Category: Uncategorized

Fringe 007: Ignorance, Mini Donuts, and Die-Nasty

Sharon dragged me to the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival, aka the Fringe, a few years ago, and I actually enjoyed it. I’ve since come to enjoy Edmonton’s live theatre scene, so I was definitely looking forward to this year’s festival, called “Live and Let Fringe” in honor of the year. The festival runs until August 26th.

The first show Sharon, Dickson and I went to see last night was called “The Power of Ignorance” and since Sharon took care of getting tickets and such ahead of time, I didn’t know much more about it than that. Turns out it was a one-man show, performed by British comedian Chris Gibbs, in the form of a seminar that promised to help you tap into your power of ignorance to lead a better, happier life. I really enjoyed it – it was extremely funny! I laughed pretty hard. The ending was kind of weird, but otherwise, great show. The Journal gave it 4.5 stars (out of 5) today. To that I say: well deserved.

Afterward we wandered around the grounds, taking in the sights. No trip to the Fringe is complete without mini donuts, so I got some of those and headed for the beer gardens. On the way we stopped to see Hoja, a popular Canadian a capella group. We saw them perform “YMCA” and “500 Miles”, complete with dancing and everything.

We ended the evening by going to see Die-Nasty. I have to say I didn’t enjoy it as much as their season 16 finale. For one thing, there was no Jeff Haslam. His comic timing would definitely have helped the show out. Davina Stewart was there however, and she was really funny! On the whole though, it was just average. Perhaps it was because they were making fun of the Fringe itself, and I just didn’t get all of the jokes?

I’m going to go see at least one more show, but I am not sure which one yet. Perhaps I should have a look at all of the pieces of paper we received while waiting in line. Sharon remarked that the Fringe would be a good place for entrepreneurs to learn, and I have to agree. The elevator pitches that the performers give as they work the lineups at other shows are really quite good. Entrepreneurs could definitely learn a thing or two.

Check out the official Fringe site here, and also the Edmonton Journal’s complete coverage.

Read: Fringe 007

Finally a reason to like Stelmach, perhaps

Post ImageI’m not a huge fan of Alberta’s current premier, Ed Stelmach. Just like Chris, I miss Ralph Klein. There was no guessing with Klein, and certainly no extended periods of silence. You knew exactly what to expect, and he never disappointed. With Stelmach on the other hand, there’s just dead air.

In the past I’ve written that raising money for tech in Alberta sucks. I would have to say that it still sucks. But perhaps Stelmach will make it suck less. That’s what the Journal would have you believe anyway:

After years of empty rhetoric and inaction under Klein, a sea change may be underway. Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach and Advanced Education and Technology Minister Doug Horner seem intent on finally addressing some of the issues that have hindered development of the province’s tech sector.

The two established a task force back in March to examine tech commercialization in our province, and the report finally came on Friday. And before I say anything else, kudos to Horner and his department for making the report available online (pdf).

Among the findings:

  • Creation of a government-backed, $100 million Alberta Enterprise Fund with $200 million in projected matching investments from the private sector
  • Creation of a 25% investor tax credit
  • Creation of an Alberta-specific SR&ED tax credit to match the federal program

Other things include additional facilities and tech centres, and improved access to intellectual property. The Journal article quickly points out that “the recommendations outlined above are hardly revolutionary.” You can say that again! We need to implement each one of those things just to get on par with provinces like Ontario and B.C.

The thing to keep in mind is that a report is nothing more than words on paper. Stelmach and his government still need to act on the report’s findings before anything will change. Still, this is a lot further than Alberta has ever gotten in the past. Perhaps one day I’ll be able to write that raising money for tech in Alberta rocks.

Read: Edmonton Journal

Energy is the new dot-com even in Alberta

Ten years ago it was fashionable to say that you worked for a dot-com company, or better yet, that you had started a dot-com. These days, it seems dot-com has been replaced by anything related to the environment, especially clean energy. Perhaps the title of my post should read especially in Alberta, as it should be no surprise that energy is a big deal here. Clean energy (read: not oil) is still somewhat unique though.

A number of investors who made lots of money during the dot-com boom are now turning their attention to the environment. Vinod Khosla is perhaps the most high-profile of these investors, but he’s certainly not the only one. Here is a VentureBeat article on Khosla specifically, and a great Economist article on the trend in general.

Shane and Evan Chrapko are two Alberta boys that have followed the now predictable path from dot-com millionaires to clean energy entrepreneurs:

The one-time Brosseau farmboys are co-CEOs at Highmark Renewables, a new biofuels company based near Vegreville.

They were impressed with the technology developed by feedlot owner Bern Kotelko and the Alberta Research Council to convert cattle manure and other waste to a biogas that produces electricity, ethanol or plain heat, Evan says.

