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They couldn’t spell hemorrhage but they sure knew how to do it. “In an e-mail dated March 16, 2000, Idealab President Marcia Goodstein told Gross ‘we are running out of cash. At your current deal rate, we’re not running, we’re hemmorrhage [sic], I can’t even think of words strong enough to express how fast we are going broke.’ That e-mail came at a time when Idealab still looked like a success, at least to outsiders. It had just raised $1 billion from private investors. The following month, the firm filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission to sell stock to the public. Idealab ultimately shelved that plan after the stock market collapsed. “

Buy low sell high – isn’t that the common sense mantra for investing? So on the question of where to invest, given that the safe bets, real estate, cash in the bank etc. don’t look too rewarding. The answer is – invest in the future. A smart Venture Capitalist that I know, someone who I respect cos he kept a cool head through the bubble, said that he wanted to do counter-cyclical investing – exactly. Lets hear it for the Counter Cycle VC. Buy low, sell high, there’s lots of creativity and new ideas out there. The Economist suggests there may be nowhere to invest in 2003 nickdenton.org: 2003 investment ideas

Jeff Jarvis admirably stands up for the role of media companies. What he is points out is that the support for Eldred was more the noble cause of ‘lets root for the underdog’ (the subject of many hollywood films). With more efficient distribution and marketing perhaps leaner media companies will concentrate on getting the best talent in front of any customer instead of any talent in front of the most gullible customer.

Although the Supreme Court ruling is undoubtedly a blow. There is a bright side. Media companies may have won a battle but they are losing the war – digital media fundamentally changes the role of the agent between artists and their fans. If copyright were indefinite, Shakespeare would make more money over time than all pulp fiction. Longer copyrights mean that media companies can take a longer term view and since quality lasts, this means slightly less over-hyped, short-term junk. When you couple this with the fact that the role of media companies as marketers and distributers is reduced by the efficiencies of digital media distribution and peer to peer recommendation, then the need for the middle people is reduced and there is even less money to spend on promoting crap. News From The Associated Press