Ashton Kutcher continued his tech talk with Sarah Lacy Backstage At TCDisrupt.
On appearing at TechCrunch Disrupt, Kutcher says that it's not that he's less nervous about talking before tech people, just that he's found "the right words."
But it's clear, with his investments, initiatives, and programs, that Ashton Kutcher has become a full-fledged, informed, angle investor. He's got the lingo down, but more important, has a set World view which governs what he invests in.
On Tech Vs Acting
Sarah Lacy asked if he was going to lose time from acting for Tech and said "I'm not going to end up on a set in Louisiana working 16-hour days." So, he's got a plan such that he will not have to act for money as he ages.
My bet is he continues to act, though.
Stay tuned.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Ashton Kutcher Talks With Sarah Lacy Backstage At TCDisrupt
Ashton Kutcher Talks With Charlie Rose At TechCrunch Disrupt
Appearing in a beard and hat, and not wanting to talk about his new gig on Two And A Half Men, Actor Ashton Kutcher came on to talk with Charlie Rose at Tech Crunch Disrupt New York about his company Katalyst Media, that he started with Jason Goldberg, and a new investment company and initiative.
Ashton revealed that he was an early investor in Skype, and involved in promoting the brand as much as putting money into it.
Kutcher, who has over 6 million Twitter Followers, sees on Twitter the opportunity for mass syndication and "something that is very addictive," and, he says, satisfying in seeing your tweets retweeted.
The New Fund
Kutcher's got an investment fund called A-Grade that "puts money into tech investments," and is looking for apps that "solve a problem for a large subset of people."
On this, he says that it's best to invest in companies that are "just trying to keep their servers going," which means, if that's the case, he's going to have a lot of people knocking at his door.
Right now, A-Grade is looking at a variety of different companies, but he's not into hearing about someone's market cap, because there are so many people pitching companies who says that first. "What I look for is what is the trust level of people, and are you solving a signal-to-noise issue. The more people trust the application, the more time and money they will put into it."
A-Plus, is the name of "a really good grade, he says, and a new platform that builds an app to essentially catch real time information and sort it so that it can be seen at the time that works for the user. "I want to follow Charlie Rose's Stream, but I want to just read about tech."
He tweets every day or once or twice a day, sometimes six or seven times a day. He says he tweets everything himself, and tries to answer back to the community.
Hollywood Is Like Tech
For him, acting and movie - making is a lot like tech investing in that "you have to raise money for a movie" and then work to make sure it's made and does well, in this case, at the box office.
On The Future
Prediction" media will just become media, but on multiple consumption devices, but have one distribution device. What a lot of people are trying to capture is what consumption system we use to get media.
On Movie Canibalization
Ashton says that Hollywood's arguing about what to do about Digital Media is stopping it from coming up with an overall solution. (Hollywood) is already being caniballized," he says.
He points to his movie No Strings Attached with Natalie Portman as one example of how piracy is harming Hollywood. "The movie did fairly well at the box office, but on other platforms... So I looked it up online and found about 20 different copies (that the studio did not upload), and asked, "Are we doing anything about this," and never got an answer.
Maybe after today, Ashton will get one.
Stay tuned.
Monday, May 23, 2011
TechCrunch Disrupt: Arianna Huffington Loves MapQuest
Catching up with some news from TechCrunch Disrupt, we find that AOL (do not use the term America Online around AOLers, by the way), Chief Editor and Huffington Post Founder Arianna Huffington was interviewed by TechCrunch Founder Michael Arrington this morning, and out of that, came some provocative, if not news-worthy, quips.
Foremost among, them is Arianna's claim that MapQuest is better than Google Maps.
Thankfully, Arriington called her on it, saying "You never used Map Quest." Because if she had, Arianna would know about MapQuest's famous problem of making a route map that takes the user to a different place than they expected to be.
This has happened to me, my Mom, and friends over the years. That's why none of us, especially myself, use MapQuest. And while my Mom's on AOL, and I can't get her off it, she will use Google Maps over MapQuest.
What Arianna should have said is, MapQuest is really improved, you should try it.
If she tried it.
AOL - Yahoo Merger? AOL Struggling? Tim Armstrong's Icy TechCrunch Talk
This one with Armstrong at TechCrunch Disrupt New York 2011 was a bit icy by comparison with 2010, and only because Michael kind of pushes Tim the boss rather than Tim the guest. What follows are some highlights from their just completed conversation.
On TechCrunch Disrupt's New Home
Tim says that the Pier 94 is much better than the former Merrill Lynch Office that was the scene for TechCruch 2010, and AOL has a staff for Michael at TechCrunch now, versus last year. So, the impact of AOL on what TechCrunch does is obvious, from talks with his boss, and, it would seem the selection of a better space, that one has to assume is more expensive to use than the year before. Why? Because AOL's helping to foot the bill for it's use.
