Month: July 2005

Google’s Master Plan
Originally uploaded by jurvetson.

Ever wondered what Google is up to?

Linda Johnson and Jan Fisher will speak of their recent success with Party Poker at a July 22nd Communitech event:

A few years ago Party Poker was one of many struggling on-line poker sites. Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher and their company Card Player Cruises were approached to revamp the marketing and player retention strategies and have turned Party Poker into the industry leader. On June 27, 2005 Party Gaming the operator of PartyPoker.Com completed the biggest public offering on the London Stock Exchange in over five years, taking its market value to about 5 billion pounds (US$9.1 billion).

Details here. (A tip of the hat to Jacqui at Watstart)

Joi Ito: “I just believe that the notion that software patents somehow help venture businesses is a red herring and that software patents are primarily a tool for software monopolies to stay keep the little guys out.”

New Scientist: “[Jonathan Huebner, a physicist working at the Pentagon’s Naval Air Warfare Center in China Lake, California] examined the number of patents granted in the US from 1790 to the present. When he plotted the number of US patents granted per decade divided by the country’s population, he found the graph peaked in 1915.”

New Scientist: “Furthermore, the effects seemed to be strongest for those who had a median IQ level, probably because the outcomes for the children at either IQ extreme are less likely to be affected by TV watching.”

New Scientist: “Human footprints discovered beside an ancient Mexican lake have been dated to 40,000 years ago. If the finding survives the controversy it is bound to stir up, it means that humans must have moved into the New World at least 30,000 years earlier than previously thought.”

Pelle Braendgaard: “You could save up $20,000, quit your job and start full time on your business. However I have learnt the hard way that if you do this, you have to be ready to support your business even if things don’t move quite as fast as you want. Maybe your business is fine, just growing slowly. Is it really a good idea to quit your dream just because there is no money for rent or food?”

Pelle Braendgaard: “You’ve all heard the common advice that to startups that you need a good team. I’m sure that is right, however some times and at certain stages that team should consist of just you.”

D. Keith Robinson: “You need focus. Doing something great needs great focus.”

David Heinemeier Hansson: “Look at the project that costs $100,000 and figure out how to make it cost $20,000 over the shoulders of three guys. Do it out of your own pocket and you’ll be forced to reckon with constraints earlier and more intensely.”