Alpha Update

For those following Jemstep's progress, the company has posted an update on its Alpha testing here.

The Lighter Side

My good blogging friend, Darren Gorton, runs a great South African blog focused on start-ups and technology and other business trends. Its called OutThink. He recently posted this short and clever slide-show which, although humorous, definitely has an element of truth to it:) Keep up the good work Darren.

The lighter side of startups

View more documents from Darren Gorton.

Eureka

The archetypal notion of a great start-up concept is that Eureka moment, when someone suddenly cracks the next big thing whilst singing in the shower or staring at the sky. But is that really true? The truth is that the vast majority of Eureka start-ups don’t even make it out the gate.

One of the key reasons for this is that because relying on a Eureka moment alone can be a very precarious path to follow on the rocky start-up road. You may think you have stumbled upon a great idea, but have you really identified a need? Are you really solving a problem that people need solved, and will rush to use your product in order to solve it? In other words, are you satisfying customer needs? The only sure way of finding that out before spending tons of money on a product nobody will use is to embark on some in-depth customer research.

Andy Sack made brief mention of this in his blog, and the link to Jay Haynes' article is worth a quick read.

As I climb the steep learning curve here in Silicon Valley, I’ve learned that solid and deep customer research which is done correctly from the beginning will stand you in good stead in so many areas of your business, from understanding customers’ needs, to market positioning, to web-design and UX, to product management, and the list goes on.

Although it may seem like a steep upfront cost in the early days of your young company, it will save you heaps of money over the longer term.

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• Customer Words (voice of the customer). That is what much marketing is usually missing (regnordman.com)

Disqus

I have just added Disqus to make it easier to leave comments (finally). It was easy to do - basically a cut and paste - and is highly recommended if you don't already have it on your blog.

Upside Down?

Cover of The Incredibles [UMD for PSP]

I took the kids to the Century 20 cinema complex in Mountain View today to see Pixar's new movie, UP.

The work emanating from Pixar Studios is pure genius. From Toy Story to Finding Nemo to Wall-E, they never cease to amaze me with their sheer artistry on a visual and emotional level. They have forever changed the way that animated films are perceived.

My favorite Pixar movie? Tough call, but probably The Incredibles. Pure escapist enjoyment with tons of wit and depth. And, most importantly, my kids loved it. And that’s the main point – when I go see a Pixar movie with my family, it’s so that my kids can have a good time. Sure I get to enjoy a brilliant slice of movie making in the process, but Pixar movies are not about me. They’re about the pure enjoyment I see on my kids’ faces when Buzz Lightyear somersaults through the air or Nemo rides the Australian Current on Squirt’s back or Lightning McQueen goes high-octane down Route 66.

So where does Pixar’s latest creation, UP, fit into the picture? It has received amazing reviews, earning 98% on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer. But for me, this movie brings into sharp focus the question about the target audience – is it aimed at kids or adults?

I don’t want to give anything away and you can judge for yourself. But most telling, perhaps, is that a group of elderly people were the last to leave the theatre after the credits had finished rolling, trying to squeeze out every last drop of the movie. By that time my kids were already out the door, making a beeline for the video arcade and leaving me behind to carry all the left over popcorn and soda.

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Where in the world is Los Altos? (Using Google Elements)

If you've read my tweets and other feeds you'll probably know I am pretty enchanted by a small town in Silicon Valley called Los Altos.

A lot of people (outside the Valley) have no idea where that is, so I thought I'd use Google Elements - the great GOOG's new product which was unveiled last week - to mark the spot on Google maps. The interesting thing is that Google Elements allows you to simply cut and paste code of Google products onto your site. So in this case, I used Elements to cut and paste Google maps onto my site, and below is a working, functional version of Google maps that you can use to get directions, scroll in, change view etc. It was a simple cut and paste that took about 2 seconds.

You can do the same with a bunch of other Google products, such as news feeds and search functions. I am not sure whether mainstream publishers will make use of this, or just casual bloggers like me, but its pretty neat.

The other product which Google unveiled to much applause last week is Google Wave - something we'll be hearing a lot of in the near future.

In the meantime, if you"re ever up in San Fran, come catch a frozen yoghurt in Los Altos...

