2007 December | Mark Evans

Blogging Resolutions for ‘08

December 31st, 2007 | 7 Comments | Posted in Media

In 2008, I’m looking to:

1. Blog more because you have to feed the beast…and how else can you keep up with people such as Mathew Ingram, Om Malik, TechCrunch, Robert Scoble, Mashable, ReadWriteWeb, etc.?

2. Blog less, and focus on quality as opposed to quantity, and unique thoughts/ideas rather than jumping on the blogging bandwagon every time news breaks.

3. Be less obsessed with statistics because it’s not how many readers you have but the audience you want to reach, the conversations you want to encourage, the brand you want to build, etc.

4. Be even more obsessed with statistics because more is always better, right? Goals for 2008: 2,500 RSS readers, a lot more comments and a promotion within the Techmeme ecosystem.

5. Learn even more about how Wordpress works, including design and SEO.

6. Stop spending so much time learning about Wordpress, and stop fooling around with every single plug-in that looks quasi-interesting.

7. Spend less time on Techmeme.

8. Reduce the number of RSS feeds to focus on reading a small group of blogs.

9. Add more blogs to Google Reader, especially those not focused on technology.

10. Try to attract advertising other than AdSense.

11. Stop worrying about making money from blogging because it’s really not about the money.

Have a Happy (and safe!) New Year’s!

Technorati Tags: Bloggers, Blogs

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Canada Needs a Peter Thiel

December 30th, 2007 | 6 Comments | Posted in Venture Capital

If you’ve spent any time around the burgeoning DemoCamp, CaseCamp, BarCamp, mesh, et al scene in Toronto, one thing becomes obvious: there’s a lot of hard-working entrepreneurs desperately seeking a little venture capital.

These are people who have ideas and/or online services - some of them interesting - but aren’t able to commit themselves full-time and take their start-ups to the next level without an investment from a VC or angels. We’re talking $250,000 to $500,000 - enough to hire a few employees to give it a real go for a year, maybe 18 months provided you’re smart and careful with your cash.

Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of this kind of money floating around even for the best ideas. It’s too bad because just a little VC love would go a long way in boosting Canada’s online landscape.

What Canada needs is Peter Thiel, who co-founded PayPal and one of Facebook’s early investors. Or perhaps someone like Thiel, who has created a new fund that invests a little money (a few hundred thousand dollars) for a small stake (5% to 10%). For more, check out this story in the Wall St. Journal.

If you had a start-up fund with, let’s say, $50-million, you could easily finance 25 companies - provided you could syndicate your post-seed deals. While Thiel takes a hands-off approach, a smart start-up fund should probably offer value-added resources such as infrastructure, human resources, legal services, strategic advisors, etc. given there isn’t a large base of successful Canadian entrepreneurs who have been there and done that.

So where’s this money going to come from? Maybe someone like Research in Motion’s Jim Balsillie, a dyed-in-the-wool entrepreneur. Or perhaps Jeff Skoll, who has been putting his eBay dollars into the film, and social entrepreneurship through his foundation. Or maybe a group of well-heeled entrepreneurs will get together to do something. (Note: Extreme Venture Partners launched earlier this month with a $10-million fund that will focus on $1-million investments.)

In any event, there’s a need that isn’t being met right now. Let’s hope 2008 sees something change.

Technorati Tags: Canada, puppy, Venture Capital

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Google Isn’t God…But Addictive

December 30th, 2007 | 3 Comments | Posted in Google

A few years, I took a half-hearted attempt at giving up Microsoft (sort of like my terribly unsuccessful endeavor to become a vegetarian.)

It was a difficult task given I was using XP and Office but there was a sense of satisfaction in embracing Firefox and Thunderbird rather than IE and Outlook. These days, Google is the new Microsoft but as much as I’d like to cut back on my Google addiction, it’s difficult. Let’s look at my Google “portfolio”:

1. Search. Simply put, Google continues to be the best, although I’m curious/interested about new search engines such as Powerset.

