I keep hearing in my travels that the young folk (teens and tweens) are using Tumblr alot. Tumblr, indeed, is on a roll.

In the context of Facebook's IPO filing, I went looking for age demographics in its S-1 filing with the SEC.

Guess what? It wasn't there.

With 800+ million worldwide users, Facebook is gargantuan. But the social networking giant hardly gave insight into the demographic undercurrents driving the website's growth, in terms of age.

We've seen some of these graphics and stats elsewhere on the Web before. Like here, for 2010 estimates. And here, for 2011 estimates.

If I were investing in Facebook, I'd like to see more reporting on their age demographic trends. How fast are their various age segments growing? What is user activity among 18-25 year-olds like? What is your most engaged age demographic from a daily-average/monthly-average user perspective?

The only on-point statement I found the filing that addresses the younger demographic is the following: "We also believe that younger users have higher levels of engagement with the web and mobile devices in general and with Facebook specifically. We anticipate that demographic trends over the long term may contribute to growth in engagement as a greater number of users will come from demographic groups that have grown up with the web and mobile devices and who spend more time online every day." (page 46)

To me, one of the biggest competitive threats to Facebook is what online tools a 13 year old is using today to share their lives with friends.

Back in 2008, this chart I found on Myspace and other networks showed that 0-17 year olds were its largest demographic. Next largest? 45-54. And women dominated the site more than men.

AOL was once pretty omnipotent. But guess what? A new generation adopted new tools and new sites. Sure, people are still using AOL (dialup, no less), but AOL is a shadow of its former self.

Another random thought: Facebook has grown, in large part, thanks to women users. Look at the user stats from the above link (yes, this one). There are more women using Facebook than men in every age category.

That's pretty impressive. Women control many household purse strings. They are financial decision makers. I'm not saying this with any gender bias. But women increasingly really are decision makers, and advertisers recognize that. This is a feather in Facebook's cap.

Posted by Gus Sentementes at 1:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: *NEWS*, Social Media
        

At 4:47 p.m. today, Facebook Inc. filed its S-1 registration statement as it seeks to go public and raise $5 billion.

Some key facts: from the filing:

* The Web 2.0 company has 845 million monthly active users. It had revenues last year of $3.7 billion, compared to $1.9 billion in 2010.

* It had a profit last year of $1 billion last year, compared to $606 million in 2010.

* Facebook has $3.9 billion in cash in the bank.

* Founder Mark Zuckerberg controls 36 percent of Class A shares. Baltimore's T. Rowe Price Group, a mutual funds investor, holds 5.2 percent of shares.

* Here's a monster number: 483 million daily active users (DAUs) on average in December 2011, an increase of 48% as compared to 327 million DAUs in December 2010.

* Zyngaville! Facebook says its relationship with Zynga accounted for 12 percent of its revenues. A healthy amount, but not surprising.

* The filing says Facebook plans to list its stock either on the Nasdaq or the New York Stock Exchange (You mean they haven't decided yet?)

* VERY interesting: Because Zuckerberg controls so many shares, the company is "not required to have a majority of our board of directors be independent, nor are we required to have a compensation committee or an independent nominating function."

* Total cost and expenses for running Facebook quadrupled to nearly $2 billion in 2011, from $515 million in 2009.

* Here's a chart of Facebook's history, from the filing:

Posted by Gus Sentementes at 4:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: *NEWS*, Entrepreneurs & Risk Takers, Social Media, West Coast
        

There's been a flowering in Baltimore in the area of event planning and organizing, among the tech/entrepreneurial crowd. Social media has really connected people like never before. One of the more dynamic groups at the moment is the Baltimore Tech Facebook group, which is an organic mass of 600+ members. (Are you a member yet? And while you're at it, follow BaltTech on Facebook too, for news updates from me.)

One of the points I make in today's article is that some of the traditional groups normally behind Baltimore tech events -- TEDCO, Emerging Technology Center, and the Greater Baltimore Tech Council, for instance -- find themselves attending as many, or more, independent community events as they now organize for the community. Such as yesterday's Practice Your Pitch event, organized on the Facebook group and held at Naden/Lean in Cockeysville.

Monica Beeman tweeted about Practice Your Pitch here. And I expect local video tech guru Eli Etherton to post a video soon of all the pitches and feedback. I'll post it here when he does.

Posted by Gus Sentementes at 10:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: *NEWS*, Big Ideas, East Coast, Entrepreneurs & Risk Takers, Events (Baltimore area), Social Media
        

Lookingglass Cyber Solutions, a Baltimore firm which makes some cool cyber security software that gives organizations global insight into cyber threats, said Monday morning that it raised $5 million in a series A round of financing.

Lookingglass, which got its start as an incubated company at the Emerging Technology Center in Canton, lined up West Coast and East Coast investors for the raise, which it will use for marketing, sales and deployment to enterprise customers, it said in a news release

Lookingglass's core product is called ScoutVision, which companies use to "continuously monitor their own networks, the networks of their partners and cloud-computing resources," Lookingglass says.

Lookingglass continues the trend of some local companies straddling both coasts to raise venture financing. Some have told me privately that there just isn't enough local interest in startup tech to put together a round that solely originates in Maryland or the Mid-Atlantic. An interesting post in TechCocktail, featuring Josh Konowe's experience raising money for Uppidy, is one of the latest anecdotes.

I haven't yet interviewed the Lookingglass folks, so I don't know about their personal experience.

