Sendside Networks Blog: Bringing trust back to the web.

Sendside's new insider blog.

 
Since I've joined up with the rest of the Sendside team, I've got the responsibility of building Sendsides footprint on the web and engendering some trust.

If you're reading this blog or subscribing through the RSS feed, I'd suggest that you subscribe to this new blog as well. 

While I'll comment on Sendside with regularity here, this new Sendside blog will be the repository for most of the 'deep insider' posts and I'll certainly be adding other authors as well.

The site may change names or designs but I think I've got the basics nailed down. It looks pretty good if I do say so myself, I guess number twelve is the charm. 

Top 10 Worst Startup Tech Names

Via Read / Write Web: Top ten worst tech startup names.

I guess that they're getting the link love anyway. 

1. Fairtilizer - an online music service we recently reviewed. The service is great, but the name attracted a bit of attention, for example Valleywag suggested (rather subtly, given their rep) that Fairtilizer re-brand. And The Name Inspector posted about it. Although even he seemed lost for words, starting off with: "Oh dear. The Name Inspector doesn’t even know where to begin." He eventually concluded that it is a bad pun, which has some unfortunate connotations. In case the penny hasn't dropped yet: the name is basically a pun of fertilizer. And while fertilizer makes things grow, it is also translates as 'a pile of shit'.

2. Profilactic is a social network product, which aggregates and mashes up feeds. It sounds like a cool product, but the name is just bizarre. It could be a way of getting attention, because they've proudly listed on their homepage some criticisms of it. For example Marc Canter is quoted as saying "Profilactic sounds so - so - so named by a young person. How can that be a product?". Nuff said.

3. gravee is a community-powered, social search engine that personalizes results according to users' interests. The name is a pun on gravy, but uses the web 2.0 standard of two 'e's.

4. LicketyShip is an e-commerce service that delivers goods within a couple of hours of ordering. It's a reasonable pun on lickety split, but seems like a hard domain for people to remember.

5. Oyogi is a community built around questions and answers. The name would connote spiritual peace of mind... except there's an 'o' in it.

6. Layoffspace - this is a social network for the unemployed, so this name is contextual and even slightly witty. It is mainly on this list because it's an unwieldy attempt to copy the MySpace name.

7. iStalkr - it's a web app that allows you to create a lifestream tracking all your RSS feeds for services you use, like Digg, Del.icio.us, Ma.gnolia, etc. It creates a time line of your activities. The name is a good fit, it's just a bit scary ;-)

8. Agester - a community where you can guess people's age, find out how old you look, and meet new people. It's on this list because it's a lame use of the "ster" cliche (Friendster, Napster, Dogster, etc).

9. hoooka is an online store for sharing videos, photos and audio. OK it's pretty witty and appropriate for its target audience. Maybe the extra 'o' threw us (we seem to have something against extraneous 'o's...Zooomr is another cuplrit).

10. Qoop is a service allowing users to create and sell content. It's a meaningless word, a naming tactic that has become common in web 2.0 - pretty harmless really. We only selected it because it sounds too much like "goop".

Nimble Theory was Sendsider for a day.

I'm changing the name of this blog again. I can't remember what it started out as. Most recently it's been Nimble Theory. Now it's Sendsider.

While Sendsider feels specific to Sendside Networks, I'll still be posting about Fight Club (which is about to make a come back by the way), angel investing, managing, startups, and the like. There may certainly be a change in the overall tone since I'm reducing greatly my time and involvement in Surface Medical and the businesses around it.

Sendsides in an odd situation right now. In the near term we're staying relatively quiet, which contradicts somewhat my need and desire to build interest and add users into the system. In November we're going to be opening our product to a limited number of Beta users to garner some feedback and try to get the user experience to be nirvana. We'll see what happens.

I'll be adding a link shortly for those of you who would like to get in to this Beta. 

Update on Sat, October 13, 2007 at 10:28 AM by Jeff Barson

Oops. I spoke to soon. I've decided that Sendsider will be the blog for Sendside users and I'll keep this site as my own at Nimble Theory.

Kidgrater: The newest child toy from China.

