More Awesome Startup Videos

Over at the Are-Dub-Dub, I’ve posted another couple videos of interviews. One is with the founder of Pandora, Tim Westergren; and the other is with the founder of Vanilla (a badass CMS for forums), Mark O’Sullivan.

Tim and I talked mostly about Pandora’s long (long, long) journey to financial solvency, while Mark chatted with me about a huge range of topics, from the product to monetization to the impact of the real-time web on forum culture. Please check ‘em out! I could use the clicks. Lots of love to everyone, and thanks SO much for reading!

Is It Me, Or Am I Sucking Less?

I wanted to share a video I just finished shooting and editing tonight. I put up the full post at ReadWriteWeb (and I’d really appreciate  it if you’d care to read that link, give feedback in the comments there, or even pass it on).

Basically, I put a good bit of work into this one, and I’m cautiously satisfied with the results. What do you think?

Boulder: One Weekend Down, Many More to Come

I can’t actually believe my first visit to Boulder, Colorado has gone by so quickly. Between the startups, the friends, and the huge overlap in that Venn diagram, I’ve had an absolutely amazing time.

I’ve learned an awful lot since I came here Thursday morning, and I plan to swing by again soon on at least one or two more road treks this summer.

More Startup-y Than Ever Before

So, over at the Are-Dub-Dub, I’m gonna be going startup crazy. I will be almost exclusively devoted to the coverage of startups and startup culture – that means VCs, advisors, incubators, serial entrepreneurs, weekend- and summer-long fast tracks, you name it.

I hope that with enough time and experience, I’ll be one of the best damn startup journalists out there. But in the meantime, here’s a video I shot today at TechStars in Boulder, where I am now and will be until Sunday:

I Get Around: More Travel Plans Announced

Hey guys!

So, I’m running around like crazy for the rest of the summer, hitting up towns I’ve been to before as well as entirely new and awesome places. I’ll be driving for quite a bit of these adventures, so if you want me to come put a hurt on your community, now’s the time to say something. I drive like a trucker, and NOTHING is too far out of the way. Seriously. I’ll go to Alaska for a tweetup as long as I get a free sandwich or something.

What I Want in a Partner

What a loaded topic. And probably the most personal blog post you’ll ever see here. But it seems relevant to a bunch of conversations I’ve had lately, so here we go.

A really wonderful person once suggested we trade emails about what we each wanted in a life/romantic partner. He sent his email. I stalled. We broke up.

I realized the problem wasn’t that I didn’t know; I was just afraid to own the fact that I did want and need certain things. Things that would automatically eliminate certain people for very valid reasons.

I was reminded of the list again tonight by another person, and I finally took the time to make that list, and here’s what I’ve learned.

Happy Father’s Day to My Dad, Who Reads ALL My Posts Everywhere

Ever since I was a wee little thing, there’s only been one man I could count on to help me any time I really needed it. From lacing my shoes and teaching me how to play King’s Quest on our first PC to helping me get through college and figure out my life goals, he has done it all and never asked for anything in return.

The Online Habits of Children

My niece has had her own (waterproof, pink) computer since she was about four.

She’s been online for the past three years or so, and her exploits have been fun for the whole family. Who can forget the hippopotamus with noodles on his back? That was classic, kid-friendly gold. Beats Captain Kangaroo all to hell.

My Real Life: Bubbles, Summer, Family

This is who I am when I’m not made of concepts and code. Video after the jump.

The ReadWriteWeb Crew on Twitter: Follow ‘Em!

So, I’m a huge, huge fan of my coworkers at RWW. Some days, I feel like I miraculously (or mistakenly) got drafted to play for the 1988 SF 49ers. My boss is the coolest, Kirkpatrick is frighteningly smart with a beard that’ll rock your face off, every single one of them is both impressive and intimidating. They challenge me to be badass, consistent, thorough, diligent, and much smarter than I actually am every day.

Which is why you should follow them on Twitter. That, and they’re amusing as hell.

Do Something Good: Mozilla Service Week

Earlier this week, I wrote about an awesome new project that EVERYONE can be part of: Mozilla’s Service Week.

