz for his thoughts and reflection and Dershowitz provides some additional commentary that was unnecessary and poorly timed. Taranto comments afterwards:
Colmes: This is a Fox News alert. Earlier tonight in suburban Virginia, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court William Rehnquist passed away of thyroid cancer at his suburban Virginia home surrounded by his three children and his family. And joining us now to talk about it, famed attorney Alan Dershowitz. Mr. Dershowitz, thank you so much for being with us.
Dershowitz: Well, thank you.
Colmes: And how will this change the court, and what will William Rehnquist's legacy be?
Dershowitz: Well, William Rehnquist was one of the most judicially active judges. He was a judicial activist in the--in every sense of that term. He struck down more federal statutes than almost any other sitting judge. He intervened often in cases where there was an adequate state ground. You know, you hear so much about judicial conservative, judicial activist. He was a judicial activist by any statistical count. By any measure, he was more active than most of the so-called liberal justices. A striking example--
Colmes: But would it be fair to say that a conservative might call him an acti--or a liberal might call him an activist and a conservative who might tend to agree with him would call him a constitutionalist?
Dershowitz: No. I think you'd have to call him an activist, whether you are conservative or liberal. That is, he struck down congressionally enacted statutes because he didn't think that they comported with federalism. Take the most striking example. He had written for 30 years that the equal protection clause only applies in racial matters--it doesn't apply to aliens, it doesn't apply to age, it doesn't apply even to women; it only applies to race, that the 14th Amendment was written--the equal protection clause was written to protect blacks. Then comes along Bush v. Gore, and he joins the decision striking down the Florida count on the ground that it denied equal protection for a chad to be counted differently in one district than another--something that totally violated everything he had written for the previous 25 years. He was a Republican justice--
Colmes: But would you compare the--
Dershowitz: --and his vote could always be counted on by the Republicans.
Colmes: Is there a precedent for what will be known as the Rehnquist court? How would you characterize that court, and are there precedents historically for that? The Warren court was called activist a couple of decades earlier.
Dershowitz: He was much more activist. And I think the Rehnquist court was never the Rehnquist court. He moved more toward the center as he became chief justice and as he had Scalia and Thomas on his right flank and of course most of the rest of the court in the center or on his left flank. It--the decisions of Justice Rehnquist are not taught in law schools as great decisions. He'll be remembered primarily for his votes rather than for the content or quality of his decisions. And it's consistent throughout his life. He started his career by being a kind of Republican thug who pushed and shoved to keep African-American and Hispanic voters from voting.
Sean Hannity: All right--
Dershowitz: He had a restrictive covenant in his own lease which precluded the sale to Jews.
Hannity: Let me go, uh--
Dershowitz: There were so many things in his background that were extremely right-wing.
At this point, Hannity cut Dershowitz off and went to another guest. At the end of the hour, Hannity pointedly omitted Dershowitz when he thanked the guests who'd appeared to comment on Rehnquist's death.
Wow, what can one say about Dershowitz's appalling performance? For one thing, his eagerness to paint Rehnquist as a "judicial activist"--not only "much more activist" than the Warren court but indisputably so!--shows that this is an argument the left has lost. Rather than defend, say, Roe v. Wade (in which Rehnquist dissented) as a justifiable work of judicial activism, they invent tendentious redefinitions of the term in a transparent attempt at judicial jujitsu. By Dershowitz's lights, Roe wasn't "activist" at all because it struck down a state law rather than a "congressionally enacted statute."
Dershowitz makes other assertions that are either dishonest or ill-informed. Rehnquist didn't believe that the equal protection clause applied to women? Actually, in U.S. v. Virginia (1996), Rehnquist wrote a concurring opinion in which he expressly endorsed the majority's holding that the Virginia Military Institute's all-male military policy violated equal protection. Justice Antonin Scalia was the lone dissenter.
"His vote could always be counted on by the Republicans"? Tell that to Ted Olson. No, we're not talking about Bush v. Gore, in which Olson represented the president-elect, but about Morrison v. Olson (1988), in which Olson unsuccessfully challenged the independent counsel statute. Again, Scalia was the lone dissenter.
Granted, that ruling later came back to bite the Democrats, but presumably even Dershowitz isn't a sufficiently wild-eyed conspiracy nut to suggest that Rehnquist somehow knew a decade in advance that he would preside over an independent-counsel-inspired impeachment trial of a Democratic president.
Finally, to respond to the death of a respected public servant by disparaging his intelligence and calling him a "thug" seems plain hateful. Democratic politicians presumably are clever enough not to spit on Rehnquist's grave, but they may well direct similar invective at whomever President Bush chooses to succeed the chief.
|
HatTip to James Taranto's Best of the Web Today. One reason I won't pay for my future child's tuition for Harvard Law and encourage them to go to Yale Law: Alan Dershowitz. Just kidding. Anyway, as you know, Chief Justice William Rehnquist died of cancer this past Saturday. Fox News Channel's Alan Colmes interviews Professor Alan Dershowitz for his thoughts and reflection and Dershowitz provides some additional commentary that was unnecessary and poorly timed. Taranto comments afterwards:
Colmes: This is a Fox News alert. Earlier tonight in suburban Virginia, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court William Rehnquist passed away of thyroid cancer at his suburban Virginia home surrounded by his three children and his family. And joining us now to talk about it, famed attorney Alan Dershowitz. Mr. Dershowitz, thank you so much for being with us.
Dershowitz: Well, thank you.
Colmes: And how will this change the court, and what will William Rehnquist's legacy be?
Dershowitz: Well, William Rehnquist was one of the most judicially active judges. He was a judicial activist in the--in every sense of that term. He struck down more federal statutes than almost any other sitting judge. He intervened often in cases where there was an adequate state ground. You know, you hear so much about judicial conservative, judicial activist. He was a judicial activist by any statistical count. By any measure, he was more active than most of the so-called liberal justices. A striking example--
Colmes: But would it be fair to say that a conservative might call him an acti--or a liberal might call him an activist and a conservative who might tend to agree with him would call him a constitutionalist?
