31 de octubre de 2008

Getting through the hard times

Tim Bray en la Future of Web Apps Expo hablando sobre cómo las startups deben enfocar los próximos meses




Via Vitamin Training

Inmigrando a U.S.

Adjunto interesante diagrama de flujo visto en el blog cabezabomba en el midwest

28 de octubre de 2008

IE tambien decide publicar parte de sus cursos

Siguiendo el ejemplo de Stanford de ayer el IE publica bastante documentación, sobre todo "business cases"

Via en Pymes y autonomos
Post en blog Enrique Dans

Hack low-tech para tragaperras

Razonablemente ingenioso, una pena que sea una trampa completamente ilegal e injustificable (al contrario que las técnicas de Los Pelayo). Llevan como un mes publicitando arrestos, parece un tema fuera de control dado que el "parche tecnológico" está tardando en llegar

...procedimiento que consiste en la manipulación de monedas de un euro, que impregnaban con una sustancia aún por determinar y aunque la máquina tragaperras validaba las monedas para el juego, no las contabilizaba a la hora de hacer los pagos de los premios, expulsándolas y poniéndolas de nuevo a disposición del jugador....

Artículo en ElRecreativo

27 de octubre de 2008

How to become a famous blogger

Es viejo, pero me lo he reencontrado hoy



Via Problogger

Stanford publica lo mejor de su freshman year

Mi más sincera enhorabuena por una valiente decisión que seguro dará sus frutos

A partir de ahora cualquiera puede cursar las asignaturas más interesantes del primer curso de Stanford gratuitamente desde casa. Puedes descargar toda la info y ver los videos en youtube o tu iphone

Os dejo con la primera clase de la primera asignatura...




Stanford Engineering Everywhere

26 de octubre de 2008

Presentacion gurusblog

Por completar la serie de posts. Por cierto, el seguimiento semana a semana que están haciendo en su "cuaderno de crisis" me parece de lectura obligada.



Post completo en gurusblog

"Super GPS" Google en iPhone 2.2 y gPhone

Tiene muy buena pinta, a ver cuando se portan con un streetview para España



Via VentureBeat

Bolsa vs economía real

"Someone far wiser than I once said that the market has predicted ten of the last seven recessions"

-Damodaran

Post completo

Campañas virales personalizadas

Guy Kawasaki enlaza a esta web para personalizar emails que enviar a conocidos en apoyo Barack Obama


CNNBC Video


Si quisieseis enviar el video a "John Doe" quedaría así

24 de octubre de 2008

Carta de otro Hedge Fund Manager

Esta de Michael Lewis, el de Liars Poker, publicada hace un rato

The first time I sensed the alarming change in my soul was when I caught myself, five minutes after the market open, reaching for a reefer.


No tiene desperdicio

Post completo en Bloomberg
Via Dealbreaker

Estudio sobre apoyo del sector publico a startups en España

Llego a través del blog de Rodolfo Carpentier a este interesante informe, en el que queda claro que España no está muy bien pero se están tomando iniciativas para que vaya a mejor:

Estudio Estudio sobre medidas de apoyo a la financiación de empresas TIC en España en Red.es

El gráfico 20 es especialmente ilustrativo de cara a justificar la necesidad de intervención publica en el venture capital español:

Android bajo Ubuntu

A pesar de que les falta mucho para llegar al evangelismo de Apple creo que van por el buen camino. A ver si este fin de semana lo instalo y juego un poco, la verdad es que hay ganas de que los gphones lleguen por estas latitudes



Developers can download the entire source code from here.

Post en LatestGeekNews
Video en Youtube

Vas a estudiar el MBA de Apple?

Curiosa noticia a la que llego a través del "otro" blog del IE, despues de decadas de meterse con los MBAs Steve Jobs ficha al decano de Yale, uno de los centros más prestigiosos, para montarse su propia universidad corporativa

Apple Inc. is hiring the dean of Yale University's business school to start a project that it calls Apple University.

The Cupertino, Calif., computer maker said Joel Podolny, the dean of the Yale School of Management, will join Apple as vice president and dean of Apple University. The company declined to provide details about the university or the position.

(...)

Mr. Podolny, who has been in his current position since 2005, specializes in organizational-behavior research that combines his expertise in sociology and management. His current research is about how leaders infuse meaning into their organizations. Mr. Podolny previously taught at Harvard and Stanford universities.