2. Blog search. Google Blog Search is, strangely, far from compelling but it will continue to be the tool of choice until something better comes along.

3. Image search. Love it. Works.

4. Finance. Google Finance has a nice clean look and feel but Yahoo Finance can be just as good, particularly when it comes to analyst information.

5. Picasa. I just started using Google’s photo tool. It’s pretty good but there are plenty of solid alternatives. For photo-editing, Picnik is great.

6. Google Docs. A great tool if you need to collaborate with other people, and a complement - but not a replacement - to Office.

7. Google Reader. I used to be a big FeedDemon fan but jumped on the GR bandwagon when it became obvious that an online tool was a must-have.

8. Google Earth. Tres cool.

The funny thing about using all these Google services is they kind of just sneak up on you. One day, you’re using search on a regular basis, and then before you know it, you’ve migrated to a bunch of other Google-powered services.

What’s interesting that I look at each Google search as a standalone entity rather than as an application suite - perhaps because there’s little integration between each service. One of the reasons that I really like the concept of a Google Browser (aka GBrowser) is it would give Google an interesting way to showcase its entire portfolio, while controlling the tool that’s replacing the OS as the foundation for personal computing.

More: Jeff Jarvis declares that “Google is God” after looking at the company’s growth in terms of search, pay-per-click, traffic, brand and financial results.

Technorati Tags: Google

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Can the Music Industry be This Stupid?

December 29th, 2007 | No Comments | Posted in Music

Now, this is incredible…and incredibly unbelievable.

According to the Washington Post, the music industry has filed a lawsuit against Jeffrey Howell for copying 2,000 songs onto his computer - from CDs he owns. The RIAA alleges these are “unauthorized copies”.

It’s a move that smacks of desperation. It’s a move that will only further alienate consumers, who are tired of buying the over-priced crap being pumped out by the music business. It’s a move that just might cause many people, who want to do the right thing by buying digital music, to stop buying music period.

It’s about time the music industry gave up the idea of selling music because it’s a commodity that consumers want to pay increasingly less to acquire. Yup, if the music industry was smart, they would give music away as a marketing freebie.

Then, they could focus on selling products and services that consumers value such as concert tickets, merchandise, limited-edition CDs, DVDs, Webcasts, etc. If people are willing to pay $200 to see the Police on tour but nothing for any of the Police’s music, what does that tell you?

More: Larry Borsato describes the RIAA’s move as a “grasping at the last straw”, and provides some interesting facts on how much artists actually make from selling CDs and digital music. Scott Karp is even more damning, calling the lawsuit a “desperate, senseless, lunatic attempt to save the collapse of their business” - while suggesting the music industry will be the first traditional media business to be destroyed by digital technology.

Technorati Tags: Music, RIAA

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Facebook to Buy Netscape Assets?

December 28th, 2007 | 2 Comments | Posted in Browsers

Sad news from the browser world as AOL has finally decided to stop development of Netscape.

Actually, it’s not sad at all given Netscape has become irrelevant in recent years as usage as declined and Firefox has replaced it as the alternative to IE. It’s only sad because Netscape ruled the browser market once upon a time before allowing Microsoft to steal its thunder and most of its users.

So what does AOL do with Netscape now it has officially decided to walk away? How about selling the assets to Facebook, which should seriously think about launching the FBrowser in 2008? Netscape’s technology ain’t much to write home about given AOL has been ignoring it for far too long but it still has plenty of users.

Then again, if I were Facebook, I’d probably be more interested in buying Flock - aka the social browser.

Technorati Tags: Browsers, Netscape

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Opportunity ‘08: the RSS Reader Market

December 28th, 2007 | 2 Comments | Posted in Blog Services, Blogs

In 2007, RSS took a huge step forward as it edged a little closer to becoming a mainstream tool. (Check out ReadWriteWeb’s in-depth overview of the year in RSS).

While Google Reader made a big splash and Bloglines remains a key player, the RSS reader market is still ripe with opportunity and, not surprisingly, there is no lack of start-ups looking to establish a foothold as more people look for easy and efficient ways to use RSS to consume content.