Dershowitz: No. I think you'd have to call him an activist, whether you are conservative or liberal. That is, he struck down congressionally enacted statutes because he didn't think that they comported with federalism. Take the most striking example. He had written for 30 years that the equal protection clause only applies in racial matters--it doesn't apply to aliens, it doesn't apply to age, it doesn't apply even to women; it only applies to race, that the 14th Amendment was written--the equal protection clause was written to protect blacks. Then comes along Bush v. Gore, and he joins the decision striking down the Florida count on the ground that it denied equal protection for a chad to be counted differently in one district than another--something that totally violated everything he had written for the previous 25 years. He was a Republican justice--
Colmes: But would you compare the--
Dershowitz: --and his vote could always be counted on by the Republicans.
Colmes: Is there a precedent for what will be known as the Rehnquist court? How would you characterize that court, and are there precedents historically for that? The Warren court was called activist a couple of decades earlier.
Dershowitz: He was much more activist. And I think the Rehnquist court was never the Rehnquist court. He moved more toward the center as he became chief justice and as he had Scalia and Thomas on his right flank and of course most of the rest of the court in the center or on his left flank. It--the decisions of Justice Rehnquist are not taught in law schools as great decisions. He'll be remembered primarily for his votes rather than for the content or quality of his decisions. And it's consistent throughout his life. He started his career by being a kind of Republican thug who pushed and shoved to keep African-American and Hispanic voters from voting.
Sean Hannity: All right--
Dershowitz: He had a restrictive covenant in his own lease which precluded the sale to Jews.
Hannity: Let me go, uh--
Dershowitz: There were so many things in his background that were extremely right-wing.
At this point, Hannity cut Dershowitz off and went to another guest. At the end of the hour, Hannity pointedly omitted Dershowitz when he thanked the guests who'd appeared to comment on Rehnquist's death.
Wow, what can one say about Dershowitz's appalling performance? For one thing, his eagerness to paint Rehnquist as a "judicial activist"--not only "much more activist" than the Warren court but indisputably so!--shows that this is an argument the left has lost. Rather than defend, say, Roe v. Wade (in which Rehnquist dissented) as a justifiable work of judicial activism, they invent tendentious redefinitions of the term in a transparent attempt at judicial jujitsu. By Dershowitz's lights, Roe wasn't "activist" at all because it struck down a state law rather than a "congressionally enacted statute."
Dershowitz makes other assertions that are either dishonest or ill-informed. Rehnquist didn't believe that the equal protection clause applied to women? Actually, in U.S. v. Virginia (1996), Rehnquist wrote a concurring opinion in which he expressly endorsed the majority's holding that the Virginia Military Institute's all-male military policy violated equal protection. Justice Antonin Scalia was the lone dissenter.
"His vote could always be counted on by the Republicans"? Tell that to Ted Olson. No, we're not talking about Bush v. Gore, in which Olson represented the president-elect, but about Morrison v. Olson (1988), in which Olson unsuccessfully challenged the independent counsel statute. Again, Scalia was the lone dissenter.
Granted, that ruling later came back to bite the Democrats, but presumably even Dershowitz isn't a sufficiently wild-eyed conspiracy nut to suggest that Rehnquist somehow knew a decade in advance that he would preside over an independent-counsel-inspired impeachment trial of a Democratic president.
Finally, to respond to the death of a respected public servant by disparaging his intelligence and calling him a "thug" seems plain hateful. Democratic politicians presumably are clever enough not to spit on Rehnquist's grave, but they may well direct similar invective at whomever President Bush chooses to succeed the chief.
INDEPENDENT PROBE URGES U.N. OVERHAUL... KOFI SHOULD RESIGN
Wow. Brilliant. U.N. needs an overhaul? I assume the independent probe really means the Kofi Annan should resign.
Dude, just step down! Save the organization and allow it to become something of use and not just a paper tiger... uh, duck... paper duck that it has become in the world forum.
The UN must undergo sweeping reforms to prevent corruption such as that suspected during its Iraq oil-for-food programme, an inquiry has said.
The report by an independent panel was partially published a day before its release at the UN Security Council.
It found that the organisation was ill-equipped to handle the $64bn scheme and criticised the role played by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. (full article)
|
Wow. Brilliant. U.N. needs an overhaul? I assume the independent probe really means the Kofi Annan should resign.
Dude, just step down! Save the organization and allow it to become something of use and not just a paper tiger... uh, duck... paper duck that it has become in the world forum.
The UN must undergo sweeping reforms to prevent corruption such as that suspected during its Iraq oil-for-food programme, an inquiry has said.
The report by an independent panel was partially published a day before its release at the UN Security Council.
It found that the organisation was ill-equipped to handle the $64bn scheme and criticised the role played by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. (full article)
RAKUTEN BUYS LINKSHARE FOR $425 MILLION
Congratulations to Stephen Messer! I interned for Stephen at the Columbia Institute for Tele-Information (CITI) during graduate school. I worked there part-time during the school year doing random projects for CITI. I remember when he was working on his company and preparing to leave CITI to devote his full-time to LinkShare. Pretty cool to see him succeed as he patiently built up his company over the past nine years.
Rakuten, Inc. (JASDAQ: 4755) announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire LinkShare Corporation, a privately held New York-based performance-based marketing firm, for a cash purchase price of approximately $425 million. The acquisition is expected to be completed within four to six weeks.
Founded in 1997, Rakuten is Japan's most diversified Internet portal, with the number one sites in Japan for on-line shopping, travel, golf reservations, community and greeting cards. Rakuten's on-line and Internet-related businesses also include shopping via Internet-enabled cell phones, auctions, financial services, broadband entertainment and business-to-business services. Rakuten, which has one of the most recognized Internet brands in Japan, is also the owner of Japanese professional baseball's newest franchise, the Rakuten Eagles.
"LinkShare's performance-based marketing expertise across affiliate, search, and e-mail capabilities provides Rakuten with an excellent first step to launch our U.S. operations and continue our international expansion." said Hiroshi Mikitani, Chairman and CEO of Rakuten. "We can leverage LinkShare's client relationships and technology advantages worldwide, so that LinkShare will be able to achieve significant growth in the future."
