Toluu : Web Strategy by Jeremiah

Web Strategy by Jeremiah

Jeremiah discusses how web tools enable companies to connect with customers

Left Image: I was stunned by the diversity and co-existence of thousands of species at this tropical reef exhibit

Change is coming, whether you like it or not. Jive software, a company I formerly cover slashed 1/3rd of it’s workforce, likely in response to it’s own VCs suggestion to slash costs to become cash flow positive in the now famous RIP Good Times preso. Cutting 33% of your body off to make sure you can still float in a few years is cutting very, very deep, no doubt customer service will be impacted, and a slow down in the product roadmap.

Coincidently, I’m having a meeting with a VC over at Sequoia (have had this planned for a while) and believe me, the economy is one discussion we’ll be having and how it applies to the social media space. I’ll also discuss how this one is different from the dot com bust.

On Monday on my “day off” I went to the brand new

Weekly Digest of the Social Networking Space: Oct 15, 2008Today

In the age of meme trackers, aggregators, and news.google.com I hear from more people that this hand created editorial list I do each week is helpful. With so much content being created now, it just goes to show that editing (by humans) is more important than ever. One key for this digest to be successful is to link to anything that I think is important, regardless of source, and even competitive research –expect more of that as I go forward.

I’m respecting your limited time by publishing this weekly digest on the Social Networking space, which I cover as an industry analyst. By creating this digest (I started this over a year ago) it really helps me to stay on top of the space I cover.

I’ve created a new category called Digest (view archives). Start with the Web Strategy Summary, then quickly scan the succinct and categorized headlines, read text for my take, and click link to dive in for more.

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Web Strategy Summary
Interesting week, given the top

Compare and Contrast: Dot Com Bust and Web Two Point DohYesterday

I’m spending my quiet time thinking about what lays in front of us, in fact, given the market data, there’s troubled times ahead not just for tech, but the US economy which of course impacts globally, as we’re major importers of goods from other nations.

I was part of the first web bust, at a high flying startup that had 5 splits then came crashing to Chapter 11 –twice. I tell my story about Exodus and remember it vividly, as without recalling history, we’re doomed to repeat it again.

In this post, I’ll compare and contrast how this was different from the last dot com bust in 2001, but I’ll do my best to provide an objective viewpoint –not one filled with panic.

Compare and Contrast: Dot Com Bust and Web Two Point Doh

VC funding
I don’t have access to a 10 year funding graph, but this article shows a rise in the number of silicon valley companies that were funded during the first web wave. While Techcrunch shows a noticable increase (a doubling from 05-08 in funding dollars from 2006-2008) in funding for the second wave, but shows

How to have a Successful Briefing with meYesterday

Briefings are a core part of being an analyst, this constant input fuels me with new ideas, examples, and vendors to recommend to our vast client base in our inquiry calls, speeches research reports, and even blog posts.

I want you to be effective and efficient in your communications, although keep in mind that each analyst may have their own preference.

Thanks to all who have requested briefings to meet with me, here’s a few things to know that’ll help you to quickly communicate your value proposition to me, so I can best understand your company. First of all, see this list of the dreamteam, in many cases, I may not be the right analyst to cover your company. In most cases, I’m limiting my briefings to 30 minutes rather than an hour, if you can’t communicate your value in that time, we’ve other issues to consider. Powerpoint slides are good, but only as a supplement for discussion, allow me to ask questions, I can learn far more when it’s a dialog. Rushing through your presentation just to make sure you hit each slide isn’t going to do you –or me– any good, I can read slides on my own.

Lately, my schedule has gone awry, (my lack of blogging is one indicator) and I’m on average 30 days out for most briefings. I’m very unlikely to blog about your announcement for a few reasons: 1) I leave that for the smart bloggers with far

Layoffs in the Social Media SpaceOctober 10

With the financial crises impacting not just US but global markets, as an industry analyst focused on social computing, I’m going to watch how this impacts layoffs in the tech and social media space.

While I take no joy in seeing jobs get cut, I do feature recent ‘on the moves’ and have links to many job sites related to social media. It’s only fair that I point out the new hires as well as the exits.

To be clear these layoffs aren’t just hitting the social media space, but will hit other industries. Most recent at the top, in some cases these are hard to confirm as sources from company feed rumor sites, so take them as you will.

Layoffs in the Social Media Space

Oct 14: Jive lays off 1/3rd of worforce Oct 13: Redfin lays off 20% of workforce leaving 75 (link via TomCummings) Oct 10: Fast Company, which has social network for website and popular videoblogger, lays off 20 Oct 10: Seesmic, a video conversation player lays off 7 Oct 6: eBay to lay off 10% of workforce to streamline after recession. Oct 3: Gawker blog network lays off 19, and brags about it.

Leave a comment below with a submission, or watch these tweets with the tag #techlayoffs, there are three there now