The Long Blonde Tail

Silicon Alley vs. Silicon Valley

Last night I attended the "NY Web 2.0 Social Networking Tech Meetup". During the subway ride, and on the walk to the fairly obscure, but very cool, R Bar on Spring Street, I was all set and revved up for this gathering.

Once inside, I wandered past the long, open, and curiously empty front area of the bar. Then, I spotted a much smaller, but quite crowded (sardine-like packed) room of people. Yes! I quickly found my way to that space.

Moments in, I looked around and soaked in the classic black and whites of Mick Jagger (accompanied by women of many), Blondie, Dylan, and similar icons. All surrounded in a sea of red light. Okay.

Then, I began listening to the presentations. As the representatives of said "Web 2.0" companies began their talks, I realized quickly that Dorothy (or Tracy in this story) was not in Kansas (a la Silicon Valley) anymore.

Here's the low-down:

* I'd be very safe in saying that very few (if any) actual Web 2.0 technologies were represented.
* The bar, no fault to them, had almost zero Wifi capabilities, which meant the presenters couldn't show us their sites online, nor could we see the technology in action.
* Many presentations were sales pitches. Blatant sales pitches.
* PowerPoint can be very bad. And it was an evening of not-so-great PowerPoint.
* Some, had not only no presentation but no web site.
* I was the only one taking digital pictures out of a crowd of 110+ I'd guestimate. Not only that, but I was followed out the door by Brett, the organizer (and a really nice guy, btw) who asked me if and why I was taking pictures. My response? "What the Web 2.0?! Let's have a chat about Flickr, blogs, and, um, Web 2.0."

Here is what I would recommend to this group:

--> Be better organized: give direction to the crowd, get us excited, and have a well-thought-out plan for the event. Also, during presentation time, wireless mics would be great, if possible.

--> Screen the presenters beforehand. Don't let just anyone present -- please. Just because they say they're Web 2.0 and viable, does not make them so. You'll lose your crowd (and credibility) before you know it.

--> If there has to be one rule, make it this: No PowerPoints! Or if there are PowerPoints, make them remarkable. I overheard several such comments from members of the audience: "PowerPoint?! What? I want to see how it works!"

--> Utlize the rest of the space which is allotted to you one Tuesday per month. (I was shocked to learn they have use of the entire place, every month, not just the back room!) Once the companies have presented (limit it to five), have them set up a station out in that big, open space where they can demo, people can easily find them, they can give away literature or swag, and most importantly, be able to breathe.

--> Get more sponsors, and have some of that funding go into: getting a better Wifi system for the R Bar; providing some finger food; maybe some cool prizes / giveaways that will get people talking about your sponsors, and you.

--> After they've presented, have a guest speaker (well known online journalist, blogger, CEO, investor) ask each company two to four very challenging questions about the companies' business, business model, customer experience, etc. This takes the place of a Q&A, and it makes the experience more interesting, and real.

-->  No repeat performances. From what I can tell, many of the same presenters will be highlighted next month. Um, that doesn't work. Especially when most of them honestly don't fit into the Web. 2.0 category.

--> Come up with a better name :)  I'm happy help you, but you should recruit help from the members, too.

--> Take a cue from STIRR, Techdirt Greenhouse, and of course, the all-mighty TechCrunch parties.

Side note: this was only one event, and as a fairly new group I must say they are attracting quite a good crowd. And, Brett was sincerely interested in making them a better experience. Great. 

Google: Un-Bound

This coming Thursday should be an interesting day, indeed. I'm headed for Google's one-day conference, to be held at the New York Public Library, called Un-Bound: Advanced Book Publishing in a Digital World. Or:

... a day examining how the book business has changed and how it will continue to evolve. Hear from thought leaders and industry veterans who are taking advantage of our increasingly digital world—from blogs and social networks to print-on-demand and online access.

