Archive for July, 2008

The Most Public Index, Silicon Valley

Posted in Industry News on July 28th, 2008 by Michael Tippett – Be the first to comment

NowPublic today announced its second MostPublic Index, identifying the 50 most influential individuals in Silicon Valley/San Francisco.  The MostPublic Index is a detailed (and transparent) barometer of who’s voices are most heard in the digital landscape as new channels—Twitter, Facebook, Flick, YouTube and the like—transform how media is created and spread.  Last week, NowPublic identified and announced the 50 MostPublic influencers in New York.
 
“Last week’s MostPublic Index/New York created a lot of dialogue around several themes.  Is this a PR stunt?  Is NowPublic link-baiting?  Is MostPublic a valid and relevant barometer?” said Leonard Brody, CEO and Co-Founder of NowPublic.  “We believe that new media tools redefine who the online newsmakers and reporters are.  This is part of the foundation upon which NowPublic is built.  Traditional influence lists are increasingly irrelevant because they’re predicated on outdated factors and metrics.  Did we steal a play from an old media PR conceit (lists)?  Yes.  Do we want more traffic?  Of course.  But today there are almost innumerable ways for one’s voice to be heard.  The goal of the MostPublic Index is to measure—on a completely transparent, metric-driven basis—who is most effectively broadcasting their own personal brand online and who are the emerging players.”
 
NowPublic’s formula gauges influence and “publicness” across four categories, including:
 
o       Online Visibility
o       Presence on User-Generated Content and Social Networking Sites
o       Interactivity and Accessibility
o       The “R” Factor: Presence on Microblogging Platforms (Flickr, Twitter, Tumblr, etc.)
 
NowPublic examined statistics in each of these categories from Alexa, Compete, Facebook, Flickr, Google, Quantcast, Technorati, YouTube, and various other blogs and sites, to create a list of Silicon Valley’s leading influencers.  It then narrowed the list to 50 by analyzing and documenting individuals’ presence and popularity in each of these channels, applying a weighted scoring system, determined by the strength of specific traits held in each online community.   
 
Without further ado, NowPublic proudly presents the MostPublic individuals in Silicon Valley/San Francisco:

  1. Robert Scoble
  2. Michael Arrington
  3. Jack Dorsey
  4. Biz Stone
  5. Matt Cutts
  6. Pete Cashmore
  7. Dave Winer
  8. Guy Kawasaki
  9. Loïc Le Meur
  10. Kevin Rose
  11. Merlin Mann
  12. Stowe Boyd
  13. Jeff Atwood
  14. Jeremiah Owyang
  15. Veronica Belmont
  16. Kara Swisher
  17. Scott Beale
  18. Marc Andreessen
  19. Ryan Block
  20. David Sifry
  21. Emily Chang
  22. Om Malik
  23. Timothy Ferriss
  24. Nick Douglas
  25. John Battelle
  26. David Cohn
  27. Louis Gray
  28. Tom Foremski
  29. Tim O’Reilly
  30. Ariel Waldman
  31. Matt Mullenweg
  32. Dean Takahashi
  33. Philip Kaplan
  34. JD Lasica
  35. Sarah Lacy
  36. Brian Solis
  37. Charlene Li
  38. Rafe Needleman
  39. Dan Farber
  40. Howard Rheingold
  41. David McClure
  42. Margaret Mason
  43. Jason Goldman
  44. Leah Culver
  45. Chris Shipley
  46. Jackson West
  47. Liz Gannes
  48. Owen Thomas
  49. Adeo Ressi
  50. Max Levchin

NowPublic will issue periodic MostPublic indexes across a variety of categories, including: American cities; European cities; South Asian Cities; musical influencers; political influencers, pop culture influencers and sports influencers, among others.  The next MostPublic Index will identify the most public individuals in Los Angeles and Vancouver.
 
The Index is calculated using the following formula:

The Index is calculated using the following formula:
 
