mesh ’09 Notes

By Mark Evans in Venture Capital, Web 2.0 No Comments

mesh
Some random thoughts and observations from the first morning of mesh:

1. Mike Masnick is one of the smartest and most insightful people when it comes to what’s happening with the digital economy. He also shows more slides – 487 – than any other presenter I’ve seen.

2. Jessica Jackley, who founded Kiva.org, is an inspiring individual. If people at mesh hadn’t done micro-loans through Kiva before, I’m sure most of them – including me – will do so now. Her quote: “I’m not wealthy but I could retire on happiness” is a show-stopper. You can participate in Kiva through the mesh group that started during Jackley’s keynote.

3. Twitter could kill the people asking questions at conferences. After announcing we would take questions via Twitter, using the hashtag #askmesh, there were few question from the audience during Masnick’s keynote. That said, there were lots of questions during Jackley’s keynotes. In fact, we could have taken an hour more of questions.

4. From looking over the shoulders of mesh attendees, TweetDeck is the tool for the digerati. There were some people using Splitweet – an indication that some people have multiple accounts; and a few people using Twitter.com

5. There’s no lack of energy and excitement within Canada’s high-tech landscape. What’s really needed is more venture capital to harness, engage and jump-start all those smart people with great ideas.

6. If you’re planning an event, call Sheri Moore at MCC Planners. mesh and meshU could not happen without her and her team (Thanks, Danielle, Susan and Amy!)

7. I was digging my iPhone before mesh but the ability to have a mobile pocket desktop that does voice, e-mail, Twitter and the Web while running a conference is amazing.

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Yikes: Twitter’s Here, There and Everywhere

By Mark Evans in Social Media 8 Comments

I’m a big fan of Twitter. Heck, I even write a blog about Twitter.

But I have to concede the hype about Twitter seems to be getting out of control. Everywhere you turn, there’s a story about Twitter.

Earlier this week, the Toronto Star unveiled a contest about the meaning of life based on 140-characters or less. The Globe & Mail had a story about how you could stalk ex-lovers using Twitter. And Biz Stone appeared on the Colbert Report.

Now, there’s no denying Twitter is experiencing astounding growth as it goes from tool of the geeks to something celebrities are even embracing. And you know how the digerati enjoys supporting and reveling in the hype of the new kid in town.

But have we collectively become obsessed with Twitter – not only users who feel the need to share minute details of their lives but the media, which has latched onto Twitter with so much enthusiasm recently?

Before anyone accuses me of jumping off the bandwagon, I’m still excited about Twitter as a valuable and useful communications tools with a broad range of uses – both personal and professional. As much blogging was a huge step forward in how we communicate and share ideas, Twitter has jump-started user-generated content in a new and exciting direction.

That said, even I’m feeling some Twitter Fatigue (TF). However, I do not buy into David Randall’s contention in The Independent that Twitter has peaked and on its way to the digital graveyard to lie beside long-forgotten entities such as Hotbot.com and Boo.com.

Twitter seems to have cemented itself as the microblogging service – much like the Blackberry is the tool for mobile e-mail. Twitter is just scratching the surface as far as users are concerned even if we are all getting a tad too excited about it.


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Twitter-Google: The Conspiracy Theory

By Mark Evans in Google, M&A, Social Media 8 Comments

So, TechCrunch is spreading rumors and speculation about a Twitter-Google deal.

If you believe in the theory where there’s smoke, there’s fire, a deal may, in fact, be happening…or not given how TechCrunch is getting conflicting reports on the state of discussions between Twitter and Google.

Now, if you’re a conspiracy theorist or someone who looks at business fundamentals, here’s why I think Twitter may be in play:

Despite all the bravado from Twitter and its venture capital investors about new revenue streams being launched in the coming months, it may just be that Twitter isn’t much of a business. It could be that the millions of users can’t be leveraged into millions of dollars of revenue. Twitter built it, they came but no one (users, advertisers, partners) wants to pay for it.

If Twitter doesn’t have a viable business model but lots of users, then it needs to find a suitor who has a business and wants a lot more users. This is where Google comes into play.

Twitter is a lot more interesting to Google now than it was six months ago because Twitter has emerged as an increasingly interesting search engine, providing real-time insight into what people are talking about and thinking.

As Google looks for new ways to expand its search dominance, it becomes more logical to consider the acquisition of Twitter.

If you combine this strategic need with Twitter’s lack of a viable business model, a Google-Twitter deal makes a lot of sense.

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My iPhone Update

By Mark Evans in Apple/iPod 10 Comments

So, it’s been about a week since I pulled the trigger on an iPhone after a lot of public agonizing about the perils of leaving the warm bosom of the Blackberry.

Like a lot of new iPhone users, I’m overwhelmed. The design, ease of use and functionality – buoyed by the App Store – makes me wonder why I didn’t take the leap much earlier.

I particularly like the fact the Web experience is a real Web experience, and that mobile e-mail works well even if you do have pull it sometimes. Any concerns about the keyboard have disappeared, especially because the iPhone learns from your spelling mistakes, and automatically corrects them. I’m also stoked about having a real Twitter experience through Twitterifiic.

As for complaints, I’d like the ability to switch between applications. It would also be great to cut and paste. And I’d like the option of selecting from an outgoing e-mail account. But those are small issues that I’m sure will be addressed down the road.

As for my dealings with Rogers, I have to say their customer service people were very polite and patient through the entire process. The only complaint – and this shouldn’t come as a surprise – is the lack of flexibility on voice/data packages.

After some back and forth, I went for a iPhone package featuring 2GB of data, 400 weekday minutes, free calling weekdays after 9 p.m. and free weekends, and free calls to five frequently called numbers. To be honest, I probably don’t need as much data – a 1GB would suffice – but I couldn’t cajole Rogers into coughing up some more weekday minutes without giving up the free calls to five numbers options (aka MY5).

It will be interesting to see the first month’s bill to determine whether I need a different plan – assuming there’s one that fits my specific needs/wants.

For now, Rogers is the only game in town when it comes to the iPhone so not having a lot of flexibility to be expected. It will be interesting to see how this evolves when Telus and Bell eventually get their hands on the iPhone as well.

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Facebook the Business vs. Facebook the Service

By Mark Evans in Social Media 4 Comments

Facebook
It was interesting to read about the departure of Facebook CFO Gideon Yu, and what it might mean about what’s happening behind the scenes.

At a time when Facebook’s growth is unbridled – one million new users a week! – the company seems to be struggling with how to evolve the business. The hyper-growth is a great problem to have but it’s also an expensive proposition given the hiring involved and the infrastructure (servers, etc.) to support users. Facebook needs to keep making significant investments and raise more money so it can keep up with the growing number of subscribers.

The challenge and problem is revenue growth doesn’t seem to be keeping pace. Part of the Facebook’s trouble is that advertising isn’t resonating with users – or, at least, resonating with users as much as Facebook would like to drive more revenue.

It’s clear that many Facebook users aren’t at all interested in advertising in any way, shape or form. To them, Facebook has become their digital lifestyle hub where they communicate with friends, share photos, provide updates and find entertainment. To them, advertising doesn’t exist because it doesn’t interest them.

The challenge facing Facebook as well as companies looking to take advantage of Facebook’s 150 million users is coming up with out-of-the-box vehicles that appeal to users. It’s not going to be small boxes sitting within sidebars but something that is contextual, relevant and part of the overall experience.

The $64,000 question is what if Facebook can’t drive more revenue growth out of its large number of users? What happens if it becomes too expensive to support these users? Does Facebook scale back or try to control its control?

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