The latest from TechCrunch
- LetterMPress Kickstarter Project Is An Early Sign Of The New iPad Direction
- Angel-Turned-VC Mike Maples: Yes, There's a Bubble
- The Pros And Cons Of Facebook Comments
- Charlie Sheen, Now On Twitter At @CharlieSheen
| LetterMPress Kickstarter Project Is An Early Sign Of The New iPad Direction | Top |
| Perhaps the most beautiful Kickstarter project I have ever seen (sorry Detroit RoboCop statue) LetterMPress is a virtual letterpress app for the iPad, created by designer and typographer John Bonadies . Already in prototype, Bonadies is seeking $15,000 in crowd-sourced funding to release the world’s first tablet letterpress envirnoment, aiming for the end of the summer. LetterMPress allows you to arrange type on the iPad much like an original letterpress, using the touch screen to arrange, lock and ink type on the “press bed,” er iPad screen. The app uses virtual cut and ink graphics, copied from actual vintage press sets. And while you can print out your creations using AirPrint or by uploading the files to your computer, part of Bonadies’ plan is to buy actual vintage sets and offer authentic letterpress prints from the designs submitted by LetterMPress users. So why put all this effort into virtually recreating something as obsolete as letterpress printing, other than because you love it? “Actually, a letterpress and an iPad operate similarly when it comes to manipulating objects in a composition. Just like placing blocks of wood type on a surface, you drag the type images across the iPad, and then move them around to create your design. This is why the iPad would make an ideal platform for people to experience the creative aspects of letterpress and typography.” When I reviewed the original iPad last year, I wrote that one of its greatest flaws is that it “paralyzes its user from engaging with the Net as a content creator.” And while a year later, on the eve of another iPad launch, we’ve got a ton of light photo-editing apps like PhotoShop Express, there’s as of yet no tool that a creative professional would prefer to use on an iPad than on a Mac. LetterMPress could be the first of these sort of apps, that take advantage of the touch tablet interface’s inherent potential for artistry and creative work. I mean imagine a hardcore Photoshop designed for touch. As I’m hearing that tomorrow’s iPad launch will increasingly focus on the iPad as a tool for creation not consumption , perhaps Steve Jobs and Bonadies are on the same page, a digital one. Watch LetterMPress in action, below. | |
| Angel-Turned-VC Mike Maples: Yes, There's a Bubble | Top |
| The dreaded “B” word is on the tip of many tongues these days. Are we or aren’t we in a bubble? Everybody has an opinion. Yes, Facebook’s valuation lingers around $50 billion, Zynga’s is close to $10 billion, and Twitter is valued at $4.5 billion with comparatively tiny revenues. But do these soaring valuations a bubble make? A couple of weeks ago, Eric Schmidt weighed in on the great overblown bubble debate to say that the high rate of valuations do, in fact, mark a clear sign of a growing bubble . While, in contrast, Paul Graham said last week that , compared to late ’90s when every company even remotely associated with this hot, newfangled “Web” was valued higher simply by being associated with it, today’s high valuations are more localized and the companies more deserving. Yet, perhaps the question is not whether this is a bubble exactly like that of the dotcom era, but whether or not it is, simply, a bubble. Fellow TechCruncher MG Siegler weighed in on the issue to say that, while smaller angel investors do seem to be getting squeezed out of deals because early stage valuations are (in some cases) getting ridiculously high, there’s really no sure sign that a Web 2.0 bubble exists. And Paul Carr and Sarah Lacy would likely fight you for hinting that there’s anything remotely bubbly going on in the Valley. In particular, there’s also been a lot of talk recently about a tech IPO bubble. Back in the late ’90s many companies rushed into public markets even when they knew they might not become profitable for as long as two years after an IPO. Yes, Groupon is likely to IPO soon, and yes Pandora and LinkedIn recently filed to go public, but these are healthy companies that need capital for expansion and have a good chance at profitability in the next year or so. What’s more, Facebook even pushed the Securities and Exchange Commission for an exemption that would allow it to stay private. Not