Technically Speaking

It’s been quite a busy day for me. I just went through and updated my Link Blog for only the 2nd time today. What I’m doing these days is fun, exciting, and at the same time frustrating at times. You know that being said, I wouldn’t trade it for any day job that I’ve done. Even when I worked in the IT industry full time, I will have to say, this is still 120% more fun.

Well I just went through my Link Blog, as I stated above, and one of the articles that jumped out at me of course is from CenterNetworks. One thing about Allen, he has a great way at putting across the news of the moment. I saw a bunch of articles about the twitter money grab, but he put it across in an engaging and interesting manner. One that grabbed my attention, and made me want to read it. Any article that finishes with the line

I am sure the cats who handle the servers are eating some fine Kibbles ‘n Bits tonight!

deserves to be read.

I will however have to say, even though the article he posted the other day on a great blog that talks about VC funding, I am going to have to lean to what I have always stated. Any freakin’ idea will sell to any VC if you know the right people. If you know how to grab someone’s attention, and hold it for at least 7 minutes, you can sell them another social network. Don’t believe me? Look through any of the major sites to see how many social networks have received $millions in the past 30-45 days.

So where do I stand as far as executive summaries, biz plans, and all that tree killing stuff? Well as a traditionalist I would say “Yes, you should have all of that ready to roll.” As a person that hates to kill trees for any purpose but to burn wood over an open fire, I would say, if you can talk the talk and get in front of some people; show that your product just “works” (twitter), all that stuff can be reserved for an open bonfire on your camping trip.

Another interesting item that I have yet to see is Om’s new show. GigaOm TV. Nice. Now again, I did read Allen’s review of the show earlier today (see guys/gals, I may not be blogging as much, but I am reading and taking note when I get a second!) - and I will have to say, I am still intrigued at watching. That just proves that a bad review or middle of the road interview is not a show stopper.

I agree with what Om said, all that production stuff is hard to deal with. When I was doing the podcast thing last year, 4 nights a week, I will say that was the worst part of it all. I can walk in and plain lay it down. Perform. That’s me. When it comes to producing a show, now that is another story entirely. As many have seen, I forgo any production these days with my occasional video web cam casts. Why? Because I would rather be the talent, and let someone else do the producing stuff. OR, I’d rather just produce and let someone else be the talent. Either or, but not both.

When you have the crew of Revision3 behind you, anything can be cool looking. Unlike the videos that I was in earlier this year that I did produce. The Technically Speaking Live shows, and the Friggin’ Break Reports. Yup, Rev3 could have probably made those shows rock. Unfortunately, being the talent as well as the producer takes quite a bit of time. All of these shows I speak of, podcast or video can be found on my media page.

Finally a “just this in“, well not really. It’s been in for a bit now, but looks like Microsoft is going after anything that strengthens their stake in the world of online advertising. They just acquired this Santa Barbara startup called AdECN Inc. I’m not the first to say anything about it, as I saw the smattering of stories as I went through the Link Blog, and it’s quite interesting to see their focus now on the advertising world.

One that I posted earlier in the Link Blog, that everyone that is in a startup should look at. It’s called, when it’s time to move on from your startup idea. I agree with the 3 points it made. For those that are in a failed startup, maybe it’s time you read this article that pretty much lays the facts out there. What was that saying? Oh yeah, “Lie to yourself, Lie to your mother, but don’t Lie to Rex Dixon.”

Technically Speaking, yes, I can be a goof ball - but when you live like I do, you have to have a weird sense of humor to keep your sanity some times day to day. Oh, and why it’s almost a total full time job being a blogger - this just in for real - Alesis iMultiMixer - now this is just plain COOL! I think some Wilmington NC real estate might be the plan someday.

If this laptop actually sells for $150 here, I think there might be some more people checking out Linux. It’s not a power workhorse, but basically for someone needing to check e-mail and do work on the web, it would probably suffice.

Unless you are a gamer, what are all the bells and whistles for anyways? I mean the laptop I have is probably overkill for what I need it for. Now, I did get a good price on it, but nothing close to the $150 price that the Medison Celebrity is being listed for. With a price like this, you could afford to go away for the weekend to some nice Bed and Breakfast - with wireless access of course!

Technically Speaking, at the price of $150, I might pick one up just to see how it works. No frills, but it probably runs better than my Vista laptop!

Going.com is announcing that they are picking up another $5 million today. I have been saying it for some time now, but if you want to make money online, start a social network. A niche one is the best way to go. This one is so niche, it now has rounds that total $8.5 million. Mashable has a complete story.

