Finally, a Funding I Like

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Lotus founder Mitch Kapor joined Globespan Capital Partners and others in an $11M funding of Second Life. This funding follows an $8M funding in October, 2004.

Unlike most of the funding reports I read about, I get this one. It makes sense.

Second Life is in the process of winning the race for virtual reality mindshare. It’s cool. It’s popular. And it has an almost infinite list of potential revenue sources.

You can join Second Life and participate for free. But to own land and build things on that land, you have to have a premium membership. That creates revenue. Plus, there is a property tax equivalent that requires a user to pay a greater fee the more land he or she owns. For example, I own around 6,000 square meters of land in Second Life (this is a medium amount) and my “tax” is $40 per month. That creates revenue.

In addition to creating revenue, the property tax provides incentive not to let land lie vacant. You want to build something to make some money to offset the cost. It’s a perfectly accurate economic and land use policy.

You can build, rent or sell almost anything in Second Life. I can imagine well placed ads and billboards being sold in Second Life at some point (the narrow strips of land next to roads are “protected” and owned by the “government”). More revenue.

I can imagine deals with all sorts of real world vendors to open shops in Second Life. Music, movies, you name it. Even more revenue.

The developer is working on a program to allow people to buy the exclusive right to last names (presently, you have a limited list of last names to choose from). I picked Snickerdoodle, which it turns out is the name of a cookie. Selling names will generate more revenue.

And these are just the potential revenue sources that jump out at me. I bet the Second Life team has hundreds of other ideas.

I’m sold on Second Life as a compelling way to interact on the net. I was talking to a guy in Second Life the other night and it turns out we read each others’ blogs. Small world inside a small world.

I’m equally sold on Second Life as a business.

And that’s an all too rare combination these days.

How Not to Grow a Blog

Amanda Chapel has launched a PR blog called Strumpette.

What better way to kick-start some traffic than to play games with one of the most popular and well-respected bloggers in the world? Right?

No. Wrong. Very wrong.

She leads off by discussing an office pool she is in concerning how long Steve Rubel will stay at his new employer, Edelman. She goes on to give some alleged insight into the politics at Edelman and then she starts blasting Steve in the name of attention and traffic.

I’m not going to go point by point because I don’t know squat about the PR business or the politics at Edelman and because I don’t want to give this story or this approach legs, other than to join Doc in betting that Steve runs Edelman one day and to chastise Stowe a little for not calling BS on it (Stowe is one of my favorite reads, notwithstanding this momentary lapse).

In blogosphere politics, just like in real life office politics, some folks believe you can rise faster by throwing rocks at those around you than by just working hard and letting the results take care of themselves. I see it happen all the time with Scoble. People call for him to get fired and worse, all in the name of traffic and eyeballs.

These blogs are great, but behind every one of them is someone who is trying to make a living and live a life. It’s fine to disagree- I do it all the time. But how you disagree with someone tells more about what you’re made of than how you agree with them.

Blogs are getting to be like cars. It’s easy to shoot the finger at someone from the safety of your car. It’s getting too easy to do that from your blog. Snarky may be fine when we’re disagreeing about music, movies or politics. The rules ought to be different when we’re talking about our lives and jobs.

I think disagreeing with someone, be it Steve, Scoble or anyone else, in a way that may impact their life or their livelihood is one big bucket of wrong.

Bubble 2.0 Watch: Three Quotes for the Ages

More evidence of huffing and puffing beneath Bubble 2.0, in the form of three hilariously troubling quotes.

Quote 1

First this one from “senior industry executives familiar with the matter,” as reported by Steve Rosenbush of BusinessWeek Online, about the proposed sale of Facebook:

Facebook, the Web site where students around the world socialize and swap information, has put itself on the block, BusinessWeek Online has learned. The owners of the privately held company have turned down a $750 million offer and hope to fetch as much as $2 billion in a sale.

One guy told Steve that Viacom, which owns the MTV, VH1, and Comedy Central cable networks, might be a good buyer for Facebook.