China's newest import, the KidGrater

Led paint, choking hazzards, unsecured magnets that may cause intestinal blockages step aside, KidGrater is sure to get the job done.

With China's adherence to child safety seen as... optional, the KidGrater is sure to find niche that's yet to be discovered by such palid child-offing tools as lead paint and poorly attached magnets. This is perfect to increase the average IQ in US playgrounds.

While Beijing has no official comment on the Kidgrater, numerous officials have told media sources off the record that it's an attempt to address the sissy like attitudes of American parents.

"Well give the round-eyes something real to complain about", said on official. "We've tested this extensively and eight times down the KidGrater was the where most kids lost interest. But we're building one for every playground in America."

Increasing evidence that China is becoming a world power. 

Web Design: UI, CSS, & a certain coolness factor.

Stint building UI, blogs, & other...

I find myself in need of some design, css, interface, mocks, html and other stuff. We've decided to bring some of this development inside so I'm casting a web to see if I know anyone who's in the market or a freelancer who may want a gig of a few months. You'll be builiding blogs, UI work, CSS, mocks and demos, possibly some print and collateral, whatever needs doing.

This is an opportunity, not a job. Contractor at first till we both decide if we like each other. This is a perfect opportunity for a younger designer who codes or a coder who knows a little about design to get a toe into a real startup.

Must have:

• Design sense that doesn't suck. The better your design sense, the more I'll like you.
• Familiarity with wordpress & blogging.
• CSS, HTML, & probably some java junk.
• Smarter that you are dumb.
• Ability to get things done.
  

Compensation:

This is a paying gig that will probably last a few months at least. If you're entry level and willing to learn, fine. If you're senior and willing to pull your weight for a while, also fine. I'll pay whatever you're actually worth.

You can email me at jeffbarson at sendside dot com and I'll call you.

Sendside Swag

I've put up a store over on Cafe Press for Sendside Swag and Email 2.0.

(I wanted a coffee mug but all I got was this thong.)

We're reworking a number of things so you may want to grab a mug or some boxers for posterity. It would be like having the Google logo on your underwear with all of the letters the same color. That's got to be worth something on eBay in the future.

In fact, I'll give anyone who buys this thong and emails me a picture of themselves in it a Sendside pro account when go live. (Is that gramatically correct?)

If you send a video, I'll give you two. 

Sendside is looking for a Software Product Manager

Calvin's looking for a good Software Product Manager so I figured I'd take a second and pimp my blog for the right fit. This is an entrepreneurial environment using Extreme Programming.

Send your Software Product Manager thesis here or fill out this Software Product Manager form....

Here's what Calvin Skyped me as his needs:

Sendside Networks is currently seeking a strong Software Product Manager responsible for developing and owning the roadmap for increasing profitability and success of already existing products as well as developing and launching new products. This role includes leading cross-functional resources necessary for successful product definition, development, release, marketing and sales. We are seeking someone who is technically savvy but can also envision and communicate the "big picture" on the business/sales side.

    * Manage the entire product lifecycle of the application from strategic planning to tactical launch plans and enhancements
    * Collaborate with business units to understand business goals, global market and customer requirements
    * Work with technology teams to define technical solutions and alternatives to meet business needs and leverage Sendside Networks technology.
    * Define product requirements and implement a company-wide market plan, working with all departments to execute
    * Ability to communicate and work with all areas of the company and act as a liaison between sales and engineering to ensure that the product requirements meet the market demands
    * Manage customer relationships for use in marketing and sales program

Requirements:

    * 5+ years of software product management experience
    * Demonstrated experience with successful software product management efforts and launches.
    * Technical proficiency and ability to understand complex products/architectures
    * Solid understanding of product development life cycle including knowledge of softwared design and development processes and tools, as well as familiarity with deployment and operations
    * Strong analytical, business, communication and organizational skills
    * Ability to manage multiple project simultaneously and comfortable working in a fast paced environment
    * Demonstrated leadership in cross-functional team environments
    * Computer Science or Engineering degree
    * Previous experience working in a Startup environment is a strong plus

Education and Qualifications:
Bachelor's degree (B.A.) in Engineering or Information Technology or equivalent preferred.

