Disqus - Latest Comments for pcushing

Re: Debunking the Mythical iPhone Ad Rates

Patrick — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:17:42 -0000

This analysis of ad networks is true whether you're talking about iPhone ad rates or general ad networks for your website. Everyone quotes the "white whale" $30 CPM while delivering the more measly remnant, $1.00 or $0.50 CPM ads.

When you're getting into all of this for the first time, there's one other thing to remember -- never, NEVER sign an exclusivity contract with an ad network provider. There's absolutely no way for you to know how well they'll deliver for you. At best, they'll deliver premium rates for the first month or two to keep you happy, but then you're stuck in the remnant basement for the rest of your contract.

Re: Enter Venture gets personal

Patrick — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 01:45:49 -0000

Yes. It was the engineering version of a trip to "find" myself. :-)

Re: Enter Venture gets personal

Patrick — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 01:45:15 -0000

He. I actually do have hats hanging in my room. I've been getting used to the west coast, a new job, etc. I've obviously not been the best about blogging lately, but I'm working on it.

Re: Have a website idea? Make it “real” with Balsamiq’s help

Patrick — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 00:35:27 -0000

Thanks for such a great product! It looks like I simply need to become more familiar with some of the extra features. Building something that's both simple and more advanced with use is certianly a feat.

Re: OpenTable and Restaurant Marketing

Patrick — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 00:14:30 -0000

I like the updated sidebar. You certainly thought (too) much on this one.

So here's the question... If you were (are?) in the IPO-investing market, would you invest in OpenTable? Personally, I don't like the sound of a company that needs to raise money in this economy to support a consumer luxury industry product and, specifically, one that's planning to use those funds to expand a money-bleeding international segment.

Re: 6 Reasons to puts ads on your site that have nothing to do with revenue

Patrick — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 00:00:35 -0000

Thanks. You ran CULPA? That's great. It helped me navigate Columbia for the first few years.

I've found the same issue with Google vs. affiliate revenue. You'll at least see a trickle of revenue from Google, but the affiliate revenue might only come in bursts, if at all. For Wikinvest, I've been speaking to bloggers about advertising lately and most of them generally say the same. Of course, the best route to go is to sell your own ads, but that'll require me to post more than every week or so.

Re: Advertising This Blog

Patrick — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 04:16:36 -0000

But I've learned a lot about keyword advertising during this process. ...
But most importantly I've learned a lot about Clickable and how its service works. ...

If these two lessons help you and your firm towards a successful exit from Clickable (or any other advertising investment), the $150/month will pale in comparison. Great stuff. This isn't quite an ad arbitrage as it is a general (time, money, knowledge) investment arbitrage.

Re: Gmail’s Tasks complete me.. err, my work stream

Patrick — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 13:42:57 -0000

Dave -- you're hitting on a great point; in fact, it's a point I originally had in my post but took out in some last minute editing. The thing I like about Tasks, for work, is that I can leave it with my work. Much like my notebook, I can keep work Tasks compartmentalized such that I only see them when I'm at the office (or anytime I fire up Gmail, which is essentially the same thing).

I don't think Tasks works quite as well for my non-work related Tasks -- so far, I don't have a good solution for that other than my whiteboard.

Re: business expansion

Patrick — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 02:17:55 -0000

Instead of starting with "you're probably all familiar with the introduction", be sure they are. Engage your audience by asking them what they know.

Re: business expansion

Patrick — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 02:14:35 -0000

You should be prepared to use whatever media you include -- the switch with the video needs to be something you practice. Because of that glitch, you end up speeding through the next section of your presentation.

Re: Is Green Just a Bubble Reflecting Western Cultural Narcissism?

Patrick — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 22:37:58 -0000

Thanks for pointing this out. I'm particularly interested in your point where "we acquire ever increasing profit by the mere act of buying and selling". That sounds a lot like the housing market of the past few decades -- the green / clean tech industry would be wise to avoid a similar fate.

Re: 13F (Jonathan): Online Communities at 30,000ft?

Patrick — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:17:27 -0000

Ha! "I can’t help but wonder if first class got their own exclusive chat room, with rich text formatting and emoticons enabled." Hilarious post. Flying Virgin is a bit of a surreal experience -- its a few glow sticks and techno beats away from being a flying club.

Re: How start-ups can navigate through the falling dominoes of the economic crisis

Patrick — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:13:48 -0000

I agree with Todd. How relevant are VCs for startups? How relevant do they have to be?

The startups that survive this time are the ones that would do so with or without VC money.

Re: What's Risky?

Patrick — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:08:07 -0000

I agree with greenskeptic -- it's relative. There may be more risk from a capital perspective, but it also completely changes the risk / reward from a human capital perspective. Finance jobs no longer off the stability they once had.

You might not have as easy access to capital, but if bodies are what you're looking for, Wall St would be a good place to start looking right now. Personally, I think that's a best case scenario. Build during the bust times, worry about money during the boom times.

(Obviously that's a slight exaggeration but you get the point -- few startups would claim they have too much money)

Re: Awesome Experience

Patrick — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:08:31 -0000

I just submitted your story to Reddit because I completely agree with this. I had a similar experience with Startuply where they addressed an issue I was having within an hour. Great stuff.