Yeah, RIM is dead

When I started working this past fall, I was given the option of several smartphones to use for work, ranging from Blackberry and iPhone to Android, Windows Phone, even Palm. At the time, I had just gotten my Incredible 2 so I was hoping to take the opportunity to try a different phone out. After some debate, I decided to go with the Blackberry Bold 9650 from Verizon. My reasoning at the time was I already had a fun, touch screen phone with the Incredible, so I just needed something that could make calls and do email for work. Blackberry is known for its email, security, and keyboard. Plus a lot of people around the office had one of these so it seemed like a good idea.

While I haven’t been disappointed by the Bold, it also hasn’t exactly impressed me. The email client is fine but that’s about as much it has going for it. I used to think that a keyboard would be important for emailing, but I’ve gotten used to typing on a touchscreen (the buttons on the 9650 are a little small too). A lot of people raved about Blackberry Messenger, but I’ve never found a use for it. What really brings the phone down though is the software. Blackberry OS just feels too much like a feature phone OS from the mid 2000s. The web browser is horrible and the app ecosystem is weak. I didn’t think it would be a big deal, but even for work, apps can be important. Deloitte has a couple of proprietary apps that are either exclusive to or better on the iPhone.

I know newer iterations of the Bold have a touchscreen and a better keyboard, but unless they drastically improve the OS and app environment, I will probably get an iPhone next time I’m eligible for an upgrade (just to get some variety). I finally believe that RIM is dead now. Even if the new OS is as good as iOS and Android, it will already be too late and it surely won’t be enough to attract new customers. The only viable strategy I see for RIM (other than selling itself) is to focus on being the smartphone for the poor. RIM has had some success in developing countries and lower income consumers. If it can get its price point down and offer some of the functionality users want (messaging, Facebook, Twitter) RIM can become a niche player. The days of RIM being the corporate king though is over.

(Not So) Recent Tech Roundup

It’s been a long time since I’ve done this, but I finally got around to posting here again. A lot of tech announcements have come out during the last few months and instead of doing the in depth analysis of one or two news stories, I thought I would do a rapid fire quick reaction to each item and go back to them in the future if I think they warrant more discussion:

Spotify- I’ve been a vocal fan of this service before it came to the U.S. since I got to try it out in the UK. However, I’m still a little hesitant to pay for the premium streaming service. I admit streaming is very nice, but think about this: if you ever stop paying the subscription for any reason (cash is tight or Spotify goes out of business, which is entirely possible) you’re left with nothing. Yes buying a lot of music can be expensive too, but most people aren’t starting from scratch. You already have a decent mp3 library and maybe even some CDs still lying around. Also, unlike video, music is something that has a lot of replay value. Therefore you’re not constantly seeking new songs to listen to. Finally, Spotify’s library still has a lot of holes, and I’m not just talking about obscure indy music. Coldplay did not release their latest album on Spotify because they didn’t like the financial terms. So you still have to buy some music anyway. For now I’m using Google Music, which lets you upload your music and stream it on any laptop or Android device. It gives me the convenience of streaming while maintaining ownership of my music without a monthly fee.

Apple Education announcement- Many people know that I have always been critical of Apple and I was skeptical after hearing this announcement. Will it be successful for Apple bottom line? Sure it’s Apple. But will it really improve and revolutionize education as they claim? Not necessarily, especially since a large part of the problem in this country is the gap between wealthy and poor school districts. I did some quick back of the envelope type calculations and it’s hard to see how this will save school districts any money.

Let’s assume a typical K-12 textbook cost $150 and the school district can use it for 5 years before it is outdated or worn out. Let’s say a student takes 5 classes each year. Therefore, the annual cost per student under this traditional model is $150.

Now let’s see what happens if a school district decides to supply iPads to its students. We will assume that each student will get their own device and each student will have to pay for a copy of the e-textbook every year. I’m also going to be generous here and assume the iPads will be subsidized, either by the government or Apple, to a very low $300 for the 16G Wifi model  and the price ceiling on e-textbooks will remain at $15. In this scenario, we get an annual cost per student of $135.

