PlaySpan's executives say it's a "publisher-sponsored in-game commerce network." Whatever that means. In-game item sales are the hot new trend in massively multiplayer online games. Since these virtual items — say a shiny coat of dragon-scale armor — can be made at virtually no cost to the publisher, they're extraordinarily high in margin. Some developers are, in fact, now offering their games for free, making ends meet by shilling fashion accessories. Since open-market trading of these items on, say, eBay is often deemed "illegal" by the developers, it makes sense to create a sanctioned forum for sales — similar to Sparter, LiveGamer and a bunch of other external marketplaces.

PlaySpan isn't forthcoming about how its commerce network will actually work, but the very idea is plagued by problems. For one, replicating PlaySpan's software tools isn't exactly difficult when looked at in the wider context of game development. Also, PlaySpan encourages users to chat on third-party servers about a wide variety of games — hardly a boost to the developers' goal of winning players' exclusive loyalties. It's like a company that comes in and offers to set up kiosks in a mall's parking lot, diverting shoppers before they even set foot inside. All the big multiplayer games, like World of Warcraft, have their own proprietary commerce systems. In-game traffic is too valuable to hand over to a third party.

Why get into gory details, though, when you have a story about a cute kid who's got a startup while he's still in elementary school? PlaySpan has made garnering publicity look like child's play.

Greetings! Most of you know I'm co-founder of the Silicon Valley Junto, an intellectual salon for Silicon Valley types modeled around Ben Franklin's self-help philosophical society. Each quarter entrepreneur Chris Yeh and I convene an invited group of business and technology executives for a conversation over lunch. On Friday, July 13th, 2007 at 12 noon in downtown San Francisco we're gathering to discuss a most joyful topic: death! Our topic is "Dying Well," and we'll be talking about issues of mortality — what role our inevitable expiration should play on a day-to-day basis, how we talk to our children and loved ones about decline, and whether there is such a thing as a "CEO approach" to dying. Many of us have been moved by Eugene O'Kelly's book "Chasing Daylight." It's not required that you read the book to participate, but it is a helpful story to begin thinking about these issues. I would like to invite you join us for lunch for good food and good conversation in an intimate setting. Last quarter, for our topic on storytelling, we filled up within 24 hours and had an extended wait list. First come, first serve! If you can come please add your name to the wiki: http://svjunto.wikispaces.com/meetings If you can't use the wiki you can RSVP to this email. Note: We will be gathering in Palo Alto on July 12th at noon, if that is more convenient for you. I hope you can join us! My best, Ben Casnocha - Author of "My Start-Up Life" (Jossey-Bass, 2007) - Book web site: http://www.mystartuplife.com - Buy it on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/My-Start-Up-Life-Learned-Journey/dp/0787996130/ - My blog: http://ben.casnocha.com

