January 2010
83 posts
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Its not the size of your market, its what you do...
brycedotvc:
One of the most pedestrain of questions that arise in many VC meetings is that of market size. How big is your market? Really. I’ve found that should this question arise more than once over a series of meetings, you’re better off looking elsewhere for funding than the blue shirt and khaki MBA staring at you pointedly from across the table.
If history is a guide you will not be able...
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“The work you do while you procrastinate is probably the work you should be doing...”
– Jessica Hische
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“It’s not that the Democrats are playing checkers and the Republicans are...”
– Jon Stewart (video here… skip to the 9:00 mark)
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NYT and others charging for content?
I’ll be frank… I really don’t think media companies charging for content is the way to go. Let’s look at why:
One of the things that made iTunes and other music download services great is that they allowed people to purchase an individual song as opposed to an entire record. People don’t mind paying for something they value, but they don’t like paying for...
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Why Windows Mobile 7 might actually matter →
It’s not often that I offer praise upon Redmond’s strategic efforts, but this one is indeed praise-worthy. For some time, Microsoft has been decidedly absent from the smart phone conversation. Yes, Steve Balmer will contest that they ship their WinMo OS’s on a gazillion handsets each year, but the perception is that Microsoft has missed this wave, and much of that perception...
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“The key is not the “will to win” - everybody has that. It is the will to prepare...”
– Bobby Knight (Retired American basketball coach. Knight head coached three NCAA national championship basketball teams. He has also won 902 games in men’s NCAA Div. I basketball, more than any other coach in history.) (via freethrows) (via steve-thesportsguyz)
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“The problem is that you can’t have good ideas unless you’re willing to generate...”
– Seth’s Blog: Fear of bad ideas (via hiten)
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“When a single TV spot or print ad used to be able to simultaneously drive...”
– R/GA founder & CEO Bob Greenberg, writing in Adweek (via alexjcampbell)
Yes, yes and yes again. We need more folks like this in the ad world.
(via evangotlib)
(via caterpillarcowboy)
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“Facebook easily has the brand equity to launch their own phone (most likely with...”
– The Steve Rubel Lifestream - Insights on emerging technologies and trends. (via hiten)
Interesting possibilities with something like this…
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WatchInterview by Lara Logan (yes!) of ex-CIA operative who helped spearhead US effort to destroy Al Qaeda and Taliban in 2001.
It’s interesting to consider that we were successful in destroying the Taliban’s governing structure with a handful of people, yet we’re struggling to set up a new government and maintain our grip on power, even with the advantage of thousands of more...
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Nexus One: designed to sync to the cloud, not your...
If we had ubiquitous wifi or 3G (or 4G) coverage here in the US, I would agree with this strategy. Unfortunately, we’re not there yet, and the lack of a persistent signal makes the “I stream everything approach” problematic. There are times (such as when you’re on an airplane) where you will have little or no signal, and I for one would be frustrated if all the sudden, my...
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Watchsimon-mills:
Lenovo IdeaPad U1 Hybrid Tablet
The dude showing this is a little cheesy (make that really cheesy), but the hybrid design is pretty cool. The guy mentions that you can browse through your CD’s… CD’s!!! who has a CD these days? All told, this is a good first product, but you’d like to see them improve the tablet user interface and sell both components...
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Antacid Tablet & Apple's Versioning Strategy →
John Siracusa of Ars Technica has written a compelling post on why the hype over the tablet is overblown with regard to its technical capabilities, and why we aren’t likely to be blown away on that front.
The biggest reason John is right is that many of the futuristic ideas being written about ignore the wisdom of versioning strategy. Sure, some of them will make it into the product...
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Google launches the Nexus One: now available to...
nexusonenews:
Google launched their much anticipated Nexus One handset to a press gathering at their Mountain View headquarters today. The device, which the company has dubbed a ‘superphone’ is now available to buy from their website for shipping to four countries - the US, UK, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Google announced their intention to ship to more countries in the near future, although the...
