Newspaper and Blog endorsements influence the presidential election

The unbiased managing editor of A Sack of Seattle has decided to endorse John Kerry as the best candidate for president.

Crawford, TX, has only one paper and it endorsed Bush in 2000 but Kerry in 2004. If reading goat entrails is too smelly and you are looking for a different way to predict the outcome, you could try counting newspaper endorsements. Kerry has 60 so far and Bush has 53, but the circulation of the Kerry endorsers is larger by a factor of 1.5.

If you link or trackback to this blog you'll add to endorsement and circulation factor for Kerry. Please do so.

An undecided email thread about the presidential election

From: Rich
Subject: Re: I want to vote for kerry

So you've raised good issues. Seriously john.

Maybe it would be helpful to go thru why a moderate republican (by
voting record that's who I am) has not only voted for kerry but actually
been a reasonably big contributor. at the highest level bush is an
extremist without an interlock and kerry is a moderate muddler. I love
politics in a muddle because politics unlike economics is prone to
really radical extremes...
.......
That being said, I personally think and have told my kids, this is
probably the most important election they will witness. So when you
strip the market junk aside, what are you left with in this ultimate
drag race.

Ok so let's strip the politics aside and ask what are the real
differences:


1. 'I can't think of anything I've done wrong and god is on ourside' vs.
'Its a complex gray world that is filled with alliances and complexity'
kerry has done a good job in the last month of never saying the truth
becuase that is what the drag race demands. Customers and voters 'hate:
hard choices so don't be the messenger they will shoot you. Fact is I'm
on board with complexity and I can say I've made a dozen mistakes since
breakfast. So on the issue of intellectual honesty, I vote for the guy
who knows even as the biggest bully you still need a gang. Heck look at
the iran and korea issues. You can have the worlds largest army and 60%
of all defense spending and there is *no way* to win the peacve in a
country of 26m where you are outnumbered 100:1.

2. Irag. This is a quagmire. There is no real escape except to do what
we've done our whole lives which is to admit it and head out the door.
2004 is so much like 1964. Being an immigrant's son from a country torn
apart by war, I can tell you that there is nothing more dear than
repelling the invader. Just papering over this in iraq and afghanistan
won't solve the problem. And with todays miliatry, it means the draft.
Now our kids will certainly escape, but with 5000 dead, 20000 maimed and
$1 trillion spent by 2008 (do the projection and lay it next to the
1964-1968 geometric expansion), its a chance that is too hard to take
for me. I vote for the guy more likely to admit msitakes and get out
than for the guy who pushed his way in. Kerry has no stake in proving we
were right to enter. Bush absolutely does.

3. Minority rights. I can tolerate lots of bs and rhetoric about
the economy and protectionsims is simply a lost cause, but the threat
vs woman (roe v wade), minorities is way to scary and recent. The
veneer of civilization is thin and the road to hell is really paved
with religious (the inquisition) and nationalist (nazism) fanatics. And
in this election the composition of the supreme court really does scare
me. I think fundamental minority freedoms are at risk. Again, I don't
think that this could even possibly be in the purvue of the average wasp
type but I think about it.

4. Fighting terrorism. Goering said the easiest way to be totalitarian
is to scare the common person. Communism in the 20th century is
terrorism in the 21st. Its the boogeyman. Truth is that imho in a
guerrilla war (aka stealth play) the key issue is making sure the
incumbent does what they naturally do which is to oppress. Bush's real
belief that they are against our way of life just strikes me as
viloating just about everything I think about human nature. Most folks
that I've sold to don't care about the other guy as long as they are
doing ok. ..........Once that was done civil war
starts, sdo I'm not surprised the best recruiting vehicle is infact our
presence in iraw and afghanistan. Two islamic countries (irag btw is the
second holiest country in the middle east). Its the same old story that
one mans defense is another man's unjustified attack. it is not lost on
me that today vietnam andf china are the two friendliest countries to us
post 1975. How ironic is that.

