Interesting that venture capital firms shy away from content, but some venture capitalists embrace it individually, outside of their firm.
As the third largest direct shareholder in Marvel Entertainment, Breyer stands to make nearly $5 million once Disney’s acquisition of the superhero company closes.
Disney said this morning that it plans to pay $4 billion in cash and stock for Marvel. Marvel shareholders — Breyer has 165,700, according to regulatory filings — will get $30 a share plus around 3/4 of a Disney share, a 29 percent premium over Marvel’s closing price on Friday.
Breyer’s venture firm, Accel Partners, has no investment in Marvel. But Breyer said his own investment came about several years ago as part of a “prepared mind” strategy.
“I have been very interested in companies with strong, defensible intellectual property that can be leveraged across multiple distribution channels such as the internet, live action and animated film, and broadcast,” he wrote in an e-mail message.
Read more. This begs the question, on the Web, what defines defensible content IP?
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WatchMojo NewsletterApparently, long form journalism doesn’t work online, according to venerable Time magazine, says Josh Tyrangiel, Managing Editor of TIME.com.
Read more on Beet.tv. Does the same apply to videos?
Oddly enough, the very same boosters who last year “swore” that Facebook was worth $5-10B (but is now so uncool, or less cool) are saying Twitter is worth $5-10B.
Once every while, the greater fool theory is proven to be true when someone comes along and pushes up the paper value ever so higher than the previous fool (I mean fool here in that cool way, you know: “man, that Michael Jordan is such a fool”). But jokes aside, Twitter and Facebook are actually worth a bundle, but the arguments being used are in fact not in of themselves supporting the multi-billion dollar rationale:
- Celebs use Twitter. Yes, they also used MySpace and today everyone thinks MySpace is dead and worthless.
- Businesses can use Twitter to communicate directly with customers. Yes, same thing could be achieved with a newsletter.
Yes, I am over-simplifying it, and sure, “I don’t get it”. What I do get is “liquidity”, or lack thereof:
No one will come and sign a check for anything remotely near those figures, and the public markets remain untested for products such as Twitter and Facebook.
The point is, unless some kind of liquidity transaction, it’s all moot. So we can all speculate all we want, like the fools we all are.
More on the matter:
It seems everyone is talking about health care reform these days and I think we all agree that something needs to change. Obviously there are many possible solutions including applying for Canadian citizenship…lol!!! Another logical solution is tofind a job with great healthcare benefits.
A new analysis from BEA, conducted by Cato-at-Liberty, shows that the average federal employee makes a lot more than those of you in the private sector. Since 2000, the average pay of a federal worker is up 55%, compared to just 29% growth in the private sector. And this doesn’t even take into account the amazing heathcare package they provide.
So short of moving to Canada or driving to Mexico to buy your drugs (prescription drugs), becoming a federal worker seems like the best option and hey, you’ll probably get an increase in wages… As far as I’m concerned, that’s just a BONUS!
Obama’s expecting your resumé, so please try to keep it to one page…
From Telegraph.co.uk
“Three supervisors who were trying to cure Deng Senshan of his compulsive computer use have been arrested after he died on Sunday.
“We are investigating a case where a high school student was beaten to death by his camp supervisors. The case is still under investigation,” a police officer in Nanning, Guangxi province, told the Chinese state media.
The boy’s father, Deng Fei, said he had paid 7,000 yuan (£605) for his son to spend a month at the Guangxi Qihuang Survival Training camp, which promised to rid the boy of his problems.
“My son was very healthy and was not a criminal. He just had an internet addiction when I left him at the camp,” he said. “We can’t believe our only son was beaten to death.”
He claimed the boy had been put in solitary confinement shortly after his arrival and then beaten by supervisors who were upset he was running too slowly.
There are several internet addiction boot camps in China, and the government has recently cautioned one hospital in the north of the country for using electro-shock therapy as part of its treatment programme.”
Two different perspectives on the topic.
Jim Spanfeller, formers CEO of Forbes.com here, and Rory Maher from Business Insider here.