On AOL and Content
AOL revenue has been declining, Michael said. But Tim says he's still happy with the company's direction and feels that the overall strategy is the right one saying "everybody in that space is using content to differtiate themselves. Content sites are expanding faster than the Internet's growth itself," And adding "I love that people think that content is not a good business, because that keeps people out of this business."
On AOL, Deals, and Yahoo
A fair ammout of the talk was a hint that AOL and Yahoo may do some kind of deal. But overall, AOL is taking a breather from deals like the purchase of TechCrunch, but may do more deals with "About 5 or 10 companies."
On AOL and TechCrunch, and Parties
TechCrunch, from a brand perspective, to him, was a Californa brand, which Michael disagrees with "We had parties in London, and we were a Worldwide brand" he said. And I have to agree with Michael here. There's a little bit of the "You were OK before we bought you, but now you're awesome" talk coming from Armstrong, and it's understandable that Arrington would take issue with Tim's take. TechCrunch was global as much as Tech is global, from an audience perspective, and long before AOL happened along, with its parties and stuff.
Michael says that AOL has a lot of parties, where they do "vodka shots off ice sculptutes," but they're parties that TechCrunch staff doesn't attend because they haven't been invited. Tim said it's because no one ever thought to invite them. Too funny.
But Michael really wanted to know "Why is Arianna editor and chief? Tim said, "I didn't think you wanted the job."
On AOL and Yahoo
Arrington said "My guess is, withing a year, AOL and Yahoo will become the same company," and said openly that AOL is struggling "Without the dialup revenue, it is, ...I get the feeling that this is getting a little dicey."
"AOL, it has made a turn-around, it's on a comeback," Armstrong said.
On a question about paywalls and local content. Armstrong said that local monetizes better than people written, and that paywalls can work. "What are you putting behind the wall, and what is it offering," he says. Tim's a "long-term believer" in paid content. "I think we're at the start of the next evolution of content," Armstrong said.
On Arrington and Conflict Of Interest
Did Michael violate policy on investing in startups after TechCrunch was purchased by AOL? Well, what was he supposed to do with his share of the $30 million they got. As long as he's open about the investments, from a blogger perspective, there's nothing wrong with what he's done.
Overall, a really different vibe this time because when Tim was on at TechCrunch in 2010, the interview then was more friendly and easy; not this time.
It was pretty icy.
Jack Dorsey Introduces Square Register Today
Dorsey has announced that Square has shipped out over 500,000 readers, and Square has enabled over $1 billion in transactions to be done, by people who would not have been able to do so in the past because they didn't have cash on them.
Doresey says that people have been able to make more sales with Square. But now, he wants to focus on businesses in addition to individual people. In the presentation he explains the Square Register for the iPad, that replaces the clunky standard register. But the register gives you more, he says. It gives you data on, for example, how many cafe latte's you sold, if you're running a cafe.
Square is also releasing the Square Card Case which stores your purchase information, and allows you to make purchases using the card, and works with the Square Register.
Square is rolling out the Square Register to 50 merchants in various cities in America.
In all, a very exciting and revolutionary development.
Chevron Ecuador Muddled By Petroecuador, Canadian, Foreign Oil Companies
The oil company operated in five oil fields - Shushufindi, Sacha, Auca, Lago Agrio, and Libertador - where the damage happened. There is no report that Petroecuador has completed environmental clean-up in those areas.
Locally, Petroecuador is seen as the real problem, even as the government, which effectively runs the media, has formed a public view against Chevron as well.
But lost in all of this, from fraudulently prepared reports, to intimidation of Ecuadorian judges, is the fact that the story of oil exploration in Ecuador is one of the actions of many companies, as Chevron has not been in operation since 1992, and Occidental Petroleum was the last American company to work in the nation until they were kicked out in 2007.
For example, little discussed is the role of Canadian oil companies in Ecuador. Firms like Ivanhoe Energy and Encana, which started operations in 1999.
Encana, like Chevron, has been the focus of a movie, this one called Between Midnight and the Rooster’s Crow. But what makes this interesting is that with Encana, Ivanhoe, Repsol-YPF from Spain, Occidental Petroleum, Teikoku from Japan, the Brazilian national oil company Petrobras, the French oil company Perenco, and now Andes Petroleum, a consortium of Chinese oil producers, it's impossible to argue that the Ecuador oil story is one between just Chevron and Petroecuador.
It also makes it all but impossible to claim that oil wells in Lago Agrio were only used by Chevron - the facts just don't support that claim.