Noticia completa en Wall Street Journal
Via BizDean's talk

Damodaran habla de valoraciones "postcrisis"

The intrinsic value of a business is still a function of its capacity to generate cash flows in the future (...). I am not going to create new paradigms for valuation just because we are in turmoil. In terms of estimates, though, here is what I believe has changed in these last 6 weeks:

1. The risk premiums we demand for investing in equities as a class and in corporate bonds has increased significantly (...)

2. It is beyond debate now that there will be consequences for economies globally. The slowdown will affect real economic growth (and consequently earnings growth) next year for companies around the world.

3. The long term consequences for individual companies is likely to be mixed. The shake out and more limited access to capital will put smaller companies at risk and drive many of them out of business. Larger companies will strong balance sheets and significant competitive advantages will emerge the winners from this turmoil. (...)


Lectura del powerpoint a juego más que recomendada

Post completo en Musings on Markets, blog de Damodaran

Product placement

Es ampliamente conocido que cada vez hay más marcas "colandose" en películas y series, lo que cada vez supone mayor porcentaje de sus ingresos.

Personalmente estoy convencido de que la asociación de anunciantes y generadores de contenidos cada vez supone una alternativa más valida al actual modelo de pago/visionado de publicidad, aunque hay maneras más elegantes (en akaimedia trabajamos en algunas de ellas) que, mediante una mayor transparencia, sirven para evitar este tipo de reacciones:




Via Gizmodo.es
Post completo en Antrep04

23 de octubre de 2008

Adsense en "La Palabra Harry?"

Acabo de añadir un gadget de adsense al menu inferior. Obviamente no es más que un experimento sin la más mínima pretensión de generar ingresos

Seth Godin on Tribes

Seth Godin on Tribes
View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: book tribes)


Desde slideshare se puede descargar el powerpoint con las notas que corresponden a cada imagen. Tambien ha publicado la version audio del libro gratis

Post en Presentation Zen

21 de octubre de 2008

Mama Boogie en Qualid.es

Nokia acaba de publicar en Qualid, una nueva iniciativa para el mecenazgo y la generación/distribución de contenidos, el video de Mama Boogie producido por Akaimedia. Ha sido un proyecto muy especial para nosotros dado que varios de los componentes de Akaimedia hemos apoyado la carrera de David Elejalde desde hace muchos años, espero que os guste



Nota: Este post tambien ha sido publicado en el blog de akaimedia

18 de octubre de 2008

Dinero para startups (quotes)

"Trying to raise venture capital in the next year is going to be like trying to raise the dead"

-Ted Dziuba

Nota: el post al que enlaza pone verde a Paul Graham, uno de los gurus que más respeto

Whiner Jerkins All Hands

Otra presentación de VCs interesante, esta bastante más graciosa


17 de octubre de 2008

Carta de un Hedge Fund Manager

Today I write not to gloat. Given the pain that nearly everyone is experiencing, that would be entirely inappropriate. Nor am I writing to make further predictions, as most of my forecasts in previous letters have unfolded or are in the process of unfolding. Instead, I am writing to say goodbye.

Recently, on the front page of Section C of the Wall Street Journal, a hedge fund manager who was also closing up shop (a $300 million fund), was quoted as saying, "What I have learned about the hedge fund business is that I hate it." I could not agree more with that statement. I was in this game for the money. The low hanging fruit, i.e. idiots whose parents paid for prep school, Yale, and then the Harvard MBA, was there for the taking. These people who were (often) truly not worthy of the education they received (or supposedly received) rose to the top of companies such as AIG, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers and all levels of our government. All of this behavior supporting the Aristocracy, only ended up making it easier for me to find people stupid enough to take the other side of my trades. God bless America.

There are far too many people for me to sincerely thank for my success. However, I do not want to sound like a Hollywood actor accepting an award. The money was reward enough. Furthermore, the endless list those deserving thanks know who they are.

I will no longer manage money for other people or institutions. I have enough of my own wealth to manage. Some people, who think they have arrived at a reasonable estimate of my net worth, might be surprised that I would call it quits with such a small war chest. That is fine; I am content with my rewards. Moreover, I will let others try to amass nine, ten or eleven figure net worths. Meanwhile, their lives suck. Appointments back to back, booked solid for the next three months, they look forward to their two week vacation in January during which they will likely be glued to their Blackberries or other such devices. What is the point? They will all be forgotten in fifty years anyway. Steve Balmer, Steven Cohen, and Larry Ellison will all be forgotten. I do not understand the legacy thing. Nearly everyone will be forgotten. Give up on leaving your mark. Throw the Blackberry away and enjoy life.

