I’m at Columbia Business School tonight to talk with Jack Dorsey, a founder of both Twitter and Square. As I wrote earlier today:
It’s really more of an interview, with questions from the students and the audience at large. If you have a question for Dorsey, leave one in comments below or Tweet them at me during the event @erickschonfeld. I’ll be asking Dorsey about his new role at Twitter, where the product needs to go from here, how he will balance that with his role at Square, and how he thinks about designing social products in general.
The theme of the lecture is “Social Disruption.” Both Twitter and Square are disruptive startups in the media/communications and payments industries, respectively. We’ll get into how each company disrupts the current order of things and creates new value in the process. Square lets anyone accept credit cards, lowering the barriers to creating a business. Twitter lowers the barrier to communication, opening up a whole new way to consume information. I want to know what lessons he’s learned from both experiences, and how the early rough days of Twitter helped him launch Square with so far hardly a hiccup. I also want to know what he thinks about larger players like Intuit rushing in after Square.
Talk about timely. Boxee’s Avner Ronen just posted the worklist for the next Boxee Box firmware, which is schuduled to drop in May. Among other fixes the browser is getting a major update that seems to address many of my concerns. Also, Boxee Box support for the iPad app is coming. May can’t get here soon enough. → Read More
Twitter has just released a pretty snazzy API tool that allow site publishers to provide users with the functionality of Twitter follows, retweets, replies and favorites without forcing them to leave their own sites. Those interested can invoke an intent by embedding a line of Javascript and HTML, without having build an OAuth app in order to attach these functions. → Read More
Dear John Biggs. I won’t be around for a few days following the release of DiRT3 on May 24. I’m….going to be sick. Sorry. *cough* (Yay Ford RS200!) → Read More
Maybe it’s just the indie snob in me, but I have to say that Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect (oh, and Fallout 3/NV) are some of the most overrated games of all time. So I wasn’t really expecting much from Dragon Age II except a new style and perhaps faster combat. You know, for the kids. → Read More
Dell’s Andy Lark may know a thing or two about heavy iron in the enterprise but when it comes to the gadgets that are quickly replacing that heavy iron, he’s sorely mistaken. Take the iPad, for example. In a CIO interview, Lark says:
“An iPad with a keyboard, a mouse and a case [means] you’ll be at $1500 or $1600; that’s double of what you’re paying,” he claimed. “That’s not feasible…. Apple is great if you’ve got a lot of money and live on an island. It’s not so great if you have to exist in a diverse, open, connected enterprise; simple things become quite complex.”
Look, Wirefly: I’m going to be candid here. If your goal is to make friends with the blogging world so that everyone will share these videos you’ve taken to making lately, unboxing every handset that comes through your stock room weeks before release isn’t the way to do it. When you start doing these videos, you’ve entered into a different realm — one where we battle to convince reps to send us handsets early, live as close to shipping hubs as possible, wake up at the crack of dawn to meet the UPS guy at his truck, then blast out videos at a breakneck pace in hopes of being the first to get one online. When you’re shooting videos with handsets you’ve got early because you’re supposed to sell them, you’re cheating. With that said, here’s Wirefly’s unboxing of the Kyocera Echo. It’ll likely be the last of their unboxings we post. → Read More
The HTC Flyer tablet debuted at MWC 2011 last month. It’s arguably “just another tablet” a tablet version of HTC Sense running on top of Android 2.2. No matter, the tablet is already on European shelves leaving stateside buyers feeling the regional release shaft. But there’s an option if you simply must own HTC’s first-gen tablet. Just a warning though, owning the European-spec Flyer in the US comes at a price — a high price. → Read More
Palm’s HP’s shiny new tablet, the TouchPad, still doesn’t have an official launch date — but whenever it does come, it’s going to be the first device runnin’ webOS 3.0. Lookin’ to give third-party app developers a chance to get their goods prepped in time (and, unofficially, to give the webOS crowd a chance to play with webOS 3.0 in an emulator), HP has just released a Beta build of the webOS 3.0 SDK. There’s one catch, though: if you want access, you’ll need to be a part of Palm’s Early Access Developer program. Getting into that private club isn’t exactly like breaking into Fort Knox, but you’ll need to shoot an e-mail to Palm’s dev marketing team and convince them you’re up to snuff. Once you’re in, you’ll have access to just about everything you need to get building. → Read More
With the hoopla over the Nintendo 3DS dying down and the hard reality of the thing clear, it’s time to take stock and assess if the 3DS is right for you and/or your family. First off, I’ll say I’m a fan. It’s a wildly fascinating device and the 3D effects are amazing – when done correctly. I believe the 3DS has legs and will maintain sales at a steady clip over the next few years and I also think Nintendo has set a new level of interactivity and creativity in the creation of this new handheld. This isn’t just an upgraded DS, it’s a new handheld console. Let’s go through a few reasons why the 3DS is worth picking up – and a few caveats before you buy. → Read More
European video game retailer, GAME, has been handing out memos asking their employees to engage in some questionable business practices. The instructions told employees to take money out of the register and buy Nintendo 3DS consoles from the nearest Tesco supermarket — which happens to sell the 3DS at a loss for $55 less. → Read More
