SocialMedia Advertising Network announced today that CEO Seth Goldstein will speak on the panel "Social App Exit Strategies" on Tuesday, March 25, 2008 at the SNAP Summit 2.0 in San Francisco.

Pitching To Heavy-Hitters Financial Post, Canada - 24 Mar 2008 ... at a DemoCamp event in September, 2006, that eventually led to a venture capital investment of $2-million from JLA Ventures and BrightSpark Capital. ...

Grover Righter - General Manager & VP Marketing, iMobileInternet.com explains the Web 2.X business case.

Toronto's MaRs Centre hosted another in its series of Web technology conferences following in the success of MESH 06 & 07. "Experience Tech 2008" was less a celebration of the excesses of consumer tech culture, and more an in-depth exploration of how to monetize the opportunities the cultural shift Web X.0 generates. While there were few moments of deep insight at this conference, what became apparent is that the language described as Web 2.0 is now an integral part of the business idiom. According to speaker Grover Righter, companies now more than ever realize that they have to understand the new ways customers are empowered or they'll lose touch with the marketplace. Even worse, they'll be unable to respond to customer complaints on sites like the consumerist and will lose customers as a result.

Grover's message to entrepreneurs was uplifting: money can be made from good ideas and good execution. No market is too small. Get revenue up to $5 million and sell your company for multiples of 5 to 10 times revenue (really). In his world, $10 million dollar companies routinely sell for $50 million to the right buyer. Because business is embracing Web 2.0, any company that is well entrenched in the market now can expect to be pursued. Market makers are jumping into the market, so be prepared.

There were a number of useful panel discussions including one on Web 2.0 aptly led by MESH co-founder Stuart MacDonald (Moderator) and including David Crowe – Microsoft, Jeff Fedor - Founder Ardesic, Covarity, and Leila Boujnane - Idée Inc. Another useful discussion was on the growing influence of mobile moderated by Randall Howard – Verdexus, David Neale – TELUS, and Grover Righter - iMobileInternet.

The (...read more...)

If you find yesterday’s bailout of Bear Stearns by U.S. regulators to be more than a little hypocritical, well, join the rest of us. The so-called free market once again showed how it is anything but free, and that any absolute power—in this case the power of greed—corrupts absolutely. But where is the lesson that should be learned by an investment sector that ignored the need for risk management? By its actions, the U.S. government is showing that there is no lesson to be learned, or no penalty to be given. It also shows that in spite of its right-wing rhetoric, the “freest” world economy can and does interfere with the marketplace. Ironically, that’s good news for environmentalists. Now that the U.S. government has set this precedent, the right’s self-serving arguments about non-interference in free markets no longer apply. And now everyone knows it.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that the financial market place should be done away with or should be allowed to meltdown. What I am saying is that this week’s events clearly illustrate the role regulatory controls play in a complex world. There is a lesson here, but it is not, unfortunately to the free markets whose actions precipitated this crisis—they’ve been spared that rod. The lesson is to people and governments everywhere. We are reminded by the Bear Stearns fiasco that they do have the obligation, power, and right to use whatever regulatory levers exist to both save the economy, and save the environment. After all, what is more important, the financial health of rule-breaking investment firms that benefit the few, or the long-term health of the environment that benefits everyone?

Venture capitalists pumped a record $1.34 billion into 178 so-called Web 2.0 deals in the U.S. in 2007, up nearly 88 percent over amounts invested in 2006 -- but social networking company Facebook Inc. accounted for 22 percent of it all. (MSFT)

Venture capitalists pumped a record $1.34 billion into 178 Web 2.0 deals in the U.S. in 2007, up nearly 88 percent over amounts invested in 2006, but social networking company Facebook Inc. accounted for 22 percent of it all. (MSFT)

Venture capitalists pumped a record $1.34 billion into 178 Web 2.0 deals in the U.S. in 2007, up nearly 88 percent over amounts invested in 2006, but social networking company Facebook Inc. accounted for 22 percent of it all. (MSFT)

Congress of Racial Equality one of America?s top 4 civil rights organizations, empower minorities online, in the south. Any small business or minority entrepreneur can join the digital revolution with a web 2.0 online presence. (PRWeb Mar 19, 2008) Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/03/prweb781444.htm

Congress of Racial Equality one of America?s top 4 civil rights organizations, empower minorities online, in the south. Any small business or minority entrepreneur can join the digital revolution with a web 2.0 online presence.

New venture funding stats on Web 2.0 and what they suggest about the future.

A Dow Jones VentureSource report released Tuesday indicates that Web 2.0 investment may be peaking in the United States despite an 88 percent increase in money investment in 2007 over 2006. Even though venture capitalists threw a record $1.34 billion into 178 Web 2.0-related deals in 2007, the Dow Jones data reveals that the number of deals has finally slowed after several years of rip-roaring ...

A Dow Jones VentureSource report released Tuesday indicates that Web 2.0 investment may be peaking in the United States despite an 88 percent increase in money investment in 2007 over 2006. Even though venture capitalists threw a record $1.34 billion into 178 Web 2.0-related deals in 2007, the Dow Jones data reveals that the number of deals has finally slowed after several years of rip-roaring ...

Ontario Venture Capital Developments Mondaq News Alerts (subscription), UK - 18 Mar 2008 While venture capital investment has been strong in the US and elsewhere, it appears the venture capital market in Canada has been stagnant or shrinking. ...

According to data from Dow Jones VentureSource, announced at the Web Ventures Conference, the Web 2.0 investment boom may be peaking. The data show that venture capitalists pumped $1.34 billion into 178 Web 2.0 deals in the U.S. in 2007, up ...