The dot-com they founded was called DocSpace, and they sold it for a cool $568 million USD, which gave them about $75 million each. If you do a search for DocSpace now, you won’t find much, and that’s hardly surprising. I attended a talk that one of the brothers gave at the University of Alberta a few years ago, and I simply could not fathom how they sold their company for that much money. They definitely made the most of the boom.

It’ll be interesting to see how successful Highmark becomes. The brothers took on another company back in 2003 called Time Industrial, and had this to say at the time (careful – Word document):

“But Time Industrial has a very real possibility of being 10 times or even 100 times bigger than DocSpace. It’s a second once-in-a-lifetime chance. You don’t get too many of those.”

That company went public in 2005, for far less than DocSpace, and the brothers have now moved on to Highmark (to be fair the company was bankrupt when they took it over). They have (thankfully) toned down the hyperbole, and they’re operating in a really hot sector, so maybe they’ll find success once again.

The Chrapko brothers no doubt got this article in the Journal because of their success in the past, but I’d be willing to bet there are dozens of similar stories to be told here in Alberta. Perhaps not with numbers as large as DocSpace, but certainly entrepreneurs transitioning from high-tech to energy.

Read: Edmonton Journal (Archive)

Imagine Cup goes green in 2008

Post ImageThe winners of Imagine Cup 2007 were announced yesterday in South Korea. The winning team in the Software Design invitational was from Thailand. The team members are: Prachaya Phaisanwiphatpong, Vasan Chienmaneetaweesin, Jatupon Sukkasem, Pathompol Saeng-Uraiporn.

Yeah, I don’t know how to say their names either! Imagine Cup is truly an international event. Dickson and I participated a few times, winning in Canada the first year back in 2003. The competition is for students, so I can’t compete anymore, but I still like to read about it.

Next year’s event will take place in Paris, France, and the theme is hardly surprising. Yep, you guessed it, Imagine Cup is going to tackle the environment in 2008: “imagine a world where technology enables a sustainable environment.”

Actually, that’s probably a fairly difficult theme for software development. It’s easy to come up with ideas for healthcare or education related software, but much more difficult to build something that helps the environment. Here’s a decent article on the topic.

Congrats to all the 2007 winners!

Read: Imagine Cup

Bring Helvetica to Edmonton!

Clearly I need to redeem myself after my last post, so here’s something I’ve been meaning to post about for a while. I really, really want to see the documentary Helvetica. Never heard of it? Here’s the description:

Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which is celebrating its 50th birthday this year) as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives.

It’s fascinating to me how widespread the typeface has become. I also find it hard to grasp just how much of an effect Helvetica has had on my life. It’s one of those things that is easy to overlook. A documentary about a typeface might sound odd at first, but I think it’s a great idea. From the Director’s Statement:

Why make a film about a typeface, let alone a feature documentary film about Helvetica? Because it’s all around us. You’ve probably already seen Helvetica several times today.

The film has been screening around the world since the premiere at SXSW back in March. Had I been paying attention, I would have gone down to Calgary to see it when it played there in May. Just a few days ago it played in Vancouver. Richard Eriksson who I met at Northern Voice went to see the film there on Tuesday, and he said it was great. There are screenings listed right through November, but Edmonton is not on the list. I can only hope that we’re included in the “lots more” down in the coming soon section.

So for the Edmontonians reading this – would you go see Helvetica if it came to our city? If so, do you “work with a film festival, museum, cinema, or arts group” or know anyone who does? Let me know! I’d be happy to do whatever I can to help bring the film to Edmonton.

Read: Helvetica

I almost want to watch The Hills

Okay, I hate to admit it, but I’ve seen a few episodes of MTV’s The Hills in the past. For the uninitiated, it’s a “reality” drama spinoff of Laguna Beach, and it follows the life of Lauren Conrad (seen in the blue). Most of the episodes I have seen are mind-numbing, with maybe five minutes of actual content in each thirty minute episode. It’s hard to believe that there’s been two entire seasons already, but it’s true.

With the third season about to start on Monday, MTV has really increased the advertising for the show. About 80% of the time when I log into Facebook, I see a banner for The Hills, with Lauren in that amazing blue swimsuit. I saw it so many times that I eventually gave up, clicked on it, and made my way to this page. Now I really want to watch the show. Yeah, I can be shallow.

A show all about four hot, young girls – is there anything not to like about it? Actually, yes. As I mentioned, the show will make you lose brain cells. There is very little in the way of substance. Not a problem, mute the television and you’re good to go. The real problem though is MTV. They air something called “The After Show” immediately following each episode. If you are unlucky enough to see it, I think you’ll agree that it is quite possibly the most painful television viewing experience ever. Seriously, I can’t stand it. Thirty minutes with two very strange MTV hosts trying to sound excited about a show that really isn’t about anything. Horrible, just horrible.