Given RSS still has a long way to go, competition is healthy and necessary so it’s encouraging to see so a growing number of companies battling it out using a variety of approaches.

This ranges from Waterloo, Ont.-based aideRSS.com, which crunches data from sites such as Technorati and del.icio.us to measure the “social engagement” of each post within your RSS collection. This produces a ranking system that makes it easier to select which posts to read.

Another interesting start-up is fav.or.it, which lets you read RSS feeds as well as write blog posts and comment on other people’s posts within the fav.or.it platform. For more, check out Robert Scoble’s interview with fav.or.it’s Nick Halstead. (Note: fav.or.it is still in beta so I haven’t been able to try it yet).

There’s still opportunity in the RSS reader market for a few reasons: One, the market is far from saturated as many people have yet to embrace RSS, let alone use a reader. Two, no one has emerged with a killer service, although Google Reader has made some great strides in recent months. There’s still room for a service with a few bells and whistles beyond just being able to add and read RSS feeds, which is why aideRSS and fav.or.it are so intriguing.

While the consumer market attracts a lot of the RSS reader spotlight, it’s still unclear how these companies are going to make money from offering their services. The most common business model is - surprise, surprise - “premium services”.

A far more promising business opportunity appears to be the corporate market. This explains why NewsGator was able to raise $12-million in venture capital recently. Over the past two years, NewsGator has migrated nearly its entire business to the corporate market, and it now counts 12 Fortune 100 companies as customers.

There’s no doubt RSS will continue to become more popular in 2008 to deliver and consume content. The question is who will emerge as the leading consumptions tools and how they will make money.

More: For part I of my Opportunity ‘08 series, check out this post on the vertical blog search market.

Technorati Tags: Google Reader, NewsGator, RSS

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All Aboard the Apple Express

December 27th, 2007 | No Comments | Posted in Apple/iPod

Apple - $300 - so says Blogging Stocks.

Hard to believe that only three years ago, it was trading at $10.

Whether it’s Apple heading to $300 or Google going to $1000, there’s a lusty love affair happening with successful, high-profile tech stocks. But if this reminds you of the dot-com boom, you’re wrong because investors seem to be selective, although they’ve shown unbridled enthusiasm for the names they love.

What we’re seeing now when it comes to Apple is a lot of people realizing later rather than never that the iPod, iMac, iPhone and iSteve are red-hot with no end in sight.

Sure, there will probably be gains to be had but where was everywhere when Apple shares were struggling even though it was sitting on a mountain of cash?

If I had some cash burning a hole in my pocket, I’d sink a pile of it in Apple shares now. Why? It’s a bet on the madness of crowds and a near-guarantee that investors are going to crazy when Apple posts its next quarterly results in the wake of strong holiday sales.

$300 may be a lot closer than you think.

Technorati Tags: Apple

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The Joys of Unsubscribing

December 27th, 2007 | 2 Comments | Posted in Advertising/Marketing

As 2008 rolls around, I’ve been spending some of my holidays time tying up some loose ends.

One of them is cleaning out an inbox fueled/bogged down by multiple e-mail addresses and subscriptions to far too many newsletters. Although there are still a few still running wild, I’ve been on an aggressive newsletter unsubscribe campaign in an attempt to manage my in-box better. Anything that isn’t a must-read is abruptly turfed, and the more turfing I do, the better it feels.

It’s interesting to see the different unsubscribe options. The best and most efficient are ones where you click on a link at the bottom of an e-mail, which causes a Web page to open with a “You’re now unsubscribed” message. Now, that’s user-friendly!

Then, there are unsubscribes where a Web page pops up that requires you to enter your e-mail address, which isn’t alright. But the ones that I don’t like are those where you have to send them a message with “Unsubscribe” in the subject line. Why make it more difficult than it has to be given the person plans to leave anyway?

Anyway, back to the campaign!

