Here is the story of how Mark Zuckerberg with his college roommates Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes started Facebook.
{ 0 comments }
From the category archives:
Social Media
Now this is some real out of this world mental space trip stuff here; there are individuals creating second lives for themselves, virtually. Check this out:
(CNN) — Zed Drebin has a pretty fantastical life.
He owns a house on the beach, which he’s styled to be part Barbie castle and part medieval lair. In addition, he is the landlord of two island colonies, both of which feature spaceships, amusement parks and all kinds of futuristic buildings. About 80 renters pay to live in themed condos at his getaway resorts.
For all of this, Drebin pays only $390 a month, he said.
But there’s one big flaw in this space-themed paradise: None of it is real. Zed Drebin is an avatar in the virtual world of Second Life. He’s controlled by Arthur, a man who works for a hedge fund in New York City, and who didn’t want his full name used for fear it would hurt his business.
Despite the fact that Arthur pays U.S. dollars to “own” virtual land in Second Life, and that his renters also pay him in real money, it’s unclear whether he, or any of Second Life’s “residents,” have lasting rights to these virtual tracts.
That worries him.
“We’ve invested a great deal of money and an even greater amount of time; literally hundreds of people have contributed to creating our regions,” he said. Read More
{ 0 comments }
Share This Post
Three years ago, Fred Mwangaguhunga launched MediaTakeOut.com, a blog focusing on urban gossip that is beating similar sites run by much larger companies.
Fred Mwangaguhunga started his career capturing stories on film as a wedding videographer, a far cry from the gossip mogul he is today. But maybe that first college job augured where he’d end up: in the media hot seat, where photos and video footage of intimate moments are the coin of the realm. Mwangaguhunga is the founder and CEO of MediaTakeOut.com, a blog-style gossip website that caters to urban readers. The snarky, urban MediaTakeOut is known for breaking news that’s often picked up by CNN, NBC, People, the New York Post and TMZ, and advertisers are buying the hype — literally. The site gobbles up ad buys that used to go to competitors AOL Black Voices, BET.com and Essence.com, while its traffic has continually surpassed them as well. The lawyer turned serial entrepreneur, now 35, shows no signs of backing down. Watch out, Perez Hilton. He recently spoke with Inc.com senior editor Nicole Marie Richardson.
What led you to start MediaTakeOut.com?
I had a laundry business called Laundry Spa that was essentially a web-based business. Clients logged on, scheduled a pickup time and delivery time, chose a fragrance for their clothes, and we’d come pick it up and deliver it back to them. Business took off after we got a write up on the Daily Candy blog site. At Laundry Spa, we spent our ad budget on blogs. At the time, the idea of blogs was that they were really a niche only for the ultra-techie. After I sold my laundry business, I looked at the blog world and saw the growth they’d had. I thought this could be something bigger than a fad, or even if it is a fad, it’s a fad that could last years. I didn’t have anything else to do at the time, so I thought, let me just try this.
What were your start-up costs?
It cost $19.99 for the Yahoo account and about $7.99 for the domain name. Because I’m from a small business background, I operate this as a small business. We’re lean in everything we do, and every expense is looked at to see how it will affect the bottom line. I want to maintain profitability and grow organically.
{ 0 comments }
Share This Post
The WSJ’s Jessica Vascellaro has a long profile on Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, and the forthcoming IPO.
Business Insider highlights some of the points of the profile:
- Mark confirms that Facebook is going public, but not for a while
- Accel partner Jim Breyer says that the IPO won’t be in 2010 (read: 2011)
- Facebook expects to do between $1.2 billion and $2 billion of revenue this year
- Employees are agitating for an IPO to cash in, but the private-market sale plan mollified them somewhat
- Facebook got around the rule that forced Google to disclose its financials (having more than 500 shareholders) by switching to restricted stock units instead of options. Now employees won’t become shareholders until the company goes public.
- Mark is worried (justifiably) that going public will reduce the company’s flexibility
- Mark used to end meetings by thrusting his fist in the air and leading employees through a chant of “domination!” Someone hurried to tell the WSJ that this was a joke. Mark stopped doing it after he was advised that it was ridiculous and that some people might not think it was a joke. We doubt it was a joke (“jokes” like this get old quickly).
- Mark started wearing a tie instead of a t-shirt recently because “This is a serious year.”