Some of those thought leaders include Corey Doctorow (an expert in the field), Freakonomics author Stephen Dubner, Seth Godin, and Tim O'Reilly. A smart gathering, speakers and observers, to be sure.

Politics 2.0 and Unfiltered Messages

There's quite a bit of discussion and debate going on regarding the impact of Social Media on politics. Matt Gross, head of online communications for the Edwards campaign, had this to say:

... the candidate intends to use the Web to deliver his message to voters unfiltered. "An important goal during the announcement was to get people to hear directly from John Edwards about his vision for the country and his belief in what this campaign is about," he said. "We saw blog ads as an effective way to bring people in the blogosphere directly to the campaign Web site, where they could hear from Edwards directly.

As Adriana would say,

Unfiltered, hmmm? Even politicians are doing it. What's wrong with all the companies?!

But we'll save that discussion for another post entirely. :)

Side note: actually Adriana did say that, via her Furl feed ... which is a great way to share knowledge and resources, thoughts and perspectives. I've always been a del.icio.us girl, but Furl is a new favorite for sharing.

Links for Friday, 1/12/07

The Luddite who helps Apple look so good
Now 39, Apple's chief designer is the man responsible for injecting the cool factor into 15 years of the company's devices, from the iMac and the iPod to this week's iPhone, and most everything in between.  "I went through college having a real problem with computers," he has admitted. "I was convinced that I was technically inept, which was frustrating as I wanted to use computers with various aspects of my design."

Tom Evslin: Web 2.0 - Greater Initial Investments Required

MarketWatch: CBS and Disney, open vs. closed

Fred Wilson: Building It Up and Then Knocking It Down

Guy Kawasaki: The Art of Visualization

I Am Supergirl

Saw a post by Mr. Arrington over at TechCrunch recently which made me chuckle. Among many other 2.0ers, Mike took the quiz "Which Superhero Are You?" -- obviously meant to appeal to geeks of all types. To his surprise, he learned that he was indeed Green Lantern, versus say Batman or Spider Man. And, that he's 45% Wonder Woman to boot. Ouch.

So I took the quiz and closed my eyes, after answering the last question and pressing "Done." To my surprise:

You are Supergirl

Supergirl 85% Green Lantern 80% Iron Man 75% Wonder Woman 70% Superman 70% Catwoman 60% The Flash 60% Robin 57% Spider-Man 55% Hulk 40% Batman 30%

Lean, muscular and feminine.  Honest and a defender of the innocent.

Wow. Good thing I've gotten back into the gym routine again. :) And, I was sure I had more Wonder Woman than Green Lantern in me. 

Seriously, it's fun. Give it a go.

Sculpture 2.0

One fine day several months ago, I was pinged on Skype by someone with whom I was unfamiliar. Because I thought it was a Skammer (Skype spammer), I almost didn't accept the chat. Turns out it was a sculptor named Sébastien ("Seb"), simply looking to exchange thoughts and ideas -- and have a chat about bringing his art to the US, where he believes (correctly so) that "people are definitely open to new ideas."

I'm glad that I did chat with Seb. We've been in touch via email here and there, since. In one, he says:

I’m a lot into high tech composite materials ... you’ll see a mix between hyperrealist human features and very futuristic shapes in a near future. Classic is boring! If Michelangelo was alive he would produce an art that would match today’s world, and that’s precisely what I want to do.

In a comment to a recent post, he shares:

It makes me think about a japanese quote I always keep in mind:
"in every second of your life, be ready to sacrifice who you are for who you could be."

.. the only way to move forward.

Pretty enlightened for 27 years of age, wouldn't you say?

Other interesting factoids: Seb studies the Tao, has not been schooled in art, has been featured in full-length magazine articles in France and Japan, and although left-handed, he uses both hands without preference to create his sculptures. Which are incredible.

 

Brilliant Minds Aloud

Here's something I love about podcasting: when it's done well - and often that means highly informal (read: real) - it makes you feel as if you're sitting aside the conversationalists. It makes you think, laugh, listen harder, and ... in many cases, act. Case in point, this blog post.

