Digital Dumbo 21

"Can I come in?" I opened the door slightly and said.

"You are the first person to show. Come in," said organizer Kaitlin Villanova from across the hall.

Event At Hunch: Gender Talk (3)

I got off the train at Union Square because I was running a little early, maybe a lot early. That gave me more walking distance. I take joy in walking. Right by Union Square on the sidewalk I got randomly stopped by an Ethiopian woman with a Masters from New York University who worked for a children's organization. It was a nice talk. I sent her a Facebook email the following day.

Microsoft's Gesture

New York Times: Microsoft’s Push Into Gesture Technology: was buying Canesta, a small Silicon Valley company that specializes in gesture-recognition technology. ..... “I’m excited to be way out in front and want to push the pedal on that,” Mr. Ballmer said. .... could equip PCs, televisions, cars, cellphones and other devices with gesture recognition features. .... James Spare, chief executive of Canesta, who is a former Microsoft executive. “There is no other company more committed to natural user interfaces than Microsoft,” Mr. Spare added..... Last year, Microsoft acquired 3DV systems, a company with similar gesture recognition technology. That deal coupled with the Canest
Image via Wikipediaa purchase may prevent competitors from acquiring these 3-D abilities and cut off potential intellectual property squabbles. Canesta has secured 44 patents in this area and has more pending.

I have a feeling Microsoft just might regain its dignity through this move. I don't see it gaining much traction with either the smartphone or the tablet, but with gesture technology the night is still young. It is not like Steve Jobs is not looking at the same. He is sitting on top of 50 billions in raw, hot cash with vulture eyes. He will snoop. He will want his bite. But at least here Microsoft will not be coming into the arena like an afterthought. They might still screw up the execution but I think they have spotted an opportunity early.

Executive Change At Twitter

New York Times: Why Twitter’s C.E.O. Demoted Himself: for all its astonishing growth, Twitter has succeeded in spite of itself ...... I’ve screwed up in many, many, many ways in terms of managing people and product decisions and business ..... he excels at understanding what Internet users want and contemplating Twitter’s future, but isn’t a detail-oriented task manager.

I don't know much about Dick Costolo, except that he sold FeedBurner to Google like Evan Williams sold Blogger to Google. To Ev's credit, Blogger remains my favorite social media platform, more so than Facebook and Twitter. It is that sentiment that gave me the confidence to speak my mind here: Twitter Is Massively Complex.

First Time Entrepreneurs Getting Screwed

Mike Arrington: "That first company I started made a lot of money for the venture capitalists – nearly $30 million – but next to nothing for the founders."

I have heard this story from someone else I know. His first company got sold for a lot of money - multiples more than Mike's - but he made only a tiny bit of money in the process. In other words, he got screwed.

Unique URL For Facebook Updates

Image by Google via CrunchBaseWhile I was reading this TechCrunch post about the father of Google Wave jumping ship to go join Facebook, I came across something I have wanted a long time. For a long time I have wanted every Facebook update of mine to have a unique URL that gets automatically fed to the search engines. My privacy settings on Facebook have been to Everyone from the outset.

Am I Smart?

When you start talking in terms of a tech startup with IPO ambitions, I think it is fair for people to ask if you are smart. I am smart. I am plenty smart. I am a ton smart. But I don't walk into a room thinking I am the smartest person in the room. I don't think I ever have. Because when I enter a room, I am not looking at a mirror, I am looking at other people. I am eager to listen to what others have to say. And when people are being themselves they are interesting as a rule. I l-o-v-e making small talk with street vendors, for example. The street is not a room.