it's been too long

Yes, I haven't blogged for awhile. Things have been way too hectic. Between fotochatter, and getting ready for the move to Philly, there just hasn't been time. I think I'm going to have to pick this back up once I'm nicely settled and enjoying preterm. I'm sure the next few months will give me plenty to blog about.

imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...

I hate people sometimes.

be afraid...

click here .. and prepare to be very afraid (you don't need to do the survey, just stay on the page for like 10 seconds). And it's not one of those screaming things, don't worry.

Why business school? Why now? (and for real this time)

Well, finally a posting that's not about fotochatter. I do reserve the right to post about it entirely too much, just so you know. As the famous song goes, "It's my blog and I can write what I want to." Well on to the matter at hand.

It seems every bschool asks some version of the question "Why business school?". And it also seems that everyone (applicants, students, admit committees) all realize that this question is a sham. Everyone writes down some variation of their reasons, but no one gives a really honest answer, simply because the honest answers aren't really that exciting and usually aren't very politically correct. Rather than discussing whether there is any worth in asking the question in the first place, other than to stage a large fictional essay writing contest, I wanted to spend some time and answer the question for real, and be brutally honest.

My case is slightly unique. As an entrepreneur, an MBA is not nearly as helpful as it would be in the corporate world, Wall Street, or a consulting firm. In fact, I have been questioned repeatedly about my reason for getting an MBA, given my career choice. In thinking about it, there are a number of reasons I am getting an MBA, and quite excited to do so:

1. Sometimes I need a "real job"
I have been involved some type of entrepreneurial venture my entire career. However, during this time I have also done tours of duty in the corporate world, shifting my entrepreneurial ventures to the side. Strangely enough, I didn't hate it in corporation land, but one of my major difficulties was in convincing people that I could do more than whatever small box (usually technical) that my job description entailed. This has been a source of endless irritation and frustration. Not surprisingly, one of my major reasons for getting an MBA is so that I will have a better selection of roles to choose from for those times when I do have to have a "real job". Until one of my entrepreneurial projects hits it big, I will keep cycling back and forth between working for myself, and working for some company. An MBA (hopefully) will make the latter a little more enjoyable.

2. Why not?
I'm financially OK, and I'm not tied down to any particular area right now. I don't particularly like the idea of spending the next two years in the daily grind. If I could go spend them in a new place, meet new people, and have new experiences, why wouldn't I? Answer: Because it costs SOOOOOOO much. Well yeah, but it's not like we get to take it with us when we're gone. Besides, any budding MBA should know that as an entrepreneur I am probably not risk averse when it comes to spending a bunch of money on a hunch.

3. I will learn something
I don't believe all those out there who essentially say an MBA is worthless and that you gain very little in the way of real learning. I'm not quite sure why this degree in particular is singled out for such scrutiny, but I am positive that someone like myself will learn a great deal, especially considering that I do not have a formal business background. Also, I will be able to interact with many people who have no interest in entrepreneurship and are set on becoming bankers, or marketers, or consultants. While at first this may seem to be counter-productive, I think being surrounded by a diverse group of people will help to round-out my perspective on things.

4. Because it's Wharton.
This is probably a reason that most people won't admit, but being able to go to a top school is a big deal. Not only will you always get the recognition, but for many of us, this is the first time we will get to be in a "top" institution of learning. I won't even begin the debate over whether it's the best bschool, but lets just say it's certainly somewhere in the top 3 or 4. There is something that goes all the way back to my college days that wanted to do something like this, and it will be really nice to get to experience being “one of the best”. You can call it ego, or whatever you like, but, at least it’s the truth.

blogs and bugs

We got our first english blog review today (not saying that english is superior in any way, just that I can understand it). And it was really, really good.

Unfortunately, we also discovered a bug in our registration process that would pretty much prevent most people from registering. So all in all, we've been working really hard to get people to a service where most of them would not be able to register :(

Life is funny that way sometimes. Well at least now it's fixed, but talk about a roller coaster ride of a day.

innovatrice!

Well, aside from being divertente we are also innovatrice. This is pretty cool. Now perhaps if someone would review the thing in English, I would be able to understand what's going on.

divertente!

Well it's official, fotochatter is divertente!

I mean, I knew it was, but this just confirms it.

wharton is bad?

I came across this article today (3rd on google when you type in "famous wharton grads"). It's a pretty biting condemnation of Wharton and its MBA grads. I don't know whether it's because I'm already invested (in the most literal sense) in the school, but much of the article didn't really ring true to me. I am a bit curious as to the intentions of the author, you never can tell what kind of backstory an article like this might have...

fotochatter is finally launched!

It has been crazy but it's done...sort of. My semi-secret project is finally ready for its debut. fotochatter is born! fotochatter is a mobile social network (or mososo if you speak Wired) for image sharing. Basically, it is a free service that allows a user to narrowcast photos from their phones to the phones of all their friends and receive comments back on their phone.

The basic use case is as follows:

1. Jack sends a picture from his phone to his fotochatter posting address.
2. All ten of Jack's fotochatter friends get an SMS notifying them that he has added a photo (if they have this option turned on).
3. They view Jack's photo on their phones either via the fotochatter WAP site or J2ME(Java) application.
4. Some friends make comments on his photo.
5. 5 minutes later, Jack receives several comments (via SMS) on his photo, and can reply to each individually via SMS.

We just launched last night, and I use the term night loosely. In any case, it is there and we will be growing it on an invite only basis for a time. However, if you are reading this blog, you are obviously a discriminating and intelligent individual. If you would like an invite, drop me a note: fotochatter-at-gmail-com.

This will by my last project before school, so I hope all goes well. It will be interesting to see if this is the type of thing that people want to do with their phones, and if so, what the adoption of the service will be like.

what the heck?!?

This isn't a blog about politics, and there are plenty of sources out there trashing America's methods in our current conflicts, but this excerpt from an article in time really blew me away.

"It may have been a measure of how detainees are treated that when Army Specialist Sean Baker played the role of an inmate in a 2003 training exercise, he says he was beaten so badly by MPs, who did not know he was one of them, he now has seizures. The Army is investigating the incident, and Baker has filed suit against the government, seeking damages for his injuries".

It may have been a measure...? What is everyone smoking?