So this is it. With all due respect, I am dropping out. Please do not expect any type of reply to emails or voicemails within normal time frames or at all. Andy Springer and his company will be handling the dissolution of the fund. And don't worry about my employees, they were always employed by Mr. Springer's company and only one (who has been well-rewarded) will lose his job.

I have no interest in any deals in which anyone would like me to participate. I truly do not have a strong opinion about any market right now, other than to say that things will continue to get worse for some time, probably years. I am content sitting on the sidelines and waiting. After all, sitting and waiting is how we made money from the subprime debacle. I now have time to repair my health, which was destroyed by the stress I layered onto myself over the past two years, as well as my entire life -- where I had to compete for spaces in universities and graduate schools, jobs and assets under management -- with those who had all the advantages (rich parents) that I did not. May meritocracy be part of a new form of government, which needs to be established.

On the issue of the U.S. Government, I would like to make a modest proposal. First, I point out the obvious flaws, whereby legislation was repeatedly brought forth to Congress over the past eight years, which would have reigned in the predatory lending practices of now mostly defunct institutions. These institutions regularly filled the coffers of both parties in return for voting down all of this legislation designed to protect the common citizen. This is an outrage, yet no one seems to know or care about it. Since Thomas Jefferson and Adam Smith passed, I would argue that there has been a dearth of worthy philosophers in this country, at least ones focused on improving government. Capitalism worked for two hundred years, but times change, and systems become corrupt. George Soros, a man of staggering wealth, has stated that he would like to be remembered as a philosopher. My suggestion is that this great man start and sponsor a forum for great minds to come together to create a new system of government that truly represents the common man's interest, while at the same time creating rewards great enough to attract the best and brightest minds to serve in government roles without having to rely on corruption to further their interests or lifestyles. This forum could be similar to the one used to create the operating system, Linux, which competes with Microsoft's near monopoly. I believe there is an answer, but for now the system is clearly broken.

Lastly, while I still have an audience, I would like to bring attention to an alternative food and energy source. You won't see it included in BP's, "Feel good. We are working on sustainable solutions," television commercials, nor is it mentioned in ADM's similar commercials. But hemp has been used for at least 5,000 years for cloth and food, as well as just about everything that is produced from petroleum products. Hemp is not marijuana and vice versa. Hemp is the male plant and it grows like a weed, hence the slang term. The original American flag was made of hemp fiber and our Constitution was printed on paper made of hemp. It was used as recently as World War II by the U.S. Government, and then promptly made illegal after the war was won. At a time when rhetoric is flying about becoming more self-sufficient in terms of energy, why is it illegal to grow this plant in this country? Ah, the female. The evil female plant -- marijuana. It gets you high, it makes you laugh, it does not produce a hangover. Unlike alcohol, it does not result in bar fights or wife beating. So, why is this innocuous plant illegal? Is it a gateway drug? No, that would be alcohol, which is so heavily advertised in this country. My only conclusion as to why it is illegal, is that Corporate America, which owns Congress, would rather sell you Paxil, Zoloft, Xanax and other additive drugs, than allow you to grow a plant in your home without some of the profits going into their coffers. This policy is ludicrous. It has surely contributed to our dependency on foreign energy sources. Our policies have other countries literally laughing at our stupidity, most notably Canada, as well as several European nations (both Eastern and Western). You would not know this by paying attention to U.S. media sources though, as they tend not to elaborate on who is laughing at the United States this week. Please people, let's stop the rhetoric and start thinking about how we can truly become self-sufficient.

With that I say good-bye and good luck.

All the best,
Andrew Lahde


Post completo en Portfolio

16 de octubre de 2008

'I Am Under 18' Button Clicked For First Time In History Of Internet

Este resumen no está disponible. Haz clic en este enlace para ver la entrada.

Damn It Feels Good to be Banker?

15 de octubre de 2008

More than money

Me ha gustado mucho este video de Mark Albion que acompaña su nuevo libro

Peleas con la firma digital para declaracion IVA en Vista

Por si alguno tambien estabais atascado:



Mil gracias a ambos

Good blogs

Bernardo, socio de Okuri que finalmente se ha decidido a abrir su propio blog, enlaza a una reflexion interesante sobre el por que de todo esto en uno de sus primeros posts

10 Ways to a Killer Blog
View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: tips cartoons)

12 de octubre de 2008

5 ways recessions help startups

Por cerrar la semana negra con algo positivo:

While everyone is running around yelling about how the sky is falling, I felt that it was necessary to point out the optimistic side of the economic downturn for startups.


Here are 5 ways the recession will help startups:

1. Inherently less competition

2. Companies take a long time to build

3. There will be a fundamental shift towards cost-saving services and cheaper alternatives, these are usually facilitated through web applications and services.