This is a slight saving of $15 per student annually which could really add up for large school districts. However, we left out a few things from this quick exercise and made very optimistic assumptions about others. First off, there’s no guarantee educational iPads will be subsidized at all, much less by $200. Nor will e-textbook prices remain at a low $15. If these sales start significantly cannibalizing print sales, I can’t see the publishing companies just standing by idly. In addition, we’re assuming that an iPad will last 5 years. Aside from usual wear and tear (which you know will happen when you’re dealing with kids), tablet technology is progressing rapidly. If Apple continues its release cycle of at least one a year for iPads, the current iPad 2 will long be obsolete by 2017. And let’s not forget that not all schools have Wifi and schools will still need money for traditional computers. I don’t care how good the iPad becomes, there’s no way you’re writing an essay on it. Financially, it’s hard to see this model working in its present state.

Changes to Google search- A lot of hoopla was made over Google’s privacy policy change, but I think people should be more upset about Google’s efforts to make search social and individualized. To me, a big part of Google search’s appeal was that it was agnostic. It didn’t matter who was doing the search, you would all get the same results because its what Google’s algorithms objectively believed were the most relevant. If Google has its way though, everyone would in theory have different search results even if they looked up the same term. This is fine for a social network like Facebook, but for a search engine it just seems wrong. If not done properly, it could seriously erode the value of Google. Imagine how detrimental it would be if I used Google to look up a certain product, explore vacation destinations, or research a political candidate and I only got one side of the story. Philosophically, it represents a greater danger of “socializing” everything. In my opinion, part of the beauty of the Internet is to explore new information and ideas outside your worldview. For example, you can spend hours using the random article feature on Wikipedia to learn all sorts of random facts about anything and everything. By filtering the Internet based only on what you already know and like, you’re creating something that may be comfortable but closed minded.

Facebook IPO- Yes, everyone’s asking two questions: Will Facebook’s IPO soar like Google’s and should I get in on it? From an outsider’s perspective, I would say “yes” and “maybe.” I’m sure Facebook will pop like most IPOs, but there’s almost chance you will get in on it if you’re an average investor. Most of these shares will be going to employees and large institutional investors and by the time you get your hands on them, you will already be paying the post-pop price. Long term, I don’t think Facebook will fizzle like Linkedin, Zynga, and Groupon. It’s too big and demand is too high to run out of momentum. I don’t think we’re going to see run away growth a la Google’s early years either, at least not yet. Remember, Facebook did a lot of its growing as a private company and is already really saturated in its existing markets. However, I think they have two trump cards that can give them a long term boost. First, Facebook currently does not serve ads on its mobile site and apps. As mobile becomes ever more important though, I have no doubt they will monetize it eventually and see a financial windfall from it. Second, Facebook has yet to crack China and several other Asian markets. While American tech companies have had a mixed record in China, it would be one of the few ways for Facebook to significantly grow its user base. For Facebook shareholders, it will all be about timing and patience. Wait for the initial buzz to subside to buy in and then hold for one of these major events to happen.

Jeremy Lin- Not a tech story at all, but couldn’t resist. First off, I like this kid and I hope he succeeds. He’s smart and plays his heart out. Despite beating the Lakers though, I still think he’s overhyped and unlikely to be the Knick’s savior by any means. Let’s not forget that he’s putting these numbers up on a Knicks team with their top 2 scorers out. They’re desperate for any positive signs in an otherwise disappointing season, and he plays for D’antoni whose offense is really friendly for quick PGs who can shoot and make good decisions with the ball. We don’t know if he’ll still be effective once Carmelo and Stoudamire return, we don’t know if he can sustain this kind of effort over a full season, much less multiple season and probably most importantly he’s had a lot of turnovers, sometimes as many as his assists. I still think he can be an effective backup because of his smarts and handles. I can see him having a solid NBA career an energetic spark off the bench like J.J. Barea or Leandro Barbosa, but I wouldn’t bet on much more than that.

Incredible 2 Review

Well, after reading about and even critiquing smartphones for the past few years, I finally got one of my own, the Droid Incredible 2 by HTC on Verizon. I’ve played around with it for a few weeks now so I feel like I can give a fair assessment of the device. I admit the name is a bit pretentious, but bottom line you’re getting great value for the price you’re paying. If only they were a little more modest and called it the Droid Really Really Good.

For various philosophical and financial reasons, I do not own any Apple devices and I wasn’t going to start with an iPhone 4. Android may not be as neat and clean as iOS, but it’s better for people who want to tinker with their phones and customize it for their own needs. It has great integration with Google services like Gmail and Voice and in many ways the Incredible 2 is better than the iPhone 4 both in terms of hardware (better camera) and software (iOS5 just got notifications).

