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

Tag: TechCrunch (Page 2 of 3)

Blogs as ‘New Media’: The Evolution Continues

Wow, some real interesting things are happening out there in Blogland lately! Specifically, new developments that keep raising questions about disclosure and the independence of bloggers. Marshall Kirkpatrick did a TechCrunch post yesterday about Microsoft hiring two respected industry guys (one an analyst, the other a tech journalist), to start blogging for the company. And it drew a hailstorm of comments — accusations of selling out to The Man, etc. But the question about ethics and disclosure isn’t just about big-company bloggers these days. Robert Scoble, who started the whole employee-evangelist blogging phenomenon at Microsoft, has been under attack at the small startup company he now blogs and “vlogs” for, PodTech. A post on his Scobleizer blog a while back drew a very heavy, sometimes downright nasty discussion about disclosure, specifically relating to Robert’s coverage of clients of PodTech’s. [Some of PodTech’s clients it calls “sponsors” and are identified as such on its web site. Robert also has one sponsor for his personal blog, which he says is Seagate.] His post on this topic was in response to Valleywag calling him out on being a shill. Scoble straightens out Valleywag on the details, but admits he doesn’t always give enough disclosure. He resolves to be more careful in the future. Dan Farber at ZDnet also weighed in on the flap.

But the arguments about what consitutes sufficient disclosure will surely continue. Who decides? The evolution to new media is not without its bumps. Traditional journalism has a code of ethics that takes up a whole book at some media outlets such as the NY Times (which hasn’t prevented some notable lapses by certain reporters and editors there in recent times). But bloggers now, more and more, seem to be getting held to higher standards — especially those of the so-called independents that are widely read. Those who have accepted high-profile positions at big-name companies don’t have disclosure issues, however. We all know who’s paying them, and simply apply that filter.

One great blog to read that covers this issue like no other — blogs versus mainstream media — is Mark Glaser’s MediaShift, which is hosted by PBS.org. I’ve written about it previosuly. You’ll find his coverage of the recent “WeMedia” conference interesting as well.

The battle for influence goes on. In the minds of most web users today, that influence now exists collectively in blogs, or at least in certain blogs that are respected and deemed to have influence over others. No question that blogs as a medium are gaining fast on traditional media. And don’t doubt for a second that corporate communicators and their bosses aren’t getting this, bigtime.

What makes a blog influential? How does one measure that? How much of it is quantitative vs. qualitative?

Travel 2.0 – I’m Breathless!

Regarding the conference I’ll be blogging from next weekPhocuswrightconf How can one not be enthusiastic after reading this update I received a few days ago from the event producers?

(beginning of excerpt)

Well, it’s just one week to show time in Hollywood, California!

At PhoCusWright, we are passionate about creating a unique conference in an industry mired in a “sea of same.” By producing a conference that’s changing conferences, we are fighting commoditization just like you and delivering a differentiated product along the way. Thank you for joining us in this quest to challenge the status quo.

Next week, The PhoCusWright Executive Conference will be the most notable yet in the event’s illustrious 13-year history for several reasons: record attendance, an unrivaled speaker roster that spans all aspects of our industry’s value chain; highly motivated and demanding attendees; and a tested, pioneering conference format that unveils what’s on prominent travel, tourism and hospitality executives’ minds, and a new “2.0 conference experience.” You’ll find yourself immersed in the strategic center of the world’s largest industry — surrounded by the heads of major suppliers, distributors and influencers.

This business trip is your key to the unvarnished truth about the vetted, the vexed and the victorious as “Travel 2.0 Confronts the Establishment.”

Overview and About PhoCusWright
For over a decade, PhoCusWright events have provided a more valuable experience because our analysts run the show. We leverage our travel industry expertise and interviewing skills to uncover truths, probe for clarity and reject sales pitches. Our clients (attendees, sponsors, exhibitors, speakers) know that we respect their time by providing superior production value, professional event operations, excellent meals and social networking opportunities with unique access to peers and industry leadership. The PhoCusWright Executive Conference on November 13-15 will be three special days dedicated to fresh ideas, expansive thinking, incredible energy and uncommon community.

PhoCusWright Inc. is an independent travel, tourism and hospitality research firm specializing in consumer, business and competitive intelligence. The company produces consumer, market and industry research, provides strategic consulting services and stages a series of high-profile conferences in the U.S. and Europe.

Conference Program and Agenda
At last year’s Executive Conference, we witnessed Travel 1.0’s swan song. Since then, the Travel 2.0 floodgates have opened with empowered consumers taking charge. It’s a positive, advancing force holding great promise for our industry.

Travel 2.0 – our industry’s collective application of Web 2.0 – embodies how companies can differentiate themselves in a vast, dynamic travel distribution marketplace. It challenges status-quo travel planning behavior. Travelers are now keen to take control and find/create the perfect trip, not just the cheapest trip.

The conference theme is huge: “Travel 2.0 Confronts the Establishment.” Content and conversation center on a unique collection of leadership and topics. The non-stop program is very busy by design and the format exposes attendees to a rare experience. Pithy and provocative commentary triumph.

PhoCusWright attendees (that’s you!) enjoy a reputation for asking savvy, deep-digging questions and not letting go without real answers. Don’t be shy! Our analyst team, armed with a cache of questions, draws the best out of everyone! With a relentless quest for meaningful debate and a probing perseverance for clear answers, together we will expose the very issues that have a vise-like grip on senior executives’ minds.

