By Julie Blaustein

Jay Adelson of Digg and Mike Vorhaus of Magid Advisors

Digital Media Conference West, a one day conference held at the Kabuki Hotel in San Francisco, focused on a wide range of topics  including online video, social media, investments, online advertising, mobile entertainment, mobile apps, the future of news media and the relationship between Hollywood and Silicon Valley. There were also a number of well known digital media  leaders there to speak including Jay Adelson of Digg and Craig Newmark of Craig’s List along with other great speakers from the industry.

Bill Trancer of Hitwise and Nick Veronis of Veronis Suhler Stevenson kicked off the conference with their view of the trends of the Internet. Bill’s trends can be found in his book Click: What Millions of People are Doing and Why it Matters along with his blog I Love Data which he gave a few shout-outs about. His post about the competition of Twitter vs Facebook provides a clear analysis of the trends, spelling out his observation that Facebook, with its 6% of all U.S. Internet visits, is not threatened by Twitter.  Nick Veronis spoke of ad spending trends where $210 billion is allocated to digital advertising, search is huge and growing with over $11 billion while classified spending has been reduced by 50% most likely due to competition with free services such as Craig’s List. The main problem according to Nick Veronis is, “Distribution used to be the issue, now its gaining the attention of users”

It was like hanging out in a cafe during Jay Adelson of Digg’s talk with Mike Vorhaus of Magid Advisors, a research-based strategic consulting firm (founded in 1957!). Jay shared amusing incidents such as when he was hailed back west from NYC to return to the Digg helm and his biggest concern was the transportation of his daughter’s Gecko. He “twittered” for information inquiring how does one transport a Gecko and was blown away by the amount of knowledge his followers shared with him about Geckos – a testament to the power of Twitter. His first hire was a coder from eLance who turned into a full timer. Digg would have been Dig if Disney didn’t already own it. He isn’t thrilled with the depiction of him as despising VC’s as detailed in an entire chapter on him called Fuck the Sweater Vests by Sarah Lacy in Once Your Lucky, Twice Your Good. He does prefer Angel funding. Digg is hiring and allows dogs, even parakeets in the office. And he shared “secrets” including that Digg is releasing new features in a week and focusing on verticals, content types and also on multiple levels of promotions.

Chuck Fishman of Cisco and Craig Newmark of Craig's List

The agenda was packed with great content yet it seemed to always come back to Facebook, Twitter and MySpace in each and every conversation. Lunch was served along with a chat from Craig Newmark who still goes by his title of Customer and Service Rep from 12 years ago when he first started the site. He was candid, honest and a delight to listen to even though folks were having lunch while he spoke. His main concern is about information not being shared. He is so concerned that he gave out his Twitter, Facebook and even his email address to all, suggesting they contact him in the afternoons when he isn’t dealing with spam. Great information was shared during the conference by the speakers and through the Twitter hashtag #DMCW that was displayed front and center on the big screen on stage with the speakers. Attendees at the conference and off-site kept the live stream fresh. What were they sharing? They shared when they  arrived for the “party.” They promoted their speaking engagements coming up. They shared who they were looking forward to hearing speak. They provided links to information such as the Pew Study on Twitter Users tweeted by @nedsherman. They gave a play-by-play of who is speaking and about what. And they promoted themselves.

Check out more about the Digital Media Conference West and Buzz on its Twitter Feed at #DMCW

Digg has removed the Shout feature from its site, citing several reasons for the change, including user feedback and its own conclusions reached through crunching numbers. The Shout feature, which allowed users to send stories directly to other Digg users, is being replaced with share options for Twitter and Facebook.

Interestingly enough, Digg is also getting rid of the Blog This option, saying that the feature showed low usage from its userbase. In a sense, Digg has replaced both of its dropped features with share options for Twitter and Facebook.

But is the indirect sharing of Digg content with others across the social web any better than the Shout feature? It’s certainly less spammy. The way in which Digg has decided to modify the content sharing process also reflects the ability for third party social networks to provide conduits that can be considered useful, effective and agnostic.

