Startup Diaries

The Dark Side of Technology

I said it many times, Technology in general and the web 2.0 in particular is changing the way we do things, but in most cases it mimic our "old world" needs and desires.
Unfortunately, those needs are sometimes very dark things.
I highly recommend watching this incredible report of Sky News about Second Life pedophilia.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not one of those people that think we should close all virtual worlds and limit user generated content. I think virtual worlds (including Second Life) are simply amazing and could be used for great things.
The problem we are facing is how to take the system of laws and order we established in the real world for thousands of years and use it also in the digital world.
Worse, it's not just making laws, it is also about creating special enforcement units that understand this world. It's about educating thousands of judges, lawyers, police officers and more...

Technorati Tags: Second Live , Virtual Worlds

Why AT&T Will Always Stay Behind

Many of you know that I recently moved to San Francisco.
One of the first things I did is to look for an Internet/Cables/Phone package. As I'm an AT&T user on my iPhone, I decided to first check what they can offer me.
I went into an AT&T branch on Union street and immediately saw a big ad for an all included package (Internet + Phone + Digital Satellite).

I asked the sales people a simple question: "How much it would cost me to get a very fast Internet connection + a land line + digital TV with HD/DVR?"

The AT&T guys started to check this on the computer and didn't find an answer.
Then they called themselves to the sales line of AT&T and didn't get an answer.
After 15 minutes of trying to find the information they told me they can't sell packages like this in the stores.
(To their defense - they were very nice and it is not the direct employees fault).

I went out of the shop and called Comcast. I got an offer in 5 minutes and got everything installed in my apartment in 4 hours!!

This is why AT&T will always stay an "old" company that chase everyone else. I was the perfect customer - want to by everything and willing to do that on the spot and they lost me.
It just shows you that you can spend millions on campaigns and technology, but if your sales process is not easy for the customers, all these investments are worth nothing.

Technorati Tags: AT&T , Comcast , Sales

My First California Earthquake

OK... so the picture is not from today earthquake, but still - I just experienced my first California earthquake (5.6)!
It is probably just a minor stuff for true locals but I got to admit I got a little nervous (especially as it was kind of a long one, and I had the time to try and think if it can get stronger and on the fact that I'm on the fifth floor of a 13 floors building).

A Tribute to London

It's been three years since I lived in London, and still every time I come back it takes me just a couple of hours to remember why this is my favorite city in the world.
London is my city of lights. London for me is the city that never sleeps. It's the city that everything happens there. it's New York outside of New York.
I love London for the music, the culture, the festivals, the fact that every day there is something new and exciting to see.
I love London for it's amazing south bank (my favorite spot) and it's great museums, night view and music.
I love London for it's great football and it's even greater football fans.
I love London for the cute girls and of course the amazing accent.
I simply love this city.

Technorati Tags: London

Why Google Keeps Winning

Have you used Microsoft Live Image Search recently?
Have you used the new Yahoo search (with the automatic assistance and relevancy engines)?

Let me tell you - they are by far superior products over the Google search experience.
Knowing that, how much times do you think I used them in the last month? The surprising (or not) answer is exactly zero.
The billion dollars question is of course - why not?

If you ever tried to do the same search in Google, Live and Yahoo you probably noticed that about 70% of the results are completely different (even for generic and popular search terms such as "music" and "hot movies"). This means that "my Internet" can be very different according to my choice of search engine.
And this is exactly why even if they have better products Microsoft and Yahoo simply does not have a chance against Google.

The notion that Google search results are superior is so strong for all of us (even if it is far from reality by now) that whenever we don't use Google we feel that there is a chance that we are missing something important. We feel that there is a good chance that we miss the sites we really want to find.

Technorati Tags: Search, Live Search, Yahoo Search, Google