If you’re going with Android on Verizon, you have a lot of choices. The Incredible 2 certainly isn’t the most flashy option. It doesn’t have 4G LTE like the Droid Charge or Thunderbolt. It doesn’t have a dual core processor like the Droid X2. However, what you do get is reliable performance in a lean, mean package. Unlike the 4G phones, the Incredible’s battery life is solid and won’t die after a few hours. I can get through a day of regular use (some phone/texting, 1-2 hours of music/podcasting, some web, social networking, and Youtube) without recharging. Unlike the X2, it won’t look (too) ridiculous in your pocket because the screen is only 4″ but that’s all you really need. If you really want to do heavy duty reading/watching, get a tablet. I wanted a phone that could make calls, browse the web, play music and casual games. The Incredible 2 does it beautifully without breaking the bank ($199.99 with contract right now).

That being said, there are some downsides. The biggest problem is Verizon. They’ve loaded it up with free trials and their crappy VCast apps. It’s like buying a PC back in 2000, except you can’t delete these. There’s also the issue of media management. Whatever criticisms I may have of the iPhone, its media management system via iTunes is the best out there. On Android, I’ve tried several options from the default HTC music player to DoubleTwist to Google Music (Yes I got a Beta invite! Look for a post about it!). All of these have their strengths and weaknesses but none of them work as well as iTunes on iPhone. Maybe as Google Music gets better Android will have something comparable. Lastly, I upgraded from a keyboard phone and the touchscreen typing initially took some getting used to. I’m okay with the onscreen keyboard now and Android does give you other options like voice input if you hate typing, but I still miss blazing across a full QWERTY keyboard sometimes.

Finally, I have to address the 3G v. 4G debate a little more. My choice ultimately came down to the Incredible 2 and the Droid Charge. The two phones have very similar specs. The big difference is one is 4G and one is not. We’re currently in a stage of development where there isn’t a clear cut better choice between the two. Let me be clear: LTE can be very fast and it certainly is the future. Also, Verizon’s 3G and 4G data plans cost the same so if you live in a 4G area it can be a pretty good deal. However, LTE is still a very new technology. A lot of these new phones are very expensive ($300 for the Charge) but have terrible battery life. In 2 years everything will be 4G, but right now it’s a tossup. Many places still do not have 4G coverage and the places that do may suffer outages. It really depends on where you live and how you use your phone.

So to recap, I’m really happy with the Incredible 2. It isn’t state of the art but the technology behind it is proven. You’re getting great bang for your buck. I would argue it’s the best 3G Android phone on Verizon, and perhaps even better than the iPhone 4. Don’t take my word for it though. Go read other reviews and go to your local store to play around with one.

A Defense of Business Majors

I read a recent piece from The New York Times today questioning the rigorousness of undergraduate business degrees. Basically, the article presented evidence that business classes are soft, students don’t learn as much as those of other majors, and a traditional liberal arts education holds greater value. I also saw another article raising some of the same questions about MBA degrees. You can obviously see my interest in this debate. As a business major concentrating in finance, I feel like it is my duty to defend my degree’s honor and provide a rebuttal to these arguments.

For the past four years, I have been a student at Boston College’s Carroll School of Management, which BusinessWeek recently ranked #9 in the country. The majority of my experience has been overwhelmingly positive and I have nothing but the utmost respect for my professors and fellow classmates. Yes, there were some really easy classes along the way, but I think you will find those in any major. For the most part, my professors have challenged me with the course material but they also made it relevant by tying it to current and real life events. I went from knowing nothing about business to being able to invest my own money and speak intelligently about the markets and the financial crisis. And yes, our coursework involves a lot of in class discussions and group work, but I think the point of all this is to prepare students for life in the workforce. Many of my Arts & Sciences friends tell me they wish they had more opportunities for group work in their classes. The ability to work effectively with others is a valuable and highly underrated skill in almost any career. The students that I have had to work with have been absolutely professional and accountable. I have rarely had issues with inequitable distributions of work.

