Reader Question: OpenSocial vs. FB/MySpace/LinkedIn

Q: Is OpenSocial going to really open up the social graph and enable new social nets to provide solutions to users w/o forcing them to recreate their networks? Or will FB/MyS/LinkedIn maintain a lock? Posted by rr A: Hi RR, apologies for the delayed response on this (I try to turn all questions around w/i continue…

Investment Thesis: Ideas Drill-Down

This is the third installment in a series. For context, here are links to the prior two posts:– Investment Thesis Envy– Investment Thesis: The Basics This one will focus on the beliefs and assumptions I use to evaluate the content of an investment opportunity (independent of the people behind it, or the price at which continue…

Askablogr Question: Site Redesign Ships Today

Q: Hey Chris, are you happy with the new Askablogr design? Posted by Craig Huizenga A: Hi Craig, thanks for asking. Tomorrow’s the 2-month anniversary of Askablogr’s initial release, and our visual experience still looked like my original wireframes (which is pretty much where it came from). Thankfully, one of our team members from Judy’s continue…

Investment Thesis: The Basics

Per my recent post introducing the topic, this is the first installment in a series in which I plan to put in writing the themes and heuristics behind my early stage investing activity. For this first post, my goal is just to categorize and ‘bucket’ the major themes. In subsequent posts, I’ll pick up each continue…

Investment Thesis Envy

Some of my favorite blogger-investors have posted recently on the whys and wherefores behind their investment approach, including Fred Wilson on his latest fund at Union Square, Brad Feld on the launch of Foundry Group, and Paul Graham on what sets Y Combinator apart from traditional VC. While each of these three has a slightly continue…

Shakespeare and Eliot Spitzer

I almost feel bad for piling on to the avalanche of finger-waggling in Eliot Spitzer’s direction, but when I read the New York Times’ coverage on the story this morning I couldn’t get Shakespeare out of my head: “For ’tis sport to have the engineer/ Hoist with his own petar….” – Hamlet, Act III, Scene continue…

Watch Out for the Bus

I had a meeting yesterday with a friend and colleague whose mom recently died at the relatively young age of 64. As we were talking he also shared that his dad had suffered a debilitating stroke just six weeks after he retired. Coincidentally, on my way into the meeting my mom forwarded me a poem continue…