The ability for Twitter and Facebook to be somewhat agnostic means that they can further become platforms for other sites and applications. And for both of these sites in particular, along with a number of other social media sites, the potential for such platforms are still exploratory but are integral in the long-term priorities of these companies.

And even if Digg users lose some of their “spamminess” the social bookmarking tool could in fact benefit from replacing the Shout feature with sharing options for other social media sites. Time will tell to what degree this could be helpful for Digg, and whether or not Digg users will just find a way to more directly reach other Digg users through the use of social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. But we’re all watching, right?

words and pictures by Brian Solis

And you thought the TechSet + Windows Mobile Rat Pack at the Belmont party was slammed…

Digg hosted a live episode of Diggnation at Stubbs BBQ during SXSW Interactive with thousands of the show’s most ardent fans in attendance. It was simply mind blowing. The cult-like phenomenon that served as the undercurrent for our Geek culture is now broaching pop status. Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht represent a new genre of celebrity and if you don’t believe me, just ask any one of Kevin Rose’s 375,000 friends on Twitter.

I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story…

Jim Louderback takes the stage

Alex Albrecht and Rad Zach, Zach Luye

LaLa, Lara Doucette

Alex and Kevin rev up the crowd

Jay Adelson, Alex Albrecht, Kevin Rose

Alex Albrecht

Jeremiah Owyang, Kevin Rose and Brian Solis

Sarah Austin and Zach Luye

Diggnation

Diggnation towers over the crowd

Lara Doucette and Brian Solis

Tamar Weinberg

For more pictures from Diggnation @SXSW 2009, please visit my album on Flickr.

Please read:

The Human Network: The Social Economy is Influenced by How We Communicate Online & Offline (My philosophical analysis of what makes SXSW so special)

Which parties did you hit or miss?

Check em off at Diddit: SXSW Interactive Festival 2009 Party List

Pictures:

SXSW – The Calm Before the Storm

SXSW Day One

TechSet + Windows Mobile Rat Pack 2.0 Party

SXSW Day Two

Diggnation Party at Stubbs

We Flashmob the Driskill

AllHat @Allens Boots

Brian Solis Book Signing @SXSW

Are PR Agencies a Dying Breed: Brian Solis joins the panel

Kirtsy, AllTop Party @Allens Boots

Pool 2.0 – SocialMediaClub

SXSW Day Four

Paul Nelson Performs in the TechSet + Windows Mobile Blogger Lounge

Dell Adamo Premiers at SXSW

Power Geek Girl Tweetup in the TechSet + Windows Mobile Blogger Lounge

Rackspace + Scoble Party

Blurb + Mashable Party

SXSW Day Five

WorldSings.com

Connect with me on:
Twitter, FriendFeed, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Plaxo, Plurk, Identi.ca, BackType, or Facebook

Young. Female. Entrepreneur.

by Marissa Louie

Darlings, throw your effen hands up. I’m proud of you. Not only are you a Silicon Valley Anomaly, you’re probably really hot too. And under 40.

Fotki

Shabooya sha sha shabooya ROLL CALL! Who here is a young female entrepreneur? My fearless darlings, wear your company logo on your chest. Comment on this post and I’m your new girlfriend for life. Or call me/text me at (510) 375-1941 to join the Girl Gang. The Girl Gangster Entrepreneurs.

You know you’re a young female entrepreneur in the Internet biz when:

-TEAM-

-1- You work for The Man The Woman. What could be better?!
-2- You have an office suite in a Milpitas office park, but you primarily spend time in your Nob Hill San Francisco office space with a kitchen, backyard, overhead projector, and wi-fi. No wait, you turn a hip local coffee shop like Sugar Cafe into your third office so you can do Entrepreneur 2 Entrepreneur Office Hours with other cool people. Because you, honey, are VIRAL by nature.
-3- You’re the CEO but the rest of the team wants to take care of you. You might even be the youngest person on the team, but have no problem managing others who are twice your age. You have experience, balls, or both.
-4- Your venture has a 80-20 ratio of males to females. Out of your 16 core team members, only 3 are female. You make sure the females and males are treated by merit.
-5- Nobody can truly hurt you. But if somebody tries to hurt your team, it’s OVER for them.