Established in 1996, LinkShare Corporation is a leader in performance-based marketing solutions, having created the largest network of affiliates of any program provider, with over 10 million e-commerce relationships. LinkShare has over 500 clients including J.C. Penney, 1-800-Flowers.com, American Express, Avon Products and Dell. LinkShare has been named the New York area's fastest growing technology company for two years in a row on the Deloitte & Touche Fast 50 list. (full press release)
|
Congratulations to Stephen Messer! I interned for Stephen at the Columbia Institute for Tele-Information (CITI) during graduate school. I worked there part-time during the school year doing random projects for CITI. I remember when he was working on his company and preparing to leave CITI to devote his full-time to LinkShare. Pretty cool to see him succeed as he patiently built up his company over the past nine years.
Rakuten, Inc. (JASDAQ: 4755) announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire LinkShare Corporation, a privately held New York-based performance-based marketing firm, for a cash purchase price of approximately $425 million. The acquisition is expected to be completed within four to six weeks.
Founded in 1997, Rakuten is Japan's most diversified Internet portal, with the number one sites in Japan for on-line shopping, travel, golf reservations, community and greeting cards. Rakuten's on-line and Internet-related businesses also include shopping via Internet-enabled cell phones, auctions, financial services, broadband entertainment and business-to-business services. Rakuten, which has one of the most recognized Internet brands in Japan, is also the owner of Japanese professional baseball's newest franchise, the Rakuten Eagles.
"LinkShare's performance-based marketing expertise across affiliate, search, and e-mail capabilities provides Rakuten with an excellent first step to launch our U.S. operations and continue our international expansion." said Hiroshi Mikitani, Chairman and CEO of Rakuten. "We can leverage LinkShare's client relationships and technology advantages worldwide, so that LinkShare will be able to achieve significant growth in the future."
Established in 1996, LinkShare Corporation is a leader in performance-based marketing solutions, having created the largest network of affiliates of any program provider, with over 10 million e-commerce relationships. LinkShare has over 500 clients including J.C. Penney, 1-800-Flowers.com, American Express, Avon Products and Dell. LinkShare has been named the New York area's fastest growing technology company for two years in a row on the Deloitte & Touche Fast 50 list. (full press release)
BLAME WHO? MUST READ ON NEW ORLEAN'S HURRICANE EVACUATION PLAN FROM JULY 2005
HatTip to Dan Drezner and Brad DeLong. This is really messed up. Read this article that Brad found:
In storm, N.O. wants no one left behind; Number of people without cars makes evacuation difficult
By Bruce Nolan, Staff writer
New Orleans Times-Picayne
July 24, 2005
City, state and federal emergency officials are preparing to give the poorest of New Orleans' poor a historically blunt message: In the event of a major hurricane, you're on your own. In scripted appearances being recorded now, officials such as Mayor Ray Nagin, local Red Cross Executive Director Kay Wilkins and City Council President Oliver Thomas drive home the word that the city does not have the resources to move out of harm's way an estimated 134,000 people without transportation.
In the video, made by the anti-poverty agency Total Community Action, they urge those people to make arrangements now by finding their own ways to leave the city in the event of an evacuation. "You're responsible for your safety, and you should be responsible for the person next to you," Wilkins said in an interview. "If you have some room to get that person out of town, the Red Cross will have a space for that person outside the area. We can help you. "But we don't have the transportation." (full post)
No wonder horror and suffering is going on down in New Orleans. The city officials and local agencies are run by a bunch of incompetent fools.
Side story: Blogger warned Mayor of New Orleans.
UPDATE: Just came across Anil's post. He's "absolutely infuriated" at Mayor Ray Nagin after listening to a recent interview. After listening to this, the above article makes more sense.
UPDATE II: Great op-ed by Bob Williams in The Wall Street Journal.
Blame Amid the Tragedy
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
By BOB WILLIAMS
September 6, 2005
As the devastation of Hurricane Katrina continues to shock and sadden the nation, the question on many lips is, Who is to blame for the inadequate response?
As a former state legislator who represented the legislative district most impacted by the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980, I can fully understand and empathize with the people and public officials over the loss of life and property.
Many in the media are turning their eyes toward the federal government, rather than considering the culpability of city and state officials. I am fully aware of the challenges of having a quick and responsive emergency response to a major disaster. And there is definitely a time for accountability; but what isn't fair is to dump on the federal officials and avoid those most responsible -- local and state officials who failed to do their job as the first responders. The plain fact is, lives were needlessly lost in New Orleans due to the failure of Louisiana's governor, Kathleen Blanco, and the city's mayor, Ray Nagin.
The primary responsibility for dealing with emergencies does not belong to the federal government. It belongs to local and state officials who are charged by law with the management of the crucial first response to disasters. First response should be carried out by local and state emergency personnel under the supervision of the state governor and his/her emergency operations center.
The actions and inactions of Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin are a national disgrace due to their failure to implement the previously established evacuation plans of the state and city. Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin cannot claim that they were surprised by the extent of the damage and the need to evacuate so many people. Detailed written plans were already in place to evacuate more than a million people. The plans projected that 300,000 people would need transportation in the event of a hurricane like Katrina. If the plans had been implemented, thousands of lives would likely have been saved. (full article)
|
HatTip to Dan Drezner and Brad DeLong. This is really messed up. Read this article that Brad found:
In storm, N.O. wants no one left behind; Number of people without cars makes evacuation difficult
By Bruce Nolan, Staff writer
New Orleans Times-Picayne
July 24, 2005
City, state and federal emergency officials are preparing to give the poorest of New Orleans' poor a historically blunt message: In the event of a major hurricane, you're on your own. In scripted appearances being recorded now, officials such as Mayor Ray Nagin, local Red Cross Executive Director Kay Wilkins and City Council President Oliver Thomas drive home the word that the city does not have the resources to move out of harm's way an estimated 134,000 people without transportation.