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MG's thoughts on Joe Wilcox's post regarding the... →
Best line from the article, “There is the very real possibility that this could be Jobs’ last major new product launch… Does anyone really think Jobs is going to go out betting on a niche product? No.”
I agree with John Gruber’s post… “I think The Tablet is nothing short of Apple’s reconception of personal computing.”
We’ll see…
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ESPN 3D to show soccer, football, more →
evangotlib:
rafimama:
Sports broadcasting will enter a new dimension in 2010 … the third dimension, as ESPN will unveil the industry’s first 3-D network.
ESPN 3D will showcase a minimum of 85 live sporting events during its first year, beginning June 11 with the first 2010 FIFA World Cup match, featuring South Africa vs. Mexico, ESPN and ABC Sports president George Bodenheimer announced.
...
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“Facebook wins the best startup at the Crunchies again… geez, 3 years in a...”
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“We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and...”
– Bill Gates (via hiten)
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What I've Learned Working for Startups
stephenmurphey:
Over the past year I’ve worked with several startups and I’ve learned more about launching a new venture through these experiences than in my MBA program. It’s also much cheaper and less painful to learn from someone else’s experiences than your own…and in any startup saving money is always a good thing.
Building your desk is a right of passage
Nothing says startup like the...
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9 Notions of Innovation
iyom:
Google expects everyone to innovate, even the finance team. Ideas come from everywhere.
Share everything you can. Every idea, every project, every deadline — it’s all accessible to everyone on the intranet.
You’re brilliant, we’re hiring. Founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin approve hires. They favor intelligence over experience.
A license to pursue dreams. Employees get a “free”...
“On days when workers have the sense they’re making headway in their jobs, or...”
– Progress, not recognition or incentives, is what really motivates workers. “Breakthrough Ideas for 2010,” Harvard Business Review (via somethingchanged) (via giftedboi) (via notemily) (via roomthily) (via infoneernet) (via himmelsblog)
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“We all have to understand that this is a very dangerous game—and more than ever...”
– Lone-Wolf Terrorists New Global Threat - Newsweek.com
After reading Wired for War this week I re-allocated a number of Linds and my investments to include companies like iRobot (IRBT) and Lockheed Martin (LMT) and many others. The company that makes the Predator, General Atomics, is not public...
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“Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can...”
– - Mary Kay Ash (via quote-book) (via hiten)
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Surrendering advertising … killing bundling →
“News Corp. may succeed at getting fees from cable operators, but I predict that will raise prices for consumers as more and more fees are passed along; consumers will be further enraged that they have to spend money for bundles of channels they don’t want or watch; and that will give regulators the cause they need to demand a la carte pricing — which will end up hurting and likely killing...
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Skins Immediate Plans
The redskins need a lot of things to turn things around but here is my personal take on the most pressing needs right now and what I think ought to be done about them:
Owner: Partially solved… Dan Snyder will always be “Dan Snyder” and we can’t really fire an owner. But I think “the Danny” has learned a lot in recent years and finally (hopefully) appears ready...
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“Some people need to stop being ‘me’ guys and start being...”
– Jason Campbell speaking out about Clinton Portis.
Bottom line… Portis needs an attitude change or he’s gotta go. I’m not the biggest Jason Campbell fan in the world, but JC has been through a lot of change in his career. He consistently hangs tough in the pocket and does his...
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Google just scored big time with the Nexus One →
The Press just doesn’t get it… they keep asking why Google needed to do its own phone and risk alienating its existing partners? Now that you see the Nexus do you understand? It’s because the previous phones were rather boring and Google finally decided to “take the bull by the horns” as Arrington puts it.
Designing a mobile device is about more then just an...
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Hardware accessories: A huge market for the tablet
There have certainly been some hardware accessories for the iPhone, but most have come in the form of cases, a few of which have extra batteries or a credit card reader. The problem with hardware accessories for iPhone is most get in the way of what most people use the phone for primarily: talking. After all, it is called iPhone.
The tablet will be different. Since its not intended to be a...
