Entries from May 2008 ↓

Diggnation will be recording their next show at Studio B in Brooklyn on June 4th. If you don’t know, diggnation is a “news” show from the creator of Digg.com - Kevin Rose and his buddy Alex Albrecht. It’s sure to be a great time and if you can make it you should really come through! Studio B is located in the uber trendy neighborhood of WIlliamsburg. It’ll be my first Diggnation ever! The show takes place on Thursday, June 4th. It starts at 7PM and continues till 11:45PM but you should get there at six to enjoy good music and drinks with other digg fans before the show begins.

Studio B is located at 259 Banker Street between Meserole Avenue & Calyer Street in Brooklyn. Get directions from HopStop.com.

1) Write down your idea - Write down everything about your idea. I mean everything. Include the most minute details about each and every single feature of your idea. I don’t care if its on a napkin or on Word, do it!

2) Tell your friends - Ask them for an objective opinion. Take a note of everything they say. Many of your friends will probably tell you that your idea isn’t viable or that they just don’t see it happening - don’t let that bother you so much. Instead, look at the core reasons why they don’t think it’ll work… Ask them WHY and make sure they give you an answer! I’m actually in the process of setting up a project manager, called ProjectPier, on one of my domains that I’ll use to get my friends to comment on my ideas anonymously. It keeps me in check and makes sure I don’t get too ahead of myself because sometimes that happens too. Make sure you ask for their insight too, what they’d like to see in it - maybe you forgot something.

3) Research - Conduct intensive research on the area that you’re focusing on. There’s sure to be something out there with some sort of likeness to your idea. Research your target, why they need your product/service and how it will help them. Place a heavy focus on what’s already out there, and how your idea is different. Check this site out for a more in depth writeup on conducting research for your business idea.

4) Create a business plan - If you’re still captivated about your idea after telling your friends about it, create a simple business plan. This is basically taking everything you’ve written and organizing it clear categories and headings.

5) Design a Mockup - If its an internet startup, create a mockup of how the site will be laid out using Photoshop or even something basic like paint. Include all the different pages and functionality that you want your website to have. Later, this can be used to show the designer exactly what your website is all about as it gives them a complete grasp of its layout, functions and design. Here’s another great resource that explains how to create an excellent Photoshop mockup of your website idea.

I commute from Long Island to the Financial District every morning by train. The commute is roughly 2 hours on the Long Island Railroad and it’s a huge chunk of my time. Normally, I keep myself occupied with music on my iPhone and usually doze off. But lately, I’ve been getting into the world of podcasts. There are quite a few awesome podcasts out there that are as educational as they are fun. For example, I listen to VentureVoice every morning as well as a few video podcasts by Revision3 (Diggnation, GigaOm, & Social Brew). Harvard Business Video Ideacast is also a great vidcast that focuses on current trends, strategies and social technologies (they’re old, but smart as hell!). Time that I would otherwise spend listening to the same music over and over is now spent learning about new aspects in social media and the internet - and watching Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht joking around and having beers.

Podcasts are turning into the “new newspaper” for train and subway rides. It’s something that’s really great to get into because you’re really making a great use of otherwise wasted time. There are podcasts that teach you languages, programming/website design, and even New York Times Podcasts. So, do yourself a favor, and wake up every morning and start your commute with a brand spanking new podcast. Seriously, it’s worth it and honestly, I even get excited now to get on the train and begin!

Check out the awesome entrepreneurial podcasts on iTunes under the Business, Careers, and Tech categories.  Enjoy, and if you have a podcast you’d like to share, feel free to comment it up!

I always hate it when an application that I use on a regular basis suddenly adopts a new redesign.  Even if it’s just slight, at first glance I’ll always dislike it.  But then… I’ll grow to adore the new design and wonder how I ever used to the old format.

Facebook has come a long way from the lonely wall it used to be.  Now it incorporates so many different avenues of content and information.  A new redesign is coming in the next few weeks and I’m sure to hear plenty of my friends complaining just like they complained when the NewsFeed made its debut.

Here’s a look at the changes in the upcoming facelift.

• Expanded and interactive “Wall,” where users can generate their own content, friends can write Wall posts, and applications can publish Feed stories
• Additional tabs on the profile, where users can feature their favorite applications
• Profile boxes, which appear in the narrow column, separate from the tabs
• Profile action links

I like it.  It now seems like an enhanced version of Twitter!  I like how Facebook is vying to become a huge conglomerate of smaller independent ideas.  Rock on Zuckerberg, you are a god.

