Thursday, September 11, 2003

Skype is moving like wildfire through my family and friends.  Wow.  Easier than e-mail and chat (now that they are garbaged up with features). 8:42:47 PM    Comment_ Trackback []

The 2003 Singularity conference is starts tomorrow in Palo Alto.  An excellent schedule.  Nice list of sponsors.  Great job.  This organization has come a long way from the time John Smart (the founder) and I brainstormed on the name for the organization. 12:14:00 PM    Comment_ Trackback []

Question:  Was the election of George Bush (Jr.) the trigger for 9/11?  It's interesting to think this through.  11:39:15 AM    Comment_ Trackback []

Here's an example of how weblogs can have influence on corporations.  Plaxo is a start-up with substantial investment capital.  A quick look at Google shows how weblogs are influencing the information flow on the product they sell (both pro and con reviews).  What is the value of a highly ranked review on a product keyword in Google?  A couple years ago, I was talking to PR insiders (off the record) and the consensus estimate was that a positive product mention in the WSJ or NYT would cost $100,000 (what is worth depends on how well the company can monetize it).  Positive mentions in other publications scale down from that.  What is the third and fourth link on a product name in Google worth using this benchmark?  Given that it has a high level of persistance (and that people often use Google as a means to find the company/product site), it could easily be worth $40-$50 k.  Given that, why aren't PR agencies all over webloggers that do product reviews to ensure that the reviewer gets all the relevant information needed to make an objective review?  I guess they are too busy sending out press releases that nobody reads. 9:19:44 AM    Comment_ Trackback []