The main investor is Alsop Louis Partners, an early stage investment firm in San Francisco. Vital Financial, a private equity and capital investment firm in Bethesda, MD, participated in the round.

Lookingglass disclosed to the Securities and Exchange Commission in August that it was attempting to raise capital, in a Form D filing. At the time, it said it was trying to raise $500,000.

The company listed its revenues as between $1 million and $5 million.

Posted by Gus Sentementes at 10:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: *NEWS*
        

Hey, remember when I wrote about these two rascals last year who were using Baltimore city data to help you avoid getting a parking ticket?

Shea Frederick and James Schaffer are still at it with their app idea, SpotAgent.com. And, they're taking they're budding expertise in crunching parking and speed camera ticket data to drop some knowledge about Baltimore's revenues from these tickets.

It's a big money-maker to say the least. Here are some numbers they put together:

* Revenue from speed camera tickets: $9.9 million, accounting for 27 percent of the total $43 million in ticket revenue. (Another $4.9 million, or 13 percent, came from mobile speed cams.)

* Parking meter violations: $3 million, or 10 percent of total ticket revenue.

* Total number of speed camera and meter violation citations issued: 913,000

For the full report, go here to SpotAgent's site.

I'd love to hear from someone in Baltimore City government for some color commentary about these numbers. I'm emailing someone in City Hall this blog post after I post it.

And below are Shea and James from a photo in the Baltimore Sun last year.

Posted by Gus Sentementes at 4:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: *NEWS*
        

Maybe you haven't heard: One of Gov. O'Malley's tax proposals this year is to extend the sales tax to digital products. That means digital media you download: ebooks, apps, music, newspapers, videos, ringtones, audio greeting cards and more could become subject to the state's sales tax of 6 percent. So that 99 cents iTunes song you buy would cost around $1.05.

That app you buy would go up a bunch of cents.

:: Here's the Senate bill, put in at the request of the O'Malley administration. The part about digital products starts at page 33.

The Maryland Chamber of Commerce is skeptical of this tax idea by O'Malley. Their vice president of governmental affairs, in a blog post today, said the organization will work to ensure this digital download tax doesn't become a repeat -- a Tech Tax 2 -- of the failed proposed tax on tech services in 2007.

For years, there's been a steady debate in Maryland about how to address the "sales tax loophole" on the Internet. Consumers who buy goods -- digital and physical -- from online sites that don't have any physical location in Maryland aren't charged the sales tax by the online retailer. Bricks-and-mortar retailers complain about unfair competition. (Note: See my second update below: there is a provision for this type of tax collection in the proposal.)

What other states are taxing digital downloads? I scoured the web for some info on this and I found a Wikipedia list; a proposed bill last year in Congress tried to solve the "who can tax what" conundrum when it comes to digital goods; and Amazon recently striking a deal with Indiana to collect sales tax a few years from now.

On the one hand, states such as Maryland are hurting for tax revenue to close budget holes. Maryland collects taxes on the sale of music CDs, for instance. But when that same music is digital and electronically transmitted, it does not, thus missing out on revenue.

On the other, there may be small businesses out there engaged in the digital download business who worry about new taxes.

Where do you stand?

If you're a ringtone addict, do you think you should now pay a tax? Or, if you're an iPhone app developer for instance, what does it mean to have to collect sales tax on your app sale in Maryland or elsewhere? How would this complicate your business? Or is it not that big a deal?

UPDATE at 3:25 pm: I've gone over the bill a little more closely and, of course, I have more questions. For one, how would the state go about taxing "chat room discussions" and "weblogs" (page 34)? Would this be where a user pays a fee to read or participate in these types of online media, and thus a tax is assessed and collected? (i.e. Online news paywalls?) And what about digital streaming services, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime and other services on Apple TV and Roku, for instance? The bill talks about taxing downloads, but is vague on the act of "streaming."

Update #2, at 3:50 pm: Ok, folks, some more closer reading of the bill indicates that there is indeed a so-called "Amazon tax provision" -- see page 42, 11-701(b)1 -- "engage in the business of an out-of-state vendor." O'Malley, like many other governors, does appear to want to collect sales tax from Amazon affiliates, to use the Amazon example, based on my read of the bill.  A business that's sold more than $10,000 worth of goods in Maryland over the previous four quarters, starting July 1, would be subject to collecting sales tax from customers. This type of bill provision has failed in the past, I'm told. 

Posted by Gus Sentementes at 1:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
Categories: *NEWS*
        

When you run in fast local media-gossip circles like I do (ha!), you can't resist the opportunity to ask a local power player whether his foundation is still interested in buying The Baltimore Sun.

Yesterday, I interviewed Robert C. Embry Jr. (left), president of the Abell Foundation, about the philanthropic institution's increasing emphasis on funding local technology startups. Abell has just committed $75,000 to a new group called the Innovation Alliance, which will use the funds to conduct a big survey of what the tech community wants and needs.

Toward the end of my interview with Mr. Embry, I asked if Abell still has any interest in buying the Baltimore Sun. (Abell was reportedly part of a team of local investors, led by Ted Venetoulis, who had floated the idea of buying the Sun about five/six years ago.)

Embry told me that the Tribune bankruptcy (Chicago-based Tribune Co. owns the Baltimore Sun, as well as the Chicago Tribune, LA Times and other papers) muddled the prospects for an acquisition several years ago. Indeed, bankruptcy is a sort of limbo for companies in most cases.

If and when Tribune emerges from bankruptcy, Embry said, "then we would re-open the question."

