Why the Entrepreneur Matters in Today’s Crappy Economy

We Ignighter folks really enjoy reading Roger Ehrenberg’s blog, Information Arbitrage. Recently he posted this poignant piece, The Halcyon Days of Entrepreneurship about the rise of (and the importance of) entrepreneurship in today’s struggling economy.

He points out -among other things- that we can potentially turn a negative into a positive by thinking outside the box. And he’s not just talking about creating ideas that come from outside the box, but even the act itself of thinking of an outside of the box entrepreneurial idea is outside of the box behavior for many of the mature, smart professionals who have recently been laid off after years of corporate employment.

The importance of this rise of entrepreneurship, he says, is that it “can help spur innovation, solve seemingly intractable problems and help energize the economy both today and tomorrow.”

I don’t really have much more to add because Ehrenberg’s post is comprehensive and well-written, and I’m starting to confuse even myself by writing about it. It’s definitely worth a read though, really good stuff.

Early Opinions of Facebook Chat

Disclaimer: The following post contains three very embarrassing – but entirely true – confessions by the writer. Please see them simply as attempts to prove his point and try to forget them after reading the post and understanding the point.

Facebook launched their chat feature last week and many are calling the creation another brilliant, inevitable step toward Facebook becoming the world’s next operating system. But while it was certainly inevitable and will probably, like most other Facebook creations (except for the Beacon of course) be a resounding success, I think this one is going to take a little more time than some of the other groundbreaking features they’ve recently introduced. Even more time than the initially hated, but now addictive News Feed – the goat cheese of new Facebook features.

Here’s why I think Facebook Chat isn’t such an easy sell:

I’m on Facebook all day long (embarrassing confession #1). This is not hyperbole, it is fact. If at any point in the day you were to look at my open Firefox browser you would without fail always see a Facebook tab. Even if it is just one of five running tabs, Facebook is always there. And yeah, I have justification since Ignighter is a Facebook application and I have to “do work” within Facebook, but trust me, it’s just a very convenient excuse.

Occasionally I just leave it open to my Homepage, but more often than not it’s open to poolside photos of the recent Fire Island weekend getaway of one of my Facebook friends that I probably don’t even know that well (embarrassing confession #2). What we do on Facebook, all the stalking, and gawking, and voyeurism (well that’s what I do at least) is really humiliating. Whether we want to admit it or not, Facebook is a guilty pleasure.

And I think this really cuts to heart of why I have 1,307 Facebook friends (EXTREMELY embarrassing confession #3) and I’ve yet to see more than 54 “online” at one time. You can be on Facebook and not publicly declare yourself “online”. And while I’m not sure if everybody else keeps Facebook up all day like I do, I’ve got to believe that more than 4% of my friends are on at any given time. If they are on, but just too ashamed to promote it all day, then Facebook chat is going to face quite an uphill climb moving forward. And if it’s true that only 4% of my friends are online at any given time (and I find this unlikely), then Facebook as an operating system has an even steeper climb ahead.

What do you think?

Should TechCrunch use MLA? Or maybe Harvard Referencing style?

Yesterday TechCrunch posted this story about the potentially treacherous future of many Facebook Apps. The blogger, Mark Hendrickson, discusses the “rough road ahead” for what he calls “low engagement apps” like SlideWall. He also quotes Naval Ravikant of Venturehacks as saying that the apps with the brightest future are the high engagement ones like travel, dating (right on!), book, and game-related, whereas “everyone else is kinda screwed”.

I guess we should feel pretty damn flattered because this is exactly what we predicted three weeks ago in this post. Now granted instead of “low and high engagement” apps, we were referring to them as “passive and active involvement” apps. And yes, it’s true we didn’t cite quite as many “figures” or “experts” to come to the same conclusion.

But it’s the conclusion that matters. So we’re certainly flattered that TechCrunch is hopping on the Ignighter bandwagon.

We’re also happy to hear that they’re still truckin’ along over there…Don’t forget to breathe!

From Russia

Does anybody out there speak Russian? Somebody in Russia is talking about Ignighter, but we don’t know what they’re saying…

UPDATE: Thanks to Ignighter friend, Kristin Gaul, for tracking down a translation of that Russian blog article:

It’s a site started by a few recent graduates and it has a social networking component for young people, but how effective it is, will ultimately be up to you to decide…

Russia…always leaving the power in the hands of the people.

My New Bumper Sticker Says – Save the Bloggers

Just last week we reconfigured the design of the Ignighter Weblog and added a couple new posts. At the time it seemed completely harmless, what could possibly be dangerous about spending 4 hours playing around with WordPress blog templates and typing into a box? Apparently, everything. Little did we know that we were skating on ice thin enough to beat out Keira Knightly for the part of a waifish Shakespearean boy. In retrospect, spending that much consecutive time on the blog was one of the most foolish, utterly idiotic things we’ve ever done.

Our newfound appreciation for life comes In light of this New York Times article from Sunday. The article goes into detail about the intense stress that frequent bloggers – most notably Tech Bloggers – undergo as a result of trying to cover as much web news as possible and to be the first to do so. According to the article, constant bloggers have been gaining and losing large amounts of weight, not getting nearly enough sleep, and two prominent bloggers have recently died from what is suspected to be an indirect result of blogging too much. I’m not kidding. Bloggers have actually been dying.

At the outset of the Ignighter Weblog, I wasn’t so good about blogging frequently. Maybe I could inherently sense the dangers associated with a hard-blogging life. But recently I’ve seemingly thrown caution to the wind as I’ve been hitting the blog sauce pretty hard.

So from now on if a couple days go by and I haven’t zealously blogged, don’t think of it as “oh they’re being lazy bums again”. Instead try to take the approach of “ahh those poor guys must be too scared to blog today”. Because the truth is, we probably are. It’s not that we don’t love blogging. In fact, that’s just the problem.

