Zynga is expected to start trading on December 16 2011.

How do this year’s IPOs fare? continue reading...

A few years ago, we published a list of companies who ruled the Internet each year, from 1994-2007. Then, we forgot to update it for 2008-2010. On this week’s HipMojo show, we run down the list and picked a company for 2008, 2009, and 2010… and then open it up for you to suggest companies for 2011. Vote for the company of the Year below in the Comments, feel free to vote for the company you work for, but explain WHY, what was the one thing or many things that made the company stand out from the noise? continue reading...

What are the 10 consumer web companies that are best positioned for the 2010s? continue reading...

LinkedIn is a product that I initially disliked.  But over time, I have made a 180-degree and think it is one of the more astute and useful ones around.  I like to think the product has changed (improved) over time, as well.  Regardless, I am sure Reid Hoffman deserves a lot of credit for that.  Here are his rules for investing, I suggest entrepreneurs re-read these a few times.  The funniest part of the article is when he adds “I’m not investing, though”.

1. How will you reach a massive audience? continue reading...

LinkedIn just got its massive $1B valuation from a wide array of investors, and all of it was orchestrated by none other Allen & Co., who is making more and more inroads in West Coast digital media and IT firms.

Interesting to see this video, via Paid Content, of the investors talking about their investment… not surprising, you don’t see anyone from Allen, who stay in the background, as always. continue reading...

So I get an email by someone… before replying, I search for them and land on LinkedIn.  Once there, I am told I might know some other people.  I actually do know a bunch of them… but I am not sure that means I should add them as “friends” - or I guess, contacts.  I can drive with my feet, too, not sure I should.

Then in the Recent Activity (of my network) I see the following: continue reading...

We updated our Annual Internet company of the year list. The winner for 2007 was Facebook, who was both the editor’s and readers’ choice. Facebook joins the 13 other companies we had selected from 1994-2006, see the entire list.

Who will be the Web’s company of the year in 2008? continue reading...

Word on the street is that News Corp. is about to purchase LinkedIn.  Some time ago I compared TheLadders with LinkedIn, and included News Corp. as one of the many potential acquirers of the business social networking service, but I certainly did not put them atop the list.

I think News Corp.’s Rupert Murdoch wants to get an option on all online assets.  He was miffed that YouTube did not go his way and I think that every company on the Web will invariably be seen as a fit with News Corp. for the simple reason that offline, News Corp. spans the globe and all media.   Online - after $2B in investments and acquisitions of MySpace, IGN, Scout, Photobucket - Fox Interactive Media is a force to be reckoned with. continue reading...

While the blogosphere’s been having a philosophical orgasm pontificating (P.O.P) between the merits - and future odds of success - of LinkedIn and Facebook, I think a better question is: who will win between LinkedIn and TheLadders.

For the record, I am guilty of that P.O.P myself… but let’s take a step back and examine the two firms that we think are closer comparables: TheLadders and LinkedIn. Admittedly, TheLadders is more of a traditional job board whereas LinkedIn is a professional network, but they target a similar audience.
What is TheLadders? continue reading...

My first experiences with LinkedIn were up there with my first experiences with Plaxo: lots of unwanted emails.

As I got to better understand what LinkedIn was, I initially thought that it was ultimately a little bit, well, phony. And not in that “Man, that Michael Jordan is so phony” kind of way, in the official, actual sense of the word. I also got a sense that people would add one another and it would in turn devalue the value of one’s network. continue reading...