Knowledge is Power

Two very different takes on the same rule.

Seth argues that each landing page is really just a ‘homepage’ for that specific visitor. If it doesn’t tell them what they want to hear, make them feel what they want to feel or seem like home, they won’t stick around long enough to give you another chance.

Combine that with the story of Michael Larson. You probably don’t know this one, but he found a pattern in the Press Your Luck game show and managed to win 10 times the normal prize payout.

The lesson to be learned is to look for a pattern in your traffic. If you know something about a certain segment of your site’s visitors, then customize your offering for them. Make the page they land on their new home on your site.

Actually Doing Something

Guess what guys, we have enough evidence. Almost everyday Reddit and Digg have numerous posts exposing a new scandal or another incident that the government should be doing something about. Today I realized that these links, obviously popular, are just preaching to the choir.

With that in mind, here are 2 actions that will make a difference if we take them.

1. The next time you read a story like one of these, google “who is my Senator”. The top result will take you to www.senate.gov where you can get the contact information for your Senators. Spend the 3 minutes and actually email your representative.

2. Keep posting about all the BS going on in the government, and when you do, include this link and encourage others to write their representatives. http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Thanks for reading; please vote up this story. It’s the least you can do.

Can’t Miss Event

Hey Next-

There is a new monthly event on the New York Tech scene that you really should check out. It is called the Hatchery and, as you probably can guess, it involves startups and young companies presenting their plans and their website. The difference is that the companies are showcasing their company to VCs, lawyers net gurus and other experts, not just other entrepreneurs. Companies are reviewed before they can present so only the best get through.

I’ve been to several events in the city and this has the perfect blend of formal presentation and laid back networking. If you are starting a business or looking to get in to the scene this is where to go. The next event is June 6th, Click to thewebsite for details – www.hatchedby.us.

Serial and Cereal Entrepreneurs

I knew that someone had to have written this post, I’m just glad that I found it. I am hoping that someone relatively famous in the 2.0 world actually creates a cereal so we can all laugh. I’m already getting sick of reading the words “serial entrepreneur” so I hope this thought ends quickly, cereasly.

clipped from successfromthenest.com No, I meant “cereal,” not “serial.” Though I do tend to stretch the rules of grammar in order to get my point across, even I wouldn’t make that big of an error (maybe). So what’s a cereal entrepreneur? A lot of folks (including me) look to cereal as the old standby. Comfort food, that fills you up, and is easy to make. Even though I’m a foodie and love to cook, cereal is a way to get out of making anything fancy — or anything at all.

Free isn’t Free (Fast is the new Free)

Surfing the web just gave me a quick thought about the meaning of ‘free’. FREE used to mean that it didn’t cost any money. FREE used to mean that, well you could just ‘have it’.

The Internet changed this. The Internet made almost everything FREE in the conventional sense, all you had to do was find what you were looking for. When everything is FREE, then the opportunity cost becomes very clear. If you are looking for something and it is taking a while that means you are losing the opportunity to be getting more free stuff.

Time is the new money. Fast is the the new free.

What does this mean to your new tech company? If your making it free it’s just as important to make it simple.

Case in point: here is a video of two morons fighting at a Boston Pops concert. Is the video good? I have no idea, I’m not going to stick around to download MS ‘free’ video player. How many of you will go through the hassle just to see a one minute video when you can go to youtube and watch a million clips – free and easy?

Muffins

It’s 10 in the morning and I am absolutely sure that this is the best thing I will read all day. If you have time to read four pages this links to a great Inc. article about the attitude your business needs.

clipped from www.inc.com Marty Liebowitz, the vice chairman and chief investment officer of TIAA-CREF, one of the world’s largest pension funds, once said to me, “Thank God they created the word ‘muffin’ or I’d be eating a cupcake for breakfast.” Words are incredibly powerful, sometimes causing us to do things that we would never normally do.

Springtime

The absence of posts over the last few weeks can can only mean one thing, nice weather in NYC. Who wants to be cooped up in the office writing code or responding to emails when you can be in the sunshine? Work can slide a bit while you eat ice cream in the park.

Maybe you are one of those unfortunate souls that has to get work done, or you don’t want to push the launch date back to October. If that’s the case I may have the solution, UN45.

On Sunday I take care of the best parts of week – cleaning up my blogs, reading, brainstorming and pet projects. I do this on a very quiet and relaxing roof deck that gets some sun in the AM and afternoon. The best part ,you are invited.

If you’d like to come brainstorm, catch up with NY tech for the week or just ride out that hangover next to your laptop (WiFi is available and free) then drop me a comment and be sure that I can contact you.

UN45 starts “whenever” and lasts until Sopranos. My place is near Union Square and space is limited. This is totally informal and there is obviously no cost. It’s a great end/beginning to the week so don’t be shy and definitely don’t be lazy – summer’s to short.

(Actual View May Vary)

Cheer Up Buddy/Perfect Timing

Two thumbs up for reddit. First of all, I’m sure you will get a boost in readership from the digg meltdown yesterday.

More importantly Alexis just told me about the upcoming release of sub-reddits. This feature can be added to a blog so the best posts (or at least the most popular ones) are always accessible from the front page. Here’s an explanation and example from Joel on Software. I’m guessing that you will be able to restrict the domain in order to keep all links specific to the owners blog.

Check it out and keep your eyes open if you would like a sub-reddit of your own.

HD DVD Hex Code Fiasco Explained

In case you heard the buzz going around the Internet, but aren’t sure what is happening. You see there is a whole movement going on called Web 2.0 – In theory it’s really cool, web sites are more open and honest and trust-worthy. The point of Web 2.0 is to start a community and grow traffic and trust.

A flagship sit eof Web 2.0 has been Digg.com. Digg is a aggregating site where the most popular stories move to the top because of user votes. Most of the time the users run the site and that is really what set it apart.

Just today though, someone cracked the lock on HD DVD videos. With this key HD DVDs can supposedly now be copied digitally. It is not illegal to find this code or post this code (can you copyright a series of numbers?) yet digg has been banning users and removing posts that contain this code. The reason for this censorship is that HD DVD is a  sponsor of Digg.com.

So I guess the real question is, what should the website do? Alienate a  very large sponsor, I think it’s Sony? Or should they destroy the trust with their biggest asset, their user base?

What would you do?