4. People will gravitate towards cheaper entertainment, the internet is free.

5. There are plenty of recession friendly businesses.


Post completo via Hacker News

Perspectiva



Post completo en gurusblog

10 de octubre de 2008

Vídeo entrevista al Santo de Omaha

Acabo de terminar de ver el video de Buffet, quien ya he confesado anteriormente es uno de mis idolos personales, que enlazaron hace unos días en gurusblog . Seguro que sus actuales inversiones, en las que está entrando a precio de saldo gracias a no haber sido avaricioso con operaciones arriesgadas a multiplos abusordos los ultimos años le salen bastante rentables. Dados los tiempos que corren el tener caja para respaldar a Goldman Sachs, General Electric y el Tesoro americano entre otros es claramente una posicion privilegiada.



Actualizo con post de Damodaran al respecto

In the last two weeks, Warren Buffett has made news by taking multi-billion dollar positions at Goldman Sachs and GE, two companies that would have topped the list of most admired firms a couple of years ago (and perhaps still). The fact that he is getting a good deal from both companies has been well publicized. In effect, both companies have given him a discount on his investment, thus giving him the potential for higher returns in the future. While part of those higher returns can be attributed to the fact that he is providing liquidity in a market where it is in short supply, that alone cannot explain the nature of the deals. After all, Goldman and GE, notwithstanding current financial problems, have recourse to other equity funding. So, why did they choose to deal with Mr. Buffett?
I think the answer lies in the mythology. As investors lose faith in the institutions that they thought were the foundation of US financial markets, from the investment banks to the Fed, Warren Buffett remains one of the few icons with any credibility left in this market. In my view, both Goldman and GE are buying a share of that credibility with these investments. They are, in effect, telling the market to trust them because Buffett is now watching over them. I should also add that I do not begrudge Mr. Buffett trading on his credibility to generate higher returns for Berkshire Hathaway stockholders. He has invested a great deal in his reputation over the last few decades and he is the ultimate capitalist!

RIP the Good times

Sequoia Capital recently made a presentation to its portfolio companies about how to try to survive an economic downturn. Here's the presentation




Via Venturebeat

9 de octubre de 2008

Iniciador Madrid en octubre con Jaime Estévez

Muy interesante la charla de Jaime Estevez ayer en Iniciador que al final acabó en interrogatorio por parte de los participantes

Me quedo con su respuesta a por qué abandonar su interesante puesto en Europapress para lanzar Agora News, una agencia de contenidos para medios de información enfocada en videos para Internet que comparte con Akaimedia muchos argumentos de porqué el futuro de los medios pasa por un cambio de paradigma aunque nos dediquemos a generar contenidos para subsectores distintos (nosotros estamos enfocados a publicidad y entretenimiento, ellos a periodistas)

La transcripción es libre, intentaré actualizarlo si alguien publica notas o videos del evento como es habitual

Al final trabajar por cuenta ajena era como estar bajo el agua. Puedes aguantar la respiración más o menos tiempo, pero todo tus instintos te arrastran a que saques la cabeza para respirar y hagas aquello para lo que sientas que has nacido

Nunca he podido expresar mi motivación para cambiar mi rumbo profesional de una forma tan clara. Sin duda será añadida a la pizarra de grandes reflexiones de emprendedores que tenemos en Okuri y será motivo de un post próximo.

7 de octubre de 2008

3 años despues

En los 36 meses que lleva online "La Palabra Harry?" ha disfrutado de diferentes frecuencias de actualización y ratio de contenidos propios. Ni siquiera en los tiempos en los que compartía reflexiones sobre nuevas tecnologías y sus mercados (conseguiendo enlaces de Microsiervos que daban en pocas horas la mitad de visitantes acumulados hasta la fecha) era una iniciativa muy seria que siguiese los más básicos cánones sobre cómo debe mantenerse un blog. A día de hoy no es más que un espacio personal sin aspiraciones actualizado pocas veces al mes con links curiosos que me llegan.

Es posible que reconsidere esto debido a que mi nueva etapa profesional, como socio de Okuri y responsable de Akaimedia, no impone las restricciones de confidencialidad que implicaba trabajar en consultoría estratégica y me está dando la oportunidad de desarrollar muchos más artículos para la publicación.

Prometo más información en breve, de momento os dejo con el template actualizado



Constructores españoles bloquean carreteras demandando ayudas


Via frucomerci

5 de octubre de 2008

Ojo mono

Parece que la temporada empieza fuerte