Bernard Moon
Bernard Moon is Co-founder & CEO of Vidquik, a web conferencing and sales solution platform. He's a mentor at Mucker Lab, a startup accelerator based in LA. He blogs at Silicon Moon.
Recent Posts
2012 predictions: It’s doom & gloom for Amazon, RIM and Zynga
The predictions I made for 2011 turned out pretty well, since I framed things like any good fortune teller or horoscope would have done. I was vague enough to allow flexibility but detailed enough to sound spot on. I would say I hit four for four:
✓ The Groupon juggernaut will slow down
✓ Virtual reality will be hot again … thanks to Kinect
✓ Tablet market explodes
✓ Mobile commerce poised for takeoff in … Continue Reading
Google+ first impressions: My big three takeaways
I’ve been testing out Google+ for the past couple of days. I admit that I had my doubts after Google’s prior failures with Buzz, Wave, and Lively. With Google+, though, I’m pleasantly surprised that I can see myself using it in the future. It will be interesting to see how it complements or replaces my other social networking activities. Here are my big three takeaways on Google+.
Circles. I believe Circles allows for the complexities … Continue Reading
Groupon will become the Sarah Palin of tech, and other predictions for 2011
2011 will be a year of economic recovery and continued drama in Silicon Valley, marked by the hyped battles of Apple vs. Google, Google vs. Facebook, and Oracle vs. the rest of the enterprise world. Without further ado, here is the 4th annual edition of my technology predictions.
The Groupon Juggernaut Will Slow Down
Groupon is quickly becoming the Sarah Palin of the technology world. It has its haters (Forrester’s Sucharita Mulpuru), doubters (Flybridge Capital’s … Continue Reading
Are Q&A startups a threat to Google?
The classic movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail includes a scene in which King Arthur and his men ignore warnings about a killer rabbit with huge fangs. Only after one of the knights is ferociously attacked do they finally believe that such cuddly-looking creature could be the “most foul, cruel and bad-tempered thing you ever set eyes on.”
The same can be said about the numerous Question & Answer players that people unwisely dismiss … Continue Reading
Tech trends for 2010 — a Netscape moment coming up
[Bernard Moon works for the Lunsford Group.]
When I made my tech trend predictions for 2009, we were in the middle of an economic meltdown. This year, I’m less focused on the recession and — thanks to my one-year old twin girls — am wading my way through a flood of information on baby products, toys and books. My mind has wandered between thoughts of Bugaboos and Ooyalas, Leapfrog and Playfish, or Seuss and Seesmic. … Continue Reading
Sustainability: The ‘must have’ holy grail
(Editor’s note: Bernard Moon is vice president of the Lunsford Group. He contributed this story to VentureBeat.)
When I was a kid, Atari dominated the gaming scene. Sure, Mattel’s Intellivision and Coleco’s Colecovision had their loyalists, but to the general public, when you mentioned video games, Atari was the name that sprang to mind.
The company maintained that status for years, but as competitors like Nintendo and Sega became part of the industry, Atari quickly … Continue Reading
Is your product a “must have” or “nice to have”?
(Editor’s note: Bernard Moon is vice president of the Lunsford Group. He contributed this story to VentureBeat.)
With the downturn in the economy, more and more people are thinking about launching a new business or company. Whether you’re in the idea generation stage or have already started to build your product, you should take a breath and reassess whether the concept still holds your initial level of enthusiasm. Do you believe your product or service … Continue Reading
Startup Fundraising 101
Back in 1998 during our first startup, ViewPlus, my co-founder (and close friend) Jimmy Kim and I went through the usual hardships of begging for money from friends and family, digging into our piggy banks and signing up for credit cards like they were lotto tickets.
Once we were up and running, we made a commitment: To help other entrepreneurs whenever possible; to share our stories and advice; and to try to help them avoid … Continue Reading
Tech trends for 2009 — this time global
[Editor's note: A look ahead to the major trends sweeping tech in the year to come. Do you agree with Lunsford Group's Bernard Moon? Share your own thoughts and predictions below.]
Last year, I limited my predictions to the U.S. market. But the global economic meltdown has made the world flatter — and landed our nation flat broke. So to keep things interesting, I’ll extend my prognostication across borders.
I was playing with the idea … Continue Reading
Want to be the next Google? Create enduring values
[Editor's note: This is an op-ed piece by Bernard Moon, vice president of holding company The Lunsford Group.]
Last week I was having lunch with a senior person involved with Facebook and asked him about the recent departure of some of their key people. His response: “Facebook just doesn’t have the right culture. They’re not a Google or Microsoft.”
This statement kicked off an interesting conversation. My lunch companion argued that a company’s culture … Continue Reading
U.S. tech trends for 2008
A couple of months ago, my wife and I visited Seoul, South Korea—a trip that inspired me to come up with a list of technology predictions for 2008 and beyond. The land that brought us bottle service, massive multiplayer online role playing, and paid online casual gaming serves as a good place to consider emerging trends...
Life after Facebook, and the coming "Dark Period"
Recently, I've felt like Bill Murray in “Groundhog Day” hitting his alarm clock and rolling out of bed over and over again. I’d seen it before. The same thing happened with MySpace a few years ago, and with Friendster before that, only Facebook has taken social networking to new segments of society.
Funny or Die — and the challenge to the Long Tail
A marriage between Silicon Valley and Hollywood talent led to the birth last month of a video start-up Funny or Die. What took YouTube to do in six months, Funny or Die did in six days.
Its traffic exploded after the release of its first 2-minute clip, The Landlord, starring Will Ferrell. The video drew almost 24 million views. This would be in YouTube’s top three of all time.
Last year, I wrote … Continue Reading