Nick Douglas: So tell me about your book, "My Start-up Life," in one sentence.
Ben Casnocha: My Start-Up Life is the story of my own entrepreneurship written in a way that can inspire and aid other entrepreneurs to either start their own business or simply become CEO of their own lives.
Nick: And how long IS your story? You're 19?
Ben: Basically six years or so.
Nick: My curmudgeonly editor Nick Denton, jealous of your youth, has mocked the idea of people being inspired by someone with a six-year career and a million-dollar business. Why's he wrong?
Ben: Because people don't derive inspiration just from the most successful or most wealthy people. If this were the case, why wouldn't everyone just read Bill Gates's book and feel inspired? I know I'm not the most successful entrepreneur. I know I'm not the most successful young entrepreneur. I know I'm not the richest person. But writing a good book — particularly in the business genre, where there's so much crap — is a tricky task. Just because you're a massively successful businessperson doesn't mean you can write a good business book. To be at once entertaining and insightful, outwardly ambitious and humble: it's hard.
Nick: What's the crappiest business book you've read?
Ben: I banish them from my memory. So I don't know. But I do know this: if you're a businessperson you should read at most 2 or 3 business books for every 10 you read. People need to read more outside their discipline. There just isn't much new to say — so it's all about absorbing the ideas in a new and different way.
Nick: So after reading your book, someone should read...
Ben: Well, an Amazon reviewer said my book was "Harry Potter meets Good to Great".
Ben: Either of those seem like good choices
Ben: It's very hard to deliver truly original insight. Even a book like Good to Great which was the result of years and years of empirical research, delivered "insights" that are fairly obvious. Hire good people, etc. Everything someone needs to know to be successful is already out there. But clearly it's not sticking. So people continue to read books for the roadmap. The best books make the ideas stick — through compelling storytelling, say, or through a unique perspective.
Nick: I assume you share in your book the story of your worst mistake so far. What was it?
Ben: About 50% of what I do fails, so I have to do a lot of things to keep my hit rate up. One of my worst mistakes was hiring an interim CEO of my business who had personal baggage. It was a disastrous relationship. But I learned a lot. The lesson, again, is fairly obvious (don't hire people whose personal life is a wreck) but it took the failure to understand it. Hopefully someone can read my *story* of this event and absorb the lesson as well. Their chances of internalizing it go up if it comes in the form of story as opposed to bland bullet point.
Nick: That's a great perspective. Right, so a couple of details: Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, wrote your foreword. Now all I've heard about that dude is that he's a prick. If anything, he'd turn some people I know away from buying the book. Why choose him?
Ben: Marc is a great guy. I don't know why Valleywag and the mainstream media vilify him. Besides building a fantastic business, he also is one of the few Silicon Valley execs who has broader perspective. He's a practicing Buddhist. He thinks about life issues and balance. He's inspired tons of new entrepreneurs to embrace his theory of "compassionate capitalism". I mean, the philanthropy he's done is incredible. Yet no one talks about that. People just want a new Larry Elision to demonize.
Nick: Normally an author could name (sometimes embarrassingly) the famous or influential people they think should read their book. It sounds like your book is more for aspiring businesspeople, but what's the one bold name you wish could read it?
Ben: I think established businesspeople will also read my book for its perspective — people want to read about what young people think (for whatever reason). Candidly, I don't know. I don't have heroes. I don't have one overarching role model who I pray to.
Nick: Are you telling people the plan for your next business?
Ben: I have some business ideas, but none which makes me drop what I'm doing. My next project is a new book (involving U.S. history) and then I'm going to do the college thing full time and see how I like it. I hope I last all four years.

Nick Douglas writes for Valleywag and Look Shiny. He didn't last all four years.

while it is fun to see the speculation about Ben's post, I feel I must set the record straight, if only to defend Sergey's honor. The true story:

Ellen Levy and I had an event at my house for a group of female friends and work associates of ours, we called the gathering 'power chicks of Silicon Valley' on our Evite.

I invited Ben to be the lone male, because he is helping the National Center for Women in Information Technology (www.ncwit.org) with a project on profiling female tech execs. Since many on our target list were going to be at the event, I thought it made sense to have him walk around, pour wine, and meet and greet. Since he is 1) not old enough to drink himself and 2) way younger than the rest of the attendees, I figured this was pretty innocent.

Among the attendees was Megan Smith of Google. Towards the tail end of the event she called Sergey's fiancee Anne and suggested Anne drop by. Anne, who was driving home from somewhere with Sergey, agreed to come over. Not wanting to have Sergey sit in the car, we thought it would be hospitable of us to invite him in. He was a pleasure to have there and a perfect gentleman the whole time.

Hence, it is fact, that Ben and Sergey were the only male attendees at an event with 40 women (in fact, there were more like 80 women there during the course of the evening.) And neither was there because of looks nor money.

I hope that sets the record straight, now get your minds out of the gutter :-)

Within four hours of landing in the Bay Area from Denver for a long weekend at home I found myself at a Silicon Valley party with 40 women and 2 men — Google co-founder Sergey Brin and me.