I also asked Embry if Abell, which has funded high-tech energy and biotech companies lately, has any interest in funding new online journalism startups?

Said Embry: "We've spent a lot of time considering that. A lot of people have approached us with ideas, but we haven't been presented with any that are self-sustaining."

I don't know what Maryland-based online news sites have presented themselves to the Abell Foundation for funding, but I can rattle off a bunch off the top of my head that are a steady part of my local media diet.

There's Baltimore Brew (which did a fantastic job raising $24,624 on Kickstarter -- well over their $15,000 goal.)

There's CityBizList, for Baltimore area business.

And MarylandReporter.com, for state house politics news.

Are these sites "sustainable"? I don't know. At this point, they seem to have had some longevity. They are veterans, in terms of online years. That counts for something.

In fact, in addition to the Sun, which still dominates, there's still a healthy selection of print and online sources of good journalism and opinion-ating around Baltimore, and a little beyond. There's CityPaper, the Daily Record, Caroll County Times, Urbanite, the Patuxent publications, the Gazette, the Washington Post, and Center Maryland. (Update: Yes, I'm sorry, I forgot to mention the Patch sites.)

The not-so-hidden players in the local media scene anymore are Twitter and Facebook. The public has more power than ever before to push stories to the top of a traditional reporter's agenda. And the public can respond to a story -- and the newsmakers behind it -- with online persistence and inquisitiveness.

In the old days, journalists would work hard to find new angles and keep a good story alive every day. (We still do.) Today, the public does the same thing on Facebook and Twitter, if the story means enough to them (us).

Just yesterday, I watched as a story I wrote about the Abell Foundation and the Innovation Alliance immediately got some push-back in the comments section of the Baltimore Tech Facebook group.

Within a couple hours of posting the story, Newt Fowler, head of the Innovation Alliance, was immediately responding to questions from the tech community.

This is truly a revolution in news, information-sharing and accountability.

Sure, we lost the Examiner a few years back, but we've actually seen the remaining publications -- and new ones, including us at The Baltimore Sun -- start to adjust to the online world.

Anybody can make and break news, and anybody can immediately question the newsmakers -- and the news writers. This rocks.

Posted by Gus Sentementes at 10:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: *NEWS*, Media, Social Media, Startups
        

Finally, RIM's two co-CEOs are stepping down. Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie have been running the company for years, and while at the helm they've enjoyed many, many successes. But the two have also failed to position the company to respond to the dual threats of Apple and Android, in the smartphone and tablet wars.

RIM, who practically gave birth to the modern smartphone with the BlackBerry, has had its lunch eaten by its competitors over the last four years. Actually, make that two lunches: Lazaridis's and Balsillie's.

The company has caught a fair amount of flack for having two CEOs. I've always thought it was so odd that, in a hyper-competitive field, this one big company chose to muddle the chain of command by having two top dogs in these key positions. But wait, turns out they also had two chief operating officers, too! Noah, have you gotten all your animals aboard the Ark yet? How many RIM executives does it take to do one job?

For comparison's sake, here's Apple's executive leadership team. Notice Tim Cook is the CEO and his (apparently) direct reports are all senior vice presidents, with one also being the lone "chief" -- the chief financial officer.

At Google, the search giant recently clarified its upper echelon by making Eric Schmidt executive chairman, Larry Page as CEO, and Sergey Brin as "co-founder." Where Schmidt was once supposedly the adult in the room, while listening to Page and Brin, Page is now in charge.

Here is a previous executive team (an old web page I found via the Wayback Machine.) At one point, RIM had two CEOs, two chief operating officers, and a chief *operations* officer.

And here is RIM's new executive team web page. A bit leaner. They went from eight top execs, to five.

Having these "co-" positions at the highest levels could indicate some problems in management performance and board leadership. Sometimes, people get promoted to a "co" position as a reward for them staying with the company -- and the company doesn't have the fortitude to push someone else out. It's called executive bloat.

Sometimes, it signals the need for what is perceived as a lot of "strategic" thinking and direction, and the thought is that two people are better than one. But the lines of responsibility and accountability get muddled. And there's a danger that the co-executives sometimes end up listening more to each other than the little people down below -- their people on the front lines.

I'm not saying that happened at RIM.

I'm just saying these are the dangers of diffusing leadership responsibility. In RIM's case, they've had four people doing two key roles, and the company has been dogging it the last few years. Let's hope the new guy at RIM -- Thorstein Heins -- takes the reins of leadership firmly.

Image via The Sun/UK.

Posted by Gus Sentementes at 9:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: *NEWS*
        

{Note: This post was updated below to indicate that Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, who had been listed on ProPublica's website as not having a view on SOPA, does not in fact support SOPA in its current form.}

Everyone is talking today about SOPA, the controversial House bill (Stop Online Piracy Act) and what effect it may have on the Internet, freedom of speech, and e-commerce if it becomes U.S. law.

For a good overview of the bill (and it's sister bill in the Senate called PIPA), check out the Wikipedia entry for it. Wikipedia is one of thousands of websites that have gone on a voluntary blackout today to protest SOPA/PIPA. It's a fascinating day for Internet citizens. They are making their voices heard.

The Obama White House last week came out against the bills as they've been written. Here in Maryland, our state's citizens who are tuned into the debate are eagerly waiting to see what their representatives to Congress think of the pair of bills.

Sen. Cardin supports the bill in broad terms as a co-sponsor, but stated this month that he wouldn't back it in its current form. “I would not vote for final passage of PIPA, as currently written, on the Senate floor," he said in a press release quoted in Talking Points Memo.