Remember the good ol’ days when you had quotes like, “too close for missles, i’m switching to guns” (from Top Gun, 1986) on the bottom of every Facebook page?  Ahh, here’s a screenshot of one of the first formal redesigns.  How far we’ve come…

I’ve been told that BlogRush really helps bring quality traffic to your blog and so I decided to give it a try.  What BlogRush essentially does is provide links on your sidebar with relevent articles by other bloggers.  It’s a free service and I’m gonna try it to see if it really does bring in traffic.  I’ll post results in two weeks.

Installation on a WordPress blog is easy: Go to your dashboard > widgets > add a text widget to your sidebar with your blogrush code.  And that’s it.  They supposedly take 48 hours to review your blog and I’m currently waiting for them to accept this blog.

Don’t forget, I’ll post my traffic comparisons in less than two weeks to see if BlogRush really does work.  Let’s hope it does!

There’s only one thing to do: invite/tell friends!  Pownce is geared to keep you in touch with your closest friends.  I really want all my friends on it just so we can all share our music with each other - I’ll probably pitch it to them all somehow this week.  I really like this whole unlimited space concept with the max individual file size at 100mb.  Get started today at Pownce and add me at http://pownce.com/vipin.  Be quick and get the best names now kids.  Pownce can be a little buggy right now, but its got potential.

Hmm, I wonder how long it takes to upload/download things off the Pownce server… One moment please.

UPDATE:  A threee megabyte mp3 took me less than five seconds to upload.  But it’s probably because of the sick speed Fordham hooks me up with (see below)!  Either way, when the next generation of internet technologies and speeds arrive, Pownce will be set to conquer it.  I think it’s in its most basic form now with plenty planned for later.

Here is a brief review of the three best finance apps out there to organize your money, help you budget, and spend your money wiser.  These services are perfect tools that put all your financial accounts in one place and graph different trends such as your spending habits, net worth and budgeting.  They’re great for everyone, but I think these are excellent tools for rising entrepreneurs and college students who want to manage their own finances.

I’ve been using Yodlee’s moneycenter finance application for almost a year now.  It’s helped me manage my bank accounts, credit cards, investment accounts and even student loans with a very concise and powerful interface.  What Yodlee does is agregate data from all of your financial accounts - you have to give your userid and password for each - but I’ve had no problems with Yodlee and by looking at their company’s history, its management and investors, I think its web tools are secure enough to trust.  Of the three web apps I’m reviewing, Yodlee has the interface that most resembles a bank.  Yodlee does not concern itself with much social networking like Mint.com or Wesabe.

Mint.com is all about interface.  Their intuitive graphs really help display where you’ve been spending your money.  You can tag different purchases and Mint will learn what the types of purchases you make and further display them in their very dandy graphs.  They also give you some tips on how you can better use your money.   This is my favorite finance application because it’s feature rich and graphically pleasing.  However, there are a few problems I’ve been experiencing… For example, even though I’ve only added one Paypal account, the grand total of my money figures in my Paypal balance five times.  Mint.com is still in BETA but I really think their the best at what they do.   They have options to send you a text message, email or phone call when a bill is due or one of your accounts has reached a certain threshold.  Mint is Verisign secured, TRUSTe certified and protected from phishing attacks from RSA.  These are industry-leading protection services.  I trust it, so that says a lot.

And finally, Wesabe.  I don’t wanna bash Wesabe, but for what it is and what it does, it’s horrible.  Wesabe employs an intensive social networking approach to your finances.  Personally, I do not feel that this aspect of my life needs any social intervention - but hey, I could be wrong.  Basically, the Wesabe community gives you a bunch of tips based on where you shop and what you spend your money on.  For example:

Come on, I know a croissont from Au Bon Pain will set me back $4.00 while one from Dunkin Donuts would be $1.00.  This is just common sense.  I guess if you want to know where and how to spend your money better at comparable places, Wesabe is for you.  But come on, does my money management have to become this social?

I think Mint.com is the best service out there with Yodlee right behind.  Mint.com incorporates all the power of Yodlee with the elegance of beautiful code and usability.  Wesabe, just chill a little.