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Netflix had announced previously that it was killing it's Profiles feature. As a longtime Netflix customer, I loved this feature. It let you divide your Netflix queue into sub-queues to accomodate family members with different tastes. It allowed my wife and I to split up our movie queue and keep our (very different) preferences in movies from mucking up the Netflix suggestions. Each profile had its own suggestion.
Netflix had announced that they were taking this away. The word was that only 1-2% of their customers took advantage of this, and it was adding complexity to their programming. But, many, many customers blogged about this being taken away, and Netflix responded.
Making every customer a potential media outlet will really change how companies deal with their customers and their markets. I think that the bloggers did a better job promoting Profiles than Netflix did!
I listen to a lot of NPR via podcast, including On Point. Tom Ashbrook is a very good moderator who keeps the discussion moving. Yesterday's show got me thinking:
WBUR & NPR's On Point : Bogus Memoirs, Book Publishers, and Us
I listened to the show last week with the author of what turned out to be a bogus memoir. The author was compelling and drew a lot of sympathy. She was a mixed race woman who had grown up in the projects of LA, caught up in gangs and drug trade. Or, so she claimed.
It turns out that the whole book and her claims were bogus. She lied about everything. Today, On Point addressed the issue of bogus memoirs, and it made me think about journalistic standards in general, including bloggers.
Some journalists have complained that bloggers aren't held to the same standards as more conventional journalists. To be sure, you don't know how accurate anything is that you read. These bogus memoirs drive home the point that this isn't only an Internet phenomenon. Liars and frauds have been with us for a long time.
The only solution is for people to build up and defend their reputations and for frauds to be exposed for all to see. In this case, Tom Ashbrook clearly felt horrible about being fooled. Kudos to him for coming forward immediately and apologizing. He's defending his reputation. Maybe publishers of non-fiction should do more diligence on their authors. But, of course, they can't fact check an entire book. This memoir may have been exposed, but what if the author had just exaggerated and embellished her otherwise true story? There's no way you can expect a publisher to catch that. It would be too expensive.
Democratizing media has its risks, but it's still better to have all the new voices. We all just have to be vigilent about who we believe.
If you are reading this, you probably read other blogs, too. If not, I'm very honored. But, you probably also read these blogs via RSS feeds and a feed reader. I use Newsgator. It's how I read the 100+ blogs I keep an eye on. And, it is available for free on the Web, on your mobile phone, and in Outlook.
One of the blogs I read has had its RSS feed go haywire more than once. There are re-postings of old entries. The latest problem is the worst -- every post on the blog gets re-fed every few hours. I finally dropped the author an email to let him know. But, he shouldn't have had to hear from me before he knew about this.
I subscribe to my own RSS feed. Not so I can read my own pearls of wisdom (which are very few). But, so I can make sure that my reader experience is good. I get a sense of how the graphics come through on the feed. I see that embedded videos do not (so I always provide a plain link to anything I embed). And, if it goes berzerk, I'll be one of the first to know. By the way, my RSS feed is hosted by Feedburner (now owned by Google). I've been very happy with them, too.
Facts are facts. I haven't posted in six days. I've been very busy, and traveling as well. Will rectify this today!
If you haven't seen it yet, here is your chance to win an opportunity to have a lick race against Peyton and Eli Manning. Yuchh!
Web-based marketing is the trend, and getting celebrities to participate is also big. This campaign isn't so innovative, but the fact that the Mannings are being shown licking the stuffing out of Oreos is pretty bizarre. I like the pseudo-realistic video interviews, but I think that they should have more self-esteem than this. We may be too prim and proper, but we taught our kids better manners than this!
As I have in the past, I am supporting and raising money for Globe Santa. This is one of my favorite charities. What is Globe Santa?
Since 1956, Globe Santa has been The Boston Globe's annual appeal for needy children in Greater Boston. The Globe Santa Fund collects donations from readers and advertisers to purchase holiday gifts for underprivileged children. The Globe pays administrative costs and provides space in the newspaper during the holiday season to publish stories about family needs and list the names of people who give. In recent years, Globe Santa has received more than $1 million dollars in contributions annually. The program helps brighten the holiday season for more than 28,000 families and 55,000 children in 167 communities every year.
* Families request toys by writing to Globe Santa, stating their family size and need. This need must be verified and countersigned by a social service or religious agency that has previously registered with Globe Santa Fund. The agency must have documented records of the particular family's situation. The deadline for family letters this year is December 7, 2007. * Agencies that can verify requests include welfare offices, hospitals, churches and clergy, halfway houses, AFDC office and similar social service organizations. * Agencies must register with Globe Santa each year. The registration procedure is announced in the Boston Globe and by mail to agencies that registered in the previous year. The deadline for agency registration this year is October 31. * Families apply for assistance during October and November. The application procedure is published in detail in ads in the Globe that run from October 1 through December 7, 2007. * Toys are delivered to family households beginning the first week in December right up to two days before Christmas.
