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October 31, 2007

Google to Launch OpenSocial Social Networking Platform

In a direct response to the Facebook applications platform, Google will announce the OpenSocial platform on Thursday.

OpenSocial is a consortium of key players in the social networking and on-demand application space. In addition to Google’s Orkut, the initial launch partners will include LinkedIn, Salesforce.com, Ning, Hi5, Friendster, Viadeo and Oracle.

OpenSocial will consist of a set of common APIs which will be used across all of the above platforms. The three common APIs will cover the following areas:

Profile information (user information)
Friends information (the social graph)
Activities (similar to Facebook news and mini feeds)

Developers can build applications using javascript, html and flash; there is no proprietary markup language like Facebook’s FBML. Also, unlike Facebook, where the Facebook platform is the only container, any social network can be an open container for these apps. Marc Andreesen, Ning founder, has more on why he feels this is the next big leap forward.

This is a big step for the social networking space. Facebook was a big first step, but most (all?) of the apps built for Facebook to-date have been entertainment focused. While some of the partners here are consumer (Hi5, Orkut, Friendster), this opens up some critical business platforms like LinkedIn and Salesforce for the development of b2b apps.

The following links are due to go live on Thursday:
http://code.google.com/apis/opensocial (technical docs)
http://sandbox.orkut.com/ (sandbox to test apps)

For more on OpenSocial, check out Techmeme, O’Reilly Radar, TechCrunch and the New York Times.

Meanwhile, Dave Winer takes a contrarian position. As he points out:

Standards devised by one tech company whose main purpose is to undermine another tech company, usually don't work.

Barry Graubart on October 31, 2007 in Social Media, social media, Technology, user generated content, Web 2.0 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Facebook, Friendster, Google, Hi5, LinkedIn, Ning, OpenSocial, Orkut, Salesforce, Social Networks

October 25, 2007

Calling Content & Technology Startups

The SIIA is accepting submissions to present at the Previews day at the SIIA Information Industry Summit.

Previews, held the day before the general conference, provides an opportunity for startups to present to a mix of VCs, content companies and technology providers.

Last year, Previews featured three groups of companies:

Content Creators, featuring Generate, Near-Time, Eurekster and Decision Tree Media
Content Delivery Companies including Pando Networks, Inform Technologies and Dragonfly
Content Protectors, with Attributor, iCopyright and Cranium Networks

There was also a panel on deal trends and a keynote by Union Square Ventures' Fred Wilson.

The Previews day tends to showcase the more innovative and interesting emerging companies in the content and technology space. For more information or to submit your company for consideration, visit the SIIA Previews page.

Barry Graubart on October 25, 2007 in Content Business, Events, Technology | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: SIIA Previews

Facebook Deal - Winners and Losers

The final terms of the Facebook deal - it's a $240 million investment by Microsoft for a 1.6% stake in the company.

So, who are the biggest winners and losers in the Facebook deal?

Winners
Well, Microsoft is clearly a winner. The ultimate investment of $240 million is modest from a cash standpoint and allows Microsoft to sell Facebook's European traffic (which today is largely UK) in addition to the current U.S. traffic. It also helps them retain their relevancy in the Internet advertising market and keeps Google from displacing them from their advertising partnership.

Facebook, of course, is the big winner. The company, who turned down a rumored $1.5 billion deal for the entire company now gets a valuation of $15 billion placed on them. Meanwhile, the $240 million investment should be more than adequate to cover their growth until an anticipated 2009 IPO.

Accel Partners is a big winner as their initial $12.7 million investment now goes on their books with a $1.65 billion valuation.

Mark Zuckerberg, of course, sees his 20% share of the Company now worth about $3 billion. That's about $300,000 for each day that the 23-year old founder has been alive.

Losers
Google should be considered a loser, though only slightly. I don't think that this is a significant loss for them, but it's rare to see them lose out on a deal. It will be interesting to see their strategy for the social networking market in the coming year.

Yahoo may be the biggest loser of all. They had pursued Facebook long before the others got involved and had made what at the time, seemed a significant offer. Social networks like Facebook pose the greatest threat to the traffic of portals like Yahoo, so this has to be considered a huge loss to them.

Barry Graubart on October 25, 2007 in Content Business, Social Media, social media, Web 2.0 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Facebook, Google, Microsoft, social networking, Yahoo

October 24, 2007

The Facebook Winner: It's Microsoft

According to CNET, Microsoft has won it's battle with Google for the chance to invest in Facebook. The site indicates that the deal would include a direct investment in the company and an expansion of their current advertising partnership.

Meanwhile, the WSJ reports that the investment is for $250 million, a fraction of the $750 million to $1.5 billion range floated by the Post this morning.

