One of the favorite things I do is provide advice to startups. Most of the assistance I give to other peoples’ companies is done through my consulting firm, but I’ve done the advisor-for-equity thing once so far (back in 2008, when Twilio was a three-person company) . In 2012 I will have room in my [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Business'
TV Rebroadcaster ivi.tv Shut Down by Injunction
February 22nd, 2011 · No Comments · Business, TV, Web/Tech
I didn’t see any tech blogger coverage of this, then I remembered I had a dusty old blog of my own, so I’ll do a quick summary here. ivi.tv is a terrific television rebroadcasting product that enables you to watch local stations from various US markets on your computer using a downloadable client application that [...]
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Well That Didn’t Take Long, Usurious Banks
February 22nd, 2010 · No Comments · Business, Politics
Now that the most predatory practices of credit card issuers and banks are being zapped by regulation, banks are working overtime to figure out new, even scummier ways to drain the money from your account:
Given the billions at stake, consultants are urging banks and credit unions to hire them to help. “Your fee income will [...]
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New Credit Card Regulations Go Into Effect Today
February 22nd, 2010 · No Comments · Business, Politics
A mere five and a half years since I started posting about the usurious business practices of consumer credit-card lenders, the new federal regulations on credit card lending go into effect today. Thanks to our most excellent congresswoman Jackie Speier for this link to a summary of the new regulations.
There are still a few loopholes [...]
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Provide an Efficient Market for Pay TV
January 1st, 2010 · No Comments · Business, Politics, TV
I’ve been following the News Corp vs. Time Warner Cable standoff over retransmission pricing, not because it affects us (we are longtime DirecTV satellite subscribers) but because it calls out how inefficient the market for pay TV is. The basis of the conflict is that News Corp (the content provider) is trying to shake down [...]
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The Secrets of the Talent Scouts
March 15th, 2009 · No Comments · Business
Link: The Secrets of the Talent Scouts
So mavericks like Michael Moritz, the Silicon Valley venture capitalist, are shrugging off talk of economic collapse and scouting for winners anyway. “A downturn can be a very good time to build a company,” he contends. “The parvenus and the pretenders are gone. The only people who want to [...]
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Clay Shirky: Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable
March 14th, 2009 · 1 Comment · Business, Collaboration, Content, Community, News
Link: Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable
When reality is labeled unthinkable, it creates a kind of sickness in an industry. Leadership becomes faith-based, while employees who have the temerity to suggest that what seems to be happening is in fact happening are herded into Innovation Departments, where they can be ignored en masse. This shunting aside [...]
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New Management and “Colorful Language” At Yahoo!
January 14th, 2009 · 2 Comments · Business, Yahoo
Link: Yahoo Picks Former Autodesk Chief to Succeed Yang
In a conference call with analysts, [incoming CEO Carol Bartz] acknowledged that Yahoo faced significant challenges but said she believed that the company’s strong brand and market position gave it a “huge opportunity.”
Ms. Bartz also delivered some of the colorful rhetoric she has become known for. “I [...]
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Advertisers Face Hurdles on Social Networking Sites
January 2nd, 2009 · No Comments · Business, Collaboration, Content, Community, Web/Tech
Link: Advertisers Face Hurdles on Social Networking Sites
And when they try to take advantage of new “social advertising,” extending their commercial message to a member’s friends, their ads will be noticed, all right, but not necessarily favorably. Members are understandably reluctant to become shills. IDC, the technology research firm, published a study last month that [...]
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Design for Deleveraging
November 11th, 2008 · 3 Comments · Business, Politics
Inspired by the ballot-redesign initiatives done by the folks at Design for Democracy, I spent a few minutes this week applying their principles to something that’s always bugged me: sleazy consumer lending practices. Back in my younger days, I let my credit card balance get out of hand (as I suspect a lot of people [...]
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