Disqus - Friends of joshmchugh

Re: Earning Your Media (continued)

MattCope — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 18:33:07 -0000

Great deck - it's a shame those videos didn't cooperate at the keynote.
I'm disappointed these presentations don't come with audio. Would have enjoyed your commentary on this, as well as your presentation to TV execs a while back.

Re: Let the Sparks Fly

MattCope — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 15:03:51 -0000

Attracting and retaining enterpreneurs and VC's is a problem I've been thinking about a lot since I read Paul Graham's commentary on Boston/Cambridge (my home) as a waning startup hub.

I see the problem as the breakdown of a positive feedback loop. In good times, the presence of talent attracts capital, which attracts more talent, etc. However, when talent expects capital to flee to greener pastures (or capital expects talent to do the same), the positive cycle can quickly deteriorate.

So what's the best way to change expectations in the entrepreneur and VC communities? Is it the actions of the state? Of a bellwether? Of a university?

Re: Accounting Advice for Founders

MattCope — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 12:19:04 -0000

Great post - accounting may not be sexy, but neither is oxygen.

The "talking over your head" point is right on the money. If the founder doesn't make it a priority to educate him/herself about how funds have flowed and will flow through the company, control of strategy can be at risk.

As I see it, the accountant hat should be among the most important a founder wears.

Re: I want my company back!

MattCope — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 12:48:36 -0000

Interesting.

What about those exits that make the founders really happy? (Obviously some are happy to take the money and run, but) for those founders looking at an "exit" as an opportunity to boost their company's prospects - what are some steps they can take to avoid a bum deal?

Have you noticed any factors (besides intangibles like culture fit, etc.) that are common to successful exits and absent from unsuccessful ones?

Re: The NASDAQ vs The Dow

MattCope — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 00:18:34 -0000

I've recently been thinking a lot about how entrepreneurs and VC's should view equity risk in their portfolios - this post looks like a good opportunity to ask about your thoughts.

I assume you have plenty of equity exposure via your firm's carry, and many entrepreneurs have plenty of equity exposure via their own companies. How should entrepreneurs and VC's look at this equity risk in the context of a broader portfolio?

Do we sock away the rest of our capital into less risky assets given our private equity exposure? Do we treat private equities and public equities as different asset classes? Do those that know the tech world well heavily in NASDAQ components whose business models they grasp?

(Please understand that I don't intend to solicit investment advice - rather, I'm curious about your philosophy with respect to private/public equity exposure.)

Re: bijansabet.com | a tumblelog by Bijan Sabet | Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s cofounder & Chairman is in...

MattCope — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:38:48 -0000

This is a fantastic story - I'm proud of these guys.

Did you see this article in The Economist?
http://bit.ly/ybvGl
It's about the (brilliantly named) Marshall Fund, a VC/PE vehicle focused on capacity-expanding investments in Iraq. Jobs, markets, returns.

Re: pay for results

MattCope — Fri, 01 May 2009 13:11:38 -0000

I read this article yesterday, and it got me thinking, too.

I'm a big fan of any compensation system that associates rewards with outcomes, not just effort or intent. So, when I read this story, I got excited.

But. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how difficult it would be to come up with the right metric to reward. In the above story, the right metric should have been his date's perception of his stylishness, which the tailor could control - not the kiss, which he couldn't.

The same is true for product marketing - the campaign could be genius, but if the pricepoint is wrong, it won't sell. And the agency shouldn't be at fault for that.

So my question is - and the article didn't address this - what metrics is Coke using to measure agency effectiveness?

Re: to your credit

MattCope — Fri, 08 May 2009 11:02:07 -0000

I don't know which holdco you're referring to.

I do know that Omnicom's BBDO was listed as Chrysler's second-largest unsecured creditor, to the tune of $58mm.

Perhaps that burn was the straw that prompted agency legal departments to clamp down on every credit relationship...

Re: to your credit

MattCope — Fri, 08 May 2009 14:50:00 -0000

Jerry,

Read it in this week's AdAge: http://adage.com/article?ar...

It's an even stickier situation than it looks at first glance, as BBDO, in turn, owes much of that amount to media (local TV, etc.) for buys it placed on behalf of Chrysler.

Nasty.

Matt

Re: bijansabet.com | a tumblelog by Bijan Sabet | Last night we got a babysitter and Lauren and I...

MattCope — Sun, 10 May 2009 11:33:27 -0000

There's gotta be hundreds of stories in the buildings in that area - the New England Life Insurance Building, Trinity Church, even the Hancock (from plywood palace to foreclosure sale).

I am reminded of this story on Springwise: http://bit.ly/hKxDA When you arrive at the airport in Ljubljana, Slovenia, you can download Slovenian tourist info to your phone via bluetooth.

I think it would be cool if you didn't have to Google the Burrage house's (or Trinity's, or Hancock's, etc.) history, but if it knew you were interested, the house pushed it to you.

Re: My Google Talk On Disruption

MattCope — Mon, 11 May 2009 11:11:38 -0000

Fred, am looking forward to seeing - and hearing - the final presentation.

Any chance you'll be able to record an audio track?

