My Fantasy Foursquare Life

I’ve had a very full schedule recently. Last Sunday I was in Amsterdam. On Monday I was “on a boat” off the coast of Texas and then zipped over to Dubai to check out the Ritz-Carlton hotel. By Wednesday I was in New York visiting the Foursquare offices. I spent the rest of the week in Waikiki, at NASA, in Monaco and, finally, at Pixar’s studios in California. I really did visit all of these places – I can prove it because I checked in via Foursquare . Ok, I didn’t really visit any of those places last week. I faked it. If someone you’ve friended on Foursquare checks in somewhere in the world, you can just click the location and check in there yourself. For some reason I really like fake checkins. In the past I’ve checked into Victoria’s Secret in Palo Alto (usually when I was actually at PF Chang’s. That definitely got some interesting comments. One of my favorite things is to check into a company headquarters when they’re having a board meeting. Or at a VC right before they invest in Foursquare. That always freaks them out. I’m never much of a fan of self analysis, but I have pondered why I like fake checkins so much. I like doing it for a few reasons. Part of it is the funny comments I get back from people who see the checkins on Twitter or Facebook, like a “WTF?” to a checkin at a plastic surgery center in Menlo park a couple of weeks ago. But mostly it’s just about having fun. I’m living a parallel fantasy Foursquare Life. Slow day at the office, with the heat and lack of air conditioning getting me down? No problem! Zap, I’m in Waikiki with a rum drink in my hand, hanging out with my friend Christine Lu . One of my friends ( Kevin Marks ) is at NASA? Jealous! I’m there too! See! Yes it’s lame. I understand this. But it makes some people smile. And in a way it’s kind of like taking a very short break from real life and having a mini vacation. Remember Total Recall where you could go on a cheap vacation and instead of going they’d just embed memories of it into your mind? It’s exactly like that. Just like my robot experience earlier this week is exactly like the movie Avatar. Yes, not really. I hope Foursquare never fully turns off the cheat feature in their service. I’m usually not that interested in checking in where I actually am. But I’ll probably be a lifelong user if I can keep up the #fantasyfoursquarelife. I just need even more interesting friends who are willing to do all the legwork and actually visit these places physically. Enthusiastically written from the Soho House in Berlin. CrunchBase Information Foursquare Information provided by CrunchBase

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My Fantasy Foursquare Life

Patience is an SEO Virtue

Posted by Kate Morris We have all been there once or twice, maybe a few more than that even. You just launched a site or a project,

Choosing the Right Keyphrases – Especially for the Smaller Sites!

Posted by Sam Crocker Hey there folks! Today’s post is a hands-on walkthrough of some of the decision making used when choosing the keyphrases to target. Producing a list of the most important terms in an industry is nice, but actually choosing the right keyphrases is essential. The post was largely created in response to a question submitted by Kien in the comments of my last post . What to Expect This post should

A Guide To 3D Display Technology: Its Principles, Methods, And Dangers

Whether you buy into the hype or not, it’s plain fact that 3D is everywhere these days. From movies and games to laptops and handhelds , pretty much every screen in the house is going to be 3D-capable in a year or so, even if you opt not to display any 3D content on it. Those of you who choose that path may stop reading now, and come back a little later when you change your mind. Because if you have kids or enjoy movies and games, there will be a point where you’re convinced, perhaps by a single standout piece of media, that 3D is worth it at least some of the time. But 3D isn’t as easy to get used to as, say, getting a surround-sound system or moving from 4:3 to widescreen. Why is that? Well, it’s complicated, but worth taking the time to understand. Moreover, like any other new technology, 3D is not without its potential risks, and of course studies will have to be done to determine the long-term effects of usage, if any. For now, though, it must be sufficient to inform yourself of the principles behind it and make your own decision. Continue reading…

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A Guide To 3D Display Technology: Its Principles, Methods, And Dangers

