Disqus - Latest Comments for Q dub

Re: Brightsource lands the largest solar deal yet

Q dub — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 09:32:00 -0000

So we're looking at $2.8MM up front capex for each MW. Any comparables with other sources of grid energy?

Re: Nokia develops navigating system based on image recognition, landmarks

Q dub — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 21:40:46 -0000

Sounds like an elaborate work-around to GPS...

Re: A personalized preview of Grand Theft Auto IV, the big video game of 2008

Q dub — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:05:10 -0000

Hardcore games is still a heavy-weight market, despite all the hype around casual and social gaming in the startup-space. They have clear monetization pathways and the top franchises are consistently deliver on returns. Eat that scrabulous!

Re: Much atwitter about nothing?

Q dub — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:49:09 -0000

Funny thing is, used it in it's stated purpose ("what are you doing?"), Twitter is rather boring. They should really reposition themselves as more of a public conversation tool.

Re: Wigix wants to kill eBay

Q dub — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 10:49:26 -0000

Only problem I see with this 'standardize and securitize' idea is that many items on Ebay are slight variations of the shelf product. E.g. "Here's my 1 yr old ipod, minor scratch on the top left, and I'm going to throw in a Belkin radio just for kicks." So it gets difficult to build a bid-ask system around these mainstream, yet varied products.

But then again, many eBay power sellers carry exact off-the-shelf products, so there's definitely a sizable opportunity here.

Re: iGoogle start pages: Vertical integration of the first, second, and Nth click

Q dub — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:05:31 -0000

Your last point struck an important issue: Why on earth would Facebook/Myspace let Google aggregate/summarize their social data, and capture the first click? There seems to be a fundamental problem with ad-monetization where parties don't act in a way that maximizes usefulness to their users.

Re: Facebook Apps: Why they’re focused on fun instead of utility

Q dub — Mon, 05 May 2008 23:17:31 -0000

I'm very surprised that the leading social networks have yet to be leveraged for discovery (besides iLike, which could still do more). Most of these services (Stumble/Del.icio.us, Yelp, last.fm) would rather build out their own social graphs than piggy-back on Facebook/Myspaces.

Part of me believes that truly useful apps (like those listed before) are confident in their ability to re-create a social graph and therefor, end up sitting largely outside of Facebook with only a "profile gadget" application to market themselves.

Re: Facebook Apps: Why they’re focused on fun instead of utility

Q dub — Mon, 05 May 2008 23:24:08 -0000

One more thought:

Adoption of utilities is slower because they generally require a bit of learning, or re-tooling one's existing habits.

Re: Lessons from the casino industry on engagement metrics and lifetime value

Q dub — Mon, 12 May 2008 23:49:04 -0000

Great post! I'd add that for online businesses, LTV is further complicated by a user's role as a net-promoter and a content creator. Otherwise, LTV should be easier than ever for online businesses vs offline--you have direct access to customer demographic and value data, and creating differentiated outreach is easy as pie.

Problem is, given the state of the web today, we're still struggling with finding value, period. Segmenting by non-existent LTV may be a moot point for many startups.

Re: What’s the value of a user on your site? Why it’s hard to calculate lifetime value for social network audiences

Q dub — Fri, 23 May 2008 17:53:24 -0000

Yeah it's extremely hard to quantify the incremental contribution of promoters/generators. Does that mean you shouldn't put any effort/cost into pampering these "valued" guests, as a casino would? What is the content-site's equivalent of pampering?

(I have no idea, just wondering if there's anything we can borrow from traditional LTV/differentiating-offers that's applicable to those active promoters and content creators on your site)

Re: Data portability: Is the social network data you’re hoarding treasure or trash?

Q dub — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 14:21:36 -0000

I personally think the path forward for social-network ads is brand advertising, not DTC. It makes perfect sense: brand advertising emphasizes demographic data vs intent data, and operates at the large volumes that social networks can offer.

Re: Where are all the video startups? Maybe Content=King, online and offline

Q dub — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 22:40:21 -0000

It seems like there is only room for one site for UGC. It may make sense: UGC is numerous and disorganized, and having more than one source can be overwhelming. In fact, I'd say people still conceptualize bodies of video content interns of "channels" or "networks". They're probably thinking "oh Soporanos is on HBO, Heroe's is on NBC, AnimalPlanet is on Discovery, and all the UGC stuff is on YouTube"

The key here is that people are dividing content by type, not the surrounding feature set or "usage model". That could be important guidance for how a video startup might try to differentiate itself.

Re: MySpace versus Facebook: Analysis of both traffic and ad revenue, using Google Trends

Q dub — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 16:08:28 -0000

Powerful central statement, but to really prove it you have to show people leaving an incumbent to a different network and re-invest time in recreating their graph+content. However, I believe this flip in market share is the result of a gross-adds game, not a defections game.

The network effect holds only true for people you actually know or vague care about. joe schmoe in middle arkansas signing up for MySpace doesn't increase it's value for me. It could be that Facebook and Myspace are attracting totally independent social segments with little overlap and thus, it's really a matter of whoever has lower penetration in their segment getting greater adds.

One could also argue that MySpace is culturally more American, while Facebook is far more culture-neutral (and the facebook vs MySpace race in Asia could be utterly irrelevant since it appears they don't stand a chance against local players).

Finally, from a monetization point of view, greater concentration in 1 country is unequivocally a good thing. Inventory from different countries probably have zero chance of being bundled and sold together. Facebook has to find more advertisers for a more fragmented audience, while MySpace can enjoy more or less one-size-fits-all advertising deals with summer blockbusters =)

Re: Recency Frequency and Monetization (RFM): Optimizing your notifications strategy

Q dub — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:00:35 -0000

RFM alone is only part of the picture, what you're really interested in solving for is the lift. 555's have no potential for further lift, while 155's need a reminder, 551's need to be upsold, and 515's need a sticky recurring relationship.

Re: 7 ideas for billion dollar companies in the online ads

Q dub — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 20:21:39 -0000

Very exotic concept with the securitization of ad inventory =) I would guess the biggest barrier to securitization is the lack of fungibility between different ad units. There are simply too many "non-comparable" SKUs out there, unlike say...a futures market where corn is just corn. When every context and CPM rate has it's own SKU, how can you create enough liquidity?

Re: http://christophergolda.com/2008/10/admin-2/

Q dub — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 01:47:26 -0000

Found you through the Friendfeed room invite. I fell in love with BackType instantly. Hope you guys become the hub of conversation of the future!

Re: Win a HP HDX Dragon 20inch notebook; name your top five digital lifestyle products and services

Q dub — Sun, 18 May 2008 18:16:34 -0000

1) Blackberry
2) Google Reader
3) Google Maps on Blackberry
4) Facebook
5) Friendfeed

Re: The Dark Knight: 10 Things I Liked, 5 Things I Didn’t

Q dub — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 01:31:03 -0000

Nolan's Batman is characteristically "un-comic book"-like, where main characters actually die off instead of getting resurrected over and over again in order to continue the series. I'm content with that realism...