Truphone ist vergleichbar mit Skype und spezialisiert sich auf VOIP Kommunikation über Mobiltelefone. Neben der reinen Sprachunterstützung werden auch Textnachrichten unterstützt. Truphone Mitglieder können untereinander kostenlos telefonieren, für Festnetzgespräche gibt es entsprechende günstige Tarife. http://www.truphone.com Less

startups, Entrepreneurship, Lessons Gregory T. Huang wrote: On Friday, there was a really good talk by the noted tech entrepreneur and investor T.A. McCann at a Northwest Entrepreneur Network breakfast in Bellevue, WA. The topic was how to get a startup off the ground: he called it “0-25 mph.” What with the economy these days, advice from someone like McCann seems more valuable than ever. For those who may have missed the talk, here are a few highlights and a link to McCann’s slides. McCann is a former Microsoftie who has experience at Polaris Venture Partners and Vulcan Capital. He has been involved with a number of tech startups, most recently Evri and Gist, the latter of which he currently leads as founder and CEO. I thought McCann’s comments in his blog about the talk were particularly telling about his approach to entrepreneurship. “I always learn something when I do these kinds of events, both about what I have done right/wrong in the past and how I can be better in the future,” he writes. At the bottom of his talk slides—which covered everything from strategy and operations to fundraising and hiring—McCann listed “lessons learned.” A few points stood out to me: —Know your own space, pick customers you want to embrace, and make sure they pay. —Strategy should not be complicated. —A team’s value is 5 parts passion, 2 parts brains, and 1 part experience. —Outsource routine tasks, hire for thought leadership. —Deliver status updates every two weeks to your investors/board/advisors. McCann closed with the following five-point summary for entrepreneurs. Points #2 and #5 are really key, I think: —If it were easy, everyone would do it. —Love your customers more than your idea. —Use the right tools, timing, and discipline. —Know where to spend and save. —If you were rich, would you still be doing it? Comments | Permalink | Share |  E-mail UNDERWRITERS AND PARTNERS Less

startups, marketing, Internet Wade Roush wrote: When you’re listing countries rich in Web development and software engineering talent, you might think of places like Estonia, Russia, Poland, and Romania. Now you can add Costa Rica to the list. That’s the location of the “offshoring” facility where a new Massachusetts-based digital advertising, marketing, and communications firm called digitalArbor will turn for low-cost labor. DigitalArbor launched today with news of a $5 million Series A venture round from Boston’s Flybridge Capital Partners. Led by Robert Willms, a former executive at the international Web marketing firm Digitas, Cohasset, MA-based digitalArbor will specialize in “digital production management”—building and maintaining company websites and other Internet- and mobile-based corporate communications. It promises to keep costs low for clients by drawing on “global labor pools within the time zone,” according to its website. Costa Rica is on the same time as the U.S. Central time zone. DigitalArbor’s offices there are located in La Aurora de Heredia, an industrial park zone outside the capital city of San Jose. The growing variety of channels available for reaching consumers—such as Internet video, mobile advertising, video games, interactive ads, and traditional website display advertising—means that companies have to tap more tools and technologies, which means higher costs. In a statement, Willms said the key to decreasing those costs is combining “onshore producers and offshore technical talent.” “The company is coming to the market at a critical point in the evolution of digital marketing services with a business model that is even more compelling in our current economic times,” said Flybridge general partner Jeff Bussgang in the company’s announcement, which noted that Bussgang will join digitalArbor’s board. “With digital advertising outperforming many other forms of media, there is a huge unmet need for technical resources to fulfill production needs,” he said. A digital marketing firm might seem an unlikely bet for venture investors, who typically seek investment returns of 10x within a three- to seven-year period. However, venture firms have had good luck with Boston-area digital communications companies before; Softbank and other investors profited nicely when Cambridge, MA-based Art Technology Group (NASDAQ: ARTG) went public in 1999, and last year AOL bought Boston’s Third Screen Media, a mobile advertising firm backed by TD Venture Capital (now Fairhaven Capital) and Blue Chip Venture Co. Comments | Permalink | Share |  E-mail Less