At that price, Microsoft appears to be the clear winner, shooting down the hypothesis floated by Henry Blodget earlier today. At $250 million, this deal should make Microsoft a clear winner. Under their existing partnership, Microsoft has the right to sell banner ads on Facebook's U.S. site through 2011. This deal should expand that partnership to international sites, and prove that Microsoft remains a key player in the Internet advertising market. It will be interesting to hear Facebook's rationale for the decision; at that price, it's clear that Microsoft didn't outbid Google; the Facebook team must have decided that they prefer Microsoft as their long-term partner.

Barry Graubart on October 24, 2007 in Content Business, Social Media, social media, user generated content, Web 2.0 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (1)

Technorati Tags: Facebook, M&A, Microsoft, MSFT

Microsoft, Google Await Facebook Decision

Like a cheerleader trying to decide whether to go to the prom with the quarterback or starting point guard, Facebook is expected to decide this week whether to take a significant investment from either Microsoft or Google.

While Yahoo began its courtship of Facebook more than a year ago with an acquisition offer rumored to be in the $1.5 billion range, the NY Post reports that the latest offers are for a 5-10% stake in the company for between $750 million and $1.5 billion. In other words, the valuation has gone up 10x in about a year, to $15 billion.

A month ago, it seemed pretty likely that Microsoft would take a 5% stake for a then-rumored $500 million. However, Google appears to have gotten involved and raised the stakes. As MLB agent Scott Boras has shown, even the appearance of a second suitor can significantly increase the deal terms. According to the Post article, Google has looked to raise the price in an effort to scare off Microsoft, but that the Redmond-based giant has stayed in the game for now.

According to Henry Blodget, either way, Google has won the war. Microsoft needs the Facebook relationship much more than Google does. While social nets have yet to really monetize their traffic, Facebook is today the 7th most visited site and is those visits are taking away from display ad traffic on traditional portals. Assuming the bids are truly comparable, it would seem that Google would be the more attractive partner for Facebook. If nothing else, it will minimize the likelihood of Google deciding to compete against them. Meanwhile, if Microsoft does win, they will have overpaid and probably made other concessions to win the deal:

Because Microsoft will overpay, too--wildly--and won't get much for its money. Facebook will no doubt extract other concessions (great pricing on ad sales, full control, etc.), and then will probably take Microsoft's money and turn its back. So Microsoft will lose that way, too. And Google will do just fine without Facebook.

Barry Graubart on October 24, 2007 in Content Business, Search, Social Media, social media, Web 2.0 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Facebook, Google, M&A, Microsoft, social networking, Yahoo

October 20, 2007

Are Bloggers Journalists?

Declan McCullagh has an interesting piece on the new journalist shield bill which Congress will vote on this week. McCullagh and others have argued that the legislation has been watered down in that it no longer includes personal bloggers, but only professional journalists.

The original draft of the bill included a broad definition of journalist: "a person engaged in journalism and includes a supervisor, employer, parent, subsidiary, or affiliate of such covered person."

The technical definition in the bill is now someone "who regularly gathers, prepares, collects, photographs, records, writes, edits, reports, or publishes news or information that concerns local, national, or international events or other matters of public interest for dissemination to the public for a substantial portion of the person's livelihood or for substantial financial gain and includes a supervisor, employer, parent, subsidiary, or affiliate of such covered person."

As McCullagh points out, under this new definition, a blogger who is a serious blogger and breaks news, but who doesn't get compensated (through Google Ads or otherwise) for their writing would not be covered. CNET's Don Reisinger furthers McCullagh's argument, suggesting that when he began his career, by volunteering, that he met many other credible journalists who were not being paid for their efforts.

I disagree with McCullagh and Reisinger in this case. I write this blog. I also twitter my thoughts from time to time. I also post commentary to Congoo. But I'm an industry participant, not a journalist. And, while I may have "inside information" from time to time, that's not the same as having someone share information with a journalist. I believe that it's critical for us to provide real protection for true journalists to not have to reveal a source in most instances. Yet with the many forms of online communication today, it's a slippery slope to suggest that anyone who posts any content online should have the same protections as a journalist. That loose definition could result in a backlash, where those protections are taken away from those who truly need them.

Barry Graubart on October 20, 2007 in user generated content | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: blogging, CNET, journalist shield

October 18, 2007

Mary Meeker at the Web 2.0 Summit

Morgan Stanley technology analyst Mary Meeker was among the notable speakers at the Web 2.0 Summit.

In her rapid-fire 15-minute presentation, Meeker noted that consumers, not the enterprise, were now driving technology.