An iPhone Lover’s (Initial) Thoughts On iPhone 4

This morning, my colleague Jason Kincaid wrote a very good and very level-headed post about the new iPhone (and the new iOS 4 software) from the perspective of an Android user. I’m going to come at it from the other angle. Recently, I’ve written my takes on both the Nexus One and the EVO 4G from the perspective of an iPhone lover. Obviously, I don’t have an iPhone 4 yet, and so this isn’t a full review, but after the keynote yesterday we did get some hands-on time with the new device. So I figured I’d write down my initial reaction after playing with the new hardware for about 20 minutes or so. Before I go any further, I’ll save you the suspense: it’s awesome. The Build The biggest thing that stands out in my mind one day later is that immediately after I put down the iPhone 4 and went back to my iPhone 3GS, the latter felt kind of like a toy in comparison. Now, I’ve always been a fan of the design of the first iPhone over the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 3GS — that is, I liked the aluminum flat back of the first one more than the plastic backs of the second two. The iPhone 4 is a return to form — literally — but it’s even better now, as the aluminum has been replaced by glass (in either black or white). As Jason noted, the device feels rock solid in your hand. It is without a doubt the most impressive piece of mobile hardware I’ve ever held. There’s nothing on the device that feels janky. Aside from the backside upgrade, all the external buttons on the device are now improved as well. The iPhone 4 is pretty much identical in weight to the iPhone 3GS, but it’s significantly thinner. This may be a bit hard to notice in your hand as the iPhone 3G/3Gs has the curved back (so you mostly handle the thinner edges), but I have no doubt it will be noticeable in your pocket. The Screen When the iPhone 3GS first launched, I wasn’t sure that the boost in speed would be enough to make an upgrade worth it. I was wrong. Once I had an iPhone 3GS and went back to using an iPhone 3G, the latter almost seemed unusable to me. Thanks to the screen on the iPhone 4, this seems likely to be the case as well. As Steve Jobs joked in the keynote, “ once you go Retina Display, you can’t go back .” After just 20 minutes of using it, I’m hooked. As Daring Fireball’s John Gruber noted yesterday, it’s not just that the iPhone 4 has four times the pixels of the earlier iPhones, it’s that much of the distance between the glass you touch and the pixels have been removed as well. It’s subtle things like this — things that most people will never even realize they’re noticing (but they are) — that make Apple, Apple. With the iPhone 3GS (or any of the other iPhones), if you bring the device close enough to your face, you can see the pixels. With the iPhone 4, you can’t. It’s really not like looking at a computer screen at all. It’s like looking at a picture — or when something on the screen is moving, film. The Speed In terms of speed, it’s hard to know what is the new iOS 4 and what is the new hardware, but the device does seem to run a little bit smoother. It’s not

How To Successfully Educate Your Clients On Web Development

Kissing The Mark Pincus Zynga Ring

Two big stories popped about Zynga in the last 24 hours. Businessweek says Zynga will do $450 million in revenue in 2010, which is actually less than some of the higher end speculation about the company, and quotes sources saying that Zynga spends between $5 million and $8 million per month on Facebook advertising (we have previously reported that Zynga was Facebook’s largest advertiser in 2009, and certainly remains at the top or near the top of the list). CEO Mark Pincus remains the center of attention, though, and he certainly doesn’t mind speaking his mind. In a Details Magazine article with an apparently alcohol-fueled interview , Pincus manages to slight Twitter – “They think it’s cool that the State Department asked them to keep the servers running during the Iranian protests” and then showed anger over the media’s coverage of him and Zynga over donations to Haiti : “It’s really reprehensible. I feel morally offended that we get attacked by the media for doing something good and no one else is outraged when these people are wrong,” There’s also a hint of insecurity and a cry for attention – “A little gratitude might be nice, he adds. “We invented social gaming. We were the first ones to figure out virtual goods and social pay, and we’ve helped the whole industry. They haven’t thanked us for it.”” Pincus also gloats over his Crunchie award as CEO of the year, suggesting that people who criticized him over Scamville , and in particular the “ horrible things ” video, wanted to “kiss the ring” now that he’s on top: Pincus was named CEO of the Year by TechCrunch, startlingly enough, voted in by the very readers who savaged him a few months before. One person, at least, wasn’t surprised: “The same people who called you an idiot will kiss the ring,” Pincus says, downing the last of the sake. “Because we have the chance to make history.” Pincus seems to be a man who manages to take both criticism and praise poorly. But there’s no denying that these annoyingly addictive games are making money hand over fist. Silicon Valley has a history of brash and sometimes flawed entrepreneurs doing great things. Sometimes it’s those flaws that drive them to success. So I’ll continue to kiss the Mark Pincus ring, even though he seems to piss everyone off around him every time he opens his mouth. CrunchBase Information Zynga Mark Pincus Information provided by CrunchBase

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Kissing The Mark Pincus Zynga Ring

Future Fitness Trends

Eating healthy is now considered a future fitness trend . More people are becoming aware of the impact unhealthy foods have on the mind and body. You should reduce the amount of fat, calories, and sugar components such as high fructose, …

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Seesmic, TweetMeme Say Twitter Ecosystem Is Just Fine, Thank You