I do think there are two broader issues that both the Times and Poets and Quants articles failed to address. First, it ignored the economics of higher education. College is really expensive. For all majors. Unfortunately, not all majors are created equal in terms of employability. Therefore it is not unreasonable for a student and his family to choose a major at least partly because it is perceived to have a better chance of maximizing his future income. I wonder sometimes how a teacher or social worker (both of whom I admire greatly) will ever pay off his or her student loans from a 4 year private institution on their modest salaries. This is a problem that has potentially serious economic and social consequences. I am starting to agree with Peter Thiel that there is a higher education bubble. (Note that I say the decision is based on perceived future income. As the article noted, the average starting salary of business majors is higher, but the gap narrows as time goes on. However, perception is just as important as reality when you’re a college freshmen and all you’re going to see is the six figure Wall Street salaries and bonuses, even though few students will actually get those jobs).

The second issue has to do with MBAs. I do not have an MBA so I cannot claim to be an expert on the subject. I have spoken with older folks both with and without MBAs about the issue. As a Business Analyst at Deloitte, I am also obligated to get an MBA at some point if I want to stay with the company after a few years. From what I understand, the MBA is as much about the degree itself as it is about having it on your resume. A plain Bachelor’s degree is no longer special; you need an advanced degree to differentiate yourself. For better or worse, having an MBA will help you get a raise, earn a promotion, and in general open up more career opportunities. Therefore some students may be motivated to pursue an MBA not for the learning but simply for the degree. With that kind of attitude, it’s no wonder the academic environment at even the top MBA programs has broken down. The devaluation of the Bachelor’s degree and the sustainability of getting more advanced degrees is another serious question that merits more discussion.

I will concede a few points to the writer of the Times article. Business majors are notoriously bad at writing; even we know it. I have been fortunate enough to be an above average writer since elementary school and I have consciously tried to hone that skill in college by writing for the campus newspaper and my blog. BC also has a significant liberal arts core requirement which forces all students to take at least a few classes that require written papers. Still, the writing skills of many business students are woefully underdeveloped. I wouldn’t blame business schools entirely for this failure though; some of the fault has to be placed on the K-12 education system. In my opinion, a high school graduate should be able to construct a coherent essay. Yet despite all the standardized testing from No Child Left Behind, students are coming out of high school without this and other basic skills.

The article also made a point to distinguish between the top undergraduate business programs and lower tier ones. I am grateful to be attending a top notch institution such as BC and perhaps my experience has been more similar to that of the University of Virginia than some of the other schools criticized in the article. Many of my peers are heading to Wall Street, Big Four accounting firms, consultancies, or big name corporations. As the article pointed out, students from lower tier business schools are going into regional banks, insurance companies, or governments. These two groups have different needs and these differences should be reflected in their respective curricula. While I think all students should get the best education possible, the contrast does allude to the need for the right type of education.

Finally, rhetoric tradition requires me to make one completely self deprecating statement to feign modesty and exonerate myself from any shortcomings in my arguments. I have thus far defended the value of an undergraduate business education, in particular my own at BC. In fact I think non-business students should be encouraged to take a few business classes in their four years of college because a lot of concepts are important not just as a job seeker, but as a citizen. At the same time, if I had one academic regret in college, it’s that I never got a chance to double major in a field that either improved my quantitative skills, computer programming ability, or scientific knowledge. I think these skills are complementary and, to borrow one of business school’s favorite words, synergistic with any business education. It is especially for important for aspiring entrepreneurs who want to be on the cutting edge of technology and understand what’s going on. Thus I do think it is important to encourage business students to take plenty of non-business courses.

I’ve ranted on long enough. What do you think? Are undergraduate business and MBA degrees becoming a joke? Or is it part of a larger problem with education? Please comment!

Job Search Advice

Anyone who’s talked to me in the past 3 months or so knows that my preoccupation this semester was finding a job. It was an arduous process and very nerve racking at times, but I came out with a job I like and I’m looking forward to enjoying myself next semester. Given the amount of time I spent though, I thought I would share my thoughts and tips about finding a job with anyone who’s interested.

I would start off by saying to go into your search with a plan. You don’t need to know exactly what you want to do for the rest of your life or have a dream employer per se, but have a general idea of what industries and positions you’re interested in, and what criteria (geography, pay, hours, work-life balance) are important to you. Given the state of the job market right now, I would cast a wide net but also be careful not to overwhelm yourself with too many prospective employers. You still want to be able to do a good job on each resume and interview so that you’re not applying to places just for the sake of applying. In my case I probably applied to too many as I ended up having to pass up interviews because they conflicted with other ones. I recommend approaching it like applying to college where you have a couple of dream jobs, a couple of good jobs that you have a reasonable chance of getting, and a few jobs that you may not be crazy about but have a pretty good chance of landing.

