Valleywag
blogging for dollars
blogging for dollars
Most Popular Stories
- Spies, killers, thieves, and coders: 10 engineers gone bad (1,704 views, 8 comments)
- Facebook's new home: HP's old office park (1,320 views, 1 comment)
- Leave Sheryl Sandberg alone! (1,235 views, 6 comments)
- Forgotten YouTube founder Jawed Karim prefers Minnesota to the Valley (13 comments, 958 views)
- John Doerr's daughter is greener than thou (11 comments, 497 views)
Commenter Of The Day
pepelicious
Hipsters must be quite sad that Muxtape is down but we have RIAA to blame. Today's featured commenter, pepelicious knows the other problem with Muxtape though: More »
Facebook
Meet Fake Sheryl Sandberg
Maybe you haven't heard, but there's drama. Paul and Melissa have started a breakaway Leave Sheryl Sandberg Alone movement, dividing the 'Wag. Jackson and I don't know what to say. Someone going by Fake Sheryl Sandberg does. She begins her comment on Owen's last post:"Dear Owen Tummy" More »
Caption Contest
Matt Mullenweg interviews the SEO rapper
WordPress creator Matt Mullenweg trades Google gaming tips with Charles "Moserious" Lewis, the MC of SEO, at WordCamp last weekend on the UCSF campus. We know you can do better, so crack wise in the comments and we'll make the best one the new title. Yesterday's winner was TimsBoot for "With nerds and Twitter behind me I will rule the world." (Photo by Alan Levine)
Real Estate
Seattle baristas propose 300-foot colossus honoring Paul Allen
Kapow Coffee baristas have collected hundreds of signatures on a petition to erect a 300-foot statue of billionaire Microsoft co-founder turned real estate developer Paul Allen in Kapow's South Lake Union neighborhood. It's a backhanded prank: Allen's development firm Vulcan owns about a third of South Lake Union and has been relentlessly gentrifying the place. Kapow's rent has tripled in recent years. It's not their first poke in Allen's eye. After he convinced city officials to provide a South Lake Union trolley service, Kapow's staff stuck the streetcars with the nickname "S.L.U.T." On the statue plan, Allen made the faux pas of letting a spokeswoman handle reporters for him. Come on, big guy, go down there and order a triple shot. They'll be eating out of your hand in ten minutes. (Original photo by Randy Wick)
Stats
Apple, Google tops in annoyingly happy customers
As if fanboys of Apple and Google weren't shrill and relentless enough! The American Customer Satistfaction Index has ranked Apple tops in personal computers and Google tops in Internet portals and search engines. Yahoo's score in the latter category slipped, proving that any publicity may not, in fact, be good publicity. Both companies improved their scores significantly over the previous year, and both are running well ahead of the competition. Of course, thanks to Google it took mere milliseconds to find that orgasmic Apple MacBook Pro unboxing that I promise will make you throw up a little in your mouth.
Hackers
MIT students free to talk about bugs in Boston bus system
Three MIT students who'd been blocked by a judge from presenting their findings on "vulnerabilities in Boston's transit fare payment system" at this month's Defcon security conference are free to speak starting Friday. A U.S. District Court judge refused to extend the 10-day gag order issued against Zack Anderson (pictured), RJ Ryan, and Alessandro Chiesa just before the conference. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority had asked for a five-month restraining order to allow time to fix the vulnerabilities. San Francisco's Electronic Frontier Foundation represented the students. (Photo by Zack Anderson)
Alan Citron
The gossip-proof gossipmonger
Last month, Alan Citron silently disappeared from TMZ.com, the gossip megasite he helped launch. He has suddenly reappeared at Buzznet, a music-blog startup that's dabbling in celebrity news. "It goes to my reputation of being quiet," he told me. I felt bad for Citron when, as the general manager of TMZ.com, he sat next to me on a panel on gossip at the South by Southwest conference in Austin this spring. Julia Allison, the notorious nobody with a nonstartup, stole the show, literally leaping from the audience onto the moderator's lap. More »
Advanced Equities
The worst VC firm you've never heard of
Venture capital is a game of hits. That's part of the reason why the industry is so secretive — most startups fail, with the few successes paying back investors, if the're lucky. Sunshine, venture capitalists feel, would merely serve to highlight the awkward in-between stages. That's what's so curious about Advanced Equities, the Chicago-based VC firm which has sprung up out of the blue, and is now talking about going public. As Forbes amply documents, it's a rotten business. More »
Facebook
Leave Sheryl Sandberg alone!