According to ProPublica, Maryland's other senator -- Barbara Mikulski -- and eight seven representatives in the House have been silent on the bills.

UPDATED at 3:20pm: However, Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, has come out against SOPA in its current form, in recent weeks. He has communicated his position with his constituents (you can see the email in the reader comments below), and an aide to the Congressman alerted me to a blog post today where he re-emphasized his position against SOPA.

UPDATED at 3:45pm: Rep. John Sarbanes put out a statement today saying he was against SOPA in its current form. I predict that we'll suddenly see a few more folks come out against SOPA now that it seems like it's becoming radioactive in Washington.

What do our other reps really think about SOPA and PIPA? Well, we don't know. Yet.

Another site, called SopaTrack, shows how much money each of Maryland's representatives have attracted from pro- and anti-SOPA/PIPA donors. Each representative has received more funding from supporters of SOPA/PIPA -- in some cases, a lot more -- than from the bills' critics.

At this point, SOPA and PIPA seem like a pair of dirty words in Washington. Does anyone really think these bills are going anywhere and won't be dead in the water in a few weeks' time?

Oh, and if you're looking for what some local (Baltimore) musicians think of SOPA, check out the latest from our entertainment blogger Erik Maza.

Posted by Gus Sentementes at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: *NEWS*
        

In my story today, I looked at how the NFL and its teams, including the Baltimore Ravens, are now closely monitoring the proliferation of China-based websites that are selling counterfeit merchandise to unsuspecting (and, of course, suspecting) U.S. consumers.

The NFL has filed a pair of lawsuits over the past year in New York that have served to take down around 800 websites that they alleged were selling counterfeit jerseys and other unlicensed NFL products, league officials told me.

The NFL, which supports the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), is going after these website operators in what has turned into an online game of cat and mouse. It follows in the footsteps of other big brands, such as Polo Ralph Lauren and North Face, in terms of using civil actions to shut down these sites through injunctions and so-called "ex parte" orders.

The most recent NFL case, NFL vs. Momo Lee, et al. was unsealed last month in federal court in New York.

The NFL and the Ravens told me that their efforts are really new within the past year, in terms of tracking these counterfeit sites and trying to shut them down.

Some consumers are savvy and know that they're not buying "the real thing" on some of these sites -- they're just hoping for a cheap facsimile in hopes of saving money and just having something to wear on game day.

But some consumers, like Barbra Skarzynski, were genuinely duped by a website claiming to be official. She ended up with a discolored Lardarius Webb jersey, with his name spelled "EWBB." That's a picture of it below taken by Baltimore Sun photographer Kim Hairston:

Posted by Gus Sentementes at 9:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: *NEWS*
        

Did you hear? Baltimore's Millennial Media filed to go public yesterday, letting everyone know they hope to raise $75 million from Wall Street to fuel their mobile ad business's growth (and make its founders and early investors rich.)

Up above, those are co-founders Chris Brandenburg (left), chief technology officer, and Paul Palmier, chief executive officer.

Below are some fun facts from Millennial Media's S-1 registration statement with the SEC for its initial public offering:

* Quite literally, the money paragraph (note the improvement in gross margin) and the rapid closing of the gap from a $7 million loss in 2010 to a $417,000 loss in the first nine months of last year: "From 2009 to 2010, our revenue increased from $16.2 million to $47.8 million, or 195%, our gross margin improved from 29% to 34%, our net loss improved from $7.6 million to $7.1 million and our adjusted EBITDA improved from a loss of $7.0 million to a loss of $6.4 million. For the nine months ended September 30, 2011 as compared to the same period of 2010, our revenue increased from $29.1 million to $69.1 million, or 138%, our gross margin improved from 33% to 39%, our net loss improved from $5.4 million to $417,000 and our adjusted EBITDA improved from a loss of $4.9 million to earnings of $650,000."

* Employee growth: "We grew from 54 employees at December 31, 2008 to 190 employees at September 30, 2011." And more up to date: "As of December 31, 2011, we had 222 employees, of which 72 were primarily engaged in product and technology and 69 were engaged in sales and marketing."

* Fascinating chart of the ramp-up in spending among the top 100 advertisers with Millennial over the last three years:

* The top four executives at Millennial are all over 30 -- and the CEO Paul Palmieri and COO Stephen Root are over 40. (Sorry for pointing this out, Paul and Stephen. But I think it should be made clear Millennial's success as a startup so far is because of some relatively veteran executives, not fresh-faced kids out of college.)

* Those four executives earned this much money in 2011:

* Co-founders Paul Palmieri and Chris Brandenburg own 11.3 percent and 9.2 percent, respectively of outstanding shares in Millennial. Investment firms Bessemer Venture Partners and Columbia Capital are tied for the top shareholder spot, at 20.6 percent each.

* Millennial's five-year lease at the American Can Co. complex in Canton is up in July 2013. It's paying between $21 and $22 per square foot for 16,000+ square feet of space. It's annual lease has gone up from $201,000 in the first year, to $361,000 in its final year of the lease.

Posted by Gus Sentementes at 10:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: *NEWS*, East Coast, Entrepreneurs & Risk Takers, Smartphones, Startups, Venture Cap
        

This is the year of BaltTech.

No, not necessarily my blog. But Baltimore Tech.

I'm going into my fourth (calendar) year of blogging about Baltimore's tech scene, and my oh my, how time flies.There's a lot percolating these days, but more on that in a moment.

