Thu, Dec 30, 2004
Self-Deprecating Venture Capitalists
#
From my buddy ScottFoehner: Check out BessemerVenturePartners'
anti-portfolio. Excerpts of some
funny (and painful) missed opportunities: (GFB)
eBay: "Stamps? Coins? Comic books? You've GOT to be kidding,"
thought Cowan. "No-brainer pass." (GFC)
Federal Express: Incredibly, BVP passed on Federal Express
seven times. (GFD)
Google: Cowan's college friend rented her garage to Sergey and
Larry for their first year. In 1999 and 2000 she tried to introduce
Cowan to "these two really smart Stanford students writing a search
engine". Students? A new search engine? In the most important moment
ever for Bessemer's anti-portfolio, Cowan asked her, "How can I get
out of this house without going anywhere near your garage?" (GFE)
Gotta appreciate VCs with a sense of humor. (GFF)
/business |
Posted at 10:31pm
New Year's Wish: An Auto-Updating Address Book
#
An observation from my annual holiday card ritual: I didn't have to
scramble around as much this year to track down people's mailing
addresses. My friends have either settled down en masse or have
gotten much better at sending out their latest contact info as soon
as they've moved. Nevertheless, it reminded me of what I think is
one of the most compelling applications that IdentityCommons will
enable: an auto-updating address book. (GF8)
Many of you might claim that these already exist, pointing to sites
like Plaxo (which
received $8.5
million in second round investment in July 2003). I'm not talking
about centralized services that spam you at least once a year. I'm
talking about a service that is fully distributed and that is owned
and controlled by you, not by some third-party. (GF9)
The IdentityCommons technology will make services like these possible,
and assuming all goes well, the enabling technologies will be
available by mid-2005. Not only is it an interesting enterprise
opportunity, it's a great service for regular schmoes like me who just
want to keep their address books updated. (GFA)
/collaboration/idcommons |
Posted at 10:22pm
Wed, Dec 15, 2004
Kolabora Interview about Identity Commons
#
RobinGood
interviewed me yesterday for his Kolabora
Internet Radio program. We discuss online collaboration -- of course!
-- and the latter half of the conversation is about IdentityCommons. (BGV)
Robin also interviewed
me last May, after my manifesto
came out. What's really interesting about doing these interviews --
besides the fact that I enjoy talking to Robin -- is that Robin is
always on top of the latest and greatest Internet conferencing tools.
Last May's conversation was videocast. This interview was recorded
over the Internet using a tool called iVocalize. It's like an online walkie talkie over the Internet --
you hold down the control key when it's your turn to talk. It also
removes the pauses that occur when a different person starts talking,
which makes the end recording sound very fluid. If you listen to the
recording, it sounds like Robin and I are having a very natural
conversation, when in reality, it was a bit choppy because of the
limitations of the tool. (BGW)
In any case, I never tire of the fact that I can talk to someone in
Italy in real-time for free using my Web browser. (BGX)
/collaboration/idcommons |
Posted at 10:26am
Thu, Dec 09, 2004
Blue Oxen Turns 2
#
Today is BlueOxenAssociates' second anniversary. DougEngelbart is
graciously hosting a party for our friends and colleagues tonight in
Atherton, California. (8TA)
This year has been a fruitful one, and next year's will be even more
exciting. Many of the conversations I've had over the past two years
are resulting in real projects in 2005. Thanks to all who have been a
part of the ride so far. I'm looking forward to continued progress
and learning and to meeting many more great people in the upcoming
year. (8TB)
/blueoxen |
Posted at 1:10pm
Mon, Dec 06, 2004
i-names Not Centralized
#
The IdentityCommons i-name
fundraiser got
Slashdotted today. I haven't been all that impressed by the comments
on SlashDot in the past, but they were useful this time in revealing a
fundamental misunderstanding about the IdentityCommons infrastructure
(and a problem with its messaging). IdentityCommons is not
centralized. This is not a non-profit version of
MicrosoftPassport. It was designed from the ground up to be fully
distributed. See FenLabalme's
post for a deeper
explanation and some additional comments on the Slashdot responses. (7VR)
/collaboration/tools |
Posted at 9:35am