Compensation:

We pay well, offering salary, equity and bonus packages to the right individuals. And since our office is less than 30 minutes away from the Wasatch Mountains and “the greatest snow on earth,” we insist that employees enjoy powder days when conditions are right!

Benefits:

Employees will be eligible to participate in the Company’s health and dental benefit plans.

Technologists

Database Architect
Director of QA
Senior Software Engineer
Software Architect
Software Engineer

Earnest Shackleton & Startups

Earnest Shackleton had a problem.

He was organizing an expedition to the South Pole and he needed a crew for his ship the Endurance. His goal was to land on the Antarctic continent and become the first to cross it.

(He named his endeavor the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition and December 5, 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton and 27 men under his command sailed from South Georgia Island in the South Atlantic aboard the Endurance.)

He had a starup, and he needed a team.

Shackleton could have tried to sell potential hires but he didn't. He needed to have his team self-select for the troubled times, not the good ones. He had a fair amount going for him in that he was an know explorer and had some name recognition.

He ran the following ad in the Times and according to the story, he was inundated with applications.

"Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages. Bitter cold. Long months of winter. Constant danger. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success."

Startups are not for everyone.

Having just joined Sendside Networks, I was at a baseball game Saturday when my Sister in LA called. During the conversation, we talked about Sendside and it got me thinking about why I would join a company where we would need a astronomically huge exit to make it a good financial decision when you factor in the income and opportunities I'll be loosing by just running my own businesses. (It made me wonder if one of the horses had kicked me in the head and I just couldn't remember it.)

So since my income may be dropping dramatically, I've been thinking why I'd join a startup. Here's what I find attractive:

It's a big idea: I see lots of deals that the entrepreneur thinks is big but really aren't. (That's not to say that they're not good businesses) World domination is always the goal and building an entirely new communications platform that could conceivably replace email is about as big as ideas get. Those are the kind of ideas I'm attracted to.

I like William, Geoff and the rest of the team: I've know William Borghetti for two years or so. When I decide to invite some people I knew to start a group of Park City Angels, William was at the top of the list. If you're going to work with someone in this kind of environment, you'd better like and respect them. I also like Geoff, Dave, Charlie, Calvin and everyone else I've met who's involved.

It's a challenge that fits my skill set: I have a low tolerance for stasis. Startups are an opportunity to move in a lot of directions at once and get things done.

It's green: The possibility that we may have a positive effect on the environment's not lost on me. Having spent some time trying to save Polar Bears I have a soft spot for hugging trees and smiling kids.

I'm choosing opportunity over security: I just don't understand anyone who actually want's a job. The first summer in college I had a job in a chemical factory. Some of the guys I worked with just wanted to have a job, a nice truck, and keep putting more chrome on it. I just don't get that. Give me the ability to make fresh tracks every time.

It's a door: If Sendside builds into a tenth of it's potential there will be plenty of other opportunities.

It's odd to me that most people don't make decision on these types of criteria. They'd like to, but they don't. They continually choose what they think is security. But the truth is that there isn't any security. People coming out of college today will change careers on average four time over their working lives.

There never is any real security. And there never will be. 

Look at these two options:

Option 1: $100,000 salary and 50,000 options
Option 2:   $80,000 salary and 80,000 options

The real decision is this: Is the extra $20,000 a year (a total of $80,000 over a four year vesting period) a better deal than an extra 30,000 options that may be worth a total of $1,000,000. (Insert any amount)  So it's a question of a relatively safe $80k (if you're not fired which you may well be) vs a potential $1m. Is that even a question? In my mind it's not. Even if you only make $300,000 in the options it's a better deal. (Of course there's a risk that it's going to be worth nothing.)

But it's far more common to take the extra $20k.

If you'd take the $20k you're looking for a job. Shackleton would have left you on the dock.

Sendside Networks: Joining a startup.

I'm charting a new course and leaving the realm of being entirely my own boss in order to join a team.

I've decided to join Sendside Networks. (The consumer facing part of Sendside is at Sendside.com)

Why? There are a number of reasons but in short it comes down to choosing opportunity over security. It's a character flaw. I can't help it. Since world domination's always the goal I just can't afford to be risk adverse.