energy, Internet, cleantech Robert Buderi wrote: In case you weren’t one of the 657,000 people who have watched it as of this writing, Barack Obama posted his first post-election YouTube address on Saturday, signaling a new stage in the evolution of presidential communications. The President elect, who plans to give weekly video addresses in parallel to the traditional weekly radio messages, touted a range of plans in his three-and-a-half-minute message (embedded below), most notably his ideas for getting America out of the current recession by rebuilding bridges, schools, and roads, providing affordable health care and high-quality education, and investing in the country’s long-term energy future. “It means investing $150 billion to build an American green energy economy that will create five million new jobs while freeing our nation from the tyranny of foreign oil and saving our planet for our children,” Obama said of his energy plans. Wade, our resident PhD in the history of technology, notes that Obama isn’t the first politician to use YouTube in such a manner. Hillary Clinton, for one, posted a series of high-quality Internet addresses and other videos during her campaign. Wade also notes (as have others), that there are historical parallels to be made here—starting with FDR’s use of radio, through which he pioneered the “fireside chat” format, which was later copied by Jimmy Carter on TV. Comments (1) | Permalink | Share |  E-mail Less

Hosts: Megan Morrone and Leo Laporte RattleMe, Smart Girls and Smart Boys, Ze Frank's Flickr memory game, school tech, and more. Guest: Amy Wondany of RattleMe Spend: Nintendo DS Smart Girls and Smart Boys Series Save: Save money on a memory game, use Ze Frank's free Flickr memory game instead. Give: Technology and Your School: What to donate and what not to donate Audible pick of the week: (This one is just for grown-ups) The Garden of Last Days, Unabridged, By Andre Dubus III, Narrated by Dan John Miller. For a free audiobook, visit AudibleKids.com/jumpingmonkeys. Full show notes available on Megan's blog, JumpingMonkeys.com. Bandwidth for Jumping Monkeys is provided by Cachefly. The Jumping Monkeys theme is by Paul Minshall. Running time: 53:02 Less

Gestalte Deinen eigenen fotorealistischen animierten 3-D Avatar und platziere Dich in Videos und Fotos. http://www.bigstage.com/ Less

Simms Jenkins is the founder & CEO of of BrightWave Marketing, an award-winning permission-based marketing company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Email Marketing delivers a $46 ROI on very dollar invested - but done properly, it’s not quite as easy as it seems. In this interview, Simms discusses some of the benefits, pitfalls and myths involved - all of which are covered in his book, ‘The Truth About Email Marketing’. This is an ideal handbook for anyone that wants to learn about making effective use email or marketing effectively - either for the first time, or as part of an existing campaign. Web Links: The Truth About Email Marketing - Buy the book Brightwave Marketing - Company web site EmailStatCenter.com - Email Metrics Portal LinkedIn find Simms Jenkins on LinkedIn LinkedIn Group - network & interact with other Email Marketers Facebook - find Simms Jenkins on Facebook Facebook Group - network & interact with other Email Marketers Like this PodCast? Then share it with your network - or show your support by writing a Review on iTunes. And don’t be shy - please leave a Comment . Your feedback and suggestions are greatly appreciated. If you’re a Blogger or Webmaster - you can download Embed Code that makes it easy to include this Episode of ‘Connections’ in your web page. Thank you Stan Relihan Expert Executive Search: www.expertsearch.com.au Less

Mobile, digital media, Internet Gregory T. Huang wrote: Seattle-based Ontela announced today that it has partnered with Denver, CO-based Photobucket to provide automatic photo uploading to the Web on Verizon Wireless phones. Verizon is the largest wireless carrier to adopt Ontela’s technology so far. The service, which costs $2.99 a month, sends users’ pictures from their phone to their Photobucket account. Comments | Permalink | Share |  E-mail UNDERWRITERS AND PARTNERS Less