In the video, made by the anti-poverty agency Total Community Action, they urge those people to make arrangements now by finding their own ways to leave the city in the event of an evacuation. "You're responsible for your safety, and you should be responsible for the person next to you," Wilkins said in an interview. "If you have some room to get that person out of town, the Red Cross will have a space for that person outside the area. We can help you. "But we don't have the transportation." (full post)
No wonder horror and suffering is going on down in New Orleans. The city officials and local agencies are run by a bunch of incompetent fools.
Side story: Blogger warned Mayor of New Orleans.
UPDATE: Just came across Anil's post. He's "absolutely infuriated" at Mayor Ray Nagin after listening to a recent interview. After listening to this, the above article makes more sense.
UPDATE II: Great op-ed by Bob Williams in The Wall Street Journal.
Blame Amid the Tragedy
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
By BOB WILLIAMS
September 6, 2005
As the devastation of Hurricane Katrina continues to shock and sadden the nation, the question on many lips is, Who is to blame for the inadequate response?
As a former state legislator who represented the legislative district most impacted by the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980, I can fully understand and empathize with the people and public officials over the loss of life and property.
Many in the media are turning their eyes toward the federal government, rather than considering the culpability of city and state officials. I am fully aware of the challenges of having a quick and responsive emergency response to a major disaster. And there is definitely a time for accountability; but what isn't fair is to dump on the federal officials and avoid those most responsible -- local and state officials who failed to do their job as the first responders. The plain fact is, lives were needlessly lost in New Orleans due to the failure of Louisiana's governor, Kathleen Blanco, and the city's mayor, Ray Nagin.
The primary responsibility for dealing with emergencies does not belong to the federal government. It belongs to local and state officials who are charged by law with the management of the crucial first response to disasters. First response should be carried out by local and state emergency personnel under the supervision of the state governor and his/her emergency operations center.
The actions and inactions of Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin are a national disgrace due to their failure to implement the previously established evacuation plans of the state and city. Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin cannot claim that they were surprised by the extent of the damage and the need to evacuate so many people. Detailed written plans were already in place to evacuate more than a million people. The plans projected that 300,000 people would need transportation in the event of a hurricane like Katrina. If the plans had been implemented, thousands of lives would likely have been saved. (full article)
Monday, September 05, 2005
BALLMER WANTS TO KILL GOOGLE? REALLY?
:) This is hilarious if true...
"At some point in the conversation, Mr. Ballmer said: 'Just tell me it's not Google,'" Lucovosky said in his statement. Lucovosky replied that he was joining Google.
"At that point, Mr. Ballmer picked up a chair and threw it across the room hitting a table in his office," Lucovosky recounted, adding that Ballmer then launched into a tirade about Google CEO Eric Schmidt. "I'm going to f***ing bury that guy, I have done it before, and I will do it again. I'm going to f***ing kill Google." Schmidt previously worked for Sun Microsystems and was the CEO of Novell. (full article)
|
:) This is hilarious if true...
"At some point in the conversation, Mr. Ballmer said: 'Just tell me it's not Google,'" Lucovosky said in his statement. Lucovosky replied that he was joining Google.
"At that point, Mr. Ballmer picked up a chair and threw it across the room hitting a table in his office," Lucovosky recounted, adding that Ballmer then launched into a tirade about Google CEO Eric Schmidt. "I'm going to f***ing bury that guy, I have done it before, and I will do it again. I'm going to f***ing kill Google." Schmidt previously worked for Sun Microsystems and was the CEO of Novell. (full article)
Saturday, September 03, 2005
MORGAN SPURLOCK IS A FRAUD... "SUPER SIZE ME"? SUPER SIZE ME ALL THE TIME
Last year I posted how I thought Morgan Spurlock's documentary, "Super Size Me," was full of crap. From a person that at times ate 2-3 McDonald's sandwiches for lunch while maintaining healthy cholesterol and blood pressure levels, I knew Spurlock was setting up his results for the most dramatic effect.
Now there is proof of this and results from the other side. Soso Whaley, a New Hampshire woman, says she lost 37 pounds from eating just McDonald's. Awesome.
Inspired by the documentary "Super Size Me," Merab Morgan decided to give a fast-food-only diet a try. The construction worker and mother of two ate only at McDonald’s for 90 days — and dropped 37 pounds in the process.
It was a vastly different outcome than what happened in the documentary to filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, who put on 30 pounds and saw his health deteriorate after 5,000 calories a day of nothing but McDonald’s food.
Morgan, from Henderson, N.C., thought the documentary had unfairly targeted the world’s largest restaurant company, implying that the obese were victims of a careless corporate giant. People are responsible for what they eat, she said, not restaurants. The problem with a McDonald’s-only diet isn’t what’s on the menu, but the choices made from it, she said. (full article)
|
Last year I posted how I thought Morgan Spurlock's documentary, "Super Size Me," was full of crap. From a person that at times ate 2-3 McDonald's sandwiches for lunch while maintaining healthy cholesterol and blood pressure levels, I knew Spurlock was setting up his results for the most dramatic effect.
Now there is proof of this and results from the other side. Soso Whaley, a New Hampshire woman, says she lost 37 pounds from eating just McDonald's. Awesome.
Inspired by the documentary "Super Size Me," Merab Morgan decided to give a fast-food-only diet a try. The construction worker and mother of two ate only at McDonald’s for 90 days — and dropped 37 pounds in the process.
It was a vastly different outcome than what happened in the documentary to filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, who put on 30 pounds and saw his health deteriorate after 5,000 calories a day of nothing but McDonald’s food.
Morgan, from Henderson, N.C., thought the documentary had unfairly targeted the world’s largest restaurant company, implying that the obese were victims of a careless corporate giant. People are responsible for what they eat, she said, not restaurants. The problem with a McDonald’s-only diet isn’t what’s on the menu, but the choices made from it, she said. (full article)
BLAME GAME... POLITICS NOT HUMANITY THE FOCUS OF KATRINA
The loud noise coming from the left is a bit distracting as our nation tries to help out those in need. But can I blame them? As a party, Democrats have to hit every opportunity they have to try to knock down President Bush and the Republican Party's credibility and favor with the general public in preparation for 2008. Naturally, The New York Times jumped into the anti-Bush wagon along with CNN (Roger Simon chimes in about this).
