Babbling VC

Auto-correct: Why My Spelling is Shot

2008-05-12T08:20:13+02:00

Having gone through the pain of unlearning (not by choice) how to write with pen and paper, I am again going through another annoying technology related development. To be a bit more specific, I completely lost the feeling for writing. I have basically been using keyboards non-stop since 1992 or so and I believe the last time I wrote more than a page of anything was senior year of high school. Now, when I actually try to sit down and write something, my writing is almost illegible and I really have to strain to write. It's so slow and awkward. I don't have the need to really write long text anymore but here and there it's nice to write a personal letter or note to someone. I avoid this because my writing looks like a three year olds chicken scratch.

Now, thanks to Microsoft, I've realized spelling is suffering as well. With Office 2007 and Windows XP, you have auto-correct features in your browser and all Office applications. I don't even bother anymore when typing to really pay attention to spelling. When I finish a paragraph or page, I simply look what's underlined in red, right-click and there you have it: the correct spelling, one click away. Don't get me wrong, I love this feature. At the same time, I realized recently that if I don't have auto-correct available I make many more errors than I would have earlier. It was simply then a matter of paying more attention. Now you don't have to.

This is more of an observation than a concern yet at the same time, I wonder what will be the situation in 10 years? Will future generations at some point simply forego writing completely? Will peoples' spelling really suffer? This will be an interesting trend to follow especially considering all kinds of further advances in technology.

Weather Outage

2008-05-11T22:59:09+02:00

Posting's been a bit light. Last week and this week, there are German holidays during the week. Further, we've had 10 days straight of sun and that is rare in Hamburg. This is like good surf in California. Things shut down and people focus on what's important. Back soon, bear with me!

Cleantech: Battery Life

2008-05-07T14:43:22+02:00

Image via WikipediaI had an interesting conversation today with a couple of folks at OpenCoffee Hamburg. We actually started talking about cleantech and to be honest, I said screw cleantech short-term. Give me a battery for my laptop and mobile phone which doesn't need to be charged every day. Figure that problem out first before you even think of considering the Tesla Roadster ready for mass consumption. The same goes for any other new innovation regarding cleantech. You may set up a bunch of wind farms but you need to store that energy which isn't immediately consumed somewhere: batteries. You can harvest sunlight all you want but yes, you guessed it, you need to store some of that energy: batteries. Even if we manage to figure out how to purify water or whatever else we figure out in the future regarding "green issues", it will need energy to work. That energy needs to be efficiently stored and effectively distributed before we can do a lot of "new" things. Don't get me wrong, I myself am thinking about cleantech more and more every day, especially as an investor deciding where to place my bets. It's time now to be investing in cleantech as one can still be ahead of the curve and there will be Amazons and Googles coming in this sector. But I really dislike when the conversation becomes all visionary and people don't even consider the basics before becoming all "innovative" on you.

"Building" Something Great or "Being" Great: Basically, Success!'

2008-05-05T01:07:03+02:00

I had a couple interesting conversations in regards to a book I read which led up to this post. Without going into too much detail, here are the two things to think about in regards to "greatness" . You may already know this but it's worth re-thinking.

You better love what you are doing? (Yes, you've heard this a million times!) Why I am repeating this? Well think about it this way...when you actually fell in love with whomever you are with or were, did you go about it rationally? Probably not! You maybe even made some really stupid mistakes or fell in love with the absolutely wrong person for you (my hand's raised). Yet, you did so without thinking about all the consequences. And to get this person to fall in love with you, whatever it took was what you did. Not what made sense or what people told you to do. You just went for it adapting as you went. Multiple hurdles probably appeared, yet you overstepped them. Maybe you even broke up with this person and did everything possible to get them back or just had to let them go (again, my hand's up). It's all terribly irrational and sometimes completely wrong but when falling in love you didn't give a shit. You just did it without thinking much. Everyone who has ever achieved greatness has had these moments early on where they just didn't give a shit. They went for it because they loved doing it. I'm convinced that to truly achieve success at something (be it business or private life) you have to love it to truly make the sacrifices and decisions (sometimes irrational) to get to that point. It better be the kind of love you feel for a person. It's not a rational feeling and isn't easily definable. The saying "it's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved before" sure has so much more meaning when you think about it in regards to things outside of just relationships.

