Seeking AJAX Aficionados

Yip, it’s true – the burgeoning Yoickpire is seeking Ajaxians. Now we could’ve written a position description, but in the spirit of openness and web 2.0 collaboration we purloined this from another Silicon Valley company – let hear from ya!

If you have the passion to develop revolutionary web software, the skills to do it, and the desire to get in on the ground floor of a start-up with an outrageously bold ambition, then jump on board as we strive to change the way consumers use the internet to get informed, stay informed, and communicate about topics of interest. Founders are experienced execs who’ve worked in the industry and will now change it.

But we need you – super-bright, super-passionate, and super-motivated AJAX aficionados.

To handle the task at hand, you must have:
- Delusions of grandeur
- Untouchable, unspeakable, unthinkable programming skills
- Expert understanding of Javascript and other AJAX-related technologies
- Strong background in traditional CGI/DHTML development (Python experience is desirable but not required)
- Extensive experience developing large consumer-facing web applications in a start-up environment
- Strong bias towards multi-tasking, shipping product, and iterating quickly
- Desire to build and share code that others can use
- Confidence and intestinal fortitude to persevere as one of the first engineers on board a rapidly moving boat.

Some type of code portfolio (e.g. live products, small or big) that demonstrates your potential and interests would be helpful, but frankly, we’ll know brilliant when we see it.

Think you’ve got what it takes? So dump your stale gig and join us for the ride.

Why Web 2.0?

You may well ask me wire I’m fired up by all the goings on in and around Web 2.0.

Having pioneered the wilds of Web 1.0, this line from Ed Caggiani sums up why I’m back in the saddle:

The Wild West was fun, but it got better when they invented plumbing.”

Whither Vertical Search: A Google Threat?

What’s up with vertical search? There has been a plethora of activity in this space in the past 12 months, but has anyone really found the VSE killer app? Is VSE a threat to Google?

Alex Iskold has blogged a post headed: Watch Out Google, Vertical Search Is Ramping Up! in which he gives a clear overview of some vertical search areas and the players in them. However, none of these plays individually or as a group look like being anything more than a mosquito bite on an elephant’s rear.

I agree with Alex that there is a place for both generic and vertical search engines, but disagree that VSE is ready for prime time and will materially affect revenues at the GYM (Google, Yahoo, Microsoft).

My take is that the winner in VSE will be the company that can create a tightly integrated, infinitely vertically scalable suite of VSEs that fit hand in glove with a range of horizontal apps.

Common Protocols needed for Attention Platform

The Web 2.0 Journal has an article outlining the architecture for an attention platform.

Here is the crux of Alex Iskold’s piece:

This platform is designed to bring together attention capturing services, attention storage and attention applications that deliver end user value. The key aspects of the platform is decoupling between the services allowing various vendors deliver different implementations, yet communicate via common protocols.

A common set of protocols aka an IEEE-like standard (think 802.11 a-z) would certainly expedite the creation of an open attention platform and lead to more rapid growth of the Attention Economy.

I am aware of some very interesting work being done in this area. I’m sworn to secrecy right now, but will bring you ‘breaking news’ as soon as I can.

Flock Advertising

TechCrunch reporting on a MediaWeek story has blogged about Facebook placing ads into the newsfeeds on user’s front pages. Marshall Kirkpatrick goes on to explain how this will be used:

 

When one user clicks on an advertisement in their feeds, all of that user’s friends will be notified that the ad was clicked on and will be given an opportunity to join a group led by the advertiser, apparently. Mike Murphy, Facebook’s chief revenue officer, told MediaWeek the following: “Up until now, most advertising on social network sites hasn’t leveraged social networking behavior…This offers a viral opportunity that is unique for advertisers that is not disruptive.”

This is interesting as it could lead to group buying or flocking…you may follow a friend’s advertising trail or that of a member of your social network, or even sign up to be given the ability to flock with someone influential to you.

 

OK so I had already bought my Sanyo Xacti High Def Videocam, but what if, now I say what if – I found Robert Scoble to be hugely influential to me. Assume I’d signed up to flock with him…so when the scobleizer and his podtechnet mates head off via a Sanyo ad (this is hypothetical remember) to buy themselves Xacti’s, I could very well be influenced to do the same.

 

This flock advertising could go one step further - Facebook or whomever, could sign deep discount deals with advertising retailers who would offer a discount to any buying flock – the ultimate benefit to users being group discounts in real time. 

