Category Archives: Software

Games Are Different

Posted on November 22, 2010 by payne

I’ve become generally negative on most pure software projects.  I think it’s very hard to build large value there, for a variety of reasons: It’s insanely crowded; lots of people code these days Open-source stacks make it easier than ever … Continue reading →

Posted in Entrepreneurship, Software | 1 Comment

How Many Groupons Can We Stand?

Posted on November 10, 2010 by payne

Groupon, the deal-of-the-day company, certainly left a trail of salivating investors from their last round of funding.  Now, it’s rumored that they’re seeking funding at a valuation around $3 billion. First, congratulations to them:  they’ve built a real business with real … Continue reading →

Posted in Entrepreneurship, Software | 1 Comment

Disrupting Education: Khan Academy

Posted on November 8, 2010 by payne

I think Salman Khan is onto something with Khan Academy.  I’ve been wondering when we’d see Internet-style disruption coming to education, and this might be it. Sal’s found a way to leverage the power of the Internet.  He’s a great teacher, … Continue reading →

Posted in Ramblings, Software | 2 Comments

Repeat After Me: “Location” is a Feature, not a Product

Posted on August 22, 2010 by payne

Two years ago, Daniel Cozza and I spent a lot of time looking at location-based apps.  We brainstormed tons of ideas and prototyped one.  But we ultimately decided not to pursue it; the space (and the iPhone app space, generally), … Continue reading →

Posted in Entrepreneurship, Software | 2 Comments

The Internet Used to be Flat

Posted on April 26, 2010 by payne

The Internet used to be a lot “flatter”. Last decade, there really weren’t any major points of control.  If you had an idea for a new app or content site, it was pretty much a level playing field, and you … Continue reading →

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Your on-line presence is more than your Web site

Posted on September 18, 2009 by payne

Five or ten years ago, your Web site was your entire on-line presence, simply because there wasn’t any other place to deploy content and functionality. Today, that’s not the case at all: with the proliferation of platforms (Google, Yahoo, Amazon, … Continue reading →

Posted in Design, Software | Leave a comment

Hulu Desktop & Boxee: Temporary Solutions

Posted on May 30, 2009 by payne

Hulu Desktop just came out:  it’s a client-app (Mac and Windows) that provides a “lean back” UI for Hulu video content.  It integrates remote control inputs, so it works well for folks plugging computers into the living room TV. I’ve … Continue reading →

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Inflexible Process meets Immovable Software

Posted on May 14, 2009 by payne

Devdutt Yellurkar (at CRV) and I were comparing enterprise software war stories and notes on SaaS opportunities (he did CRV’s recent investment in ZenDesk). The enterprise software business model is a tough one.  Large organizations frequently need custom features, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Software | 1 Comment

Browser-Powered Television

Posted on May 11, 2009 by payne

[A longer than usual blog post, summarizing some strategy ideas I've been working on.] In the early 90s at DEC, I had a colleague that worked with the cable industry.  I tried (unsuccessfully) to convince him that TCP/IP would be … Continue reading →

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When Disruptive Value is Sponged up by the Incumbents

Posted on February 11, 2009 by payne

Charles Teague and I were riffiing today on entrepreneurial opportunities around the iPhone, location-based services, and other areas.   A recurring discussion theme was:  sometimes technology disruptions don’t lead to NewCo opportunities.  Why? Consider the hype around Web Services from years … Continue reading →

Posted in Ramblings, Software | 3 Comments