I like Globe Santa because it is a simple concept, the Globe picks up all the administrative costs, and there is something special about giving a kid a happy holiday season when they otherwise would get nothing. We all have so much (relatively), and even small donations add up. If you read the Globe when they start publishing their donations, you'll see that they take all donations, large and small.
I set up a Cause in Facebook to capture donations. You can also donate directly at the Globe Santa web site. I plan to match all the donations from my audience, up to a maximum of $5000. If you go through Facebook, I can track this directly. If you give directly on the Globe Santa site, forward me your email receipt so I can keep track. I'll post periodic updates on my progress.
Some people enjoy having me write a big check when I match this. So, please, Make Mike Pay!
As I wrote yesterday, I attended the TechBlogs event last night in Cambridge. This was a great event, with good networking and an excellent discussion. The panel members led the discussion, but there was a lot of audience participation which made it interactive. Kudos to Scott Kirsner for moderating the discussion and keeping it moving.
Some of the more interesting subjects discussed:
Objectivity of bloggers vs. typical journalistic standards
Journalists (at least good ones) have professional ethics around avoiding conflicts of interest that may color their reporting. Bloggers usually disclose their conflicts in notes at the end of their posts, but often write about things with inherent conflicts of interest -- investments they have made, companies where they work, etc. This difference seemed to wrankle Jimmy Guterman, but I think that perspective is what is valuable about blogging. My rule of thumb is that I want to write my blog as if I was talking to someone at a cocktail party after having one (and only one) beer. I should be open and relaxed, but still conscious of my professional and personal image. I write mostly off the top of my head and don't pretend to be objective, thorough, or conflict free. I try to point out conflicts, but can't represent myself as a journalist. Unfortunately, journalist bloggers have to represent their professional side, which is as a journalist. Scott Kirsner, who writes for the Globe, says that he tries to write his blog posts to the same standard as he writes his Globe column. I think he does that well. Best line: Don Dodge, quoting Mike Moritz of Sequoia -- "No conflict, no interest." (Perhaps it's really a quote from John Doerr -- just trying to be thorough!).
Sanitizing corporate blog entries vs. showing your personality
There was a general discussion of corporate blogs and CEO blogs. How sanitized should they be to toe the corporate PR line? Or, should the CEOs or employees be free to state their own views? And, should CEOs write their own blogs posts, or can someone else write them on their behalf? I think that blogs have to show a personal perspective. That's what the readers expect. Something sanitized will be boring. Of course, anything representing the company has to be professional, meet legal requirements, etc. An old boss of mine once pointed out to me that although some people in the company work in the Marketing Department (big 'M' marketing), everyone at the company works in "little 'm' marketing." So, if you blog about your job or company, you have to be professional. But, still be yourself.
Blogs, Podcasts, and Video Blogs
There was a discussion of different forms of media that people can use to reach an audience. Blogs (written), podcasts (audio), and video blogs all have their place. It was pointed out that blogs have the biggest audience and that it falls of dramatically when you go to audio or video. I think that this is because our tools are more text oriented (search, indexing, etc.) and because our senses are also more text oriented (you can read faster than most podcasts or videos move, you can scan a written document more effectively than a podcast or video, etc.). Someone commented that CEOs used to be primarily communicators verbally, in front of groups. Blogging requires writing skills, which not everyone has. So, brush up on those writing skills so you can be a good blogger and executive. I know from my kids' schools that writing is emphasized a lot more formally than when I was in school. Even at MIT there is more writing now than when I was an undergraduate.
Dan Bricklin captured the audio of the event and wrote a blog post about it, too. If you are interested in these topics, you may want to give it a listen.
I am attending an interesting event this evening: Tech Blogs: A Conversation at Cambridge Innovation Center. It has a good mix of speakers covering all aspects of technology marketing and blogging. I won't be posting live from the event (man, do I find it distracting when I hear keyboards being tapped when I am trying to listen to a speaker), but I will post my thoughts afterwards.
I definitely think that companies have to change how they market to consumers, particularly younger ones. Blogging is just one aspect. Customers like to hear directly from the source. But, companies also need to take advantage of social networking dynamics, making it easy for users to invite their friends, connect with other users, comment, tag, and rate products and services. This participatory marketing really changes the established marketing model and is impacting everything from TV advertising to collapsing a whole industry (the music business).
More thoughts to follow.
