Disqus - Latest Comments for Mark EVans

Re: Time Lapse Video of TechMeme

Mark EVans — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 08:58:49 -0000

It's interesting to see in a short period of time how Techmeme evolves. You've got to give Gabe credit for building such a compelling service, and keeping himself independent at a time when dot-com deals are happening all around him.

Re: Unprofitable Podcasters Claim Podcasting is Dead

Mark EVans — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 14:58:52 -0000

Leesa,

I love your passion about podcasting!
One thing I would like to know is how you can make money beyond advertising and sponsorships? You hint at it but don't follow through with the goods. :)

Mark

Re: Is money the root of our problems?

Mark EVans — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 12:06:49 -0000

David,

There are two approaches you can take to offering value-added services.

1. The VC(s) provide the services as part of their investment in start-ups.

or (and I think this is the more attractive option)

2. VCs offer their start-up companies access to services on a pay-as-you-go basis. The benefit is the start-ups woudl receive volume discounts because they would be the VCs' preferred suppliers.

Re: Magic

Mark EVans — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 13:47:24 -0000

Great track!

Re: Techmeme: A Cautionary Tale

Mark EVans — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 12:38:46 -0000

Fred,

You make an excellent point about how one-man (or one-girl) blog shops are being pushed to the sidelines by the mainstream media. While it's simply the evolution of the medium, it is somewhat disappointing to see blogs written by a (single) person losing the spotlight. That said, it is impossible for most individual bloggers to compete because the TechCrunchs and GigaOms of the world have so much more time, resources and energy. If anyone doing an effective of competing against the Big Boys, I would argue Mathew Ingram would be a candidate based on the quality and quantity of his blogging, which explains why he still ranks high of the Techmeme board.

Re: Top 10 Records of 2007 - Honorable Mention

Mark EVans — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 14:02:54 -0000

The Boss is Back. Great album, and good to see Bruce rockin' again.

Re: Twitter's Business Model

Mark EVans — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 20:44:07 -0000

Maybe I'm missing something but I don't see the "killer" way that Twitter is going to make money. As Jason Calacanis suggests maybe it will be from mobile advertising. Or perhaps it will come from licensing deals with third-parties that use Twitter's API. For example, what if TwitterFeed started offering a premium version of its service, and cut Twitter in on any sales. The biggest difference between Google and YouTube is that Twitter isn't really an online property where you can leverage traffic with some low-hanging AdSense ads. Time will tell, I guess, whether Twitter is just a cool service of a business.

Re: The next step in Digg clones (Scripting News)

Mark EVans — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 07:04:05 -0000

It's an interesting concept as a way for a small group of individuals to create something that meets their specific individual needs. The question is whether it would have staying power with a small group of supporters/users. The other issue is what happens if this service becomes so good that others start clamoring to be included? Would you keep it small or expand and risk being the victim of your own success. Nevertheless, this is the kind of project that could become more prevalent as people look to create their own personalized versions of online services.

Re: How Techmeme Might Work

Mark EVans — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 14:10:43 -0000

So that's how it works. The headline theory is interesting because it's always been a mystery how some blogs become headlines on a regular basis. Thanks.

Re: » StartupCamp Waterloo - This is just getting started | StartupNorth

Mark EVans — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 11:04:38 -0000

Jevon,
Good to see what things went well in Waterloo. Given you're now committed to doing StartupCamp Toronto, I guess I'm off the hook. :)

Re: » Razzle Clones Woot | StartupNorth

Mark EVans — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 07:46:11 -0000

Glad to see another player in Canada's e-commerce market! Maybe it will inspire other players to get into the game, and give consumers options other than using the higher Canadian dollar to get deals at U.S. sites.

Re: » AideRSS announces funding | StartupNorth

Mark EVans — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 11:50:11 -0000

This is going to be a very interesting year for RSS on a number of fronts, particular the RSS reader market. Here are my thoughts:

http://www.markevanstech.com/2007/12/28/opportu...

Re: Should Gmail, Yahoo, and Hotmail block Facebook?

Mark EVans — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 07:49:53 -0000

In theory, they should stop people from doing it. In practice, they probably have more to gain than lose, which is why no one has done any blocking...yet.

Re: Tuesday? Time for a new Technorati strategy

Mark EVans — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 10:41:45 -0000

I expected Technorati Topics to be more Techmeme-ish as well. What's there pales in comparison to Techmeme, Reddit, etc. It is sad and interesting to see Technorati scrambling to stay vibrant when it has such a head start just a couple of years ago.

Re: Were Techmeme and Sphere too greedy?

