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CrunchWeek: Facebook Home Madness
Apr 06, 10:00PM
It's time for CrunchWeek, that very special time each week when a few of us writers gather around the TechCrunch TV cameras to shoot the breeze about the biggest and most interesting stories from the past seven days. Greg Kumparak, and Ryan Lawler joined me in the studio this week to talk about Facebook Home, the social network's huge mobile announcement from Thursday. Facebook Home replaces your standard Android's homescreen with an immersive Facebook experience featuring full-screen photos, status updates, and notifications. Facebook also announced a special version of Home will come pre-installed on the new HTC First phone on AT&T.What Games Are: The Reviewers Are Wrong About OUYA
Apr 06, 9:00PM
Reviews of Ouya have thus far perhaps been unfair because they tend to either rate the machine against Android devices or existing consoles, when it is neither of those. The new microconsole-style of game machine is more like the netbook of gaming, and they should be seen in that light. However the fact that they aren't seen in that light is itself a problem, one that needs fixing.The Next Don: How VCs Plan For The Future
Apr 06, 5:50PM
We all remember the last scene in The Godfather, where Michael Corleone is depicted as the next Don, taking over the role from his father as the figurehead of the mafioso Corleone family. As a viewer, we are partly left with a sense of relief -- finally, Don Corleone's wishes for his dynasty to carry on through his son will come true, Michael Corleone has finally accepted his destiny as a mob boss, and the infamous Corleone family will live on for another generation. Horsehead-in-the-bed behavior aside, the way that VC firms groom their talent isn't all that different from how the older Corleone groomed his sons.It's Not Just You, Twitter's Latest Android Update Doesn't Let You Access Your Profile Or DMs On The "Me" Tab
Apr 06, 5:19PM
Twitter rolled out sweeping updates to all of its mobile properties this week, mostly to support the new Twitter Cards, but unfortunately, those who are using the service on Android aren’t so happy. The app has always been a bit buggy on the Android platform, but the issues that are being reported are more than just a little problematic. Users have experienced not being able to open the “Me” tab which allows you to access your DMs and switch accounts, important parts of the service. I’ve experienced this bug from the second that the update was released, and I’ve heard that Twitter is working on the issue. It’s not affecting all devices, but this tweet search shows it as being pretty widespread. You’re presented with a blank screen and a small spinner, with no information or message that says that the service is having any problems. At first, I thought that I just had a poor connection, but after using the app with Wi-Fi turned on, it became clear that this was a big ol’ bug: Since Twitter has been streamlining all of its apps, and site, it’s a glaring issue when one of the four tabs don’t work. While no timeframe is being offered, and Twitter hasn’t made an official statement on the issue, it’s safe to say that the beautiful redesign that the Android app received is overshadowed by these issues. If you’re having the same issue, you might have to revert to using the mobile version of the site, as I’ve done. Or, you could search for yourself and get to your profile that way. The nice part about Google Play is that as soon as Twitter updates the app with a new build, it will go live for everyone to grab without any submission process like Apple’s. Hurry up, Twitter, people are cheesed off about not being able to get their DMs from cute girls and stuff. [Photo credit: Flickr]Clayton Christensen Talks Venture Capital, Crowd Funding, And How To Measure Your Life
Apr 06, 5:06PM
Editor's note: Derek Andersen is the founder of Startup Grind, a 40-city community bringing the global startup world together while educating, inspiring, and connecting entrepreneurs. There are few people whose impact on entrepreneurs and business in general you hear about as frequently as Clayton Christensen. Clay’s body of work includes co-founding a publicly traded company, being a Rhodes Scholar, writing one of the most influential business books of our generation, fighting cancer and a stroke that forced him to relearn to speak, teaching thousands at the Harvard Business School, and raising five children. He has accomplished gigantic things, not to mention he stands 6 ’8″ and today is