While I’ve always believed Twitter to be a useless service and have questioned why a person would want to use it, I’m increasingly starting to believe that many Twitter users might be more than misguided - they just might be stupid.
First came the humorous example of Twitter users, including Forrester analyst Jeremiah Owyang, falling hook, line and for a fake Exxon Mobil Twitter account.
Of course, Owyang turned his faux pas into an opportunity “brand jacking” and the fact that he used “blogging best practices” when he admitted that he didn’t exercise any common sense.
Silicon Valley’s Circle Jerk Finds a Friend on Wall Street
In my past criticism of “analysts,” I’ve used the “analyses” provided by Citigroup’s Internet analyst Mark Mahaney as examples of just how full of bullshit analysts can be.
I haven’t been alone in finding Mahaney to be a great source of BS.
Kevin Maney of Portfolio.com called Mahaney’s analysis related to Amazon’s Kindle ebook device the “lamest bit of Wall Street analysis that I can recall.”
But were Mahaney’s Kindle sales projections clairvoyant? TechCrunch (which ) thinks they were.
According to an anonymous TechCrunch source “close to Amazon with direct knowledge of the numbers,” the number is 240,000 - surpassing Mahaney’s projection.
15 Year-Old Installs WordPress, Launches “Startup,” Makes TechCrunch
Every now and again, I come across a great story about a young entrepreneur.
In the world of Web 2.0, now 18 year-old Ashley Qualls is perhaps one of the most notable. Her MySpace layouts website, Whateverlife.com, reportedly pulls in a nice 5-figure amount each month in advertising revenue and made Qualls a millionaire before she turned 18. She paid $250,000 cash for her home at the age of 17.
Not bad for what started out as a hobby and not bad for an average teenage girl living in Michigan.
Is Web 2.0 One Big Party?
I’ve always been amused by the seemingly perpetual schedule of Web 2.0 “parties” that take place.
From the to the (or more appropriately mashes), Web 2.0 knows how to get its party on, even if the parties are heavy on . To be fair, nobody promised good parties.
Perhaps the preponderance of parties in the small world of Web 2.0 isn’t all that unexpected. After all, these are the “social” media people we’re talking about here.
And socialize they do.
To be sure, other “industries” have no shortage of parties.
Another Non-Existent Non-Profit, the Open Web Foundation, Launches
Back in April, I criticized DataPortability for presenting itself (and allowing others to present it) as a legitimate non-profit organization when, in fact, DataPortability does not exist as a legal entity.
With “open” everything being in vogue, it’s no surprise that another “organization” has launched to make sure the web becomes a more “open” place.
This “organization” is the . It describes itself as “an independent non-profit dedicated to the development and protection of open, non-proprietary specifications for web technologies.”
There’s only one problem - the Open Web Foundation does not exist as a legal entity.
Zuckerberg’s Zany Comparisons
At Facebook’s F8 developer conference, Mark Zuckerberg proved once again that not only is he still socially awkward (ironic for a “social” networking startup CEO) but that he is still capable of stating with a straight (or robotic?) face.
at Valleywag, Zuckerberg used his keynote to prove that he’s completely out of touch with reality by making some zany comparisons about Facebook applications.
iLike is Like MySpace, Only Better
According to Zuckerberg, the “top 5,000 bands on iLike have more fans on iLike than they have on any other site on the web.” He goes on to note that this is especially impressive because it puts iLike ahead of MySpace.
Is Duncan Riley Web 2.0’s Scott McClellan?
During his tenure at TechCrunch, I was never a big fan of Duncan Riley. His posts were utterly atrocious and I was just one of many who questioned Michael Arrington’s sanity for keeping Duncan on staff.
Of course, Arrington had good reason to keep Duncan around - Duncan’s posts were so devoid of logic and reason and so filled with Web 2.0 kool aid that they more often than not brought in the pageviews. Quality be damned, Duncan was good for business.
Web 2.0 Summit Runs Out of Web 2.0 Hype
While I, unlike some individuals neck deep in the crazy world of Web 2.0, tend not to declare entire industries “dead,” it’s hard not to notice the ongoing rapid decline of Web 2.0.
From the increasing recognition that after years of hype, Web 2.0 is to delivering profits to the fact that some shareholders of the hottest still-independent Web 2.0 startup to dump their stock, all indications are that the kool aid is really starting to wear off quite quickly.
Instablogs to Keyser Söze: These Are Times of Great Change
I often receive emails that look to promote a startup or a product launch. Most are rarely worth writing about, let alone reading in the first place.
But congratulations are in order for “citizen journalism” blog network Instablogs for sending me what could be the most humorous promotional email of the year:
Dear Keyser Söze,
As you know, these are times of great change.
There is a powershift going on throughout the world.
Individual citizens are garnering more and more control over all aspects of their lives.
TechCrunch Gets into Copy and Paste Press Release Journalism
The disdain TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington has for the world of mainstream journalism is well-established.
In the past, I’ve criticized his irrational position on mainstream journalism and have also pointed out that his own standards are often quite lacking ( than once).
Arrington recently made claims about a conflict of interest he thinks exists with the New York Times, so it was with interest that I was sent an email earlier with a link to a curious TechCrunch post.
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Drama 2.0 spikes the Web 2.0 kool aid by providing critical analyses of Web 2.0, its people, its startups and its impact on the world of media. Other topics are explored when Drama 2.0 has been drinking too much 1975 Dom Perignon. Read more about the Internet's version of Keyser Söze here.
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