Selling a book online is one way to make money, but if you want to make some real money, start a niche social network. $8.5 million in less time than it takes to make a human life is not too shabby. Now I know many will say, “I don’t know how to start a social network!” Well that is why there are probably more than 9 ways by this morning to build a social network.

I have seen some pretty crappy ones, and I have joined some pretty stupid ones. Now what a niche social network does is gather an audience that you need, a following if you will. It’s the same principle that bands use to become big. It’s the following that counts. You get that following and everything else will flow in; maybe even $8.5 million.

Technically Speaking, building a social network is probably easier than determining if your computer has the appropriate RFI Shielding. Oh and if you decide to build a social network - don’t be an idiot - keep it free. Remember that one I talked about awhile back, that charged fees out of the gate? If you read the comments, you will see that they had to have a free model. In fact, if you decide to charge money for your social network, you still don’t get it.

Steve Jobs has to be the biggest spin maker of our time, and a good one. As we all see from this morning’s NY Times story, it is quite apparent that Allen over on CenterNetworks had it right with his iPhone rants. He knew the deal, the people in the know always know the deal. Say that fast 50 times and I will rid you of the spin doctor known as Steve Jobs.

Now I have seen the iPhone up close, and it’s a cool looking device. No doubt about it. But is it really worth $500-600? Let’s think about that for a minute. Not only do you have to spend a pretty hefty amount, but you than have to be strapped in to some proprietary system (iTunes), as well as submit more of your private information via a system that was built for music/video consumption. I have nothing against iTunes, remember - I have two video iPods!

Furthermore, TC goes into what business will choose this go around. The new Blackberry or the iPhone. The one iPhone I saw up close when I was in San Francisco the weekend of the launch had some nice features. Sadly enough, if you are woman with long nails - guess what - the nails aren’t “seen” by the surface of the iPhone! Yes, the person that I knew, she had long nails, and that was one of her main complaints was that sending text’s was not as familiar or friendly as her old trusty Blackberry that was lost.

Technically Speaking, there is a sucker born every minute. I’ll admit, I’ve been tempted as I don’t really like the carrier I have. The thought has crept into my head. I’ve even felt the urge to turn my car into the nearest AT&T lot and plunk down some cash for one since everyone that is anyone seemed to grab one. I bet Steve could even sell a pulse oximeter.

Now the urge to get a BlackBerry which my carrier does support is something I’m gong to more likely consider. Sucker born every minute, and to this minute - I’m still iPhone free.

I have the Link Blog updated. For those that aren’t affected by the power outage in the San Francisco area, you can read all about the power outage in the San Francisco area. Plus many updates, as well as rumors of drunken rampage. For others, you can continue to read.

It has been a full weekend plus since I updated here. There is a very good reason for that. While San Francisco may be having power outages, my web host went AWOL over the weekend. Namely, he was unreachable. My site was down from around 4pm Friday afternoon to some time Sunday evening. Since that time I have received a few pingdom down/up, down/up messages. Yes, the server to this site has transformed into a yo-yo.

While I was not in any mood to be down, and since it has happened a lot this year since a server move, a power outage (some drunk actually hit a power pole and knocked out power for the entire building), etc. etal. - I decided that my work that I’m currently doing, as well as new projects that I’m taking on is taking precedence at this time.

There are no plans to shut down this blog. I want to make that clear. I just won’t be updating it as often, nor will I attempt to tell you about every time Facebook hires a new C-level officer such as today’s new CFO hiring. Will I just quit blogging? Very doubtful.

I will however blog when I feel the urge hit, and on very little notice. I may cover something I hear before someone else hears it. Like exciting new startups, or new startups I’m involved in.

I will go to great lengths to let you know again - there is $5,000 - YES - 5 GRAND sitting on the table for the taking. All you have to do is submit a video to the Lending Club video contest (Disclosure: I’m the Director of Social Media Content for Lending Club).

I feel a lot more relaxed and focused the past few days, not having to keep up with the news. I’ll stay up on it more, and you will probably see me out making more comments to blogs I like to read. Yes, I’ll stay up on it all - that is what a feed reader is for - and I’m sure I’ll read about it before you do! Old habits are hard to break, and this one has been quite a journey.

Do we end up on the road we always script ourselves to be on? Sometimes. I say that even though my blog is nowhere as popular as CenterNetworks, Mashable, VentureBeat or TechCrunch, it has served it’s purpose well. Not every path you end up on is where you intended to be upon arrival. I can honestly say, the trip has been interesting so far.

For now, I have to get back to work, get some sleep, and re-load the Link Blog when I wake up. Why? So I can stay on top of things such as Amazon’s profit being up with Harry Potter or another company receiving $2.3 million in a series A round.

Technically Speaking, there will be more, just not fed to you in doses at the rate of a Link Blog.