something you do if you’re in a bubbling rush, right? Yet, even so, the tech press can’t seem to help itself when it comes to bubble mania. If one is able to pin down an Angel for a conversation, inevitably the “B” word is raised — especially when that Angel was party to the infamous Angelgate . Today, at the DEMO Conference in Palm Springs, Co-founder and Partner of Floodgate Funds Mike Maples gave the audience his own personal view: “Is there a tech bubble? Rounded off to the nearest yes, yes", he said. Echoing Schmidt’s sentiments, Maples said that the super-sized valuations of Facebook, Zynga, and Twitter have spawned a host of imitators and that, as a result, there is now a huge crowding effect (read: bubble). “It’s like a soccer game for 9-year-olds, where everyone crowds around the ball,” he said. Like Paul Graham, Maples hinted that the big companies leading the charge ( those he calls “Thunder Lizards” ) are deserving of high valuations, while the clones, who are not trying to solve big problems or disrupt an entire space and are instead simply copying these companies and pasting their business models into the same space, are the real problem. Because of this, while Silicon Valley may not currently be in a bubble, he said, it’s well on its way. So, if the bubble is indeed growing, what can we do to counteract it? Instead of adding to crowded spaces (and the bubble), Maples encouraged startups to build wacky, unusual ideas, even if at first they don’t seem to have obvious application. “When I first invested in Twitter, before they were Twitter, people thought I was crazy” and that it was a “rinky-dink business”. Not so much. The Angel-turned-VC is known for investing in early-stage, potentially “risky” startups, and much of the time, he said, it doesn’t work out. But when it does, these ideas can change the world. When there’s not a lot of obvious competition in a particular space, and the startup hoping to take advantage sees a big “potential” market, those can often become the true disruptors. And when it comes to looking for the right VC, he advised entrepreneurs to look for someone who knows when to pivot and how not to panic when that time comes. Look for those who are familiar with (and comfortable in) the near-death experience, he said, which you will definitely have — just because “you’re a startup”. CrunchBase Information Mike Maples FLOODGATE Information provided by CrunchBase | |
| The Pros And Cons Of Facebook Comments | Top |
| Today, Facebook rolled out a new commenting system for blogs and third-party sites. We’ve implemented it here on TechCrunch, and after a few hours of the system being live it is obvious that it has its share of pros and cons. Readers have certainly noticed, and there is already a ton debate about whether this is good or bad for the Internet. It is certainly not perfect. Facebook comments don’t support Twitter or Google logins. It doesn’t yet allow sites to archive their comments to make backups (although an API for that is forthcoming I am told), and switching away from Facebook comments after a few months on the system looks like it will be a hassle (data portability anyone?). Some corporations block Facebook, which kills it as a commenting system for that subset of users. In one fell swoop it could hurt Disqus , which is a great startup that’s been perfecting its commenting system for years. And there are lots of little bugs we’ve noticed that hopefully will be fixed soon (we were manually moderating every comment on TechCrunch until a few minutes ago, and you still can’t see a comment count at the top of each post like you could before). On the other hand, it also has some real advantages. Primary among these is that it requires commenters to use their real identities. In the past few hours, most of the anonymous trolls who have come to call TechCrunch comments a second home are gone. Of course, some people don’t want to comment with their real names for good reason (they want to speak freely without fear of reprisals), but for the most part in practice anonymity was abused. It was used mostly as a shield to hide behind and throw out invective. Have the trolls really vanished or will they return? I certainly hope they are gone. We have fewer comments in general on most posts today, but the conversations are much more civil and interesting. The other main benefit is social virality. When you comment on TechCrunch, your comment also appears in your Facebook stream with a link back to the post (unless you opt out of