Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare, FoodSpotting: Sharks

Image via CrunchBaseI asked a question at the final event during Social Media Week I attended.

Microsoft tried to buy or bury Google. "My question is for the FourSquare guy. Google tried to buy or bury Facebook. Facebook tried to buy or bury FourSquare." Well, Facebook tried to buy or bury Twitter first. "But FourSquare instead has attempted integration with FoodSpotting. And that is right by the market, right by the consumer, right by FourSquare, and right by FoodSpotting. Where did that wisdom come from? What made you want to do the right thing?"

And yesterday news was that Google was attempting a much deeper integration of Twitter in its search results. Integration is key. Facebook should similarly attempt deep integration with web properties like FoodSpotting. And there are going to be many, many players in that space. FoodSpotting has occupied but one vertical.

The Bitly Story

The Bitly of today was not the Bitly that got launched. Bitly was launched by visionary founders as a site where if you got bit by a dog, you would take the picture of the dog, the bite, and your face in pain, and you would post the pictures online to share with the world. That was the idea. But it was way ahead of its times. The word spotting had not been invented yet.

And so Bitly pivoted and became the URL shortener that you know today. And it has been quite a success, would you say?

A Small, Historic EatUp

So around noon I showed up. Oleg was there, his wife was there, his brother was busy serving.

Amy Cao of FoodSpotting showed up. This was not my first time seeing Amy, but this was my first time talking. And we talked at length.

There was this guy. He said he was just passing through town. He was in the city for a few months. He showed up. He said he knew Amy from meeting her at a few events.

So when it was time for the group photo, it is this guy and me, with Amy taking the shot. And I am feeling a little awkward. I hope she got the truck in the background. The truck matters. I am just an eater.

Both the dude and Amy took pictures of my food. My lunch was on the house.

Amy and I first talked on Twitter. Then I saw her briefly at the FoodSpotting panel the first day of Social Media Week, but did not get to talk.

Tuesday 2/15 Noon EatUp: 46th Between 5th And 6th: Schnitzel & Things Food Truck

"There ain't no such thing as a free lunch."
- Milton Friedman, Nobel Prize in Economics

Be there, check in on FourSquare!

Person Of The Social Media Week: Oleg Voss
February 15: EatUp?
My First Smartphone Is Going To Be A Nexus S

Fred Wilson, Soraya Darabi: Both Crazy About Music

Image via CrunchBaseFred Wilson
Soraya Darabi

Fred Wilson is the most talked about VC at this blog, and Soraya Darabi is probably the most talked about tech entrepreneur at this blog. It just happened to be that way.

Both are crazy about music.

Both are avid New Yorkers. You have to be one to know one.

Turning The Table Upside Down With Food

Cover of John LennonFood/Social = Physics, Coding = Mathematics
Project Noah: FoodSpotting's Sibling Company

Food has been a weapon for sexism for the longest time. You are a woman, you belong at home, you need to raise children, you need to be in the kitchen, you need to cook. Food.

Raising children is such a beautiful experience, John Lennon took five years out of his life to raise his son full time. But that same act can be used as a weapon of sexism. It has been.

You reject food, you reject children. You take a stand. That was one thread of feminist protests a few decades back. You don't marry.

Project Noah: FoodSpotting's Sibling Company

Image by Nic*Rad via FlickrI just showed up at Fred Wilson's blog, and read through his post for the day. I quit coffee, but have not quit Fred Wilson's blog that I visit near daily. You know I visited because I leave a comment at the bottom of every post I read. I check in the AVC community way.

So I am reading the post and I am thinking, I just found a sibling company to FoodSpotting. Instagram is a sibling company to FourSquare, Project Noah is a sibling company to FoodSpotting.

This is exciting, and underestimated. This is nothing less than a quiet revolution. My first event of the ongoing Social Media Week was the FoodSpotting/Whole Foods panel. I blogged afterwards. I started working on another post right away but never got to completing it. And I am going to cannibalized that for this post. Or maybe it will stay a separate post, my next post: Turning The Table Upside Down With Food.

Food/Social = Physics, Coding = Mathematics

Food/Social = Physics, Coding = Mathematics

Image via WikipediaEinstein, the most celebrated physicist in human history, my favorite Dead White Male, started out struggling with maths. Much later in life he liked to joke that he was still struggling with maths. Early memories die hard. The key mathematics that gave shape to the Relativity, he had to ask around for. A mathematician friend of his led him in that direction.

What Einstein started with was physics. It really bothered him that light rays bent near the sun and no one had bothered explaining why.

Coding is like mathematics. Social is the physics. And the buzz is not here yet beyond a very small circle right now, but food's day will come. If you think about it, food has a very, very special place in the social universe. Food is the crown jewel. By the time you get to the level of food, social becomes dazzling. It becomes like watching the night sky if you are fascinated by stars.

I got a glimpse of that dazzle when I attended the FoodSpotting/Whole Foods panel this morning at 95 E Houston. I was amazed by the venue. It seems like Google is not the only dog in town with an office building that occupies an entire block.

