<![CDATA[Gawker: valleywag, netvibes]]> http://tags.gawker.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/gawker.com.png <![CDATA[Gawker: valleywag, netvibes]]> http://gawker.com/tag/valleywag/netvibes http://gawker.com/tag/valleywag/netvibes <![CDATA[NetVibes CEO Tariq Krim down, but not out]]> tariq_krim_netvibes.jpgCOO Freddy Mini will be taking over Krim's job, with Krim staying on the board, as the Paris-based personalized homepage company changes focus to widgets. "No concrete reason for his departure was provided," writes Caroline McCarthy. Surely our tipsters can alleviate the circumspection and tell us why. [CNET] (Photo by Doc Searls)

]]> http://gawker.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=394006&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Who's going to TechTalk Menorca, the Balearic boondoggle?]]> Martin Varsavsky, the founder of Wi-Fi startup Fon, has concocted another excuse for Web 2.0's jet set to rack up frequent-flier miles and buy carbon offsets: It's called Menorca TechTalk, held on Varsavsky's ranch on the Mediterranean island this weekend. The website is password-protected, but Valleywag got a list of who's going. It's a curious mix of professional conference attendees, like Rapleaf's Auren Hoffman, Loïc Le Meur of Seesmic, TechCrunch's Michael Arrington, and David Sifry of Technorati, mixed in with a few people who have day jobs. There are even Googlers on the list — and when have you known those lot to leave the protective bubble of Mountain View? Oddly, Jimmy Wales did not seem to make the cut, though his New York patroness, Louise Blouin MacBain, is listed. In the comments, sort the TechTalkers into your preferred categories.

  • Alan Levy (BlogTalkRadio)
  • Alec Oxenford (OLX, DineroMail)
  • Alejandro Estrada (DineroMail)
  • Alexis Bonte (Erepublik.com)
  • Andrew McLaughlin (Google)
  • Anil de Mello (Mobuzz)
  • Arturo J. Paniagua (Hipertextual)
  • Auren Hoffman (Rapleaf)
  • Axel Schmiegelow (Sevenload, Denkwerk Group)
  • Benjamí Villoslada (Menèame)
  • Brent Hoberman (Mydeco)
  • Carlos Martìn (IG Expansiòn)
  • Cedric Maloux
  • Christophe F. Maire (Nokia gate5, investor)
  • Claudia Gisiger-Gonzalez (UNHCR)
  • Dan Dubno (Blowing Things Up)
  • David Sifry (Technorati)
  • Demian M. Bellumio (Cyloop)
  • Eduardo Arcos (Hipertextual)
  • Efe Cakarel (The Auteurs)
  • Ehssan Dariani (studiVZ)
  • Esteban Sosnik
  • Esther Dyson (EDventure)
  • Felix Petersen (Plazes)
  • Hans Peter Brøndmo (Plum)
  • Ibrahim Evsan (Sevenload)
  • Ivan Communod (Vpod.tv)
  • Jacob Hsu (Symbio)
  • James Gutierrez (Progress Financial)
  • Jennifer L. Schenker (BusinessWeek)
  • John Markoff (The New York Times)
  • Joichi Ito (Creative Commons, Six Apart Japan, investor)
  • Jon Berrojalbiz (Trading Motion)
  • Jonas Birgersson (Labs2)
  • Jörg Rohleder (Vanity Fair)
  • José María Figueres (Grupo Felipe IV)
  • Jose Marin (IG Expansion)
  • Julio Alonso (Weblogs SL)
  • Lars Hinrichs (XING)
  • Loïc Le Meur (Seesmic)
  • Louise T Blouin MacBain (Louise Blouin Media)
  • Lukasz Gadowski (Spreadshirt.com, investor)
  • Lukasz Wejchert (Onet.pl)
  • Marc Samwer (European Founders Fund)
  • Marcelo Claure (Brightstar Corp.)
  • Marko Ahtisaari (Blyk, Dopplr, FON)
  • Mathias Entenmann (Betfair)
  • Matt Biddulph (Dopplr)
  • Megan Smith (Google)
  • Michael Arrington (Techcrunch)
  • Michael Jackson (Mangrove Capital Partners)
  • Michael Wolf (Farallon Point)
  • Nikesh Arora (Google)
  • Ola Ahlvarsson (Result, FON)
  • Om Malik (Giga Omni Media)
  • R.J. Friedlander (Grupo Planeta)
  • Ricardo Galli (Menéame)
  • Rodrigo Sepúlveda Schulz (Vpod.tv)
  • Rupert Schäfer (DLD, Hubert Burda Media)
  • Scott Rafer (Lookery, Mashery, Winksite)
  • Tariq Krim (Netvibes)
  • Thomas Crampton (Next Media)
]]> http://gawker.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=389017&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[The face that launched a thousand ship-dates]]> With wine and women, why isn't Pete Cashmore happier? The Mashable blogger's smile had to be mashed into place by Julie Wohlberg at a party thrown by Netvibes. Suggest your caption in the comments; the best will become the new headline. Yesterday's winner: scalawag, for "On the firing line." (Photo by Andrei Zmievski)

