Valleywag: Photos

Shutterfly lets its users photos out, almost

Melissa Gira Grant — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 11:40:00 PDT

Shutterfly, the photo-sharing website for those who want to share their vacation photos on a T-shirt, is launching a feature today called Share Sites. Now users can display their photos in a gallery that looks like the rest of the Web. But they still cannot do what rivals have allowed for some time — to actually get their photos on a MySpace profile. Why not?

CEO Jeff Housenbold told Bits "There has not been a tremendous amount of demand for that from our customers." It's kind of sweet, actually. There are still people out there who think the whole Internet doesn't need to see what a better life they lead in pictures. Also, there are 8 million-plus subscribers to AOL dial-up.

Valleywag spots secret Yahoo conclave at D6

Owen Thomas — Wed, 28 May 2008 18:20:00 PDT

CARLSBAD, CA — On stage at D6, Sue Decker couldn't offer any explanation why she was qualified to be president of Yahoo. But if you ask Valleywag, she's doing a bang-up job of pursuing Yahoo's strategy of embracing openness. For example, by holding a meeting within camera-lens length of Valleywag in the Four Seasons Lobby Lounge. Our eye was first drawn by Yahoo Media Group chief Scott Moore's blindingly colorful Madras shirt; we then saw he was sitting with Decker. Two of the other participants: Gordon McLeod and Matthew Goldberg, business-side executives at Dow Jones, which means they were likely discussing some kind of news-content partnership between Yahoo and the Wall Street Journal. I'd thought I spooted Brad Garlinghouse, the Yahoo executive who wrote the famous "Peanut Butter Memo," in the group, but I'm told he wasn't there. I later spotted him strolling down the halls with Yahoo board member Bobby Kotick, the CEO of Activision. More pictures of the meeting:

What's on Steve Jurvetson's desk

Chris Mohney — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 12:40:24 PST

On the occasion of his 40th birthday, DFJ's Steve Jurvetson gives an annotated Flickr tour of his desk space. Not quite as detailed as the Kevin Rose version, but he's got Bill Clinton in the mix.

Party Report: Girls in Tech @ Slide

Chris Mohney — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 14:00:16 PST

MEGAN MCCARTHY — Once again, it's back to Slide for yet another meet and greet, though at least this time no one is (overtly) fishing for funding. It's a different order of fishing tonight, as this is "Girls in Tech," an evening created by three female consultants who hope to build buzz via a connected hen party of (ideally) successful and attractive women. No one would admit to riding the slide tonight. The organizers — PR vixen Laurie Anne Lassek, marketing guru Julia French, and Vlog Hot contestant Adriana Gascoigne — held court over a gaggle of Y chromosomes, for the first hour at least. Which I missed. (Thank you, traffic on Sand Hill Road.) Still, I managed to meet up with Natali Del Conte (yet another Vlog Hot contestant) and Kevin Burton of Tailrank. As is often the case, the formal party concept, hardly formal though it was, rapidly evolved/devolved into a night on the town, with all the attendant morning-after consequences. Despite escorting a visiting reporter from Der Spiegel, journalistic precepts were tossed to the wind, leaving us with little more of a party report than you're presently reading. Lane Hartwell did the usual stellar work on the photo gallery though, and you can enjoy a few samples after the jump.

Feel free to check out the full gallery.

Party Report: Revision3 at Slide

Chris Mohney — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 10:07:55 PST

MEGAN MCCARTHY — Last night marked a soiree at Slide for Revision3, the net TV net brought to you by the fine folks at Digg. Indie mag XLR8R has joined the outfit with XLR8R TV; mag founder Andrew Smith says the show covers "cutting-edge music and culture." (Also, the host of the show is named — no joke and completely coincidentally — Vivian Host.) Slide is a newish club partially owned by Friendster founder Jonathan Abrams (he was there, but left before I could be introduced). Slide's speakeasy theme perplexingly includes an actual slide patrons can use to enter the club; is this how it was done back in Prohibition? At least two people copped to using the slide last night. "It's a lot better in a speedo," said one. As are so many things. Full gallery of fotographic fun may be found here, courtesy of lenswoman Lane Hartwell. After the jump, our report and a sample of the visual entertainment.

Hooray for drink tickets! They gave me one at the door, but it was a cash bar after the first round. Boo. The crowd was very hipster Mission/SOMA It was cold outside, and everyone seemed inclined to keep their jacket on, as if they were both trying to keep warm and trying to decide if the party was cool enough to stick around.

