Mark Goldenson
Recent Posts
What’s Next: a Wikipedia for small businesses?
Three years after Alexander Graham Bell spoke the telephone’s first words in 1875 – “Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you” – the first phone directory was published.
The New Haven Telephone company published a white card with the names of 50 subscribers,… Continue Reading
What’s Next: fully ergonomic laptops?
When the first laptops were created around 1979 — laptops like the Grid Compass — ergonomics was not exactly a core concern. The screens were only 2-4 inches, RAM was a few hundred kilobytes, and batteries were huge. The Osbourne 1 weighed 24 pounds, perhaps… Continue Reading
What’s next: an eHarmony for Travel?
What is the perfect city for you? How would you learn?
After 12 happy years in Silicon Valley, I have felt wanderlust and looked at living in places with the following:
A temperate climate within five minutes of a warm-water beach
English-speaking, since the only other language… Continue Reading
What’s next: Facial recognition from mobile phones?
When social networks spread like wildfire through college campuses, it arguably wasn’t messaging friends, announcing events, or trading goods that drove the most use. It was browsing and (mostly) innocuous stalking. Humans are intensely social and curious, and technology now lets us learn more about… Continue Reading
What’s next: A StumbleUpon for porn?
(Note: this article discusses pornography but has no X-rated links and should be safe in PG environments. School teachers and clergy are duly warned.)
If the web has let a thousand flowers bloom, pornography has been its most prolific deflowerer. One study found a third of… Continue Reading
What’s next: Friend matchmaking that works?
In a college class on human sexuality, I learned a fascinating stat: over one-third of marriages stem from an introduction by a friend. Matchmaking has been practiced for thousands of years, from astrologers making matches with tarot cards to Ashkenazi Shadchans matching Jews for a… Continue Reading
What’s next: a Mint for your physical location?
I don’t mean to scare you, but there’s a faceless entity that knows you better than your friends, your spouse, and even you: your technology. As the Internet and phones weave into your life, they know your purchases, tastes, friends, messages, and more. The result… Continue Reading
What’s next: A Pandora for fashion?
In recent pieces for VentureBeat, I’ve been proposing ideas for new companies. This next one was proposed by PayPal writer and fashionista April Van Scherpe.
Style is like pornography: you know it when you see it, but few can do it well. It’s a skill of… Continue Reading
What’s next: A dashboard for online dating?
A friend once said online dating is like a full-time job with only occasional benefits. America’s 40 million online daters must answer questions, post pictures, run searches, write emails, and block bikini-clad spambait, usually across multiple sites. Susan Mernit, a former product director at Yahoo!… Continue Reading
What’s next: Signatures as a Service?
Signature blocks, those lines of text some people include at the bottom of their email messages, are as old as the web itself. Some of the earliest emails included primitive signatures; perhaps Major Raymond Czahor earns the dual honor of first email signature and first screamed message:… Continue Reading
What’s next: A butler for your idle computer?
Idle grid computing — applying unused computer time to a task — is a great solution in need of a problem. Hundreds of millions of computers sit unused two-thirds of the day. Most of these PCs have the CPU, storage, and internet access to run… Continue Reading
What’s next: A butler for your idle computer?
Idle grid computing — applying unused computer time to a task — is a great solution in need of a problem. Hundreds of millions of computers sit unused two-thirds of the day. Most of these PCs have the CPU, storage, and internet access to run… Continue Reading
What’s next: Free computers for small businesses?
Small and medium businesses (SMBs) -– companies of less than 50 employees -– are the holy grail of software. They compose 99.7% of all U.S. employers and generate 40-50% of GDP, but are notoriously resistant to technology: Only 39% think IT can help them compared… Continue Reading
Next new biz: Free computers for small businesses?
Small and medium businesses (SMBs) -– companies of less than 50 employees -– are the holy grail of software. They compose 99.7% of all U.S. employers and generate 40-50% of GDP, but are notoriously resistant to technology: Only 39% think IT can help them compared… Continue Reading
10 lessons from a failed startup
A year and a half ago, my co-founder Dev Nag and I started an internet TV network for games called PlayCafe. Our ambitious plan was to run highly interactive game shows in which everyone was a contestant. Players could watch our hosts, answer questions, win… Continue Reading