I Love Yahoo.

Yahoo Announced today that they have at least the intention to buy Foursquare for around $100 MM, sorry to tell you Yahoo, but no. 

Yahoo is trying to use its cash position to solidify its future on the internet. They are looking to invest and acquire as many big tier future apps as possible to do that. LBS (Location Based Services) are just a trend that will stay with us now.

What yahoo needs to realize is that  it doesn't matter who provides this service outright, but it does matter if they have found an easier foothold on that track.
I once again have to say that I love Yahoo, but this is not the time to tout these deals as even a forethought.

Foursquare is looking for a culture that fits theirs if they see the need to start some sort of M&A situation. But First they have to become a moneymaker.

I still Love Yahoo. Stay Golden

Finally,

after weeks of work this baby is ready to go.

Appsxl is a simple website for making your App ideas come to life.
 
My ultimate goal is to make it a true , simple collaboration tool for Software Developers and Project Managers to get the app from their brains to peoples hands and hearts.

This BETA site is the first iteration in many.

Now comes the part where you are involved: Testing it out before we go widespread.

The site caters to 2 types of people

• Software Developers (People who posess skills to develop Apps)
• Project Owners (People that have the App idea)

I will need everyone to sign up as a Project Owner

• Create a test App.
• Approve Bids on your App
• Add Issues and Tasks for your project.

I will need everyone to sign up as a Software Developer 

• Bid on Projects 
• Edit your Profile
• Add Issues and Tasks to projects you are approved

When you are all done with the steps above Please log feedback at http://www.appsxl.com/feedback.aspx  on :

• what you think about certain features
• what didnt work well

Below are some links that are going to get you started.

http://www.appsxl.com/inspiration.aspx 
(Part of my inspiration for the site. I like to watch this video before every project ;))

http://www.appsxl.com 
(Our Landing page)

Thank you all.

Lately there seems to be a lot of focus in my work for startups ,people that have a dollar(or two) and a dream. Very courageous.On the train this morning i rewatched one of my fave documentaries called Startup.com, it follows the story of two friend and the ups and downs of staqrting something from nothing. unfortunately they end up with nothing due to their aggressive fundrasing with companies that get their money from the same 9 wells that everyone else does.
 
at first i thought they had a real shot at going all the way, but when they fired the "brains" of the outfit, things started to go down in flames. but the reason i bring that up is that it reminds me of the startups today , the Web 2.0 companies vying for VC affection. some dont really have the goal to go public, however i think it may very well head that way.

Recently Sandra Bullock won an Academy Award, making her  more than just  a well rounded actress
So I thought it fitting to look at her journey, from a Startup perspective to see what it is that we can all learn from her .
1.Start small, but amaze people

Before the movie A time to kill, Sandra was in a number of movies and TV shows , but she was always playing the girlfriend or the sidekick (see Demolition Man), none of the movies really spotlighting her acting talents in a great light.

So once she had the opportunity to work on "A Time to Kill" she not only stole the chops from co-star Matthew McConaughey (Another breakout actor) the audience couldn't get enough.

Entrepreneurs have to be the same way:  We all have to toil at our day jobs until we make our big break with the projects that we have been building. We might be turning down work in order to make time for our startup. Wrong Idea. Seize the opportunity.

Look at  UX and code work on other websites as opportunities to get our work in front of people, so they can decide if we are going in the right direction. you also get to learn form others mistakes, without spending your own money

2. Put other people on

We all love George Lopez. But in Hollywood, George wasn't having the best time getting his TV show (George Lopez Show) made. Producer Robert Borden , knew he needed some A-List power to get the deal made.
Robert knew Sandra was extending Fortis Productions into TV production as well, so he asked. Sandra weighed  the decision heavily and agreed to attach her name to the show, for 11 episodes, so that they could get the show underwritten by advertisers (Procter & Gamble).

The results are staggering. The show ran for 5 seasons , a long way from 11 episodes. Sandra’s production company agreed to syndicate the show with TBS for a  $10 Million payday, including getting George a late night show in the deal as well (George Lopez Tonight)

Startup founders have to be willing to let their people have PLAY time. Time to explore the possibilities of what your product or service can do. Great example of this is DHH (www.37Signals.com Ruby on Rails Creator)

In the end of this, you never know what you’re employees will do if you give them the freedom to be driven.

3. Diversify

Sandra can retire from the profession of acting any day now, she has won Golden Globes, an Academy Award , but I’m sure that she won’t. To add to the list of things done, she can always add these two to her resume.

