Disqus - Latest Comments for iPosit

Re: Scarcity Is A Shitty Business Model

iPosit — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 08:04:28 -0000

I like that idea.

Re: Scarcity Is A Shitty Business Model

iPosit — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 08:03:34 -0000

Had to visit site, then post comment & login to my Disqus account.

Re: Scarcity Is A Shitty Business Model

iPosit — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 08:02:30 -0000

Great blog, Fred.

I wish I could reply / comment from my email client where I read this post. Using my Disqus login.

Re: Android

iPosit — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 14:02:11 -0000

I hear ya, Fred, but don't some VCs invest that way?

I'm thinking of Kleiner Perkins, for instance, as one example of a VC firm that has set up a $200M iFund for the Apple app ecosystem and Apple innovators:

http://gigaom.com/2010/03/3...

http://www.kpcb.com/initiat...

It began in 2008 as a $100M iFund and then they doubled it earlier this year. That's a pretty convicting and compelling argument, in my eyes, in favor of Apple as the leading platform for app developers. Follow the money....

So, while I don't agree with you that it has to happen soon for developers to develop for Android first & iPhone second, I would agree that it is certainly a possibility to happen at some point.

Re: Android

iPosit — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 13:56:41 -0000

Oooh, nice. I didn't know that.

Re: Android

iPosit — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 10:28:02 -0000

I'm not so sure, Fred. Isn't there still a lot more VC money behind the iPhone app economy than the Android app economy?

Also, I'm not sure of the revenues from Android apps and the Android marketplace, but I noticed that in Google's earnings report there was no mention of the Android marketplace being another billion-dollar business for Google (yet). But, I bet Apple is raking in the funds from its share of revenues from app sales.

Just a thought...

I definitely will consider another tablet device (Samsung's Tab or a Droid Tablet) to accompany my iPad when they start to come out.

Re: Here’s Why Amazon Bought Zappos

iPosit — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 22:06:41 -0000

Ben,

I believe that all of the reasons you cited are excellent reasons and contributing factors as to why Amazon wanted to acquire Zappos. However, I believe that there is another reason. Amazon focuses on low, low prices, which means low, low margins.

Zappos can get stronger gross margins, because their focus is on WOW, high touch customer service. I believe that Amazon is really interested in the capability of having an e-commerce channel operating alongside their own that can maintain higher gross margins.

Let me cite this quote from Tony's letter to support my theory:

"Amazon focuses on low prices, vast selection and convenience to make their customers happy, while Zappos does it through developing relationships, creating personal emotional connections, and delivering high touch ("WOW") customer service."

What do you think? I believe that if you looked at Amazon's margins compared to Zappos' margins that Zappos' would look healthier.

Just an opinion,
Charlie

Re: Geocities

iPosit — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 14:07:58 -0000

Awesome article, Fred! Love that you take the time to compose these blog posts. You're a true thought leader & pioneer regarding transparency & openness in business. I've been reading your blog for years & will continue to do so.

I'm not that familiar with Tom Evans and his previous companies, so I'll have to do some research there to learn more. Sounds like he's a very talented CEO as you speak very highly of him.

Also, I'd actually love to read a similar article like this, except charting your investment in Seth Godin's Yoyodyne. I find it interesting that you were involved in that one too.

Keep up the great work,
Charlie

Re: twitRand(); Select a Random Twitter Follower or Friend

iPosit — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 09:30:52 -0000

Can you limit the selection to people within a certain geographic location or to people who started following within a certain date range?

Re: twitRand(); Select a Random Twitter Follower or Friend

iPosit — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 09:29:10 -0000

I like this service. Simple. But I could definitely see us using this in the future for our @ShopAshley account.

Re: A Deeper Dive Into The First Quarter VC Investment Numbers

iPosit — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 09:14:06 -0000

Fred, I love this deeper dive analysis. It's always useful & beneficial to go beneath surface & truly study the analytics as you've done here. Provides a much clearer picture of what's really going on & doesn't let the doom & gloom shock media continue to dominate opinions with surface-level stats.

Re: http://rizzn.com/blog/2009/04/truth-about-magpie-google-it.php

iPosit — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 16:43:26 -0000

Mark, Thanks for this post. I think it's very important for folks behind publications such as RWW to conduct some due diligence before taking a major jab at a company. At least verify the facts if you're gonna put yourself out there like that and go after someone or some company.

Re: Should we buy this competitor? NO

iPosit — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 09:17:32 -0000

I love Topify. It simplifies my life. I'm a Topify FanBoy! Forget Twimailer. Good decision. Thanks for sharing.

Re: Fred Wilson Dot VC

iPosit — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 16:09:35 -0000

Nice. Where can I get some of this Pale Ale? :-)

Re: Fighting over for Topify

iPosit — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 11:27:19 -0000

This really stinks. I don't think FedEx has a claim here and hate that you guys have to deal with this. BTW, when will I receive my Topify Beta notification?

Re: That's Only Ten Lines Of Code

iPosit — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 22:25:10 -0000

Fred, Agree 100% with your sentiments here. Snarky programmer comments = the Fail. For the record, I like URL shorteners and the business opportunities that exist within services such as bit.ly.

Re: A New Approach To Facebook

iPosit — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 02:28:57 -0000

34 years old. I accept most Friend requests (all of the people that I know). I use Facebook very sparingly. Also didn't know about the friend filters. I don't join nor accept those group invitations from Facebook. So, I'm not an avid Facebook user. Even with Friend filters, I'm not sure that I ever will be an avid Facebook user.

However, I am an avid Twitter user.

I have a mini un-developed, non-scientific & quite unsophisticated theory that we have to choose one or the other between Twitter & Facebook. I think one of the two services is going to grab the lion's share of one's attention and time.

Between email, work, family, news, hobbies, reading, blogging, activities, sports, etc, etc, I think there's only so much limited time and attention left. So, I go with Twitter. There is enough news and information within Twitter to consume my (free, spare) time.

I'd be curious to know who can toggle both Facebook and Twitter successfully amongst everything else in their lives. I'd venture to say that something else would have to give (maybe it's email or their work productivity).

It's very challenging to keep up on Twitter as it is, especially during the work week for me. 9 months ago, I'd get 50 tweets in my stream per day. Now, I get 50 tweets in my stream every hour. A year from now, it may be 50 tweets every 5 minutes. Definitely looking forward to some tools to help me filt3r the noise.

By the way, I do have my Twitter feed linked up with my Facebook account. My Facebook friends think I'm the most active status update person they know. Here's an interesting cycle that happens:
- I post a tweet on Twitter via my iPhone.
- Someone on Facebook reads my new "status update" and comments on it.
- Their comment then hits my inbox.
- I then will forward that email from Facebook with their comment to them (if I know their email address) with my reply. Or, I may text them with a response if I know their cell phone number and they're asking me a question.

It's a weird social media communications cycle: iPhone --> Twitter --> Facebook --> Email --> SMS

Also, I don't think Facebook currently allows you to hook your Twitter stream to your Fan page, do they?

By the way, I guess I should introduce myself to you, Fred. I've been a lurker and a pretty consistent reader of your blogs and tweets for several years (when did you start avc.blogs.com?). I think this may be my first post. I have no idea how you keep up with everything (including reading your 6 books on your Kindle 2 and all of your blog comments in addition to everything else).

Thank you for putting forth all of the ideas over the years.

Best,
Charlie