This blog may well become more active since there are a number of new items of interest, the Park City Angels Group as well as Sendside. Fight Club is going to become a lot more active again as well.

Need a geek?

Phil Burns is taking on some contract work.

Phil's been working on Tag Jungle, The Daily Spike and now a payment system and needs some contract work to keep his lights on. If you've got a need for a web project, fire off an email and do your duty. After all, we're all capitalists here. 

From Phil's post: 

I’ve decided to start doing a bit of contract work again for a little while.  If you’re looking to have any kind of website or programming work done, I’d be happy to put a bid on it.  Some jobs will be too big, no job too small

For background info on me, click here.  For my resume, download this word doc.  Feel free to call me at (801)616-1830 or email me at phil801@phil801.com to discuss potential projects.  Thanks!

Stumble Upon

Stumble Upon has some people moving power.

Simple Curiosity? my 'irrelevant thoughts blog' has a post on it that must have been picked up by Stumble Upon the day before yesterday because when I logged in, I saw that I had an extra 5,000 visitors to a post I wrote on Why time slows down when approaching the Speed of Light. Bada bing.

I'm not sure of the long term benefits of being stumbled but it did add another 150 rss subscribers so I'm nothing but happy.

TechStar Companies

Don Dodge has written a post about the ten Techstar startups that have just launched.

 
EventVue - Social networking for conferences and trade shows. Works like Facebook for conferences, complete with pictures, bios, and contact info. Allows attendees to find each other and network during and after the conference. EventVue gets an affiliate fee for each new conference registration. EventVue is already in use at several conferences. You can see it in use on Brad Feld's blog. Competes with eXtreme Networking and IntroNetworks. Seeking $150K to continue product development.

IntenseDebate - A blog widget that provides threading and organization to comments. It includes a reputation ranking system, moderation tools, usage statistics, and user/topic tracking across multiple blogs. RSS feeds for comment threads or individual users. Supports WordPress, Typepad, and Blogger. Ad revenue model and up sell to premium services. Currently in use on 30 blogs, 500 more have signed up for beta. Seeking $500K.

SocialThing - A consolidated profile page for all your digital content; blogs, photos, music, friends, social networks, and links. Synchronize all your friends on all your social networks, from one profile page. Post pictures or other content once and have them appear on any of your social network sites. SocialThing is also a development platform for multiple social networks. Ad revenue model. Viral distribution through networks, and branded widgets. Seeking $500K.

StickyNotes - A post-it-note type app for Facebook. One of the top 30 Facebook apps. Over 1,700,000 users signed up in just six weeks, and have sent over 4M StickyNotes to date. They are working on several other Facebook apps in related areas. Cost Per Action advertising generating $30K per month. They will also use CPM and CPC in the future. Two developers, cash flow positive, not seeking funding at this time.

Search-To-Phone - Find local products and services by calling Search To Phone. Leave a voice mail asking about a product or service. The request is then routed to relevant local businesses, who respond back to you with information or an offer. SearchToPhone uses Microsoft's TellMe and Gold Systems technologies for voice recognition. They have just signed a deal with Excell Services to process 10 million calls. Ready to launch, looking for more partners, and a small investment.

Villij - A people recommendation engine that analyzes your online content, blogs, and bookmarks to find people of similar interests. When you register for Villij you are presented with a list of social networks, blogs, and websites. You check off the sites you use. Your profile on these sites is compared to other members to find profiles of people like you. Advertising and subscription model. Seeking $500K.

MadKast - A new way to share (push) blog posts with friends. It is a widget that can be placed on a blog to allow readers to send the blog post via email, mobile MMS, or social bookmarking networks, to friends in their network. MadKast also has a widget distribution network for other widgets, and they are working on a blog analytics service. Currently in use on 350 blogs, including Brad Feld, and mine. See the green MadKast icon next to the title of this post. Advertising revenue share model, split with bloggers, They will also charge a premium for the analytics package. Seeking $300K.