Mark EVans — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 19:46:32 -0000

From what I can tell from Gabe's approach to Techmeme, it would be a major surprise if he actually decided to sell it. My take is he's pretty happy running his own business for the time being.

Mark

Re: Google gets into the social swing

Mark EVans — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 11:42:30 -0000

The ability to post to delicious is interesting, although I have a FF extension that easily let me do the same thing.

Re: Hey — you got your blogs in my newspaper!

Mark EVans — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 08:22:36 -0000

Mathew,
Another issue with newspaper blogs is they tend to be less lively than non-newspaper blogs. I think it's because many reporters who write blogs may be writing more like reporters (balance, fairness, objectivity) rather than writing like a blogger (opinionated, lively, etc.)

Mark

Re: Zuckerberg: We don’t focus on revenue

Mark EVans — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 09:08:15 -0000

While "the contest" is interesting, the real game here is Facebook the business. If it takes off, then you start to justify the valuations behind thrown around these day.

Re: Coca-Cola will never be my friend

Mark EVans — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 15:21:00 -0000

Facebook needs a way to make money but this approach seems creepy somehow given the user information it'll be using to do the targeting.

Re: Reminder: Think before you blog

Mark EVans — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 15:25:57 -0000

A classic case of shooting first and asking questions later, if you ask me.

Re: Warner Music: We’re totally screwed

Mark EVans — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:41:17 -0000

It's nearly 10 years after Napster emerged yet it's only now that some people within the music industry are getting it. As well, it looks like EMI could be backing away from its support of the RIAA.

Re: Google ruining Christmas? Get a grip

Mark EVans — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 18:28:05 -0000

I've never viewed share on Google Reader as anything other than making it public to anyone who's interested. Then again, i star more than I share.

Re: The Scoble mess and data portability

Mark EVans — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 13:03:18 -0000

A good example of how a company with data is building its ecosystem by allowing partners to scrap is http://www.getitnext.com/, which provides people with another way to look at eBay.

Re: Nortel-BSNL: Round II

Mark EVans — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 09:56:47 -0000

Apple,

The loss seems like a bit of a moving target - different places cite different figures - but I will do some digging and come back with an accurate number.

Mark

Re: Nortel’s Star: PR

Mark EVans — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:53:11 -0000

I ran the numbers again just to make sure, and it's $27-million for the 3,000 people who work from home. If everyone worked from home, it would be $270-million.

Re: John Roese Has a Big Fan

Mark EVans — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 14:06:18 -0000

Yeah, you're probably right that I should have done something on Jha's appointment but it was a busy post-vacation week. Expect to see some more industry perspective posts going forward.

Mark

Re: A Comment Conundrum

Mark EVans — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 18:47:20 -0000

...which is why I'm pretty meticulous about comments. As a former reporter, I well aware of libel issues.

Mark

Re: Nortel Wins CDMA Contract

Mark EVans — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:33:46 -0000

Adam,

I've never owned any Nortel stock. To be honest, I started writing AAN as an experiment to see if it was possible to blog about a single company. I make no apologies for AAN's tone given the troubles and challenges that Nortel has faced in recent years. You can call it "negative" but I'd prefer to describe as realistic.

Re: John Roese’s Legacy?

Mark EVans — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:39:00 -0000

My bad - link now fixed.

Mark

Re: louisgray.com: Twitterank Can Have My Password, No Questions Asked

Mark EVans — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 10:59:51 -0000

I'm just as guilty as the next person when it comes to handing over my username and password to use new and interesting services. I need to be a lot more careful, and change my passwords more often.

Re: Marketing To The Long Tail IS Possible

Mark EVans — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 14:16:42 -0000

I'm with you. It's entirely possible to make money within the long tail if your blog is focused and serves a particular need. Smart advertisers will always be attracted to places where they can target specific customers - be it on large sites or small blogs.

Re: Good News: Mark Cuban Doesn’t Want To Socialize With Me On Facebook

Mark EVans — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 16:40:52 -0000

"Blow World Expo"? Freudian slip, Jim? :)

Re: New Word On Firefox 3 Add-Ons

Mark EVans — Tue, 27 May 2008 13:55:28 -0000

Still don't know why so many people think AdBlock Plus is a good thing given no one wants to pay for online services and applications. If that's the case, how do these companies make money without getting people to see their advertising.

People who use AdBlock Plus are really cutting off their nose to spite their face...or something like that.