1.       How visible is the individual?

  • How many Google search results does the individual garner?
  • Under 20,000: 1 Point
  • 20,000-49,999: 2 Points
  • 50,000-99,999: 3 Points
  • 100,00-599,999: 4 Points
  • 600,000- 999,999: 5 Points
  • 1,000,000 and above: 6 Points
  • Where does the individual rank on Technorati?
  • Ranked 1,000,000 or over: 1 Point
  • Ranked 500,000- 999,999: 2 Points
  • Ranked 100,000- 499,999: 3 Points
  • Ranked 10,000- 99,999: 4 Points
  • Ranked 1,000- 9,999: 5 Points
  • Ranked 100-999: 6 Points
  • Ranked Under 100: 7 Points
  • What is the individual’s Alexa and QuantCast average?
  • 500,000+: 1 Point
  • 100,000- 499,999: 2 Points
  • 50,000- 99,999: 3 Points
  • 10,000- 49,999: 4 Points
  • 5,000- 9,999: 5 Points
  • 1,500- 4,999: 6 Points
  • 1- 1,499: 7 Points
  • Where does the individual rank on Compete.com?
  • 500,000+: 1 Point
  • 200,000- 499,999: 2 Points
  • 100,000- 199,999: 3 Points
  • 40,000- 99,999: 4 Points
  • 20,000- 39,999: 5 Points
  • 10,000- 19,999: 6 Points
  • 1- 9,999: 7 Points

2.       How present is the individual in user-generated sites?

  • How many search results does the individual garner on YouTube?
  • 1 to 19 videos: 1 Point
  • 20 to 49 videos: 2 Points
  • 50 to 99 videos: 3 Points
  • 100-199 videos: 4 Points
  • 200 videos and above: 5 Points
  • How active is the individual on Facebook?
  • Does the individual have a profile? 2 Points
  • How many Facebook friends does the individual have?
  • Under 150 Friends: 1 Point
  • 150-349 Friends: 2 Points
  • 350- 499 Friends: 3 Points
  • 500 Friends and above: 4 Points

3.       Does the individual participate in micro-blogging?

  • How many microblogging tools does the individual use (tumblr, flickr)? 3 Points Each
  • Twitter: 5 Points
  • Number of Twitter Updates:
  • 100-300:            1 Point
  • 300-1,000:         2 Points
  • 1,000-2,500:      3 Points
  • 2,500+:              4 Points

 
Number of Twitter Followers:

  • 100-300:            1 Point
  • 300-1,000:         2 Points
  • 1,000-2,500:      3 Points
  • 2,500+:             4 Points

 
4.       How interactive/accessible is the individual?

  • Does the individual offer a message board? 2 Points
  • Does the individual offer their email address or a contact form? 2 Points
  • Does the individual respond to readerposts or participate in online chat? 2 Points
California California California California California

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Praise for NowPublic from Canadian Tech Community

Posted in Press on July 15th, 2008 by Michael Tippett – Be the first to comment

As I posted yesterday, NowPublic was chosen by Backbone and KPMG as one of Canada’s top new web companies.  Here is the write up.

If you’ve heard the term “citizen journalism” it’s because of companies like NowPublic. “This is a superbly thought-out and executed approach to crowdsourced news,” O’Connor Clarke said. “There are a lot of players in this space, but the way NowPublic have put things together, the way the site operates and their success in securing major partnerships with traditional media companies are all well worthy of recognition. NowPublic is a superb example of how 2.0 thinking can bridge the old and new media worlds to create something wholly new.” Other judges also raised the competition flag. Shuttleworth said there is “too much competition in this space” and Moffitt felt that “given its success already and its international scale, NowPublic could be creating an interesting form of new journalism, but it could also raise the hackles of well-moneyed competitors — but they have the head start.”

– You guys are gonna make me blush :)

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Parts of Vancouver still without power

Posted in Industry News on July 15th, 2008 by Michael Tippett – Be the first to comment

It is still unclear whether the office at Dunsmuir and Seymour currently has power.  Officially the area is still apparently blacked out but the coffee shops in the area are telling us they are back online.   We have sent someone down down to the office and see for ourselves and we should have a clear answer by about 7:30 PST.  We will keep you posted

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Who is leading the Web 2.0 Revolution in Canada?

Posted in Press on July 14th, 2008 by Michael Tippett – Be the first to comment

NowPublic has been identified by KPMG and Backbone Magazine as one of Canada’s top Internet companies.

(Toronto, July 15, 2008 ) – KPMG and Backbone magazine congratulate the top twenty winners of the first annual ‘PICK20′ Awards, the only national roundup of Canada’s up and coming Web 2.0 pioneers who are leading the 2.0 evolution of the Web. These new emergent online social platforms designed to link individuals to each other, are now increasingly being used to connect companies to both partners and clients.

Thanks to all our members who helped us get there. — Mike.