I started blogging about Baltimore tech in June 2009.

According to my blog dashboard, I've written 757 posts (and each one was a journalistic jewel, of course) and received 2,499 comments -- of which, probably a third were complete and utter spam. (Boo. )Along the way, I've seen my own approach to how I "do" journalism evolve. I think I'm fairly open about the stories I work on, and often solicit feedback, leads and story ideas on Twitter and Facebook. (The community-powered Baltimore Tech Facebook group rocks it, btw. My Facebook page is here -- like it up for BaltTech updates.)

Most of the time, I'm flat-out overwhelmed by the responses, comments and pitches I get. It's hard to keep up. But without question, the "crowd" has a huge impact on my work, my reporting and the stories that I ultimately end up producing. It's pretty darn cool.

Looking ahead, I have some thoughts about where I want to take my coverage of the tech community this year. (And, of course, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.)

* Biotech: I feel like I am not writing enough about Baltimore's biotech industry. I'd like to do more and I'm open to ideas and pitches. I've done a bunch of "big picture" stories in my time on the beat, and I think in many instances, I need to be looking for broader trend stories. There's very little in terms of "hard news," because big breakthroughs, discoveries and projects often take years to put together. But, I think there's a mix of powerful motivations in biotech. You have researchers who want to cure major diseases, and companies that want to do the same -- plus make a ton of money. And our universities sit in the middle of the mix. Then you have economic development officials and political leaders here in Maryland really taking big, long-term bets on biotech as a major industry in the state. There's a ton more to write, and I've barely scratched the surface. How are those state biotech tax credits really working out, btw?

* InvestMaryland: It's the state program championed by Gov. O'Malley last year that's supposed to pump around $70 million in Maryland startups in the next few years. It's a complicated beast. How will it play out this year? What companies will get funded? Will it really make a difference in the startup ecosystem in Maryland? I expect to follow it closely. The first deadline is Feb. 1st -- that's when insurance companies are supposed to express their interest in participating in the state-run auction to sell off tax credits, to raise money for investing in startups. (Here are links to all I've written about the program.)

* Baltimore's tech scene: I feel like there's an interesting story to tell about Baltimore's tech scene right now, when one looks at it in terms of the universe of the Greater Baltimore Tech Council and the Emerging Technology Center. There's been a lot going on, from leadership changes to the launch of a new accelerator by the ETC. (And at least one more that's apart from the ETC effort, by entrepreneurs Greg Cangialosi and Sean Lane.) There's a lot of debate within the community about whether efforts are being spread to thin. And then of course, you have the big news of Millennial Media, which brings me to my next point......

* Millennial Media: Even before its IPO announcement last week, I had been watching Millennial pretty closely because I knew they were poised for IPO or acquisition. The good news for Baltimore is that Palmieri & Brandenburg and crew are sticking to their guns and going for IPO. This is big news for their business, and the mobile ad sector, of course, but it also has the potential to be extremely influential in Baltimore's tech-and-startup ecosystem. Founder success usually begets new founder success. Mid-level execs who are currently working at Millennial may one day have their own idea for a startup, and with their connections and talent, spin off and do their own thing. In many ways, Millennial has the elements of a deliberate and classic startup story. How Millennial handles its IPO and growth will be an ongoing story that we'll all be watching.

 Adding to the mix, I pay attention to cybersecurity, social media and work/life trends at the intersection of technology. I'm following various companies and startup ventures to see how they progress. I also do regular Q&As with Baltimore biz folks, including techies. What am I missing? What would you like to see me cover more of?

Posted by Gus Sentementes at 5:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: *NEWS*
        

Well, this is a headache for the most esteemed newspaper in the land....

Today, at 1:25 pm, I got an email from the New York Times pleading me to rethink my subscription cancellation and re-up for an exclusive rate of 50 percent off for 16 weeks.

There's only one problem: I wasn't a print subscriber. In fact, about 8 million people got that email, too, and they weren't supposed to get it. Instead, it was only intended for about 300 people.

I've been following Amy Chozick's tweets about it -- she's the Time's corporate media reporter.

But hey -- now, I presume, every NYT subscriber knows that if they just cancel, they can get a 50 percent break on a print subscription.

Did I mention what a headache this must be for those poor folks over at the Grey Lady?

Update: Here's the official story from the NYT's Amy Chozick.

Posted by Gus Sentementes at 3:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: *NEWS*
        

It wasn't too long ago -- in May, actually -- when I was getting pitched by a PR representative hired by M-Edge Accessories to write about its growing business and how it was working with Amazon to sell its range of Kindle/tablet cases.

But somewhere along the way, apparently, the relationship soured.

The Odenton-based company last month filed a federal lawsuit in Maryland that accuses Amazon of unfair business practices. (The WSJ reported it this morning, saying that it was filed last week. In fact, last week, M-Edge simply amended its original complaint, which was filed Nov. 18. Anyway....)

In the complaint, M-Edge blasts the massive web with multiple accusations, including "patent infringement, unfair competition, intentional interference with contracts and economic relations, and false advertising."

Indeed, the first sentence of the meat of the lawsuit characterizes Amazon's alleged behavior toward M-Edge as "a classic example of unlawful corporate bullying."

M-Edge has 50 employees. Amazon is much, much bigger. The company makes a wide range of Kindle and tablet cases, and says in its complaint that it's products used to be top sellers. But M-Edge claims that Amazon "de-listed" them from their website. At the heart of the complaint, M-Edge says it had a contract with Amazon to pay it 15 percent commission for M-Edge accessory sales -- but in January last year, Amazon allegedly wanted to up the rate to 32 percent.