Yesterday we showed a teaser of our conversation with Loic Le Meur of Seesmic , and Nick Halstead of Tweetmeme . Here’s the full video, in two parts. This is a debate around the recent decision by Twitter to compete directly with third party developers who are making Twitter applications that Twitter has deemed to be mere “hole fillers.” A variety of third party apps are now competing directly with Twitter. Most developers we’ve spoken with are upset, and say that Twitter gave them guidance that they wouldn’t compete with them. And in the past Twitter has been consistent in saying that they want to provide the plumbing for the Twitter ecosystem. Now it’s quite clear that they want to build on top of that plumbing, too. Halstead seems unworried by the changes. He says that new features in Twitter’s API will allow new types of apps to be built by third parties, and the existing stuff isn’t as relevant (tell that to the guys who’ve just been hit). And his Tweetmeme app isn’t in much danger because he has actual code on tens of thousands of websites. Even if Twitter competed directly, it would be hard to get publishers to replace that code. My chief rebuttal to Halstead is that the new API features, such as geo, are great. But developers building around those features are simply providing the research & development effort to figure out what works. Once they do, Twitter will call them hole fillers and compete directly. Loic Le Meur has been all over the place on this. He said Twitter would never compete . They he said he knew all along they’d compete. More recently he just yelled “Fuck You” at everyone. He says Seesmic will be able to continue to compete because (1) Seesmic is focused on more than just Twitter, and (2) Twitter has promised to only use the same APIs in their apps that they provide to developers. That troubles me, too, and I use a Windows/Office analogy in the debate. The Office team theoretically only uses the same tools to build on Windows that everyone else does. But they have special access, and an official stamp of approval, and countless other advantages that make it impossible for anyone to build an Office suite on top of Windows effectively. John Borthwick has been the most effective at communicating the problem from the developer standpoint. Developers need to know the rules that Twitter is playing by. Calling something a hole filler after the fact isn’t reasonable. Lastly, talk about holes and filling holes in platforms is misleading at best. Take a list of emerging to mature companies — great companies … Is Groupon a hole in Facebook? Facebook a hole in Google?? Google is a hole in Microsoft??? Microsoft in IBM???? Maybe it’s holes all the way down? Innovation — building great companies — is about finding, filling and even creating holes. John also said something similar in a c omment to a TechCrunch post a couple of days ago: Over the past few years a set of platforms have emerged online that give startup’s a foundation to get a kick start to building their audience and/or their business. Adsense/Adwords were probably the first scaled examples of this. And as these platforms mature its important for their to be clear boundaries between what the platform provider does and doesnt do. Granted these boundaries shift over time — but they have to be sustained for long enough for the platform provider to achieve scale and trust and to get a critical mass of applications running on it. To play out the Google example take the UX of Google. They understood they werent in the content business — they were in the navigation business. Now after 10 years the line is getting hazy in some areas — this is why the local search stuff, the yelp conversations resonate with people — Google has for what ever reason decided that local is something it needs to wrap more of an arm around local. How long is that arm? How detrimental is it to local players? im not sure? — but if i had to put a dollar down I would bet that Yelp and say Opentable etc. will do just fine. So — clear sustained boundaries are necessary. The second point is that people bootstrapping on these platforms should also try to spread their relevance — beyond the underlying platform –so yelp should extend its business model beyond adsense, zynga beyond facebook etc. etc. That is what Stocktwits has done, same for bit.ly, Tweetdeck, Someecards, OMGpop etc… all of these services have a leg in multiple platforms. At some level — one person’s innovation is clearly another persons hole. Take a list of emerging to mature companies — great companies … Is Groupon a hole in Facebook??? Facebook a hole in Google?? Google is a hole in Microsoft. Microsoft in IBM?? It’s holes all the way down (or up) — thats much of what innovation is. After 30yrs of personal computing history we have a lot of platform history to draw from, Apple understands this very well, so does Google, so does Amazon, so does Ebay. Once again — great businesses will emerge out of these new and emerging platforms. That, to me, is the key issue. Twitter is now making a new set of promises to developers. Will they break that promise too in a year or two? Maybe it doesn’t matter. Halstead says in the video that the opportunity is too large to ignore, damn the risks. Perhaps that’s so. But it seems like the best developers may choose to spend their time on something else, where they don’t run the risk of Twitter changing their mind again. CrunchBase Information Twitter Seesmic TweetMeme Loic Le Meur Nick Halstead Information provided by CrunchBase

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Seesmic, TweetMeme Say Twitter Ecosystem Is Just Fine, Thank You

