Ditto.

Dan Farber is an ex colleague, a mentor and... a friend.
I've been blogging for 3 years now and the debate about journalism and blogging, and no-original content in blogging or even the latest tension over TechMeme's role or even definition have created the need in me to post my profound thoughts about all this.

I wrote 4 versions of this post and, as I still wasn't satisfied with it, just saved it without posting it.

And just read Dan's post on his own blog about this very subject. [you definitely should read it]

And it's perfect. Spot on. Right on. A+.

It makes the point. Not that he has much more talent than I do (no blog needed for that :-)), but makes me feel great to just continue blogging... even pushing it with a post like one: No personal added value but still a sense of a contribution. Thanks Dan, you're definitely a friend. ;-)

Love me, please love me...

(Yes, it's a song from Michel Polnareff.)

Jason Calacanis is offering a free MacBook Air if you accept to follow him on Twitter and help him get the numero Uno position on Twitter, in front of Robert "too-famous" Scoble.

Well, first, the MacBook is used as I understand it. But anyway, is a MacBook enough to entertain a couple of hundred or thousand followers and more importantly, what will happen the day after the precious MacBook gets won by a soon to become famous as well follower? Will it be one MacBook Air per month? week? Will Jason be official Apple distributor?

Well, that brings two important questions: 1/ is follower a new fee based job on the internet? 2/ can you be famous in following?

Anyway, this is really funny and brings an interesting angle to the micro-celebrity syndrome on the Internet. After all, isn't it a simple step towards buying its own audience? You are the media, they said...

New Wikio has arrived.

Wikio released a new version this past week. I'm biased on Wikio, I confess. I'm an investor, like the team and the founders are my friends. Enough to be biased, isn't it?
So, when a startup like this release a new product, praising it the very first day ain't credible.
I let few days go by to see how it would develop in me.
Well, result is clear: I like it. I like the new UI, cleaner, more ajax with expand and collapse right on the page, definitely more accurate search and addition of video is really cool.
Congrats Guys. Great job.

Smart way of making money on Google

You're bored with Google search page's design? want to add your picture, use a wallpaper to make it more personal?
Homepagle is for you. A super smart way to make money on Google. It creates a simple page with your own images or from a bunch of nice pictures and simply replaces the result page with its own AdWords.
Very smart.

Free Ingrid

A superb initiative from Vinvin at Seesmic.
Free Ingrid. from Freddy, San Francisco.

Is Yahoo twice its value now?

Barron's is bringing a very good point. While Google is suffering of concerns on the online advertising market, real concerns or just seasonal panics, Yahoo! is under the shelter of Microsoft offer at $31 a share. If Sir Microsoft was not here, Yahoo!, following the same trend, would be in the $15 range...

So, is Microsoft missing a great discount deal here? can they send some mixed message like a market adjustment, saying they are ready to pay a premium of a couple of percent and thus, at a revised valuation their new offer is now at $20 a share? after all, it's just a $14B adjustment... why not give it a shot?

Job's made of Apple products

cool.

A $17B report

In this very nervous market, every piece of information, not read the right way, can have disastrous effect.
Last week, comScore reported a 8% decrease in paid click per search query, in January vs December. Immediate market reaction was a $55 drop per share over two nervous sessions. This means a $17B drop in Google valuation. Reading straight numbers from comScore is a dangerous exercice. So dangerous, even comScore's CEO had to make some explaination [good article from Forbes here]
Google did introduce a "quality factor" that simply translate in raising the bar for paid clicks to be displayed, producing higher paid clicks. All in all, quality vs quantity. So, do people invests in a number of clicks or in a company financial performance?
comScore's CEO statement makes the point, reading numbers requires caution before action and, if you ask me, at $471 Google is a bargain theses days... ;-)

iPhone opens on Thursday?

Press has been invited this coming Thursday at Cupertino's HQ to get a pitch on Apple's plan for iPhone's software. SDK for sure and maybe more? like support for Corporate email servers, Microsoft and Lotus Notes?
Apple has been beaten down over the past 3 months with some analysts fearing the gold time for iPod to be behind and iPhone's 10M mark to maybe not happen. Worst, the number of cracked iPhone to be higher than expected, meaning the revenue coming from exclusive country telcos to not bring as much as planned.
Apple is a master in Marketing in general and PR in particular. I can't make the link between Cook's reiteration in confidence about the 10M units sold and this week announcement.
Apple has always started with a closed environment and high price strategy when launching a product. Prices have dropped earlier than planned, 2 months after July launch. Time for an open platform, earlier than planned too?
Isn't it the fastest and most secured way to get to the 10M mark?...