also his birthday so please wish him well. When I heard he would speak at Startup Grind 2013, excitement and then panic raced through my bald head. Luckily one of the very best in the business, Mark Suster of GRP Partners was gracious enough to come and represent the startup community at the interview. Mark has written a great recap of his conversation, but it seems appropriate to followup with this audience and share the entire interview from a few weeks ago. The Innovator’s Dilemma as you might know outlines how companies with historically successful products and market share will be disrupted and beaten unless they are innovative again and again. Clayton also recently co-authored How Will You Measure Your Life? which explains how like in business you need to plan in order to be successful in your personal life or you run the risk of failing your family and betraying your values. Read or watch the fascinating interview below. ———————– MARK: Welcome to StartUp Grind! I thought we would start with the disruption of education. Because you're a professor and I thought that would put me on more comfortable grounds. CLAYTON: Perfect. MARK: We'll come right back to venture capital, I promise. What are your feelings about education in America – the doubling over the last few years of consumer debt over education, and the fact that technology might just make what you do much more available at a lower cost for more people, which in itself matches I think your definition of disruption, and what's going on with Udemy and Stanford and other places. I'd love to hear that. CLAYTON: Boy, it's a great question. I wrote my first piece about the disruption of the Harvard Business School in 1999. Because you could see this coming. I haven't yet done the one about the disruption of the Stanford Business School.Gillmor Gang: Fork You
Apr 06, 5:00PM
The Gillmor Gang — John Borthwick, Kevin Marks, Keith Teare, John Taschek, and Steve Gillmor — spent a too-quick hour on Facebook Home, Twitter’s new deep linking Cards, and the jousting over Webkit. Individually, these developments represent interesting strategy for the major notification platforms of Google, Apple, Twitter, and Facebook. But taken together, we’re seeing an important moment of truth. With Facebook pulling a “kindle” by hijacking Android’s lockscreen for its notification engine, suddenly everybody has to get in line. Apple retains its AirPlay gateway to the big screen, but it’s Facebook not Google that threatens iOS’ fit and finish. And just in time for apps, Twitter sets in motion developer innovation linking app to app and eventually the Web, Look out Cleveland, a fork is coming through. @stevegillmor, @kteare, @kevinmarks, @borthwick, @jtaschek Produced and directed by Tina Chase Gillmor @tinagillmor Live chat streamRun On High-Skilled Visas Maxes Out Quota In Just 5 Days
Apr 06, 4:39PM
Americans will have to hope that a lottery can bring in more talented immigrants. After just 5 days, the 85,000 visa quota for high-skilled immigrants has been maxed out, two-months faster than last year. Now, eager immigrants will have to submit to a lottery for a chance to work in the U.S.California Court Bans Checking Smartphone Maps While Driving
Apr 06, 4:15PM
In California, drivers can now be pulled over for using their GPS while driving. Extending the state's current ban on texting while driving, an appellate court in California v. Spriggs argued that the "distraction would be present whether the wireless telephone was being used as a telephone, a GPS navigator, a clock or a device for sending and receiving text messages and emails."We Want To See You At Disrupt, East Coast, And Early Bird Tickets Are Nearly Gone
Apr 06, 4:00PM
As East Coast Editor of TechCrunch I don't get much respect. "What's out in New York?" they ask. "No start-ups, that's for sure. Foursquare? Meh. It's all bankers and boredom." I'll tell you what's out in New York and along the entire East Coast: some amazing entrepreneurs with some amazing ideas. That's why I'd like to invite you all to TechCrunch Disrupt. Whether you sign up for the Hackathon, Hardware Alley (my own private nerd hardware-based science fair that I think you're going to love) or come to all three days of talks, panels, and coolness, we want you there.Where The Free Software Movement Went Wrong (And How To Fix It)
Apr 06, 3:00PM
