betaworks

a new partnership @betaworks

Tue, 15 May 2012 13:41:09 -0400

Today, we are announcing a partnership with Fictive Kin, the Brooklyn product studio started three years ago by Cameron Koczon. We have watched and been impressed with Fictive Kin for years, as they created the Brooklyn Beta conference, launched apps like Teux Deux and Gimme Bar, and promoted the interdependency of technology and design. The more we talked with Cameron and the Fictive team, the more we thought betaworks and Fictive Kin could create fantastic products together.

We have structured an arrangement that is new in the early stage tech world, although it has precedent in previous generations of media. Fictive Kin will operate as as a Brooklyn-based independent studio and the products they create will be developed and scaled exclusively under the betaworks umbrella. This will allow Fictive Kin to develop wonderful ideas and be assured that the companies that come out of those ideas will be funded and grow within the betaworks network.

One of Fictive Kin’s accomplishments is creating the Brooklyn Beta conference and the web of events and programs that surround it. As part of this deal, betaworks will partner with Fictive Kin in helping Brooklyn Beta to grow and evolve.

design/develop

At betaworks, we will not be doing anything differently. We will continue to build, invest in / acquire new ideas, as we always have, all means towards the end of making great things. We will remain as active as ever in early stage product design and development, but working with Fictive Kin will give us access to a different perspective and more ideas and products. As was outlined in our recent shareholder letter (http://bit.ly/K3c33U) two of our goals for 2012 are to launch and grow more companies without changing our handmade, intensive, and product-driven approach to product development and design. The second is to deepen our connection with the design/developer community in NY. Fictive and Brooklyn Beta are very much part of the new, new york tech world.

We think the best way to do this is through partnerships with creative people who we we respect, and no one fits that description better than Fictive Kin.

forever bellow: betaworks acquires vibe

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 09:21:00 -0500

There’s no better feeling than falling in love. Last fall, as the Occupy Wall Street movement gathered momentum, we noticed that many of its participants were communicating with one another using an iPhone/Android application called Vibe. We looked at Vibe and we fell in love: here was a simple, real-time, social application with an amazing ability to connect people, friends and strangers alike. In other words, just our kind of thing.

We’re excited today to be able to announce that we’ve acquired the Vibe application and that its creator, Hazem Sayed, is running this new betaworks company.

Vibe is an optionally-anonymous platform for sharing text and photos with people near you. When you use Vibe, you can “whisper” messages so only people very near you can see them, or you can “bellow” messages that are visible around the world. You can write messages that will endure forever, but you can also write messages that disappear in time. So you can post a geo-fenced message, that only people within a block of you can see that last for 15 minutes or forever. And if you prefer to post with an identity, it’s your choice to add a name to your message.

Vibe is the application layer for an underlying real-time communications network that has hundreds of potential uses. We are incredibly excited about what we’re building.

You can download the application from the iTunes store here and follow Vibe on Twitter.

Background, see: Privacy for the people: Wall Street protesters use social media app Vibe to communicate anonymously - NY Daily News http://nydn.us/Ab7huh

Introducing the Optimized Publisher™

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:12:31 -0500

Introducing the Optimized Publisher™:

Big news today from SocialFlow — our new Optimized Publisher™ is ready for brands, publishers and business of all sizes!

As you might know if you’ve been checking in with us regularly, the SocialFlow team has been working hard over the past year and a half to bring powerful publishing optimization technology to the likes of the Economist, Buzzfeed, the New York Public Library, Pepsi and Human Rights Watch. The feedback — and stunning growth — of our beta clients has been invaluable in building the Optimized Publisher™ that you can try today.

Getting the News — Evan McMorris-Santoro

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:01:00 -0500

Getting the News — Evan McMorris-Santoro:

This post is part of News.me’s ongoing series, “Getting the News.” In our efforts to understand everything about social news, we’re reaching out to writers and thinkers we like to ask them how they get their daily news. Read the first post here. See all of the posts, from writers and thinkers like Zach Seward, Anil Dash, and Megan Garber, here.

news.me

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 13:33:28 -0400

We’re pleased to announce that News.me has officially spun out of bitly to run as an independent company under betaworks.

You can read more about it here on the news.me blog or on John Borthwick’s blog.

"The internet is unique in that it’s the only information delivery and communications platform that..."

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 10:23:52 -0400

“The internet is unique in that it’s the only information delivery and communications platform that can do all of the functions of the other five legacy platforms, like PSTN/landline platform, cellular/mobile platform, broadcast TV, etc. But it’s also unique in that it’s device agnostic — it’ll happily embody anything you allow it to, and in the coming years that’ll be so many things in our world, from cars to houses to toys to equipment and all kinds of other stuff. In these environments, tools, functions, devices, etc. will be solely relevant to what the user is doing and what they need to do it.”

- Daily Patricia: Here’s The Thing About Video Chat

"Before you get excited that Facebook is going to “kill old telecom,” remember that Facebook has no..."