- Mark is a micro-manager who has recently begun to step back and focus on broader strategic issues.
- Yale professor Jeff Sonnenfeld says Facebook is at the point where some companies blow up because the founders are “too sure of themselves.” Facebook, Prof. Sonnenfeld says, “is at a crossroads where we have to see if Mark can build a team strong enough to challenge him.”
- Mark used to brag about his ability to delay gratification
- Mark’s Mom calls him “Princely”
Full Story Here
{ 0 comments }
Share This Post
With the Internet people have been able to bypass conventional routes to becoming a celebrity and have created their own. Some might ask why are these people even considered celebs and others can’t wait to log on and see whats next to come from their favorite web personality.
On the Internet everyone gets 15 minutes of fame, but some people get a whole lot more. A kid with a webcam can become a movie star; an entrepreneur with a smart idea can get on Oprah; a tech blogger can reach a bigger audience than a bestselling novelist.
For the Forbes Web Celeb 25, we track the biggest and brightest stars on the Internet, the people who have turned their passions into new media empires. From stay-at home-moms to geek entrepreneurs, these are the people capturing eyes, influencing opinion and creating the new digital world.
{ 0 comments }
Share This Post
Jobless Numbers May Signal Next Risk: Inflation
It’s a signal of just how bad the economy was last year that investors will probably cheer if the Labor Department announces Friday that the December unemployment rate came in at 10%.
Never mind that you have to go back to the recession of 1982 to see similar jobless levels. After apparently hitting a peak of 10.2% in October, unemployment fell to 10% in November. Another month like that could indicate the economy has stopped shrinking and is even beginning to expand.
Now the question looms: Is inflation next? With the Treasury and Federal Reserve essentially printing U.S. currency and handing it to banks and overstretched lenders like Fannie Mae, there is always the chance that too many dollars chasing a fixed amount of goods will lead to higher prices. Inflation is at least as much based on perception of the future as conditions today, said Kevin Kleisen, an economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Saint Louis and author of a recent report that suggests people should start thinking about the unthinkable.
“Right now inflation expectations are fairly low and stable, but if the market gets spooked–either from the Fed not withdrawing stimulus fast enough, or the rising budget deficit–that could lead to higher inflation expectations,” Kreisen said.
Friday’s release might have something for inflation bulls and bears. Jobless numbers are highly volatile from month to month and are calculated using a different survey than for nonfarm employment. So don’t be surprised if Friday’s release shows two different trends. Employment could rise while unemployment ticks up as well, said David Resler, chief economist for the U.S. at Nomura Securities in New York.
“Theres a chance the unemployment rate will dip below 10%, but I’m not sure we’ve seen the peak yet,” said Resler. “If you go by history, it could go higher even if the economy is improving.” For More Click Here
Three Myths About Starting Your Own Business
Mistakes that hurt countless would-be entrepreneurs.
Many people dream of shedding the corporate life and starting their own companies. They imagine creating the next Google or Apple. From Steve Jobs to Bill Gates to Pierre Omidyar, many of the world’s richest people on the Forbes Billionaires List started as entrepreneurs, so it’s little wonder so many believe that’s the path to wealth and happiness. But getting a company going is hard and takes sacrifices, especially in this down market. More than 50% of companies fail in their first five years. Their founders spend much of that time skipping vacations and luxuries and sometimes even meals.
I’ve started three businesses, and I’ve invested in others as an angel investor and venture capitalist. I’ve often struggled and failed. My second start-up made $7,000 over three years while I lived in a $200-a-month apartment. With another one I gained 25 pounds during the first year, thanks to too many hurried dashes to McDonald’s. But I’m glad I chose the entrepreneurial path. I like the challenge of creating something from scratch.
I’ve learned a lot from my experiences. Before you venture out on your own, I offer you three myths about starting a business that I wish I had known before I began. For More Click Here
14 Power Women To Follow On Twitter
These ”twilebrity” brands are building online empires 140 characters at a time.
If you are active on Twitter, you are likely familiar with @maddow, @oprah, and even @digitalroyalty. Perhaps these notables are already in your network. But there’s a new generation of Twitter powerhouses that are worth watching.
These women tweeters have brands that are soaring–they have found their niche and are capitalizing on it through their work, their personalities, their writing, and now, their Twitter followings. They land securely in the range of the almost-famous, with their eventual domination of the Twittersphere not yet complete. But the 14 showcased here are all gaining steam fast and are on schedule to double (or more) in size in six months.
