Age Distribution of People on the Web

Jay Bhatti — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:52:55 -0400

Despite Privacy Concerns, 74% of people openly show their age on the web!

As a people search engine, Spock crawls and indexes millions of web documents and social network profiles everyday.

Why is Yahoo Not Buying Back Its Stock?

Jay Bhatti — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 20:31:43 -0400

In a recent Fortune article, Yi-Wyn Yen suggested that Yahoo's management should announce a major buyback the way Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard did. Yi-Wyn Yen quoted Argues Canaccord Adams equity analyst Colin Gillis as saying "If Yahoo [executives] really thought the stock was worth $40, then send a signal of confidence and show us that you mean it.

When a company buys back shares of its own stock, several things happen:

1 – There are fewer shares in the open market, which makes current shareholders shares worth more.

Looking for a New Job? Be Prepared to Rely on the Web

Jay Bhatti — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 19:21:01 -0400

With the current economic situation resulting in mass layoffs by some companies, there will be a large influx of qualified people entering the job market. For recruiters and HR personal alike, this comes as a blessing in disguise. With the job market set to become even more competitive, it will be more important than ever for people to not only re-examine their existing web presence, but also to make oneself more visible through self promotion.

How to Launch a Start-Up in Today’s Environment

Jay Bhatti — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 23:55:34 -0400

With the financial meltdown yet to be resolved, a slowing economy and VCs backing away from Web 2.0 start-ups, many people assume that now is the worst time to launch a start-up. Yet, now is precisely the best time to launch a tech start-up. Historically some of the most successful companies have started during times of financial uncertainty. Given that IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, and Google were all started during economic downturn, we may see the next big thing emerge.

Microsoft and Yahoo Losing Search in a BIG Way

Jay Bhatti — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:01:47 -0400

The latest search numbers were recently released and it appears that for the month of August once again Microsoft and Yahoo lost market share to Google. What’s worse is that not only are they losing market share in a growing market, but they are actually losing the number of raw searches done on their properties.

Fast Talk Response -

Jay Bhatti — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 20:21:28 -0400

I applaud Facebook for making a change. Companies that fail to look for innovative ways to improve or change ultimately end up losing ground. At Spock.com we've gone through a number of UI changes, and while some changes have been more successful than others, we've made important strides in improving and getting to know our product. I think the initial backlash was a result of people unable to find their favorite items.

Hopefully Facebook will not abandon their UI changes entirely, but will look for ways to improve its design.

How the financial meltdown affects high tech

Jay Bhatti — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 20:01:13 -0400

Having worked in the financial sector before moving out west to start-up land, I have been asked several times over the past few days about the impact the financial meltdown will have on high tech.

At first, people may think the sectors are so far removed from each other that the impact would be minimal. I mean, come on. What in the world does Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, AIG, and Bear Sterns have to do with the fate of start-ups in Silicon Valley and established giants like Oracle and Microsoft. Plenty when you take a closer look.

Protecting Your Online Identity

Jay Bhatti — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 13:28:08 -0400

Your personal information is online and getting more accessible every day. So how can you manage your online reputation and privacy in this cyber world where walls don't exist?
Here are five ways in which Internet users can ensure that their online identity is correctly positioned and that their personal information is protected:
1. Take Responsibility for Your Online Actions

Top Vertical Search Engines

Jay Bhatti — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:27:03 -0400

Reporters and venture capitalists often ask me to name some of the top vertical search engines. Because I believe strongly that search will become a dynamic industry of very search specific sites and concepts, I decided to compile a listing of what I think will be the search engines that take market share away from Google, Yahoo and Microsoft over the next 3 years.

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