FiltrBox - A content filtering service that finds relevant content (blogs, news sites, and other web sites) and delivers it to you via RSS, email, and text messaging. Filtrbox uses topics, keywords, and context to rank relevant content.  There are sliders to adjust the sensitivity or depth of information to filter and retrieve. There is a "thumbs up / thumbs down" voting system to help refine your filter. The system learns what you like. Seeking $500K.

KBLabs - Developers of Facebook apps and widgets. They launched their first application (Wah! Cool) 4 weeks ago. They already have 100,000 users and 1.5 million page views per week. They have built several other apps called Post Secrets, Motivate Me, and Track Bot. Each of these apps has more than 4,000 users and is growing over 100% per week. Advertising model. Not currently seeking funding. KBLabs founders are going back to college this Fall, but will do consulting projects building Facebook apps.

BrightKite - Location Based Notifications via email, IM or SMS. The notifications are all about location or what they call "place-streaming". Streaming content about a "place" from a "place".  Alerts you when friends are nearby, or about great deals at nearby businesses, movie listings, etc. It could be used for conferences, events, bars, parties, or public places. BrightKite is also a platform for other location based apps from third party developers. Advertising model. Seeking $500K.

Blog Action Day for the environment: October 15th

Blog Action Day is an awareness event to promote environmental awareness.

On October 15th, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind - the environment. Every blogger will post about the environment in their own way and relating to their own topic. Our aim is to get everyone talking towards a better future.

Blog Action Day is about MASS participation.

There are many great places to find information on the web about the environment:

• Treehugger - Easily the best environmental blog on the web, Treehugger has a great section called How to Go Green as well as tons of other useful stuff. It's manned by some 40 writers around the world and contains no less than 14,000 posts!
• Wikipedia's list of environmental issues - With enough links to keep you busy for hours, Wikipedia should easily set you off on your environmental web travels.
• Digg's Popular Environment Stories - lists tons of popular posts and articles on all sorts of subjects. Looking forward to seeing some Blog Action Day posts appearing here and on reddit on October 15th!
• Green TV - If you need visual stimulation, Green TV has a lot of videos to get you going, divided up into channels of content, it is eminently watchable.
• We can live green - A lot of things boil down to practicality and We Can Live Green will help you find actual products and consumables that are environmentally friendly.
• IMDB's Highest Rated Environmental Movies and Documentaries - Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth isn't the only environmental DVD to watch, check out IMDB's list of features ordered by user ratings.

Phil Burns & The Daily Spike

Phil Burns is something of a self styled geek, but even I was taken aback by just how far he'd gone with the launch of his new persona as a superhero from the internet for his DailySpike.com.

Phil seems to have been fairly stable when I've met him in the past, but his new job smuggling grapes past the Cylons has me arching an eyebrow.

Phil's been posting about the loss of privacy in China and elsewhere but it looks as though Phil may be more of a techsabitionist than anything else. That spandex doesn't provide much privacy protection if you ask me. It makes me wonder about Phil's history as a wrestling coach. I hope never to see The Daily Spike.

It seems that old hackers like Phil don't die. The just loose any fashion sense at all. I' guess the revert to the way they dressed in high school.

And, no, Phil will not be allowed to wear this getup to Fight Club... unless Ryan Money's willing to dress the same way.

Funding Univers & Angel Investing

 5280 Angel asks about the slew of companies trying to connect Entrepreneurs and Angels.

I've got a fair amount of experience with one of these businesses, Funding Universe. I know most of the management team and founders and have attended a number of the events they host. I must say that the events are far and away the best thing Funding Universe has going on and I, like 5280 here, have a slightly negative reaction in looking a web sites alone. However, at least Funding Universe, has their 'speed dating' events that I know have resulted in a number of companies getting funded.. by angels. (I'm not sure if they've had any VC success although I know they've hosted some events in CA.)

The speed pitch works remarkably well in a number of ways. The room is set up so that investors sit on the outside of a ring of tables. The companies change tables and have seven minutes to pitch the (usually four) potential investors. The investors have 'cheat sheets' about each company and can give some feedback to the entrepreneurs.

There have been duds. But, it's a good way to see ten deals over lunch.

I'd certainly be much more leery of a stand alone site that didn't have this kind of event.