quid.pro

Mets 3, Marlins 2

Not making money through advertising

Now that OpenTable has made it public, not making money through advertising has been blessed as OK by the gods of Wall Street. Whew. Even though Ebay and Amazon (among others) have built great businesses for many years without having substantial advertising lines, there's a discovery of subscription and other types of sales in last week's New York Times:

"Now advertisers have cut back their online spending. So Web start-ups are searching for new ways to make money, like selling real, or virtual, goods or asking customers to buy subscriptions.

And venture capitalists who envision a sale of the company in the public markets are encouraging these efforts. Roger Lee, a partner at Battery Ventures who invests in digital media start-ups, said he considers only companies with one or two revenue streams in addition to advertising."

I've written a lot about diversity in revenue streams and think it's great news that the success of OpenTable has moved the spotlight away from advertising as the only way to build a tech business. As the article eventually gets to, the right answer is a mix of advertising and subscriptions (and for some categories, virtual goods). In good times, it's easy to get behind advertising because it does have the potential to grow the fastest. But subscription revenues are almost as hard to lose as they are to win and a stable base of subscribers will go a long way to supporting a business when the advertisers won't.

Olive Tree Cafe

Ah, New York

Yahoo's Bartz Drops F-Bomb At D7

Yahoo's Bartz Drops F-Bomb At D7! (YHOO).

In a discussion with Kara Swisher about whether Bartz is too old to understand the Internet, Bartz leaned in to Kara and said, "f--- you." Much applause, says AllThingsD's Peter Kafka.

Giants 4, Braves 0

In Praise of Dullness

Op-Ed Columnist - In Praise of Dullness - NYTimes.com.

In other words, warm, flexible, team-oriented and empathetic people are less likely to thrive as C.E.O.’s. Organized, dogged, anal-retentive and slightly boring people are more likely to thrive.

Giants 8, Braves 2

State of Paralysis

Op-Ed Columnist - State of Paralysis - NYTimes.com.

Despite the economic slump, despite irresponsible policies that have doubled the state’s debt burden since Arnold Schwarzenegger became governor, California has immense human and financial resources. It should not be in fiscal crisis; it should not be on the verge of cutting essential public services and denying health coverage to almost a million children. But it is — and you have to wonder if California’s political paralysis foreshadows the future of the nation as a whole.

Jay Bennett is dead

undertow music collective —.

We are profoundly saddened to report that our friend died in his sleep last night. Jay was a beautiful human being who will be missed.

More information here.