• Fortis Films (Owner, Producer)
• Bess Bistro (Owner)

Entrepreneurs can always add more to their resume by diversifying: thinking of more ways than one to make a dollar.
Below are some ways to diversify.

• Invest in other startups (time, hosting, advice)
• Give a tech talk(use www.techvenue.com to see some local meetups ,groups where you can pitch in)

4. To be an artist you have to practice every day…

With this tearful confessional Sandra gave an inside look into the passion and devotion it takes to be where she is.

One thing to try is to make sure to do something for your business every day, whether that’s sending an email, answering questions, doing interviews, blogging, the list goes on. People in general are addicted to NEW,  in our minds it is all about “What have you done for me lately?”. So what you do last will occupy peoples mind, rather than them forgetting you even exist

5. Thank Helga B

Sandra won an Academy Award
When she went onstage she paused for moment, tears welling up in her eyes and thanked her late mother, Helga for giving her the proper upbringing, and not allowing her to ride in cars with boys and encouraging her to practice her art.

For a down to earth person like Bullock, she makes the young girls in the world, a sense of hope, that one day they may follow in the foot steps of a good role model.

This last lesson is very simple:

Thank those that have been through every triumph and struggle with you. The benefits to this lesson are endless.


These are just a few things that I enjoy about Sandra Bullock's journey. Feel free to comment on anything I missed.

I would like to thank my wife  Ijeoma for being my lifelong Co-Founder. ;)

 These are my own opinions . Feel free to add your own or tell me which ones are a bad idea.

• Restaurants(Denny's)
• Hospitals(MedRec)
• Ticketing(Ticketmaster)
• Airports(Check In,Inflight Meal)
• Hotels(Guest Services,Replace Newspapers)
• Trains
• Buses
• Libraries.

I just had this crazy notion that would ultimately organize a WWW Protest  for Apple to allow Flash content on their mobile devices.

The return of the "Skip Intro"

I think that  major sites (NYTimes,Google,FaceBook) adopting their homepage for a week  to index pages that are flash only, but of course containing an animated object that will lead to their site.

This wouldnt be too much risk because the hardcore readers could always use RSS to get the info on the site

That action, by some of the biggest websites would prompt Apple to allow this feature to be updated on their devices.

This is just an idea. But i think that it will make the company really re-evaluate their position.

I call this the " Skip Intro Protest"

Deftones, Slick Shoes, Counting Crows, Sevendust, 4 Hour Workweek (Audiobook)

OK So its Official, I will be working with Santa Clara County Libraries teaching Iphone Programming Basics.

Ink is dry on this. I snagged the domain, details coming soon.

3rd Sunday afternoon every month.

2-5:30 Feb 21 is the first class. 

Milpitas Library
160 North Main Street, Milpitas, CA 95035-4323(408) 262-1171
The best part is that it is free to the public, the only things that you have to bring are your Library Card and your own MacBook with XCode

I decided that I was going to start an iphone empire.
Theres this nagging fact that I have to try each programming paradigm at least once

This app was created for my own use really it’s used for calculating congregation contributions and then adding them to a log that at the end of the month I can print out and have an accurate log of all transactions from the contributions coming in , to the deposits made to the bank.
This app is really the simplest type of app that you can create without expending a great deal of time on trying to find out if you even really like the programming language, in this case its objective C.

On to the screenshots

This screenshot is the initial screen that the user or Account servant will see on App launch

This is what they will see.
This is what they see when they are done entering in the totals for each contribution box.

Two things happen here,
1. The Account servant is able to see and verify the total contributions
2. The total can be submitted to the Account Log
Stay tuned for an updated UI for this App.

I was always inspired by Janet Jacksons Lyrics  to “Control” from  her first successful album, particularly these two passages:


Janet was tired of being told what was the right way to build a brand, a life, happiness. She was able to craft an identity away from the fame her brothers had. And it paid off.

I feel as if im at that same point in my life because I feel as though I finally have control.

Making things happen as opposed to waiting for things to happen to me.

All those that have known me, Since I was 15 , I have building a body of work spread from technology to design built on the platform of innovation.
I formed various companies to hold all my ideas, interests  and properties:

·  Ashcraft Arts
·  Squire Productions
·  Epique Solutions
·  MetroDataOne.com

Its only now that I bring them to one home. CurtisP.com
To quote: I hope that you enjoy this as much as I am. Welcome to CurtisP.com.