Semantic Web.  Implicit Web.  Web 3.0.  Lot’s of happy new buzz phrases being tossed about.  Of course, the academic one is “semantic web” – all the rest are made up trendy things.  While there are plenty of abstract ideas about this, and lots more simple instantiations that are tiny pieces of the concept, Alex Iskold […]

My new book with Ian Hathaway, The Startup Community Way, comes out on 7/28. We’ve begun the pre-order campaign. Since every author loves pre-orders, so if you want to do something that will make me smile today, pre-order your copy here. To give you a sense of the book, following is the Table of Contents, […]

Since mid-March, I have received endless letters from companies and funds I’m an investor in with their thoughts on the Covid crisis. One of the best was from Paul Kedrosky and Eric Norlin of SK Ventures (one of our Partner Fund investments). Paul and Eric have given me permission to repost it here.  (First published […]

I was at a dinner event last night in Denver where, predictably, coronavirus (which I’ve been trying to call Covid-19, but everyone seems to default back to coronavirus) came up. I’ve tried to avoid being “that person” who has a strong opinion because so much is changing so quickly. Instead, I’ve tried to have a […]

A Simple, a Complicated, and a Complex system walk into a bar. Simple says to the bartender, “Can I have a drink?” The bartender gives Simple a glass of water. Complicated says to the bartender, “Can I have a Rum Martinez?” The bartender does the following: Complex says to the bartender, “Can I have a […]

I read Roger McNamee’s book Zucked: Waking Up to the Facebook Catastrophe the day it came out. While likely uncomfortable for a lot of people, it was excellent, provocative, and challenging all at the same time. I have not, nor have I ever been, an investor in Facebook. However, I benefited indirectly from, and indirectly […]

The deadline for applying to Techstars New York for the next program is 11:59:59pm PST on 12/31/13. I’m extremely excited about the upcoming Techstars New York program. Alex Iskold is the new managing director. I was an angel investor in Alex’s previous company (AdaptiveBlue – also known as GetGlue) and have known and worked with Alex […]

TechStars is coming to New York City.  The first program runs from 1/10/11 to 4/8/11.  Applications are open now.  The NY mentor list is stunning and includes the following: Phin Barnes (First Round Capital), Alex Blum (KickApps), Matt Blumberg (Return Path), Brad Burnham (USV), Jeff Clavier, Dennis Crowley (FourSquare), Chris Dixon (Founder Collective), Roger Ehrenberg, […]

My friends at OneRiot and Adaptive Blue are organizing the second annual Add-on-Con.  It is being held at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA on Dec 11.  If you are involved in a company that makes browser add-ons of any sort, this conference is for you.  The conference is a full day of […]