Paul Bragiel, founder of Meetro.com, an online local social networking service that tanked recently, shares some lessons he learned today over on TechCrunch.
Amen to this. From Kara Swisher at Wall Street Journal’s All Things Digital…
I conducted a little experiment among the more than 100 folks gathered for the wedding, all of whom were quite intelligent, armed with all kinds of the latest devices (many, many people had iPhones, for example) and not sluggish about technology.
They were also made up of a wide range of ages and genders, from kids to seniors.
And so I asked a large group of people–about 30–and here is the grand total who knew what Twitter was: 0
FriendFeed: 0
Widget: 1 (but she thought it was one of the units used in a business class study).
Facebook: Everyone I asked knew about it and about half had an account, although different people used it differently.
In other words, confirming for me what I wrote last week about the intense obsession with the hottest new services like Twitter and FriendFeed, in the echo chamber of Silicon Valley, and how no one else cares yet.
And from MeetUp.com‘s Scott Heiferman…
Making a householdword is the great challenge. Not only does the word need to be universally known, but it has to be universally known for something that people need. eBay, Amazon, Google, and Craigslist are universally known, and people need what those words mean: People need to buy & sell & search in their everyday lives… As for Facebook, people need to stay in touch with people they know, so they’re on-track, but I suspect their word is too muddied with pokes & kid stuff.
About 30% of our pilot city subscribe to Front Porch Forum and many more than that have heard of and/or plan to sign up for our service. Many people appreciate help in connecting with their neighbors and plugging into their neighborhood.
My old friend Lars is up to some new tricks in central Vermont…
I am asking everyone I know to support a new effort in Montpelier: the Onion River Exchange’s Pecha Kucha Night. The idea is pretty cool, and really simple:
– Two rounds of presenters
– Each presenter has 6 minutes and 20 slides with which to present their idea
– 5 presenters each round
– Do it somewhere fun, with food and drinkThink of it as TED meets speed dating – in Central Vermont. Seriously, should be a lot of fun – especially with YOU on stage 😉
Anyway, here’s what I’m asking:
– Think of yourself as someone who might want to present a big, bold idea you’ve been slaving away on
– Pass along the flier to anyone else you know who has an idea they’ve been working on and encourage them to contact me.The invitation is *especially* for those whose work communicates well visually. They should get in touch with me BEFORE April 30.
So, let’s paint the town Pecha Kucha!
Thanks, and hope you’re enjoying this prime gardening weather.
Lars Hasselblad Torres
www.mixedmedia.us + www.peacetiles.net
Ahmed Farooq writes an interesting piece today about not taking investment money for his local review site called iBegin Source. He says, in part,…
When we had originally launched iBegin, I think about a dozen VCs came to us in the first 3 months or so. They all liked the idea of local social search, and wanted to expand on it. Quickly. Yelp was gaining steam, and with Judy’s Book and InsiderPages all growing too, they were convinced that untold amounts of money was to be made.
Thankfully, I had a philosophy, and I stuck with it.
And it became clear relatively quickly that the sales channel and the review channel did not mesh very well. A vice-versa catch-22 – if a business had good reviews, why bother advertising? If a business had bad reviews, why bother advertising?
By not funding and deciding to take my time, I was able to re-assess without having fire being breathed down my neck. Heck I even went on a one week vacation to clear my head.
From Praized…
Graham Hill of TreeHugger.com fame offered 9 lessons web entrepreneurs should take heed of.
- The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. Humans don’t really change. If something feels wrong, it probably is.
- Incentives drive the world. For employees, for business development, etc.
- Truth is told at cash registers and not in focus groups. Look to the data and test a product by selling it.
- Listen to Fred Wilson.
- The network is the computer. It has to be open and all about online applications. Think Gmail, Last.fm, Mint.com.
- Think product first, marketing later. This new connected world takes care of a good portion of marketing if you have a great product.
- Barely enough money is a good thing. It keeps you hungry and makes you focussed. Helps you find what’s the core of your business.
- Companies are bought not sold. It might be a clich© but it’s true. Play hard to get.
- Good guys win in a connected world. Media has been democratized and spin control does not exist anymore.
Ghost of Midnight is an online journal about fostering community within neighborhoods, with a special focus on Front Porch Forum (FPF). My wife, Valerie, and I founded FPF in 2006... read more