Last week, Silicon Valley was abuzz with polarized opinions on the latest mobile app, Color, and quite appropriately so.
With $41 million in pre-launch funding, a large, 27-person team, and a product that well, at first glance doesn’t seem to offer much, even some of the most optimistic Valley-folk feared this tech-bubble was ready to burst. read more…
The hot topic during SXSW this year was undoubtedly the introduction of extremely well done mobile group messaging applications. Hands down, this new set of apps is the best that have been released for iPhone, Android, and then hi-jacking feature phones and RIM devices via SMS. It’s the integration of GPS, rich multimedia, stellar performance and push notifications that makes the difference between these apps and some who have tried in the past. But there’s something eating away at the success at these apps, and it’s only getting hungrier. read more…
Earlier this year, Twitter clients from UberMedia, namely the App “UberTwitter” were banned from Tweeting after violating Twitter’s policies. However, this may come back to bite Twitter in the foot, for it is rumored that UberMedia is developing its own social network to compete with the industry standard that answer’s the question, “What are you doing?” which is aimed at addressing many of Twitters most picked at faults, such as learning curve and size of messages.
Ever since the advent of Facebook statuses, there has been a huge market for the ability to be part of a network where you can let everyone in your circle know what you are doing at all times. Up to this point, Twitter has cornered that market, with help from media exposure due to involvement in events such as the emergency landing conducted by US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River that was first picked up by news outlets due to traffic on the social media giant.
UberMedia seems to be responding to Twitter’s hostility to third-party apps, such as UberChannels. In an official statement from UberMedia, the app allowed users “to read the latest posts from leading reporters and other contributors without having to seek out and follow them directly.”
Twitter has been openly hostile to third party apps and developers. It has taken action to shut down clients that pull its user base away from its desktop and mobile clients.
Competition in the tech industry, and especially a social networking industry dominated by a few big names is best for all of us. Challenging the standards and restrictions Twitter has imposed will prevent another lagging giant such as Microsoft, avoiding years of stagnation and monopoly.
I have a huge problem with the Chinese Government blocking their people from using Google products in their country. For one, Google products are some of the best out there. Gmail is unmatched in their free, online collaboration software suite (Google Docs), Gmail, AdWords, Google Voice, and several others. One of the most widely used, however is a bit less obvious: YouTube. As the 3rd most visited site in the world (source: Alexa), YouTube is one of Google’s cash cow products and everyone knows it. They generate billions of dollars in revenue each year, have been a major provider of news, events, & broadcasts via video for years, and provide one of the most viral platforms online. When China blocked Google, they also blocked YouTube. read more…
For years, Google has been the 800-pound gorilla in the Internet room. The king of search, and an extremely innovative company looked like it could take over the world. Would there ever be any competition? Sure you had Yahoo!, Microsoft and AOL in the ring, all fighting for our clicks, data and time. And even though each of them had similar features (free/ad-supported email, news, video), the real defining factor was how long it took a user to find what they wanted through a search interface.
That’s where Google won.
Search is important. Try to imagine using the Internet without having a reliable source to navigate your journey through the trillions of web pages. It would be nearly impossible! You need something to help you find your way to whatever you’re looking for. And the numbers show that Google owns web search, in fact, Google has been murdering the competition (Google’s share = 91% of all web searches as of 2010). But, what about getting great information from people you know? People you trust, whom you talk to on the phone, around the dinner table, at school?
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Mark Pincus, Zynga’s founder, recently stated that he didn’t want his games to be “too engaging.” Instead, he wanted them to fill the nooks and crannies that populate the human life, to provide an “additive” experience, sprinkling a little entertainment where there would normally be boredom. It seems like a polite way of saying he’d like to subtly, quietly, take over the internet.
Zynga is currently flourishing in a lucrative relationship with Facebook, the platform through which FarmVille and CityVille have excelled so glowingly. Users continue to buy digital credits for games, Facebook takes a cut, passes it on to Zynga, and everybody’s happy, right?
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Beats the shit out of traditional meta-data markup.
I’ve been working pretty exclusively with the Open Graph lately, and all I can say is that it has totally changed the way I think about data (web pages, videos, anything) and how it can and will be discovered (and delivered) online.
The Open Graph is essentially a “standard” that enables web-based data to be transformed into rich objects that can be moved about online. The idea is that your page is made up of certain elements that describe it, identify it, qualify it as itself and why it is what it is. If this sounds like mumbo-jumbo, head over to The Open Graph Protocol page and read about it (here).
It’s humorous to me how influenced the growing tech community is. We essentially jump on board for the brands, teams, funds, and people who are actively mentioned online and other sources. There are plenty of great start-up companies that get little-to-no attention from the press, and even though they could be backed by millions, founded by ex-Googlers, and really disrupting the known, slip past the typical tech follower and do their thing until they’re acquired or dry up all their funds. But not just any press will grab the attention of the masses. Not the New York Times, they can’t break news about a great start up company. Even Engadget, VentureBeat, and GigaOm wither in comparison to the king, TechCrunch. The ever-popular and respected blog, residing in San Francisco, TechCrunch has the power to inform and influence the tech community. And to lead the pack, alleged power broker, ex-lawyer, entrepreneur, and blogger, Michael Arrington.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced today that he would be taking a “Medical Leave of Absence” but to remain as CEO to stay involved in the company’s major decisions. He issued this message to employees:
Welcome to SVLA Tech! My name is Steve Manuel and I will be writing about tech startup activity (and non-activity) around the Silicon Valley and Greater Los Angeles areas. I have a bit over 3 years experience with tech startups, working for Funny or Die (Palo Alto, CA), The Juno Company (San Fransico, CA), my very own stealthy Happee Labs, and most recently Blue Waters Research (Santa Monica, CA).
I intend to provide commentary on new ventures, funding rounds, acquisitions, exits and more. Thank you for checking out the blog and I hope you enjoy it! If you are looking to keep up with more tech news, I religiously read the following (and will write about my findings):