June 12, 2007
For those interested in venture capital, check out Is Venture Capital an Efficient and Transparent Market at A VC. Thanks for the education Fred.
If you don’t already subscribe to A VC, I highly recommend it. It’s always interesting. Well, except when he’s bashing Journey.
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Side note
Whether you loved or loathed the Sopranos series finale (yes I’m still talking about it), there’s no denying that the lyrics from Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing were perfect for the close of that show.
Working hard to get my fill
Everybody wants a thrill
Paying anything to roll the dice
Just one more time
Some will win, some will lose
Some were born to sing the blues
Oh the movie never ends
It goes on and on and on and on
Written by Eric in Entreprenews |
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June 11, 2007
Nice inspirational post on Seth’s blog - That Moment. Will you blink?
Written by Eric in Entreprenews |
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June 11, 2007
Engadget provided some great play-by-play coverage on the Apple WWDC. It wasn’t the most exciting event from Jobs, hence the Sopranos reference, but Apple did manage to launch an almost entirely new website in the background.
It takes quite a bit of getting used to with its enormous usage of AJAX, but give it a try and see what you think:
The new Apple website.
Oh, and for all the web devs out there…….Apple has just solidified 1024×768 as the standard resolution to start with. Bon voyage 800×600! Clear your desk for a new 19″ or 23″. You’ll need it.
Written by Travis in Entreprenews |
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June 9, 2007
According to The WSJ, live television ads might make a comeback. Tuesday’s broadcast of NBC’s “The Tonight Show” is going to air a live skit promoting Garmin GPS. NBC says the Garmin deal “obviously is a reaction to the DVR issue and a reaction to commercial ratings”.
So how is this TiVo proof? You can skip it just like anything else, but apparently Jay Leno’s announcer will play a part in the live skit as well. That make’s it a bit more difficult to differentiate between the actual show and the commercial. Nevertheless, I’m sure the FFW button will get mashed as soon as it becomes clear that it’s an advertisement. Hardly a breakthrough idea.
The truth is most commercials suck. They don’t benefit the viewer at all. Advertisers tend to take, take, take and never give. The ads that are successful are the ones that give back, at least a chuckle or a tear. I still stop my TiVo for new Mac ads because they make me laugh, and movie trailers because they give me a glimpse. But Ford, Zales, Quicken Loans, Lowe’s - forget it.
The only way to become TiVo proof is to make remarkable ads, ads clever enough to make people stop fast forwarding just to watch it. Everything else will get skipped.
Note: If the live skit is going to feature scenes like the pic above, chances are a lot of people men will stay tuned.
Written by Eric in Articles |
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June 6, 2007
The recording at the local emissions office sounds like this…
“Our hours are Monday through Friday, 9AM - 5PM, Saturday from 9AM - 1PM. If you don’t want to wait in line, avoid coming between the hours of 11AM and Noon and do not come at the end of the month”
This is because everyone delays getting their cars tested for tab renewals. It’s such a widespread problem that they have to address it on their recording, simply stating “do not come” at the last minute. Why do people feel the monkey around until it becomes an urgency? There are convenient opportunities all month long to take care of it, but people wait until it’s at critical mass and must be done “right away”. Pity.
That being said, I’ve got to run. If I hurry I can make it before 11AM. My tabs expired May 22nd 
Written by Eric in Articles |
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June 6, 2007
After a recent debate about free music, there’s a great post by Fred at A VC today about the fear of change that’s worth a read.
Written by Eric in Entreprenews |
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June 5, 2007
I loathe the boring look of Gmail. While pillaging the internet for a solution I stumbled across a Firefox extension called Better Gmail. I’m pretty sure it’s a collection of Gmail enhancements wrapped up in one easily manageable extension, one of which being Skins (one of which you see above).
Ahhh…that’s better. If you don’t already have it, Check it out.
Update: It just asked me to update to 0.7 and the above links point to 0.6.1. If it doesn’t do it automatically, check for updates and install ‘em.
Written by Eric in Articles |
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June 5, 2007
It doesn’t happen much anymore, but door-to-door salesman used to be common in our early youth, especially in our parent’s era. When vacuum cleaners and tupperware dominated this practice, a crafty fella’ with his product in tow would do everything he could to convince you to allow him to demo his offering before you…….it would only take a few moments of your time.
The internet and online video have allowed demos to evolve from employing salesman to pitch door-to-door, to showing how powerful a blender is via YouTube. The cost and time for demoing a product nowadays is minuscule compared to the salary or commission of a fleet of salesmen.
In most cases, you’re able to share a story about your product and control the features and benefits emphasized. If that story isn’t truthful, the demo can turn on you, like it did with the Kryptonite bike lock.
Read more…
Written by Travis in Articles |
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June 5, 2007
Up until an hour or so ago, I’ve been blocked from Del.icio.us for nearly two days. I’m sure it was a simple error on their server, but even a support e-mail did nothing fast.
We reminded you a while back to backup your hard drive on cds/dvds/external drive, and now I recommend you do the same with your Del.icio.us account. You never know if their server with your account may go kaput one day, so this 1 minute task would pay off if it happened to.
1) Make sure you’re logged in. Click the settings button.
2) Click export / backup under the bookmarks column.
3) Click the export to html button.
4) Save the webpage it generates to your desktop.
This simple process may save you from the excruciating pain of losing your bookmarks from over the years, or not being to access them for an unknown amount of time.
Written by Travis in Articles |
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June 4, 2007
I’ve been encompassed by the workings of an online business since the beginning of this year. While developing this business and trying to understand the different facets of doing business online, I’ve learned the inside secrets of pricing, sales, shipping, and support.
That last step, support, isn’t just what Dell provides when you’re having trouble with you’re new computer. It’s what every e-commerce business, and pretty much any business, must provide to acquire and maintain customers.
Buy.com seems to have missed their support class. In an exchange of e-mails between a customer who was short-changed 100 blank CDRs he’d ordered, Buy.com begins each pre-formatted response with the title of this post and brings the conflict no nearer a solution.
Read the ridiculous e-mail exchange at The Consumerist.
This is what happens when you let robots run your company. Damn you robots.
Written by Travis in Entreprenews |
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