In terms of the actual interview, the best advice is also the most clichéd advice: relax and be yourself. It’s hard with all the pressure and high stakes, but you really think and do better when you’re relaxed and employers will notice. Ironically some of my best interviews were probably ones where I didn’t particularly care for the job or when I was more stressed about a different interview. That being said, you still need to practice and do your due diligence on the employer. Try to talk to past or current employees about the interview process and corporate culture. Read the job description and the company’s corporate website carefully. Be aware of any headlines involving the company or industry. You want to show you did your homework.

As for yourself, know your resume cold. You should be able to summarize the highlights in about a minute without any trouble. In general, practice behavioral questions about your skills, weaknesses, leadership abilities, and past experiences. There’s no guarantee which questions you’ll get so I would have several broad stories about jobs, activities, and accomplishments prepared and then spin those according to the question you get asked, focusing on different aspects depending on the situation. One question you will always be asked is why you want the job. Have a good but honest response ready. Interviewers can see through a completely BS answer.

One of the most dreaded parts of the interview is when the interviewer asks you if you have any questions for them. This is really tricky because you want to show interest and knowledge about the company but you don’t want to ask questions for the sake of asking questions. I typically start off with something easy like asking the interviewer why they chose their current career or how they got to their position. If there was something during our conversation that I wanted the interviewer to clarify or that I genuinely had an interest in, I would ask about that. Same holds true for any headlines or upcoming developments in the firm’s industry. Finally, I make sure I ask about the corporate culture to show that I’m serious about the company and the job. Also be sure to remember to ask for a business card or email address at the end. Follow-ups are pretty important. At worst, it gives you some closure about the interview. At best, you might see your interviewer again and he or she can give you some tips on next steps.

I will conclude by saying that looking for a job sucks. It’s like taking an extra class, except the class has a test every day and your grade has more real life implications that any other class. Regardless of preparation, you will have bad interviews where you’re having a bad day or you just don’t have any chemistry with your interviewer. Don’t let this get you down and whatever you do don’t let the job search take over your life and overwhelm you. You still want to leave some time for friends, family, relaxation, and doing things you like.

Best of luck to everyone out there who’s still in the hunt!

The Epic Magic Trade

Yesterday, the Orlando Magic traded Vince Carter, Marcin Gortat, and Mickael Pietrus to the Suns for Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu, and Earl Clark and then sent Rashard Lewis to the Wizards for Gilbert Arenas. As an ardent Magic fan, I can’t help but comment on these trades and voice my displeasure at what Otis Smith has done.

My main beef with these moves is they don’t make us better. We haven’t played well since that stomach virus took out half of our rotation, but we’re still one of the top teams in the East and there’s no need to panic when we’ve been successful with the same core for several years now. In fact, the only trade I would’ve made is for another top 10 player like Chris Paul or Carmelo Anthony. A massive shakeup like this mid-season  is risky for chemistry and team unity. It also makes no sense financially because VC’s contract is not guaranteed next year and we’re getting the awful contracts of Turkoglu and Arenas in return.

If it was just the Suns trade, I still wouldn’t be thrilled but at least I’d be okay with it. Straight up Richardson is an upgrade over VC and they do a lot of the same things. There’s some reason to believe that Turkoglu can play like he did two years ago with Stan Van Gundy and Dwight Howard again so it’s a risk I’m willing to take. Aside from the financial implications, my only concern is throwing Gortat in the deal. We’re really thin at center right now behind Howard and completely screwed if he gets hurt or into foul trouble.

My bigger problem is with the Wizards trade. Gun incident aside, I’m not a fan of Arenas as a basketball player. To me, he’s never been more than a poor man’s Allen Iverson. He scores a lot, but doesn’t make his teammates better and takes too many bad shots. Position-wise he’s a poor fit for this team. Jameer is definitely our starting PG and Arenas isn’t good enough of a shooter to be our starting SG. I guess I can see him as a sixth man, but we’re still paying him too much. Plus he had that injury a few years ago that’s hurt his athleticism. I just can’t see him being a contributor when he couldn’t be effective next to John Wall in Washington. While Lewis has been playing horribly this year and I always thought he was overplayed, at least he can be a mismatch on offense and stretch the floor.

