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Rockmelt - a “Social Browser.”

I’m a huge skeptic of everything “new” or “hot” (e.g. #Flipboard). Watching this demo and interview, I have to say I’m VERY impressed with this meld of social media into a browser. I think this could win because:

It’s focused on Facebook
It appears to be dead simple
It’s built off of Google Chrome software
Browsers need a major usability/user update given the explosion of social and mobility

Aside from the current beta version, I’m really curious to hear in more depth where they see Rockmelt going - mobile phones being a very obvious platform.

Can’t wait to get my beta invite to try it out.

UPDATE: ummm…not so smart > RT @manielse: RockMelt requires you to fan them on Facebook to get an invite. First #FAIL And of course I spaced on Flock - L on my forehead…

via soupsoup:

A more in depth look at Rockmelt via Scoble. The fact you need a Facebook account to use it will be a non-starter for some people, but with a half a billion userbase, I don’t think they’re too worried.

07.11.10

+ 14

#Marc Andreessen #Tech #Video #Video #facebook #rockmelt #scoble #Flock

AOL is like a train running down a track that is disintegrating rapidly underneath it. That track is the dial-up access business, which still produces gigantic amounts of revenue — close to 40 percent of the company’s total — but is declining at a rapid rate. What Armstrong is trying to do is to build new businesses that have the ability to generate similar kinds of revenue, which amounts to laying new tracks quickly enough that the train doesn’t go hurtling into an abyss. The launch of Patch was one such attempt, and the acquisition of The Huffington Post was another.

Mathew Ingram (via soupsoup)

03.03.11

+ 19

#Aol #Tim Armstrong #Business #tech

There is a fear by many, Mr. Keller included, that these devices will wipe out our ability to remember and force us to become dependent on the virtual world. Luckily for us humans, our brains do not work this way. Research shows that the human brain is capable of adapting to new technologies in less than a week, irrelevant of age or intellect.

As I’ve written in the past, Maryanne Wolf, the director of the Center for Reading and Language Research at Tufts, points out that our brains were never even designed to read. This “technology” is something that we have to train our brains to do.

In the same way that we hack our brains to read, we are not going to flush away our powers of memory by adopting tomorrow’s technologies.

Nick Bilton (via soupsoup)

Once again, the old, reactionary guard completely misses the boat.

18.05.11

+ 24

#Tech #Twitter #Smartphones #Media #New York Times #Bill Keller #Nick Bilton #Human Intelligence #Brains #NYT #Tablets #Technology #Brain #Games

WSJ: Internet radio company Pandora Media Inc. boosted the size of its initial public offering Friday, indicating that investor demand is heating up ahead of the deal's expected launch next week. Pandora's raised IPO would value the company at $1.94 billion, if priced at the high end of the projected range.

Le #Bubble. Deja vu all over again.

Does anyone remember history?

(Source: joshsternberg)

11.06.11

+ 9

#Tech #News #Pandora #IPO #Bubble? #Music

This will make da Mrs.’ head explode…

via smarterplanet:

Using Twitter Improves Students’ Grades, And Other Surprising Tech Usage Facts

OnlineEducation.net made an infographic based on results from a student/technology study.

Full Story: Business Insider

via emergentfutures:

16.08.11

+ 94

#assumptions #education #social media #tech #technology #Twitter #Facebook #mobile phones

Tumblr Talking To Top VCs About An $800 Million+ Valuation

(Source: joshsternberg)

23.08.11

+ 49

#Tumblr #Tech #Media #Good for you guys! #Social Media #social #Blogging

If this is truly #MSFT thought leadership, they must be a few beers short of a six pack. Sadly, enterprise clients will eat this up…then again, maybe not. We can hope

via parislemon:

Apple’s vision for the future of computing versus Microsoft’s vision for the future of computing.

Any questions?

29.08.11

+ 928

#tech #apple #microsoft #Tech #UI #MSFT #APPL #Enterprise Clients

Check Out This Stunning List Of Big Name Startup Investors That Gave Startup Reporter Michael Arrington $20 Million

It’s hard to think of a company that TechCrunch covers that is not in some way backed by these people.

EXTREMELY SLIMEY on Arrington’s part but that’s par for the course for him. Not surprising at all. What is somewhat surprising is the list of $20 million VC “investors.” Shame on:

AOL, Accel Partners, Austin Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Greylock Partners, Redpoint Ventures, Sequoia Capital, the founding partners of Andreessen Horowitz, each of the general partners of Benchmark Capital, Ron Conway, Yuri Milner & Kevin Rose

for sullying their “good” names.

Then again, that’s how business is done.

