Index Ventures' Ben Holmes on the Playfish deal
Playfish this week announced a whopping $17m funding round, led by internet-focused VCs Accel Partners and Index Ventures.
In doing so, the London-based developer of games for social networks will have provided encouragement for other startups seeking funding. While this deal has been in the pipeline for a few months it proves that the VCs aren’t entirely hunkering down.
Can Twitter make money?
Even as a hardened skeptic of the microblogging service Twitter, I cannot deny that it has built up a passionate if not mainstream userbase.
Putting aside the reasons why I personally think Twitter is a waste of time, the real problem for the site is that it doesn't yet have a business model.
And so it begins
Venture capitalists are worried and urging their portfolio companies to enter survival mode. The layoffs have started. Michael Arrington has declared Web 2.0 dead.
While there are some who still cling to hope (and there are still some in outright denial), it's clear that most of the people involved with the world of internet startups have accepted the reality of the global economic "downturn" and understand that its impact on the industry will probably run deep and it will probably be prolonged.
Joost proves serial success is hard to achieve
By almost any measure, internet entrepreneurs Janus Friis and Niklas Zennström achieved more business success by the age of 40 than most entrepreneurs could hope to achieve in a lifetime.
Wither widgets?
It wasn't too long ago that we were told widgets were the marketer's recession survival tool and that Facebook's application platform, which allows developers to build widgets for the social network's users, heralded the ushering in of another "new economy."
My how quickly times change.
The first half of 2008: the internet economy in review
With the first half of 2008 solidly behind us, I thought it'd be worthwhile to look back at some of the general trends established in the internet economy. After all, it's hard to know where you're going if you don't know where you've been.
What follows are the most important trends I saw in the first half of the year.
Twitter cuts SMS in the UK
Twitter founder Biz Stone isn't all that concerned with making money.
Earlier this month, he told Portfolio.com's Sam Gustin that "at this point, given that we have plenty of money in the bank, it makes a lot more sense not to distract ourselves with trying to put the finishing touches on a revenue plan."
Founder of UK blog network plays the blame game
I discussed the economics of blogging recently, sparking a bit of debate.
And it seems for good reason. The evolution of the blogosphere as a business hasn't been easy for many of its participants.
The Web Week in Review
Everybody's working for the weekend but before you leave work for the weekend, here's a wrap-up of the news that caught my eye this week.
The Web Week in Review
This week's news was quite a hodgepodge so without delay, let's end the week with a diverse version of Drama 2.0's The Web Week in Review.
Social media: the best and worst of 2009
Email marketing: six steps to improving customer engagement in 2010
Web 2.0
Graham Charlton
Strategy & Planning
