I won’t be around over the next couple of days, but I have two interesting posts coming down the pike.
I’m able to do this because Wordpress was kind enough to include a wonderful “Timestamp” feature.
Look for the posts and enjoy!
Usually, you can call a market-top when the press goes ahead and says that the world has changed and we now stand in the Garden of Eden.
TechCrunch wrote an article today about the way things once were and the way they no longer are. Of course, Michael Arrington knew that a firestorm would erupt. He tends to do those type of things every once in a while. To keep it exciting, of course.
Now you have to ask if we should consider TechCrunch the press. After all, it’s just a blog.
The fate of Web 2.0 hangs in the balance.
Ok, a few of them…
1. Why run your business, when you can just sell it on eBay! In reality though, this is a great business model and there are several companies out there that are just building sites based on their own ideas and then going out and selling them for a few bucks. Doesn’t make you the big money, but you can become comfortable nonetheless. I’ll be entering this category at some point. Just say it’s a preediction of mine 
2. Open an online T-shirt business. When all else fails, come up with a catchy concept and try to market the heck out of it. You’ll be good for a few bucks and if you can figure out a way to get to the Holy Grail (Google Top 10), you can earn some serious cash. But remember, you’ll have a thousand other people on your tail, all trying to get to the same Top 10. Use Zazzle and/or CafePress initially. Check out Innertee for a great implementation of the Web 2.0 T-shirt business.
3. Write a blog. Seriously. If you write it about a topic that you’re passionate about and you actually have something to offer, you may make a few bucks. Don’t mimic me on this one: This blog is a potpourri of my ideas that cover a broad range of business, technology, and finance. It’s obviously slanted towards the industry that I’m in right now, but tries to cover topics outside of the industry. If you want an ultra-successful blog, write regularly and give it 8 - 12 months to see if you were able to build it into a powerhouse. By that time, you’ll know if you hit the money list. Doesn’t take much, does it? Maybe I’ll be on there next year
If you didn’t come up with any of these, check out my post on The Top 5 Ways to Generate a Business Idea.
See ya…
It looks like Facebook, a notoriously closed and controlled social network from none other than a Harvard student, is thinking of opening up. For those unaware, Facebook is the de facto standard for online interaction and showmanship between college students. I’d point to the Wall Street Journal article that started all the buzz, but there’s no use: It’s behind a paywall.
Facebook can almost be classified as the antithesis of MySpace. Where MySpace is open, Facebook is closed. Where MySpace allows third party widgets, Facebook does not. Where MySpace allows page customization, Facebook comes at you with a white blank stare. Yet, Facebook has flourished and in a very big way.
It’s the network, stupid.
* 85% of all students in supported colleges are enrolled in Facebook.
* 60% of those who are signed up, log in daily.
* Facebook turned down a supposed $1.6bb offer from Yahoo.
In any case, I’ve been saying for a while that Facebook needs to open up to third parties and it looks like it’s set to announce something along those lines on Thursday. Yet, I expect that the announcement will not be typical and we’ll see an interesting curve.
* Direct integration for buying and selling?
* Classifieds, auctions, barter?
* Ability to customize your Facebook experience with Facebook layouts?
* Continued inability to put independent third-party widgets on your profile? (Now, that would be a surprise!)
* API for tools behind the Facebook security fence?
Sounds like Facebook is moving towards the Amazon mantra.
Save the platform. Save the world.
Ok, the last statement about superior ego is true. I can’t tell you the number of times that I’ve run into those type of people. Especially at my former job.
In an interesting study, intelligence was linked to an ability to earn higher levels of income, but not the ability to retain that income. It turns out that smart people are not really smarter than the people that aren’t so smart. They just seem smarter. Brain twister alert.
When it comes to generating business ideas, Zagorsky’s study did not conclusively discuss them (I can’t find anything where he did). Or at least, the press didn’t cover Zagorsky and the better business idea. I have to think that the higher your IQ, the more esoteric your business, and the smaller the chance of success. The rocket scientist may come up with a better rocket, but he’ll do it under the employ of NASA. No equity involved there.
