Friday Watch--The best of the week's Watcher and an odd-pod collection of bits and bites...

By Tom Foremski - March 11, 2005

...Plus what's coming up very soon on ess-vee-double-you.

This past week in SiliconValleyWatcher, just in case you missed the good bits, SVW featured ... an exclusive interview with Dan Scheinman, head of M&A at Cisco ... breaking news that Yahoo is launching Yahoo Publisher Network to compete with AdSense ... analysis of the new competition and risks in the click-through ad business ... a look at WindRiver's Linux conversion ... ruminations on the blogger/journalist split (is there one?) ... and more. Read on for post-mortems on all these and look at the coming week.


+ We started off the week with a bang with an exclusive interview with Dan Scheinman, head of M&A for Cisco. What makes Dan extra-interesting is that when he's not buying companies and plotting out strategies at the tech giant, he also runs corporate PR. I've never come across that combination of jobs before, it's certainly an intriguing one.

Thanks to Ron Piovesan, one of Dan's colleagues, for enabling this historic event. When a mere blogger, the lowest of the low in the Silicon Valley media hierarchy, gets to interview one of the most influential and powerful execs in the Valley, not to mention one of the most reclusive, something has shifted in the culture, wouldn't you say? It's like that first day of autumn: the day looks the same; but you know it's no longer summer.

It's fall for much of print media, I have no doubt of that at all. But I hope some of them felt the shift because you don't want to be inside a crumbling business model when shift happens. In such cases, I would recommend jumping for the the nearest blog or blogger within easy reach. Hopefully, we'll have the online business model sorted out by then.

Either way, you can't get a more efficient business model than a blogger in a bedroom (except for a blogger in a bedroom living in his parents' house using his sister's computer.) I digress, but it is a favorite topic. Back to Dan...

I'll have a follow-on piece coming this week about news@cisco, one of Dan's brain-wave ideas from wearing his other hat ... he has definitely started something that will be intriguing to watch.

Tuesday we had another exclusive: Richard Koman confirmed Yahoo was about to launch YPN Yahoo Publisher Network, a competitor to Google's AdSense text ads network, used heavily by blogs and specialized third-party web sites. For days, the blogosphere was full of rumors that this was being quietly tested; but Richard took the story a tad further and nailed it down with a top source at Yahoo.

c|net's news.com ran a similar story today, and it's interesting to note the inverse relationship of scoop to spread. Andy Baio's original post was seen as the end of the story by some in the Blogosphere (BS) but we spread the story further. Now that it's on cnet, the mainstream media can pick it up.
Some in the BlogoSphere (BS) said it was old news; but we respectfully disagree with the BS, and would like to point out (again, very respectfully) to the BS (tugging forelock) that rumors are rumors; and if someone, anyone, can "stand up" a rumor, with a solid although unnamed source, then it's not BS (the other BS ;-)), but adds some value. Also, vast swaths of the non-BS world were unaware of the YPN rumors, so it was nice to get some feedback from outside the BS.


I wrote a news analysis on Yahoo's move, which comes at a time when business models such as YPN and Google AdSense are under increasing attack from click fraud. There might not even be a business model soon for these types of ad networks if click fraud continues to grow unchecked.

The coming launch by Yahoo of YPN, a competitor to Google Adsense, is a bid to break off a chunk of Google's second largest business. But the competitive battle could be tempered by click-fraud, a growing problem that threatens both companies.

How I learned to love Linux and profit from it--">Wind River turns from Linux basher to religious zealot. This is something Microsoft should consider. (PS: Bill--Wall Street loves this strategy, you could create a lot of shareholder value and become a star again. It's possible; look at how many times Steve Jobs has reinvented and reengineered? I you are no Steve Jobs; but then again, maybe you are?)

I published an essay If a Blogger Blogs in the Blogosphere Does Anybody Blog It? (Parts One and Two)If anybody can be a journalist, then how will media relations be applied to such a horde? And also a prediction on the future of the Blogosphere, as increasing numbers of media slickers (not me) push out some of the old school geek bloggers. I hope not.

Other info about the Watcher:

-We started a SiliconValleyWatcher News Blog: a way to get a few short blog blasts out without cluttering up the main feed. We'll have a separate RSS feed for it.

-On Wednesday I was interviewed live by uber media-watcher Sam Whitmore as the guest interview in his popular weekly teleconference. The 30 minutes seemed to fly by. BTW, check out Sam's poll on blogging and click to vote!

-Also, I'd like to introduce the completely fictional Atom Atomic, a new writer on SiliconValleyWatcher. Atom Atomic does not exist; but that doesn't mean the story doesn't exist, or that there is a story in Atom Atomic's reporting. [itsagrouppsuedonymforbashfulbloggers] Are you an Atom? Atoms are everywhere. There is an Atom right next to you. You can file a story or tip via our anonymous tip feature (look on the right side of the home page.)

Our media technology architect extraordinaire, Nick Aster, (BTW nobody has more commercial MT experience than Nick) is in Texas at the SXSWi conference and promised to post an item or two.

I've been told I have to go to the SXSW conference, now that I'm a blogger and a member of the BlogoSphere. I'd never heard of this conference of "bloggers and New York hipsters." That explains the big Gawker crew arriving and the Monday night party mention "Wists" and you'll be whisked past the velvet rope.

(But do not put any drinks on David Galbraith's bar tab, he is Scottish and doesn't appreciate such things. I've been told that putting drinks on Denton's tab is fine and that you can make it a double if you want.)

I found a fab guide to SXSW by David Nunez (via rexblog, link below).
BTW, if you go, pin on a yellow happy face and don't let the SXSW Nazis take that yellow symbol of peace and silliness away.

You know Hunter S. would have worn one, do it for Hunter.

Read the SXSW guide:
http://www.davidnunez.com/sxsw via http://www.rexblog.com/2005/03/09#a6113


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By Tom Foremski - March 11, 2005 | Permalink | Category: Friday Watch
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