I have written previously about unemployment and structural change in the economy, arguing that we are facing a particularly bad outlook for employment. The New York Times on Saturday had a good article on this subject that combined some chilling statistics with a couple of stories of individuals suffering the consequences. Probably the most important chart from the article is this: The dramatic growth in long-term unemployment is the surest indicator of structural change. To the extent that ...

I have written previously about unemployment and structural change in the economy, arguing that we are facing a particularly bad outlook for employment. The New York Times on Saturday had a good article on this subject that combined some chilling statistics with a couple of stories of individuals suffering the consequences. Probably the most important chart from the article is this: The dramatic growth in long-term unemployment is the surest indicator of structural change. To the extent that ...

So I am turning 43 today - an age that at one point I considered ancient! Yet in many ways I feel younger today than a decade ago (OK - that does not include my speed for clearing the snow off our driveway). I attribute that to spending so much time with entrepreneurs. It is not just that many of the teams in our portfolio are young, it is that all entrepreneurs seem young in a fundamental way: they have retained their sense of possibility. That sense that the world can be changed, new things...

So I am turning 43 today - an age that at one point I considered ancient! Yet in many ways I feel younger today than a decade ago (OK - that does not include my speed for clearing the snow off our driveway). I attribute that to spending so much time with entrepreneurs. It is not just that many of the teams in our portfolio are young, it is that all entrepreneurs seem young in a fundamental way: they have retained their sense of possibility. That sense that the world can be changed, new things...

I got Google Buzz last night in my gmail account and have started to play around with it a bit. Here are some initial thoughts. First off, I agree with Andrew that the integration of Buzz with Gmail will turn out to be a net positive for adoption at least initially (and if it takes off there is always a way to make it available standalone). Second, this roll out at scale is a very clear example of Google’s impressive infrastructure and how it enables innovation. Buzz is a big service with lot...

I got Google Buzz last night in my gmail account and have started to play around with it a bit. Here are some initial thoughts. First off, I agree with Andrew that the integration of Buzz with Gmail will turn out to be a net positive for adoption at least initially (and if it takes off there is always a way to make it available standalone). Second, this roll out at scale is a very clear example of Google’s impressive infrastructure and how it enables innovation. Buzz is a big service with lot...

If you needed yet another reason to switch from operating your own MTA for transactional email to using a service provider, SendGrid recently introduced a killer feature: reply processing. No more need to send emails from “no-reply@thatsoundsrude.com." Instead, let people take actions simply by replying to emails. This is a feature that I have absolutely loved about disqus from day one: being able to reply to comments by replying to the email I get from disqus. Tons of others should do this. ...

If you needed yet another reason to switch from operating your own MTA for transactional email to using a service provider, SendGrid recently introduced a killer feature: reply processing. No more need to send emails from “no-reply@thatsoundsrude.com." Instead, let people take actions simply by replying to emails. This is a feature that I have absolutely loved about disqus from day one: being able to reply to comments by replying to the email I get from disqus. Tons of others should do this. ...

I was away last week and so am late to the party when it comes to commenting on the fight between Amazon and book publishers. Here are a couple of observations. First, I was surprised it took so long for this fight to start. It is a great example of what I call “fighting over the digital pie." What was most fascinating about it is that none of the publishers even made a mention of how much authors would receive. At present, this is all about trying to support the existing cost structure of pu...

I was away last week and so am late to the party when it comes to commenting on the fight between Amazon and book publishers. Here are a couple of observations. First, I was surprised it took so long for this fight to start. It is a great example of what I call “fighting over the digital pie." What was most fascinating about it is that none of the publishers even made a mention of how much authors would receive. At present, this is all about trying to support the existing cost structure of pu...

Each has more than 100 Million credit cards on file to enable 1-click purchases of content, apps, and virtual goods. When I compare doing anything involving payment on other platforms the experience is cumbersome to the point of being useless. My 10-year old son had no trouble hijacking my Kindle, finding the store and getting a book for himself. And that’s on the Kindle! On his iPod touch he blew through the app budget we had set for the month within the first two days of having it. It will ...

