http://punctuative.com Wed, 26 Mar 2008 04:20:22 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I've been thinking about two competing online ad trends: 1) Advertisers/publishers are getting better and better at targeting ads. 2) Consumers are getting better and better at ignoring ads. Targeting improvements have come on multiple fronts.  Advertisers have an increasing understanding of who is consuming content, in what context, and ... http://punctuative.com/2008/03/25/between-warring-ad-trends-targeting-prevails/ A friend introduced me to a noteworthy line of thinking recently.  It went something like this: "There are two types of entrepreneurs in this world: alpha entrepreneurs and beta entrepreneurs.  Alpha entrepreneurs are the guys that are naturally risk tolerant, even irrational dreamers; they're charismatic and marshal folks around ... http://punctuative.com/2008/03/23/two-types-of-entrepreneur-alpha-and-beta/ This whole Spitzer hullabaloo has me thinking about legacy.  The New York Times put up an interactive timeline, "Milestones in an Ambitious Career," that curtly sums the New York Governor's key career moments into a few pictures and captions.  Here's the headlining snippet: "Eliot Spitzer's journey from Harvard ... http://punctuative.com/2008/03/15/imprinting-a-legacy/ Somehow the concept of transparency made its way into both my lunch and dinner conversations yesterday. It's a worn topic, really, usually focused on privacy concerns and reputation (for the individual) or business opportunity, competitive pressure, or again, reputation (for the enterprise).   At dinner, though, with a good friend, ... http://punctuative.com/2008/01/23/put-your-blinders-on-when-it-comes-to-peer-review/ I've heard famed inventor Ray Kurzweil give his "Acceleration of Innovation" talk twice now and each time he tickled the audience with a rather fantastic notion: live another 20 years or so, and you'll live forever. Recently, the concept has received some business press: first in Portfolio's "Never Say ... http://punctuative.com/2008/01/19/word-play-longevity-escape-velocity/ In the vein of napkin-drawn business plans, enjoy this index card argument for exercising your inner child, courtesy of Jessica Hagy: An analysis: Heaps of imagination at a startup yields heaps of money. Or is it heaps of imagination and heaps of money yield a startup? Presumably the ... http://punctuative.com/2008/01/06/index-card-startup-humor-4/ "So you want to be a venture capitalist?"* A number of my colleagues have posted discussions of how to find such work. It's worth perusing the thoughts of: Charlie O'Donnell, Seth Levine (reprinted at Ask The VC), Vineet Buch, Fred Wilson, and Praveen Sahay. But with friends tackling the ... http://punctuative.com/2007/12/08/venture-capital-job-search-toolkit/ There's an old college admissions question that goes something like this: "Is it better for my kid to get a B in the advanced math class or an A in the standard track?" Well, it's better to get an A in the advanced math class, the admissions officer will ... http://punctuative.com/2007/12/02/build-something-big-and-clear/ At DrJays, I remember feeling surprised when mainstream publications printed material that demonstrated blatant misunderstanding of the industry. More seasoned folks in the room shrugged. We were relatively "under the radar" anyway, and quietly benefiting from some decent market trends. (Lesson: misunderstanding breeds opportunity.) So when, in the unfortunately ... http://punctuative.com/2007/11/27/the-lighter-side-venture-capital-in-the-movies/ In recent weeks, I've been chatting a bunch with peers that are looking to raise money for their businesses. It's been an instructive experience in many ways, but first and foremost it's driven home the need for talking points. We'd all like to think that we can walk into ... http://punctuative.com/2007/11/27/talking-points-for-entrepreneurs-beyond-the-elevator-pitch/