On a completely different note, here's something regarding rational behavior which I've been questioning. You're always told to hedge your bets, spread out the risk and whatnot. This may be the biggest load of crap out there or if nothing else, a formula for mediocrity. When you look at truly great people past and present, be it Steve Jobs, Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, whoever....basically, the really rich, do you think they were rational financial planners when they got started? Nope! I highly doubt Steve or Bill were thinking about 401k's or Index Funds or whatever when founding their companies. They bet the whole farm on one investment. Most entrepreneurs are doing this. Betting the farm that it'll all work and the fact that you're screwed if it doesn't as motivation to bust your butt.

A couple ideas to ponder when going about your daily decision making and when you're trying to figure out whether you want to be good or great!

Flat Fee Data & Calling

2008-05-01T14:21:52+02:00

I wonder if we will soon see a true flat rate for mobile devices? Having travelled now for about a week internationally, I realized I would happily pay let's say Euro 100 per month for flat everything (actually maybe even a bit more as I am heavy user......April's bill will easily be Euro 300 plus). It has to include roaming and flat has to mean flat...no data caps, no geograhic restrictions. If the carriers were to offer this rate, would enough people jump on it to make it worth their while? I bet it would and when you consider it, wouldn't you rather have ten times as many users paying you Euro 100 per month up front instead of 1 user whom you milk and the rest avoiding you like the plague? I'm also sure someone will eventually offer this but who? Such an offer is absolutely necesary for things such as location based services and presence functionality to take hold. Give it to me down the road for Euro 50 per month and I'll completely ditch wLAN and any kind of wire to my home or office, going completely to 3G (this is 5 years out though in my opinion and who knows what to expect of 4G?)

Workout Re-Think

2008-05-01T11:34:29+02:00

I tend to write mostly about venture related stuff but I thought to throw in a bit of what I do with my spare time. (Plus some people have asked about this so I can now direct them to this post!) Those who know me well have figured out that my religion is weightlifting. I originally started working out when I was 14 or 15. Having been a fat kid, I needed something to slim down. I also wanted to get better at other sports. I would say though that in hindsight the main motivation was looking fit. I started out as most people, basically going to the gym, watching what others did and learning by trial & error. I only later picked up some literature to try and optimize some things. Basically, I followed the same approach for 15 years of going hard, going big and every two months or so changing up my routine (3 or 4 times a week, two hour workouts). Recently though I really changed things up. Originally I discovered CrossFit style training about two years ago. In summarý this is a totally different approach to training. It's not about becoming a gym-chiseled meathead or an ultra marathon running treehugger who looks like emaciated death! It's about being strong, agile, coordinated and conditioned. Basically training to take on whatever is thrown at you.I incorporated a bit of this training into my routine, basically to shorten the length of my gym sessions. I didn't totally get into it though. Only recently though two things made me change my training approach completely. One was the movie 300. The other was discovering MMA fighting. The 300 movie wasn't really directly responsible. I simply researched how these actors all managed to get so jacked in such a short time. I found out about the training they did at Gym Jones and was hooked (check out the videos on YouTube). Further, I saw what was happening in the MMA (mixed martial arts) and UFC (ultimate fighting championships) worlds. I find the fights interesting but their training even more so. The best fighters are integrating training methods from CrossFit, Gym Jones and multiple other new-school training styles. It's about going hard (really hard) yet as effectively as possible. You don't do this training in designer gym clothes. As an MMA fighter, if you don't do it right, you're getting your ass handed to you. Bones will break and you will be knocked out.

What's the point? Well, I've been at it for about 6 months now. I've never been stronger in the gym and have never been as injury free. The little nagging pains are gone. I am sore as all hell after hard workouts but my body isn't screaming at me that I am doing something wrong. Most importantly, I am in and out of the gym in 50 minutes....including shower. (I wear headphones, ignoring most everyone....I am there to work and not socialize.....OK, the hotties will now get attention being that I am single again). I usually make it to the gym two, mostly three times a week. I run in between if my schedule allows for it. I don't diet, I enjoy my beers and a wine here and there plus I love steaks! I work out to live and not vice versa. If I eat crap, my training is nauseating hence this keeps me from eating true junk like fast food or microwave junk. Finally, I feel really good after these workouts. You make yourself suffer to some extent but it's worthwhile and the results fairly immediate. If you have any interest in sports and want to train for them or are just looking to get in shape re-think your approach. There are multiple ways of training.....some are just much more effective than others.

Next challenge for me? I want to get into climbing. It always looked like fun and I'm sure it kicks your butt just as hard as a good workout.

Update: if you want to see what it's all about (hard workouts) watch these videos. A friend of mine sent the link after reading this post. Trust me, a half hour of these types of exercises absolutely kills you. I don't unfortunately have access to all of the equipment but I try to mimic a lot of what they do with what I have available.