The best thing Valleywag ever did for Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg was to call her a liar. That's just not done in the genteel office parks of Silicon Valley. It garnered the embattled executive a much-needed wave of sympathy within her company, on which she's now planning to capitalize. More »
breakdowns
Apple confirms iPod Nano fires
Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry claims “there have been multiple cases of overheating and fire damage, in particular during recharging" iPod Nanos sold during the model's first year of production in 2005. An Apple spokesperson confirmed that “in very rare cases”, batteries in first generation iPod Nanos sold between September 2005 and December 2006 can overheat. Full statement from Apple: More »
rumormonger
Muxtape's spending real cause of music site's shutdown
Muxtape founder Justin Ouellette says he's shut down the mixtape-hosting website because of a problem with the Recording Industry Association of America. A statement from the RIAA itself seems to confirm the story. Bu we hear another reason Muxtape is shutting down is that it got too expensive for Ouellette to keep up. More »
Crime
Girls Gone Wild's Joe Francis pleads for support on YouTube
Joe Francis, the creepy smutrepreneur who teased us all with promises of Ashley Alexandra Dupré footage, has taken to the Internet to demand his rights under the Constitution. Seems a judge and prosecutors in Panama City, FL abused Francis in all sorts of illegal and unethical ways. The sad thing is that I have to support Francis on this issue. And if you like your porn cheap and freely available, you probably should, too.
Geek Love
No, she won't go "Facebook Official" with you
"Dating isn't dead, it's just changed names!" So the newspapers reassure us. Don't blame today's "hookup culture" on Web-driven moral decay or the rapid-thumbed narcissism of the Youngs. The Internet has actually saved romance. "They may not call it 'dating,' but they still 'go out,'" a Contra Costa Times reporter explains. "And when it gets serious enough, they announce it online and become 'Facebook official.'" Facebook has saved dating? Fine, one fewer thing to blame Sheryl Sandberg for. But it's still not true. More »
12:40 PM on Tue Aug 19 2008
By Melissa Gira Grant
1,111 views,
4 comments
Latest by raincoaster: It's really quite poignant when you sign on and see "Bobo has switched status from 'in a relationship' to 'single'". more »
Apple Users Held Hostage
iPhone day 40: Apple makes it up to MobileMe sufferers
After claiming over and over that MobileMe migration problems had only affected "1 percent" of us who use Apple's hosted email service, the company sent out an apology and a free extra 60 days of service to all MobileMe users Monday night. Cash value: $16.27.
Superficial
Kara Swisher slaps bear, runs off to Alaska
After slapping our beloved sweaterbear Owen Thomas for his description of Sheryl Sandberg's "reign of terror" at Facebook, Kara Swisher has left the lower 48 and hopped on a boat bound for Alaska. While bears may seem cuddly, danger may lurk in their embrace. Since we wouldn't want anything bad to happen to our favorite mommyblogger, here are some helpful tips on bear safety from your friends here at Valleywag. (Photo by B Mully)
cleantech
Google wants to drill Mother Earth and pump her with fluids
Google, everyone's favorite search-engine monopoly, has spent $10,739,521 on three geothermal power projects, including investments in AltaRock Energy, Potter Drilling and a grant for the geothermal labs at Southern Methodist University. The idea? Dig a hole two to six miles deep, pump it full of water and then use the steam produced by the heat to power a turbine (and, presumably, capture the steam in order to recycle the water). It adds geothermal power to wind and solar generation projects funded through Google.org's project to generate renewable energy that's cheaper per kilowatt-hour than power generated through burning coal. All in an effort to make sure that consumer markets can continue apace, because heaven help us if we had to actually conserve energy. (Photo by World Island Info)
twitter
Hot startup to squirm away from old man's caring embrace
It's been a rough year so far, Internet, what with Twitter's ups and downs, Facebook's family feud, and Microsoft's failed bear-hug acquisition of Yahoo. Now a bunch of grumpy old men are plotting a "bear hug" on Twitter, too. Not a takeover, per se, and more passive-aggressive than hostile. But make no mistake: Steve Gillmor and his gang want to bend the microblogging platform to their will, with their ursine embrace, at Bear Hug Camp, a group grope set for September. More »
valleywag calendar
