What the fuck you know, Scoble? You have secure job at Microsoft and all these start-ups, Venture Capital issues, etc - are all just pure theory for you!
Or am I missing something? Englighten me!
scobleizer
· 4 years ago
Dinesh: being disrupted is fun! But, if Cringley knows it. If I know it. Are we actually being disrupted? Hmmmm. Existential questions for Sunday afternoon.
All just theory, huh? You don't know my past. You don't know me. And you never will cause you're rude.
paul
· 4 years ago
If Bill would give me $200,000,000 I'd buy Xerox PARC and Bell Labs and innovate, innovate, innovate...
ceejayoz
· 4 years ago
Higher Definition Web?
What happens for the next iteration? Even Higher Definition Web?
Ken Camp
· 4 years ago
ceejayoz, that would be the Dense Definition Web. Because from there we could move up to the Ultra Dense Definition Web.
dinesh
· 4 years ago
Scoble...were you directing the ire at me? I ain't the mobile phone fan or were the 2 comments in 2 different lines targeted at 2 different people. Blogging getting complicated? Blog responses need a conversation-response tie-in without making it look messboardy!! Another feature request ;)
Paul Montgomery
· 4 years ago
If I had US$200m, my shopping list would be as follows, in order of preference depending on prices:
1. Adbrite 2. one of the blog software providers 3. Podshow and/or The Podcast Network, possibly Audible 4. digg/delicious or something similar 5. one night with Jessica Alba
Christopher Coulter
· 4 years ago
You calling it a bubble? Mr. 'Techcrunch Parties are the Place to Be'? Somehow I doubt your sincerity, just finger to the wind, blowing to whichever thing is the most "interesting" at any given moment.
Newsgator to sync all this data i'm consuming, audible.com to make it easier for people to spread their content, digg so i can see what's popular on the net in a single glance (like the memeorandum of life), thefacebook.com just because every single god damn college kid uses it, and six apart for all those wanting to start a blog because framkly i think six apart is better than word press, and anything is better than spaces.
Simon Brocklehurst
· 4 years ago
Having $200M to invest is an interesting place to be. One of my business partners, in addition to working with me, also works at a major VC (one of the lead investors in Skype). What's really fascinating about their process is that they don't really invest in companies so much as they invest in entrepreneurs. I think they have the right approach.
Which brings to me my point. If I was in charge of M&A at GYM - I would set up a mechanism by which I could invest in serial entrepreneurs. What GYM really need is innovation, and it's really difficult for *true* innovation to happen in large companies. So what I would do is set up a kind of "feeder system" whereby the entrepeneurs try to create great businesses using chunks of GYM capital. Seeding a new businesses is very cheap. And I'd put more money in if the business looked like it was going somewhere.
In other words, I'd effectively have GYM act like a VC, with the default (but not only) exit for the entrepreneurs being that GYM would acquire the companies when they got to the right point (based on the size of the fund). When the entrepreneurs exit, they would take some time to decide on their next project, and then I'd invest in them again (rather than assimiliating them into GYM).
I think their could be massive value in this model. And being able to keep core teams together as the migrate from one business to the next would, I think, result in ever increasing productivity and quality.
Will Gaus
· 4 years ago
It seems that Web 2.0 is here, in the now. We just happen to be trying to find a way to grasp it and its contents. There are currently hundreds of sites that allow interaction with the web and eachother. It seems to me that we have the tools, but they are strewn across the landscape with no real connections. Its the communication between these tools and applications that happen to be gathering all out data. It's a matter of one platform or approach to gathering this interaction into an easy to use easy to modify approach. The value is in the connection of this interaction and information.
Whatever it is it needs to do the following:
Gather News & information I need Provide Push Button Publishing Allow sharing & chunking of all content Promote Social Networking Provide Organization of my web & life
Sébastien
· 4 years ago
I really don't think the concept behind the popular term "Web 2.0" is a bubble. But the term itself is, because it is to plain and simple to put it like that.
Like this whole "user in control" talk that's going on these days, is a revolution as big as the "Web 1.0" concept. While I'm still searching for the right term, I call it all the "Smart Web".