Since Amazon sales accounted for 90 percent of its business, M-Edge eventually signed a new contract in July last year, the company claims.

The allegations are interesting, and gives a one-sided view of an interesting relationship between a tiny company (M-Edge) and a goliath (Amazon) as the goliath launched the Kindle and watched it grow into a big business. I'm waiting to see how Amazon responds to the lawsuit. Meanwhile, I'm waiting for comment from M-Edge.

Here is the lawsuit, which really is more interesting than anything I could write about it:

M-Edge Sues Amazon

Posted by Gus Sentementes at 2:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: *NEWS*, Gadgets
        

Millennial Media, a top mobile advertising firm based in Baltimore, put out its latest monthly "Mobile Mix" report that updates trends in the industry based on what the company is seeing in its network. The early results are in: users of the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet are actually using the device! (Okay, we're not that shocked.)

Millennial reports impressions from the Kindle Fire grew at an average daily rate of 19% since its launch in mid-November. And, the Fire has slightly outpaced the impression numbers from the launch of the original iPad in early 2010, according to Millennial.

These are interesting times for the Kindle Fire. Clearly, there are people out there who really want the device. Yet it got knocked down a peg recently in a New York Times article for a number of hardware and software issues.

No doubt, though, Amazon and Jeff Bezos aren't going to be deterred. They're in it for the long haul.

Millennial put together this snappy graphic that shows the evolution of the Kindle line (see below). Sexy. Ahem. Kidding. Has anyone really thought of the Kindle as "sexy", the way Apple devices are often considered?

Posted by Gus Sentementes at 3:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Smartphones
        

I stumbled across this interesting article that looked at digital/mobile efforts in Baltimore news operations, including The Baltimore Sun and the local television stations' presence and efforts.

The article, from NetNewsCheck, gives some good context as to the local players, as we gallop into the digital frontier of the mobile web.

Posted by Gus Sentementes at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: *NEWS*
        

I don't know if I should be mortified or amused.

Google today released its 11th annual Zeitgeist report, which looked at global and regional search trends.

Apparently the No. 1 fastest rising search query was Internet celeb Rebecca Black, who had that song "Friday", which, believe it or not, I have never actually heard. But here's the Youtube video (11+ million views!)

Google built a dedicated website for its Zeitgeist report. Here it is.

Turns out, Apple dominated the list, with the iPhone 5 (which didn't actually appear), Steve Jobs and the iPad 2, claiming three of 10 spots.

Poke around on the site, and let me know if your faith in humanity has been affirmed, or shot to heck. ;-)

Posted by Gus Sentementes at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: *NEWS*, Big Ideas
        

I know there's been a lot of introspection in Baltimore's tech circles regarding where the community is heading, especially the Greater Baltimore Tech Council, but leave it to a couple local entrepreneurs to cut through the uncertainty with action, not just words.

In what was possibly the Baltimore's tech scene's worst kept secret over the last month or so, Greg Cangialosi, of former Blue Sky Factory fame, and Sean Lane, of current BTS Corp. fame, are teaming up to launch what they call a "hybrid accelerator" in Locust Point.

Here's my story today online. It's also in the print edition.

What this dynamic duo is trying to create involves a virtuous cycle of idea generation, capital allocation, market growth, and wealth accumulation for the startups they hope to nurture. And with wealth in a functional startup ecosystem comes a helping of responsibility: will you re-invest some of your money back in the community that supported you? It is this ethos that permeates other startup communities that are far ahead of Baltimore, such as Silicon Valley.

Wash, rinse, repeat.

Cangialosi/Lane are investing their own money in the concept and seeking other investors to fuel their investment fund. By next year, we could be looking at half dozen or more new startups in Baltimore under the wings of Cangialosi/Lane.

I'm also aware of a few more similar projects under way, one of which I mentioned in my story, that's being explored by StartupBaltimore's Mike Brenner. And there's yet another project/idea that's percolating, that I'm hoping I can report on soon.

So, with all these ideas, is the community at a "crossroads", per se, as some believe. Or is it going through an uncomfortable growth and realignment phase? Clearly, there are a bunch of people in this town who believe there can be more value-added services and even physical locations that are offered to startups, beyond the Emerging Technology Center's orbit.

I see people moving forward to build out a more supportive ecosystem. The reality is that for many startups, they really don't need or want a big lease and fancy office space. They can be lean and bootstrap their operation from a coworking space, a coffee shop, their home, or a mix of all such options. I see Baltimore's tech community moving forward to support such alternatives to startup building. And that's a good thing.

Posted by Gus Sentementes at 10:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: *NEWS*
        

I was on WYPR's Maryland Morning yesterday to talk about tech, and I covered what I think are some cool gadgets to give as gifts this holiday season.

Without further ado, here's my top five list of gadgets:

1. The Lytro -- starts at $399. http://www.lytro.com/ What's special about it: It uses new technology to capture the entire field of light in a photo, allowing for incredible manipulation of the digital image after it's taken. You'll never have out of focus images again.

2. Twine -- starts at $99. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/supermechanical/twine-listen-to-your-world-talk-to-the-internet What's special about it: This little gadget allows you to hook up things -- not just computers and phones -- to the Internet. For instance, you can set it up with a sensor to Tweet you if your basement floods.