Previous pieces I’ve written:
I am not sure if I can publicly mention the details, but if you’re an advertiser doing any kind of video-related advertising, email my sales team (I get copied on these, so I will explain to them why you are emailing us) at:
advertise [at] watchmojo dot com
Have I got a deal for you.
Trust me on this one.
The writer in me is actually itching to write about the details and I am hoping I can discuss this publicly and explain why this development is a big deal for the industry… but I do realize that we sign NDA’s for a reason, so I’ve asked permission to do so.
But that being said, again, if you’re a marketer promoting things and into video advertising, don’t wait.
Yes, I know, that sounds like an infomercial.
Here is the ideal term sheet, from TheFunded, via BusinessInsider. Now call me crazy, but I tell entrepreneurs I consult (read: anyone who will listen - haha), before taking money from a VC, ask yourself: “if this investor didn’t have money to invest, would you listen to what he/she is telling you, or do you only take them seriously only because of the money? If it’s the latter, don’t take the money, you will regret it the day after.”
Anyway, here is the Tooth Fairy Term Sheet:
Goldman will have a piggy bank of more than $11 billion to dole out in bonuses at year’s end, and that is making the company sweat. I wonder why.
From Daily Beast:
How worried are Goldman Sachs executives about their ability to manage the coming media tsunami when bonus season comes around?
Paranoia might not be too strong a word to describe the mind-set. People inside Goldman tell me that some senior executives say they believe the onslaught of negative stories detailing Goldman’s manifold ties to upper levels of government, charges that it somehow fraudulently profited from the subprime crisis, and now the press about the firm’s record earnings is so out of proportion to reality that the coverage contains an element of anti-Semitism—subtly playing off the racist myth of a conspiracy of Jewish bankers controlling the world for their own benefit. (Goldman was founded by a Jewish immigrant, and after years of being run by Gentiles Jon Corzine and Hank Paulson, is once again run by a Jew, Lloyd Blankfein.)
(…)
One thing is certain: Goldman’s top executives might be getting much richer at the end of this year, but the firm’s reputation is sinking and may well sink further.
Consider this: Goldman produced record earnings in the second quarter, and if it just cranks out mediocre profits for the remaining two, Blankfein would be on course to receive a bonus of $50 million or more, according to people inside the firm.
This after Goldman was rescued from extinction (this is where I agree with the conspiracy theorists) nearly a year ago, when the financial crisis became most acute, with a $10 billion capital injection from the federal government, not to mention the tens of billions of dollars that flowed right to Goldman’s bottom line when the federal government bailed out AIG and honored all those insurance contracts Goldman held on its own portfolio of risky debt.
Of course, the flacks at Goldman would tell you that Goldman was among the first to repay its loan, and amazingly, they continue to spin that the firm wasn’t really bailed out when the Feds bailed out AIG. (Their rationale is too nonsensical to explain; trust me on this one, they’re full of shit.) Where they’re less full of shit on is the difficulties they face in dealing repairing the firm’s image.
Goldman also concedes that the recent attacks on the firm have hit home, particularly for Blankfein, after The New York Times reported that former Treasury Secretary (and former Goldman CEO) Hank Paulson spoke to Blankfein far more than any other CEO during the height of the financial crisis last year, suggesting that Goldman received preferential treatment. “Is Lloyd worried about our image? Nobody likes negative publicity. It’s unpleasant,” the spokesman says.
I don’t know… I am not always into conspiracy theories, but the fact that the Fed is stacked with former Goldman Sachs guys and Bear Stearns and Lehman Bros. were left to rot and take down the system, but then the Fed stepped in to save - amongst others - Goldman Sachs, you have to wonder, what else did Goldman expect? For Americans to joyfully sing in the streets?
Now that I’ve moved to NYC I get a vibe speaking to investment bankers that there was a sort of Goldman envy before the meltdown… and since the meltdown and “selective bailout”, that envy has turned to anger amongst regular people on Main street. I am all for capitalism and understand the intricacy of Goldman having repaid the loan, but I also understand why people will think: “once again, Wall Street reaps the profits while Main Street incurred the costs”.