Wolfram Research, the parent company behind computational search engine Wolfram Alpha, is acquiring MathCore Engineering AB, the developer of the MathModelica modeling and simulation software system. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
MathModelica is a software system for multi-engineering modeling and simulation based on Modelica and Mathematica. MathModelica allows users to develop advanced multi-engineering models in a simple drag and drop interface and includes a large number of built-in base models for engineering domains, including electrical, mechanical, and thermal, as well as for areas like biochemical modeling. The resulting models can be directly simulated and visualized. MathCore’s software is used by companies such as Rolls-Royce, Siemens and Scania. → Read More
Back when the Kin kicked the bucket almost immediately after it launched, we were pretty bummed. Not because either of the Kin-branded phones were particularly good, mind you — but because there was just one feature that we really, really wanted to see succeed: Kin Studio. For those who didn’t pay attention to the Kin (don’t worry, you’re not alone. Obviously.) Kin Studio was a constantly synced, browser-based cloud service that stored backups of all of your videos, pictures, and text messages. Need a photo off your handset, but can’t find the cable? Don’t feel like going all the way across the room to grab your phone to view that video you recorded last night? Just pop into Kin Studio, plug in your credentials, and it’ll all be their waiting. Alas: when the Kin died, so did Kin Studio. But according to the ol’ Rumor Mill, Microsoft might just be bringin’ it back for Windows Phone 7. → Read More
Hey Erick, I have a question for Jack Dorsey. What’s up with Twitter?
As I’m sure you’ve noticed, Twitter is down (for some users), so in true TechCrunch tradition we need to celebrate the downtime with a post. Sorry, did we say downtime? → Read More
BaseKit, which lets designers build websites without the need to write code, has secured a further $6.5m in funding from Nauta Capital, Eden Ventures and NESTA.
This follows a previous A round in June of last year, bringing the total raised by the UK-based company to just over $10m. The funding will be used by BaseKit to “rapidly expand its global reach” and open new offices in Barcelona, Sao Paolo, Mexico DF, Buenos Aires and San Francisco. → Read More
White-label mobile app platform Appia (formerly PocketGear), is announcing that it has secured $10 million in new funding from Venrock. According to sources familiar with the matter, the startup was valued at $100 million in the round. This latest investment brings Appia’s total funding to $30 million. Dev Khare, Vice President at Venrock, has joined the company’s board of directors.
Until February, PocketGear wss an independent marketplace that billed itself as the “World’s Largest Mobile App Store which sold apps for Blackberry, Android, Windows Mobile, Palm, Symbian, and Java phones. The company rebranded and shifted focus as Appia, powering a white-label content and commerce platform for everyone and anyone who needs an app store. The company now powers mobile app storefronts for more than 40 partners, including four of the world’s top five handset manufacturers (Samsung, T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon Wireless). → Read More
Not a fan of infographics? Be gone!
For I felt compelled to share with you this infographic made by the folks over at Webhostingbuzz, visually showing how fast the Internet has made its way to the people of this world in the past 15 years – and how fast the Internet has become in some parts of it.
Here’s what stood out for me: the United States leads the world in broadband penetration, with Americans consuming way more gigabytes per month than Europeans or people in Japan and South Korea. → Read More
Photo-sharing site Flickr, which has limitless potential in terms of the sheer number of photos stored on the service (over 5 billion at last count), has made it easier for users to share their photos today with new Twitter and Facebook “Share This” features. A share interface re-vamp comes along with the new features.
While previously you could only share photostreams, groups, and sets from Flickr by sending an email, manually grabbing the link/code or on Blogger, users now have the option to post individual photos and everything else on Facebook and Twitter as well as on Tumblr via “Share This” drop down menu in the upper left. → Read More
Sony Alpha Spot from ChezEddy on Vimeo. Oh I get it! That’s not a floating enema bulb but rather a real life representation of a Google Maps marker because the commercial is for an upcoming Sony Alpha camera with built-in GPS. Clever. [via Fubiz] → Read More
Jack Dorsey is in demand these days. The inventor of Twitter is now back as head of product, while still acting as CEO of his other startup, Square. Tonight, Dorsey and I will guest lecture together at Rachel Sterne’s Columbia Business School course on Social Media And Entrepreneurship. Sterne is also New York City’s chief digital officer, so it should be a social media extravaganza. We’ll be streaming the talk right here on TechCrunch starting around 6PM ET tonight.
It’s really more of an interview, with questions from the students and the audience at large. If you have a question for Dorsey, leave one in comments below or Tweet them at me during the event @erickschonfeld. I’ll be asking Dorsey about his new role at Twitter, where the product needs to go from here, how he will balance that with his role at Square, and how he thinks about designing social products in general. The theme of the lecture is “Social Disruption.” Both Twitter and Square are disruptive startups in the media/communications and payments industries, respectively. We’ll get into how each company disrupts the current order of things and creates new value in the process. → Read More