There are a few reasons why the average IQ person has a much higher chance for success:
2. Will use emotional and social intelligence as the force of success, because he lacks any other means of doing so.
3. Will write a blog to advertise his stupidity, and continue to assume that people find it an interesting read. Snore!
4. Searches Entrepreneur, Inc., and Business 2.0 for ideas. He actually believes that he can execute those ideas better than the multi-million dollar venture-backed company and/or anyone else that dares tread in his path.
Now, I still pity the person that went to Harvard. He thinks he’s better than everyone else and he’s likely right, but for the wrong reasons: He thinks he’s smarter.
No.
If the educational market was efficient, all the smartest people would automatically go to the smartest colleges. Of course, we know that the market is inefficient and smart people want to stay close to home, etc… In other words, the unqualified get into Harvard.
So the person that went to Harvard may be better. After all, he learned at a greater institution, not at a smarter one…
I mentioned a few weeks ago that the production of Spiderman 3 was one of the savviest personal finance moves that you could emulate. The producers/financiers/etc… took an initial risk on a big-budget movie and have been reaping the financial gains ever since. They took the initial plunge into the world of business, minimized the risk by using a famed character, and were lucky enough to have a hit.
Let’s just say that Shrek is another one of those cornucopia’s that I term as “surprising business idea cash cows.” Especially given that they used some obscure children’s book character as the basis for their massive movie budget. With word that Shrek broke box office records for its initial weekend release, Dreamworks breathed a sigh of relief and kids a sigh of boredom (a third Shrek!).
Yet parents continue to pack the theaters. Inflation and price increases be damned, Shrek 2 has given up the title to a “much more” competent younger brother.
I knew the color green stood for something… ka-ching!
Ideas have power.
They come from dreams, aspirations, goals, and desires. Sometimes they’re built from a desire to do great things and sometimes the opposite holds true. Regardless of what lies beneath, here are some ideas and businesses that are trying to make a dent in this very, very small world…
1. Nicholas Negroponte continues his war of words with his $100 laptop. Intel originally disliked the idea, yet has recently jumped on the bandwagon with a $100 entry of its own. This wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that Michael Negroponte chose to use AMD processors and leave Intel out in the cold
2. Nathan Keiser of nPost emailed me about his startup. Besides the number of interesting interviews it has (Hint: I’m sure I’ll be interviewed at some point), it also has a solid listing of job positions at tech startup (primarily web 2.0) companies. I look forward to hearing how he plans on competing with some of the bigger job boards like SimplyHired. Nathan, feel free to answer in the comments section. As I mentioned before, I love the ultra-niche business strategy.
3. It looks like Google is set to launch a Mobile MVNO in the UK. Interesting choice of location and I’d love to understand why Google has decided to open an MVNO. For those that don’t know what an MVNO is, it essentially piggybacks on a national wireless provider, allowing you to build your own “T-Mobile” and sell or distribute your own content. We already know how that’s gone for domestic players like ESPN, Helio, Amp’d, etc… It’s been an utter disaster. The market is a bit different in the UK and they are looking for ways to diversify their business and take control of the mobile market. I guess if Google wants to do this, Europe would be a good choice because mobile adoption and penetration is higher than that in the United States.
If you want to let me know about any of your ideas, all you have to do is email me!
To change the dark undertones of my prior post:
As do most bloggers, I search through Technorati pretty often. I find it interesting to keep in touch with the pulse of the blogosphere and its readers (assuming that the bloggers know what their readers really want). I continue to sit slack-jawed at the utter waste of time that the average American spends on its celebrities.
Here’s the Top 10 List as of last night:
Ron Paul
YouTube
GTD
Galilea Montijo
Railsconf
Paris Hilton
Mario Lopez
Murray Waas
Videos
Starcraft 2
Let’s break this down:
Score it:
Politics - 2
Technology - 2
Entertainment - 6
or
Enertainment/Celebrity continues to rule the blogging universe. So I decided to take a look at the search engines for some corroborating evidence and this is what I saw (from Yahoo’s keyword search tool): In the month of January 2007, the word “Paris Hilton” was searched for over 16.9mm times. However, the word “finance” was searched for UNDER 1mm times. It thus turns out that Paris Hilton is 17 times more popular than that which affects us each and every day.
It’s no wonder that America is having an “issue.”
I understand the obvious irony that occurred the second I hit the “publish” button (actually, when I thought of writing this column)…
Ha!
