Catching Up on Readings: Design In The 21st Century

Time for another round of recap since the last one on May 10 … See what you have missed, and catch up.

ST Microelectronics: Strategy

By Vijay Nagarajan, Guest Author As highlighted in our discussion of ST Microelectronics financials, the company has not been very profitable in the last few years. More importantly, it has been growing lesser than the semiconductor industry and losing market share. It is therefore appropriate to peek into the steps that the company has taken

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When Will LinkedIn Open Up?

Nielsen has released some interesting numbers on social media traffic. The most interesting of these is that LinkedIn has grown 361% y-o-y.

Deal Radar 2008: Comcast Buys Plaxo

Just as I said Comcast has not been doing anything to beef up its internet portfolio, they announced the acquisition of Plaxo for an estimated $150 Million.

Indian Anime

India should develop its own genre like Japanese Anime.

Still Bullish on Shutterfly

Shutterfly (SFLY), the online photo company, recently declared first quarter results. Their revenue for the quarter of $34.3 million missed the market’s views of $34.8 million, even though it was 29% higher over previous year Q1 revenues. Their GAAP net loss at $0.15 per share met market expectations and was higher than GAAP net loss

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Vertical Ad Networks: Evolution

Another big funding round in the vertical ad network world: FM raises between $40 and $50M from Oak Investment Partners. Valuation: $200 Million; 2007 Revenue: $25 Million; 2008 Revenue Forecast: $60 Million. Not bad!

Ads on Blogs

Steve Hodson says, “Advertising for bloggers has to change.” There are a number of Ad Networks that are trying to address the issues he raises. I am anxious to see how this plays out. I am now on Forbes, IDG, Washington Post and TheDeal (all powered by Adify, all business blog networks).