Power Line has an informative post on debunking the "underfunded levee construction" theory that the Left has been spreading around:
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Thursday that a lack of funding for hurricane-protection projects around New Orleans did not contribute to the disastrous flooding that followed Hurricane Katrina.
.....
However, they noted that the levees were designed for a Category 3 hurricane and couldn't handle the ferocious winds and raging waters from Hurricane Katrina, which was a Category 4 storm when it hit the coastline. The decision to build levees for a Category 3 hurricane was made decades ago based on a cost-benefit analysis. (full post)
Regarding the last point though I heard one criticism from the Right on the New Orleans Levee Board that they have been busy with various questionable projects, such as casinos and other projects outside of their domain, over the past decade but have not tended to the actual maintenance of the levee. Is this a surprise from one of the most corrupt municipalities of our modern nation? I would actually be very cautious and structure carefully how to provide financial support to these local government and nonprofit organizations in New Orleans. Now some of these local government officials are trying to blame the federal goverment for their past incompetence.
Anyway, here's a good commentary from The American Thinker:
It certainly didn’t take long for the race baiters, class warriors, and economic determinists to heave themselves up from the flood waters that have inundated New Orleans to inform us all of the real tragedy being played out in that tortured city. Most of us think it bad enough that tens of thousands of human beings are suffering untold hardships and indignities as a result of being stranded in the nightmare of barbarism and perditious mayhem to which a once beautiful city has descended.
But for the professional victimhood groups, opportunity has come knocking. Why let an unimaginable tragedy like Katrina spoil a chance to link the tried and true canards of race and class with both the evocation of white guilt and a little Bush bashing for good measure?
This quotation from the Reverend Jesse Jackson manages the trifecta – race, class, and Bush bashing – quite nicely:
"Many black people feel that their race, their property conditions and their voting patterns have been a factor in the response,” Mr. Jackson said, after meeting with Louisiana officials yesterday. "I’m not saying that myself, but what’s self-evident is that you have many poor people without a way out." (full post)
Michelle Malkin has a great overview of "The Blame Game" here:
Unfortunately, while Americans from all walks of life have been busy raising money, the unhinged Left keeps slinging bull.
Brian Maloney at The Radio Equalizer, my indefatigable blog investigative partner, spotlights the hurricane-induced insanity of Air America Radio hosts Rachel Maddow and Randi Rhodes, who really have bigger things to worry about. (Audio of Rhodes here.) Jim Hoft comments.
This nutball refuses to support Katrina victims because of his anti-conservative hang-ups. (Hat tip: Erick at Red State.)
This group is totally bonkers.
Arthur Chrenkoff compiles a list of left-wingers using the disaster to stoke Bush hatred and eco-zealotry.
Patrick Ruffini documents a "hurricane of hatred." Alenda Lux has a reality check.
.....
Naturally, Bush's critics want to make this into a major issue in the run-up to the 2006 mid-term elections next fall. But the reality is more complex than the Bush Blamers will admit. They want you to believe that inadequate flood-control protections became a problem only after Bush took office. However, the New Orleans Times-Picayune has written numerous articles over the years describing the threat posed by inadequate funding for flood-control measures. Many of these articles, such as the one authored by Pam Louwagie on June 1, 1999 (see extended entry), appeared well before President Bush took office. (full post)
|
The loud noise coming from the left is a bit distracting as our nation tries to help out those in need. But can I blame them? As a party, Democrats have to hit every opportunity they have to try to knock down President Bush and the Republican Party's credibility and favor with the general public in preparation for 2008. Naturally, The New York Times jumped into the anti-Bush wagon along with CNN (Roger Simon chimes in about this).
Power Line has an informative post on debunking the "underfunded levee construction" theory that the Left has been spreading around:
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Thursday that a lack of funding for hurricane-protection projects around New Orleans did not contribute to the disastrous flooding that followed Hurricane Katrina.
.....
However, they noted that the levees were designed for a Category 3 hurricane and couldn't handle the ferocious winds and raging waters from Hurricane Katrina, which was a Category 4 storm when it hit the coastline. The decision to build levees for a Category 3 hurricane was made decades ago based on a cost-benefit analysis. (full post)
Regarding the last point though I heard one criticism from the Right on the New Orleans Levee Board that they have been busy with various questionable projects, such as casinos and other projects outside of their domain, over the past decade but have not tended to the actual maintenance of the levee. Is this a surprise from one of the most corrupt municipalities of our modern nation? I would actually be very cautious and structure carefully how to provide financial support to these local government and nonprofit organizations in New Orleans. Now some of these local government officials are trying to blame the federal goverment for their past incompetence.
Anyway, here's a good commentary from The American Thinker:
It certainly didn’t take long for the race baiters, class warriors, and economic determinists to heave themselves up from the flood waters that have inundated New Orleans to inform us all of the real tragedy being played out in that tortured city. Most of us think it bad enough that tens of thousands of human beings are suffering untold hardships and indignities as a result of being stranded in the nightmare of barbarism and perditious mayhem to which a once beautiful city has descended.
But for the professional victimhood groups, opportunity has come knocking. Why let an unimaginable tragedy like Katrina spoil a chance to link the tried and true canards of race and class with both the evocation of white guilt and a little Bush bashing for good measure?
This quotation from the Reverend Jesse Jackson manages the trifecta – race, class, and Bush bashing – quite nicely:
"Many black people feel that their race, their property conditions and their voting patterns have been a factor in the response,” Mr. Jackson said, after meeting with Louisiana officials yesterday. "I’m not saying that myself, but what’s self-evident is that you have many poor people without a way out." (full post)
Michelle Malkin has a great overview of "The Blame Game" here:
Unfortunately, while Americans from all walks of life have been busy raising money, the unhinged Left keeps slinging bull.
Brian Maloney at The Radio Equalizer, my indefatigable blog investigative partner, spotlights the hurricane-induced insanity of Air America Radio hosts Rachel Maddow and Randi Rhodes, who really have bigger things to worry about. (Audio of Rhodes here.) Jim Hoft comments.
This nutball refuses to support Katrina victims because of his anti-conservative hang-ups. (Hat tip: Erick at Red State.)