Technorati Tags: Unsubscribe

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Opportunity ‘08: Vertical Blog Search

December 26th, 2007 | 8 Comments | Posted in Blogs, Search Engines

It looks like IceRocket is taking another shot at establishing a foothold in the blog search market amid a new look and feel, according to Data Mining. IceRocket is best known for once having Mark Cuban as an investor but its turn in the spotlight was as short as Cuban’s dalliance in the business. (He sold his stake in 2006 to Think Partnership).

IceRocket’s attempt to revive itself will be a huge challenge given its shot at success has likely come and gone, but the blog search market is still ripe with opportunity because it still doesn’t have a dominant player. Unlike general search, Google is battling for share along with Technorati, Sphere, Bloglines, etc.

Blog search is ripe for a hot, new start-up to capture the imagination of people looking for a search engine that works well. For all the investment in me-too companies in the photo-sharing and social networking markets, it’s been puzzling not see more activity in the blog search business.

Maybe entrepreneurs and investors believe it’s not worth pursuing because Google has moved into the neighborhood but if you’ve used Google Blog Search, it doesn’t take long to discover that, for whatever, reason, it’s far from terrific.

Still, if you don’t want to go head-to-head with Google, another golden opportunity waiting for someone to step up is vertical blog search. With more than 110 million blogs (and thousands more created a day), a blog search engine focused on a specific vertical (travel, technology, sports, business, music, etc.) could have enormous potential by offering an effective way to meet the needs of people looking information in a market clogged with lots of flotsam and jetsam.

For anyone who may scoff at the idea of a vertical blog search engine, look at how the vertical search market has thrived in recent years as players focus on markets where Google can’t or won’t target. Kayak.com, for example, is steadily building its travel search business through organic growth and the recent acquisition of Sidestep.

So, is this the year that vertical blog search jumps into the spotlight?

Update: Rich Skrenta, who co-founded Topix and the Open Directory Project, has launched a new search start-up called Blekko (doesn’t exactly roll off your tougue, does it!). Why a search start-up. His explanation: “Simple - the idea that the current state-of-the-art in search is what we’ll all be using, essentially unchanged, in 5 or 10 years, is absurd to me”

Technorati Tags: Blogs, IceRocket, Search Engines

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Who’s Going to be the Apple of 2008?

December 25th, 2007 | 6 Comments | Posted in Main Page

No doubt, 2007 was the Year of the Apple (or the iPod/iPhone), although it was, in fact, the Year of the Pig.

And Henry Blodget decided to cap things off with an ultra-bullish post on why Apple will rock while Windows will wither on the vine, which I’m sure will generate lots of egg nog and turkey-fueled debate today.

So what will be the hot company in 2008? Who will capture the spotlight?

Maybe it will be Amazon as it becomes much more than just an online book seller? Look at how many start-ups are using S3 as a key part of their business plans.

Maybe Mozilla will surprise everyone by transforming itself from a non-profit, open-source browser developer into something much more significant with the launch of Weave.

And what about Microsoft? Will 2008 finally be the year its Web strategies start to overshadow Windows and Office?

I’m really not one for predications but here’s a few:

1. eBay is acquired, probably by Yahoo.

2. Mark Zuckerberg is replaced as Facebook’s CEO but Facebook is not acquired.

3. The Dallas Mavericks win the NBA championships but sadly for Mark Cuban, HDTV will fail to take off.

4. While Web 2.0 will remain alive and well, the venture capital community will finally a new love - green and alternative energy.

5. The online advertising market sees strong growth (+20% YOY) but advertisers will continue to be cautious about the blogosphere.

6. Google shares crack $1,000.

7. TechCrunch’s Dead Pool welcomes dozens, if not hundreds, of new members.

8. Apple launches an iCamera.

9. To drive deeper into the Web, the New York Times will make several major acquisitions, possibly The Huffington Post.

10. The wireless Web will fail to materialize again even though 3G and WiMax technology will become more prevalent. E-mail and voice will continue to be the wireless world’s one-two punch, which is good news for Research in Motion.

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