Hey Viacom, I have a 2001 Ford Expedition in good shape that I’ll sell you for $250,000. I’ve got some used power tools in the $15,000 range each. Call me. We can make a deal.

Quote 2

But the best quote from that article is this one:

[$2 Billion] may sound like a huge amount of money, especially when you consider that the company was launched just two years ago by a group of sophomores at Harvard University.

Ya think?

Quote 3

And the third and best quote of all comes from Russ Beattie in reaction to the above article:

I think my brain just blew up.

Mine too, Russ. And I’ll tell you what else is blowing up: Bubble 2.0, that’s what.

And a Sane Voice Says Calmly

Rafat Ali does his best to keep at least one of our collective toes in the pool of reality by pointing out:

[E]veryone, including Viacom, has looked at [Facebook] multiple times, parsed the valuation and options, and still could not think of a logical business reason for ponying up that kind of money. What I do know, from my sources, is that Facebook closed on a “huge round” of funding last week. So I would say the acquisition part is off the table, for now. [The] $2 billion figure is at best, hearsay, and at worst, media manipulation.

UMPC/Origami: Tablet PC Killer or Turbo-PDA?

Actually, neither. It proposes to fill the huge and likely profitable space between the two.

Rob Bushway has a interesting post today that raises questions, both about Tablet PCs as well as the effect of the forthcoming UMPC/Origami on the love affair between mobile technology users and their Tablet PCs.

A UMPC/Origami is an “ultra mobile PC” (thus the name UMPC) that is significantly smaller than a Tablet PC. It has a 7″ screen. Here is an FAQ with a little more information about them.

Rob points out that even though Tablet PCs are designed to be mobile and easy to take with you, a lot of people don’t carry them around any more than a traditional notebook. They are too big to be unobtrusive and some people have found the notetaking features less productive than they hoped.

I agree with both of those concerns. I use my Thinkpad X41 Tablet PC all the time, but as a laptop replacement, not something to carry around with me like a super-charged PDA. Sure, I use it around the house a little, when I want to be outside, but need to stay connected for some reason. But mostly I use it on business trips in lieu of a traditional laptop.

We have an old Fujitsu tablet (no keyboard) that we keep downstairs for people to check weather, email, etc. My wife loved the idea in concept and she used it a bit when I first set it up, but now it gathers dust as she thinks it’s too big and too slow (I agree with the first part, but I think she’s making the slow part up).

But the fact remains that there is a big space between the current Tablet PCs and a PDA. Tablets are too big to carry around unobtrusively and PDAs (sorry, even Treos) are too small to use regularly for computing and internet functions.

So what do I think about the UMPC/Origami? I think the devil will be in the details, but if it does what reports claim it will application and internet wise, I agree with Rob that the future of mobile computing may very well include a UMPC/Origami along with a traditional laptop or tablet PC.

I’m not so sure that I wouldn’t still have a Tablet PC, since I continue to believe that a Tablet PC will do everything a traditional laptop will do and more. But I can certainly envision UMPC/Origami taking a big role in the mobile technology space.

Fellow Houstonian James Kendrick provides a preview of how a UMPC/Origami might fit into your mobile technology plans (interestingly enough by looking back at his prior discussion of how to use a Sony U71).

I’ll certainly want to take a long, hard look at a UMPC/Origami when they become widely available, but based on what I know so far, I expect one will end up in my briefcase.

Second Life: The Future of Online Interaction?

Scoble, quoting his son today, said about the truest words I have read in a while. He said that Second Life is addicting.

Man, is it ever. After I had my own little temper tantrum this past weekend brought on by my inability to figure out how to build a suitable home in Second Life, I ventured back into the Second Life world. Six hours later, I was all fixed up.

With a nice, big house in an active area, with a pool, a plasma TV on the wall and a radio that plays classic rock music for anyone who happens by. My old house, in a quiet residential neighborhood, is up for sale.

It took some time, but I had no choice. I got hooked. At dinner Sunday night I found myself thinking about buying the land next to my new crib. Not since Civ. III has something like that happened.

Second Life may or may not be an OS, but it is, for many, the future of online interaction. It’s not Microsoft that should be quaking in its boots- it’s Myspace, et al.

