Yesterday an international police operation resulted in the shutdown of MegaUpload and the arrest of at least four MegaUpload employees in Auckland, New Zealand. This action resulted in a large scale DDoS attack by the group known as Anonymous on web sites including the MPAA, RIAA, DoJ and even the White House. While I don’t have time today for a full scale analysis here are some salient point: 1. The fact that this shutdown and the arrests were possible shows quite clearly that existing laws...

Yesterday an international police operation resulted in the shutdown of MegaUpload and the arrest of at least four MegaUpload employees in Auckland, New Zealand. This action resulted in a large scale DDoS attack by the group known as Anonymous on web sites including the MPAA, RIAA, DoJ and even the White House. While I don’t have time today for a full scale analysis here are some salient point: 1. The fact that this shutdown and the arrests were possible shows quite clearly that existing laws...

Yesterday (Wednesday, January 18), has a good chance as being remembered as the day that the Internet first truly showed its political clout in the US. So far we have largely pointed at events abroad when discussing the Internet’s potential to shift power. Web sites and services large and small (including Continuations) either forcefully alerted their users to the problems with SOPA/PIPA or blacked themselves out entirely. At the 12th hour even Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg took a (by now very s...

Yesterday (Wednesday, January 18), has a good chance as being remembered as the day that the Internet first truly showed its political clout in the US. So far we have largely pointed at events abroad when discussing the Internet’s potential to shift power. Web sites and services large and small (including Continuations) either forcefully alerted their users to the problems with SOPA/PIPA or blacked themselves out entirely. At the 12th hour even Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg took a (by now very s...

Last week’s overview of “How the Web Works” introduced the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) as the fundamental way things are addressed on the web. Before we pick apart some actual URLs, it is worth looking at the name itself. The promise behind “Uniform” is that this addressing scheme can be used across all kinds of resources and that explains why URLs are so powerful - they can be used to address content such as a blog but also services such as the Twilio telephony API. On the web a blog entr...

Last week’s overview of “How the Web Works” introduced the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) as the fundamental way things are addressed on the web. Before we pick apart some actual URLs, it is worth looking at the name itself. The promise behind “Uniform” is that this addressing scheme can be used across all kinds of resources and that explains why URLs are so powerful - they can be used to address content such as a blog but also services such as the Twilio telephony API. On the web a blog entr...

Our portfolio company Covestor today rolled out a tremendous overhaul of their web presence. The goal was to dramatically simplify Covestor’s message to make it easier for that message to spread and to improve conversion. The team has done an amazing job with a process that used extensive quantitative and qualitative research into consumer reactions to inform the redesign. While it’s too soon to tell how well they will hit their numeric goals, my immediate reaction to the new site is: wow! I ...

Our portfolio company Covestor today rolled out a tremendous overhaul of their web presence. The goal was to dramatically simplify Covestor’s message to make it easier for that message to spread and to improve conversion. The team has done an amazing job with a process that used extensive quantitative and qualitative research into consumer reactions to inform the redesign. While it’s too soon to tell how well they will hit their numeric goals, my immediate reaction to the new site is: wow! I ...

In the middle of 2010 we started to seriously consider moving back to New York City. At the time one of the considerations was that it would be possible to experiment with homeschooling the kids. I am excited to report that we are doing both. We have a place in Chelsea that is a short walk from the Union Square Ventures office and almost as importantly around the corner from Murray’s Bagels. We are also homeschooling our kids for at least the next six months. Now the “we” here shouldn’t be re...

In the middle of 2010 we started to seriously consider moving back to New York City. At the time one of the considerations was that it would be possible to experiment with homeschooling the kids. I am excited to report that we are doing both. We have a place in Chelsea that is a short walk from the Union Square Ventures office and almost as importantly around the corner from Murray’s Bagels. We are also homeschooling our kids for at least the next six months. Now the “we” here shouldn’t be re...

One of the nearly routine items at startup board meetings is the discussion and ratification of option grants for new employees and possibly refresh grants for existing employees. Too often unfortunately this information is presented to the board in a way that requires way more time than should be necessary because critical pieces are missing. Here is what you should always include as a bare minimum when presenting option grants to the board 1. Employee name 2. Title/role at company 3. Absolu...

One of the nearly routine items at startup board meetings is the discussion and ratification of option grants for new employees and possibly refresh grants for existing employees. Too often unfortunately this information is presented to the board in a way that requires way more time than should be necessary because critical pieces are missing. Here is what you should always include as a bare minimum when presenting option grants to the board 1. Employee name 2. Title/role at company 3. Absolu...

Last July I had predicted that Google would go all in by bundling Google+ aggressively with search and that is exactly what was just announced yesterday with Search, plus Your World. The “plus Your World” part right now refers “your world on Google” as only Google+ profiles, posts and shared images are included and not content from Twitter, Facebook or others. John Batelle’s capture this well in his aptly titled “Search, Plus Your World, As Long As It’s Our World.” Also worth reading are Dann...

Last July I had predicted that Google would go all in by bundling Google+ aggressively with search and that is exactly what was just announced yesterday with Search, plus Your World. The “plus Your World” part right now refers “your world on Google” as only Google+ profiles, posts and shared images are included and not content from Twitter, Facebook or others. John Batelle’s capture this well in his aptly titled “Search, Plus Your World, As Long As It’s Our World.” Also worth reading are Dann...

As promised at the end of last year’s Tech Tuesday, we are starting this year with a cycle on how the web works. Just as a reminder, Tech Tuesday’s aim is to require no previous knowledge other than what has been covered before. So this overview may be trivial for some readers but I wanted to make sure to bring everyone along. Let’s assume you have fired up your favorite web browser. Now you type the address “dailylit.com” into the address bar (if you always go to web sites by typing their na...

As promised at the end of last year’s Tech Tuesday, we are starting this year with a cycle on how the web works. Just as a reminder, Tech Tuesday’s aim is to require no previous knowledge other than what has been covered before. So this overview may be trivial for some readers but I wanted to make sure to bring everyone along. Let’s assume you have fired up your favorite web browser. Now you type the address “dailylit.com” into the address bar (if you always go to web sites by typing their na...

At first, I was surprised to see a New York Times OpEd by Vint Cerf with the title “Internet Access Is Not a Human Right." But once I started to read I began to understand the point that Cerf was trying to make. It comes out clearest in the sentence "technology is an enabler of rights, not a right itself” which in modified form is also part of our investment thesis at Union Square Ventures. We don’t invest in technology per se, but what that technology allows startups to build. That’s an impo...

At first, I was surprised to see a New York Times OpEd by Vint Cerf with the title “Internet Access Is Not a Human Right." But once I started to read I began to understand the point that Cerf was trying to make. It comes out clearest in the sentence "technology is an enabler of rights, not a right itself” which in modified form is also part of our investment thesis at Union Square Ventures. We don’t invest in technology per se, but what that technology allows startups to build. That’s an impo...

We are lucky to be starting the year with a few more days of family vacation with friends. In other words: the things that really matter. I have also been mostly off the grid for almost 10 days and will stay off for through the end of Thursday the 5th. I did the same last year and am happy with how it has let me reflect on the year past and prepare for next year. The regular scheduled programming on Continuations will resume on Monday January 9th. Until then: all the best for 2012!

We are lucky to be starting the year with a few more days of family vacation with friends. In other words: the things that really matter. I have also been mostly off the grid for almost 10 days and will stay off for through the end of Thursday the 5th. I did the same last year and am happy with how it has let me reflect on the year past and prepare for next year. The regular scheduled programming on Continuations will resume on Monday January 9th. Until then: all the best for 2012!