5. The military. This is a highly personal one for me, but even though
I've never served a day, I'm a huger supporter of the men and women in
the us armed forces. Been since I was a kid. I've read probably
everything I can about the military and warfare. And it comes down to
one thing, the best battles fought are the ones where you never wage
war. So I think this neocon naked use of force is aanother terrible,
terrible long term msitake. There's a practical reason and a moral
reason. The practical one is that if you actually use a big stick, then
everyone knows you can't hit them. I'm a brown belt in karate and the
no. 1 thing you learn is that you hit the other guy *after* they punch.
Once you punch left you are committed left so a good kick with the right
leg in the groin is going to work. Burning up the all volunteer force (a
tiny cadre of highly professional folks) is really crazy. We talk about
only 5000 casulties until you realize the force multiplier we've lost.
We have a tiny militarty compared with what it takes to actually occupy
territory. Having 110% of our deployable military in iraq means two
things. We cannot respond conventionally to anything happening in korea,
pakistan or iran. So that leaves only once choice, our nukes or nothing
which just leaves to their nukes in the end. Yikes I really don't like
this end game.

4. Domestic. Heck in the old days it was big business democrats and
frugal republicans. This one hits me in the pocketbook, but have become
way too much of a socialist. I actually didn't mind paying higher taxes
with clinton. It was ok with me mainly again because when I see a street
cleaner I identify with them. If I were born 30 years ago believe me I'd
be cleaning the office rather being a found partner of it. So I
actually think a social safety net isn't a bad thing. And I'm a big
believer in fiscal responsibility which means I literally can't understand
the second tax cut.

Well, that's the longish answer. It all comes down to me to the fact
that I couldn't work for a guy like bush. He believes like lbj believed
while kerry, having met the guy, is ironically more corporate. He'd
listen decide and he'd say he's wrong. Enuf said. Sorry for the flame.

-----Original Message-----
From: John
Subject: I want to vote for kerry

But the guy is just so insane at some points. I'm reading in the
nytimes the text of his comments yesterday in columbus, and he is
holding bush accountable for the fact that there are more engineering
graduates in china and india than in the us.

Combined with his goosehunting expedition, he leaves me feeling that he
will say anything to anyone to get elected. not that georgie is
leaving much unsaid is his drive to stay in office. But man would I
love a positive choice.

I guess I just don't like politicians. Or politics.

The battle for Ohio

Ok -- I went to sleep last night thinking....I'm not doing enough. This is personal. I just donated to:

Ohio Democratic Party

Based on my belief that Ohio is the real battle. FL is going to be tough because of Jeb and other craziness. But if your heart says FL then give to Florida Democratic Party....

I also personally called everyone I know in FL and OH to fire them up.

Jump in -- let's make it so.

Competition for early stage companies

The market space has heated up for local search in general and Judy's Book more specifically. As the competition heats up from smart, talented, and funded companies, it raises questions about competitive response and differentiation. There's no right answers to the market -- it's like a chess game with multiple players all making moves at the same time -- one complex tricky game. Well, we're heads down and look forward to the market making its own decisions. Knight to C4.

Mission Statements with meaning

In today's world of business, every business seems to have adopted the practice of creating a mission statement. But creating a mission statement and bringing that mission alive are two very different things.

Passion for the mission of a business is critical. It's what keeps you going on the long days of hard work. Here at Judy's Book -- passionate mission is easy because of my relationship with Judy -- my deceased mother in law. She was a great lady! And I'm even more excited today because today was a day that mission came alive -- we have had to make decisions about our business that are consistent with our mission. These decision are defining, exciting, and rewarding to our future customers (hopefully). I'd tell you what the decision was -- but then there wouldn't be a surprise for you when we actually launch the live beta product. In other words, if I told you I'd have to shoot you :-)

The important thing to remember is that it's not the words of the mission statement that can create business success but rather the decisions that the mission statement requires that creates success.

Indispensable

The key for any early stage product is to become indispensable. My Nokia cell phone, nike running sneakers, starbucks coffee are all indispensable....the objective in technology development is the same. Microsoft Outlook, Salesforce.com, CNN.com, Powerpoint, Google, are all indispensable for their respective customers. The challenge for a start up is seeing the indispensable before it exists. Now if we can just do the same thing here at Judy's Book, I'd be happy.