Re: StartupCamp Waterloo - This is just getting started

Mark EVans — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 11:04:38 -0000

Jevon,
Good to see what things went well in Waterloo. Given you're now committed to doing StartupCamp Toronto, I guess I'm off the hook. :)

Re: Razzle Clones Woot

Mark EVans — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 07:46:11 -0000

Re: AideRSS announces funding

Mark EVans — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 11:50:11 -0000

This is going to be a very interesting year for RSS on a number of fronts, particular the RSS reader market. Here are my thoughts:

http://www.markevanstech.com/2007/12/28/opportu...

Re: Facebook Email Begins

Mark EVans — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 07:59:30 -0000

It's amazing to see Facebook become more of a communications tools. While I'm nowhere near your 25% level, there are more people that I just Facebook now rather than e-mail.

Mark

Re: Facebook to Cross 5,000 Applications Today

Mark EVans — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 15:00:47 -0000

I think there will still be plenty of applications developed for Facebook if only because the barriers to entry are low. That said, only a very small handful will actually resonate with Facebook users.

Re: Molson Ends Facebook Photo Contest

Mark EVans — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 12:49:57 -0000

How this contest ever got approved by Molson's marketing VP is a huge mystery. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

Re: 5 Marketing Tools Every Startup Should Use

Mark EVans — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 11:54:16 -0000

Ben,

Solid advice! You make an excellent point about sustaining the buzz after the initial push. It's one thing to get some early love from TechCrunch, et al but quite another to keep the marketing momentum.

Mark

Re: Sprinting to Start Up: How to Launch a Startup

Mark EVans — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 10:59:51 -0000

Congrats on DEMO!

Mark

Re: The Ultimate Guide to Twitter for Communicators

Mark EVans — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:35:18 -0000

Aaron,

It's interesting to see how communicators (PR firms, corporate communications) are slowly but surely adopting Twitter. The big question facing all of them is how to do it properly and in a way that adds to the conversation as opposed to just being just another advertising/marketing vehicle.

Re: Getting The Most Out of Your Followers on Twitter

Mark EVans — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:40:05 -0000

After being somewhat reluctant to use Twitter, it is proving to be a very useful tool for a variety of reasons - be it soliciting answers to questions, testing ideas, and getting links to interesting ideas and stories.

Re: Status updates on common requests and issues

Mark EVans — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 15:04:02 -0000

Mr. Tweet is terrific. I wrote a review here: http://www.twitterrati.com/2008/11/28/review-mr...

Re: 2007/08/30/mashable-is-a-top-undiscovered-site/

Mark EVans — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 12:58:20 -0000

It's hard to believe that with 114K RSS subscribers that Mashable is "undiscovered". :)

Re: 2007/08/31/microsoft-blackberry/

Mark EVans — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 16:01:38 -0000

Talk about a slow news days! A wild rumour that one person picked on becomes a major news story. Come on, are we all that gullible. Seriously.

Re: 2007/09/01/i-invented-facebook/

Mark EVans — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 08:06:34 -0000

I don't see how Greenberg has a claim to saying he started Facebook, or how he even convinced the New York Times to write about him. As far as I can tell from the story, he started a social networking company; and then Zuckerberg started one as well a few months later to compete. There's nothing to suggest Zuckerman stole Greenberg's code or ripped off his ideas.

On the other hand, the ConnectU people may (and I emphasize may) have a legitimate claim given that Zuckerberg did some programming for them.

Re: 2007/11/27/plentyoffish-growth/

Mark EVans — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 15:04:35 -0000

Say what you will about POF's quality of experience but it's one of Canada's most successful online businesses, and - from what anyone can tell - an extremely lucrative operation.

Re: 2007/12/31/sorry-scoble-but-size-does-matter/

Mark EVans — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 07:12:21 -0000

Mark,

You're right but I think Scoble has building a personal brand confused with building ad revenue. You have to remember, blogging has always been about "the conversation" and personal profile for Scoble, which is why he's so prolific and often outrageous - attributes that have helped him build a large audience (along with a nice boost from Microsoft).

He's never had to worry about advertising or pursuing advertising so numbers have probably been less of a priority, although every blogger is obsessed with their traffic.

Mark

Re: HOW TO: Build Community on Twitter

Mark EVans — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 15:55:29 -0000

That's a great overview on Twitter. It's pretty interesting to see the growing number of how-to blog posts on Twitter. I take it as a sign it's starting to enter the mainstream. If anyone's interested, check out this post on how to find followers: http://www.twitterrati.com/2008/11/14/how-to-fo...

Mark

Re: How I Use Twitter at Volume

Mark EVans — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 12:07:45 -0000

I think you can serve thousands of followers effectively with good links, etc. but there's no way you can follow thousands of people; there's simply not enough time in the day. Anyone who suggests otherwise is fooling themselves - just like Scoble tried to convince people he read 100s of blogs a day.