This group is totally bonkers.
Arthur Chrenkoff compiles a list of left-wingers using the disaster to stoke Bush hatred and eco-zealotry.
Patrick Ruffini documents a "hurricane of hatred." Alenda Lux has a reality check.
.....
Naturally, Bush's critics want to make this into a major issue in the run-up to the 2006 mid-term elections next fall. But the reality is more complex than the Bush Blamers will admit. They want you to believe that inadequate flood-control protections became a problem only after Bush took office. However, the New Orleans Times-Picayune has written numerous articles over the years describing the threat posed by inadequate funding for flood-control measures. Many of these articles, such as the one authored by Pam Louwagie on June 1, 1999 (see extended entry), appeared well before President Bush took office. (full post)
Friday, September 02, 2005
WEDDING CRASHERS... JOHN KERRY & BILL CLINTON
I've floated this "Wedding Crashers Crasher" trailer around for the past few weeks to people through email. My initial mass email had my friends, Edwin and Paulo, placed into this amusing program that allows you to paste over the faces of Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn with whomever you want. So for this blog I decided to paste in John Kerry and Bill Clinton. Definitely two guys that would have been wedding crashers in another life. Of course Kerry would have only crashed weddings in the Hamptons, Kennilworth, or Marin County. Clinton would have gone to any wedding, anywhere. Check it out!
|
I've floated this "Wedding Crashers Crasher" trailer around for the past few weeks to people through email. My initial mass email had my friends, Edwin and Paulo, placed into this amusing program that allows you to paste over the faces of Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn with whomever you want. So for this blog I decided to paste in John Kerry and Bill Clinton. Definitely two guys that would have been wedding crashers in another life. Of course Kerry would have only crashed weddings in the Hamptons, Kennilworth, or Marin County. Clinton would have gone to any wedding, anywhere. Check it out!
YAHOO GETTING MICROSOFT ON YOU
Seems a bit aggressive on Yahoo!'s part to force additional tools onto a user. I'm sure there will be some backlash for this move:
If you're one of the tens of millions of Yahoo users asked to upgrade your instant-messaging software this week, be on your toes: The update can open the door to unwanted PC houseguests--and setting changes--by default.
The newest free version of Yahoo Instant Messenger (YIM) boasts advanced Internet phone calling in a upgrade that comes "highly recommended" by Yahoo. By clicking "yes" to the update, a user can expect to get a slicker YIM interface with buttons to quickly chat, blog, swap photos or call someone online. It even has new smiley icons.
Those changes are what many might expect. What they may not expect are all the other tools they get when not paying attention.
By accepting Yahoo's "typical" installation of YIM with Voice, it will also download Yahoo's Search Toolbar with anti-spyware and anti-pop-up software, desktop and system tray shortcuts, as well as Yahoo Extras, which will insert Yahoo links into the Internet Explorer browser. The IM client also contains "live words," which will automatically show an icon when the user highlights words online and then hyperlink to Yahoo search results, definitions or translation tools. Finally, the installation will alter the users' home page and auto-search functions to point to Yahoo by default.
To avoid these changes, users must actively choose the "custom" installation and uncheck five boxes.
Yahoo spokeswoman Terrell Karlsten said that for avid Yahoo users, the included services are valuable and highlight the integration among all its tools. (ful article)
|
Seems a bit aggressive on Yahoo!'s part to force additional tools onto a user. I'm sure there will be some backlash for this move:
If you're one of the tens of millions of Yahoo users asked to upgrade your instant-messaging software this week, be on your toes: The update can open the door to unwanted PC houseguests--and setting changes--by default.
The newest free version of Yahoo Instant Messenger (YIM) boasts advanced Internet phone calling in a upgrade that comes "highly recommended" by Yahoo. By clicking "yes" to the update, a user can expect to get a slicker YIM interface with buttons to quickly chat, blog, swap photos or call someone online. It even has new smiley icons.
Those changes are what many might expect. What they may not expect are all the other tools they get when not paying attention.
By accepting Yahoo's "typical" installation of YIM with Voice, it will also download Yahoo's Search Toolbar with anti-spyware and anti-pop-up software, desktop and system tray shortcuts, as well as Yahoo Extras, which will insert Yahoo links into the Internet Explorer browser. The IM client also contains "live words," which will automatically show an icon when the user highlights words online and then hyperlink to Yahoo search results, definitions or translation tools. Finally, the installation will alter the users' home page and auto-search functions to point to Yahoo by default.
To avoid these changes, users must actively choose the "custom" installation and uncheck five boxes.
Yahoo spokeswoman Terrell Karlsten said that for avid Yahoo users, the included services are valuable and highlight the integration among all its tools. (ful article)
GIVING ICEROCKET PROPS... REVIEW OF SEARCH SERVICES IN SOUTH KOREA
Ok. I knocked on Jason Calacanis for being biased in my prior post, but I checkout IceRocket again and I like some of the features they present. When you do a blog search, they date when a post went up in chronological order. Pretty good. I use this engine once every couple weeks and they still provide a screenshot whenever possible of your web search results. I'm sure some people like this little bell. A new (or old) thing I found cool was when you do a multimedia search, they present the results in subcategories, which is pretty cool. If you look at the screenshot below, you'll see the results for "U2" in their multimedia search came up with "55 artists, 56 Albums, 842 Songs, 1 Music Video" as the results.
IceRocket screenshot
This reminded me of South Korean search engines and how they present their results, which I think is slightly ahead of U.S. engines in terms of presentation related to our Web2.0 world. If you look at the screenshot below of Naver.com (Yahoo! Korea has a similar format), I typed in "Katrina" (better results with Korean words obviously) and it comes up with results in various subcategories, which are:
Cafe Blog
Books
Knowledge Database
Music
Recent News
Websites
Photo Images
If you're wondering what "Knowledge Database" is, this the functionality that gives Naver.com (NHN Corp. is the parent) 80% market share in Korea and the reason why Google cannot penetrate this market so easily. This is basically what Yahoo! would like to do with their local search. This service allows people to enter their personal knowledge and recommendations for search results. Anyway, it's not a great screenshot, but hopefully you can get an idea of the layout of Korean search engine results from this picture.
