Good Luck Jack!!!

This weekend my nephew competes in the ACSI National Spelling Bee in Washington, and I'll be there cheering him on. Not to say he's a genius or nuthin, but he DOES read Melville for fun. ;-) At 13.

May I have the definition?
May I have the origin?
May I have any alternate pronunciations?



Think positive thoughts, dear readers! I'll imagine you all looking like the photo above!

Jim

LIP SYNC FRIDAYS ON LOCATION IN STOCKHOLM

Before Vandelay Industries

Brother Can You Spare a Dime? I am Good For It

So you have probably heard a little about social lending, the idea that individual lenders and lendees meet online and conduct financial business with one another.

The concept here is mindboggling to me, but I often find that the things that leave me incredulous are also the ones that really take off.

The leader in the US is prosper.com .

Their fascinating marketplace works like eBay. As a potential lender I sign up and identify my minimum acceptable interest rate, then bid on lending offers. Lending opps are graded with FICO scores and other measures to help you bid, including recommendations and history on the Prosper system. The winning bid offers the lowest interest rate for a given loan opportunity. Prosper deducts monthly payments from the lendee's bank account until the debt and interest are repaid. Defaults are handled by built-in collection agencies.

I am not someone who invests in individual opps -- I am more of an index fund guy, but the idea that buyers and sellers can mingle without the proverbial "who you know factor" playing the central role is quite intriguing.

Thanks for readng, and don't forget to write.

New Diagrams in a Gliffy

From the first time I saw it, I was a passionate user of Visio, the diagramming software acquired by Microsoft a couple of years ago. But Gliffy, a web-based alternative, has a ton going for it -- so much so that I doubt I'll be buying Visio again.

To understand how Gliffy works, combine a browser and Visio. And there you have it. Oh, wait, Gliffy also offers collaboration features. And for the particularly cheap among us, there is an ad supported free version. The premium version, which adds a bunch of features and takes away the ads, is sold on a monthly subscription model that would seem to work for small and large companies alike.





Although this isn't an issue for what I make on a diagramming program, Gliffy would appear to offer greater security than desktop based Visio installations because the info would be stored on a central server and shared by all. It would certainly simplify collaboration and versioning.

Gliffy isn't "new" -- it appears to have been founded last year. But it was new to me, and I am sure to be a future customer.

Gliffy makes docs every bit as clear and attractive as Visio. Another nail in the coffin of the Office Suite?

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.

FINALLY

I promise not to be partisan again until Labor Day! But tonight...

North Car-lina Is The Friendliest Land

It's no secret who I support for President, so I wanted to send a thank you to the people of North Carolina tonight.



And to the people of Gary, IN, whose votes are still being counted and will decide the winner of the Hoosier State, I send out this shout. ;-)

Do We Need Another Travel Site?

I think so. As a frequent traveler I am constantly looking for new places to go - places that aren't on the top ten list. And I have specific needs - I often travel alone, and I have the complexion of a Clorox bottle, so sunworshipping no c'est moi. I also REALLY LIKE history, especially poltiical history. For example, during a recent trip to Italy with a focus on art, I was able to find a small group focused on the politics behind the art I was seeing.

But my needs may not match yours. You may have kids, or like real isolation, or dancing the night away. Or whatever.

These are the reasons I like UpTake.com, a site that begins with your travel needs and preferences, and then searches more than 20 million personal recommendations to deliver options that will please you.



By basing its recommendations on user recommendations, the site really places a premium on honest opinion. Its revenue model appear to be based upon bounty or revshare plus advertising. You don't book on UpTake, you get info there. Then (if their model works) you click on a link or ad and book at one of the many sites that specialize in that.

UpTake is in what they are calling a pre-beta, but says they are near to beginning a true beta. If you are a frequent traveler like me, I think the site is worth a visit. It also warrants a look from travel advertisers.

Founded by former Yahoo Travel GM Yen Lee, the site has, in my opinion, a good shot at fulfilling a key segment of travelers that have specific needs and don't mind spending good money on travel opps that really meet them.

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.

COLORS FOR LIFE

Say Fih-diddle

This week I am going to be ID-ing start-ups that intrigue me. At the top of that list is Fididel, a sort of real time eBay for hagglers. If you are an eBay junkie like me, the idea of a real time negotiation with the seller is probably pretty intriguing. Log on, find an item, and open a real time negotiation. Or, if there's something you want that appears and you are not online, you can pay a professional Fidideler to haggle for you.

I actually overheard about this company at the little cafe area of AdTech -- two people nearby talking too loudly. But I didn't know how to spell it until I saw this post on TechCrunch.



There are three things that are appealing to me here.

1. Getting stuff now, rather than 8 days and 15 hours from now on eBay.


2. The idea that I might get a better deal on something from a motivated seller. This is intriguing because, if you believe in free markets, on eBay things should go for their fair value. On Fididel, there is always that possibility of finding a deal because the person selling just wants their cash now. It's that dream of finding the Mona Lisa at a Flea Market.


3. Getting cash NOW for stuff I want to sell.

Tech Crunch wasn't too keen on this idea, but I love it. There are tens of millions of people online with too much time o0n their hands, and Fididel will take two American pastimes (shopping and haggling) and bring them together.


And for things like tickets, I think sellers may actually do BETTER with Fididel because they can be selling until hours before an event, taking advantage of all the in market hype and interest.


Fididel is in beta, and is badly in need of a copywriter and a demo. But a beta is a beta so I will demonstrate restraint of pen and tongue on those scores.

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.