TechLifeWeb

What I’m reading and finding for July 12th 2011 through July 14th 2011:

• The Problem With Silicon Valley Is Itself – TNW Entrepreneur-
  thenextweb.com
  - Hermione Way
  

  As a Brit who gave up cheerleading the European tech scene to make the pilgrimage to Silicon Valley to live, eat and breath the world’s leading hub for technology startup innovation, I’ve been largely unimpressed and disappointed by the quality of startups here.
  Living in San Francisco since January, I’ve interviewed around two hundred startups and there’s only two, out of two hundred, I think are game changers. Now, don’t get me wrong, Silicon Valley is an incredibly inspiring place to be. Eve…  show all text
• Make the Google +1 Button Load Faster – Tip for developers.
• InfoGraphics-
  visual.ly
• A Beginner’s Guide to Google Analytics 5 -
• Dropbox Raising Massive Round at a $5B-Plus Valuation | TechCrunch-
  techcrunch.com
  - Sarah Lacy
  We’ve heard from multiple sources that Dropbox is finally moving on raising its next venture round and it’s a whopper. They’ve had preliminary conversations with several investors, several solid offers they’ve passed on earlier this year and are meeting with investment banks to handle the offering now. Allen & Co. is said to be in the mix, but we’ve also heard nothing has been finalized.
  The real news are the numbers we’re hearing from multiple sources close to the company. Dropbox is looking to  show all text
• Digg Raises An Inside Venture Round | TechCrunch-
  techcrunch.com
  - Michael Arrington
  Digg has raised a new round of financing, we’ve confirmed. It’s an inside round, meaning one or more existing investors put in the money.
  We’ve heard the amount raised was single digit millions, probably around $5 million. CEO Matt Williams has confirmed the financing to us, but won’t give an exact number on the amount raised.
  The real question is around the terms of the deal. Digg’s last round in 2008 valued the company at $150 million post money. But that was a long time ago, and Digg’s influ…  show all text
• Cloud.com | Open Source Cloud Computing-
  cloud.com
  Cloud.com is now part of Citrix Systems a leading provider of virtual computing solutions that help people work and play from anywhere on any device.

When you are brand new to a service it is nice to have someone guide you along. Here are a few great resources to get you started with Google+.

First, if you haven’t seen it, Google’s own video that gives an intro to Circles is worth a watch.

Next, have a look at their video about Hangouts

Now if you are ready to jump in, you need these excellent cheat sheets developed by Simon Laustsen

• I’m gathering tips in Evernote here: http://bit.ly/googleplustips
• Here is a good post on configuring your Circles for privacy: Five Steps to Configuring Privacy on Google+
• If you use the Google Chrome browser I highly recommend the Replies and More extension. It adds some subtle changes to the page that make it more functional like being able to reply right to someone without having to type their name.
• Another Chrome must have is the Surplus extension.  It gives you notifications but the main thing is that it lets you share very easily from any site. Note 10MAR2012: I no longer use the Surplus Extension. I recommend Share on Google Plus Page that lets you share to your profile or any of the pages you manage.
• New 10Mar2012: I’ve also been using Golden View for Google+ for a long time. I has some nice features like User Mute and Default Circle.
• If you want an easy way to search Google+, you can try this search engine for Google+:  http://bit.ly/searchgplus
• Andrew Shotland has a HUGE list of tips here: http://www.localseoguide.com/google-plus-shortcuts-tips/

Twitter users:

If you want to make your Google+ profile show up if someone searches for your Twitter name:

• On the Google+ home page, click on your name (left side next to your picture)
• Click Edit Profile
• Scroll way down until you see Other Names
• Click Other Names to bring up the edit box and enter your Twitter handle there.
• Optionally set who can see this. I’d set it to Anyone on the Web because anyone could find out anyway but you may have different ideas.
• If you are done editing your profile, click Done Editing at the top of the screen
• Tip: While you are on the profile screen you can go to ‘View Profile As’ which is really handy to be sure you are sharing what you think you are sharing.

What I’m reading and finding for May 5th 2011 through May 6th 2011:

• From Twitter – RT @akipta gHacks Editor’s “Windows 7 Power Users Guide” eBook is now FREE http://goo.gl/fb/ZjNxk
• AOL Launches “Incredibly Easy” Video Chat Service Internally; We… -
  techcrunch.com - MG Siegler
  

  Earlier today, AOL’s Head of AIM Products Jason Shellen sent an email to the en…  show all text

   
• Guide: Backing Up Your Mac to WHS 2011 With Time Machine – One of the nice features of Windows Home Server 2011 is that it allows households that have a mixture of Macs and Windows PCs to connect both systems to the Home Server.
• The last post – Penmachine – Derek K. Miller -
  penmachine-bu.appspot.com
   
• Foursquare Team Creates “Subscribe To It”, A New Premium Service… -
  techcrunch.com - MG Siegler
  

  What’s funny is that my headline reads like a pretty standard intriguing tech h…  show all text

   
• A Few Key People Really Can Make a Huge Difference -
  techcrunch.com - Mark Suster
  

  Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Mark Suster (@msuster), a 2x entrepreneu…  show all text

   
• From Twitter – Could be handy for HTPCs RT @MitchWagner $132 mini-keyboard, has touchpad on the back. Neat. http://ow.ly/4Ohue
• The last post – Penmachine – Derek K. Miller -
  penmachine-bu.appspot.com
   

Filtering the web so you don’t have to for April 3rd 2010 through April 4th 2010:

• Start-Ups, Not Bailouts -
  nytimes.com
  If we want to bring down unemployment in a sustainable way, we need to create a big bushel of new companies. And fast!
  Scobleizer: RT @NYTimesFriedmanStart-Ups, Not Bailouts http://nyti.ms/bLnQhI (Work at a startup? Please reply to this with how many employees u have).
• Gillmor Gang, Live Recording Session at 4:00PM… – RealTime Network – FriendFeed -
  friendfeed.com
  Karoli: wild…i couldn’t get the video pulled via the browser. re: http://ff.im/iyTK1
• iPad Lines Around the U.S. [PICS] -
  mashable.com
  
  In just a few minutes (9am ET), Apple stores will open the doors and customers who either pre-ordered or got in line early enough will get their hands on an iPad.
  We’ve already covered the device extensively in the months leading up to today (full coverage here) — including many of the iPad apps that have already been released on iTunes and this week’s media blitz – but later this morning some of our staff will be getting their own iPads to bring you hands-on analysis.
  We’ll be updating th..   show all text
  thatdrew: RT @adamostrow: iPad is Here – http://bit.ly/coaQvX (this post will be continuously updated w/ our latest coverage)