Free copies of XLR8R were handed out, which I forgot to take with me, because I'm a dumbass. Jay Adelson, CEO of Digg and Chairman and CEO of Revision3, grabbed a mic to introduce a teaser of the show, but there were constant audio problems. When the mic was working, the audio feed of the video was not. When the audio feed worked, the mic was giving a lot of feedback, etc. The bass was loud enough to feel, and not in a good way.

Digg's Kevin Rose made the required appearance, of course, despite his currently dismal showing in our Vlog Hot poll. He did not seem all that broken up about it though, spending his time laying his mack down on all the ladies present.

Garret Camp from StumbleUpon was nearby, along with Leah Culver from Wink (another Vlog Hottie contestant) and Tim Kelly from Virgin America. Kelly's very excited about the upcoming cross-country Virgin flight for Diggnation, as well he should be.

Meet Justin and Louise, who introduced themselves with "We're friends with benefits." After seeing my reaction (stopping, blinking, contemplating the concept of TMI), Louise went on to explain that "Friends with Benefits" is the name of their event-planning company. Zing! Much later, after navigating around crowds of TechTV alums, I managed to corner nice guy David Prager (Revision3 COO and cofounder) for a few questions, but it was too dark to see what I was writing down. He obligingly held my illuminated cellphone over my notes to aid visibility. Thanks Dave!

Be sure to check the full gallery.

Stock slide not quite as bad as 9/11

Chris Mohney — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 14:00:31 PST

Congratulations, men and women of Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Global Diversified Equity Income Fund! You rang today's opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, oblivious that you'd also be ringing in the worst slide in the exchange's value since September 17, 2001. You can blame China, sure. You've got that IPO to celebrate!

Ruby Rippey-Tourk's dramatic blog past

Chris Mohney — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 06:00:25 PST

A tipster wrote us this past weekend:

I just saw Gavin Newsom and a blonde female companion stop by the Urth Cafe on Beverly Drive, in Beverly Hills, to grab a cup of coffee.

Well, coffee's good for a man who doesn't know if he's an alcoholic, and the ladyfriend is likely an equal tonic for other reasons. Speaking of which, the accompanying photo is worth a laff. It's Engadget's Pete Rojas, in a high-school production of Woody Allen's Play It Again Sam. Draped over his lap is none other than Ruby Rippey, a.k.a. Ruby Rippey-Tourk, the aide's wife that Newsom had an affair with. Fullsize pic after the jump, scanned right from the veritable sophomore yearbook.

Party Report: SF Beta at 111 Minna

Chris Mohney — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 14:00:55 PST

MEGAN MCCARTHY — It's once more into the breach at 111 Minna, the same damn art gallery/bar that's hosted any number of Web 2.0 parties, for the latest incarnation of the SF Beta demo-drinkiefest. The same old crowd of gadflies mixed with a few new faces and marched right by the superfluous jazz trio in the front room, homing in on the back room with the demos and instantly-devoured hors d'ouvere platters. One surprise was the presence of an actual Pastafarian pirate, but he left before I had a chance to interrogate him. When SF Beta began in October, it was yet another startup-meets-investor snoregasm, with the detached hipsteresque twist of making the startups pitch their ideas in haiku. Thankfully, this practice has been discontinued, leaving the demos for those who want to play with them, while the rest of us remained more bar-focused. Enjoy the photo gallery crafted by the collar-throttling mastery of Lane Hartwell. Notes and select pics after the jump.

Observe the CORPORATE EVENTS HOSTESSES handing out nametags. Why the hell are there so many of these damn "networking" meet and greets? There seems to be critical mass of people who were not around during the first go-round and want to try this stuff again. Though since you see a lot of the same people at every party, they're just as likely here for the booze. They're so like us.

So, I talked to Dan Hübner, Jeska Dzwigalski, and Ben Glenn of Linden Lab, none of whom are the gentleman above. Dan is the Director of Community Affairs or, as he puts it, the man in charge of Gray Matters ( i.e., ageplay, etc.). Jeska is a community manager, and Ben just got hired a month ago. I wanted to ask them about the rumors of Scientology in Second Life, but then Dan started talking about his real-life interactions with SL denizens, culminating in a story about having to go to a business meeting at a furry convention. He claims he did not wear a panda suit, nor did he attend any furry parties. Again, so he claims.

The Second Lifers continued, telling me how much SL has grown, and the wacky surprises perpetrated by the community. In beta, one user created a spaceship which coasted around beaming up other people's avatars. This proved popular with the more passive types, who commenced to waiting placidly for someone to beam them up. That almost perfectly encapsulates a great deal of the Second Life experience, really.