So I Had A Shake Shack Burger

The Most Popular Dish In New York: Shake Shack Burger, Madison Square Park

Social Media Week Is Back

Image by That Other Paper via FlickrI was just looking at the Social Media Week site for the first time after spotting a mass email from Toby Daniels. I got lost on first try.

I remember having a lot of fun last year during Social Media Week.

Social Media Week: The Best NY Tech MeetUp Ever

My FoodSpotting Day Hangover

Image via CrunchBaseFoodSpotting Day was January 15, and granted I celebrated it in two different cities, the celebrations have to stop at some point. But looks like my FoodSpotting Day hangover goes on. It is not like I have a new idea to share, but I do feel the urge to flesh out a few things I have suggested before.

The Most Popular Dish In New York: Shake Shack Burger, Madison Square Park
World FoodSpotting Day 2011: January 15: Photos

I am not the best person to talk about the food recommendations business, but I don't get the impression FoodSpotting is lacking for direction on that front. It is moving full speed ahead there.

The Most Popular Dish In New York: Shake Shack Burger, Madison Square Park

You have to wonder, how does Charlie O'Donnell figure these things out?

Go Easy On Charlie Now

Happy FoodSpotting Day Soraya Darabi

Image by lizstless via Flickr

Okay, so FoodSpotting Day was yesterday, but I just noticed my Soraya Darabi blog post for the first time has become a top five blog post for the week at this blog. Most of that traffic is, I believe, coming from Google. Looks like a lot of people are doing searches on her name.

FoodSpotting Day: Thoughts

Image via CrunchBaseI have been fascinated by FoodSpotting. I am not exactly a meat and potatoes kind of guy, but I am only slightly above steamed broccoli. I would not describe me a foodie. I come from a country of subsistence farmers. I am sufficiently into food, don't get me wrong. But my fascination with FoodSpotting has been what it has meant as a tech startup, best caputured by a phrase I coined, that FoodSpotting is the next FourSquare. It is the leader in the what after check in space. It inhabits the royal vertical in that space.

World FoodSpotting Day 2011: January 15: Photos

So when I celebrated FoodSpotting Day yesterday - in two separate cities, Philly and NYC - I was on a mental hyper drive of sorts. I kept thinking, what next, what next? What next for FoodSpotting?

World FoodSpotting Day 2011: January 15: Photos

What Got Me Started With FoodSpotting

It was this comment by Amy. This comment is what got me started with FoodSpotting. I felt compelled to respond to the comment, and the only way you could leave a comment was by creating an account, which was easy to do, took less than 10 seconds, and next thing you know I am on FoodSpotting.

But once I got my account I spent over an hour creating my profile, uploading a picture, browsing around. I discovered I really like dumplings. I can already see why FoodSpotting would make for an intense eating experience.

Penises For Sale: The Russian Mafia Is On It

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FoodSpotting's Social Graph: FoodSpotting Day: January 15

I came across this Facebook update in my Facebook stream when I logged onto Facebook Monday evening. The screen image I took later when I started work on this post. Update spotted! I took a screen shot.

FoodSpotting's Social Graph: FoodSpotting Day: January 15
Going Backwards: FoodSpotting, FourSquare, Twitter, Facebook
Fractals And FoodSpotting
FoodSpotting Is The Next FourSquare
Instagram Magic
Checking In, Tweeting, Spotting, Updating
StartUp Anxiety For FourSquare?
Self-Serve Makes Sense For GroupOn, Also FourSquare
Fractals: Mandelbrot
Making Dick Costolo An Offer He Can't Refuse
Congrats Zuck
Jai Ho
Gender Talks
Soraya Darabi
Should FourSquare Be Scared Of Facebook?

I worked on my blog post about Facebook going into search in a big way after that, scheduled to be posted Tuesday at 8:00 AM. And I sent out this tweet. The tweet is to Amy who left a comment at my last post about FoodSpotting. She does social media for FoodSpotting, and has a great foodie blog of her own.

Instagram Magic

Instagram has taken off like anything. There is an artist inside all of us, and Instagram is quickie art work. You give that little tinge to a snap shot, and make it your own. Many many flavors are possible. There is more to come. Instagram has taken a lead of sorts.

Going Backwards: FoodSpotting, FourSquare, Twitter, Facebook

Fractals: Apple, Windows 95, Netscape, Google, Facebook, Twitter
Twitter, FourSquare: Mobile Web Thingies
FoodSpotting Is The Next FourSquare
Fractals And FoodSpotting
Fractals: Mandelbrot

What do I mean by going backwards?

Microsoft started out as a software only company. Actually that was the genius of Bill Gates, otherwise his cofounder Paul Allen wanted to do both software and hardware. Microsoft could not have moved as fast if it had also done hardware. Smart. But. Down the line Microsoft has gone into hardware. The company fell comfortable enough that it felt compelled to get into hardware as well.