Terrorism, Diet coke and other items I can not control

I was recently told by a group of friends that I worry too much about stuff that I can't control. You know what -- I think they're right. I do not follow the AA adage: worry about those things that you can control, don't worry about the things that you can't and have the courage/intelligence to know the difference. But I don't know many sober people that follow that sage advice. In the age where only the paranoid survice -- how can you NOT worry about things you can't control. So I thought I'd make a list of my worries today in writing in the hope that in writing them down I'd be able to get better control of them or at least stop worrying about them for a while. In no particular order, my worries of the day are:

* The health of my family and myself

* Terrorism and G.W. Bush Jr. mismanagement of that threat

* The inevitable and current decline of America

* The dumbing down of America through reality TV and shows like "nip and tuck"

* The bad stuff in Diet Coke that causes cancer

* The date of the first nuclear bomb to explode in an American city

* Global environmental decline and global warming and the effect that has on future ski conditions

* The curse of the bambino and the Red Sox ability (or lack thereof) to win a world series in my lifetime

* The end of Six Feet Under and HBO in general

* Nov. 3, 2005

* Biting into an apple and losing my 2 front teeth (they're loose already)

* Wondering if the cell phone companies are the tobacco companies of this century -- and more specifically, wondering whether my Nokia phone is causing a brain tumor and whether I should get a cell phone with a speaker in it

Don't you feel better now. I don't either.

Did Bush wear a wire at the debate?

I was online at cnn.com and saw the photo of Bush questioning whether he wore a wire at the debate. After examing the photo for more than a minute, I came to the conclusion that he may well have worn the wire but would inevitably deny it -- as the article indicates. While talking with my friend Jerry Colonna about this today -- he made the point that whether Bush wore the wire or not doesn't matter....what matters is that enough of the public wonder whether he did wear a wire indicating the widespread lack of trust and belief that other people are pulling the strings to the Bush puppet.

Why didn't Edwards go for the throat

Why didn't John Edwards verbally TKO Dick Cheney I'll never know. There were countless missed opportunities for Edwards to inform the American public about the kind of leadership that is being provided by this administration -- and he missed many of them. The most obvious opportunity for me came when the journalist asked whether Edwards had the experience to be a heart beat away from the presidency. Edwards should have answered the question with --

* it doesn't take experience to know that Iraq is a modern day Vietnam,
* it doesn't take experience to know that our country is less safe today than it was before the Iraq war,
* it doesn't take experience to know that we've squandered the support of the world with our misguided war in Iraq,

It only takes common sense and basic ethics and while this administration which has lots of experience the administration seems to be lacking in both of these critical elements. Now he didn't have to use my words -- but you get the idea behind my post -- Edwards should have and could have really taken a leap forward if he had been more forceful in his attack in the current administrations behaviour instead of sticking with his positive campaigning theory. Doesn't he realize that negative campaigning has its place in today's campaign?!

Recruiting in Seattle: An ad for disgruntled people in Redmond

We've been recruing at Judy's Book without immediate success. We've taken the standard online recruiting steps and now we're going guerrila.

First, we are offering a TIVO as a reward to anyone who refers us to a .net developer candidate that accepts a full time position that we offer.

Second, I've been reading about how the blogoshpere is becoming a good way to recruit talent so as an experiment I've decided to post the job description here.

If you know an experienced .net developer who wants to be part of a hot new start up technology company located in Seattle -- please pass this blog offer along.

Business therapy

My partner and I have hired a business therapist to "consult" for us. The therapists job is to help my partner and I communicate better and as a result, make better decisions with fewew unintended consequences. I've learned over the years in my various companies that internal conflict is the largest source of stress, distraction and ultimately failure for small start-up businesses. We've been working with this consultant for a few months now and already have found it to be effective and practical.

I arrived at the idea of using a business therapist after my first venture failed because of personal issues between my partner and I. Since that time, I often have used a business therapist. I used a business therapist thoughout my time at abuzz and found it very valuable. The therapist helped my two partners and I navigate the terrain of high tech start up in 1996. The person was a good reminder that a start-ups battle should be external on the marketplace -- and not internal focussed on each other.

A country divided

When was the last time that the country was as divided as it is today? Regardless of who wins the election this year -- it feels strange to be in a country where you wonder what on earth the other half is thinking about. Feels a bit like it must have felt back in the 1960's civil rights movement -- or even further back to the civil war. Those were tense times -- and so are these.

