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Posts Tagged “

New York, minute

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New Silicon Alley Reporter accuses "lovable scumbag" Jason Calacanis of spreading "baseless rumors" Mahalo CEO Jason Calacanis made his name running Silicon Alley Reporter back in the 1990s. You'd think Calacanis would be happy to hear that some guy named Gary Sharma has brought the Silicon Alley Report back to the Web. Nope. On his last trip to New York, Calacanis gleefully told a table full of reporters that Dow Jones, which bought the publication from Calacanis back in 2003 — was preparing to sue Sharma's project out of existence. Sharma denies the legal trouble. "Word on the street is that these are just baseless rumors being spread around by that lovable scumbag Jason Calacanis," Sharma tells us. "Maybe he's getting a lil antsy now that SAR 2.0 is getting rave reviews from the Silicon Alley community?" Asked to comment, Peter Kafka, managing editor of Silicon Alley Insider, a blog often confused with Calacanis's old rag, said: "Who?"

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sad displays

New York wantrepreneur, VC in training can sing and D.A.N.C.E.

Meet wantreprenuer Nate Westheimer and venture capital associate Kristian Hansen. Westheimer founded BricaBox, a publishing platform which you still haven't heard of, despite publicity stunts like the "Silicon Alley 100: People's Choice." Hansen you might know because his boss cofounded Wallstrip, which used to feature Lindsay Campbell, whom you definitely know. Here's the pair's lipdub to Justice's "D.A.N.C.E." As the song goes, fellas,"The way you move is a mystery." The clip is below.
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10:20 AM on Mon Mar 31 2008
By Nicholas Carlson
542 views, 7 comments

Latest by Nicholas Carlson: @Eric: I think you're baller. more »

"If you're Taurus, does that mean I'm Fondue?" What was Star editrix-at-large Julia Allison saying to Tumblr's David Karp while they waited for Jason Calacanis's limo in Manhattan? (Photo by innonate)

17 comments

rumormonger

DailyCandy backer overheard in sale talks with Yahoo

Will one-time AOL exec Bob Pittman sell email newsletter DailyCandy to Yahoo? That's what DailyCandy execs are said to have discussed over dinner last week at the Village Restaurant in New York. Ben Lerer, publisher of Thrillist, another online publication backed by Pittman, told us he's heard no talk of a sale. But, tellingly, he was very curious to know what we've heard. That's because while Yahoo might be a surprise suitor, Pittman's desire to sell DailyCandy is no secret. In 2006, the WSJ reported Pittman had put DailyCandy on the block, hoping to sell his $3.5 million investment for more than $100 million. If the dinner happened, it's surprising Pittman didn't clue Lerer in. Ben's dad Ken, a cofounder of the Huffington Post, was a close ally of Pittman at AOL.

12:20 PM on Thu Mar 20 2008
By Nicholas Carlson
1,023 views, 9 comments

Latest by raincoaster: @snarkotic: Where's a rickroll when you need it, eh? I for one LIKE looking at pix of bobbleheaded anorexics, but then, I'm a celebrity blogger and twisted by nature. more »

venture capital

Manhunting no more, Allison, Asha and Rambin plan Sand Hill Road tour

Julia Allison, Meghan Asha and their friend, bag designer Mary Rambin, are planning a mid-April trip to Silicon Valley. This time, they say they're after funding for their new startup — Oprah on the Web! — not geek boyfriends. The three met with some New York VCs last week and it went "well enough," Allison told me, that their next stop: Menlo Park. Ah yes: Broadway has become the warm-up act.

6:00 AM on Thu Mar 20 2008
By Nicholas Carlson
8,046 views, 51 comments

caption contest

Charles Forman desperately wants you to see him holding hands with David Karp

Iminlikewithyou founder Charles Forman is a shameless self-promoter. And it disgusts us. The photo below of Forman and Tumblr founder David Karp, however, does not. More »

3:40 PM on Wed Mar 19 2008
By Nicholas Carlson
1,004 views, 7 comments

nerdfight

Will blogger finally get to "#&%$!ing drop" Jason Calacanis tonight?

Mahalo founder Jason Calacanis will host a dinner at New York Chinese restaurant Golden Unicorn tonight. He's calling it Dim Sum 2.0. I'm going, but not for the lazy susan full of food. The last time Calacanis hosted one of these during a trip to New York, it was the night after Calacanis and DealBreaker blogger John Carney nearly came to blows. At the end of a fundraiser for Mouse, Carney allegedly told Calacanis "I will #&%$!ing drop you to the floor." The pair didn't come to blows, but maybe they just needed a little encouragement?

12:20 PM on Wed Mar 19 2008
By Nicholas Carlson
550 views, 12 comments

Latest by DonV: @seanpercival: Just so you know, I've never actually used your site, so I can't call it crappy in content. I just have this fear of a Techcrunch planet, where all comments include a link to some godawful blog that was more »

google

New York reporters scooped on YouTube by blabbing blogger

Google hosted an event in Manhattan yesterday to pitch advertisers on YouTube. Silicon Alley Insider's Michael Learmonth tried to crash and got booted. The New York Times's Louise Story played nice and apparently got to stay, but later told readers the "bulk of the event" was "off the record." Apparently, neither tried Google search. Attendee Ian Schafer, CEO of a digital marketing agency, was happy to blog everything. More »

3:00 PM on Thu Feb 14 2008
By Nicholas Carlson
1,368 views, 7 comments

clips

Another half-good idea ruined in New York


Brace your ears. Here's "Wall Street Meltdown," set to the music of Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire," much like the Richter Scales' own Joel imitation, "Here Comes Another Bubble." Yes, you heard right. That was "SIVs, CDOs" rhymed with "tell me what did Moody's know." Enough.

