Ron Conway’s Web 2.0 tour de force, and VentureBeat’s mea culpa

Ron Conway’s Web 2.0 tour de force, and VentureBeat’s mea culpa

It is time for our mea culpa on our coverage of Silicon Valley angel investor Ron Conway.

Not because Conway has become the most prolific investor in Web 2.0 companies, with more than 100 companies backed in less than a year and a half.

But because we’ve been critical of Ron Conway for his investments during the Internet boom, saying they were symbolic of the era’s hubris. During that heady time, he threw lavish cocktail parties, and… Continue Reading

Real Girls Media raises $6M for women & Web 2.0 — but feels bubbly

Real Girls Media raises $6M for women & Web 2.0 — but feels bubbly

Real Girls Media, a new San Francisco start-up that wants to publish content for women, has raised $6 million in a first round of funding.

We reported earlier how another company, Sugar, had raised $5 million, led by Silicon Valley high-profile venture firm Sequoia Capital, after that blog site for women showed considerable traction. So this effort by Real Girls comes is somewhat predictable: You have to raise more than your competitor to lure talent, and… Continue Reading

Web 2.0 week: IM-email integration trend, Google GPS, Google Ventures, Reality Digital & more

Web 2.0 week: IM-email integration trend, Google GPS, Google Ventures, Reality Digital & more

Roundup of a busy week:

Instant messaging and email are merging, Yahoo kicks it off — Yahoo will be integrating IM through its email, Yahoo executive Brad Garlinghouse revealed during the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco. In retrospect, we’re wondering why this trend hasn’t happened earlier.

Email is limiting, providing no way to see whether the person on the other end is present or not (that person may not want to show you they are present,… Continue Reading

Web 2.0 investment booms (data on big players & note on Intel)

Web 2.0 investment booms (data on big players & note on Intel)

Updated

Web 2.0 start-up activity is hot, and here’s the latest data.

Venture capitalists invested $455.5 million into Web 2.0 companies in the first three quarters of the year, more than twice the amount invested over the same period last year.

This comes from the latest survey by Dow Jones VentureOne, which continues to do the best research on the Web 2.0 area. It gets help from accounting firm Ernst & Young.

Overall, more than $1.63 billion has been… Continue Reading

Like’s visual search very good for shopping

Like’s visual search very good for shopping

Like has finally launched its visual search engine company, and it’s going to appeal to the shopping set, especially women.

Users select products from images, and then Like’s search engine will find comparable items to buy. Like is owned by Riya, which we have covered before, including here.

We find it compelling. There are other players in the market, but aren’t nearly as sophisticated as Like. For example, there is Pixsta, of London, which has built a… Continue Reading

The Web 2.0 Launch Pad

The Web 2.0 Launch Pad

Our favorite event at the Web 2.0 Summit is the Launch Pad, where 13 new start-ups launch and give a five-minute presentation.

Richard McManus has a good, succinct review of the 13 companies, so we won’t duplicate.

We weren’t that inspired by this year’s crop, though. The AJAX magic of last year was so thrilling that we’ve gotten used to it, and crave something new. 3B looked cool, because it offered a new-age way to… Continue Reading

Venture capitalists open spigot — especially for Web 2.0 & energy

Venture capitalists open spigot — especially for Web 2.0 & energy

Updated

For the third quarter in a row, U.S. venture capitalists poured more money into private companies than they did last year. They invested $6.36 billion in the third quarter, five percent more than last year. They backed 611 companies, two percent more.

These are the findings of the latest report by Dow Jones VentureOne and Ernst & Young.

The third quarter investment levels were slightly lower than the second quarter, but dips are common in the… Continue Reading