Y Combinator, one of the most influential investment funds in Silicon Valley, declared war on Hollywood on Friday. I wish they had really thought through the unintended consequences of their call to arms, because lots of innocent people are about to get hurt. Y Combinator is essentially asking for entrepreneurs to take on the Hollywood… Continue reading Y Combinator’s Short-sighted and Irresponsible Declaration of War Against Hollywood
SOPA Is Dead!
From Mashable: Lamar Smith, the chief sponsor of SOPA, said on Friday that he is pulling the bill “until there is wider agreement on a solution.†“I have heard from the critics and I take seriously their concerns regarding proposed legislation to address the problem of online piracy,†Smith (R-Texas) said. “It is clear that… Continue reading SOPA Is Dead!
A Breakdown of the First Battle of the Great Megaupload War of 2012
Shit hit the fan on Thursday; the U.S. government took down Megaupload, one of the largest file-sharing sites in the world. Here’s a quick recap of the key events in this crazy story: Megaupload is one of top 100 most-visited websites on the web for years, mostly because it was an easy and relatively “safe”… Continue reading A Breakdown of the First Battle of the Great Megaupload War of 2012
SOPA-related Tweets: 2.4 Million and Counting
There have been about 2.4 million SOPA-related Tweets so far today. That’s looking at 12am-4pm Eastern. — Twitter Comms (@twittercomms) January 18, 2012 Damn. I wonder if that’s the most tweets for a single event in Twitter’s history?
Why It Would Be Wrong for Facebook & Twitter to Go Dark for SOPA (or Any Other Occassion)
Tahrir Square in Egypt during the height of the revolution Wikipedia, Reddit and thousands of other websites have gone dark in protest of SOPA and PIPA. The controversial laws, as I explained to The Consumerist, open the door to “your favorite websites [getting] penalized, blacklisted or even shut down due to a copyright infringement lawsuit.”… Continue reading Why It Would Be Wrong for Facebook & Twitter to Go Dark for SOPA (or Any Other Occassion)
The Future of Yahoo Without Jerry Yang
Jerry Yang, the co-founder and former CEO of Yahoo, has resigned from the company. And we’re not just talking about his board seat, but all of his positions at Yahoo, Yahoo Japan and Alibaba. In other words, Jerry Yang will have no involvement in the company. Yahoo will be without either its co-founders for the… Continue reading The Future of Yahoo Without Jerry Yang
Congrats on the Launch of PandoDaily, Sarah Lacy; I Have Two Questions, Though
Dear Sarah Lacy, First of all, congrats on the launch of PandoDaily! I’m looking forward to reading (and responding to) your sharp commentary on the startup world. A publication focused exclusively on the ecosystem makes sense, and I’m glad to see you join the ranks of the founders that you’ve covered for most of your… Continue reading Congrats on the Launch of PandoDaily, Sarah Lacy; I Have Two Questions, Though
Sell a Company in Silicon Valley, and Wall Street Will Find You
Another great article by NYT’s Evelyn Rusli and Ben Protess: “Wall Street, as always, is going where the money is — and right now that is Silicon Valley. The latest Internet boom means there are more newly minted millionaires, and even billionaires, than at any time since the technology bubble a decade ago.” And one… Continue reading Sell a Company in Silicon Valley, and Wall Street Will Find You
Instagram vs. Path vs. Color: The Battle for the Future of Mobile Social Networking
Instagram, Path and Color are three high-profile apps taking three different approaches to mobile social networking. Can all three co-exist? You may think that these three apps have totally different purposes and do totally different things, but in reality they tackle the same problem: how do you better connect and share with your friends through… Continue reading Instagram vs. Path vs. Color: The Battle for the Future of Mobile Social Networking
The Google+ Antitrust Disaster
Google has become the tech media’s punching bag today, thanks to its launch of deep Google+ integration in Google Search. The move was something that I expected, but I don’t think anybody expected the integration to be so massive. You can’t browse Google without seeing Google+ everywhere. The problem is simple: Google is using its… Continue reading The Google+ Antitrust Disaster