A blog from the mind of falicon

February 15th, 2013

hi, long list. i tried to look for 49ers on the search.
Asketh - citynsea

Did you get any results? I’m not sure if I’ve ever mentioned the 49ers on this blog (until just now)…I used to run a handful of different blogs dedicated to fantasy sports (and the Atlanta Falcons) so I know I’ve written about the 49ers a lot over the years (but I think I’ve kept that fairly sep. from this realm).

Also - did you try the search directly on gawk.it? We aren’t powering search for any sports focused or sports specific websites (yet) that I know of, so again the results might be sparse but you might find some interesting and unexpected conversations around the 49ers that way as well.

Really though, the bigger question is…have you considered switching to be an Atlanta Falcons fan? We would love to have you in the group! ;-)

Is conversationlist dead? :( Not working for me...
Asketh - Anonymous

Sorry - yes.

I’ve had to shift my attention and resources to other projects…I tried to keep a version of it up and running without having to give it any attention, but ultimately that just made the service under-perform (and I don’t like offering services that under-perform).

January 3rd, 2013

A real problem - how to build an audience?

Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and all the other ‘social’ tools out there are making it *really* easy to share and discover links…but an interesting side effect seems to be that they are also making it harder to actually build an audience (people who identify and look to continuously engage with your brand, your content, and your community).

So I’m wondering, what tools are out there right now helping people build a real audience? Who is trying to solve this problem and what approaches are working?

Is it really just a matter of putting out consistent high-quality content over some length of time? Even if it’s a base requirement, do you think it’s enough?

December 26th, 2012

Which is more valuable?

Which is more valuable? The content or the connections within a social network?

I think in a general social network like Twitter or Facebook, you would argue the connections are where the real value sits…but I wonder if this is also the case in a vertical social network?

If you look at a blog like AVC from a 10,000 foot view I would argue that it’s really a vertical social network (the vertical being Fred Wilson’s brain on a given day)…and at least in that case, I think the content is where the majority of the value sits (at least to start, over time some active members can probably argue that the connections became more valuable/important to them).

Though many people point to AVC as an outlier, I suspect that this situation holds true for almost all vertical social networks…and if that’s the case, then I also suspect that a subscription model works well within a social network vertical (assuming you can build the initial core, valuable, content to warrant a subscription price).

But do you know of any social network verticals taking the subscription route? How successful have they been and how defensible are they really?

December 25th, 2012

…and…action!

Ideas are great. Thinking about the possibilities, the options, the details…all fun stuff.

But nothing counts until you actually start to take action.

It’s Christmas 2012 as I write this, and as such I’m thinking about many of my friends and family…my peers, my mentors, advisors, and even a business associate or two…but until I take a moment to actually send them a note, a Tweet, an email, or maybe even physically stop by or call them…thinking of them means nothing externally. They don’t know what I’m thinking, how I feel, or even that they are on my radar at all (and many probably don’t care).

It’s the same way with software and it’s the same way with startups. Until you actually do something, just thinking about it gets you no where externally. Nothing happens.

Anyway, just something to think about over this holiday season…do what you like with it! ;-)