While listening to a podcast yesterday, I soaked in the brilliant minds of Brian Micklethwait and Perry de Havilland. (side note: it was good to hear Perry's voice again, which brought me back to the all-too-brief time I spent, gratefully, at the home of Perry and Adriana.)

I chose to quote this specific, and comparatively simplistic*, part of the conversation because of its relevance to a very big point. First, what Perry says, towards the end of the 'cast:

"Sometimes you read something in the newspaper and you think, Bloody hell! I've got to blog this!" It's sometimes so frustrating ... and you think, arghhh! I just want to send a letter to the editor. But, you don't have to anymore. You just do it on your own blog."

To that, Brian comments: "the point about letters to the editor is that most of them never get printed. Because they all have the wrong assumptions in them, which you're not allowed to assume." This ties in directly to meta-context - and directly to my next post.

*Other topics within the podcast include blogging, libertarianism, meta-context, entrepreneurism, social media, objectivism, politics, Samizdata, life influence. Have a listen.

Tagged: Tell Me Five Things

My friend Mario Sundar, a prolific blogger and incredibly insightful (and nice) person, tagged me with this meme: Five Things You Didn't Know About Me.

So, here goes:

1. I am an equestrian. Or at least, I was an equestrian. I started riding horses at the age of 9, and continued throughout my college years. At the age of 12 my Dad bought me my first horse, and I tended to him every day. It is both a labor of love, and a passion. Horseback riding is a sport, it is therapeutic, intimate, competitive, and spiritual. Since the onset of my career, I've ridden far too little, which is something I intend to change.

2. As one of six children (the eldest of the four sisters, and second eldest sibling), I'm a sister of a Vietnamese-born brother. On April 6, 1975, Jay (born Phan Van Hung) came to us at just three months of age, after my parents decided to help a child of the War who would otherwise be left parent-less, or without life. I wrote a song for him (music and lyrics) when I was 13, and would play it often on my acoustic guitar.

3. I've been hugged by Oprah, chatted up by Jason Mraz, waved at by John Elway - in the day - and kissed by Dan Ackroyd, Buddy Guy and B.B. King - on seperate occasions, of course. Each is a really great story, best told over a drink or two. :)

4. While earning my BSBA, I double-minored in Geology (because of my love for nature) and Political Science (because of my intense curiosity towards human nature, and how it has shaped our country, and our world).

5. My life goal is to help change the world. Both in my work and as a human being.

There. I've done it. Knowing that they are likely not to even consider doing this, I will still follow the rules and tag five others, whose answers I (and many) would love to read:

Mike A.
Seth
Doc
Jeff Barr
Brad Feld

Update: Here are Jeff's.

Safe is Risky. Risky is Safe.

From the words of the original Purple Cow himself, it's risky to be safe. It seems Ross Levinsohn, former Fox Interactive Media president, agrees:

Safe is a mistake. You cannot grow without taking some risks. We all were bold risk-takers two years ago, and now we're getting safe again ... and in the Internet business, getting safe spells disaster.

He elaborates,

In the Internet, more than any other media business, it's all about risk-taking. And when you kill that spirit, you lose your strategic focus, and that can lead to product degradation and the inability to attract the best minds.

I do believe, and wholeheartedly agree, that the biggest risk to big media companies is a lot of talk and little action. Or, "opting to do too little to reinvent themselves and their business for a future that has already arrived."

ConceptShare Rocks

If sharing and reviewing design (of just about anything - print, online, campaigns, blogs, web sites) is a part of your life at all, do yourself a favor and check out ConceptShare. I met co-founder and overall cool guy Scott Brooks at TechCrunch7, and was duly impressed with him, and the demo. I quickly became an evangelist, because it is something that is *incredibly useful*, works, serves a major market need, is web-based ... and simply rocks. Here's a little tour for your liking:

It's free to try, and their pricing plan is quite reasonable.