Be prepared for the unexpected!

New This Year
New this year, attendees are empowered to control their own conference destiny. Just as Travel 2.0 enables consumers to create their perfect trip, The PhoCusWright Executive Conference enables attendees to customize their perfect conference experience. For example, the Attendee Empowerment Heat Map (available at www.phocuswright.com/conferences/heatmap) illustrates your ability to control how much content vs. work you choose to focus on at any time and anywhere. Whether you soak up content in the theater, multitask in the cafe with headsets or camp out in the satellite theater, not only will you learn about Travel 2.0, you will live it!

Also new this year: real-time electronic question board, attendee headsets to listen anywhere, satellite theatre, 80 – person café, sponsored workshops, “VC Talk”, myphocuswright.com and more.

Back by popular demand: WiFi, live blog, open exhibition showcase, I-mag projection that beams several different types of screens at different locations. Whoever is speaking — pundit on stage or attendee in row 38 — appears live on the screens, including subtitles with name and affiliation.

Dream Demographics
Wonder who you will be seated next to? Your strategic partner. Your big investor. Your hottest prospect. Your next key hire. Your awaited acquirer. Your biggest competitor. You’re not dreaming.

It’s very much prime time for our marketplace. We are proud to showcase industry heavyweights from the traditional as well as the online sector; from corporate, meeting and leisure camps; from the supply as well as the distribution side; from discount to luxury; from media and transaction vantages; from North America to Asia; and from Wall Street’s to Main Street’s perspective. We understand the people you interact with matter the most so we have lured an incomparable target audience you can’t miss.

In this fertile environment, millions of dollars of deals get done… and then some. Relationships are cemented. Leads are qualified. Paths are paved. Hires are secured. By joining your peers from around the world, you will shape your point-of-view, hone your strategy, fill your sales pipeline and cultivate business like never before.

The Bottom Line
That’s why we’re all congregating next week at The PhoCusWright Executive Conference to confront what’s next and profit from a keener understanding. Unrivaled insight, healthy debate, critical corroboration, peer talkback, audience grilling, credible forecasts, powerful thinking… even a better night’s sleep.

The PhoCusWright Executive Conference will be “a needle-moving” three days where clarity reigns supreme and buzz is palpable. You are among an unparalleled group: savvy, connected, demanding and poised to do business. Thank you for coming. We look forward to seeing you and to your participation.

Be ready to stand up and speak out. Travel 2.0 is confronting the establishment, and so will you!

(end of excerpt)

As I said, breathless! I’m getting pumped about this thing. And I haven’t even followed the online travel industry all that much to date….Flyspylogo_2except via my own personal experiences as an avid user of these services for my frequent personal and business travel. I’m especially looking forward to the talk to be given by Rob Metcalf, founder of Minneapolis-based Flyspy.

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Michael Arrington Was a ‘Surf Bum’ in Southern California

So says a piece in today’s Wall Street Journal: TechCrunch Site Makes Arrington a Power Broker. Hey, Mike….duuuude!!!! You’re one of us! Except you probably don’t have much time to surf these days, huh?

An excerpt from the article:

Two years ago, Mr. Arrington, a onetime lawyer and Internet executive, was living the life of a surf bum in southern California. Today, the 36-year-old has become one of the most influential people in Silicon Valley. Michaelarringtonwsj Like a latter-day Henry Blodget, the onetime star Wall Street analyst who helped fuel the late 1990s dot-com frenzy, Mr. Arrington uses his TechCrunch blog to determine the destinies of new start-ups and to fan the flames of the current Internet boom.

For many Silicon Valley venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, TechCrunch has become a must read. Internet companies mentioned on the blog often report huge increases in business after they’re featured. Others get unsolicited calls from venture capitalists who want to give them money.

How much revenue is TechCrunch currently producing? The article quotes Arrington as saying $120,000 per month.

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Krugle and Others vs. Google Code Search

Well, the Google Code Search announcement is sure abuzzin’ out there. This CNet story popped up…

Googcodesearch_logo


Kruglelogo_2


Koderslogo

And Nik Cubrilovic posted about it at TechCrunch a few hours ago, quoted herewith:

“All of these search engines have a long way to go before they become a shortcut way for developers to find code – especially considering that most developers are astute at using ordinary search engines to find what they are looking for. Searching for a phrase like “drop-down menu in ajax” won’t return anything usefull, so developers who don’t know which specific string within code they are looking for will have a hard time. Track record would suggest that Google are the company to most likely get this right, by combining the information they have in their main search engine with the source code data for better results … This looks like bad news for the startups in this space who will need to further innovate, but it is good news for Google, a company that hasn’t really been hitting home runs recently with some of it’s (sic) recent new products.”

But in an earlier post this morning on Digital Alchemy, Krugle gets a nice review:

“Krugle’s search interface is much more sophisticated, incorporating ‘sub-tabbed’ browsing and tree navigation of source code, which makes code a lot easier to read and interpret. Google does have one interesting feature: it indicates how many identical files are in its database, allowing you to see how widespread a piece of code is.”

More soon from Krugle on their reaction to this announcement. One can only surmise the startup had a crisis plan of sorts in place for the prospect of this day arriving….

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