It's crazy out there

It's Saturday morning. I'm posting articles via email directly onto my blog. I'm using my laptop, sitting at a coffee shop in Mountain View, accessing free Google Wi-Fi. I'm done with my coffee, and go browsing at a bookstore across the road. I see a book I'm interested in buying, but I'm not certain. I whip out my iPhone. Using one of the cool apps I recently downloaded (SnapTell), I take a picture of the book. The iPhone returns to me all the reviews and info I could ever want on the book, including the cheapest place to buy it - new or used (mental note to order it from Amazon and save a few bucks). I hear some nice background music playing in the bookstore. I love that song! I think its The Fray but I'm not sure. I hold my iPhone near to the speaker. I'm using the Shazam app. The iPhone "listens" to the music and then returns the name of the track, the artist and the album (it is The Fray - mental note to purchase the song and download from iTunes later). Oops, its getting a bit late - I'm due for an important lunch meeting (business) in Menlo Park. Sushi is his preference, but nothing too fancy. Where should we go? Think, think. I could send out a tweet asking for recommendations... no. Out comes the iPhone again. I surf the Internet. Go to Yelp.com. Search "Sushi, Menlo Park". Results - Naomi's sushi - four stars, 96 reviews, spot on. Email my business colleague, and then send him a Facebook message, a Twitter DM, a text, an IM and a message on LinkedIn to be sure he gets the details. Hop in the car (no, its not a battery-powered Tesla, but that would have been a nice touch). Plug the address into the Garmin GPS or just use Google maps on the phone? I go with the GPS. Oops, wrong choice. It takes me onto highway 101 and traffic is backed up to the hilt. It's an older version with no traffic detection. Should've gone Google maps with latest news on traffic... Oh well, too late. Should've bought Google stock when it was around $280. Check my market-watchlist on the iPhone... GOOG is now $389. Yep. Should've listened to all those expert blogs that feed through to MyYahoo page. Or did I use iGoogle as my reader for all those feeds? Can't remember. Doesn't matter. I should transfer all my services and stuff to Google anyway. Except for Gmail - just can't get used to the interface. And why the heck are they still in beta after five years? So maybe I'll keep my Yahoo account going for personal email, and Zimbra for business email, and Gmail for odds and ends. Maybe I shouldn't order that book from Amazon after all - I should look into getting a Kindle instead and downloading books directly onto that. Nice gift from the wife for our next wedding anniversary? Mmmm. That reminds me, I mustn't forget to check out the CNET reviews on the new Nikon 5000 SLR with over 15 megapixels and new motion picture HD functionality; also a nice option. Almost there. Focus on the meeting. This could be the big one. A new email ... who can it be on a Saturday morning? Google News Alerts or Twitter notification of new follower? No. Its the wife: "Am waiting for you at Straits, Santana Row, for lunch, remember?" Holy crap. Where's that app.......
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Jemstep launches its company blog

Co-inciding with the release of its alpha testing version, Jemstep has also launched its official company blog. There you'll be able to find lots of news, information and updates as to Jemstep's progress. Please also feel free to leave comments:)

A number of friends and colleagues have asked for an update on progress with our website, so here's a brief summary of our plan: Jemstep is first introducing an invitation-only alpha version of the site for testing. We'll look at the test results and feedback, and then modify the site for a beta release which will be launched to a wider audience. If you'd like access to the beta version once it is ready, you may sign-up for access at jemstep.com.

We'll be posting regular updates on our blog, and you can also follow Jemstep on Twitter.

So we're very close now - and thanks to everyone for their support and encouragement!

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The rise and rise of Social Media

Evan Williams Image by Getty Images via Daylife

There haven’t been many new posts on this blog over the past several weeks. Have I stopped blogging? Not entirely. But time is at a premium, and for a casual blogger like me, there are a great many social online tools competing for a slice of my (limited) online social activity.

So if I’m sharing little snippets here and there, Twitter and Facebook have become key platforms (for me and – I believe – many others). A blog post is reserved for those occasions where there is something longer to say, when time permits. And these days, time is not very forgiving.

So the microblogging premise of Twitter, for example, which limits tweets to 140 characters, is hugely time-saving and a lot less hassle. I can choose to post a message on Twitter, or Facebook – or both – depending on the nature of the message. By using an interface like Ping.Fm, Yoono (Firefox plug-in) or by linking my Facebook profile with Friendfeed (just a few examples) I can disseminate a single status update to multiple platforms simultaneously.

The other thing of course is that with these microblogging platforms or status updates, I can engage in almost instant and open (and very often lively) conversation.

I think blogging will remain an important element of the social media universe for a long time, but will become more and more reserved for professional bloggers, those whose careers are closely linked to (or depend upon) their blogs and online journalists who can dedicate the time and effort required to write quality content on an ongoing basis. For the casual online trooper, Twitter and Facebook hit the mark with their many different uses, and their popularity will continue to soar.

That’s not to say I won’t be posting any more blogs here. Jemstep is ripping ahead, things are frenetically busy and our private launch is around the corner. I’ll keep you posted.

All good

Image via Wikipedia

What I like about Tom Foremski’s blog is that his posts are infused with a genuine love and appreciation for Silicon Valley. He lauds this amazing community for being at the epicenter of innovation and applauds its many thought leaders and entrepreneurs, who, often at great risk, take bold steps to innovate new technologies that improve our lives. He has now added a video series – Fridays with Foremski – to his blog content. Nice one, Tom.

Foremski’s adulation for the Valley feels justified when you start to learn and understand about the major breakthroughs that have occurred in this region, which stretches (roughly) from San Francisco to San Jose. I have read about many of these entrepreneurs and innovators in biographies, the press and online. But earlier this week, I was fortunate enough to meet one of the “new breed” of entrepreneurs here in the Valley that are tackling the clean tech challenge in a serious way.

His name is Shai Agassi, and his company is called Better Place. Its an incredible story so far, and if it continues to succeed it will change the world. You can read more about his story here (or just Google him). I am sure you will see this name again and again. Shai Agassi. I wish him all the success.

As the prolific Chris Brogan always says (and does), share, share share. So I will share with you another blog that I am really enjoying for its valuable information and insights: A VC by Fred Wilson. Great blog about start-ups, entrepreneurs, VC’s, social media - with regular posts daily (Fred’s firm is an investor in Twitter).

Finally, what a great week for Jemstep! Our CEO was in town and we had an insanely busy but gratifying week. Launch time is soon. Its all good.

Digital Identity

Image via Wikipedia

You are involved in an Internet business. You are looking at hiring a senior business development executive. Or a PR or marketing hire. You come across a decent CV and your hopes start to rise. You sign into LinkedIn to check out the candidate's profile.

2 contacts. The candidate for the role of business development has 2 contacts within his/her LinkedIn network.

What is your immediate reaction? Are you a little disappointed, concerned even? For sure its not a positive feeling you get.

That's because people's online identities create an expectation of their offline capabilities.

Is this response justified? Maybe, maybe not. But that's the way it is, and becoming more so every day.