]]> http://gawker.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=385912&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Local woman dumps newfangled RSS feeds to type in website addresses the old-fashioned way]]> Geek boycotts RSSAn online publishing veteran who goes by the name of Halsted has stopped drinking from the RSS firehose. She says she's not missing her feed reader's unread items folder:

Nothing has changed. I spend my time writing, reading, and puzzle-solving instead, and my stress levels are markedly down. Now I am absolutely convinced that I need to ditch my RSS reader permanently, and only read a handful of feeds on a start page like iGoogle or Netvibes.
As a journalist, it's my duty to call three friends for quotes to support my article about the "Slow Web" movement now. I expect some blogger will get a book deal for the inevitable manifesto. (Photo by Jef Poskanzer)]]> http://gawker.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=381953&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[The eruptors: 11 companies. 11 puff pieces.]]> Netvibes - ValleywagHey, nothing against the eleven corporate leaders profiled in Business 2.0 Magazine's latest feature, "The Disruptors." (Except you, Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff. Nobody likes you.) It's just that "glory stories" like this make us giggle, because by definition they have to play down the arguments against their subjects. And B2 added Wired-worthy hero shots like the one shown here. So here's a guide to the most egregious idolatry:

Disruptor 1: Netvibes (Custom web portal)
Hero (pictured here not knowing he'll be Photoshopped to look silly): Founder Tariq Krim
B2 says: "Netvibes currently doesn't accept typical Web ads — the kind Krim denounces as 'Advertising 1.0, in your face.'" Instead he gets "sponsors."
B2 means: "Netvibes took $15 million in funding. It doesn't have income, just pointless deals that get media attention until a conglomerate buys the company."
Netvibes competitors B2 doesn't mention: Goowy, mobileGlu, Pageflakes, Protopage, Start, and over 30 others

Disruptor 2: Salesforce.com (Customer resource management/application platform provider)
Hero: CEO Marc Benioff
B2 says: "It's true that Benioff is known throughout the tech business for his bombast, and he's always predicting that Salesforce is about to do something amazing. But he's not all talk."
B2 means: "Benioff is about to launch a product update that will bring his company up to speed with competitors Microsoft and Oracle. Yawn."
Favorite Benioff quote: "We will destroy Oracle and SAP because they won't be able to respond to the innovation we are about to unleash."

Disruptor 3: Clearwire (Wi-Max broadband wireless provider)
Hero: Founder Craig McCaw
Actually, this guy's story checks out as far as I know — real business plan, real success. Feel free to correct me in the comments.

Disruptor 4: Zopa (Person-to-person loans)
Hero: The business model
B2 says: "Zopa is closing that gap by using the Web to allow personal lending on a massive scale. The startup was the first company to introduce peer-to-peer lending in the United Kingdom 18 months ago and is about to launch in America."
B2 means: "In America, Zopa will compete with Prosper, a personal lending site that already has a head start and funding from the same venture capital firm."
Proper term for Bessemer Venture Partners, investor in Zopa and Prosper: Player

The Disruptors [Business 2.0]

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