The biggest change I've seen in the tech industry in the past decade isn't social media, cloud computing, big data, consumerization or even mobile. It's the mainstream acceptance of open source. Even 10 years ago open source was controversial. Back then "open vs. proprietary" arguments would still erupt at meetings and parties. Back then vendors spread FUD about open source. Today, every vendor wants to call themselves "open."Check In, Flame Out: How To Save Foursquare
Apr 06, 1:00PM
This hasn't been a great year for Foursquare. "Check-ins are no longer what they used to be," as Ingrid Lunden observed last month. There seems to be a general consensus that "Foursquare keeps resembling Yelp more and more..." but that comparison isn't necessarily flattering, especially since there's little doubt that Yelp has much greater public mindshare. Then former Square COO and current Khosla Ventures partner Keith Rabois attacked them publicly (click through for the article's amusing corrections, if nothing else!) prompting some bizarre musing from Michael Lazerow on when it's OK for someone like Rabois to bash a founder. (My answer, for what it's worth: whenever he freaking feels like it. He's not the Pope. He's not the President. He's just a venture capitalist. If you're worried about public criticism hurting a company, then it's built on apparent rather than real value and it deserves all the criticism it can get.)Filipino Social Good Startups Win At IdeaSpace Competition
Apr 06, 10:25AM
The results are in for Filipino accelerator IdeaSpace’s startup competition, and the top ten picks have a heavy focus on social projects. A glance at the list reveals a strong emphasis on environmental and health-related projects, especially those that will likely benefit the developing nation’s poorer regions. Armtech – affordable water purification machine for households DateCola – natural date-enriched beverages, a healthy alternative to soft drinks Mirand – low-cost and high-quality total joint implants for the Asian market PGRS – produces electricity via rumble strips installed on high traffic roads PinoyTravel – provincial bus seat reservation system using mobile technologies PortfolioMNL – online marketplace for creative professionals Prodigo – a solution for highly targeted promotions for merchants using Big Data analytics Tech4Health – solution for health monitoring of chronic conditions, including diabetes TimeFree – SMS-based automated queuing system WeGen – new design of wind turbine that is more efficient than current technology When the top 20 were picked, many of them were mobile-phone dependent and appeared to center around developing smartphone apps for urban cities. But it seems that many of those didn’t make the cut for the top ten. One of IdeaSpace’s co-founders, Earl Martin Valencia, said: “All winners are viable business ideas based on science and technology, not just IT. They reflect the market needs of emerging markets such as the Philippines and we believe that it’s a big market also globally.” Jojo Flores, co-founder and vice president of Silicon Valley-based incubator Plug and PlayTech Center, was present at the pitching event all day. He said he is keen to invest in some of them and take them to the global stage as well. The top ten have each won six months incubation support (such as business operations covering accounting and legal services) and funding of up to $120,000 (PHP 5 million). IdeaSpace is a non-profit and was launched a little over a year ago. It has the support of various large Filipino conglomerates, and these are expected to provide mentorship to incubated companies. Some academic partners like the Asian Institute of Management and the University of the Philippines-Open University, as well as corporates like Microsoft and Amazon, will come onboard to mentor the winners of this competition.Virality Is The X-Factor Of Mobile-First Business Apps
Apr 06, 9:00AM
Editor's Note: Joe Floyd is a VC investor at Emergence Capital Partners. Away from the fickle eyes of consumers, deep in the basement of app stores, enterprise mobile apps are fighting each other for the attention of business users. Given the restrictions of their target audience, business app developers simply cannot utilize the same techniques that consumer app companies leverage.Latam Local Services Marketplace Startup GetNinjas Raises $3M Series A To Get More Nimble By Getting More Developers
Apr 06, 7:01AM
GetNinjas, a local services marketplace startup based in São Paulo, Brazil has closed a $3 million Series A round backed by new investor Otto Ventures, with existing investors Monashees and KaszeK Ventures also participating. The latter both invested in GetNinjas' 2011 seed round, which raised a total of $700,000.Nokia's Verizon-Bound Lumia 928 Spotted In Leaked Images Ahead Of Launch