Most importantly, the trades do nothing to address the main reason for the Magic’s recent slide: poor defense. None of these guys are good defenders whereas we gave up Mickael Pietrus who did a solid job against Lebron and Kobe in the playoffs. In fact I’m worried that we’ve traded or let go of defenders like Courtney Lee and Matt Barnes these last few years and replaced them with mediocre shooters. I don’t know who’s going to guard Lebron, Wade, Pierce or Allen in the playoffs. I also want to see us get a backup center preferably by trading Quentin Richardson or Chris Duhon if we want any chance against the Celtics or Lakers.

Overall I’m not a fan of the new look Magic. They might be a fun team in NBA Live, but there’s not enough size and defense for a real playoff run. I completely agree with Bill Simmons’ assessment of what Orlando should’ve done. But hey maybe Arenas will turn his game around. I wasn’t a fan of the Vick signing either but it’s worked out (for the most part) since then.

12 Days of Christmas: My Picks

It’s that time of year again. Classes are over and finals are here to ruin my birthday and make the next week and a half (a very cold) hell. The only redeeming aspect is that Christmas comes after I’m done and in the mean time I can listen to plenty of Christmas music. I’m pretty open with my musical choices and Christmas music is no exception, but I do have a few favorites that I will play more often. So here is my top 12 holiday picks this year that I will be listening to over and over again as I trudge through finals:

Christmas Light, Coldplay- Coldplay’s one of my favorite bands and they released an excellent Christmas track this year. It’s a different take on Christmas, but they stuck to their style and made a great sweet and sentimental song. Plus the music video has some gratuitous shots of London and the Thames!

12 Days of Christmas, Straight No Chaser- This song’s been out for a few years now, but I still appreciate its clever arrangement and how it incorporates everything from Deck the Halls to Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel, to Africa. Always fun to listen to.

Feliz Navidad, Jose Feliciano- Helped me learn Spanish, lol!

Jingle Bell Rock, Bobby Helms- One of my favorite nontraditional Christmas classics.

A New York City Christmas, Rob Thomas- Rob Thomas is one of my favorite contemporary singers and he did an excellent Christmas song a few years ago. It makes me want to go to NYC every year.

A Mad Russian’s Christmas, Trans-Siberian Orchestra- What’s better than the Nutcracker, remixed with electric guitars?

Somewhere In My Memory, Home Alone- One of my favorite movies as a kid and this song just makes me want to be home for Christmas.

All I Want For Christmas Is You, NOTA- When it’s not overplayed, I like Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You, but I think this a capella version is even better. I love the horns and just the overall jazzy feel.

Christmas Time Is Here, Vince Guaraldi Trio- Classic song from a classic holiday film.

Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24, Trans-Siberian Orchestra- The song that introduced me to Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

White Christmas, Bing Crosby- Classic. Who doesn’t dream of a white Christmas?

Sleigh Ride, Boston Pops- To me, nothing says Christmas like this song. Perfection.

Freshly Pressed

Wow, that was unexpected. After more than a month long hiatus, I tried to get back into blogging with some thoughts on lessons learned from Digg’s failure. Little did I know my ramblings would be picked up by the WordPress editorial staff and”Freshly Pressed” on the WordPress homepage. I’m still not sure what the exact criteria for getting Freshly Pressed are or how my blog post made it on there. I happened to get pressed on the same day as the blog post from that mom with the cross dressing kid. The subject of that post got onto CNN.

I didn’t get that kind of publicity, but what followed for the next 24+ hours was an explosion of activity. In one day, I got nearly 2,000 hits- about a quarter of all the hits I’d gotten in the past 2 years total. I was also flooded with comments on the post and I read every one of them because I manually moderate everything that gets posted. It was incredible that people valued my opinions and somewhat of a validation of the time I’ve spent as a blogger and amateur tech enthusiast.

So what happens from here on out? The Freshly Pressed bump is still going strong four days later with over 100 views. I don’t have any plans to monetize this right now although if I keep getting this level of traffic it may not hurt lol. What I do know is that this blog will remain a mishmash of my travels and activities, rants about my favorite sports teams and TV shows, and occasional insightful analysis into the world of technology and business.

