Category Archives: (e-)Business
Web 2.0 for The Uninitiated (or Ignorant)
The term “Web 2.0″ is (and has been for a while) one of the most over-used and misunderstood phrases in business. I always get a chuckle when someone says they are “all about web 2.0″, when in actuality, they have no clue what it even means. They often use it to represent the “generic comeback” …
Time for a New “Black Friday” Yardstick?
According to the latest news reports, consumer spending on “Black Friday” was up 5% from 2005. The only exception being Walmart, which didn’t have much in the way of positive news. Same-store sales in November were far below their already soft forecasts. Then of course, there was the debacle with Walmart.com’s web site practically being …
Five Reasons Why Georgia is Ripe for a Gaming Explosion
What you don’t know about the video game industry just might surprise you. Generating revenues in excess of $10B in 2005, it has well eclipsed the $9B Hollywood film industry. What if I told you that the conditions were ripe for an explosion in this sector in Georgia?
Scattered, Smothered, and Covered
If you are from the south, you more than likely not only instantly recognize the unofficial Waffle House mantra of “Scattered, Smothered, and Covered”, but you probably also know what it means. Today’s entrepreneurial lesson is brought to you (unofficially, of course) by Waffle House. In today’s lesson, we will learn how not to bring …
Quasi-Death of a Web 2.0 Play
As the world moves merrily along towards roughly Web 2.26beta (by my calculations), we are seeing the beginning (I think) of the thinning of the ranks with existing Web 2.0 plays. I received an email the other day from the folks at Fruitcast. Fruitcast is/was a play that catered to providing integrated audio ads for …
Offshoring for Startups
It was bound to happen sooner or later. It was only a matter of time before the subject of offshoring came up here at The Pothole. In today’s ramblings, I’d like to share my thoughts on offshoring from the startup or small business perspective. Do real savings exist, and is it worth it?
Community Monetization: Name Your Own Subscription
One of the biggest challenges in operating a community-based web site also happens to be one of the age-old mysteries of the Internet: how can you monetize the site? You’ve got great content, and a growing base of members, but where is the cash? In this article, I’ll describe a rather unique method I patterned loosely after the Priceline.com model.
Mornin’ Cup: Web 2.0 Search Overload
My friend Matt McCall, the guru of Chicago early-stage investing for Draper Fisher Jurvetson/Portage Ventures, just posted an interesting piece on Web 2.0 and searching, and how people are beginning to become overwhelmed with information.
Mornin’ Cup: Can Web 2.0 Save the Exchange?
I was having a cup o’ Joe with a good friend of mine yesterday (after moderating a panel on business blogging over at the 400 Technology Connection), and the subject of B2B exchanges came up. Since we had just attended a discussion around blogging, we wondered whether or not the new iteration of the web (so-called Web 2.0) could provide the much needed ingredient for the continued resurgence of the online exchange model.
Mornin’ Cup: Dead End Job
The story of how my friend was offered perhaps the worst job in the entire IT industry.