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matthewbuckland.com

A blog about technology, new media & other stuff


Sequoia Capital on startups and the economic downturnYesterday

This presentation from famous Silicon Valley Venture Capital firm, Sequoia Capital, is a must-see. It explains the effects of the economic downturn on venture capital and internet startups. The news obviously isn’t good, as investors will shun typically risky online startups, unless they are entities that can turn faster, if not immediate, profits.

There’s quite a bit of information on what went wrong in the economy, why the recovery is going to take some time, and what startups can do to survive. Sequoia reckon that startups without at least a year’s worth of cash in the bank are in trouble. The VC firm that invested in YouTube and Admob, recommends that all startups should look to be cashflow positive as soon as possible and “spend every dollar as if it were your last”.

What economic downturn?October 9

Could the online advertising industry escape these turbulent economic times relatively unscathed? Commentators say online advertising may buck an economic downturn, and – controversially – even gain from it.

An article in the Financial Times notes that pressure on companies to cut costs as the economy softens could “hasten the switch in spending from traditional media to more targeted and measurable digital forms”. Citing the sub-prime crisis in the US, the FT notes that mortgage lenders (those of them that are left) are turning to online channels to help them weather the storm.

The authoritative eMarketer.com concurs with this view, emphasising that online channels are more accountable and cheaper than television, print and other traditional media.

The research company says that buoyancy in the sector will be created by the following factors: measurability with a better understanding of the audience; more effective ad placements resulting in increased prices; easier purchases for advertisers and their agencies through networks and exchanges; better targeting, and wooing of audiences through multimedia advertising.

In addition, the rapid growth of mobile media is likely to add to the online revenue pie.

Looking at the UK market, currently the

Social media for companies: What’s working?October 5

If you want to know whose using Social Media in the corporate world, here is a list of 35+ Examples of Corporate Social Media in Action from Mashable. If that’s not enough for you, here is a further list of 130 Social Media Marketing examples from major companies. Some are surprising, for example even British Airways as is getting in on the act with a Twitter account listing flight specials.

It got me thinking about who is doing what locally. Here’s my own list that I came up with (please feel free to add or let me know of any omissions):

Companies

Cape Talk 567 vs Joburg’s 702September 22

It’s a funny thing. I don’t know what it is about Cape Town, but politics seem very far away — even the big politics. In Joburg I’d bang my head on the door at every bad ripple in the political landscape, but somehow, in someway, it doesn’t get to you as much down south in the fishing village. I need to analyse this some more to work out what exactly is going on here. Maybe it’s just me.

They say you can tell quite a bit about a place by listening to the people who call in on talk radio shows. So it’s been interesting to note the differences between the two sister news and talk radio stations, Cape Town’s Cape Talk 567 vs Johannesburg’s Radio 702.

The country was rocked this weekend by the sudden resignation of its president, so on my way to work I switched on Cape Talk 567 at about 8am, hungry for more news, reaction, insight and analysis — looking for the kind of hard-hitting, pacy stuff that I’m used to getting on 702. Well, I didn’t really find that:

  • I turned on the radio to find a rather light, relaxed show featuring a call-in, where listeners were phoning in to describe how they felt about the news. It was short of the expert commentary and interviews with major players you would expect with what is the
Dan Gillmor in Cape Town: Transparency is keySeptember 12
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Pics by Tino Kreutzer

Dan Gillmor, author of We Media and acclaimed citizen media advocate, was in Cape Town to speak at the University of Cape Town’s Business School about the publishing revolution of the digital age, also known as Citizen Media. Gillmor is co-founder of Dopplr, a social networking service that allows users to create itineraries of their travel plans and an investor in Jimmy Wales’ Wikia.

We know that media no longer controls the information highways. People are bypassing big media via their own blogs, broadcasts and networks — and that is altering the very fabric of society in many senses. Some say this shift in society is comparable to the revolution in the feudal ages which saw power move away from the aristocracy to the people through the invention of the printing presses and mass media.

Usual criticism of blogs brushed