Billion-dollar baby
No man is an island, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be fun to own one. If you're itching to join the band of nouveau riche that put the silicon in the Valley, then have we got an event for you. "Upsizing: Breaking the Billion Dollar Benchmark" brings a sampling of CXOs who succeeded in the billion dream to Cabana in Palo Alto tonight at 6:00 pm. Social network your way to the top with the help of Mitchell Levy. His "Tips and Tricks for Online and Physical Networking" will help you make the most of your online presence. And finally the folks that bring you Web Analytics Wednesday are X-cited. Their monthly meeting will be tonight from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Azul Bar and Lounge, a mere 3 blocks from the X-Change Conference. How convenient. (Photo by ZeroOne) More »
online advertising
Report: Yahoo's company-saving ad platform still on schedule
Despite losing its lead engineer and complaints that it's been underfunded, Yahoo's dashboard for brand advertising buyers — first called Apex, then AMP and now goes nameless — is ready to roll out this September, the New York Post reports. The story's source is Yahoo exec Mike Walrath, who will move to San Francisco around the time AMP launches this fall. "We understand there is a fair amount of skepticism outside of the company," Walrath told the Post. "Inside of the company, the reason the confidence level is so high is we're not just building a piece of software to be innovative. We are potentially the biggest customer of this software." Nothing personal, but we'll believe it when we see it, Mike.
Microsoft now offers Ultimate support
Microsoft's money comes largely from its corporate clients. But they're the ones dumping Vista every chance they get. So Microsoft is trying other tactics to woo them. First, an "Ultimate" option for customer service focusing on proactive support instead of just fixing problems once they're called in. Microsoft Services Premier Ultimate is said to maintain a company's "IT health." Secondly, Microsoft is relaxing its licensing agreements to let companies reuse applications on multiple servers. [Ars Technica and CNN]
Microsoft's money comes largely from its corporate clients. But they're the ones dumping Vista every chance they get. So Microsoft is trying other tactics to woo them. First, an "Ultimate" option for customer service focusing on proactive support instead of just fixing problems once they're called in. Microsoft Services Premier Ultimate is said to maintain a company's "IT health." Secondly, Microsoft is relaxing its licensing agreements to let companies reuse applications on multiple servers. [Ars Technica and CNN]
Valley Spawn
John Doerr's daughter is greener than thou
Kleiner Perkins partner John Doerr, ever the indulgent father, has stopped showering tears on his 17-year-old daughter Mary, and switched to cash instead. Mary Doerr's nonprofit, Inconvienient Youth, is a Ning-based social network that's supposed to make Al Gore's global warming presentation more "teen-friendly," according to VentureBeat. More »
Business cards endangered by heedless new startup
Rmbr, a wireless-apps startup, has developed a service which exchanges business cards electronically via text message. What, and lose the vital ritual of ceremoniously discarding the cards of the unimportant in your hotel room after a conference? [VentureBeat]
Rmbr, a wireless-apps startup, has developed a service which exchanges business cards electronically via text message. What, and lose the vital ritual of ceremoniously discarding the cards of the unimportant in your hotel room after a conference? [VentureBeat]
Media
BusinessWeek's new online strategy: search-engine spam
BusinessWeek has tried it all — comments, blogs, podcasts. But with its latest online strategy, it's really giving up on the idea of serving up quality content. Instead, its new site, Business Exchange, will specialize in gaming Google. Sort through the gobbledygook about "aggregation" and "verticals" and "user-generated content," and you arrive at this vision for the site: More »
online advertising
RockYou's plan: Hope Facebook widget users are in the mood to buy cars
RockYou CEO and cofounder Lance Tokuda told Silicon Alley Insider the No. 2 Facebook widgetmaker plans start selling ads in traditional verticals, starting with classifieds-like car ads in its SpeedRacer widget. "He was scant on details," reports SAI. We think Tokuda and company will end up going forward with a different plan — maybe one that puts car-company brand advertising in its widgets. Because when's the last time anybody looked for a car to buy inside a racing videogame? (Photo by ninjapoodles)
online advertising