Naver screenshot
|
Ok. I knocked on Jason Calacanis for being biased in my prior post, but I checkout IceRocket again and I like some of the features they present. When you do a blog search, they date when a post went up in chronological order. Pretty good. I use this engine once every couple weeks and they still provide a screenshot whenever possible of your web search results. I'm sure some people like this little bell. A new (or old) thing I found cool was when you do a multimedia search, they present the results in subcategories, which is pretty cool. If you look at the screenshot below, you'll see the results for "U2" in their multimedia search came up with "55 artists, 56 Albums, 842 Songs, 1 Music Video" as the results.
IceRocket screenshot
This reminded me of South Korean search engines and how they present their results, which I think is slightly ahead of U.S. engines in terms of presentation related to our Web2.0 world. If you look at the screenshot below of Naver.com (Yahoo! Korea has a similar format), I typed in "Katrina" (better results with Korean words obviously) and it comes up with results in various subcategories, which are:
Cafe Blog
Books
Knowledge Database
Music
Recent News
Websites
Photo Images
If you're wondering what "Knowledge Database" is, this the functionality that gives Naver.com (NHN Corp. is the parent) 80% market share in Korea and the reason why Google cannot penetrate this market so easily. This is basically what Yahoo! would like to do with their local search. This service allows people to enter their personal knowledge and recommendations for search results. Anyway, it's not a great screenshot, but hopefully you can get an idea of the layout of Korean search engine results from this picture.
Naver screenshot
Thursday, September 01, 2005
TECHNORATI BURNING
I wrote my complaints about Technorati a few weeks ago and the problems still persist. Here are some more recent complaints from Jason Kottke and Jason Calacanis:
So long, Technorati
That's it. I've had it. No more Technorati. I've used the site for, what, a couple of years now to keep track of what people were saying about posts on kottke.org and searching blogs for keywords or current events. During that time, it's been down at least a quarter of the time (although it's been better recently), results are often unavailable for queries with large result sets (i.e. this is only going to become a bigger problem as time goes on), and most of the rest of the time it's slow as molasses.
When it does return results in a timely fashion for links to kottke.org, the results often include old links that I've seen before in the results set, sometimes from months ago. And that's to say nothing of the links Technorati doesn't even display. The "kottke.org" smart list in my newsreader picks up stuff that Technorati never seems to get, and that's only pulling results from the ~200 blogs I read, most of which are not what you'd call obscure. What good is keeping track of 14 million blogs if you're missing 200 well-known ones? (And trackbacks perform even better...this post got 159 trackbacks but only 93 sites linking to it on Technorati.) (full post)
Technorati Worthless
I’ve been complaining about how worthless the results from Technorati are for the past six months (at least). Now Jason Kottke has kicked out Technorati, and Fred Wilson has done the same.
Amazing how quickly the mighty have fallen. At a conference last year half the screen in the audience seemed to be on Technorati. Now, I do my canned technorati searches and I see nothing but items from a year ago and spam. Ugh. (full post)
Calacanis suggests IceRocket as an alternative, but I believe there is a bit of bias there since that's a company Mark Cuban invested in along with Weblogs, Inc. As I posted before, check out PubSub and BlogPulse too.
|
I wrote my complaints about Technorati a few weeks ago and the problems still persist. Here are some more recent complaints from Jason Kottke and Jason Calacanis:
So long, Technorati
That's it. I've had it. No more Technorati. I've used the site for, what, a couple of years now to keep track of what people were saying about posts on kottke.org and searching blogs for keywords or current events. During that time, it's been down at least a quarter of the time (although it's been better recently), results are often unavailable for queries with large result sets (i.e. this is only going to become a bigger problem as time goes on), and most of the rest of the time it's slow as molasses.
When it does return results in a timely fashion for links to kottke.org, the results often include old links that I've seen before in the results set, sometimes from months ago. And that's to say nothing of the links Technorati doesn't even display. The "kottke.org" smart list in my newsreader picks up stuff that Technorati never seems to get, and that's only pulling results from the ~200 blogs I read, most of which are not what you'd call obscure. What good is keeping track of 14 million blogs if you're missing 200 well-known ones? (And trackbacks perform even better...this post got 159 trackbacks but only 93 sites linking to it on Technorati.) (full post)
Technorati Worthless
I’ve been complaining about how worthless the results from Technorati are for the past six months (at least). Now Jason Kottke has kicked out Technorati, and Fred Wilson has done the same.
Amazing how quickly the mighty have fallen. At a conference last year half the screen in the audience seemed to be on Technorati. Now, I do my canned technorati searches and I see nothing but items from a year ago and spam. Ugh. (full post)
Calacanis suggests IceRocket as an alternative, but I believe there is a bit of bias there since that's a company Mark Cuban invested in along with Weblogs, Inc. As I posted before, check out PubSub and BlogPulse too.
Business & Technology, Politics, and Random Posts from the Left, Right, and Elsewhere
Place of Birth: Seoul, Korea
Hometown: Northbrook, IL USA
Lived in: Seoul, Chicago (Villa Park & Northbrook), Madison, WI, Springfield, IL, St. Louis, New York City, Chicago (Glenview), Seoul, San Francisco
Also blogs at: AlwaysOn, Coro Blog, SportsBlog
More on Bernard or Blogger profile or GoingOn profile or Linkedin profile
Max Yow
Homeland: Canada
Sports: combative sports, sports you play with a ball, sports with no swimming, sports you can play while drinking and smoking (pool, darts, bowling, video games).
More on Max
ARCHIVES
- April 2003
- May 2003
- June 2003
- July 2003
- August 2003
- September 2003
- October 2003
- November 2003
- December 2003
- January 2004
- February 2004
- March 2004
- April 2004
- May 2004
- June 2004
- July 2004
- August 2004
- September 2004
- October 2004
- November 2004
- December 2004
- January 2005
- February 2005
- March 2005
- April 2005
- May 2005
- June 2005
- July 2005
- August 2005
- September 2005
- October 2005
- November 2005
- December 2005
- January 2006
- February 2006
- March 2006
- April 2006
- May 2006
- June 2006
- July 2006
- August 2006
- September 2006
- October 2006
- Current Posts
If you have questions, topic ideas, or whatever, just email bernard at bernard.moon@gmail.com. Thank you!
site feed
forget the long tail!
