I’ll be in Hawaii during the Washington primaries, so I filled out my absentee ballot last weekend — to make it short, I voted for Obama. I think we’d actually be well-served with Hillary, McCain or Barack, but I’m most inspired by Obama. At the same time, I also think he’s the biggest risk — that he may prove unable to effect change. But, I’m ready to put my support behind a new vision, much as I believe in the power of visionary entrepreneurial leaders (Jobs, Bezos, Gates, Page, etc.) to build great lasting brands out of the ether.
How does everyone know it’s my Birthday?
No, this isn’t a plea for gifts, but heck, if you’re so inclined, please opt for my Amazon Wish List, and not Facebook Virtual Gifts 😉
Purpose for this post is yet another observation that Social Networking has arrived. In the past, I was always the guy who remembered everyone’s birthday, by keeping track of the information in my calendar. Those days are over! Today I’ve been inundated with e-cards, email birthday greetings, phone calls, and even text-message/IM good tidings! Somewhere in the last 365 days, the world’s changed in a massive way, and everyone’s starting to hop on the social train.
I almost feel like there’s been this incredibly slow traction graph working for the last 9+ years, with websites collecting our information, and actually making very little use of it. But now, a ‘perfect storm of social networking’ is upon us, and with the mashup abilities and information/profile sharing, we’re starting to see the very beginnings of the benefits of the enter once/appear everywhere phenomenon.
I really look forward to the next few years, and seeing how it unfolds in unexpected ways. Of course, I can’t believe that I only have 365 more days until I enter my 40’s — acck!
Is MySpace dead? Or, just with my world?
I got an invitation to join a MySpace group today. Of course, it turned out to be spam. But, it made realize how nonexistent MySpace has become for me. I never get any mail notices, invites and it rarely comes up in conversation at all. Of course, it’s all Facebook, all the time. Is Facebook really the end-game? Probably not, but it’s incredible how quickly the game shifted to MySpace, and then to Facebook, rendering MySpace irrelevant to my peer group.
Do you use MySpace at all? Did you ever? If you stopped, what was the main reason?
Funny, because it isn’t like MySpace has gone away… it’s just become increasingly less relevant for many of us
Avvo’s Baiting the Shark(s)
Last week saw the launch of another stuctured database play, and I love it. This one is Seattle’s Avvo founded by a cadre of Expedia expats — it’s goal is to help consumers by creating an easy way to “Find the Right Lawyer” for their needs. They do this primarily by gathering a bunch of information including (a) years licensed to practice, (b) infractions, if any (c) reviews from peers and customers and other bunches of information. They then use this, in a black-box style, to generate a ‘rating’ (ala Zillow’s oft-discussed Zestimate)
So… who wouldn’t like such a wealth of information, you ask? Hmmm… let’s think about that one… hmmm… I’m just stumped. Wait… wait… I have a guess… maybe “Lawyers with Dubious Pasts, Alex?” Bingo, you get the prize, fella!
So, within days of launch, Avvo’s being threatened with a Class Action Lawsuit by a John Henry Browne — he’s an attorney with a slightly low Avvo rating — it looks like that’s being influenced by an Admonition from August of 2005 where was scolded for overcharging a client.
Now, there are probably many legitimate reasons for that overcharge, and I can’t believe that any of Mr. Browne’s loyal clients would leave him because of it, if he could explain those reasons. But, I think it’s totally legitimate for this information to be available — else, how can unassuming customers make truly informed decisions? It’s akin to “trusting a car salesman”, isn’t it?
All I can say is, “Go Avvo“, “Go Redfin“, “Go Underdogs!” — keep shaking up those unquestionable practices!
p.s. This lawsuit threat is another example of “there is no bad PR”. Not only is John Henry Browne going to blast his past out for all to see and look like a litigious lawyer (which consumers detest), but it’s going to make Avvo look like the white knight… awesome!
Seattle Startup Open Coffee Club
Great turnout today at the Seattle Open Coffee Club for startup networking and java juice — really enjoyed hearing about ideas being pursued. Thanks to Judy’s Book CEO Andy Sack for organizing this burgeoning group — Seattle needs more of these types of things!