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The History of NowPublic NowPublic Offices How to read NowPublic on your mobile device Bnode in the house Moving into the NowPublic Offices NowPublic Offices in Vancouver NowPublic Offices in Vancouver NowPublic Offices in Vancouver NowPublic Offices in Vancouver Schneider and Meyers of NowPublic NowPublic Poster at Northern Voice The Marine Club, Vancouver Chinatown Night Market, Vancouver Downtown East Side, Vancouver Microsoft Campus, Under the Radar, March 2006 Sport and Web 2.0 Northern Voice: Blogging and Relationships - Blogaholics NowPublic Team in Vancouver NowPublic Team in Vancouver NowPublic Team in Vancouver NowPublic Holiday Party NowPublic Holiday Party Dinner with Caterina and Stewart of Flickr UBC School of Journalism:  Getting Your Hands Dirty JD Lasica, Darknet Launch: Dan Gillmor JD Lasica, Darknet Launch:  The man himself JD Lasica, Darknet Launch:  Flight to SF Susan DeFife, CEO, Backfence and Scott Rosenberg, managing editor, Salon.com Howard Rheingold, author of “Smart Mobs” JD Lasica and Francis Pisani

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NowPublic Buys Truemors

Posted in Press, What's New on July 10th, 2008 by Michael Tippett – Be the first to comment

You may have read today’s news about our acquisition of Truemors. For those of you not familiar with the site it is the brainchild of Guy Kawasaki. Guy is a legend in Silicon Valley as a best selling author, VC and one of the early players at Apple — among other things. I’m a big fan of his and am psyched to have him join our team as the Chairman of our advisory group.

In addition to the wealth of Guy’s experience we are also picking up a great group of editors and Trumorists to add to our expanding pool of citizen editors. Welcome to Annie and the rest of the group. We will be working hard to get you all integrated into the NowPublic editorial team and I think you will all be a fantastic edition to our news gathering capabilities.

As you’d expect, an acquisition like this in such a crazed space (those were the words of Michael Arrington) there has been a great deal of press attention. The AFP picked up the story as well as most of the Valley tech media. We’re getting lots of emails and thanks to everyone for their good words.

So day one of the merger seems to be going well. But as with any new success there are sometimes some growing pains. NowPublic is weathering the traffic barrage well but truemors is having a tough time staying online. This has provided our tech team with a good opportunity to get to know the Truemors servers a little earlier than we had planned ☺ Rest assured, Truemors is in good hands and we’ll have it back on his feet in no time. Stay tuned!

Michael.

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NowPublic Buys Truemors

Posted in Press on July 10th, 2008 by Michael Tippett – Be the first to comment

From Guy Kawasaki’s blog.

NowPublic bought Truemors yesterday, and I became chairman of NowPublic’s board of advisors. You can read more details here. These are exciting times! Thank you everyone for contributing your stories to Truemors and for visiting our site.

This is great news for NowPublic and we are very excited to be working more closely with Guy.

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What’s with the NowPublic tab on Truemors?

Posted in Industry News on July 9th, 2008 by Michael Tippett – Be the first to comment

What’s with that?

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ComScore’s Top Start-ups in Canada

Posted in Press on July 4th, 2008 by Michael Tippett – Be the first to comment

I’m not a huge believer in Alexa’s numbers but as I’m fond of saying, “in the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king”.

Everytime we publish our monthly Techvibes Start-Up Indexes, there are always a few complaints about the use of Alexa and Compete data for ranking the websites of start-ups.

While we agree that it’s not an accurate measurement of website traffic, it is a great way to compare the traffic of different online properties as it creates a level playing field for metrics.

Our inaugural Canadian Start-Up Index on July 1st received the usual anti-Alexa comments, so we decided to consult with a recognized Internet information provider – comScore – to see how the top websites on our Canadian Index measure up.

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Online news sites powered by ordinary users offer different points of view

Posted in Press on July 1st, 2008 by Michael Tippett – Be the first to comment

I recently did an interview with the Canadian Press.  Here is an excerpt from the final piece:

But the website’s founder, Michael Tippett, says objectivity is less important than ensuring readers have access to as many points of view as possible.

“(Just as) you come to respect a journalist who writes for a news organization because you recognize that news organization itself has credibility, you can look at the NowPublic members the same way,” says Tippett.

“It’s not necessary that one person is completely dispassionate about a subject. … We believe that if you have a number of different points of view represented in a story, that the truth will emerge.”

Sites like NowPublic can’t compete with the resources of traditional news outlets, says Tippett, and that’s not the point.

Rather, Tippett says the goal is to supplement – not replace – what’s already out there.

“Our view is that traditional media makes us better, and we can make traditional media better,” says Tippett, whose site recently inked a deal with The Associated Press to share eye-witness photos and videos.

“There are so many people in the world who are able to, in many cases, beat traditional media to the scene of emerging news.”

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