Mobile, digital media, Internet Gregory T. Huang wrote: Seattle-based Ontela announced today that it has partnered with Denver, CO-based Photobucket to provide automatic photo uploading to the Web on Verizon Wireless phones. Verizon is the largest wireless carrier to adopt Ontela’s technology so far. The service, which costs $2.99 a month, sends users’ pictures from their phone to their Photobucket account. Comments | Permalink | Share |  E-mail Less

Hosts: Amber MacArthur and Leo Laporte Guest: Kenn Bell of The Dog Files Google Video Chat, MarsPhoenix, Twuffter, Star Wars, The Dog Files, and more. Google adds video and voice chat to Gmail Interview with MarsPhoenix Writer Schedule your tweets: Twuffer Beta launches Song of the week: “Star Wars” - An a capella tribute to John Williams Podcast of the week: The Dog Files Audible pick of the week: True Story: A Comedy Novel, Unabridged, By Bill Maher, Narrated by Bill Maher. To sign up for a free book, visit Audible.com/night. Bandwidth for net@night is provided by AOL Radio. Running time: 58:06 Less

Internet, video, Military Gregory T. Huang wrote: Seattle-based Delve Networks, a video management and media platform company, has launched a video-sharing site called TroopTube for U.S. military personnel and their families. Delve partnered with Texas-based Marion, Montgomery to deliver the service as part of Military OneSource, which is run by the Department of Defense. Comments | Permalink | Share |  E-mail Less

Hosts: Megan Morrone and Leo Laporte Practical pediatric info, Froose, Neil Gaiman, Nest, and more. Guests: Jamie A. Freishtat (Board Certified Pediatrician), M.D and Rachel L. Schreiber, M.D., FAAAAI (board certified in both Allergy/Immunology and Internal Medicine) of MommyDocs.com They offer practical pediatric information for parents by moms (who happen to be doctors.) Call: (707) 981–4602 to leave a message for Megan and Leo about the show, or use the "Call Me" button on JumpingMonkeys.com. Spend: Froose, an alternative to juice. Save: Watch Neil Gaiman read "The Graveyard" in its entirety. Give: Nest Audible pick of the week: Classic Wizard of Oz, Unabridged, By Listen & Live Audio. For a free audiobook, visit AudibleKids.com/jumpingmonkeys. Full show notes available on Megan's blog, JumpingMonkeys.com. Bandwidth for Jumping Monkeys is provided by Cachefly. The Jumping Monkeys theme is by Paul Minshall. Running time: 56:46 Less

I had a conversation about the global crisis with Amir Hen – a famous Israeli attorney of economics, business and finance (center), and Avihu Sofer – head of Bnei Baruch’s publishing department for the press and the Internet (right). Summary: What is the right way to create contracts between people, organizations and governments if they are to take into account the global manifestations of nature: that everything is interconnected and interdependent, everyone is conditionally or specifically equal, and the planet belongs to everyone? The transition to the conditions of the last generation cannot be forced or artificial. It is impossible for anyone to understand how to behave under these new conditions of the global interconnection of all people unless one learns this law – the law of life and sustenance of a single system of human society. Just as a person cannot exist in our world without knowing its laws on the still, vegetative and animate levels – knowing what’s useful and what’s harmful, and how to utilize different objects and phenomena - in exactly the same way, a person cannot exist in our times without knowing the law of the “global (unified) mankind” on the “human” level, which is being revealed today. Moreover, this law and all of its manifestations are studied only in Kabbalah. By observing this law in a greater measure (through building a greater connection between the souls), we will ascend the 125 degrees of the ladder leading to the Creator’s Palace. Related Material: Laitman.com Post: The Source of Happiness Laitman.com Post: By Changing Our Intentions, We Change the Whole of Reality Kabbalah Today Article: The Consumer Effect Baal HaSulam Article: “The Last Generation” Share This Less

VC, deals, Internet Wade Roush wrote: PeerApp, a Newton, MA-based maker of caching servers that Internet service providers use to speed delivery of frequently-downloaded peer-to-peer video and music files, said today that it has closed an $8 million Series B financing round. Investors Pilot House Ventures, Cedar Fund, and Evergreen Venture Partners, who ponied up $3 million in Series A funding in January, all returned for the Series B, which will go toward an expansion of the startup’s sales and marketing operations. We profiled PeerApp last December. Comments | Permalink | Share |  E-mail Less