Takeaways from a week in S.F.

2008-04-30T22:42:53+02:00

It was an interesting week and I really do not want to go home. Thought I'd bang out one more blog post before getting on my plane. Here's a brain dump of what my conversations this week left me with:

1. Web 2.0 is dead!
2. Web 2.0 is alive and kicking!
3. The Valley isn't quite sure what they really want to think about Web 2.0 but they sure love talking about it.
4. Mobile is clearly the next frontier.
5. Everyone has a Mac Air (supposedly it makes you more creative....no really, this has somehow been proven!)
6. Jeff Nolan has an awesome BBQ set-up and "knows his meat"!
7. You really can network by hanging out on University Ave. Spent a couple hours working from various locations and met at least 5 people I know. Awesome way to catch up. University Ave. is like the lobby at a tech conference.
8. Cleantech is where it's at if you want to raise money from LP's.
9.. Everyone in the Valley talks about "being green" yet at the same time drives an SUV, has a house where a whole village could live and probably consumes more water watering their lawn than certain regions do for drinking in Africa.
10. UMTS might be coming in America.........but very slowly.
11. Facebook's fading.
12. Only VC's and geeks really know much about Twitter. As much as everyone wants to think Twitter is booming, it's not yet anywhere near mainstream.
13. Everyone is convinced though that Twitter will go mainstream. Supposedly there are people who don't get it and never will but I sure didn't meet any of them.
14. There are too many entrepreneurs (according to a couple people) who are more about partying than growing companies.
15. Arrington sure is mentioned often. So is Scoble. (May just be the crowd I hung out with!)
16. Location Based Services will be the key to monetizing communities.
17. The Valley is still the "must-be-here" location when it comes to start-ups. Not getting around this any time soon.
18. The TV is dead. No one watches regular programming anymore.
19. U.S. based folks bitch and complain much more about conferences and things which go right and wrong at conferences in comparison with Europeans (not necessarily a bad thing).
20. It's still super hard and expensive to hire good talent in the Valley.

"We Met Online"

2008-04-29T21:51:49+02:00

I've been astonished at how quickly the merger of the online and offline world has taken place. I blogged a while back about how social communities online need to pull their people together in the real world. Well, I've been living this phenomenon for a while without really comprehending it. I've actually already met a bunch of people via Twitter who simply happened to be in the same place as I. It's been a great experience and I made friends with at least five pretty cool people if not more. I have also been realizing how common it's now to hear a couple openly admit that they met via online dating. At dinner last night a business acquaintance practically was a poster child. He met his partner via FriendScout24 and they are already awaiting their second child. He couldn't be more positive and open about it. Only a couple years back you wouldn't dare admit you were dating online. I bet now every third or fourth couple gets together this way. This is why I am so optimistic about the mash-ups happening right now in the online world to facilitate real world interaction be it for fun, for busines, or for love. Add location based services to Twitter with a bit of Facebook thrown in as well as FriendScout or Match.com, put it on the mobile and we're rockin'. There is still so much which can be done here and I look forward to all the opportunities out there. Just think how powerful a platform could emerge if someone truly cracks this nut!

Why I Think A 3G iPhone Would be Revolutionary

2008-04-28T23:27:10+02:00

If you take a look at what the current iPhone has done for usage, crank that up a notch. We've all seen how quickly the mobile internet took hold worldwide by becoming easier to access. I have been watching how people interact with their devices the past couple of months and an easy to use, fun to use and own device is what people want. They want to take their music (iTunes), their friends (contact list), their entertainment (YouTube), their presence (Google Maps) and their communication (phone and threaded SMS) with them. Add speed and flat data plans to the equation and you have a succesful device. Further, add Exchange capability and a better calendar in order to land the business user. This is all coming if we believe the rumors in June from Apple. If they deliver it, the 3G iPhone will be an even greater success than the current model and will continue revolutionizing mobile usage. It's going to be tough for boring and unsexy Windows Mobile 6.1 to keep up. I'm fine having a boring computer OS but the phone has to rock! It's "in my pants and happy to see you!"

Upcoming Developments: Internet

2008-04-28T17:42:26+02:00

Interesting report I found via TechCrunch from Morgan Stanley. Worth a quick read-through with some good take-aways, specifically the following in my opinion:

Unlike previous cycles, the US has become a follower and not a leader in regards to mobile
Mobile Internet represents the new computing cycle
Emerging markets will be growth leaders in regards to mobile penetration and usage
US less relevant to global economy - US share of global GDP has declined steadily since 1999 from 22% of GDP to 19% in 2007

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