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 06:12:03 -0400

“Before you get excited that Facebook is going to “kill old telecom,” remember that Facebook has no internet infrastructure, therefore, it’ll be telecom’s bitch and not the other way around. But, it’s presence in the market (and Google owning infrastructure) is enough to create a potential paradigm shift that will likely finally break the grip on voice over internet calling”

- Daily Patricia: What I’ve Been Saying To VC/Investors/Etc Lately

"If you’re thinking about investing, hopefully it’s because, like me, you believe that Groupon is..."

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 15:41:01 -0400

“If you’re thinking about investing, hopefully it’s because, like me, you believe that Groupon is better positioned than any company in history to reshape local commerce. The speed of our growth reflects the enormous opportunity before us to create a more efficient local marketplace. As with any business in a 30-month-old industry, the path to success will have twists and turns, moments of brilliance and other moments of sheer stupidity. Knowing that this will at times be a bumpy ride, we thank you for considering joining us.”

- Groupon Files For IPO To Raise $750 Million

(via david-noel)

"We’re in a golden age of entrepreneurship. We have the tools to connect, create and distribute..."

Wed, 25 May 2011 10:16:20 -0400

“We’re in a golden age of entrepreneurship. We have the tools to connect, create and distribute ideas, images and ideals. Some will use them to build, others will use them to destroy. Many will use them for good, others will use them for evil. Given how new these technologies are we’re still, generally, focused on the positive impact they will have on the world. But with the rise of unabated self expression and anonymity not all will use them to promote the positive.”

- BRYCE DOT VC: Entrepreneurship’s Odd Future

"The most frustrating part is that it is difficult to get into a rhythm in your work when you have no..."

Fri, 13 May 2011 10:45:37 -0400

“The most frustrating part is that it is difficult to get into a rhythm in your work when you have no real understanding of the next steps you need to take. There’s no opportunity for flow if both outcome and process are foreign experiences. There’s just a lot of poking around and mystery and inadvertent negligence.”

- One of best descriptions of start-up life I’ve ever read

Varsity Bookmarking: My Job Pt.1 — I have no idea what I’m doing

"The idea that every tech company needs to be in the Bay Area is dead and buried. May it Rest in..."

Wed, 11 May 2011 13:44:06 -0400

“The idea that every tech company needs to be in the Bay Area is dead and buried. May it Rest in Peace.”

- BRYCE DOT VC: Can We Have Our Own Hippie Funeral?

"i would like to reiterate that i don’t want any profiles of me. i am not newsworthy. the companies..."

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 15:07:11 -0400

“i would like to reiterate that i don’t want any profiles of me. i am not newsworthy. the companies we invest in are.”

- Pulled from a hopelessly stupid profile of Fred Wilson in AdWeek.

In a world of investors breathlessly trying to generate press for themselves, this feels like the right answer. Well said Fred.

(via brycedotvc)

"On the web, my real voice finds expression."

Wed, 13 Apr 2011 12:17:58 -0400

“On the web, my real voice finds expression.”

- Roger Ebert (via austinkleon)

"I live in this little bubble world where the web makes complete sense to me and any creator who..."

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 14:49:23 -0400

“I live in this little bubble world where the web makes complete sense to me and any creator who isn’t online is insane. So, every once in a while it’s fun when I bump up against a creator who thinks I’m insane.”

- AUSTIN KLEON

"I know it sounds ‘aw shuckish’ but it’s true,” Efrusy said. “All the really interesting investments..."

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 09:58:40 -0400

““I know it sounds ‘aw shuckish’ but it’s true,” Efrusy said. “All the really interesting investments have an element of foolishness to them and you could kill any deal by pointing out what’s wrong. The freedom to take risks comes from your partners.””

- Frankness, Facebook Go A Long Way For Accel Partners’ Kevin Efrusy - Venture Capital Dispatch - WSJ (via bijan)

whitneymcn: Stay hydrated and wear comfortable shoes. - Josh...

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 18:06:38 -0500

whitneymcn:

Stay hydrated and wear comfortable shoes.

- Josh Stylman

"So stop listening to your customers and start watching what they do. Actions have always spoken..."

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 05:56:40 -0500

“So stop listening to your customers and start watching what they do. Actions have always spoken louder than words. Who knows, the actions of your users may very well be telling you something more powerful about what your business can become than what their, or your, words ever will.”

- BRYCE DOT VC

"Yeah, Tumblr is kind of a mess. Its a little bit broken. Its a little ADD. Its spread a little too..."

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 06:03:31 -0500

“Yeah, Tumblr is kind of a mess. Its a little bit broken. Its a little ADD. Its spread a little too thin. Just like me. Which is why I love the service and and why I don’t plan to leave.”

- BRYCE DOT VC: Why I Heart Tumblr

"When an entrepreneur steps to the whiteboard the energy in the room totally changes. There’s..."

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 06:57:23 -0500

“When an entrepreneur steps to the whiteboard the energy in the room totally changes. There’s movement, there’s action, there’s something happening that requires attention. The conversation moves from consuming images on a screen in lean back mode, to active engagement. Half baked ideas get refined, new ideas emerge and a two way dialoge develops where a one way monologue once was.”

- BRYCE DOT VC

"In the end, openness is only as important as the user experience it enables."

Thu, 30 Dec 2010 06:51:51 -0500

“In the end, openness is only as important as the user experience it enables.”

- brycedotvc