The first episode of season three airs Monday night at 10 PM EST on MTV. I might watch it, if only for Heidi, but I’ll be sure to switch the channel the moment it ends.

Read: MTV

Amazon FPS: another US-only payments service

Post ImageAmazon launched another web service on Friday, called the Amazon Flexible Payments Service (FPS). The interesting thing about the launch is that Jeff Barr was teasing everyone on Twitter, building up the anticipation. I was eagerly watching for updates! I wish more product launches happened in a similar fashion.

Anyway, here is how Jeff described FPS:

We’ve taken all that we know about dealing with credit cards, bank accounts, fraud checking and customer service and wrapped it all up into one convenient package.

In much the same way that S3 and EC2 allow developers to forget about leasing space in data centers, buying servers and negotiating for bandwidth, FPS shields developers from many of the messy and complex issues which arise when dealing with money. Once again, we take care of the “muck” and developers get to focus on being innovative and creative.

As you know, I love S3. It shouldn’t be much of a surprise then when I say that FPS gets me really, really excited. I haven’t looked at it too closely, but even a quick glance suggests that FPS is amazing. PayPal is the giant of the payments space, but they badly need some competition. Unfortunately, no one seems prepared to provide it. No, not even FPS.

The problem is geography. There’s competition for US merchants, but everyone else is left out in the cold. Just like Google Checkout, FPS has launched with support limited to companies in the US (though buyers can be anywhere…and Google has since added UK merchant support but that’s it). There are certainly a lot of Internet users in the United States, but they still make up less than a quarter of the world total, and that percentage drops every day. There is a ton of e-commerce taking place outside the US.

PayPal is supported in over 190 countries and regions. There are 14 countries that PayPal describes as “localized” and another 21 that support withdrawals to local bank accounts. For merchants in 34 of these countries (ignoring the US), Google Checkout and Amazon FPS simply are not options. PayPal is the only viable choice.

And don’t get me wrong, I quite like PayPal, but there are definitely things that need to be improved. The FPS feature set addresses a wide range of these issues (such as support for micro-payments). But Amazon FPS and Google Checkout will simply not beat PayPal until they are supported just as widely around the world. Maybe they don’t want to take on PayPal, you say? Bullshit, I reply. PayPal is the target, even if Amazon and Google will only admit that behind closed doors.

I would suggest there are only five companies that could build a payment system to rival PayPal. The first two are eBay and Amazon, the giants of e-commerce. eBay owns PayPal, and Amazon now has FPS. The other three are the usual suspects: Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft. Google has Checkout, and Yahoo seems to be fine with PayPal. That leaves Microsoft. A small part of me is hopeful for a wicked payments service as part of Windows Live Core, but Microsoft’s track record with launching worldwide services isn’t so great either.

Will there ever be a viable, worldwide competitor to PayPal? I hope so, but I’m not holding my breath.

Read: Amazon FPS

What have I been up to

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while (thanks!) you’ve likely noticed that I haven’t been posting as frequently as usual lately. It’s not that I have nothing to post – quite the opposite in fact! It’s just that I have been taking some time to adjust to a new schedule. And I’ve been busier than normal too.

Here’s what I’ve been up to:

  • Awake around 7:30 am every morning, at Starbucks by 9:00 am. I have a Grande mild, no cream or sugar, in my own stainless steel travel mug. Interestingly, the price is never the same. Some baristas charge the correct price (Grande minus a discount for the personal mug), some charge for the smaller size, and some charge for a normal Grande (no discount). I never correct them, so I guess it all balances out.
  • Work! Lots of Paramagnus stuff going on lately, including some new improvements to the distribution engine that powers Podcast Spot. Various other projects too. I’d like to do more coding than I have been though.
  • Posting elsewhere! I’ve continued to post on and off at WindowsMediaBlog.com, and I am still writing at last100 too. My latest feature there, on Amazon.com and the digital living room, went live today. Feature posts take quite a bit more time and effort to write, but they are much more rewarding too.
  • Preparing to move this weekend. I’ve been house-sitting for friends since last August while they were living abroad. They’re back on Monday, so I need to get the house back to the way it was when they left!
  • Twittering! I’m addicted (you can find me here). And I have started to use Twitter for work too. I wrote a bot that I can send direct messages to and it will respond with the information I have requested. For example, I can send it the command “!stats” and it will reply with the number of podcasts and episodes at Podcast Spot. My bot is pretty basic right now, but I can see hundreds of ways to improve it.
  • Random other things. Went for dinner a few times with Grandma and Helen (relative from Australia…she’s visiting Mom and Dad now). Drove Tom to the airport yesterday morning – he too went to visit the parental units (as he and Kim used to say) up in Yellowknife. Fixed Megan’s laptop, which involved installing a new hard drive. Been to Chicken For Lunch a few times – Amy calls me a “good boy” heh. Random movies and other dinners.

