Posts by: Byrne Hobart
Depending on exactly when you think the Internet started, it’s possible to make the case that for most of its existence, the Internet has not just been non-profit, but has been in some sense anti-profit. Early Internet startup founders had serious conversations about whether or not selling stuff on the web constituted misuse of the Internet.
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Yahoo Update
As has been reported at length, Yahoo’s board fired the company’s CEO, who fired back with an infamous email and a furious interview with Fortune. Yahoo’s board is now rumored to be considering spinoffs, divestitures, or a buyout, especially with the encouragement of their 5.1% owner, the activist hedge fund Third Point.
As a…
Baidu’s Cargo-Cult OS Strategy
Google’s move into operating systems makes sense: reducing Microsoft’s leverage over them, and increasing the aggregate number of Internet users are both great for their business, and they both directly benefit Google over competitors. None of those advantages really apply to Baidu’s decision to enter the OS market.
Fortunately, Baidu doesn’t…
I’m pleased to announce that I’m joining Yahoo as SEO Lead.
At Digital DD, we puzzled through the strategies behind some of the biggest SEO companies out there. But Yahoo is an order of magnitude bigger. They have over a hundred million monthly uniques; if I improve things by 1%, I’ve affected the lives of…
Michael Arrington, editor of TechCrunch, has raised $20mm to invest in startups, about half of which came from AOL. Arrington has been escalating his technology investments for a while, taking an LP position in an early stage fund and then investing directly in startups.
The official launch is news, but rumors surfaced earlier.
Arrington has attacked…
You Like SEO More Than you Think
Seth Godin is dubious about SEO. But only when you call it “SEO.” When it’s “linkbait” he’s a big fan. Godin is a very smart guy, so just imagine what typical marketers and companies think.
A prediction: the most successful SEO-driven companies are the ones that can…
There are three big typo databases in the world:
The collective algorithmic typo database. There are a few standard typos (transposition, off-by-one, omitted letter, etc.), which are generally understood by anyone in academia who has studied the issue. Google’s massive database of misspelled terms, plus the results customers eventually click on. Apple’s massive database of…
The Patent Pledge
Ur-angel Paul Graham wants companies to promise not to offensively use patents against startups. So far, the participants in this patent pledge tend to by YCombinator companies. It could end up being something idiosyncratic to YC, which already seems to seek out the kind of companies that wouldn’t use patents offensively. But…
It’s natural to separate a company’s activity into two parts: the stuff they do to grow their competitive advantage, and the stuff they do to monetize it. For example, a company like Amex might run TV ads to make the Amex name more recognizable and synonymous with prestige—so when they send someone a targeted piece…
People Are Easy to Uniquely Identify
This research indicates that people can be uniquely identified with a tiny set of data: “87% of the U.S. Population are uniquely identified by {date of birth, gender, ZIP}.” That’s what you get as a proof of concept—imagine how much more precise it is when there are ad dollars at…
Recent Research
Digital Due Diligence Weekly