Disqus - Latest Comments for Hoover

Re: Introducing Twitter Sparq

Hoover — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 04:38:38 -0000

This is astroturfing.

Re: What a new search engine should be about

Hoover — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 03:56:08 -0000

I'm sure this will sound childish and off-base, but to my mind the trick to beating Google is simple.

Bear in mind that Google has invented the wheel. But the gap between inventing the wheel and building the car you drive is immense.

When I search for something, I want only one page. Only a lunatic could want 15 million pages, so I've no idea why they boast about finding so many results.

One page, and one page only. It's that simple. The gap between Google's product and a search engine that will offer me that one page is immense.

Google is primitive. The way to beat it is to imagine the difference between inventing the wheel and building a car.

Google's competitors get nowhere because they say "Google may give you a blue wheel, but we offer a red one".

Nobody cares.

I only want one page. Ever.

Re: Free is the only business model for online news

Hoover — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 04:06:39 -0000

Interesting comparison between the Guardian's approach and the FT's.

The solution for the FT would be to build a community that discusses the news like they do on the Guardian site.

However... let's not forget reality:

1) Guardian readers have more time than FT readers to discuss the news. Guardian readers' time is less valuable than that of FT readers.

2) Guardian readers have a background of debate and discussion of abstractions, gained at university. They're attracted to the site because they can continue that debate for free with like-minded readers. FT readers, on the other hand, are there to glean data. They don't want to discuss abstractions.

Re: Advice from the founder of Business Objects on how to cope with the downturn

Hoover — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 05:35:35 -0000

What impact will the economic malaise have?

Credit will be less cheap than it was. If you're taking out a bank loan to fund your business, more of your day-to-day cash will be spent on repayments. Which means spending less on other things.

Nic, I'd speculate that VCs leveraging funds will need to pass on additional costs, so funding structures may become more onerous for startups. You may be able to correct me on this...

The ftse was at 6730 in June last year, and is now at around 5,300. So new businesses that rely on custom from public companies may find them hesitating to spend money.

But it's important to keep things in perspective: how much more expensive will money be? How much less will customers invest? At the moment, the answer to both questions seems to be "not much".

New businesses are generally more agile and can cope with difficulties more easily. They also have better memories of dealing with hardship than established companies.

The advice above, that you should concentrate on your core business, is OK. But you should always be asking "what do people want, and how can I deliver it?". If that leads you to realise there's a market for related products and services beyond your core business, then it's obvious you should try to meet that demand if possible.

Re: Three books, one conclusion

Hoover — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 04:03:29 -0000

Hello Nic. Thanks for the recommendations.

Along the same lines are Clay Shirky's "Here Comes Everybody" and Benkler's "Wealth of Networks".

Shirky's book is an easy read, and explains how the net has enabled large scale collaboration and conversation. It's non-geeky (I lent a copy to my mother) and an excellent overview.

The second is more technical - it combines economics, sociology, law and business. But it's useful as a theoretical guide, picking up where Shirky leaves off. I wouldn't lend it to my mother, but it would be useful reading for anyone in a web-based business.

Re: The importance of lasting value

Hoover — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 10:09:11 -0000

Hello. I take issue with some of the post you link to. I don't think investment banks failed. For years they succeeded in making markets more liquid.

To my mind, that's a success. It releases capital which can be used, among other things, for lending to startups.

Money's a commodity. Bank lending is money rental. If you can supply people who want to hire a car with a cheaper rate in a more convenient location, so much the better. Likewise if you can supply people with money at a cheaper rate, you open up opportunities for them to do interesting things, if they're able.

Other criticisms are valid - particularly the problem of transparency...

Your point about funding companies that aim to change the world for the better is interesting. It's potentially so complex I don't quite know how to tackle it.

We didn't always see a distinction between making profits and bettering the world. Keynes quotes the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge in 1850: "It is curious to observe how, through the wise and beneficent arrangement of Providence, men thus do the greatest service to the public, when they are thinking of nothing but their own gain."

I wonder if we should think otherwise nowadays...

Anyway. Thanks for the interesting questions you raise in your blog.

Re: UK online ad spend jumps 21% despite downturn

Hoover — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:08:40 -0000

Hey, oil's under 90 dollars a barrel.

Micro enterprises plan to grow despite the credit crunch: http://www.icaew.com/enterprise

Qype raised 8 million euros last month.

Buffett is vaguely bullish. Sort of.