News Roundtable Panel #163

TWiST #163 News Roundtable with Steve Blank and Brian Kennish

To G+ or not to G+? If that's the question, then our guests have opinions! Educator and entrepreneur Steve Blank and Disconnect founder Brian Kennish join the TWiST Roundtable to discuss this week's hot stories, including what's new at the Google, Netflix's rate hike and Amazon's planned foray into the tablet market. 

0:00-1:00 It’s News Roundtable Friday here at This Week in Startups.
1:00-3:00 Welcome to news reader Kirin Kalia, managing editor of LAUNCH. The LAUNCH Newsletter has been featuring some incredible startups like Hudl lately. Check out all the latest profiles and articles at launch.is.
3:00-4:00 Thank you to all of the members of the TWiST Producer Program. Head to twistlist.co to join today.
4:00-6:00 Thank you to Carbonite for sponsoring the show. Start your free trial at Carbonite.com with offer code TWiST and get two bonus months with your purchase.
6:00-6:45 Welcome, Brian. Did you play in any World Series of Poker events?
6:45-8:30 Steve, welcome. Thanks for being on the program.
8:30-9:15 If you have kids, do you think you have to compete in a different way in the entrepreneurial space?
9:15-11:00 Google+ debuted last week and is rapidly gaming momentum. Will this be the Facebook killer everyone wants it to be?
11:00-11:45 Steve, are you on Google+? Any thoughts thus far?
11:45-12:30 Brian, you study these things--what do you think of Google+?
12:30-13:45 How many engineers do you think have worked on the project?
13:45-15:00 Haven’t many companies, like Microsoft, taken repeated stabs at it and gotten it right the third time?
15:00-15:45 Is Zynga, right now, working on games? Do they have access to the Google+ API?
15:45-16:15 Brian, how critical are games to all of this?
16:15-17:00 Google building an online data for sale marketplace.
17:00-17:45 So they’re going to allow people to sell cookied data about specific segments?
17:45-18:15 I did a search for MyZeo and now all I see is targeted ads for the business. Are they tracking my search?
18:15-19:30 Steve, has Google gone too far? Will this result in a backlash?
19:30-20:00 Tyler, what do you think?
20:00-20:30 Brian, explain to the audience who might not know what Disconnect does?
20:30-21:30 Are people understanding this more now?
21:30-22:30 If the consumer doesn’t know how to protect themselves, what does it have to take before they wake up?
22:30-24:15 Netflix recently announced a major price increase, and the unbundling of their DVD-by-mail and streaming service.
24:15-26:00 Is this Netflix’s way of pushing the streaming revenue to get the movie studios to crack and start making the films available for streaming?
26:00-27:15 Could YouTube and Netflix finance the entire film arena?
27:15-29:00 How much confusion can consumers endure about these products?
29:00-33:00 Thank you to Hiscox for sponsoring the show. Go to HiscoxUSA.com/SmallBiz to get quotes for your business.
33:00-36:00 Back to the Netflix rate hike, what do you do when your customers revolt?
36:00-37:45 Dropbox seeks to raise $200-300M in their next round.
37:45-39:00 This is a high valuation. What do you guys think?
39:00-40:30 Steve, what’s your take on Dropbox?
40:30-41:00 Can you imagine if Google launched the Gdrive what that would do to Dropbox?
41:00-43:30 So strategically, you're saying they use the interest from other companies to add to their valuation?
43:30-44:15 Why don’t Evernote and Dropbox merge?
44:15-45:00 Let’s talk about the Evernote raise.
45:00-46:15 What do you think, do you use Evernote?
46:15-47:00 Spotify finally launched in the US with free and paid plans.
47:00-48:00 Do you use Spotify, Brian?
48:00-50:15 Steve, what’s your take on Spotify’s model?
50:15-51:00 Sean Parker did all the negotiations with the US music labels.
51:00-51:45 Amazon will reportedly release an Android based tablet by October.
51:45-52:45 Steve, what do you think the strategy is behind releasing a tablet version of the Kindle?
52:45-54:30 Why wouldn’t they just make the Kindle the best device for what it is instead of trying to ape Apple? They could make everything you order from the Kindle have free shipping.
54:30-55:15 Why doesn’t Amazon make AmazonMail and give people email addresses? Slowly build out that ecosystem?
55:15-57:45 Is it too late for Amazon to catch up in the tablet race?
57:45-58:30 RIM announces plans to launch seven new BlackBerry phones. Is this going to be their comeback?
58:30-59:30 Insight from Tyler: It’s like locking the keys in your car at an abortion clinic.
59:30-1:02:00 Jason: I still carry my BlackBerry because of the ease of emailing and the battery life.
1:02:00-1:02:30 Steve, thank you so much for coming on the program. Do you have anything new coming out?
1:02:30-1:03:00 Brian, thank you too. Everyone, check out Disconnect.me.
1:03:00-1:03:30 Thank you to Carbonite and Hiscox for sponsoring the program.

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FOLLOW ON TWITTER
Jason: @jason
Tyler: @steepdecline
Kirin: @kirinkalia
Steve: @sgblank
Brian: @byoogle

Keep up with the latest from our sister company LAUNCH:

• Google+ Becoming a Referal Traffic Machine
• Larry Page Posts on Google+--while on Google's Quarterly Earnings Call
• IZEA "Goes Public" Then Pumps Stock in Laughable Informercial
• Internet TV Network The Wired City Promises to Make Everyone Live in Public
• Sparrow Mail Launches 1.3 Version to Add More Gmail-Like Features
  
  

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