(03/21/2006)
2084
(11/02/2005)
building the perfect team
(08/17/2005)
open it up, new york times, chicago tribune, san francisco chronicle!
(06/07/2005)
staring down the digital divide
(06/08/2005)
2005 world series of poker... tech style
(03/30/2005)
rss: real simple syndication or really saturated space?
(02/10/2005)
blogosphere: lost in translation?
(02/10/2005)
diamonds in the rough at redmond
(02/10/2005)
it's a wiki wiki world
(02/03/2005)
where technology is ubiquitous, opportunity abounds
(1/12/2005)
start of "reality media" column
(12/23/2004)
Tech
bill joy's apocalyptic vision, determinism, and commonality with stephen hawking
(07/22/2005)
google economy => blogosphere
(01/25/2005)
power of the long tail
(12/14/2004)
protectionist china... will chinese or u.s. companies lose out?
(3/15/2004)
skype... p2p telephony & a very cool company
(2/13/2004)
poor george glider is right
(2/9/2004)
it's not the deficit stupid!... tech is the primary driver for growth
(12/02/2003)
immature venture capital industry in asia (9/29/2003)
boom time memories... masayoshi son was the man
(7/1/2003)
Politics
south korea's recent idiotic policies against foreign direct investment
(09/09/2005)
my first op-ed
(11/30/2004)
100,000 protest against Bush for... what?
(11/23/2003)
Society
generalizations of east asians
(5/16/2004)
sports is the great equalizer and unifer
(4/20/2004)
defining wisdom... age is the lesser factor
(10/18/2003)
living together before marriage
(8/25/2003)
friendships, relationships, people in life... (7/7/2003)
sugar mommas
(6/13/2003)
need for laws and enforcement
(4/10/2003)
old shaq issue
(4/2/2003)
Religion
creationism & christmas
(12/23/2004)
the passion of the christ... misunderstood
(2/20/2004)
christian's view of homosexuality
(1/13/2004)
is man determined or free?
(8/18/2003)
destructive christianity
(5/3/2003)
Others
"Blah Blah Bernard Blah Blah" Changing to "Junto Boyz"... A New Direction
(4/20/2004)
art of asking questions
(9/18/2003)
ode to bacon
(8/13/2003)
big guys... eating stories iv
(7/27/2003)
big guys... eating stories i
(4/2/2003)
cnn
cnet
businessweek
economist
forbes
fortune
fast company
pe week wire
the deal
ecommerce times
ne asia online
pacific epoch
eweek
release 1.0
technology review
techweb
zdnet news
the american spectator
drudge report
foreign policy
frontpage
harvard political review
mother jones
national review
the new republic
the weekly standard
il conservative politics
the atlantic
the hill
roll call
george f. will
asianweek
financeasia
korea herald
the onion
cox & forkum cartoons
garage technology ventures
growthink research
entrepreneur.com
entrepreneur america
venture economics
venture reporter
vfinance.com
yahoo! small business
nationmaster
thomas, legislative info
american enterprise institute
brookings institute
carnegie endowment
cato institute
center for american progress
center for strategic & int'l studies
heritage foundation
hudson institute
national center for policy analysis
progress & freedom foundation
progressive policy institute
rand corporation
reason public policy institute
urban institute
columbia institute for tele-info
international justice mission
charles barkley's outrageous career
liquid generation
wikipedia
"You cannot go on explaining away things over forever or you will find that you have explained even explanation itself away. You cannot go on seeing through things forever because the whole point of seeing through something is to see something else through it." - C.S Lewis
December 11, 2005
"This telephone has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us." - Western Union internal memo, 1876
December 4, 2005
"You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individual. To that end each of us must work for his own improvement, and at the same time share a general responsibility for all humanity, our particular duty being to aid those to whom we think we can be most useful." - Marie Curie
November 27, 2005
"One cannot step into the same river twice." - Heratidus
November 20, 2005
"The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference and undernourishment." - Robert Maynard Hutchins
November 13, 2005
"We are moving away from the old idea of leadership -- leadership has less to do (now) with heroism. We don’t look for... unblemished omnipotent heroes, but leaders who are complex, dependent, changeable... We do not need one dominant authority structure telling all our inner voices to shut up..." - Walter Truett Anderson
November 6, 2005
"To know oneself is to know one’s [country]. It is also... paradoxically a form of exile from that world... to know oneself is, above all, to know what one lacks. It is to measure oneself against Truth, and not the other way around. The first product of self-knowledge is humility, and that virtue is not conspicuous in any national character." - Flannery O’Connor
October 30, 2005
"Men content themselves with the same words as other people use, as if the very sound necessarily carried the same meaning." - John Locke
October 23, 2005
"In order to thrive in a world of change and chaos, we will need to accept 'chaos' as an essential process by which natural systems, including organizations, renew and revitalize themselves." - Margaret Wheatley
October 16, 2004
"Politics is perhaps the only profession for which no preparation is thought necessary." - Robert Louis Stevenson
October 9, 2004
"We will be better and braver if we engage and inquire than if we indulge in the idle fancy that we already know - or that it is of no use seeking to know what we do not know." - Plato
October 2, 2004
"Man's mind stretched to a new idea never goes back to its original dimensions." - Oliver W. Holmes
September 25, 2004
"What you learn intellectually lies in the shallow pools among the wrinkles of your brain. What you learn through the skin of experience sinks deep into your roots." - Hank Taft
September 18, 2004
"In commanding us to glorify him, God is inviting us to enjoy him." - C.S. Lewis
September 11, 2004
"A society is judged by how it treats its least desirable people." - Anonymous
September 4, 2004
"This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no "brief candle" to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to the future generations." - George Bernard Shaw
Yahoo! Directory
Vote for this Blog!
The Weblog Review
Wictory Wednesday Roll
Blogdom of God Roll
League of Reformed Bloggers Roll
ProLifeBlogs Roll
