Can the cell phone change the world?

/ Robert Pease / 3 Comments

I wrote some time ago about effective teledensity and why you should care about it.  I continue to be intrigued about the impact connectivity and communication can have on economic development and wanted to share this article from Popular Science entitled "Will Cellphones Save the World?"

"Within a year and a half, half the world will use cellphones, predict analysts, and with the bulk of new users emerging from developing nations, the question of what phones can do for their owners has never before had such potentially world-changing answers."

Mobile devices will gain more and more computing power and more communication capabilities as the technology evolves and its pretty cool to think that this could not only improve people's lives but level the playing field a bit more between developed and developing countries.

A candid VC conversation

/ Robert Pease / Leave a comment

This is a good interview with Bob Ackerman of Allegis Capital by Robert Scoble.  I'm biased but I like the operating perspective in VCs.  If life takes me that direction at some point, I look forward to applying some of the lessons learned by living long sales cycles, struggling to come up with the right positioning, suffering through a destructive change of mind by a 'strategic partner' or putting a buggy product in the hands of the first customer. 

You don't get that perspective in an investment bank or through an HBS case study.  Who knows, maybe the pendulum swings back towards operating vets as Bob discusses here.  A bit long (30-ish minutes) but worth the time.

http://twistage.fastcompany.tv/plugins/player.swf?v=3aec989158ffd&p=scobleizer-tv_fctv_social

Getting involved in my local government

/ Robert Pease / Leave a comment

I received a call from the Kirkland Mayor on Friday and got the word – I am the newest member of the Parking Advisory Board working with the City Council on parking related issues here in Kirkland.

Here's the link to Thursday night's agenda.  I had a short interview at City Hall where I had the opportunity to meet all the members of the City Council as well as the Mayor.  What qualifies me for this position?  Other than the fact that I live here, have parked a car before, and really care about my community, I'm not sure.  Our communities are only as great as the people who give their time to make them so and I was done standing on the sidelines. 

I have no doubt that parking questions are related to other questions about the development and growth of this city so I look forward to getting started.  I'll keep you posted as I learn more.

Congrats to TA McCann on the launch of Gist

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Gist

I'm very excited about the launch of Gist here in Seattle.  I have known CEO TA McCann for many years dating back to some time spent working together at MessageGate.  I have also been providing some advice and feedback as the company has gotten closer to formally launching so I am biased in my enthusiasm for what they are doing.  The company has gotten some great initial local buzz:

Xconomy Seattle:  Getting the Gist of Gist, from Entrepreneur T.A. McCann
Northwest Innovation:  Interview with T.A. McCann, Gist
John Cook Venture Blog (formerly of the Seattle PI)

I have seen the side of trying to track, monitor, and control email during time spent at MessageGate and Orchestria from a security and compliance perspective and at the core of it all were people just trying to do their jobs.  Gist is about the individual and helping them combine email and web-based content to be better at doing their jobs.  It does this by combining the best of messaging, search, and personal feeds to help build relationships.  There are lots of companies focusing on rethinking the inbox like Xobni and I have stated previously that this is valuable but doesn't address the entire problem.

I encourage you to register for the private beta and take it for a spin.  I know they are working to process all the requests they have received as well as to improve the product based on the feedback they are getting.  I'll post some additional thoughts as I use it more on a daily basis.

An early example of how I used it was when a friend's company acquired a company and I was alerted to it not by a keyword alert email or actually receiving the press release but by that bit of news being brought to my attention because we trade emails (that's how I knew Jim).  Pretty cool, huh?

Embrace the backlist

/ Robert Pease / Leave a comment

I read this post from Seth Godin last week and it has continued to be on the mind since.  It is framed around how frequently you should publish be it personal (ie blog) or professional (ie company news/updates).  The notion of a "frontlist" and a "backlist" relates to the type of content that is created and where that content resides.

Seth's definitions:

"Frontlist means the new releases, the hits, the stuff that fanboys are looking for or paying attention to."

"Backlist doesn't show up in the news, but Google is 95% backlist. So is Amazon."

If you embrace the Long Tail concept, this will make sense.  If not, then here is my attempt at simplification.  The frontlist is what, traditionally, the target of PR efforts has been focused on – the front page of the WSJ, a CNN interview, etc.  The backlist is the rest of the discussion generally fed and guided by the frontlist but is a place where the conversation takes place about you – self-generated or otherwise.

Fear

/ Robert Pease / Leave a comment

is upon us.  Asian market are down big as of right now and tomorrow should be another crazy day here in the US.  Everybody calm down as this is all part of the ride and the time to remind yourself that you are (hopefully) a long-term investor.

Where did my capitalism go?

/ Robert Pease / Leave a comment

Bear Stearns "soft landing" at JP Morgan Chase with US Gov backing

US Gov bailout of Fannie & Freddie

An active US Gov hand in Merrill Lynch joining Bank of America (led by a Southerner no less!)

And now a mondo $85 billion US Gov loan to AIG for an 80% stake (via warrants)

Lehman Brothers got nada because they apparently hadn't done enough damage and now Barclay's is picking up a few select pieces.

Man, I sure am glad we have free markets here.  Oh wait…

Which leads me to the conclusion that yes, things are/were that bad.

Wall Street refugees wanted

/ Robert Pease / Leave a comment

Thought this was cool and falls into the 'make lemonade out of lemons' category (via Redeye VC): 

www.leavewallstreetjoinastartup.com

Some of the best technical folks I have ever had the privilege of selling to and working with work at these firms and they are, to make an understatement, in turmoil. 

If any of you guys or gals are interested in ditching Manhattan for Seattle, let me know and I'll help you make some connections.  We could use the addition to the brainpower out here.