Here’s the deal: You do good things for people that need help using your Internet skills. You don’t have to know how to code; you don’t have to be a sysadmin; you don’t have to know cloud server technology from a hole in the ground. All you need is a good heart and the desire to help.

Moving Forward: Vimeo!

Hey, everyone!

Let’s get productive and move the BS down the page and out of my life.

I wanted to make sure everyone out there knows about ReadWriteWeb’s Vimeo pages. Last week or so, Richard and the gang set up an awesome new account, complete with a group and a social media channel. I’m very excited, to say the least!

GTFU: On the Last Gasps of Immaturity & the Lessons of Failure

“Grow the f*** up,” has been a mantra I’ve directed at myself a few times today.

Over the past week or so, I’d been spending some time in Richmond with a new group of acquaintances. All are significantly younger than I am, and they do things that young kids do with the pursuant drama. After having told a few of them a few times that I’m too old for this shit, I’ve actually come to the conclusion that I am, in fact, too old for this shit.

Last night was one of the worst nights of my life. On my way to find my car after a night of karaoke with the aforementioned youngsters, one of them face-planted me on a sidewalk. I spent the rest of the night in a hospital. (Warning: Slightly graphic/gross hospital pic after the jump.)

Another Weekend, Another Blog Launch: Richmond Stuff

Hey, folks.

This weekend, I helped some friends launch a new blog: OMGWTFRVA. Kind of along the lines of the early-term abortion that was/is SuperDuperNet, OMGWTFRVA is not-so-equal parts social media, alcohol, and shenanigans.

A Word to My PR Homies: On Embargoes

Hey, holmes!

At 2 p.m., I can tell you it’s already been an insane day for me. After a long night that got longer when a fellow blogger broke an embargo on a product I’d covered, hence ruining anyone else’s chances of breaking the news first or best, I woke up in a foul mood. I went into “f*** you” mode, furiously reviewing and writing up products with the vague idea that if I wrote them up faster than The Other Guys, I would never feel the sting of shame like that again.

A Word to My PR Homies: On an Awesome New Tool

Hey, holmes!

Here’s a quickie for your toolbelt: BuzzStream.

I had the opportunity to write it up recently at ReadWriteWeb, and the whole time I was testing the app, I was thinking, “Dang! This would be one sweet app for my PR homies!”

A Word to My PR Homies: On Getting Weird

Hey, holmes!

Another day, another late night from your noctural journalist friend who sends you slightly manic emails at three a.m. that read, “Omg, does OtherBlog know about this yet? Please send the login, yes!”

You must get a chuckle when you look at the timestamps on those things. You can smell the panic, cantcha?

Well, as weird as we journos can get with our around-the-clock blogging schedules and our demands for exclusivity, you PR pros tend to get a bit fancy from time to time, yourselves. This can be good. And this can just be weird.

A Word to My PR Homies: On Sending Access and Materials

Hey, holmes!

I’m going through a stack of about 50 new emails at the moment, and you guys have really done me proud today! I’ve got a ton of interesting products, new features, and great stories to go through. However, some of them are so interesting that I’m disappointed I don’t already have more access.

Which brings me to the topic of today’s post:

Don’t ask. Send.

A Word to My PR Homies: On the Inverted Pyramid

Hey, holmes! It’s 9:30 in the morning! For me, that means it’s been a heck of a long night. I’m at Internet Week, and I have a lot of heavy-duty video blogging to do tomorrow. But before I turn in for a couple hours of beauty sleep, I wanted to say hi to you folks and wish you a wonderful day!

And also, I wanted to mention the Inverted Pyramid.

A Word to My PR Homies: On Competition

Hey holmes!

And a good day to you, sir! I hope you guys are having a lovely day so far. Me, I’m always having a good day. Y’all my bread and butter, and you work very hard to keep me and the nine billion other journalists on the planet happy and able to do our jobs.

Well, speaking of those nine billion other journalists, let’s get right down to brass tacks today: There aren’t really nine billion, but sometimes, it sure feels like there are.