SOMEWHAT FRANK

Valley Earthquake Shakes Out Twitter's Value

If you don't understand the value of Twitter you might want to listen now. I was just on Twitter checking some friend updates when I saw one of my Twitter friends yelled, "EARTHQUAKE!" The earthquake hit just outside of San Jose but thanks to Twitter I had personalized alerts from several friends in the area as soon as the quake hit.

Docstoc Publicly Launches: Upload Docs Now!

Docstoc, the Beverly Hill-based document hub startup, has officially launching to the public today. Docstoc leverages the power of user generated content to enable users to upload just about any document type (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Adobe Illustrator or PDF) and display it on any website as a Flash include.

Soup.io Launches Hot New Microblog Platform

Microblogging platforms have been coming into their own as sites like Tumblr and Twitter have emerged to enable users to provide a shorter format for blog posts. Why microblogs? Microblog platforms offer users an easy way to make shorter format posts that take less time and overhead than a full fledge blog. Soup.io has just officially launched to offer users a microblogging platform that pay attention to your content details so different content types are displayed appropriately.

Facebook Launching Ads Outside The Network?

Facebook has been blanketing the headlines for months now and it has heated up more with Mark Zuckerberg speaking at TechCrunch40 and the Web 2.0 Summit in the past few weeks. Mark recently hinted at an advertising platform launch coming soon and my friend Nick O'Neill of at AllFacebook has been reporting on for the past few weeks. Apparently the Facebook ad platform will not just focus on the Facebook space but will also go outside of the Facebook network and place advertisements on the Web which will place it in direct competition with Google Adsense and other similar services.

WooMe Takes Speed Dating Online

Have you ever wanted to do speed dating but didn't want to actually attend an speed dating event? Now you can do it from the comfort of your home as WooMe is looking to take speed dating online.  WooMe, a startup which I saw demo at TechCrunch40, has moved into a private alpha phase and I got a chance to check it out.

Microsoft Buys Into Facebook (Is it Overvalued?), StumbleUpon Adds Search, Webshots Sold, UK Bans File Sharing & Startup and Bootstraping Tips

Photo of the Week: With Halloween right around the corner this photo seemed appropriate.

Somewhat Frank Weekly Tidbits: 10.28.2007

myAOL Intro at the Widget Summit

I spoke a few weeks ago at the Widget Summit in San Francisco on a panel dedicated to discussing the personal homepage space. The session was an hour long discussion with a cast of industry experts. I had a chance to get ahold of a video clip of my introduction. Additional footage will be coming out soon but I wanted to preview this video introducing myAOL to the Widget Summit crowd.

YowTrip When Traveling Alone But Never Solo

Do you often travel alone? This can happen to anyone so instead of rolling solo you can now connect with new people in your travel destination.  YowTrip offers a social network for travelers that are traveling alone to meet up with other travelers and locals in the same area at the same time.

LinkDoozer Literally Put Me To Sleep

LinkDoozer, an online bookmarking startup, offers a way for users to easily add and save bookmarks in a startpage-like approach. Unlike typical social bookmarking sites that look for users to add as many bookmarks as possible LinkDoozer focuses on users adding only the sites they like the best and encourages users to rate and review site. With social networking aspects LinkDoozer lends itself to easy link sharing similar to other social bookmarking site.

Propertize Helps Landlords Manage Property

Real estate can be a profitable investment. However, many are turned off by the idea of being a landlord and having to manage a number of properties at one time. Managing property can sometimes be complicated and time consuming. Propertize, a Chicago-based startup, aims to help make it easier by offering an online property management suite.

AdaptiveBlue SmartLinks Get Smarter

AdaptiveBlue, a startup that focuses on a smarter browsing experience, had just made its SmartLinks easier to use by making automated. SmartLinks offer site owners the ability to link to a widget that when clicked displays related items (i.e. books, music, people, etc).  SmartLinks offer site owners the ability to add utility and the social dimension to links within the site.

Rememble For Social Digital Timelines

Are you interested in plotting your life on a digital timeline? If so, Rememble might be a good option. Taking a page out of the circaVie playbook, Rememble makes it easy to tell the story in a memory timeline and share it with your friends in a number of ways. However, Rememble appears to take digital timelines a step further by integrating social sharing features.

TECH cocktail Chicago Six Is Coming

I am pleased to announce that TECH cocktail Chicago 6 is coming soon and tickets are going fast. Just as a refresher, TECH cocktail is the social mixer founded by Eric Olson and myself in May 2006. This will be our sixth Chicago event and eighth overall (DC and Boston).

Remember Your Travel Expenses With Xpenser

If you are a business traveler you know what it is like to have to come back and remember every expense you made on your trip. Credit card bills offer a good record and are a good place to start in trying to recall all your expenses but they do not always tell you the entire story as most companies require you to submit details about each expense. For example, remember who was at a company dinner, where you took a taxi to and from and why are all things that often elude us after the fact. Xpenser is here to help make remembering expenses easier.

Facebook Web 2.0 Summit, iPhone Platform, Microsoft 100 Startups, Flickr Maps, Vimeo HD & Social Porn Law?

Photo of the Week: These colorful orbs were all over the SF MOMA on Wednesday evening as MySpace.com held an event to celebrate their invasion of San Francisco with the opening of an office in the area.

Somewhat Frank Weekly Tidbit: 10.21.2007