Each has more than 100 Million credit cards on file to enable 1-click purchases of content, apps, and virtual goods. When I compare doing anything involving payment on other platforms the experience is cumbersome to the point of being useless. My 10-year old son had no trouble hijacking my Kindle, finding the store and getting a book for himself. And that’s on the Kindle! On his iPod touch he blew through the app budget we had set for the month within the first two days of having it. It will ...

Yesterday’s “reveal” of the iPad was predictably anti-climactic. With the hype that had built up, anything short of a mind-reading, teleporting device had to be a bit of a letdown. But we are now likely to enter the phase of underestimating the iPad. People are already obsessing about such flaws as the omission of a camera. Or the lack of support for Flash. Or the absence of multi-tasking. These critiques mostly miss a couple of crucial points. First, this is of course extremely similar to th...

Yesterday’s “reveal” of the iPad was predictably anti-climactic. With the hype that had built up, anything short of a mind-reading, teleporting device had to be a bit of a letdown. But we are now likely to enter the phase of underestimating the iPad. People are already obsessing about such flaws as the omission of a camera. Or the lack of support for Flash. Or the absence of multi-tasking. These critiques mostly miss a couple of crucial points. First, this is of course extremely similar to th...

Congrats to Owen Davis and everyone else involved for launching NYC SeedStart 2010. I have long argued that there is no such thing as too much seed capital and SeedStart is a terrific addition. It is amazing that until now New York City did not have such a program, given the success of YCombinator, TechStars, Dreamit, Launchbox, SeedCamp, FBFund Rev and others. I am also thrilled to see that NYC SeedStart has adopted a simple financing model - $20,000/team for 5% of the company. Now very much...

Congrats to Owen Davis and everyone else involved for launching NYC SeedStart 2010. I have long argued that there is no such thing as too much seed capital and SeedStart is a terrific addition. It is amazing that until now New York City did not have such a program, given the success of YCombinator, TechStars, Dreamit, Launchbox, SeedCamp, FBFund Rev and others. I am also thrilled to see that NYC SeedStart has adopted a simple financing model - $20,000/team for 5% of the company. Now very much...

Heading to the Munich airport after 2 days at DLD - a thoroughly enjoyable and productive conference. Here is my report from last year: http://continuations.com/post/73536016/dld - I was happy to see that the biggest nuisance from last year had been addressed: there was now a wall between the lobby and the main presentation area. I spent even more time than before in the lobby meeting people - some pre-arranged but mostly spontaneously. I only saw a few sessions/panels - which were all quite ...

Heading to the Munich airport after 2 days at DLD - a thoroughly enjoyable and productive conference. Here is my report from last year: http://continuations.com/post/73536016/dld - I was happy to see that the biggest nuisance from last year had been addressed: there was now a wall between the lobby and the main presentation area. I spent even more time than before in the lobby meeting people - some pre-arranged but mostly spontaneously. I only saw a few sessions/panels - which were all quite ...

With family (parents) in Germany, two investments in London, and conferences (eg DLD) and vacations, I wind up flying to Europe at least half a dozen times a year. Here is the system I have come up with for minimizing jet lag (without the help of pharma!): 1. Take a late flight - ideally 7pm or later 2. Eat dinner at airport before boarding 3. Right after boarding, set watch forward to European time 4. Get eye shades and put them on right away and rest. Sleep if you can, doze otherwise. 5. Do...

With family (parents) in Germany, two investments in London, and conferences (eg DLD) and vacations, I wind up flying to Europe at least half a dozen times a year. Here is the system I have come up with for minimizing jet lag (without the help of pharma!): 1. Take a late flight - ideally 7pm or later 2. Eat dinner at airport before boarding 3. Right after boarding, set watch forward to European time 4. Get eye shades and put them on right away and rest. Sleep if you can, doze otherwise. 5. Do...