Maybe in 10 years from now, we can look back and say this step in evolution of the internet was the real "Web 2.0" leap. But I doubt it. We are just scratching the surface here.
Brett Nordquist
· 4 years ago
Here is what I'd do if I worked at MS and had $200 million to spend. I'd open a Microsoft Cafe in Belltown and deck it out with cool products from MS partners from Xbox games to mp3 players as well as Tablets and cool phones running MS software. Serve coffee and free wi-fi and then put real MS product managers in the cafe to answer questions and see how people use their products. Ya, it sounds a lot like an Apple store, but the idea is to get people excited about your products again. Windows and Office? Boring! MSN Spaces, 360? Cool! Get our hands on your cool stuff and then LISTEN.
Tom Gordon
· 4 years ago
Everywhere I go I see the same comments about VCs investing in entrepreneurs. Which is true, but only in a VERY limited way: VCs invest in entrepreneurs who have *presentation skills*, or who have friends who are VCs (or know VCs).
I've been trying to raise VC funding for almost 4 years, and in that time I've managed to present to a total of 0 VCs, and managed to speak to 5 in an introductory way (none of which went any further).
So, if I had $200million to invest, I'd set up a way for people to present their *ideas* not themselves. There's no ace in the VC environment at present for geeks or technologists - there's only room for geeks & technologists who are very good at marketing themselves, or who know people who can do the marketing for them.
I also dislike the way VCs only tend to invest in entrepreneurs instead of ideas - why is this? What about those ideas that have been proven independantly on the entreprenuer? Do they get left by the wayside for lack of funding?
Simon Brocklehurst
· 4 years ago
Tom,
The reason why VCs so often focus on the entrepreneur is because they take the view that this is the most important, and the most scarce resource. What VCs' experiences teach them is that there is, in fact, no shortage of great ideas and great technologies.
So yes. There are many great ideas and technologies that get left by the wayside. But not because of lack of capital. Rather, it's because of a shortage of great *people* that can makes successes of great ideas and technologies.
When I look at failing companies in VC's portfolios, more often than not, it's not because the technology is bad (although sometimes it is). Rather, it's because they didn't manage to find a great, entrepreneurial senior management team to run the business.
John Curtis
· 4 years ago
We own stakes in several well known local publishing efforts and we know pay per call is going to be huge. There is no winner yet in the local performance-driven advertising business, but whoever masters pay per call could be the ultimate winner
Tom Gordon
· 4 years ago
Simon,
"The reason why VCs so often focus on the entrepreneur is because they take the view that this is the most important, and the most scarce resource."
What about entreprenuers who have no pitching skills but are seriously good at what they do? (Speaking of which - know anyone who's good at pitching? :) )
Simon Brocklehurst
· 4 years ago
Tom,
"What about entreprenuers who have no pitching skills but are seriously good at what they do?"
Well, one option is to get someone on the team that can pitch. I can think of a massively high profile example where the main technical guy just lives in his bedroom coding almost 24/7. They have a good CEO on board.
The other option is to turn the tables, and have the VCs pitch you. VCs are always actively out there looking for hot deals. If what you have to offer looks anything like a hot deal, the VCs will be chasing you; not the other way round.
The second option is the best way to get a VC financing done. By far.
Tom Gordon
· 4 years ago
Simon, "The other option is to turn the tables, and have the VCs pitch you. VCs are always actively out there looking for hot deals." I have to ask - where do you find these VCs? This is actually a serious question, and follows on from the 'do you know anyone who can pitch?' question.
ALthough perhaps the comments section of Robert Scoble's weblog isn't the best place to ask this one :)
ilkeryoldas
· 3 years ago
found your site after googling for web.20 bubble! congrats you have a good google rank. couple of days ago I posted a related article illustrating my point of view on the subject..
All Comments
http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit200511...
Or am I missing something? Englighten me!
All just theory, huh? You don't know my past. You don't know me. And you never will cause you're rude.
What happens for the next iteration? Even Higher Definition Web?