While enterprises have driven demand for technology for most of history, consumers were now the #1 users of semiconductors, surpassing IT and government.

Among other key trends Meeker indicated were driving the technology market:
* High demand for consumer Internet-enabled services is driving the demand for technology infrastructure by companies like Yahoo!, eBay, Amazon, Google, iTunes, PayPal, YouTube, Facebook and others.
* Wireless innovation is accelerating, with 3G handset adoption set to double by 2009
* Storage needs continue to ramp with consumers expecting to both connect and carry mobile devices
* Strong data center growth to support today’s technology products
* Enterprises are starting to emerge from their purchasing funk

Towards the close of her presentation, she singled out a group of compelling internet companies: YouTube, Wikipedia, Demand|Media, Slide, Digg, Joost and Facebook. A few key metrics:

YouTube had more than 206 million global uniques in August, up 185% from a year earlier
Wikipedia has 211 million unique visitors and more than 8.3 million pages
Facebook presentation widget Slide has had more than 45 million installs and has 5 million active users
Video-on-demand provider Joost has had more than a million users sign up for its invite-only beta
While Facebook's 69 million visitors is impressive, what's more astounding is that they are now seventh overall in terms of minutes spent on the site (more than 15 billion minutes last month)

Meeker notes that there remained risks to this rosy picture. She suggested that a recession remained a potential challenge and that the spreading crisis of subprime woes should not be underestimated.

Her full presentation is available from the Morgan Stanley Global Technology site.

Barry Graubart on October 18, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Facebook, Mary Meeker, Morgan Stanley, O'Reilly Media, social technology, technology, Web 2.0 Summit

O'Reilly Web 2.0 Summit

I am in New York this week, so am not at O’Reilly’s Web 2.0 Summit. Luckily, it’s pretty easy to follow what’s going on there.
I’ve provided a quick round up below of the highlights.

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg speaks but says little (O’Reilly Radar) while John Battelle tries to get him to commit (Read/Write/Web)

MySpace to open its platform for developers to fend off Facebook (Reuters)

Sequoia Capital’s Mike Moritz disputes the NY Times article that this is just a repeat of the bubble (via AlacraBlog)

Meanwhile, Josh Koppelman reminds us that we’ve talked about the bubble at every Web 2.0 conference for the past four years (Silicon Alley Insider)

CNET twittered the conference, saying wireless connectivity was too spotty for full blog posts

Rupert Murdoch and Chris DeWolfe jointly announce that the MySpace cofounders will be staying with Fox Interactive (Guardian Unlimited)

Tim O’Reilly says “don’t pitch me on your Web 2.0 strategy; we’re focused on the slice of the future that hasn’t yet become evenly distributed”

Barry Graubart on October 18, 2007 in Content Business, Social Media, social media, Technology, user generated content, Web 2.0 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Facebook, MySpace, O'Reilly, Web 2.0

October 16, 2007

Why Donors Choose Works

Last week, I posted about Donors Choose and the Donors Choose Challenge.
One of the things that makes Donors Choose so attractive is the ability to earmark your donation to a specific project for a specific school. The project that I chose to fund was Bridging the Technology Gap in an Urban School. This was to fund the purchase of a multimedia projector for a 5th grade school located in the South Bronx.

Just today, I received an email from Mrs. Carfiro, the teacher who had submitted the request:

Dear Mr. Graubart,

Thank you very much for funding our proposal. My students are going to be very excited about the new technology we will bring bringing into our lessons. This couldn't have come at a better time, as we are beginning to prepare for the NY State Social Studies Test. With this projector I can now make test preparation more fun and interactive. I can't wait to let my student know that they will have their own personal projector for us to use. On behalf of my students, I thank you. Sincerely, Ms. Carfiro

So, in a matter of about two weeks, I was able to identify a project which I wanted to fund, make a donation targeted specifically to that project, and get confirmation from the teacher that their project had been fully funded. When you compare that to the traditional model of donating to an organization and hoping your dollars make an impact, there's no comparison.

If you haven't yet reached out, go to Fred Wilson's Donors Choose Challenge page and make a donation. You'll be glad that you did.

Barry Graubart on October 16, 2007 in General Business, Technology | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Donors Choose

October 15, 2007

Will Politics or the Purse Drive Fox Business Channel?

The new Fox Business Channel goes live today.
Ken Doctor has an interesting post - nine questions on the launch of Fox Business Network.

It will be interesting to see how Fox approaches this, particularly in advance of the WSJ deal closing. Will Fox Business Channel be more like the news content of the Journal? Or will it become more like their editorial page?

Barry Graubart on October 15, 2007 in Content Business, General Business | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Fox Business Channel, News Corp

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