As soon as enough people figure out how to get set up and do cool stuff in Second Life, I believe it will take dominant control over the interactive space. It’s what Sims Online should have been combined with what many of the social networking sites are trying to become.

There is certainly the potential for an insider crowd or crowds to develop in Second World, but that’s to be expected if it is to mirror the workings of our first lives. For example, I see all kinds of cool stuff being done by Eric Rice and others, but I have no idea how to get involved in that sort of mega-private development. You can buy a private island, but it is very expensive at over $1000 for the land, plus $195 a month for maintenance. But like anything else, if I want to know bad enough, I’ll hang around the action and ask questions until I figure it out.

In the meantime, if anyone wants to visit my Second Life house, it’s called Rancho DeNada and is located at Sibine (138,79). There’s a pool, a dance floor, a couple of hot tubs and some music.

And, with any luck, that’s just the start.

Unconferences: Out of Chaos?

I continue to be intrigued by the idea of an unconference. I posted on the topic a few weeks ago and Christopher Carfi was kind enough the give me a primer via a blog post and a Comment.

I’ve never spoken at an unconference, but I’ve spoken at a lot of conferences and I’ve been to and presided over a lot of meetings. And I’ve listened to a few meetups via podcasts, which I like everyone else in the world listen to at my computer.

So I’m starting to get a handle on the conference/unconference business.

Today Dave Winer posts about unconferences and links to a cheat sheet he and some others pulled together about how to structure one. I have a couple of thoughts about all of this.

First, it seems to me that the key to an unconference must be a strong, impartial and fair-minded moderator. One who won’t favor his or her friends and perspectives. One who will be fair to all. And most of all one who will keep some order to the event and avoid the inevitable descent into chaos that occurs when everyone wants to talk at the same time.

boring meeting

It’s interesting that Dave posted the how-to on unconferences, since his attempt to bring up a 6 year old fight with John Markoff during the Berkeley Cybersalon is exactly the thing that should not be allowed to happen at a conference- un or not. If someone wants to pick a fight, do it offline. There are better things for the group at large to talk and hear about.

The hardest job of anyone who is presiding over a meeting or, I presume, an unconference, is to keep the issue from becoming personal or personality based. And if something is conference-worthy, there will always been some emotional buttons that, if pushed, can result in a loss of control and focus.

In theory, I am highly in favor of unconferences. I often wonder why I’m at the podium and the audience is in the seats when I speak at conferences. I have certainly wondered why others were at various podiums while I was in various seats. If done correctly, the unconference solves this dilemma by putting everyone on equal footing.

It’s another tool used to flatten the earth. I like the flat earth.

Moderators will still have to deal with the fact that sometime a person’s desire to be heard is inversely proportional to what he or she really has to say.

On the whole, I think the unconference idea is sound. But I suspect many of them can, do and will become chaotic, particularly when there is a large number of voices in the crowd.

The trick will be to create an equal right to be heard while maintaining order and a little structure.

And yes, the title to this post is a tribute to one of my favorite books of the 70’s.

Technorati Tags:
conferences, unconferences

Web 2.0 Wars: List of Winners and Playoffs

Aften almost 200 applications reviewed and 20 winner take all rounds, here are the winners of the preliminary rounds.

The Web 2.0 Wars March Madness will consist of 4 quarter-final matches, 2 semi-final matches and a champship round. During the playoff rounds, I will spend a little more time digging into each application, which will result in a more detailed review.

The teams will be grouped into the following groups for the playoffs.

Pageflakes
YouTube
Poddater
Tailrank (replaced Tagworld)
FireAnt

Last.fm
iKarma
Memeorandum
AllPeers
Riya

Wikipedia
Flickr
Myspace
Blogger
Pandora

Digg
Basecamp
Backpack
Technorati
Mercora

Look for the first quarter-final match in the next day or two.

Web 2.0 Wars: Round 20

It’s time for Round 20 in Newsome.Org’s Web 2.0 Wars. The contestants and rules are here.

This is the final heat of the first Round. The playoffs will be next.