Web 2.0, startups, Awards Gregory T. Huang wrote: “Language lessons,” says the Korean sportscaster in his Howard Cosell voice at the end of Better Off Dead. It’s what allowed Lane Meyer (played by John Cusack) to ski the K-12 on one ski, and 23 years later, it’s still the key to building relationships in global business. So when we heard on Friday that Livemocha, a Bellevue, WA-based online language-learning startup, had won the NWSource People’s Picks 2008 award for “favorite startup,” we were eager to find out more. Livemocha beat out 10 other fellow finalists including AdaQuest, Evri, and Xconomy (yes, really—we have no idea who voted for us, but thank you). Last year’s winner was Zillow, so Livemocha is in good company. The NWSource writeup cites Livemocha’s “model of diversity, with employees from India, China, Japan, Iran and the Ukraine, to name a few,” and its “very robust Ping-Pong culture.” Evri, for its part, has a Ping-Pong table, but not a Ping-Pong culture, according to one employee. Here at Xconomy, we have none of the above, but we’re working on it. But seriously, Livemocha has been steadily building its Web 2.0 e-learning service, which lets users around the world chat in their native language online and by video with people who want to learn foreign-language skills. The year-old startup, led by co-founder and CEO Shirish Nadkarni, has garnered lots of media attention and surpassed one million registered members in September. Last January, Nadkarni announced Livemocha had closed a $6 million venture round led by Seattle-based Maveron. (By coincidence, another investor is Sunny Gupta, whose new company Apptio we profiled today.) It all sounds like a perfect application for social networks, as long as the user interface is fun, reliable, and easy to use. No word yet on whether I can find someone to teach me that Howard Cosell accent, but there are at least 11 major languages on offer… Comments | Permalink | Share |  E-mail Less

VC, environmentalism, gadgets Robert Buderi wrote: The flailing economy is already hurting consumer electronics sales—and no one thinks things will get better soon. But will a slowdown in purchases of new gizmos and gadgets spur sales of used electronics as people look for bargains? Or will it diminish the supply of previously owned electronics as people hold onto their goods longer? Maybe the supply of used electronics will go up—as belt-tightening consumers take advantage of services that pay them cash for their old gear instead of simply throwing things out. And then, of course, there’s the green movement that encourages recycling. Second Rotation, whose online service Gazelle offers consumers cash for their used cell phones, laptops, digital cameras, game consoles, and other products (or helps them recycle them properly), sees the demand for previously owned stuff going up, up, and up—or maybe, around, around, and around is a better way to put it. Largely to help it develop and expand Gazelle, the Waltham, MA-based company announced today it has secured $6 million in new funding in a Series B round led by RockPort Capital Partners of Boston and backed by previous investor Venrock Associates, as well as angels Austin Ligon and Henry Vogel. We last profiled Second Rotation in July, when the two-year-old startup announced it had rebranded its service under the Gazelle name (”Don’t Just Sell It, Gazelle It,” the company extolled). At the time, the iPhone 3G was just coming out. And as iPhone-packing Wade wrote to would-be purchasers: “But what to do with your old, perfectly functional iPhone? You can sell it on eBay, if you want to go through the hassle. Or, starting today, you can just go to Gazelle, which will not only make you an instant cash offer for your device, but will send you a box and a pre-paid shipping label. It’s zero-friction gadget recycling—and if you’re feeling socially conscious, you can even have Gazelle send the check to your favorite charity.” The new investment, according to a statement from Second Rotation, “validates Gazelle’s effectiveness in providing consumers with an easy, fast and safe way to get cash for their unwanted electronics or support responsible recycling.” The company says that in addition to expanding and enhancing Gazelle, it will use the funds for branding and marketing. I can just see gazelles bounding across Wade’s iPhone now… Comments | Permalink | Share |  E-mail Less