To infinity and beyond and other bedtime rituals

I spoke with my brother Larry today. He had to call me back because he needed to put my nephews to bed. It was 4PM PST (i.e. 7PM EST). When he phoned me back I asked him why my nephews were going to bed so early. He told me that the bed time ritual for Alex and Michael (his children) started at 7PM EST and ended around 8:30 and consisted of the following steps:
i) Larry grabbing Michael by the pajama top and pants and throwing him across the room (figuratively speaking) and into a pile of pillows on his bed as Michael yells "TO INFINITY ....AND BEYOND".
ii) Repeat steps i with Alex
iii) 4 bedtime books read by mom
iv) hugs and kisses, and goodnight

It was the infinity and beyone step that his kids will remember!

Great online promotions

Seth Godin mentioned Judy's Book today. Not sure how he heard about us -- but I've long been a fan of Seth Godin's work and writing....dating back to 1996 when he was at Yoyodyne and was one of the early masters of online promotions.

I'm trying to come up with a great contest to promote Judy's Book....

Today I heard about a great online promotion by a t-shirt company. They are running a "best political slogan" contest to be printed on their t-shirts. Internet users everywhere are writing slogans and then voting on the best slogans. One of the more unique thus far : "Vote for abstinence in 2004; no bush, no dick"

It makes me think about other great online contests that business are running to get people to contribute and spread the word. If you've got some to suggest -- please let me know.

To blog or not to blog: Top 3 reasons to write a blog

1) So I can hear what people think about my thoughts and writings
2) So I create a safe record of the morsels that run through my brain
3) So I can understand the movement and experience of blgging

The question of writing online and the underlying motivations is one that I've been doing a lot of thinking about lately. Judy's Book-- my local search company -- www.judysbook.com -- asks users to enter information about their favorite service providers. It also asks people to create people with whom they'd like to share these reviews. This is a high level of interactivity to ask for from users -- no doubt! And yet, it's not much different from writing a blog. I was intrigued with blogging before Judy's Book. Now, I'm intrigued all the more. The fact that my company taps into some of the same motivations and behaviour hopefully is a good thing. I believe there's similarity between one's activity online blogging and a users activity online at Judy's Book-- and with time, I suspect there'll be more similarity.

Blogging has me intrigued. I never truly kept a diary before and now I'm getting pretty regular about writing. What's this all about? What motivates people to write on sites like Amazon reviews, epinions etc. What are your top reasons for writing a blog?

Novice blogger gets 2nd degree burn

I've only been blogging for a short time. And today I got burned. I wrote a post yesterday without thinking too much about it and the post had some unintended consequences. It's amazing the power of this stuff -- I was shocked who found my blog, read it, and reacted to it within hours of the post.

I'm sure there are a lot of blogs about the do's and don'ts of blogging. But in the end, I suspect blogging is like entrepreneurship -- you learn by doing and making mistakes. If you actually find this blog -- I'd welcome feedback and advice about how to make my blog better.

One thing I've been doing is to read other bloggers who are more established. Today I read 2 good blogs:
i) Steven Berlin Johnson
ii) Ross Mayfield

Managing investor expectations after the investment

I recently had the Series A closing dinner for Judy's Book at Wild Ginger. The partners from Ignition Partners and from Ackerley Partners were both there. This was their first meeting. Overall, I think the dinner went well. People had food and drinks and conversation. A standard introductory business dinner.

As the dinner went on I realized that the Ignition folks may be more comfortable with the investment than the Ackerleys. This would make total sense -- Ignition invests in early stage technology companies and Ackerleys typically invest in later stage media companies. I may be wrong -- nobody said anything explicity. And that's what is prompting this blog.

Investors rarely tell you explicity exactly their expectations. As a CEO it's our job to elicit these expectations, or better yet, to set these expectations and manage to them. In an early stage technology company, that's often very difficult to do -- especially during the period of time when you are trying to get a product to market, figure out user behaviour, and try to find a levearage point from which to grow an enterprise. Getting back to the Ackerley's, I think I'm going to need to spend some more time making sure their expactations become explicit and that they're reasonable. I'll do this with a series of email and coffees....and getting to revenue as fast as I can. I've found that the faster one gets to revenue the less one needs to manage investor expectations -- explicit or not.