(Source: joshsternberg)

01.09.11

+ 16

#Tech #Arrington #VC #Business #Where's the popcorn? #News #Conflict of Interests? #TechCrunch #AOL #Wake Up Call #Accel Partners #Austin Ventures #Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers #Greylock Partners #Redpoint Ventures #Sequoia Capital #Andreessen Horowitz #Benchmark Capital #Ron Conway #Yuri Milner #Kevin Rose #Business

I don’t think it’ll be anything like what I read about happening when I was 9 years old.

A 22-year-old at the TechCrunch conference on whether there is a bubble or not. (via The Awl)

(Source: capitalnewyork)

15.09.11

+ 8

#!!! #TechCrunch #tech

“It’s like a bunch of toddlers on the playground.” - Kara Swisher

#Classic

via soupsoup:

All Thing Digital’s Kara Swisher tells TechCrunch, essentially, to grow the f up, on Reliable Sources.

18.09.11

+ 20

#Video #Kara Swisher #Tech #TechCrunch #Journalism #Media #ethics #VC #Venture Capital #Michael Arrington #AOL #Ariana Huffington

The Birth Of Qwikster

via parislemon:

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings first apologizes for a lack of communication, and then gives his thoughts about the recent price changes and separation of DVDs and streaming (which is still the right move, as Hastings reiterates).

The wording is good. Amazingly, it doesn’t sound like the total bullshit you usually read in such posts. But here’s my favorite part:

For the past five years, my greatest fear at Netflix has been that we wouldn’t make the leap from success in DVDs to success in streaming. Most companies that are great at something – like AOL dialup or Borders bookstores – do not become great at new things people want (streaming for us) because they are afraid to hurt their initial business.

When I read this, I have one larger thought than Hastings: Microsoft.

Why is legacy Windows and all its baggage a part of Windows 8? Because of Hastings last sentence above.

He continues:

Eventually these companies realize their error of not focusing enough on the new thing, and then the company fights desperately and hopelessly to recover. Companies rarely die from moving too fast, and they frequently die from moving too slowly.

We see this time and time again. Complacency. These thoughts are nothing new. But what’s great is Netflix’s gumption to execute — stupid name or not.

Also great: Hastings is on Microsoft’s board. There is still hope.

19.09.11

+ 157

#Tech #netflix #qwikster #microsoft #reed hastings

Another Fun Data Point

parislemon:

When Apple’s market cap hits $400 billion, they’ll be worth more than Microsoft and Google — combined.

They’re now less than $20 billion away from that happening.

More signs of le #stock #bubble.

Q: What happens to Apple’s market cap when the double dip recession gets worse & consumers opt for cheaper smart phones/tablets or hang on to what they have?

Another stock market bubble bursting or correction will be ugly for Google, Microsoft, and Apple. Long-term #MSFT is in the weakest position given it’s enterprise & consumers products in addition to a thin software/product pipeline. After that, #APPL has a lot of cash on hand but a consumer electronics company in a long-term recessionary environment scares me. And #GOOG is well Google. They’ve got cash, smart people, and lots of irons in the fire. Google is search, email, search advertising, some social/productivity missteps, etc. Push comes to shove long-term, I’d think they’re in the best position.

19.09.11

+ 105

#apple #google #microsoft #stock #tech #APPL #GOOG #MSFT

It’s like Tumblr meets Flavors.Me meets the Wayback Machine in a dark alley, high on crack cocaine, holding a rusty box-cutter.

Foster Kamer on the new Facebook Timeline (via soupsoup)

Short version: It’s #DogShit Design #FB

22.09.11

+ 77

#FB #facebook #tech #social media #design

minusmanhattan:

Check out that Facebook timeline. My favorite comment on Twitter from today regarding the timeline: “Now we’re going to scroll up and I’m going to show you how you’ll die.” - Mark Zuckerberg

Want to enable yours early? Directions here.

No comment necessary.

22.09.11

+ 28

#FB #Facebook #social media #open graph #design #tech

But Thursday at its huge F8 developer’s conference Facebook is taking what might be its biggest step yet in fulfilling the vision. It announced the culmination of “The Open Graph,” an initiative that will allow thousands of developers to make social applications tightly woven into the Facebook system, much more so than with the existing platform. Media applications in categories like music, news, and video will not only be able to instantly make their content more valuable as friends share what they’re reading, watching and listening to with each other, but the media itself will seem to be part of Facebook. Though media apps are prominent among the F8 launch partners, however, Facebook expects people to write programs that involve every imaginable aspect of life.

Wired’s Steve Levy has an in-depth view at Facebook’s new ‘Open Graph.’ (via joshsternberg)

Beyond design…#FB - A more thoughtful analysis of #Zuckerberg’s presentation. Hmmmmm…

22.09.11

+ 5

#facebook #FB #socail graph #social media #privacy #tech #developers