Deborah Gage

Journalists may hate this product, but a San Mateo, Calif.-based startup claims to have found a way to measure buzz—that intangible force that can make or break a product, company or even an entire country. Biz360 offers software that tracks the number of times a company or product is mentioned in the press. The software […]

Once again, I am closeted in a fancy hotel at a conference for startups and venture capitalists. This time, however, I am sort of enjoying it. The silliness and arrogance of the past couple of years are fading away, and I am surrounded by people who talk intensely about technology, self-discipline and five-year business plans. […]

Learning from experience seemed to be the theme at this years Demo conference, with startups vying to show off their technology and eager to acknowledge the fact that they have business plans. Especially prominent among the 76 companies selected to attend the show, held in Phoenix, were those demonstrating software that solves technical and business […]

Upside Magazines showcase for startups was rather somber this year. With fewer attendees, the auditorium was nearly empty by the second day. Still, the New Economy has left its mark. In honor of the Internet bubble, moderator Jesse Berst listed some ways the New Economy has changed the way we talk. They say: What would […]

The dot-com crash has inspired caution among startups. Tight funding has encouraged a return to more traditional business practices and has made growth through partnerships more attractive. No longer opting to throw funds at broad, mass-marketing campaigns, start-ups are becoming more strategic. “We learned to be stingy on how resources are spent and pay attention […]

It has become a daily ritual in Silicon Valley to listen for news of the power crisis. Those of us who live here are accustomed to earthquakes, fires and mud slides. But worrying about whether my office is scheduled for a rolling blackout feels worse, because it exposes how complex our society has become and […]

Ten months after the Nasdaq topped 5000 and then began its downward drift, journalists finally are feeling the pressure. In the last few weeks, hundreds of journalists have been laid off from New Economy magazines and from Web sites whose big-name backers suddenly realized that they were drinking the same Kool-Aid that fueled the explosion […]

Hewlett-Packard needs your help. In the wake of CEO Carly Fiorinas warning that the company will miss first-quarter earnings due to “worsening economic conditions and a deceleration in corporate and consumer IT spending,” (dont you love corporate-speak?) HP flacks are working the phones. The company has been calling reporters soliciting their opinions on what HP […]

One week into the new millennium we are deluged with reports of the slowing economy and its innumerable ramifications—corporate spending cutbacks, dot-com shutdowns, underwater stock options, and so on. In recent weeks, Microsoft, Sun and Hewlett-Packard all have tried boosting their stock prices by leaking internal memos from their CEOs calling for belt-tightening, and many […]