that option in the comment box). It would be better if the link went right to your comment instead of to the post in general, but that is a feature that can be added. It brings in more readers from Facebook who are pulled in to see what their friends said. So what are the results? So far today, Facebook is our No. 2 referring site, after AOL (thank you, Justin Bieber ). It is beating out Twitter, which is usually our top source of referring traffic. This viral effect would be twice as powerful, of course, if people could use their Twitter IDs as well. Pros Real names and identities greatly reduces the number of trolls and anonymous cowards in comments. Social virality boosts traffic by creating a feedback loop between Facebook and participating sites. Friends pull in their friends, creating a social entry point to your site. Automatic sign-in if you already signed into Facebook elsewhere, lowers the barriers to commenting. Most “liked” comments get voted to the top. It also knows who your friends are, so you will see those comments first. Cons No support for Twitter or Google IDs, which leaves out the other half of the social Web. No backups and other lock-ins will make it hard for sites to leave. If you work somewhere that blocks Facebook, you are out of luck. Your friends might be surprised to find their replies in your Facebook News stream reproduced on another site’s comments. Expect a backlash . Moderation bugs, no view counts at the top of posts or ways to highlight site owners/writers in comments. What do you think are the biggest pros and cons? @ScepticGeek Mahendra Palsule I don't think FB offers any backup for comments, unlike Disqus does with WordPress. Also, issue of single-point-of-failure. about 12 hours ago via TweetDeck Retweet Reply @alexia Alexia Tsotsis The worst thing about Facebook Comments is that now all our comments are people bitching about Facebook Comments. about 9 hours ago via Seesmic Desktop Retweet Reply CrunchBase Information Facebook DISQUS Information provided by CrunchBase | |
| Charlie Sheen, Now On Twitter At @CharlieSheen | Top |
| Because if I don’t write this somebody else will: After blazing a colorful trail through some obscure radio show, The Today Show, Good Morning America, TMZ, CNN and so on, media obsession of the moment Charlie Sheen has brought his antics to Twitter. It looks like Sheen was just set up with a “Verified” account at @CharlieSheen. @everydaydude Aaron Durand Somebody just helped set up @ CharlieSheen . The things I do for you guys. about 9 hours ago via web Retweet Reply While the account does seem pretty boring and lacks an image currently, I’m guessing that it was set up as more of a counter measure to prevent parody accounts like the one below (which sneakily uses a capital “I” instead of an “L” in Charlie) from continuing to, um, parody unchallenged. It’s testament to the times we live in that Sheen or someone on behalf of Sheen would consider Twitter an important enough arena to pin down. I mean, it’s not like he’s worried about his Myspace profile. In any case, “Followed” — By me and everybody else in the world. Update: It took the account less than an hour to amass 100K followers, all awaiting what promises to be a very heavily covered first tweet. Update 2: And he’s tweeted! And I called it. Also: His bio? “Unemployed Winner….,” referring to his now signature catchphrase. Update 3: Curiouser and curiouser. @TechMemeDirect TechMeme Direct The @ AdlyAds and @ Twitter team signed up Charlie Sheen to Twitter today. 250,000 followers in the first few hour… http://bit.ly/eFHfdH about 2 hours ago via twitterfeed Retweet Reply Thanks: Samir CrunchBase Information Twitter Information provided by CrunchBase | |
CREATE MORE ALERTS:
Auctions - Find out when new auctions are posted
Horoscopes - Receive your daily horoscope
Music - Get the newest Album Releases, Playlists and more
News - Only the news you want, delivered!
Stocks - Stay connected to the market with price quotes and more
Weather - Get today's weather conditions
| You received this email because you subscribed to Yahoo! Alerts. Use this link to unsubscribe from this alert. To change your communications preferences for other Yahoo! business lines, please visit your Marketing Preferences. To learn more about Yahoo!'s use of personal information, including the use of web beacons in HTML-based email, please read our Privacy Policy. Yahoo! is located at 701 First Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94089. |
No comments:
Post a Comment