PARTIES AND TIME MANAGEMENT-

-1- You sometimes get caught wearing full-on party gear by your Internet biz friends at non-tech events. And you get away with it. Just make sure your reputation is intact and that you have a healthy work-to-party ratio. Transition between being Plain Jane and Janet Jackson effortlessly.
-2- Angels and VCs – real or fake? You can tell a real Gucci purse from a fake, so you should differentiate the genuine investors from the fake. The genuine ones might be able to really help you. But if they really just want to waste your time fantasizing about you over dinner, Filter. Them. Out.

-REPUTATION-

-1- Your Woman Charm gives you home field advantage. Turn it on at the right times, because you are a rare specimen in the Valley. It helps you stand out in a crowd, at a party, at a press conference, during a video interview. It may even differentiate your blog. Advertise yourself and turn that into revenue.
-2- It’s 11pm and you’re at Safeway after the Digg party. You get introduced to a connector VIP like Sanford Barr of Stirr. He asks what you do. He has a puzzled look on his face when you tell him how your company got started, and you just know he’s seen everything in the Valley. Then he says he knows your company’s name. (You think he’s kiddin’ ya.) But then he even knows your last name. Nice!
-3- You are a rogue. A stubborn, fearless, rogue. You often do the stupid thing. It gets you in trouble at work, with family, with friends, and with love interests. If you channel it correctly and you get a little lucky, it can also propel you towards entrepreneurial success.

-LIFE HACKS-

-1- You no longer have to wear corporate raider gear but can wear lifehack gym clothes that pass as business casual all day long.
-2- On the Caltrain from San Francisco to Palo Alto, you ask an engineer from hi5 how old he thinks you are. He sneaks in a look at your website bio via wireless card. He says, “You can’t be older than 38. You’re definitely not 40. Are you 35?” ZOMG what a compliment.
-3- You’ve managed your own life so that you have no kids, no husband, and no responsibilities to run home to, giving you free reign of your time and energy. Ahh. If there is a male in your life, he is helping you take care of the responsibilities. You may want to consider a Massey Prenup if it’s not too late, though.
-4- You know you don’t need an MBA. Don’t waste the precious youth, vivacity, and money you could’ve spent on your startup on a tier-one B-school just to get contacts. If you really want to take the easy way out, work at a country club or SF Tennis Club for $8 an hour, lead gen, and become a trophy wife.

-HAPPINESS-

-1- Strangers, friends, and your family are proud of you. Except if you have rich a$$ relatives, they might not be so supportive (to which you pay no mind – just look at Paris Hilton versus the Hilton Hotel Family). Accept the good vibes, but don’t embrace it too much lest you get lazy. Don’t let it feed your short-term ego too much either. Because you might be future President of the Billionaire Girls Club and can give back to society for OPK (other people’s kids).
-2- You’ve come to love pain. Because you turn negative into positive like no other, and nobody can break you. You are fearless, fun, female, and you rock. The bounce in your step shows it.
-3- You could cast an entire Les Miserables play with your unhappy yuppie friends. A 5 year run, plus. But you, darling, are passionate and happy.
-4- You just do it. These are your dreams? D@mn the consequences. F**k the naysayers. Because you know that for every year that passes, your risk tolerance as well as your je ne sais quoi diminish. REVOLT! REBEL!

Young female entrepreneurs, if any of this rings a bell with you, JOIN THE GIRL GANG by texting me at (510) 375-1941 anytime because I don’t sleep.

Marissa Louie is the Founder and CEO of AD Village (http://ad-village.com) which helps bloggers monetize and advertisers optimize. If you liked this post, you might also like 10+ Funniest Angel and VC Blog Posts and The Future Co-existence of PR and Advertising. She also announces Entrepreneur 2 Entrepreneur office hours via Twitter.

by Michelle Lentz

Technology is great, isn’t it? Here are some fun and/or useful things you can do to stay involved in the election process all day long, just like CNN.