Re: Reverse Engineering TechMeme

Mark EVans — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 20:19:46 -0000

Robert,
In general, I don't watch a lot of videos but both of your Techmeme videos were compelling. Not sure if you totally nailed the "Techmeme Secret Sauce" but you did a nice job explaining how it works. Well done.

Mark

Re: Caught in Apple restart hell

Mark EVans — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 10:56:58 -0000

What do you mean - the Mac's not perfect?! As the Mac moves into the mainstream, the demands on it to just work become more demanding. I blogged on this reality today.

Re: Dear Jeff Bezos (one-week Kindle review)

Mark EVans — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 06:59:08 -0000

For Kindle 2.0, perhaps they should add user to the evaluation group. Seriously, many of the features you want seem like no-brainers that could be implemented. It's always fascinating to see new products that miss some of the basic things that consumers want.

Re: YouTube Premiering InVideo Ad Format

Mark EVans — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 07:33:09 -0000

Andy,
If Google can prove this format works, it will be seconds before the rest of the video industry jumps on the overlay bandwagon. Obviously, everyone is looking for an ad vehicle that works but I wonder if enough people will pull themselves away from a video to focus on a small ad on the bottom of the screen.

Re: CNET Networks CEO Sounds Off on Bloggers

Mark EVans — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 16:15:05 -0000

CNet and Engadget are two different animals so not sure why Ashe is so concerned about. That said, if you've ever checked out some of CNet's blog, it may just be a case of envy given none of them are close to Engadget or Gizmodo.

Re: Google Neglects Jaiku So Users Switch to Twitter

Mark EVans — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 13:16:21 -0000

I don't know anyone who uses Jaiku but lots of people who love Twitter. Look at these Compete.com numbers - http://siteanalytics.compete.com/twitter.com+ja....

Telling.

Re: Five Reasons Why The Mobile Web Sucks

Mark EVans — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 11:48:59 -0000

Scott,
If you really want to experience bad wireless mobile service, come up to Canada where there's no such thing as real all-you-call eat data plans. When the iPhone eventually gets to Canada, do not be surprised to see many people go ballistic when they get their bills.

Re: Email Is NOT Dead

Mark EVans — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 12:07:22 -0000

You're right on the mark. The ubiquity of e-mail vs. Twitter, Facebook, et al is why is will continue to rule the roost.

Re: Why I Stopped Using Twitter

Mark EVans — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 07:09:26 -0000

The problem with Twitter's noise level is people feel compelled to Twitter about just about anything - even stuff other people have little interest in. That's why the noise starts to get more distracting as time goes on. Good for you, Scott!

Re: Can Blogs Do Journalism?

Mark EVans — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 15:33:43 -0000

Question: how do you define "journalism"? Are columnists journalists even though most of them don't do much reporting? I'm not sure bloggers are reporters but they can be journalists.

Mark

Re: Unprofitable Podcasters Claim Podcasting is Dead

Mark EVans — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 14:58:52 -0000

Re: This Phantasmagoric Life: Acquisition Talks Between Facebook And Twitter Break Down

Mark EVans — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:13:07 -0000

It's not such a bad thing that these talks fell apart. For whatever reason, I just don't see a fit between Facebook and Twitter. My sense is Facebook would ruin Twitter rather than enhance and expand it.

Re: Unprofitable Podcasters Claim Podcasting is Dead

Mark EVans — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 14:58:52 -0000

Re: Pop Quiz: If Skype=Hype, Then Facebook=?

Mark EVans — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 11:39:02 -0000

My sense is the little rain cloud hovering over Facebook could start to grow. For whatever reason, I'm getting the feeling Facebook has jumped the shark - maybe it's the crazy valuations now being thrown around, or maybe it's a sense that Facebook's 15 minutes of fame is close to being over. Whatever it is, Facebook doesn't seem to be that red-hot - at least to me.

Re: Scoble Is So Right About Kara Being SSSSSOOOOO Right About Silly Facebook Apps!

Mark EVans — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 10:17:43 -0000

Kara,
Although they don't get much attention, there are companies using Facebook applications to support their business/strategic growth. For example, my company, PlanetEye, has a FB application called My City that has given us tremendous value even though it only has a few thousand users.

Re: The Children's Crusade Strikes Back at Not-a-Teenager (aka Really Old Lady) BoomTown

Mark EVans — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 11:47:38 -0000

I'm confused about why people are fascinated with FB applications as well. All I can say is you have to respect any blogger willing to post a picture of the Giligan's Island crew. :)