Scott Kirsner of the Globe has a great column today on VC blogging. He also has a blog post and video. The video includes interviews with VCs and entrepreneurs, including me.
Scott's column does a good job capturing all sides of this discussion -- the views of VCs who blog, those who don't, and the view of the entrepreneur. In the end, I think that a VC has to do what fits with their personal style. Blogging doesn't necessarily give you an advantage over those who don't. But, if you don't blog, you need to figure out what other means you will use to stay connected to the Web community. One thing is for sure -- the market is changing and historical methods for marketing a venture firm and connecting with entrepreneurs won't continue to work in the future.
F Minus usually gets it right. Sorry to steal the graphic, but they have no option to embed.
As entrepreneurs give me feedback on my blog, they often ask me why more Boston VCs don't blog. Of course, there are quite a few who do (these are the ones I read most often and is not a complete list):
I wish there were more. There are some firms that have no one who blogs, but they still claim to invest in the Web 2.0 market. I don't get it. I don't see how you can do that without being part of the community. Without that, you just won't be able to understand these deals.
Some possible reasons why many VCs (particularly more of the 'older' ones, like me) don't blog:
1) They are very busy. Hey, who isn't. That's not a good excuse. If you thought it was important, you'd find the time to do it. This reasons is really 'I don't think that it's important.'
2) They don't want to be wrong. I think it is risky putting opinions out there. You may be wrong, or someone important may disagree with you. So what. As long as you are not confrontational, it's just a discussion.
3) They don't want their LPs to find anything that isn't totally buttoned up when they do their diligence. Smart LPs will know that you can't invest in this space if you don't participate. Just keep your sick hobbies out of your work blog...
4) They don't want to share their opinions with the rest of the world and lose their competitive advantage. Come on. Most VCs are pretty smart, but there are very few unique thoughts in this world. By participating in the conversation, you'll have better opinions. Of course, you have to be careful in talking about new spaces and companies you are looking at, but I think that blogging helps your deal flow so that you'll see more new things anyway. And, we need to collaborate more in the Boston market anyway.
5) They have nothing to say. I don't think that this is true, but if they really don't understand the space, then maybe they'd learn by trying. See #2.
It took me a while to commit to doing a regular blog. And, it's hard to carve out the time to write something sometimes. But, I get so much great feedback from people who read The Fein Line that it's addictive. I'd like to not be Boston's oldest VC blogger much longer...If there is someone else out there who deserves that title, let me know.
I'm going away for the weekend, visiting some friends at their cottage in New Hampshire. And, there is no TV, no broadband, and barely cell coverage. So, I am unplugging for the next couple of days. I don't do this very often, even when I go away. So, we'll see if I get the shakes before I come back.
I'm told that you can survive such bouts of unplugging, but we'll see.
Dear Reader (as Stephen King says when addressing his audience):
I apologize for not posting for more than a week. I've got a flurry of posts coming this morning, including some information on what I've been doing. I've fallen behind in all aspects of my life and am just now coming up for air. But, it has been a great week.
I've tried to keep my blog template relatively clean. Too many blogs get cluttered with widgets which take a while to load and generally are ignored.
I did add a widget today from going.com to promote the Boston OpenCoffee meetings. These are held every Thursday at 10 AM at the Andala Coffee House in Central Square in Cambridge.
Hope to see you there next Thursday. We have a good time talking about start-up ideas, new start-up projects that people are working on, and industry trends.
My apologies to chirpy and jayfallon who posted comments on my blog in late May. These comments were magically categorized as Junk by Movable Type, and I never saw them. I've had inconsistent performance with the commenting feature on Movable Type. I should get notified of every comment, but noticed that a comment was posted a couple of days ago without me being notified. And, I didn't even think of looking in the Junk pile until today.
So, I'll be more vigilent in looking at the Junk comments. This won't happen again. Keep those comments coming. I love the feedback.
According to Google, the title of this post is the French translation of "I have gone fishing". Blame them if it's wrong. Off to France for vacation. Posting will be very light to none at all...
Au revoir!
Today's Wall Street Journal has an article about how blogging can help you get a job. The article also mentions how your blog can be used against you in the interview process. The article is here (subscription required, but may be available for free).
Russ Glass of Zoominfo is mentioned several times in the article. Russ writes about how he made an unsolicited job offer to a Product Manager because he was impressed with the candidate's blog. He also says that he cut short the candidacy of a potential sales person because he found that person's blog offensive.
We are all leaving digital trails in this world. Hopefully, it reflects well on us and can lead to new opportunities. But, if you aren't careful, your ranting can cost you a job. I think that many people would pay for a service that would erase our wild, young digital identity from the Web before we hit the job market. And, disparaging your interviewer in your blog on the night after the interview is a really, really bad idea.
