DEMO/TechCrunch Turns Even Uglier, Startups Are the Losers
Posted on September 7, 2008
Filed Under Valley Drama | 3 Comments
The drama between DEMO and TechCrunch started in earnest in April when TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington declared that “Demo needs to die.”
He scheduled his startup launch conference, TechCrunch50, the same week as DEMO, forcing startups, PR folks, bloggers and attendees to choose between his conference and the conference he admits he wants to kill.
At the time, DEMO’s Chris Shipley tried to take the high road but since then, the drama between the two conferences has only intensified.
Last week, on the eve of both conferences, Michael Arrington and his friends launched another offensive.
The Stupidity of Social Investing Websites
Posted on September 5, 2008
Filed Under Web 2.0 Kool Aid | 4 Comments
I’ve always been somewhat amused by social investing websites like Cake Financial and Covestor. As someone who trades stocks and options for more than just fun, I have always believed the utility of services that look to help amateur investors by sharing the portfolios of their members and tracking results is minimal.
While a detailed discussion of my beliefs is beyond the scope of this blog and would be boringly technical, I found a good way to address the subject by using the announcement of Cake Financial’s new index fund - .
When Politics Invades the Tech Blogosphere
Posted on September 4, 2008
Filed Under Culture & Technology | 1 Comment
With elections in the United States just two months away, it’s not surprising that political talk (and blabber) has invaded the technology blogosphere.
TechCrunch got involved early - it launched the because it wanted “to provide a voice for digital policy and technology issues in the upcoming U.S. Presidential election.” Fine, but recently, TechCrunch editor Erick Schonfeld took some heat for a political post that was read by some as being in bad taste.
Mark “Rizzn” Hopkins at Mashable is also known to interject his political opinions into his writing. His recent post about Sarah Palin looked a bit out of place on Mashable.
Battle of the Conferences Set to Begin
Posted on September 3, 2008
Filed Under Web 2.0 Kool Aid | 2 Comments
Next week is a big week for the world of technology startups. From September 8 to 10, approximately 50 startups will launch at TechCrunch50. In San Diego, the incumbent startup launch conference, Demo, will run from September 7 to 9.
The timing, of course, is not coincidental. TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington has Demo on the list of industries, companies and events he thinks need to be killed.
While I’m pleased to report that I will be in Patagonia skiing and smoking Cohiba cigars while the bloodbath ensues, next week is a stressful one for technology fiends who have to make a choice - TechCrunch50 or Demo? That’s a tough one.
Google Chrome for Dummies - Cartoons Included
Posted on September 3, 2008
Filed Under Web 2.0 Kool Aid | 4 Comments
There’s a lot of confusion about Google’s new browser, Chrome, and a lot of questions are being asked.
Is it a web browser? Is it better than Firefox? Is it an operating system? Is it going to kill Windows? Can it help you lose weight? Will it make your penis larger? Can it be used as a vibrator?
Whether you’re an average consumer looking to browse the Internets in the most efficient way possible or a former securities analyst who thinks the “technology stack” refers to pancakes, this post should clear things up for you.
The Chrome Stupidity Continues
Posted on September 2, 2008
Filed Under Unjournalism | 16 Comments
The Google Chrome hype train is chugging along at full speed.
Although I’ve ditched , a reader of The Drama 2.0 Show this morning sent me an email imploring me to look at tech|ticker commentator .
Like TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington, Blodget thinks Chrome is big. Real big.
Certainly it’s a browser. It’s going to sit beside the other icons. It sounds like it has a bunch of cool features. It’s totally designed for web applications and things.
Chrome Hype: When Non-Techies Blog About Technology
Posted on September 2, 2008
Filed Under Unjournalism | 9 Comments
One of the things that has amused me about the technology blogosphere is the fact that some of its most popular A-listers and B-listers aren’t even legitimate “techies.”
From the misuse of terminology to downright mischaracterizations and misinterpretations, the technology blogosphere has no shortage of technology enthusiasts masquerading as technology experts.
TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington is the perfect example of this.
Arrington has a bachelor’s degree in economics and a law degree from Stanford. He was a corporate attorney in Silicon Valley at O’Melveny & Myers and Wilson Sonsini where he was primarily involved in financing and securities-related tasks for technology startups.
Sponsor Shout-Out
Posted on September 1, 2008
Filed Under Commercial Interruptions | Leave a Comment
With gas prices hovering at the US dollar equivalent of around $4.70 where I live, filling up a car that gets around 41 liters per gallon city (approximately 11 miles per gallon) is not fun. But thanks to the sponsors of The Drama 2.0 Show, I’ve got a little fuel subsidy.
My lead sponsor, Finnish startup , which is designed to serve as “a single place for all your online needs,” has been busy implementing user feedback and working on some launches that it considers very important to its future, including the launch of a new design and its open development framework and developer platform. It has also been busy sponsoring events in Finland as part of its efforts to introduce MySites to prospective users.
Digital Bill of Rights or Digital Bill of Bullshit?
Posted on September 1, 2008
Filed Under Web 2.0 Kool Aid | 5 Comments
I understand that TechCrunch and other technology blogs like it are out of touch with mainstream reality. But a post last week really pushed the boundaries of absurdity.
On the heels of the Democratic National Convention, TechCrunch’s Erick Schonfeld decided the time was right to call for a “comprehensive national technology policy for the Internet Age.”
Why? Because “many laws and policies governing the Internet and digital property are inadequate attempts to transplant rules from a different era.”
Posted on August 29, 2008
Filed Under Web 2.0 Kool Aid |
You have to hand it Web 2.0’s digital socialists - they’re very quick on the uptake.
One of my favorite kool aid drinkers, Mark “Rizzn” Hopkins over at Mashable, earlier this week announced that he had discovered offshore hosting.
According to Hopkins, OpenTape, the open source answer to the RIAA’s smackdown of the popular Muxtape online “mixtape” service, could thrive if enough people get hip to the possibility of acquiring offshore hosting accounts out of the reach of the RIAA:
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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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