August 27, 2007
I haven’t been blogging much the past two weeks, but that doesn’t mean there’s any lack of stuff happening. In fact, frequency of blog posts is often inversely correlated to activity in my life. This is something I hope to correct in the near future as blogging becomes more a part of my routine.
To summarize the past few weeks, I’ve decided to leave Answers.com after a truly enriching and educational year there. I’m in the midst of formally declaring my next move….kind of like a presidential candidate forming an exploration committee before he/she declares their candidacy. A former colleague and I have formed just such an exploration committee to research the viability of launching a business that we’re both excited about. I can’t reveal the details just yet, but there’s likely much more to come in this dept.
In the meantime, I’m blogging via cell phone from Reno on my way to Black Rock City for a week of Burning Man. There’s nothing quite like the renewing effects of Burning Man to end one chapter a your life and begin another. See you on the flipside.
August 27, 2007
A friend and I were discussing the Michael Vick situation recently and came up with a solution that we think is more viable and just. Instead of sending him to jail in the peak of his career and earning potential, while his millions in investments sit earning interest, make him play. Make him play and fine him 100% of his earnings to go towards ASPCA. Also have him donate many hours of community service to ASPCA. This sentence would contribute millions of dollars to an organization that needs it and sets out to protect the very animals that Michael Vick abused. It certainly would be more helpful in correcting his wrongdoing than sending him to prison, squandering millions that could be put to a beneficial use. I hope the judge in the case considers a more creative sentence than the typical prison term, which does very little good in a situation like this.
August 10, 2007
I never imagined that my Vespa purchase would bring me such quick fame, but alas…. Josh Max, auto correspondent at NY Daily News, published this article on Wednesday discussing the popularity of Vespa’s in the city and highlighted the aforementioned free parking promotion that Piaggio USA put together, Vespanomics. I’m featured in the last paragraph. Sadly (for NY Daily News), the article is nowhere to be found online.
July 27, 2007
Over the past two weeks, I’ve seen several signs that we may be on the precipice of another bubble burst. TechCrunch reported earlier in the week that VC investing has reached it’s highest level since 2001 – $979 million was invested in Q2 alone, 52% more than Q2 last year. It’s true that the public equity markets, specifically the IPO market hasn’t exploded in the same way that it did in 2000, but I think that’s partially because other exit strategies have become more attractive and less risky for both VCs and entrepreneurs. At the same time, housing market/mortgage jitters are beginning to be felt in areas of the country. The MSCI US REIT INDEX was down four straight days this week, and is now 22% off its February all-time high. The S&P was down 5% this week, which included the biggest single-day drop for DJIA in 6 months. The NASDAQ was down 4.6%. It seems like the whole world has been speculating for several years about when the housing market bubble will pop. As for the technology market, could this all mean that we’re nearing the end of Web2.0 and entering the purgatorial stage before Web3.0 blossoms? If so, it may be time time to put that business plan on hold and start retooling for the next wave. In either case, I think the sharper up and down trends that we may be experiencing are indicative of the maniacal outlook which we Americans have adopted. It reminds me of a book - American Mania - that I read a few years ago. The “get rich quick” scenario - which motivates me - makes the “get poor quick” outcome a possibility. I just came up with that now, but I think it’s something worth considering over the weekend:)
July 19, 2007
So after many hours spent analyzing, researching and patrolling craigslist over a two month period (what else is new in my world), I finally pulled the trigger on a 2007 Vespa LX150 last week. What a thrill. I can’t believe I waited this long to buy one. My biggest fear – driving over the Brooklyn Bridge – turned out to be the best part of my commute. Is there something to be learned here?…but let’s not digress. Scootering around the city is similar to biking, but with more power and authority. On a bike, you’re somewhat at the mercy of those around you. Traffic is moving faster than you and you’re just hoping for no sudden changes of direction. On a Vespa, you keep up with traffic, and are often ahead of it since you can typically slide your way to the front of the line at lights. I think this makes traveling by Vespa safer than by bicycle. Other advantages? It’s more of a thrill. Traveling at 20-40 mph with wind in your face is fun. Also, the Vespa seats two. This is an extra nice perk.
Vespa has launched a campaign called Vespanomics marketing the ecological benefits of owning and riding one. I don’t know if I can claim it’s more environmentally-friendly than the subway or bicycle, but it still makes me feel good that this is one of their selling points. As part of this campaign, they’re offering free parking at four different Manhattan parking lots. What a nice bonus! Of course, I’ll probably just find a nice spot on the sidewalk after this promotion ends like most other fellow Vespa owners. Then again, based on the way the Vespa section of the parking lot has looked the past week, the others won’t need to change anything.
July 18, 2007
When I came out of the Subway this morning at 35th and 8th, I saw this guy through the window, sitting at the Starbucks counter, passed out, doing a faceplant in his yogurt parfait. I couldn’t resist snapping a photo. At least he’s eating healthfully….
June 21, 2007
If you’ve followed my blog for the past few weeks, you are likely aware of a tiff I’m having with FedEx over a PC that was shipped from SF to NYC, but arrived severely mishandled and damaged. Two weeks ago, after being told my damage claim would be denied, I sent a two-page letter to Dave Rebholz and Rodger Marticke (the CEO and COO of FedEx Ground) with 6 pages of supporting documentation that included photos, packing slips, etc. Yesterday, having not yet received a response, I called FedEx HQ and spoke to Rodger (Dave was travelling). We had a nice conversation and he thanked me for following up before promising they would be in touch by the end of the week. I know this doesn’t mean they’ll do the right thing, but it feels like we’re one step closer. I’m keeping my fingers crossed….