Re: My Google Talk On Disruption

MattCope — Mon, 11 May 2009 13:09:45 -0000

David - thanks! I'll have to check that out.

Re: Youtubing

MattCope — Sun, 17 May 2009 12:18:36 -0000

Absolutely - this is how my friends and I share content when we're all in the same room.

What bugs me sometimes is the absence of a good queing system. Doesn't it seem like the loudest person or the person at the keyboard dictates what gets watched next? ...Fred, I'm sure you're very good. : )

I'm dying for a video playlist for whenever someone says "OH! Have you seen MotherLover? We gotta watch that!" MotherLover goes into the queue, and if the group doesn't like it, ffwd to the next piece on the playlist.

Re: Youtubing

MattCope — Mon, 18 May 2009 18:51:53 -0000

Fred - thanks.

I don't know him, but I thought the Twitter link feed Doug Estadt built for you was a good first cut at this proposition.

I'm with you. I think building queues across platforms (email, sms, FB, twitter, face-to-face), would be extremely useful. My ultimate would be a system that organizes these recommendations by media vertical - socially recommended queues for articles, books, songs, web videos, movies, etc.

Re: Social Media - What Needs To Be In The Cloud?

MattCope — Sun, 24 May 2009 12:30:12 -0000

It's all well and good to give Flickr posters credit.

But don't do it because a few jerks were out there criticizing you.

You've got too large of a community of *constructive* critics to let a handful of assholes influence your behavior.

Re: listen to the youth

MattCope — Thu, 28 May 2009 11:19:27 -0000

Jerry,

At the core of this post is the discussion of branded digital entertainment. It's a subject I spend a lot of time thinking about, and I've been looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it.

While more brands, agencies, and platforms are getting comfortable with brand-sponsored (as opposed to brand-subsidized) content, I think we're still a little ways off from having what I think of as a "commoditized sales process" - i.e., one that doesn't take 4-5 conversations to bring each group on board.

How does the industry get to a point where it takes 2-3 conversations to close a deal? Do agencies and brands need more education? Does the medium need a longer track record of success? What other bottlenecks do you see?

Thanks,
Matt

Re: More thoughts about the web and pay television

MattCope — Fri, 29 May 2009 10:43:07 -0000

I've been dying for a Hulu-esque experience on the sports front, too.

I'm also waiting for a new pricing model. Why would I pay to watch online a whole season of the AL-East-leading Red Sox when I can watch 90% of the games via broadcast for free? I want to be able to pay $0.99 to watch the day games I miss at work, or the night games I miss while I'm out.

Re: http://bijansabet.com/post/115286469

MattCope — Sat, 30 May 2009 12:52:59 -0000

I thought my comment about the Red Sox taking the lead may blow up in my face...I just didn't think it would happen so soon! : )

Looking forward to a good season.

Re: to your credit

MattCope — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 23:25:25 -0000

Jerry,
Saw this, thought you'd be interested: http://adage.com/article?ar...
Publicis' Starcom MediaVest owed $121mm - GM's 6th largest creditor.
mC

Re: Bessemer is the bloggiest VC

MattCope — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 11:54:11 -0000

Woah!
Hello, Disqus.
Nice implementation!

Re: Please don’t be shy

MattCope — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 11:59:17 -0000

Now we know what Ev meant when he said, "he's a little too nice."

Good post. :)

Re: Bessemer is the bloggiest VC

MattCope — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 14:31:49 -0000

I talked my friend JD into implementing Disqus on his Blogger blog, newantisocial.com.
Crashed it.
Don't know why they don't play well together!

Re: The "Watch Later" Project

MattCope — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:46:17 -0000

I get it.

This is how additional "layers on the stack" drive value in the underlying applications.

This has been really cool to see unfold in real time.

Opening a boxee account now...

Re: content on the cheap

MattCope — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:24:23 -0000

Interesting post.

While there's not much that can be done on the cost side - strong unions are strong unions - I'm optimistic for the revenue side.

Some agencies don't understand, seek, or buy engagement. But increasing numbers of agencies and brands are willing to pay up for engaging content that happens to be branded.

I think the key is "engagement distribution" - kind of a clunky phrase, I know.

But getting each piece of branded content in front of the (large) audience that is most likely to find it engaging is enormously valuable.

I'm not sure many agencies are really in the business of "engagement distribution", so it's hard to get branded content in front of the right eyeballs if you're relying on them to do it for you.

Re: Aggregate, Curate, Publish To Create Local Media

MattCope — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:30:59 -0000

I love this micro-discussion!

I think the goal of millions of PV's is absolutely attainable - for established media brands, e.g., the Village Voice.

When everybody is a publisher, those streams that can capture market share are the ones that accumulate credibility, reputation, and/or brand equity. The easiest way to do that is with the mass media megaphone that VV, NYTimes, WSJ, et al already have.

If you were to start from scratch today (the point of this post), I think you would have to answer the question: how do I build more credibility, reputation, and/or brand equity than the other million publishers out there? It's not easy, but those who manage to do so - the HuffPo's of the world - are those that will rise to the top of the heap.