Now that dangers are being associated with the blogger life, I predict that many will have a new found respect for them. Insiders are even saying that on next year’s list of the world’s most dangerous jobs, it could actually come in at number 3; Just behind deep-sea fishing and coal mining, but a hair ahead of Olympic Torch carrier.

In fact I’m feeling like a bit of a daredevil myself, and I love it. Little things like redesigning the blog layout now seem way more exciting, kinda like the modern day equivalent of Michelangelo painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. But also not entirely like that at all.

I guess the real lesson to be learned here is that blogging, like most things in life (alcohol, extra virgin olive oil, books), are great in moderation but fatal in excessive quantities. The Times quoted Michael Arrington, founder and co-editor of Tech Crunch as actually being surprised that he’s physically alright (despite gaining 30 lbs. in the last few years), “I haven’t died…At some point, I’ll have a nervous breakdown and be admitted to the hospital, or something else will happen….This is not sustainable.” These people seriously need to cut back. I mean we all love hearing about what new languages Facebook is now available in, but do we really need to hear about it at 4am?

Maybe for the sake of these bloggers and their families we need to take a stand. If we make a concerted effort not to read their blogs in the middle of the night, then I predict that they’ll stop the nocturnal postings. In the article, Arrington jokes about how it would be great if all bloggers could reach an agreement to not post in the middle of the night, but he knows this is an impossibility. What they’re missing though, is that the power to save these croaking bloggers lies in the hands of the readers. You know what I’m sayin’?

A/S/L Check – An Ignighter Interview Series – Hard Questions, Soft Bodies. #2

Today we’re excited to bring you the second installment of:

A/S/L Check – An Ignighter Interview Series - Hard Questions, Soft Bodies.

We were especially lucky to score an interview with the Ignighter Executive Assistant who asked that we protect his identity and use his fairly well known public alias, Andy Swinehouse. Andy has been a part time assistant in the office for 6 months now and is really an invaluable asset to the company. Especially since he doesn’t get paid. We can always rely on a freshly filled Brita filter in the refrigerator, a replenished stock of doubly-ply TP in the office bathroom, and presents under the Hannukah Bush during the holidays.

Ignighter: So Mr. Swinehouse, let’s dive right into the interview… How do you feel about running out to Starbucks and getting me a skim latte? One sugar.

Andy: How many times do I have to tell you? Just because I’m Dan’s roommate, that does not make me your Executive Assistant.

Ignighter: You know what? Make it two sugars please, I’m feeling saucy.

Andy (defeated): Can I at least wait until the interview is over?

Ignighter: Fine. Can you please explain the process of securing a job at Ignighter to all prospective employees out there?

Andy: Sure. Basically, I signed a lease with Dan expecting to have a nice apartment to return home to after a grueling day at law school, only to have it turned into a makeshift office for you two scrappy, poor entrepreneurs.

Ignighter: Ohhh interesting. Go on…

Andy: At first Adam -you – would clutch your palm dramatically exclaiming “Boy I could really use a hand massage right about now”. I tried to ignore the comments initially, but it became increasingly difficult when Adam started draping a mangled claw-hand in front of my face and holding a bottle of massage oil in his other hand. Before I knew it, I was rushing home from class to give Shiatsu treatments as the office masseuse. I’ve since been promoted to Executive Assistant.

Ignighter: Congratulations on the promotion! I see they like to promote in-house. Sounds like a solid company.

Andy: Eh.

Ignighter: Can you tell us about some of the other contributions you make to the company?

Andy: Well as I mentioned above I’m in law school. So even though they have fantastic professional counsel, they still come to me seeking advice on smaller legal issues.

Ignighter: Such as?

Andy: I remember one time the parking meters across the street from our apartment-

Ignighter: Andy…?

Andy: Ugh fine, across the street from the office. So one time Adam asked me if he could park at the meter across the street after 8 pm on a weeknight. And being as I had just passed the final in Constitutional Law, I was able to provide genuine legal counsel.

Ignighter (miffed): Yeah I think you still owe me $79 for that ticket I got.

Andy: Another time Dan asked me about the process of becoming a judge and if I thought Randy Jackson could ever have his own Judge show, like a Judge Judy. I told him ‘no’.

Ignighter: This is all very enlightening Andy. Let’s shift gears. Have you gone out on a group date through Ignighter yet?
Andy: Yes I have. The part I love most about Ignighter is that even though I’m in a relationship, I can still join a group and go out with my friends. I love playing matchmaker and I’m a great wingman.

Ignighter: And your significant other doesn’t mind?

Andy: No not at all. First of all, I’ve checked the box that says “Taken, but here for my friends” so right off the bat it’s clear that I’m just out to have fun with my buddies. Also, she’s in a group too. One time my group went out with her’s and we were able to introduce our respective friends to each other. It was an awesome time.

Ignighter: Looks like somebody is trying to get promoted to Head of Marketing!

Andy (chuckling): Can we wrap this up so I can get to my reading please? Wait, is there really an opening?

Ignighter: No. OK now it’s time for our closing questions.

Andy: Bring ‘em on.

Ignighter: What is your favorite word?

Andy: Queso.

Ignighter: What is your least favorite word?

Andy: Laundry.

Ignighter: Boxers or Commando?

Andy: Boxers.

Ignighter: Favorite Smell?

Andy: Buffalo wing sauce.

Ignighter: What historical figure would you most like to go on a date with?

Andy: Harriet Tubman.

Ignighter: Well Andy we want to thank you so much for being here.

Andy: We’re sitting on my bed.

Ignighter: Exactly. Keep up the great work and who knows, some day you might even be giving hand massages in a real office!