As I've gotten more involved with several companies, I've tried to figure out what to call myself. Companies are listing me as an Advisor on their presentations, and they have to put down something. As a title, I've called myself "Investor and Entrepreneur". That certainly is what I've done, and will likely be some sort description of what I will do. But, I don't plan to do any angel investing at this time, so I wouldn't want my lack of investment in any of these companies to reflect badly on them. In reality, I'm a venture capital investor and will be making these types of investments in the future.
As for a Company name, that's been trickier. I don't have a company. I've just been working as an individual. Some people have listed The Fein Line as my company, but it's not. I like the name as a blog name, but it definitely isn't a company name. I've always felt that company names need to be more clever (but not cute) and need to be easy to spell correctly. I like the name of the blog and don't plan to change it. But, I'll probably have to come up with some company name to better describe what I do.
One new firm name I really like is .406 Ventures. They should give the derivation of the name on their Web site. But, the founders told me that, although they aren't necessarily big baseball fans, they like the idea of emulating Ted Williams's hitting approach. Ted was the last baseball hitter to hit over .400, hitting .406 in 1941. Ted was selective and focused as a hitter, and was also an American Hero with a distinguished war record in World War II and the Korean War. Also, as a Boston focused firm, .406 Ventures has a name with a real Boston flavor.
So, it's time to come up with a name that I can use now and in the future to give some personality to what I do.
I'm happy to say that The Fein Line is now part of the Venture Capital Network of blogs. This network is a service of Feedburner and is run by Brad Feld.
Some features of this network are that you can easily find and search other VC feeds and you can advertise on network feeds (but not mine as I do not currently run any ads). I am overdue in using some of Feedburner's features on my blog, so you'll start to see them appearing here, including FeedFlares on my site and in the feeds.
I hope you enjoy easy access to the extra content. It's good stuff!
Well, I'm finally doing it. I've been considering starting a blog for a long, long time. I've always been hesitant because it seemed like a big commitment to keep it fresh and current. My friend, Fred Wilson, is my blogging idol. Fred does such a great job that I didn't want to get started unless I could be as committed as he is.
I did get a chance to do some blogging on our summer vacation. It was as addictive as you read about. And, it was a great way to avoid mailing postcards to our friends and family while traveling. However, our daily, non-vacation lives are packed. Where would the time come from to do a regular blog?
Well, time won't be an issue for now. I've got some time on my hands as I think abut what's next for me. And, learning Movable Type will keep me busy. I think back to 1996 when I left Shiva to join New Oak. At that time, I experimented with my first HTML web page, hand-coded. A lot has changed in 10 years.
So, as I started up this new blog, I have been playing around with Movable Type and trying to figure out how to format my standard template. Things should change a lot as I read some books and experiment. And, I spent some time staring at the blank screen trying to decide what to type. And, I just dove in and wrote this.
This blog is a place where I can think out loud about the things that are important to me (outside of my family). I'll focus on venture capital, start-ups and entrepreneurship, sports, politics, and the world in general. I look forward to your comments and feedback. You can reach me at mike_feinstein@yahoo.com.
My formal bio:
Michael Feinstein is Managing Director at Sempre Management, a new investment firm that applies its collective investment and operating skills to take advantage of underserved opportunities in inefficient markets.
Michael is an experienced investor and entrepreneur. Prior to co-founding Sempre Management, Michael focused his efforts on new ideas in information technology, semiconductors, and clean energy. Michael advised several start-ups, including Geezeo, GateRocket, Good2gether, HookMobile, MyDesignIn, Zync, and Mobot. He also served as a Mentor in the Ignite Clean Energy Business Plan Competition and a Catalyst with the Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation at MIT.
Previously, Michael was a General Partner at Venrock Associates in Cambridge, MA. While at Venrock, Michael was a Director of Kenet, Ciclon Semiconductor, CircleLending, and Boston-Power (where he remains an independent director).Prior to joining Venrock, Michael was a General Partner at Atlas Venture and led their US Communications investment team. In this capacity, he is a past member of the Board of Directors of WaveSmith Networks (acquired by CIENA Corp. in 2003), Quantum Bridge Communications (acquired by Motorola in 2004), Sandbridge Technology, and Ellacoya Networks. Previously, Michael was Vice President of Market Development for Nortel Networks. He joined Nortel as part of New Oak Communications, where he was Vice President of Product Marketing. Michael previously served as Vice President of Product Management for Shiva, where he also held several engineering and sales executive positions. Prior to Shiva, he held marketing, sales, and engineering executive positions at Cayman Systems and GCC Technologies.
Michael received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT.
