I am disgusted by the comments made about the article in New Scientist about the 147 most influential companies that "control everything": http://bit.ly/nJLKNz

These companies have created millions of great jobs, fed millions of families and are central part of every economy. Why are so many (investment) banks on the list? Every private citizen, government organization, and business needs a bank to work, function and flourish. 

The #OWS influenced commentary is sad and disgraceful. These banks "own" 40% of the economy because they are enableing it and are tightly knit into the business fabric that makes this world go around. Also beloved facebook and twitter which is enableling the global "protest". And, yes, also the bus company, airlines, and the public transportation system that transport protesters to and from their venue; the tent manufacturer, the sleeping bag company, and the local food market that feed protesters and that keep them warm at night, and yes, even the Japanese manufactuerer of the photo and video equipment that they use to record their occupation.

The White House Correspondents Dinner 2011 covered by C-SPAN.

Last week I gave an interview to my beloved Sandbox Network. I love being part of it since there are so many bright minds contributing each day. I am glad that I could contribute as well. My friend Mathias J. Holzmann put it like this recently: "life is about the ppl you meet and share time with! thanks to all of you making life so damn exciting!" I could not agree more.

After the interview was released someone left a very critical if not offensive comment under the interview and I just responded to it. Personally, I think it is great that people can speak their mind and that is why I find it sad that someone is punching below the belt; and I don’t even mean just that person who left this comment. Looking at the work of other fellow Sandboxers it is quite staggering to see that many of those who have a great impact and are admired for that are also in the crosshairs of critics for just that.

Recently, I watched an interview on TV in which one member of the owning and managing family of Europe’s largest food producers (Dr. Oetker) commented on his charity activities. He was asked why in Germany nobody was attempting something similar to “The Pledge” of Warren Buffet and Bill Gates. To my surprise he stated that most of the wealthy individuals (at least in Germany) are doing comparable things and most of them had stopped talking about it publicly completely. Today I understand why. If a wealthy individual helps build a children’s hospital by contributing funds and contacts he will always receive harsh criticism accusing him of using the hospital for some selfish personal motives. I feel the critique about the work of fellow Sandboxers is a great analogy to it. Wherever great things happen the fans and especially the critics don’t seem to be far.

Just read Jason Calacanis' blog bost / newsletter bid on how Facebook could actually make more money than they are right now. He argues that 2011 revenues might be around 12 billion USD rather than 4 billion USD just buy introducing new features. In light of recent transactions and a future IPO - the article argues - Facebook is deliberately holding back to play the valuation. Besides being an interesting read I recommend you read the full story here: http://launch.is/blog/l016-facebook-sandbagging-2011-revs-really-12b-not-4b.html

It will be interesting to follow the LAUNCH conference next year in San Francisco. After the "battle" Jason Calacanis had with Mike Arrington from TechCrunch and their split I am pretty convinced he wants to outdo himself again with yet another great conference. This will be his own gig, though.

Details for that can be found here: http://launch.is/conference/

I am both proud and overjoyed to give you the link to my interview on Sandbox Network. Recently, the great community manager Wlad asked me some questions and I was more than happy to answer them. I love being part of the Sandbox Network since there are so many eager and driven people contributing all the time. I am glad I could contribute my two cents as well.

You can find the full interview here: http://www.sandbox-network.com/meet-a-sandboxer/meet-a-sandboxer-tobias-jaeger/

I just read the CNN article (http://bit.ly/hSpDEM) about Apple suing Amazon over the"App Store". As mentioned in the article it seems that especially tech companies are pretty serious and surprisingly unfunny when it comes to trademarks or terms that they "own". Generally, it is not a cool thing if your product that you worked on so hard and long is suddenly hijacked by someone and becomes an even greater success for that person or company. On the other hand the terms or phrases that (tech) firms come up have to stick with a large audience and are thus often extremely generic. If you think of all the internet startups with any -ly or -ply or -avo or -ando ending. They are sound alike and the creativity regarding the name is quite questionable. In any case this is also a great tool to get publicity. All this seems so Ryanair-esque to me.

If you are the proud owner of the latest edition of the Inc. Magazine you will see Jason Fried (@JasonFried), founder of 37Signals, on the cover. Jason's article is titled "How to Get Good at Making Money".

Looking at a lot of (internet) startups - including the one I ran formerly - I observe that many startups are getting good at building businesses and only a few are concentrating on making money.

Jason offers the following observation: "One thing I do know is that making money is not the same as starting a business. For entrepreneurs, this is an important thing to understand. Most of us identify with the products we create or services we provide. I make software. He is a headhunter. She builds computer networks. But the fact is, all of us must master one skill that supersedes the others: making money. You can be the most creative software designer in the world. But if you don't know how to make money, you're never going to have much of a business or a whole lot of autonomy."

At my former university a Masters degree in Entrepreneurship was launched a couple of years ago. Part of that Master is to launch your own company with several other people and sell your product or service in the shortest time possible. Regularly I meet up with some of these startups to give them feedback and hear about their idea. For me there is nothing more fascinating than getting some insights into how these guys are working on it. Often enough I am quite shocked. Not about the idea or product. They are usually great and prove of how much effort they put into it. Usually the source of my unbelief is the approach on how to sell the product. In other terms "how to make money". Seeing my own internet startup go in a way I didn't want it to go made me aware of how too much planning and university textbook stuff can ruin your perfectly fine idea.

As Jason points out several times it is essentially two different things building a business and making money. Many startups (specially those with an academic background) should focus much more to generate first sales. Too often people are too afraid to get started and think about this process way too long. Listening to the student ventures at my university this seems to be the problem that everyone is having. They are able to come up with fantastic plans to conquer the world and most are too afraid to start the first battle or war. Instead of getting their hands a little dirty by doing some effective legwork they are seeking ways to even more formalize the process.

To break the habit Jason recommends to just get practicing. From personal experience this is also the most effective way to get the ball rolling and celebrate first successes.

The quote is from the website of Inc. Magazine, found in the full article by Jason at http://www.inc.com/magazine/20110301/making-money-small-business-advice-from-jason-fried.html - If you like the article please consider ordering a reprint or retweet their story.

Ever wondered why the US jobmarket is so much more flexible for foreign talent? Well, it's because of initiatives like these. Imagine what this could mean for European countries if there was a similar (working) program.
A German internet startup entrepreneur told me recently that he had to wait 7 months for the clearance of employing a foreign developer that was urgently needed.
Good news if you are starting in the US - as an employee or entrepreneur.

The pictures coming over from Japan remind me of the terrible Tsunami on Christmas Eve a couple of years back. I am devastated by the force of destruction that can be seen. Thankfully most of my friends currently in Japan are accounted for. 

The BBC World News team has put up a picture gallery of the moment when the Tsunami has hit the ground and the hours after. The pictures make it clear that Japan needs help right now and hopefully the World is responding quickly. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12709791)

If you are looking for someone that is currently in Japan and you have or have no information regarding the status of that person please consider having a look at the Google powered Person Finder: http://japan.person-finder.appspot.com/

The Japanese people is in my thoughts and hopefully they can find the strength to endure such a national tragedy.