Google Suspends LAUNCH Google+ Account -- But Not Profiles of Other Media Properties

Yes, Google asked businesses to wait before getting on Google+. But considering its meteoric growth and ability to drive traffic, we didn’t want to wait -- and neither did a number of other online properties, which set up profiles within days of the Google+ launch.

Google, however, has started cracking down on brand pages, and suspended the LAUNCH Media profile a few days ago with no warning or explanation. Here’s what we saw when we tried to post an update:



We’re not the only ones affected (and we don’t mean William Shatner).

Click to read more ...

GitHub Simplifies Sharing Code to Change How Developers Work and Market Themselves

WHAT: Simple way for developers to share and store code. Developers have a profile page and can follow others, watch repositories (where code is stored) and discover new projects. Many use their profiles as a resume. GitHub encourages forking -- taking code and developing it in a different direction -- to try out ideas (the practice used to considered negative).

[ Git is an open-source version-control system that Linux creator Linus Torvalds developed in 2005 ]

LAUNCHERS: Chris Wanstrath, CEO; Tom Preston-Werner, CTO; PJ Hyett, COO.

WHY: Git should make it easier for developers to collaborate, but it needed infrastructure to do just that. SourceForge requires permissions and approvals to post new projects and make code changes, limiting the amount of code shared. Other tools for version control are cumbersome. Plus there was no place for developers to easily track their own projects and coding history.

Click to read more ...

How to Post from Google+ to Facebook and Twitter

If you spend much of your time on Google+ these days but don’t want to leave your Facebook friends and Twitter followers in the dark, you have two ways to connect your G+ posts to those feeds.

First option: Go to the Chrome web store and search for Start G+. Download the free plugin.

Once it’s installed and you’re logged into your Google+ profile, you’ll need to sign in to Twitter and Facebook by clicking on the icons on the right side of your black nav bar at the top.

Click to read more ...

Personal CRM Startups Hashable and Rapportive Launch New Features to Make Their Apps More Addictive

WHAT: Hashable: Manage all your contacts and relationships on your phone(s) and desktop. The 2.0 version makes "private" the default setting and adds follow-up reminders that integrate with your calendar, follow-up messages (e.g., thank yous), relationship histories and private notes about contacts.

Rapportive: See info about the person emailing you -- photo, current job, recent tweets, etc. --  in you inbox (Gmail only right now) and add private note about him. Latest feature: see info about the person you’re composing an email to.

LAUNCHERS:  Hashable: Michael Yavonditte, CEO. Rapportive: Rahul Vohra (CEO), Martin Kleppmann and Sam Stokes (CTO)

Click to read more ...

How Much Money Should a Startup Have in the Bank?

By Jason Calacanis

One question I get all the time from fellow entrepreneurs is “How much money should I have in the bank?”

In the startup industry we call this “runway,” and you’ll frequently hear management teams discuss how much runway they have in terms of months. Another name for the capital you have in the bank is “dry powder,” as in dry gunpowder your soldiers can use to kill and maim your enemies -- and win the war.

Startups should have 18 months of runway.

Under 18 months you’ll be distracted.

Over 18 months you might get distracted.


What Is Runway and Why It’s Important

Your runway in months is amount of capital you have in the bank divided by the amount of money you burn (or lose) each month.

Click to read more ...