Live: Twitter CEO Ev Williams’s Chirp Keynote

Twitter CEO Evan Williams has just taken the stage for his Chirp keynote. I’ll be liveblogging his talk below. Twiterrific helped the Twitter team realize what was possible from third parties, had people telling them that it made them like Twitter. Twitter gets 3 Billion requests a day through the API According to comScore, that’s about the same traffic as Yahoo (though it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison Growth: 1,500% per year 175 employees Almost a year ago to this day, Ashton Kutcher decided to race CNN to a million followers, then we get a call from Oprah’s people because Ashton was going to come on the show to talk about the race. “We might want some help with the show, to make sure things are going right. Is Biz available? No… but I’m (Ev) available… They said well, you’ll work. This was Wednesday, for Friday. Then they called Thursday and said, we changed our mind, you’re going to be on the show. And then 4chan attacked us… “We’re out of chaos now. It feels good. And what this means is more organized and capable company that you can rely on. It also means we can give you more guidance than we’ve been able to before”. “The open exchange of information has a positive impact on the world”. We did some deals last year with Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo. The prospect came up, should we license the public data stream to these search guys? This wasn’t an easy decision — some board members/investors said “are you crazy?”. And we felt, we’re all about openness, and we believe openness creates more value. But this was perceived that this was the strategic monetizable asset of Twitter. There was concern we were giving away the farm. But we realized the value was to maximize value to end users. Wouldn’t more value be created if we had more guys working on this problem (these guys have more experience with search, etc). Realized these deals were the right thing to do”. 4 core priorities First is infrastructure : Scalability, quality of service, rapid development are key. This is where we’ve spent a lot of our time. In the last few months we’ve made tremendous progress. We have FlockDB which stores 13 billion edges, we started open sourcing in the last few weeks. Another project is Snowbird, which is moving to Cassandra for tweet storage. Last six months reduced 500 errors by two thirds. We’ve reduced Tweet delivery failures by two orders of magnitude. Also shortened Tweet delivery time (used to take a few minutes for people w/ millions of followers). Have a new tool called ‘Murder’ Killer improvement in deployment. Uses Bittorrent to transfer lots of files. Went from 40 min. to twelve seconds for deployment transferring of files Second priority: Friction-free: Twitter is too hard to use. We’ve known this (that it was too hard to use) for a long time but we were growing to fast to address it. If you type “I don’t get” into Google, second result is “I don’t get twitter”. (First is “I don’t get drink I get awesome”). Goal: Fast, obvious, easy. We have a new team that is about getting users from awareness to engagement. We weren’t doing this very well before. They’ve revamped signup process, and has increased retention by 20%. Much better homepage. This is a tough problem because Twitter is different things for different people. Mobile. Today around 37% of active users use Twitter on their phones. More than most other web services, but that should be 100%. There should be people using Twitter only on mobile, eventually. Twitter is built for mobile. Location, etc. Mobile is where that will happen. We have deals with 65 carriers, have to get deals where we aren’t paying for every SMS. Now carriers are making deals with us. I think there is a lot of untapped potential with SMS. You can build SMS services, use Twitter’s SMS reach which normally costs a lot of money but we have these deals BlackBerry and iPhone. We announced last week, we now have Twitter apps on the BlackBerry. We found that we had to have a core experience on these platforms just like we have to have one on the web. Or else we’re failing the ecosystem because we’re not getting as many people started/engaged. To underscore the problem. We did a user test a couple weeks ago. *shows a video of a young woman searching for Twitter on the App Store*. “What am I looking for, she asks herself”. Mentions Twitterific… still looking… “Is there a better way to find this, I don’t see one called Twitter”. “I’d want a free one…” First three days the BlackBerry app, 7-8% of new signups in the last three days come through BlackBerry app. Yesterday BlackBerry app represented 1.7% of tweets. The best thing we can do for you guys (devs) is grow user base). Next priority is Relevance There are about 55 million new tweets being created a day. What does an average user read in a day? It’s a very tiny fraction of what’s available. 600 million search queries a day, vast majority through API. Most of it has just been chronological. We want to improve relevance. We have top tweets (show a handful of most noteworthy tweets at the top). Location. We started implementing some location features in the API last year. Lat/longs to start with. But we are announcing today we’re launching Points of Interest. Actual places, not just lat/long. You’ll be able to click on Palace of Fine arts, see what everyone there is saying. That’s just the beginning. We want to make Twitter not just a tool to present more information, but things people care about. Revenue : Revenue is happening this year. Based on three characteristics. It’s not just about us, it’s also about the devs if they choose to participate. I want you to imagine the future a couple years, out. Twitter has come a long way, but we are really at the beginning, we’ll look back at this conference in a couple years the way we look back at the home page. A world with hundreds of millions of users, new capabilities in the Platform. That’s the world I want you to pour creative minds into. Ev’s Takeaways: Twitter is evolving. The goal is to serve users. There is much left to invent. Q: Can you make acquisitions without alienating developer base? Ev: I hope so. There is always a complementary relationship and a tension between platform devs. It’s not just acquisitions, it’s also what we build. Hopefully it reaffirms value they’re creating. Clearly a tension, that’s why were trying to share more information so people know where best to build.

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Live: Twitter CEO Ev Williams’s Chirp Keynote