What’s Old Is New: The Gatekeepers Are Back, and Stronger Than Ever

By Trevor Gilbert August 31, 2012

In the early days of the Internet, its disruptive nature wasn’t a result of technical protocols or flashy GIFs. It was the promise that anyone could head West, set up shop, and succeed based upon their merits, that a startup out of Stanford could organize the world’s information, or that it was possible for a couple of guys to take…

Gift Cards Bring Physical Customers to the Digital World

By Trevor Gilbert August 30, 2012

Earlier today, Etsy announced a gift card program which will serve as a proprietary payment processing system. Also today, Spotify announced that it would be selling physical gift cards in stores across the United States. This follows companies like Facebook, Apple, and Zynga, that have all sold gift cards at one point or another, all…

The JOBS Act: Coming Soon to a Startup Near You, If the SEC Would Just Get Out of the Way

By Trevor Gilbert August 29, 2012

Earlier today, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a set of proposed regulatory changes as part of the implementation of the JOBS Act. The Act, which is supposed to simplify the process for raising capital for startups, gave us the promise of disrupting the venture capital industry. Instead, the SEC has tied up the JOBS Act in red tape,...

The Enemy of My Enemy Is My Friend: Apple Needs to Take Care of Google Before It Goes After Amazon

By Trevor Gilbert August 28, 2012

With all of the hoopla surrounding Apple’s decisive victory over Samsung last week, there has been nary a mention of what the company should do next. Having a proven narrative that juries clearly relate to, it has one of the strongest legal positions in the technology industry right now. Because of this strong position, it would seem to make sense…

Diaspora Backs Itself Into Corner with Plan to Decentralize

By Trevor Gilbert August 27, 2012

Disrupting incumbent technologies is hard, but people still try — and more power to them. Case in point, the news that Diaspora, the open-source and distributed social network that was once “going to disrupt Facebook,” is changing its structure. The service will be run by the community and the product will be changed by the community, with the central…

Calling All Internet Users (That Means You): Dispatch Is Here to Bring Faster Internet to Your Doorstep

By Trevor Gilbert August 24, 2012

We’re surrounded by an invisible, chaotic matrix of manipulated frequencies every day. WiFi. 2.4 GHz. 5 GHz. 3G. 4G. 123G. But while these connections are all pointing to the same thing — the all-knowing Internet — they are working against each other, when they should be working with each other. These signal bounce into each other, and in…

Airbnb’s Wish Lists Prove to Be a Big Win with Users

By Trevor Gilbert August 23, 2012

Earlier this summer, Airbnb launched a new feature called Wish Lists, a feature that allows users to create lists of places that they want to go to. For example, users with a penchant for castles can create a dream list of medieval fortresses, while users desiring to get away from the urban sprawl can create a list of secluded…

Prismatic Launches iPhone App, and Knocks It Out of the Park

By Trevor Gilbert August 23, 2012

A few years ago, I went on a trip to Morocco with my family. As is normally the case when we travel, we went to local market in search of good deals on locally made goods. We walk into the market, and it’s suddenly a cacophony of sounds, languages, items being thrown in the air, and merchants pulling us into…

CircleUp Spinning on All Cylinders With Four Startups Funded

By Trevor Gilbert August 22, 2012

CircleUp is one of the latest in a line of startups including FundersClub, MicroVentures, and AngelList that are looking to disrupt the venture capital industry. The company profiles startups that are actively raising capital, and then connects the companies with accredited investors. Today, CircleUp is announcing that its platform has been used to successfully raise money…

Pixorial Tag Teams Rumblefish for Infringement-Free Videos

By Trevor Gilbert August 22, 2012

You’ve got this video you’ve put together of some cats all climbing over each other to get to the top of the stairs. It’s funny, but it won’t reach viral status unless you add a killer soundtrack. Do you know what would work? “O Fortuna”. Over the top drama, cute cats, comical scene — a perfect recipe. But it’s also…