Web 3.0
Posted by Andrew | Filed under Uncategorized
According to wikipedia Web 2.0 is all about creativity, information sharing, and, most notably, collaboration among users. These concepts have led to the development and evolution of web-based communities and hosted services, such as social-networking, wikis, blogs, and folksonomies.
In web 2.0 everything was more or less free. As we come to a close on web 2.0 we are now seeing the shift, more fees for service. I think Web 1.0 was like this and Web 3.0 is going to be a mix. This isn’t to say advertising isn’t important because it is, but I think people are willing to pay for services nowadays. I know I am (but within reason).
I also think we will see less frontend consumer services. More startups will start to focus on the backend and hopefully be bought out by the sites that have been able to gain traction on the frontend of consumer services, which is never easy.
Lives will also move online at a rapid pace. Sites will reflect reality and connections will continue to be made. Web 3.0 will turn those mouse clicks into handshakes.
ahillman.com
Posted by Andrew | Filed under Uncategorized
This is my tumblr blog ahillman
I am lost, not sure which platform I want to go with
Posted by Andrew | Filed under Uncategorized
I cannot decide for the life of me which blog platform to use. I am deciding between wp and tumblr.
VC investment analyst
Posted by Andrew | Filed under Uncategorized
I was talking to my friend the other day about web investments and he mentioned that I have a have a really good sense for what services will receive funding and which VC will fund them.
I thought about his comments for a couple of days and looked back at my emails to him. This is what I found.
Companies that would receve funding:
Covestor - nailed VC as well.
Disgus - nailed VC as well
Mybloglog - said it would be purchased
Mint - said they would win TC40
Twitter - nailed VC (1st round)
There are more that I believe will receive funding. The only company I have been wrong about was ActiveRain.com. I didn’t think they would be able to raise money but they did.
I am a complete geek when it comes to thinking about web properties. I may not know much about the “teams” but when I see something thats interesting I know enough to say that will find the right investor.
Del.icio.us search is too slow
Posted by Andrew | Filed under Uncategorized
I am a huge fan of Del.icio.us but the search needs to be bigger and the functionality is way too slow. The site should be super fast considering its all text and no graphics to slow down the page request.
If this was a Google property it would be screaming fast. Why doesn’t Yahoo give a shit about speed. When you want to find something specific use Del.icio.us. It’s a great service because they display info and links to everyones favorites.
Discount Vs. Traditional Real Estate
Posted by Andrew | Filed under Uncategorized
Discount real estate is not much different than the traditional method. Compensation paid out is the biggest difference. Marketing is usually the same. The Internet makes this possible. Any agent who says they have the contacts to get the house sold is full of shit. What they really mean is that they post all listings on the Internet for everyone to see. All agencies do this.
My company, Hillman Real Estate Inc., provides a flat fee listing service for Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Connecticut homeowners.
We also do full service in Massachusetts for those who do not want to be involved in the selling process. I will be the first to admit it, our flat fee listings sell just as fast than our full service listings. We do the same marketing for both. The trick is pricing and those who do the flat fee listing or discount method can be more flexible when pricing because the service cancels out the listing side of the commission. For example, if a full service listing is 5%, our flat fee listing would be 2.5%.
Discount services are catching on at a slow pace because their are so many more traditional agencies and they are saturating the marketplace. I am all for making a profit but I feel that consumers should have a choice.
odds are against you the 2nd time around
Posted by Andrew | Filed under Uncategorized
I consider myself to be pretty knowledgeable on the subject of Venture Capital, especially in the tech sector. However, I will never understand one thing.
Entrepreneurs who have had at least one successful exit will acheive funding a lot quicker than a entrepreneur who is going at it for the first time. Now, I understand that VC’s want to work with experienced people, but hitting the ball out of the park twice isn’t exactly easy. In fact, it is very rare that an entrepreneur will be able to have two successful exits during their career.
If you look around the web you will notice the biggest home runs come from first timers. Just to name a few companies started by first timers look no further than Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, Youtube, eBay, Myspace, Facebook… There are so many more.
Anyone who hits two homeruns is a freak.
Andrew Hillman
Posted by Andrew | Filed under Uncategorized
My Name is Andrew Hillman.
I run a real estate company that does business in MA, RI, CT and NH.
I come from a large real estate family.
More to come soon.