Why?
Because Lago Agrio is where Andes Petroleum Co currently operates, and where Encana worked before the Chinese entered Ecuador, buying the rights and production facilities for $1.4 billion, where Chevron, again, left in 1992 and engaged in cleanup work through 1995. Moreover, several firms, including Petroecuador, have produced oil in Lago Agrio over that time through to today.
This is 2011.
What's lost on American activists is that oil funds an estimated 50 percent of Ecuador's national budget. That, coupled with the fact that Ecuador produces more oil than it needs for its economy, and you have a situation where many foreign companies, not just a few, want to and have produced oil in Ecuador, and a government that's still all too interested in courting them.
And that, as Ecuador becomes a socialist dictatorship, and the perfect environment for an uprising, very much like the one that happened in September, involving Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa and the Ecuador police, who kidnapped him.
Their concerns: maintaining their benefits admit budget cuts. Ecuador's fiscal situation's not going to make life nice there for a while.
Stay tuned.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
TechCrunch Disrupt Hackathon, Apps Based On Black Stereotypes Disturbing
But this 2011 version had a small, mini, but still nasty trend: the presentations of apps based on black stereotypes.
OK, it only happened twice, but twice is the start of something.
The first presentation was around an app called Angry Black Man, where a cartoon character who's obviously black walks along and either is upright or slouched based on obstacles placed in his path. It was created by a team of two black programmers, and at first, I though the presentation was maniacally funny, but then considered that the brothas may be presenting some issues of their own.
Why make that before an audience that was mostly white and Asian? Did the makers think that it was OK to do because they were not in a black environment? Does it reflect their own self-hatred? That last question still sticks with me.
The last presentation at TechCrunch Disrupt Hackathon NYC was by a white man and an Asian woman and called Yo Mama, an alarm based on the character stereotype of the big, large black mama called Big Mama and played by Martin Lawrence.
No one laughed.
That's when things started at TechCrunch Distrupt to get a bit disturbing for this blogger.
Now, you know that if an Asian programmer presented an app that was an Asian Stereotype, not only would no one laugh, but Asians and others like me would howl in protest.
Where's the concern here?
That's something to ponder. It's not TechCrunch's fault at all that this happened, but it is a sad commentary on American and World society.
Stay tuned.
TechCrunch Disrupt Hackathon, Venture Crapital Too Funny
The TechCrunch Disrupt Hackathon NYC 2011 is underway, and there are a number of interesting presentations. ight now, the "Facebook Time Machine" is being presented, and it's good for looking at how much your friends have changed in appearance. And another is called Let's Game, also for Facebook.
In fact, a number of creations are either Facebook or Twitter apps, but it's nice to see an app (er, application) that's not native to either one of those sites, but stands alone.
That's Venture Crapital.
The creation of Dmitri Cherniak, Wylie Conlon, Adrian Sanders, and Chris Bliss, they created this game in just 24 hours and as part of the TechCrunch Disrupt Hackathon NYC 2011. Here's the website: http://venturecrapital.us/index.html
It's a simple game that has you as the Venture Capitalist, basically throwing crap at startup ideas as they fly in the air.
Not sure how the judges are going to like the concept, but you can tune in and see here:
Online TV Shows by Ustream
Stay tuned.
TechCrunch Disrupt Hackathon NYC 2011 Update
We can catch up on the doing via the Twitter hashtag #hackdisrupt.
What is the Hackathon? It's a kind of contest where teams of programmers get together and make a brand new application, one that could be the driving force for a new company and be the next "disruptive" technological approach.
First, it's important to note that there are various teams working on Hacks for apps, with the entries due at 9:30 AM, EST.
Second, when you're ready to submit your hack, you have to fill out the form here: https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dFZ4aTFlbERLM2R5U3JEYTg5dXYtN0E6MQ
Thus far, at 2AM, bean-bags are out and, as Robert Francis tweets, are all accounted for. That means folks are sleeping.
Reports are that this Hackathon's larger than the 2010 version, which was bigger than the 2009 one.
The even culminates with a presentation at 10:30 AM and finally at around 2:30 PM, or 3 PM, one hack project will be selected to be part of the overall Startup Battlefield.
Where Are The Girls
Over at TechCrunch, a number of commenters noted that it was a "sausage fest" with only three women in a room-full of men. This begs the question of why there aren't more women at TechCrunch functions like this one, and the discussion continues...
Why not find and invite young women like Arfa Karin, who's the World's Youngest ARCast Programmer, and now 13 years old. She proves that the reason more women aren't in programming is because they're generally not exposed to the idea of being a programmer.
Not good.
Stay tuned.