Anyway, it will be interesting to see what, if anything happens once the news of the big bonuses hit the street.
From CNN, pretty darn accurate:
Here are 12 of the most annoying types of Facebook users:
The Let-Me-Tell-You-Every-Detail-of-My-Day Bore. “I’m waking up.” “I had Wheaties for breakfast.” “I’m bored at work.” “I’m stuck in traffic.” You’re kidding! How fascinating! No moment is too mundane for some people to broadcast unsolicited to the world. Just because you have 432 Facebook friends doesn’t mean we all want to know when you’re waiting for the bus.
The Self-Promoter. OK, so we’ve probably all posted at least once about some achievement. And sure, maybe your friends really do want to read the fascinating article you wrote about beet farming. But when almost EVERY update is a link to your blog, your poetry reading, your 10k results or your art show, you sound like a bragger or a self-centered careerist.
The Friend-Padder. The average Facebook user has 120 friends on the site. Schmoozers and social butterflies — you know, the ones who make lifelong pals on the subway — might reasonably have 300 or 400. But 1,000 “friends?” Unless you’re George Clooney or just won the lottery, no one has that many. That’s just showing off.
The Town Crier. “Michael Jackson is dead!!!” You heard it from me first! Me, and the 213,000 other people who all saw it on TMZ. These Matt Drudge wannabes are the reason many of us learn of breaking news not from TV or news sites but from online social networks. In their rush to trumpet the news, these people also spread rumors, half-truths and innuendo. No, Jeff Goldblum did not plunge to his death from a New Zealand cliff.
The TMIer. “Brad is heading to Walgreens to buy something for these pesky hemorrhoids.” Boundaries of privacy and decorum don’t seem to exist for these too-much-information updaters, who unabashedly offer up details about their sex lives, marital troubles and bodily functions. Thanks for sharing.
The Bad Grammarian. “So sad about Fara Fauset but Im so gladd its friday yippe”. Yes, I know the punctuation rules are different in the digital world. And, no, no one likes a spelling-Nazi schoolmarm. But you sound like a moron.
The Sympathy-Baiter. “Barbara is feeling sad today.” “Man, am I glad that’s over.” “Jim could really use some good news about now.” Like anglers hunting for fish, these sad sacks cast out their hooks — baited with vague tales of woe — in the hopes of landing concerned responses. Genuine bad news is one thing, but these manipulative posts are just pleas for attention.
The Lurker. The Peeping Toms of Facebook, these voyeurs are too cautious, or maybe too lazy, to update their status or write on your wall. But once in a while, you’ll be talking to them and they’ll mention something you posted, so you know they’re on your page, hiding in the shadows. It’s just a little creepy.
The Crank. These curmudgeons, like the trolls who spew hate in blog comments, never met something they couldn’t complain about. “Carl isn’t really that impressed with idiots who don’t realize how idiotic they are.” [Actual status update.] Keep spreading the love.
The Paparazzo. Ever visit your Facebook page and discover that someone’s posted a photo of you from last weekend’s party — a photo you didn’t authorize and haven’t even seen? You’d really rather not have to explain to your mom why you were leering like a drunken hyena and French-kissing a bottle of Jagermeister.
The Maddening Obscurist. “If not now then when?” “You’ll see…” “Grist for the mill.” “John is, small world.” “Dave thought he was immune, but no. No, he is not.” [Actual status updates, all.] Sorry, but you’re not being mysterious — just nonsensical.
The Chronic Inviter. “Support my cause. Sign my petition. Play Mafia Wars with me. Which ‘Star Trek’ character are you? Here are the ‘Top 5 cars I have personally owned.’ Here are ‘25 Things About Me.’ Here’s a drink. What drink are you? We’re related! I took the ‘What President Are You?’ quiz and found out I’m Millard Fillmore! What president are you?”