3. Amazon Kindle Fire -- sweet starting price at $199. http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Fire-Amazon-Tablet/dp/B0051VVOB2 The Kindle Fire lets you shop the entire Amazon catalog of stuff, from books to songs to videos. This could be a hot seller for people who just want a decent tablet, and aren't willing to pay the Apple iPad premium of $500 or more.

4. iPhone/iPad/smartphone Accessories -- accessories are now a huge business. people love to adorn their phones and tablets with cool cases. I'm interested in the ZaggFolio, an iPad case that turns the device into a laptop-like experience, with a full keyboard. $99: http://www.zagg.com/accessories/zaggfolio-ipad-2-keyboard-case

5. The Withings Wi-Fi body scale: $160. http://www.withings.com/ This scale connects to your Wi-Fi network in your home. You step on it and it takes your weight and other body measurements and beams the numbers to a Web application and an iPhone application. You can track your weight effortlessly and overtime, and the charts are automatically updated. Very cool.

Posted by Gus Sentementes at 2:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Gadgets
        

[Updated with comment from GBTC Chairman: See below]

The Greater Baltimore Tech Council this morning sent me a press release announcing that they just appointed a new executive director. His name is Jason Hardebeck and you may remember him as the guy who sold his Baltimore social networking company to Facebook recently for an undisclosed amount.

Hardebeck replaces Sharon Webb, who had been in the position for about a year. I did a lengthy Q&A with Webb recently about the organizational challenges the GBTC faced in a new economy, with pressures from the explosion of social media.

A press release called Webb's tenure a "transitional period."

“Sharon did a phenomenal job bringing the GBTC to this point,” said GBTC Jason Pappas, president of Hannix Inc. in a news release. “But the timing is right to reinvigorate the organization so it becomes an outstanding resource and advocate for our growing technology and industry.”

This is sudden and abrupt news. I had not heard any inklings of a leadership change. Indeed, during the last change, when Steve Kozak left the top position, the board did a leadership search. This time around, it seems that they handpicked Hardebeck for the top spot.

So, in a span of less than two years, the GBTC has gone from Steve Kozak, to Jen Gunner (interim executive director), Sharon Webb and now Hardebeck.

I'm hoping to talk to both Pappas and Hardebeck today to get the full skinny. Stay tuned.


UPDATE: Pappas tells me in a phone interview that Webb did a "very good job" leading the organization through a difficult transition period over the past 12 months. He said she was hired for her analytical skills, to help analyze the organization and re-position it for the future.

But the GBTC had come to a point where it was ready for an executive director who could act as a "Pied Piper" from within the technology community, as someone who had had highly public success as a Baltimore technology innovator.

"Sharon did a really excellent job of taking us over the past 12 months from an organization that was trying to redefine itself, and she was absolutely the right person to guide us through that discussion to figure out how we position ourselves. That was her strength. From a need standpoint, the need shifted [for the GBTC].

Hardebeck fit the bill with his recent success with WhoGlue and Facebook, according to Pappas. Plus, Hardebeck was interested in the position and had been a community advocate for years in Baltimore tech circles. The GBTC board unanimously approved the appointment of Hardebeck, Pappas said.

"We needed someone with some street cred who had 'been there, done that' in the technology commmunity," Pappas said.

For the full press release, hit the jump:

Continue reading "Abrupt: GBTC suddenly names new executive director" »

Posted by Gus Sentementes at 9:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: *NEWS*
        

A Middle River start-up, Woofound, raised $750,000 in equity financing recently, according to an SEC filing today.

That's a good chunk of money for a startup in Baltimore. That's what 410Labs, co-founded by Dave Troy, raised several months ago.

The Middle River-based company has built a web platform that seems to help people identify their interests in the world using a straightforward ME/NOT ME dichotomy. The company is calling it "intelligent discovery," which seems to be made possible by tagging experiences.

Hmm. I'm eager to try it. Especially on mobile.

For the moment, the website is still in beta (I signed up; waiting approval to join). They've got a mobile site, and are working on native smartphone apps for iOS and Android.

So who's behind Woofound? Daniel Sines is one of the folks listed on the SEC filing. Here's some info about him over at BaltimoreTech.net.

Here's their video describing the product.

Posted by Gus Sentementes at 3:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: *NEWS*, East Coast, Entrepreneurs & Risk Takers, Startups
        

The East Coast tech scene is a pretty silo'ed place. You obviously have entrepreneurs and investors up and down the coast, from Boston to New York to Baltimore to DC. But everybody usually seems to play in their own market, for the most part.

Some in Baltimore (including yours truly) are yearning for a more regional perspective. After kicking around some ideas on a Facebook group, a Baltimore tech geek named Mike Subelsky (that's him above, in my own mockup illustration -- hope you don't mind, Mike!) came up with an idea:

Why not ride an Amtrak train up and down the East Coast for a day, talk to startups along the way, and blog, tweet, video, podcast like a crazy fool about the "Amtrak Corridor" tech scene?

"My idea was to meet with at least one tech leader in each city," Subelsky said. "Maybe somebody you don't normally hear from, the on-the-ground entrepreneurs."

It's an idea, I posit, that could only come out of Baltimore. This city is basically at the crossroads of the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast. We don't think we're at the center of the universe. We're open to getting to know our neighbors well. For now, Subelsky's calling it "Geek(s) on a Train" -- which makes reference to another nerd effort called "Geeks on a Plane," which takes entrepreneurs and investors to visit tech companies in foreign lands.