1. Adbrite
2. one of the blog software providers
3. Podshow and/or The Podcast Network, possibly Audible
4. digg/delicious or something similar
5. one night with Jessica Alba
2. Audible.com
3. Digg.com
4. Thefacebook.com
5. Six apart
Newsgator to sync all this data i'm consuming, audible.com to make it easier for people to spread their content, digg so i can see what's popular on the net in a single glance (like the memeorandum of life), thefacebook.com just because every single god damn college kid uses it, and six apart for all those wanting to start a blog because framkly i think six apart is better than word press, and anything is better than spaces.
Which brings to me my point. If I was in charge of M&A at GYM - I would set up a mechanism by which I could invest in serial entrepreneurs. What GYM really need is innovation, and it's really difficult for *true* innovation to happen in large companies. So what I would do is set up a kind of "feeder system" whereby the entrepeneurs try to create great businesses using chunks of GYM capital. Seeding a new businesses is very cheap. And I'd put more money in if the business looked like it was going somewhere.
In other words, I'd effectively have GYM act like a VC, with the default (but not only) exit for the entrepreneurs being that GYM would acquire the companies when they got to the right point (based on the size of the fund). When the entrepreneurs exit, they would take some time to decide on their next project, and then I'd invest in them again (rather than assimiliating them into GYM).
I think their could be massive value in this model. And being able to keep core teams together as the migrate from one business to the next would, I think, result in ever increasing productivity and quality.
Whatever it is it needs to do the following:
Gather News & information I need
Provide Push Button Publishing
Allow sharing & chunking of all content
Promote Social Networking
Provide Organization of my web & life
Like this whole "user in control" talk that's going on these days, is a revolution as big as the "Web 1.0" concept. While I'm still searching for the right term, I call it all the "Smart Web".
Maybe in 10 years from now, we can look back and say this step in evolution of the internet was the real "Web 2.0" leap. But I doubt it. We are just scratching the surface here.
I've been trying to raise VC funding for almost 4 years, and in that time I've managed to present to a total of 0 VCs, and managed to speak to 5 in an introductory way (none of which went any further).
So, if I had $200million to invest, I'd set up a way for people to present their *ideas* not themselves. There's no ace in the VC environment at present for geeks or technologists - there's only room for geeks & technologists who are very good at marketing themselves, or who know people who can do the marketing for them.
I also dislike the way VCs only tend to invest in entrepreneurs instead of ideas - why is this? What about those ideas that have been proven independantly on the entreprenuer? Do they get left by the wayside for lack of funding?
The reason why VCs so often focus on the entrepreneur is because they take the view that this is the most important, and the most scarce resource. What VCs' experiences teach them is that there is, in fact, no shortage of great ideas and great technologies.
So yes. There are many great ideas and technologies that get left by the wayside. But not because of lack of capital. Rather, it's because of a shortage of great *people* that can makes successes of great ideas and technologies.
When I look at failing companies in VC's portfolios, more often than not, it's not because the technology is bad (although sometimes it is). Rather, it's because they didn't manage to find a great, entrepreneurial senior management team to run the business.
"The reason why VCs so often focus on the entrepreneur is because they take the view that this is the most important, and the most scarce resource."
What about entreprenuers who have no pitching skills but are seriously good at what they do? (Speaking of which - know anyone who's good at pitching? :) )
"What about entreprenuers who have no pitching skills but are seriously good at what they do?"
Well, one option is to get someone on the team that can pitch. I can think of a massively high profile example where the main technical guy just lives in his bedroom coding almost 24/7. They have a good CEO on board.
The other option is to turn the tables, and have the VCs pitch you. VCs are always actively out there looking for hot deals. If what you have to offer looks anything like a hot deal, the VCs will be chasing you; not the other way round.
The second option is the best way to get a VC financing done. By far.
"The other option is to turn the tables, and have the VCs pitch you. VCs are always actively out there looking for hot deals."
I have to ask - where do you find these VCs? This is actually a serious question, and follows on from the 'do you know anyone who can pitch?' question.
ALthough perhaps the comments section of Robert Scoble's weblog isn't the best place to ask this one :)
http://ilkeryoldas.blogspot.com/2006/12/web-20-...