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The latest stories from across the GigaOM Network

‘Black Silicon’ Startup SiOnyx Could Revolutionize Solar, Imaging [Earth2Tech]Today

You gotta admit “black silicon” has to be near the top of the most fun cleantech terms of the year. The material, which reportedly is between 100 and 500 times more sensitive to light than standard silicon, has been licensed by Massachusetts-based venture-backed startup SiOnyx from Harvard University. The New York Times and Xconomy have the story (Xconomy’s is far more detailed and actually explains the tech) about the three year old startup, which is backed by $11 million from Polaris Ventures, Harris & Harris, and RedShift. Polaris investor and ethernet inv

Bill and Steve — and Jeff (Bezos) [GigaOM]Today

Earlier this year, when Bill Gates retired from Microsoft, I wrote a post explaining why no one was going to replace Bill and Steve (Jobs). The only person I thought was within striking distance of being the likely replacement was Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon (AMZN).

Amazon has proved to be a proxy for future trends of web and technology; cloud computing and Kindle being the most recent examples. Today, when I read this quote from him in the New York Times…

“Our willingness to be misunderstood, our long-term orientation and our willingness to repeatedly fail are the three parts of our culture that make doing this kind of thing possible”

…I realized that Amazon would keep pushing the envelope and coming up with interesting ideas and that should make Bezos a lock for the inheritor to Bill and Steve’s crown. His company’s “willingness to repeatedly fail” and focus on the long term is what makes him and Amazon different from others.

P.S.

Dude, Where’s My Ad? [GigaOM]Today

Last week, after ignoring the world’s financial problems for almost a year, Silicon Valley woke up to find itself caught in the death grip of the credit crunch. Declining stock markets only added to the overall gloom. And when one of its own — Sequoia Capital, among the smartest and most rational investors in the world — told its portfolio companies to cinch their belts tighter than ever, all hell broke loose.

Those of us in the Valley are now reassessing our bullishness and trying to quickly figure out which sectors are going to get hit the hardest. The consensus that is fast emerging? Advertising.

And yes, that does include online advertising — even if it is likely to recover first. Regardless of the timeline involved, the destruction that will follow is going to be on a massive scale, as it will take down any number of poorly funded startups whose fortunes depend on those ad dollars.

In a sobering and harsh analysis sent to his clients, UBS analyst Ben Schachter said online advertising network ValueClick would be among those negatively affected. Using that as a proxy for the “advertising network” business, it’s safe to assume that dozens of advertising

DECA Aims for Teens, Signs SMOSH [NewTeeVee]Today

New media studio DECA announced today that it has become the exclusive business and production partner for YouTube darlings SMOSH.

SMOSH is Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox, whose manic comedy videos have made the duo the third most subscribed YouTube channel, with more than 555,000 subscribers and more than 9 million streams a month.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but according to the press announcement, DECA will provide the web video stars with financing, ad sales, marketing, distribution and other business development as SMOSH tries to move beyond just being a YouTube partner into becoming a real business.

Perhaps seein’ gold in them thar Mileys and Efrons, it looks like both SMOSH and DECA are trying to build their very own web version of a Disney-like entertainment empire. In the press announcement, DECA CEO Michael Wayne highlights Padilla and Hecox’s “clean, funny content” and says he wants to build them into a “premier teen brand.” Makes sense given that SMOSH’s manager is the former president of TV animation at the Mouse House.

This is DECA’s third venture with high-profile web personalities. This studio is behind Boing Boing TV, and just this past summer it signed Diggnation’s Alex Albrecht (no relation) to create his new show Project Lore.

Wattbot Launches Site to Speed Up Clean Energy Adoption [Earth2Tech]Today

Even with all the talk about renewable energy and energy efficiency in Washington, the media and Silicon Valley these days, adoption of such technologies in the U.S. is still very low — solar power made up just 1 percent of the renewable energy consumed in 2007. But two entrepreneurs, Diane Loviglio and Kurt Brown, along with the two dozen members of their team, have created a web site called Wattbot that acts as a sort of middle man for interested consumers and energy providers, which they hope will help speed the adoption of clean power and energy-efficiency tools.

Wattbot is officially launching in beta at the Solar Power International convention in San Diego this week. Here’s how it works: Solar installers, home retrofitters, and other energy providers sign up to be listed on the site and can receive high-quality leads for consumers in their area who are interested in their service. Consumers enter information about the energy products they are interested in and can search through recommendations and listings of the most appropriate providers, pricing options and companies in their area (the consumer section won’t be able available until January). The company says providers cannot directly influence the automated matching service.