The BFF blog about TechCrunch

The BFF: "This week at Yahoo At Techcrunch 40 this week, many commentators are expecting news from Google and Yahoo.

Last week Mashable reported Yahoo opening up (Kind of). Yahoo has an impressive API architecture and an amazing team of programmers, I hope they let rip this week and that they 'feed' all their services.

Steve Rubel has rightly complained about the lack of feeds on Yahoo's websites. To be honest, and I'm talking for myself, I really need those feeds. I will not visit a site because it does not have a feed.

If Yahoo is afraid of losing ad revenue, I'd say find a subtle way of sticking it in feeds. It works if you avoid overkill, otherwise I'll unsubscribe. Yahoo have a great new firefox plugin by the way. It you make websites, you'll probably need it.

It's called YSlow for firebug and how your pages are load performance is. It has loads of really clever tips."

Helge: I guess there are news from Yahoo this week. The destiny of Facebook is still open. It's been quiet about the Microsoft and Yahoo merger. What can we expect from Google?

TechCrunch20 - Event Hosted by Eventbrite

Helge: I've been reading about this event promoted by Jason Calacanis. This is an alternative to DEMO that costs $ 30 000 to a start-up. At demo the start-ups can present their wonders to Venture Capitalists and Angel Investors. TechCrunch20 is planning to provide the same service but to a much lower cost.

TechCrunch20 - Event Hosted by Eventbrite: "TechCrunch20 is a new conference celebrating product innovation on the Internet.

Our agenda is simple. We want to put on stage the 20 best companies we can find to launch new products over a two-day format, September 17-18, 2007. The selection process will be based on merit alone to help ensure we showcase the best ideas regardless of financial means. We expect to present a full range of new product launches, ranging from early-stage student work to public-company Internet businesses to open source collaborations. We invite you to submit your company for consideration.

In addition to 20 great new products, we’re assembling an amazing line up of speakers and a committee of expert analysts, entrepreneurs and journalists to spark meaningful discussion and debate during the conference. In typical TechCrunch style, we’ll save room for socializing too.

The specific agenda will unfold over the coming weeks and months on this dedicated conference site and blog. Keep a lookout for new details as they’re released.

Your participation will help make the conference a success, hope to see you there,

Michael Arrington & Jason Calacanis"

The Podtech Future Discussion

digitalvillages: @mintigal , @Scobleizer , I watch podtech webcasts. They Inform about US technology and business. I guess they should reach out globally! Silicon Valley is only a small part of viewer potential.

"There have been a number of reports that silicon valley based Podtech is literally falling apart. I spoke to Podtech CEO John Furrier and asked him how many of the rumors are true. While he certainly fed me a certain amount of spin, the company has at least a few signs of life." Writes TechCrunch.

This lead to an intensive twittering about the future of Podtech. Some comments indicate that Podtech webcasts would be boring and of no value. I disagree. They are very informative and useful for someone living thousand miles away from the events, seminars and mashups.

I like to follow the tech culture evolution through podcasts, webcasts, twitters and blogs. The entertainment value isn't essential. The value is in learning about new things from a distance. It would be impossible to attend the events and seminars. There are cost and time limitations. I would need a second life to get all the time required. The real value for me is to be informed but need to attend live.