I spoke with Subelsky today and he's lined up a sponsor to cover his Amtrak ticket for a day. He's got an itinerary planned out, with stops in cities such as Washington, Baltimore (obviously), Philadelphia, New York and Boston.

He's looking to undertake the trip in January and, most importantly, he's eager to hear from startups up and down the East Coast from Washington to Boston. He hopes to spend an hour at each stop, conduct audio interviews with entrepreneurs, and then hop back on the train and post updates by blog and Twitter. He's also planning a podcast that'll cover his entire trip.

If you're on the East Coast between Boston and Washington and want to be a part of Mike's "Geek on a Train" adventure, he'll take your email at mike@subelsky.com. And feel free to cc: me on it, too, over at gus.sentementes@baltsun.com.

Posted by Gus Sentementes at 3:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Big Ideas, East Coast, Entrepreneurs & Risk Takers, Events (Baltimore area), Events (DC/No. Va. area), Startups
        

I just got an email from the PayPal PR folks who are touting some Cyber Monday statistics:

* By mid-day today, PayPal had seen a 514 percent increasing in mobile payments compared to the same period last year.

* And over on eBay, the Cyber Monday special of a white Apple iPad for $449 ($50 off MSRP), sold out in less than two hours today. More than four iPads were bought per minute.

Meanwhile, the LA Times says Cyber Monday this year could reach a record $1.2 billion in sales.

Did you buy anything online today?

Below is a snapshot from Costco's Website -- they sure were playing up Cyber Monday today:

Posted by Gus Sentementes at 4:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: *NEWS*
        

Sometimes the surest way to get noticed by a giant is to just sue them.

A small Baltimore company that sued Facebook two years ago was reportedly acquired by the mega-social-networking company earlier this month.

WhoGlue Inc., a company owned and operated by Jason Hardebeck (that's him above), said in an interview this morning that he sold his company for an undisclosed amount to Facebook in early November. The lawsuit that he had filed against Facebook -- for infringing on a patent titled "distributed personal relationship information management system and methods" -- was settled last year in a "very positive" way, Hardebeck said, and he and Facebook execs kept in touch.

"It's not typically how you introduce yourself to someone, to serve them with papers," Hardebeck said. "My experience with Facebook was very positive, very surprising, given its perception in the press and certainly from the movie [The Social Network]. It turns out that they are really good guys."

Facebook has bought several companies over the years. The WhoGlue acquisition appears to be the first acquisition by Facebook in Baltimore. [List of Facebook acquisitions.]

WhoGlue specializes in designing private social networks, for member groups, such as alumni associations. Hardebeck sees a future where public social networks interact with private networks more seamlessly.

He declined to comment on what exactly Facebook acquired from WhoGlue Inc. As part of the deal, Hardebeck ended up buying back some assets, trademarks and customer relationships from Facebook, and formed a new company, WhoGlue LLC, that can continue to operate the same business. WhoGlue had about a dozen shareholders, including the big tech company Siemens, which created the technology in the patent that WhoGlue held.

Hardebeck declined to say if the patent was sold as part of the Facebook deal. But he made clear that his company's sale didn't mean an early retirement for him. He intended to keep working in the same industry.

"Where we intend to go is where the world is going," Hardebeck said. "Eventually, public social networks will need to interact with private social networks."

"What we've beeen working on for 12 years just gets accelerated," Hardebeck said. "There's a very good chance now that we go out and get big fast."

WhoGlue consists of just two full-time employees, Hardebeck and a developer in Berlin. The company also works with contractors, he said.

I have a request for comment into Facebook. The deal was first reported by the Baltimore Business Journal.

Posted by Gus Sentementes at 10:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: *NEWS*, East Coast, Entrepreneurs & Risk Takers, Social Media, Startups, West Coast
        

Personally, I hate shopping when advertisers and marketers tell me to shop. And I'm just not excited by cutthroat deals on a product, just because it's a great deal and kinda/sorta what I want, but not really.

So what moves my needle? Getting my holiday shopping done as quickly and painlessly as possible, without waiting in long lines and without killing hours and hours sprinting from store to store.

I'm talking quick and painless. And if possible, while sitting on my couch.

For the past couple years, I've done my shopping on my iPhone. Yes, I'm an early adapter. But two years ago, I gave myself a test, to see if I could buy all my Christmas gifts online, with my iPhone. And I did -- while sitting on my couch. I had the gifts shipped either to my house, or direct to my relatives.

If this isn't the future, I don't know what is.

So, for this holiday shopping season, the most interesting tech and retail story to watch will be how mobile shopping fares. Will people be using their smartphones and tablets to browse for gifts from their living room? What if it really booms? How will retailers act and react? No doubt, retailers will have to cater to savvy shoppers who comparison shop in stores with their mobile phones.

Reuters put together a good story on the topic.

Some salient factoids from the article:

The 300 largest U.S. mobile merchants, led by Amazon.com Inc, will generate $5.37 billion in sales through mobile devices this year, more than double 2010, according to a recent survey by Internet Retailer.

Also:

The peak day for mobile holiday shopping is expected to be the second Sunday in December (Dec. 11 this year), according to PayPal, the online payments business owned by eBay Inc. That's the last non-work day when orders will be shipped in time for Christmas. Last year on that day, total payment volume, or TPV, transmitted by mobile devices through PayPal's system was $4.7 million. This year PayPal expects more than $10 million of TPV on that shopping day.

I wish I could say I'll see you at the mall this season. But nope, instead you'll find me on my couch, shopping.

Posted by Gus Sentementes at 11:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: *NEWS*