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Web 2.0 Keynotes Streaming Live Posted: 17 Sep 2008 01:53 PM CDT I’m streaming the Web 2.0 Expo keynotes live. Check it out below!

Mobile Platform Wars Heat Up as GPhone Prepares for October Launch Posted: 17 Sep 2008 01:21 PM CDT Eric Eldon at Venturebeat has confirmed that Google will be releasing the first version of their much anticipated phone on October 17th. The phone will be called the “G1″ and will be launched with the HTC “Dream” later this month. It’s clear that T-Mobile is on board with Google but what about other companies that are in the space? While in New York for the past week I’ve spoken with a number of individuals including people at large mobile manufacturers as well as startups looking to take advantage of the opening mobile platforms. Some have suggested that most device manufacturers as well as mobile service providers will quickly adopt the Android platform to stay competitive in the marketplace. A few manufacturers though are going after Google and Apple. Nokia recently acquired Symbian and is now looking to open-source the platform in the near future. RIM has yet to state anything publicly about releasing a more open platform but given that the company’s stock has been down almost 35 percent since its peak back on June 20, the company must make a big announcement soon. There are plenty of other smart-phone competitors which fail to provide as efficient and robust a directory as is now available via Apple and will soon be available with Google Android. The next 12 to 24 months will mark a massive shift for a domestic industry which was previously far behind in the international marketplace. I have previously compared the launch of the Apple iPhone platform to that of the Facebook platform in that both were catalyst for substantial change within their industries. Now we are one month away from what will be the second big step in the mobile platform wars. One thing is certain: the mobile industry in the U.S. has an exciting year ahead!

(fluff)Friends Gets Acquired by SGN Posted: 16 Sep 2008 04:05 PM CDT Last night, the Social Gaming Network (SGN) announced that they had acquired (fluff)Friends, one of the most popular applications on Facebook. How much was (fluff)Friends acquired for exactly? Well SGN made no formal statement but we speculate that it was somewhere in the millions of dollars range. For a company which recently raised $15 million in venture capital, it is somewhat surprising to hear the news. Currently the biggest buzz sweeping the Valley related to Social Gaming Network is that they are in the process of suing Mobwars, one of the largest games on Facebook. The reason is that the application was started when the developer was still working at Freewebs in Silver Spring, MD. A number of developers from Freewebs moved out to California to start Social Gaming Network with Shervin Pishevar as CEO. The company faces stiff competition, especially from Zynga who has so far been more successful at maintaining an active user base. The company also faces internal challenges as many developers have exited the company and there are few in house success stories. That doesn’t mean all is over for SGN. This most recent acquisition keeps the company on the application leaderboard. The company also has an incredible board and an experienced management team. (fluff)Friends is one application which has proven to withstand the test of time and this acquisition definitely gives the company a more solid base. I think we may see the company continue to focus on increasing the base rather than churn out one-off applications which rise in popularity but fail to attract a lasting user base. The company is also navigating what was previously uncharted territory less than a year and a half ago. With constant changes being made by all the social networks (including Facebook), it has proven to be a challenging area. My guess is that we will begin to see a shift as more traditional gaming companies move into this space. Congratulations to Mike Sego of (fluff)Friends. This was truly a smart acquisition by SGN. I’d expect to see more of these continue.

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