Anthony Tjan summarized an interesting study he did on entrepreneurial happiness in a powerful and very succinct post in the Harvard Business Review. Well worth a read – for anybody, not just entrepreneurs. Some key themes: 1. Take more risks — sooner. 2. Make experience-driven choices. 3. Nurture relationships. 4. Stay curious, stay learning, and stay relevant.
Archives for November 2010
The Perfect Angel Group
November 23, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Nice shout-out for Race Point Capital Group in the recent blog post by my buddy Ty Danco. Thanks Ty! The post is full of great suggestions about the rapidly growing and increasingly professional world of organized angel investing. Thanks Ty!
Ty Danco, Olympic medalist for the USA Luge Team during the Geezers Masters race last year. Photo by Laura Murphy.
Rough Start for Google TV
November 18, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Google TV is off to a really rough start. David Pogue slammed it in his review. He probably didn’t set out to slam it, but by the time he is done describing it there is no conclusion you can reach other than v. 1.0 is a bag of hurt.
Then Walt Mossberg of the WSJ has added to the chorus of jeers, pointing out how fragmented and difficult GoogleTV is to use at this point.
For the record, I am not saying that the platform is the next Google Wave and will never morph into something interesting – it might – but it really shows the importance of a seamless experience and in sweating the details to make things feel integrated and easy. But even if they get there on the UI, the jury is still out on the basic premise that underlies GoogleTV: that people want the full internet/web/browser experience in the “lean back” context of the big screen TV environment. Many have argued that the Internet is a lean forward medium (i.e. a close-up, fine-grained, interactive, text-heavy desk or lap experience) that won’t translate well into the lean-back big screen context. When I consider how easy it is to just browse YouTube videos on the $99 AppleTV box, you have to wonder if that isn’t 90% of the value for 0% of the hassle?
Simplicity counts.
Nicaragua Raids Costa Rica, Blames Google Maps
November 5, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Oooops!
Widespread complaints about slow Gmail, accidental war in Central America, people being directed to the wrong places to vote… Somewhere along the way Google ceased to be a mere provider of cool web toys and found its wish had come true; it has become a critical piece of infrastructure. Is it up to the task?