Twitter Vote Report: Use Twitter (and other mobile tools) to report on how the vote is really going during this election. The group is urging everyone to use the “hashtag” of #votereport as they do so.They also have a slew of additional hashtags and phone numbers to indicate how long the wait is and if there is a problem. All tracking is done through the currently slow (but probably overloaded) TwitterVoteReport.com and, of course, you can also use search.twitter.com. The main Vote Report page is currently listing a 2 hour wait just down the road from me in Covington, KY. Color me surprised.

VoterStory.org: This is a non-partisan Web site from the Evolve Foundation that lets voters record voting issues. When voters share their story, their issues are sent to a local voter protection organization, who will look into the issue and follow up with the voter via e-mail or phone. There is also a widget that can be embedded in your web site.

Indecision 2008: I wish I’d found this blog back in the primary season. It’s had me in stitches for 3 days now. Run by Comedy Central (those Daily Show folks), the writers will be blogging non-stop today. Comedian Patton Oswalt will be liveblogging the election results, crazy news shows, etc, starting at 7 pm ET tonite. Finally, Meebo has partnered with Comedy Central to integrate chat rooms into the Indecision 2008 site so you can participate in the madness.

Current Diggs the Election: Al Gore is involved in the election again, but this time via his Current TV. Beginning 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT, “Current Diggs the Election — Your Election Night Party with Digg, Twitter and Diplo” surfaces the best of the Web to TV with a real-time stream of the most important results, facts and information, creating a comprehensive newsfeed that gives viewers a completely new way to experience election night. For the first time, Digg headlines will be streamed live on TV, featured as part of Current’s multimedia dashboard that includes tweets from Twitter, along with video commentary from 12seconds.tv and Current.com.

Don’t forget to vote!

__
Contact Michelle with your news, apps, and events via email, Twitter, Pownce, or FriendFeed. Visit Michelle at Wine-Girl.net and Write Technology. You can also catch Michelle presenting on Twitter at the upcoming DevLearn ’08 in San Jose.

words and pictures by Brian Solis

BusinessWeek released its report on the 25 most influential people on the Web today as determined by the magazine’s staff.

Congratulations to our friends as well as those we have yet to meet in person for making this prestigious list. I’ve included pictures of those that I have on hand.

Here are your influencers, in no particular order:

The Seeker: Steve Ballmer, Microsoft

The Marshall: Mitchell Baker, Mozilla.org

The Innovator: Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com

The Searchers: Sergey Brin, larry Page, and Eric Schmidt, Google

The Investor: Jeff CLavier, softtechvc

The Papa Bear: Paul Graham, ycombinator

The Muckracker: Arianna Huffington, HuffingtonPost

The Adviser: Joi Ito

The Mastermind: Steve Jobs, Apple

The Filmer: Jonathan Kaplan, Flip

The Communicator: Loic Le Meur, Leweb, Seesmic

The Trader: Jack Ma, alibaba.com

The Publisher: Matt Mullenweg, WordPress.org

The Mogul: Rupert Murdoch, Myspace.com

The Community Organizer: Craig Newmark, craigslist

The Traffic Driver: Gabe Rivera, Techmeme

The Poster Boy: Kevin Rose, Digg

The Adult: Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook

The Edutainer: Jon Stewart, The Daily Show

The Money Man: Peter Thiel, Clarium Capital, The Founders Fund

The Crafter, Maria Thomas, etsy.com

The Advocate: Anssi Vanjoki, Nokia

The Crowd Sourcer: Jimmy Wales, Wikia, wikipedia

The Blogger: Evan Williams, Twitter

The Fighter: Jerry Yang, Yahoo

Connect with me on:
Twitter, Jaiku, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Pownce, Plaxo, FriendFeed, Plurk, Identi.ca, BackType, or Facebook