Startup Spotlight: Norg Media

I had a chat with Bronwen Clune, Founder of Norg Media (NORG = News Organisation, a term first coined in Philadelphia and one used by Jeff Jarvis over at BuzzMachine). She had some great tag lines relating to citizen journalism – my favorite: “News, It Just Happens“.

So I’ve included a Startup Spotlight on her company, which commenced operating in August 2006:

Startup: Norg Media, based in Perth, Western Australia.

Elevator Pitch: Local citizen media news sites (called norgs) built by a community of citizen journalists, revenue comes from advertising in local markets.

What they do: Create local news sites that place editorial control in the hands of its members, build local online news communities. PerthNorg is the company’s first norg.

People: Bronwen Clune (Founding Director), with a community of Cit Js (citizen journalists) behind her.

Funding: Angel investment. Currently undertaking a small funding round.

Customers: Local and national advertisers.

Competition: Mainstream media. Digg elements, but go further in that Norg allows a user to blog too.

The Deal: Norg Media wants to create engaging and collaborative news communities that have real value to members and readers.

A few more sound bytes from our discussion… Bronwen firmly believes that real news value is in “local” and her aim is to bring the blogosphere to the broadersphere from the ground up.

I agree with her that community resonates with local and look forward to watching norgs unfold at an exponential rate.

The Future of Venture Capital in Australia

I attended the Australian Venture Capital Conference in Cairns this week and the best analogy for me of the current situation was the Cairns waterfront itself.

The immediate tidal zone off Cairns is representative of the venture capital arena in Australia. The water is a continual murky brown as a result of the mud flats, which are continuously exposed by the ebb and flow of the tides. In these obfuscated waters danger lurks in the form of crocodiles and other nasties. When the tide goes out and the squishy underbelly of the flats are exposed, the carrion come out and begin feeding.

In the early mornings one sees a steady stream of boats roaring through these unsavoury waters, headed for open water and the pristine beaty of the Coral Sea. A few miles off the coast of Cairns one finds the Great Barrier Reef – one of the world’s wonders. The boats represent the private equity players — they have loads of cash and in their flash craft they make their way into the crystalline waters that house a myriad colors in and around the reef.

But the reef itself is fragile and can only sustain so many boats and ocean temperature rises before it begins to fall apart. Once this happens the tourists will not want to venture offhsore – they will be content walking the mud flats.

In essence what I’m saying is that the conference was bifurcated with a huge focus on the private equity arena and tacked on to its back was the venture capital side of things – perhaps now that AVCAL’s CEO is resigning the way has opened up to accomodate seriously contemplating a split into separate Private Equity and VC industry bodies.

My other point is that while VC is not necessarily flavor of the month in Australia, I have no doubt this will change. Beware the thundering herd. 

It was awesome thought to catch up with folk I haven’t spoken to over the past, few busy months.

More Aussie Web Companies

Rex Chung has pulled together a brief list of some of the companies working at the web coal face in Australia. As Rex says this list is by no means complete. I’m sure you will recognise some companies I’ve written about recently, eg Atlassian, and some I haven’t…yet.

Australian Venture Capital: its early

I’m off to Cairns for a few days to schmooze at the Australian Venture Capital Association Annual Conference.

There is an article in the Business Review Weekly talking about early stage VC in Australia titled: Show Me The Money.

It starts with the line “Time is running out for the early stage venture capital sector to prove itself as a credible investment class.”

Funny situation in Australia – perhaps an anachronism, as the early stage sector in the Valley is going gangbusters again …hopefully this lag will improve downunder.

I’ll feed back my take on the situation from Cairns.

Startup Spotlight: Atlassian

Startup: Atlassian, based in Sydney, Australia and San Francisco.

Elevator pitch: Prosumer wiki and project management developer.

What they do: Enterprise software solutions for bug and issue tracking and project management (JIRA) and wikis (Confluence).

People: Co-founders Mike Cannon-Brookes (CEO) and Scott Farquhar with 65 staff in Sydney, San Francisco and Malaysia.

Funding: Organic, revenues approx $15 million per annum, growing 25-30% quarter on quarter.

Customers: JIRA has 4,000 organisations as customers and Confluence has 1,800 in 65 countries.

Competitors: JotSpot, SocialText, 37Signals

The Deal: Intense customer focus from day one, passionate founders and a quality development team.