Graeme Thickins on Tech

Reflections & analysis about innovation, technology, startups, investing, healthcare, and more .... with a focus on Minnesota, Land of 10,000 Lakes. Blogging continuously since 2005.

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They May Not Be Evil, But Their Tagline Is Hellish

May 11, 2007 / / 6 Comments

Google has finally done it — come up with a tagline. No, I’m not talking about the motto (“Don’t Be Evil”), or the mission statement (“to organize the world’s information”). As Danny Sullivan reports today on his blog, SearchEngineLand, the company has gone and uncorked the phrase to end all phrases. Saywhat Okay, are you ready for it? Are you sure? Okay, drumroll, it’s…..“Search, Ads & Apps” !! No, I’m not kidding — that is it, friends. I know this really tugs on your emotions. But, please, try to control yourselves … from tearing up with brand euphoria.

I’ve always maintained that writing a tagline is like writing poetry. It may be the highest form of advertising writing there is. (And Google, we’re told, is an advertising company!) But this one, I’m sorry. This is no tagline — it’s a three-part laundry list. Okay, Google, great — you do all these things. Got it. Three of ’em. Check. Like we didn’t know that?

This is like Coke saying “Water, Sugar, and Fizz.” Or Nike: “Soles, Laces, and Uppers.” How about Apple? “Pixels, Pods, and Jobs.”

Got any more? Hey, this is fun….play along.

Widgets…Gadgets…Wadgets?

May 5, 2007 / / 2 Comments

Could another Web 2.0 technology fusion be on the horizon? As in, widget meets advertising, new love affair blossoms? That would seem to be the gist of the latest online advertising development, with Google now saying it will do a full launch this summer of its Gadget Ads. Wadgetgraphic It didn’t take the 800-pound gorilla long to figure out that advertisers were coveting all the space that content publishers have been devoting to widgets. Many of these advertisers would naturally like to push their wares inside little embedded, interactive pieces of web real estate, too. It’s not just about getting a click-through; these things offer great branding possibilities as well.

Steve Rubel reported yesterday about this latest move on his Micropersuasion blog under the headline, Google Widgetsense Is a Reality. He based his post on a piece Niall Kennedy did a bit earlier, called Google Gadgets Are Now an AdSense Unit. That, in turn, was based on news broken at an event by Tameka Kee of Online Media Daily: Google Tests ‘Gadget Ads’. And it was all later breathlessly reported by Pete Cashmore at Mashable thusly: Gadget Ads!. Got all that? Such is the blogosphere — and all that reporting happened in a matter of a few hours!

Just a few weeks ago, in a guest post I did on Read/Write Web from the Web 2.0 Expo in SF, entitled Widgetsphere: New Playground For Marketers, I raised this question of where does a widget stop and an ad begin? Well, it appears the line is growing fuzzier as we speak. Capitalism marches on!

UPDATE: To accurately label Google as an 800-pound gorilla, not an 80-pound one. 🙂

Want to Create Buzz and Raise Bucks?

May 3, 2007 / / 1 Comment

An alert about a great event coming up on June 5 at the Microsoft Campus in Mountain View, CA, called “Launch: Silicon Valley,” co-presented by Garage Technology Ventures and SVASE.

I just became aware of a great event coming up on June 5 at the Microsoft Campus in Mountain View, CA, called Launch: Silicon Valley. And I hope to get there to blog about it. If you want to present, you can still apply by today, May 3rd, by just submitting a two-page executive summary. Launchsvlogo

The event is co-presented by Garage Technology Ventures and SVASE, the Silicon Valley Association of Startup Entrepreneurs. The latter is dedicated exclusively to helping early-stage entrepreneurs across all technology sectors build successful companies. The event’s theme is “Create the Buzz, Raise the Money, and Build your Business.” It’s actually the second of these events, after a very successful first one in November 2006. Some of the other sponsors of the upcoming event are Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Band of Angels, Sand Hill Angels, The Angels’ Forum, and some other heavies, as you’ll see if you click the link above.

So, if you think you have a cool technology or startup concept and want the world to discover you — and can get to Mountain View — this would be a great platform. It gives you the opportunity to meet, network, and showcase your startup to some key movers and shakers in the Valley. If your application is accepted, you’ll get to present directly to an audience of VCs, angel investors, M&A execs, senior corporate biz dev execs, bloggers, press, and potential business partners. The CEOs of the companies voted “most promising” in each of the six sessions at the event will also receive invitations for two to attend the prestigious Ernst & Young “Entrepreneur of the Year” dinner on June 29 at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco.

Again, to apply, submit your two-page executive summary by end of day today, May 3rd. Or email LaunchSV@svase.org for more info.

UPDATE: The submission deadline has been extended to May 13.

Apple Blows Through 100; Jobs Safe?

April 25, 2007 / / 0 Comments

Well, the Wall Street Journal just reported Apple’s latest blowout numbers:

“Boosted by demand for iPod players and Macintosh computers, Apple reported its profit soared 88% to $770 million and revenue reached $5.26 billion. The company shipped 10.5 million iPods, up 24% from a year ago. Mac shipments rose 36% to 1.5 million machines. ‘The Mac is clearly gaining market share,’ said CEO Steve Jobs. Separately, a group of Apple board members issued a statement defending Mr. Jobs from accusations tied to the company’s stock-options backdating. The directors said they have ‘complete confidence’ in Mr. Jobs’s ‘integrity and his ability to lead Apple.’ Apple shares jumped 10% to $102.55 in late trading.”

Stevejobs_3 Gee, I guess you could say the market likes it? And this after a page-one Journal story today suggesting Jobs knew more than previously reported about his company’s options backdating. To hell with that, the market seems to be saying — just keep giving us those good results.

Up 10% in one day? Amazing…

Web 2.0 Expo: My Recap on Read/Write Web

April 23, 2007 / / 1 Comment

Just saw the post up on Read/Write Web that includes my recap of the Web 2.0 Expo event last week in San Francisco. Web2expo Richard MacManus published his take earlier, then followed with this one that includes my thoughts and those of two other writers that contribute to R/WW and happened to be at the event.

By the way, congrats to Richard on the fourth anniversary of Read/Write Web! He’s come a very long way since those early days — from spare-time sideline to media property. Quite an entrepreneurial story, and one with a international component, too, since Richard has more of a global bent being based in New Zealand. Readwriteweblogo
Richard also used to blog for ZDnet, but now is fulltime on R/WW. What makes the blog so well followed is that it does analysis, not just news bursts about the latest deals and startup launches (though it covers its share of those, too). It’s been amazing to watch its growth.

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