These “twilebrities” are constructing digital empires by building brands from the ground up. They are not only experts, but also extraordinarily engaging, hard working, interactive and responsive to their communities. And they are deserving of your follow. For More Click Here
{ 0 comments }
Share This Post
Obama’s Small Business Tax Cuts May Hurt Economic Growth:
In a speech last month at the venerable Brookings Institution, President Barack Obama laid out a series of objectives meant to stimulate economic activity. As he put it, “Our work is far from done.”
Obama’s proposed economic package includes an elimination of capital gains taxes on small-business investment as well as an extension of business equipment write-offs. Small businesses would be allowed to write off 100% of their capital equipment purchases, while large businesses could deduct 50% of those expenses in the first year.
Somewhat surprisingly, noted tax experts and supply-side thinkers Ernest Christian and Gary Robbins endorsed Obama’s tax pledge in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. They argue that the tax proposals were “the one right thing” in Obama’s address, the cuts being “a proven job-creating machine in the private sector.” Discounting that businesses are decidedly not in business to create jobs– the proposed cuts are at best geared toward a business climate that no longer exists; at worst they are merely subsidies masked as tax cuts.
First, supply-side tax policy is, at its core, all about incentives. But judging by his plan, Obama is creating incentives for businesses to remain small. As evidenced by the less favorable tax treatment proposed for large businesses, those that start small but grow into something larger will be penalized for doing so. Full Story Here
——————————————–
Looking to snag shares of Facebook before it goes public? Felix Investments, a New York City investment manager, is giving rich clients a chance to do just that. The firm touts in a letter to potential investors: “Opportunities like this do not come along every day and we have not seen an opportunity like this since Google in 2004!”
Maybe for good reason. Felix is among a handful of firms vying to get an early jump on Facebook’s initial public offering (though the company says it has no plans of doing one). These firms have been pooling clients’ money to buy blocks of employee-held shares of the social network company before any IPO.
Felix Investments wouldn’t comment, but sources say the firm is looking to pay around $25 per share of Facebook, which values the company at close to $11 billion, according to private share marketplace SharesPost. Full Story Here
——————————————–
Do you have trouble keeping New Year’s resolutions that involve losing weight or reading more? Maybe it’s time to put your time instead into resolutions that will pay real dividends down the road. Invest a few hours in making some simple money moves that will bulk up your portfolio and give you a solid chance of exiting 2010 more prosperous than you enter it.
Tough as the past year has been financially, the economy has provided a good opportunity to take a fresh, objective look at your financial future, says Roger Wohlner, financial planner in Arlington Heights, Ill.
“Periods of ups and downs in the market are very common, but rarely have we seen anything as extreme as we’ve seen over the last 15 months,” he says. “This is an especially opportune time for somebody to reassess his or her portfolio, retirement strategy and whole financial plan.”
Often the smartest moves you can make are tried-and-true ones–not the sort of stuff that’s been spawned as newfangled ways to protect yourself. In Depth: 10 Smart Money Moves For 2010
{ 0 comments }
Share This Post
Congrats to owner of theybf.com Natasha Eubanks for making the cover of Black Enterprise “BE Next” issue. This issue highlights the young and trailblazing entrepreneurs who have created their own lane and are reshaping industries by their unique business styles.
Natasha states “I started Young Black and Fabulous simply because I was just another young black woman addicted to celebrities, gossip, and how they lived the fabulous life. I never imagined for one millisecond that it would become a business venture. And more importantly…a lifestyle for so many different types of people.
It was BEYOND an honor for me to be chosen as one of the four entrepreneurs for the cover feature. (I’m the one standing by the way) I have my YBF fans–many of whom have been with me and my ups and downs from Day 1 when my posts were infiltrated with complaints about law school–to thank for that.
Many people simply see a few posts just published on the site everyday without realizing the work, business, relationships, and hardships that come with an internet business such as a celebrity gossip entertainment site. And to be a young black woman in a business world as new as this one. So to be recognized by a business leader in their own right, Black Enterprise, as well as the MANY, MANY YBF fans who know and appreciate all the work I and the YBF team put into the brand and how drastically it’s grown purely by word of mouth, is the most amazing feeling I’ve felt in a long time.” More on the story when you CLICK HERE!
{ 0 comments }