Other Rounds: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20

Here are the contestants for Round 20:

Mercora
StumbleUpon
ClipShack
MeetWithApproval
HomePortals
SpinSpy

Mercora is a music search service. It requires you to install software on your computer, so I can’t comment on how well it works.

StumbleUpon is a browser extension that let’s users rate and recommend web sites of interest.

ClipShack is a video hosting and sharing service. Crowded space.

MeetWithApproval lets users schedule and confirm meetings.

HomePortals returned error messages galore when I tried to visit. DQ’ed.

SpinSpy is a news by contest site, sort of like Digg

Before Today I’d Heard of:

0 out of 6.

And the Winner of Round 20 is:

Mercora in a very small and very weak heat.

Technorati Tags:
newsome.org web wars, web 2.0

5 Things Second Life Needs to Improve

I’ve been spending a little time in Second Life, and have written about it here, here and here.

ezra-760097 I still think it is a brilliant business plan (I’ve already spent around $100 there, without even trying), but I have seen some areas that need improvement.

I’d love to set up a major Newsome.Org or perhaps Err Bear Music presence in Second Life. Maybe get a little exposure for my music, etc. Maybe even do a Second Life concert series.

But as of the moment, I’ve concluded that it would be far too hard to set it up.

Here are 5 things Second Life Needs to do now:

1) Make Building a Lot Easier.

And I mean a whole lot easier. I bought a house and tried to add to it, but it was completely impossible, at least for me. In fact, I accidentally picked up my entire house and couldn’t even get it back on my lot (which is pretty small). My placements were either unlevel or more often over the lot line. Granted, I’m sure there are a lot of people who can build stuff as easy as I can play a D chord, but it was impossible for me. I ended up just putting my lot back on the market and returned to the streets. With a house in my pocket.

2) Make Finding a Compatible Neighborhood Easier.

When I was looking for a place to buy, I found all kinds of land and houses and businesses for sale. It seems to me that, just like in the real world, neighborhoods in Second Life have particular characteristics. The last thing I want to do is buy and house and move into a neighborhood and find out that all of my neighbors are college kids or opera (either one) fans, or worse. I need to know where the middle aged tech-writers/musicians live. How about a Memeorandum street?

3) More Information About the Commercial Areas

And what about all those islands and commercial areas? How do you buy a condo or office somewhere? I finally gave up trying to get a place over by Scoble on Slackstreet. It’s OK if all of those places (which by the way are ghost towns with nary a person in sight) are off the market or unavailable, but I wish I knew why. I don’t know him, but Spin Martin seems to be the Donald Trump of Second Life.

4) Easy and Short Tutorials on Doing Stuff

I need to watch some very dumbed down tutorials on how to set up stuff within Second Life. For example, I’d love to set up some sort of radio station or public music player with some of my original songs on it, but I can’t figure out how to do that. Stated another way, I’m sure there are all kinds of cool things you can do in Second Life, but I don’t know how to do any of it. It gets frustrating.

5) I Need a New Name

I mentioned this before, but why are there limitations on character naming? Lots of people would probably like to take their internet presence into Second Life, but the naming conventions won’t allow it.

I imagine that if I had all the time in the world, I could figure most of this out. But I don’t, and I expect a lot of others don’t either.

So these things need to be easier. A lot easier.

I like Second Life, but candidly the hard is starting to outweigh the cool.

Triangulating Through the Crowds

Stephen Bainbridge has a post about crowds and experts. He wonders if there has been a study on whether prediction markets limited to experts in the field do better than prediction markets open to any and all comers.

Here’s my, umm…, prediction: individually, the experts would do better, but the conventional wisdom of the all comers group would outperform most of the individual experts.

Christine Hurt follows up on that thought in the context of the Battle of the Encyclopedia Britannicas and the Wikipedias.

The answer, as far as I am concerned, is that crowds do fine as long as you remember to trust, verify and triangulate. That post by Jim McGee, which I have linked to before, is a compelling argument, at least to me, for the benefits of multiple data points.

And in the blogosphere, multiple data points requires a crowd.