I sat down with Om Malik tonight to record the latest of our weekly podcasts. We sat across the table from each other in a quiet room instead of using Gizmo Project and you can tell the difference in the quality of the audio file.
This week’s podcast is 8.9 MB in size and 19 minutes and 15 seconds in length.
We spent most of the podcast talking about startup companies in the Bay Area. Last week Om and I became well aware of the new bubble forming in the valley. I shook my head as I saw two new companies with Google Maps markers in their corporate logo fail to elaborate a business strategy or exit. Many companies seem built-to-flip to Google, Yahoo!, or MSN, and it gets a bit frustrating. On the other hand, I like hearing stories of employees smothered by bureaucracy leaving their small company, creating an innovative solution to the problem, and being bought by the same company. The Robot Co-op is like that, but still able to operate outside of Amazon.
Other topics covered include what Om and I think Google, Yahoo!, and MSN are looking for in a potential acquisition, discussion of previous companies such as Android, MessageCast, Lookout, and Flickr, and current acquisition targets such as Riya.
Next week Om and I will talk about mobile phone hardware and technologies.