I hope you guys continue to enjoy it and check back for updates!

Digg: What Went Wrong?

You may have heard recently that news sharing/ranking website Digg had to lay off a third of its staff after a relaunch of its site flopped. Two years ago when I visited Digg on TechTrek, Digg was a darling of the Web 2.0 generation of startups. It had a charismatic founder in Kevin Rose, a veteran of the first dot-com bubble in CEO Jay Adelson, and an innovative idea that was poised to change how we consume news. Those Digg icons were all over the web. It turned down lucrative acquisition offers from Yahoo and others. Digg was the kid that was too cool for a million dollars because they had their eyes set on bigger things.

Well things have unraveled since then. Digg had trouble with mainstream adoption and lost its core users to Reddit. More importantly, Facebook’s “Like” and Twitter’s “Retweet” buttons have replaced Digg on most websites. This latest round of layoffs is the largest but certainly not the first as they’ve cut 10% of staff twice since 2009. Jay Adelson left the company earlier this year. Even the company’s major revamp, Digg 4 (which I reviewed favorably in beta), was poorly received. Digg appears to be a dead man walking now eclipsed by its rivals and its core fan base is in revolt. With such a dramatic fall from grace, one has to wonder: Was Digg’s fall inevitable, and if so should we be concerned about many of today’s social and mobile startups?

The answer to the first part of the question is a resounding no. Just look at Reddit, which has thrived during the same period of time. Reddit is a favorite of the hip, quirky, tech-savvy community. In other words the same group that made Digg cool. However, as a mainstream consumer, I would never use Reddit because its UI is unpolished and most of the top stories are kind of odd. Again, I said the same things about the original Digg. Digg knew it had to become more mainstream in order to compete with the rising popularity of Facebook and Twitter. Yet when Digg tried to change, its fanboys revolted. This brings me to my first conclusion about many startups these days:

The business interests of a social startup and the community’s interests are sometimes at odds. Niche fan bases have limited value and in the long run may actually be a constraint.

Few companies have successfully made the leap to mass adoption. Most companies have fallen to their deaths or are too timid to try. The last outcome is fine if you sell out. Reddit is part of the massive Conde Nast publishing empire so it has no pressure to grow and give its investors a payday all on its own. Digg turned down acquisition offers and tried to build its own empire. Its competition was Twitter and Facebook. The problem is news sharing is a feature on Facebook and Twitter while on Digg it is the entire product. This brings me to my second and more important conclusion:

A feature is NOT a product and definitely NOT a sustainable company.

This is what really worries me. A lot of startups I hear about these days are very narrowly focused. They have a novel way of doing something but they compete against one feature of someone else’s product. The current environment makes it possible for these companies to get funded and move their ideas to market, and there’s nothing wrong with that. There is some real innovation going on here. However, it’s foolish to think there are any fortunes to be made with most of these startups, and founders and investors alike would be wise to sell sooner than later.

I don’t think there’s going to be another bubble like 2000 because this boom is not driven by the stock market. Even if a lot of these companies fail, there will be a much smaller impact on the overall economy. However, you do have to wonder how many of these companies have a future. For example, I’m worried about Foursquare and Gowalla. Although they’re slightly differentiated and have strong communities, they are merely features on Facebook. With Facebook Places and the inevitable check-in fatigue setting in, they could risk becoming the next Digg.

Campus Recruiting as a Sport

It’s good to be back at BC, but this semester is going to be hectic in large part due to on campus job recruiting. It’s stressful and eating up a large chunk of my time, but if I’m going to get through it, I have to make it fun don’t I? Therefore, I’m going to compare the job search process to a professional sports season:

• Training Camp (Career fairs, information sessions): Get you back into shape. Also gives you a chance to make some evaluations and finalize your roster.
• Pre-Season (Mock interviews, preliminary interviews, phone interviews): Final tuneup before the real thing begins.
• Regular Season (1st round interviews): First chance to make a lasting impression. Performance in this round will determine whether or not you advance.
• Post Season (2nd round interviews): Stakes are higher this time as we get closer to the big prize.
• Championship (Getting an offer): Obviously this is everyone’s ultimate goal. Let’s hope I can win a championship.

As you can probably guess I’ll pretty much be on social media blackout until November or whenever I get a job. I apologize if I’m anti-social and unresponsive until then. Don’t worry, I’ll catch up in the off-season!