So that’s my update. After this weekend I think I’ll be a bit more settled, and normal blogging will resume. I haven’t even been reading that much lately…good thing the really important stuff comes via Twitter!

NY Times article on Pownce made me laugh

Post ImageAfter writing my review of Pownce a few weeks ago, I figured I’d never write about the site again. However, after reading an idiotic article published in the New York Times yesterday, I knew I’d have to. Author Jason Pontin had me shaking my head right from the opening paragraph:

JUST now, the hottest startup in Silicon Valley — minutely examined by bloggers, panted after by investors — is Pownce, but only a chosen few can try out its Web site.

Hottest startup in the valley? News to me. Maybe three or four weeks ago. Anyway, let’s continue.

Within days, invitations were selling on eBay for as much as $10. Mr. Rose has declined all requests to be interviewed about the service, including my own. But as a consolation, he sent me a coveted invitation. I enjoyed the rare thrill of cyberhipness — and got to experiment with the site.

Coveted? Are you kidding me? Pownce tells me I have nine invites to give out. I’ve had them for weeks. I am positive I’m not the only one. Sorry Jason, receiving an invite to Pownce is anything but a hip cyber experience.

After some general information and background on Kevin Rose, Jason concludes that media executives should keep an eye on Pownce:

What struck me most was the site’s potential to be powerfully disruptive. Most file-sharing occurs on public sites, which can be monitored by media companies; if the users violate copyrights, the sites or the users themselves can be threatened into compliance or litigated out of existence (as happened with the original Napster). File-sharing on Pownce would be difficult to police.

If I didn’t know any better I’d think Jason was trying to make a joke. Because I sure laughed.

The RIAA has sued children, senior citizens, and everyone in-between. They’ve shut down company after company, and they’ve successfully petitioned ISPs for records detailing the activities of their subscribers. Somehow I don’t think policing Pownce (a system which knows exactly who is sharing what with whom, btw) would be a problem. Evidently Jason hasn’t heard of BitTorrent, which actually does make it difficult to police file-sharing (especially with the recent work done on protocol encryption).

I really wish the NY Times would stop publishing useless fluff pieces like this one.

I should mention that my main criticism of Pownce is set to be remedied soon – they are starting an API. Should be available in September, though the undocumented API that their desktop app uses has already been, um, documented.

Read: NY Times

Do you really need a business plan?

Twitter announced a round of funding last Thursday, from Union Square Ventures and a few others. Michael Arrington did some digging and is fairly certain the amount was $5 million on a $20 million pre-money valuation. That’s not too bad, especially when you consider that Twitter is perhaps most famous for not having a business plan.

No business plan?! It’s true. At least no formal business plan. Biz Stone tried to assure everyone last week that the company has in fact thought about a business model, but I am not sure how many people bought it. The investment started a small “you don’t need a business plan” meme in the blogosphere, and it really got me thinking…do you need a business plan or not?

Paul Kedrosky says you don’t need one, and thinks that “business plans are overrated, and profits perhaps even more so.” Don Dodge says that “investors invest in people not business plans.” Fred Wilson, one of the investors, admits that they “don’t know yet” what the business model will be for Twitter. He claims they have time to figure that out. Charles Hudson says the meme is “crazy talk” and thinks it is worth writing some ideas down. Robert Scoble says that “if you REALLY think you can get funded without having a business plan you’re probably smoking something illegal.”

After reading dozens of these posts, and looking back at what I learned from the business plan competitions we competed in last year, I’ve come to the following conclusion: I think business plans are useful for internal use, and mostly a waste of time otherwise.

I think what Charles says in his post makes a lot of sense. There are certain questions that entrepreneurs should answer and write down. Really though, no one needs to see those pieces of paper. When it comes time to market your business or your idea to someone else, you’ve got to tune your message. And you’ve got to market yourself more than anything else. That’s why it’s a waste of time to have a complete, polished business plan (unless you’re in a competition I guess). If no one is really going to read it but you, does it matter what it looks like?

I think the trick is to remember that investors are people too. You need to relate to them, and you need to excite them. A heavy, thick document is probably not the best way to do that.

We haven’t really updated our business plan since the competitions in 2006. That’s partly due to the fact that it’s tedious, and partly due to the fact that we haven’t had a need to. A smaller executive overview, a quick slide deck, or an actual conversation are far more useful.

There’s a difference between a business plan and a business model, however. I still think it’s important to have some ideas about how you are going to monetize your product or service. And it’s important to know that there really is someone out there willing to pay for whatever it is you’ve created. Even better if you know who that someone is.

The realization that a traditional business plan is useless simply reinforces the idea that getting face time with investors is important. And for technology, that generally means the United States. Or perhaps BC or Ontario, but definitely not Alberta.

Anyway, just some thoughts. Congrats to Twitter on the funding!

Read: Twitter