Apr 06, 6:59AM
It's been a long time coming, but Verizon Wireless customers should soon have another high-end Windows Phone 8 device to lust after. After the handset was spotted both in both the FCC's and Verizon's systems, noted leaker @evleaks has come through yet again with a new image of the upcoming Nokia Lumia 928 (formerly known as the "Catwalk").Google Fiber's Next Stop Could Be Austin, Texas
Apr 06, 3:20AM
Back in early 2011, Austin, Texas lost to Kansas City, Kansas for the distinction of being the first city in the United States to get wired up with Google's high-speed Fiber internet service despite mounting a campaign to catch the search giant's eye. While the average tech-savvy Austinite has probably forgotten that campaign, it looks like Google didn't -- local ABC affiliate KVUE reported earlier this evening that Google will indeed announce its Austin Fiber rollout early next week citing multiple sources from within the city's government.Why VCs Love The Bitcoin Market
Apr 06, 1:20AM
Editor's note: Jeremy Liew is a managing director at Lightspeed Venture Partners. As a VC, my interest in the Bitcoin ecosystem is not ideological but, rather, mercenary. I see the opportunity for Bitcoin to disrupt multi-billion dollar markets, but in doing so also create new big markets. There are three key markets in Bitcoin.On The Michael Arrington Accusations
Apr 06, 12:03AM
We normally don't cover criminal accusations against individuals without police reports or other documents filed, or significant evidence like self-acknowledgement. But we're making an exception. TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington is facing very public accusations involving physical threats, assault and rape.
Facebook Offers Clarification On Home And Privacy Before Full Android Invasion
Apr 05, 11:29PM
Just a day after announcing a new Android skin in the form of Facebook Home, the company has issued a FAQ regarding Facebook Home and privacy.I Kind Of Love These "Exit Traffic Ads" That Show Up When You Leave A Site
Apr 05, 10:55PM
“Wow, that was a cool ad” is not something I say often. But I was recently browsing Wookiepedia, a Star Wars Wikia site, and when I clicked an external link it popped up a half-screen interstitial for 15 seconds before redirecting me to my destination. Instead of cluttering its site with more ads, Wookiepedia let me bounce around internally for free, but “charged” me to leave. And I was impressed. Advertising is the lifeblood of the consumer Internet. It finances content and utilities so they can be free and widely accessible. But too much advertising and the user experience degrades. No one wants to sift out value from a sea of marketing. Exit traffic ads seem like an elegant solution. They can take some ad strain off of a webpage and encourage more intra-site browsing. Depending on their implementation, they’re not that obstructive. On Wookiepedia, at least, you can click a “Skip this sd” button to go straight to your destination. Otherwise you can ‘x’ an ad out or click “Want to go back?” to return to the page you were browsing. You can try it yourself by going to Wookiepedia and then clicking one of the “Official Friends” links at the bottom. Some people are going to hate these because they throw up barriers too open web browsing. I understand that. But I think they give businesses design freedom, so they can create a pure on-site experience by offloading the clutter. I want to see more of these exit traffic ads. I feel like they’re a smart alternative or complement to standard display media. They can be big and glossy, and the format ensures they’re noticed unlike most banners. It feels like a fair value exchange, too. A site points me towards something I want to check out, so I don’t feel so bad seeing one of their ads for a few seconds on the way out. I like them a hell of a lot more than the entry traffic interstitial ads that roadblock many content sites (*cough* other tech news blogs *cough*). It might even encourage sites to link externally more often. I can imagine exit traffic ads finding a place on social networks like Facebook and Twitter. These sites are obsessed with design and the onsite user experience, but are keen on new monetization strategies. This ad format could reward them for being content discovery engines, andIf at any time you'd like to stop receiving these messages, just send an email to feeds_feedburner_com_techcrunch+unsubscribe-hmdtechnology=gmail.com@mail.feed2email.net.
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