4:00 PM on Thu Feb 7 2008
By Nicholas Carlson
313 views, 3 comments

Don't everybody apply at once, now Iminlikewithyou founder Charles Forman needs a Ruby developer. If you already have a job, Forman writes on his blog, "You should quit." One small hitch? The job's in New York ... sorta.

11 comments

new york, minute

New York Times trying to offload About.com

The New York Times has hired a bank in order to sell About.com, Silicon Alley Insider reports. The Times bought the site — a collection of bloggers posting Google- friendly content — back in 2005 for $410 million. SAI's Peter Kafka figures the Times will ask for around $450 million. And will be happy to get it. Makes sense. How much can a company full of permalancers paid by the pageview be worth, anyway?

1:40 PM on Tue Jan 29 2008
By Nicholas Carlson
312 views, 1 comment

twitter

New York VCs know their bathrooms, bars

So you're after venture capital and you want to know as much as possible about your potential investors before making your pitch. You could try following them on Twitter. But you might learn more than you wanted to.
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11:24 AM on Tue Jan 29 2008
By Nicholas Carlson
880 views, 1 comment

julia allison

Renowned tech critic takes on Tumblr

Early adopter and technology evangelist Julia Allison took time from a busy punditry schedule for a rare update to her personal blog "And another thing..." yesterday. And then she posted another 33 times. One post's topic? Allison's frustration with Tumblr and its CEO, David Karp. The Fox Business News contributor wants Tumblr to become a "REAL company." Her words: More »

1:00 PM on Thu Jan 24 2008
By Nicholas Carlson
1,429 views, 3 comments

new york, minute

First tech hiring freeze due to mortgage mess

During an internal conference call yesterday, Bloomberg LP management announced it would freeze hiring and cut costs, a source told Silicon Alley Insider. Sure, Bloomberg earns its money licensing terminals to Wall Street firms, and is therefore more directly connected to the mortgage meltdown than any Silicon Valley firms. But news that Silicon Alley's most successful tech firm is suddenly under the gun remains unpleasant. Especially considering yesterday's doom and gloom prognostications from Digitas Web-ad buyer Carl Fremont. (Photo by azrainman)

10:40 AM on Fri Jan 18 2008
By Nicholas Carlson
1,392 views, Comment

new york, minute

From the east, a puff of smoke

Portfolio blogger Sam Gustin dislikes the phrase "cloud computing," a term for Web-based software whose popularity he attributes to "desperate reporters who, for the sake of the almighty scoop, are willing to publish just about any nonsense that a public relations professional shovels at them." True. But Gustin then proceeds to publish just about any nonsense shoveled at him by the PR department of Transmedia, a little nothing of a Web-software startup, which just happens to be based, like Gustin, in New York. Gustin reveals himself here as the typical journalist of New York's mostly inconsequential tech-startup scene: Entranced by proximity, out of touch with the currents of technology — as deluded, in his own way, as the reporters he critiques.

8:50 AM on Thu Dec 20 2007
By Owen Thomas
260 views, 4 comments

Latest by The_Age_of_Plastic: @eze: Really? Because it seemed a bit pot "3/5 of the posts today were SF related or insidery" calling the kettle black. West Coast [Europe] Rulz! more »

real estate

Make it in Silicon Alley and you might just land yourself a bathtub

In Silicon Valley, VCs talk about building wealth for your great-grandchildren. But for Manhattan's tech entrepreneurs, success is measured by being able to immerse yourself in bubbly water at home. Connected Ventures cofounder Ricky Van Veen — yes, one of those "silly kids" in New York I cover way too much — just bought a new pad. Paul Boutin's response: "Who?" Owen's: "Wake me when you have photos of Mark Zuckerberg's new condo at the Ritz." Whatevs. Check out the hot real estate porn. More »

3:29 PM on Thu Dec 13 2007
By Nicholas Carlson
4,807 views, 9 comments

Latest by Alleywag: @Alleygal: And two weeks later, Alleygal lets them have it. more »

connected ventures

Zach Klein not the man for the MySpace redesign

Connected Ventures cofounder Zach Klein did fly out to California to interview for a gig at MySpace, but it wasn't the right fit for him. Or he wasn't the right fit for MySpace. Hard to tell which. So what's the designer behind BustedTees and Vimeo up to next? Think geckos and real estate. More »

10:40 AM on Thu Dec 13 2007
By Nicholas Carlson
1,765 views, 9 comments

new york, minute

Barry Diller's shrinking startup factory

IAC, after it spins off all its boring businesses like HSN and LendingTree, will be left with a motley collection of questionably successful startups with so-cute-you-could-pinch-them names like Vimeo and Zwinky. In an interview with the New York Observer, Diller saves special favor for Very Short List, a daily email newsletter which sells one thing a day, with just two employees. Think of it as a Woot.com, but for aging billionaires. He claims to have bought 30 items off the list. "Without Very Short List, I would be much diminished," Diller tells the Observer. But as the newspaper points out, IAC's market cap has shrunk from $22 billion in 2003, before it spun off Expedia, to $8 billion today. A bit too late for an email to stop his diminution, I think.

12:50 PM on Wed Dec 12 2007
By Owen Thomas
258 views, Comment