June 19, 2007
Last week, while drinking a beer and shmoozing with a neighbor at my apartment one evening, we heard faint squeals emanating from the corner of the living room. At first, we ignored them, thinking it was coming from outside, but when the squeals continued, I walked over to investigate. As luck would have it, a baby mouse had gotten himself stuck on a glue trap left by the exterminators. This thing was teeny tiny. Being the soft and gentle warrior that I am, we quickly moved the party to the deck and collected the necessary tools that would we required for an emergency dislodging – namely a sharp kitchen knife. Operating ever-so delicately, we worked diligently for 10 minutes to remove the baby mouse from the glue bed on which he lay. At first, it was a game of see-saw….we’d get his feet loose, only to see him do a nose-dive into the glue. Eventually, after some skillful freehand maneuvers (think a cross between a sushi chef and a heart surgeon), we managed to free the little guy, dropping him into my herb garden tray, strategically placed in the mint section. I figured the peppermint aroma might help him recover from his trauma and if he wanted to eat some of the mint for nourishment, I didn’t mind. He suffered some injury to his left front leg, and it wasn’t clear whether the damage was permanent. My friend, Gian, suggested we place a soda can beside the mint for shelter, in case the little guy needed a home in which to rest. In the end, we decided to let nature take its course, and by morning, the mouse was nowhere to be found. I’ve since collected all my glue traps and tossed them in the trash.
June 5, 2007
Two weeks ago, I wrote enthusiastically about Zappos.com, a company that is excelling, seeing 100%+ annual revenue growth largely attributed to phenomenal customer service. Today, I’m beginning a new feature entitled “customer service shitlist” to highlight companies that severely underperform in the customer service department.
Frontier Airlines – I flew to Denver Sunday for work and decided to give Frontier a try as they were the lowest available fare. Upon checking in for my flight, the machine took creative license to reassign me from my aisle to a middle seat. After some strong protests at the gate, the flight agents corrected the situation. Unfortunately, checking in for the return flight, I experienced the same scenario. It also turns out that the seats selected on the web interface that shows a map of the plane with the occupied and unoccupied seats only represents a request, not an assignment on Frontier. Interesting. Frontier must be the only airline to operate this way. Their slogan “a whole different animal” certainly rings true in this case. Where Frontier gets an “F” is in not realizing that I’m a new customer and in this case a lost one.
FedEx – Until my most recent experience with FedEx, I really admired this company. A month ago, I shipped a high end pc to my friend in SF for updates and repairs. When it arrived, the box had been punctured and the computer scratched and case cracked. In addition, several internal components were damaged. The box had clearly been carelessly handled and/or dropped – all this despite the red “fragile” stickers plastered on each side. I declared a value of $3,000 for this package, but when I filed a claim for $875, the runaround began. Two different inspectors, multiple equipment and repair invoices. A claims process that was promised to be resolved in 5-7 days lasted five weeks before it was denied. Why? Because the box used for shipment (which incidentally was the original box for the case with original molded styrofoam) was certified for 14 lbs while the shipment weighed 34. Now, if the pc had fallen out of the box, I could understand this rationale, but the box arrived in tact, just damaged and in much worse condition than when shipped. FedEx CEO, Fred Smith, will be getting a nice letter from me later this week as I continue to plead my case. It will be delivered UPS overnight.
June 1, 2007
I received an IM yesterday from someone I didn’t know. This doesn’t happen very often because, after all, it’s not so easy to find my instant message handle unless I want you to have it. Turns out the guy had found my new neighborhood blog/website – Bergen Carroll (still in alpha mode, pre-publicity) - through a google search. He visited the about page, found my name, and tracked me down on IM, sending the following message:
Hi, Joshua…please IM me when you get back; I’m a longtime resident of Carroll Gardens, former About.com Senior Editor now doing bus dev. I know most of the business owners and local eccentrics in the neighborhood here pretty well, to the point where I’m sure I could generate a lot of sales for you…
When you’re taking a risk, investing your time and money in a project like Bergen Carroll, this is the kind of anonymous message you love to receive!! It validated my vision and gave me a little push to get the site up and running. Combined with the overwhelming interest in the editor role that I posted on CraigsList last week, I’m getting my second wind to finish this little pet project.
I chose WordPress for Bergen Carroll and have since gotten to know the management team over there a little bit. I am totally impressed by this company, their technology and their product offerings. The simple fact that someone found Bergen Carroll before I had taken the time to make sure it was being spidered by the search engines is a testament to how well the WordPress platform works and how easy it is to use. (It’s also not something I can say about Typepad, the platform on which this blog runs.) WordPress is an open-source platform and the number of cool applications and plug-ins that have been developed for it is mind-blowing. The software and publishing platform has improved leaps and bounds in just the few months that I’ve been playing with it. In my opinion, both the free hosted platform at WordPress.com and the open-source software at WordPress.org (requires independent hosting) have become the two best products in their respective categories. I think this speaks to how powerful open-source communities can be. The speed and quality of development that comes with large-scale network collaboration is more efficient and effective in many instances than the best team of developers one could assemble. WordPress’ growth has outpaced all their competitors over the past year. The free hosted “dot com” version has over 1 million bloggers, 44 million unique readers and 190 million monthly page views. When you combine another 1 million “dot org” blogs that are harder to track because they are on independent domains, but account for a ton of traffic (many are brand names), it makes WordPress among the most trafficked sites on the Internet, and this company is still relatively new and unknown. Like most successful internet darlings, WordPress has a charming young founder, Matt Mullenweg, who gave a compelling interview on CNET two weeks ago. Below is a chart from Quantcast that compares WordPress’ traffic with that of their primary competitors, Typepad and Blogger, over the past six months. I think the trend speaks for itself. Needless to say, I plan to switch this blog over to WordPress as soon as I find the time.