James Hong of Hot or Not fame was also present for the festivities, as was this guy, who took his shirt off for no reason. We asked Hongfor his opinion on our Vlog Hot poll, and he said it would be idiotic not to include Adriana Gascoigne, even though she doesn't have a regular videoblogging gig. Coincidentally, Gascoigne was standing right next to him at the time.

Here's Leah Culver exhibiting toothy happiness. Given how many times I've been here, and how many times I'll likely be here again, I finally introduced myself to the bartender. Of course, I then forgot her name. Bethany? Was that you? Never mind, I'll see you soon.

Full gallery here.

Google China photo gallery

Chris Mohney — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 10:00:17 PST

Google Blogoscoped has datamined a nice collection of pics depicting Google's searchworks in China. Usual assortment of infantilizing treats for the workers, plus the odd pic of Sergey Brin and the Google China boss, Kai-Fu Lee. Also includes actual documentary proof of Marissa Mayer putting ads above users.

Jordan Mendelson parties down, hires publicist?

Chris Mohney — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 14:00:46 PST

Snocap's Jordan Mendelson is quite serious regarding his duties as the Valley's new symbol of personal bacchanalia. Witness these pics of a private cocktail party held this past weekend, sent along by a Mendelson fan who claims not to be his publicist. Large, lurid editions of the photos after the jump. And because we can't resist, there you'll also find the accompanying "party report," which is one of the funniest things we've read this month.

What started out as a 70 degree Saturday in San Francisco turned into one hot winter night for guests in attendance at Jordan Mendelson's exclusive, invitation-only cocktail party. It seems the Snocap co-founder wants to be more than a techie with a penchant for beautiful women—he also wants to be known for throwing some of the best parties in SF! Guests were treated to fabulous food, fantastic cocktails, and an unending flow of champagne

The SOMA loft was sparkling but the light from the party paled in comparison to the beautiful guests. What a smokin' hot crowd! The young, hip, well-dressed and successful attendees made for a ridiculously high concentration of hot people and more than one person commented on the fortuitous ratio of straight men to enticing women. Guests, who included several well-known straight and gay couples (and singles) in the SF social scene, drank, nibbled and flirted while eyeing and admiring each other's party outfits.

Though the party was scheduled to end at 1am, those who left early missed out on rounds of shots of Don Julio (Jordan's favorite tequila) and the impromptu, 3 a.m. dance party, which included, among the bumping and grinding couples, a dozen gorgeous women kicking up their heels and letting their lovely locks down. Everyone wanted to know who would make it onto the list for the next party—but lips are tightly sealed. Jealous on-lookers will just have to wait by their mailboxes for the next invitation.

When the music was turned down at 4 a.m., most of the girls left... although I can't (and won't) say who stayed over for the even hotter after party. Which begs the question—just who at the top of Jordan's seemingly endless harem ladies? It may not be as clear as it seems! Rumor has it, the Valley's newest bad boy plans on taking his favorite ladies to the VergeLA party in Southern California this week. Could it be the two pictured below [or "above" — ed.]? Maybe... but I'll never tell...

Developing!

Flickr forum not a hotbed of consolidation discussion

Chris Mohney — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 10:00:59 PST

Regarding Thomas Hawk getting referral traffic from a private Flickr forum discussing the possible Flickr-Yahoo Photos consolidation:

the flickr staff rarely uses the central-admin backchannel. when they do, it is to coordinate the activities of running the "flickr central" group, a job that is mostly left to volunteers. ... that link was posted in the backchannel feb 12th. i checked the backchannel and to comment with the link currently has no comments from anyone, let alone flickr staff.

Commenter Julian amplifies:

The post in question didn't even get replies until someone posted a link to your post, and even then, it's not exactly like we know anything you don't. ... As to Hawk getting "a lot of referral traffic" from us, I rather doubt it, seeing as we have a grand total of 30 members, many of which don't check the group that frequently.

As they say, developing, though maybe not in that forum.

Panic! At the Flickr Central

Chris Mohney — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 14:00:12 PST

Thomas Hawk (CEO of Flickr competitor Zooomr) riffed on our prediction that Yahoo Photos would be terminated, with the possible coda of having its users and content ported to Flickr. Most of the reaction from Hawk and elsewhere focuses not on the demise of Yahoo Photos, but rather on the idea of a great unwashed mob of Yahoo Photos' casual snapshooters invading the pristine arty confines of Flickr. As a possible clue, Hawk tells us that his post on the issue is getting a lot of referral traffic from a private Flickr Central forum, where Flickr staff and a few admins talk shop. Know what's going on in there? Say so.

CommunityNext Opening Night

Chris Mohney — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 15:00:55 PST

MEGAN MCCARTHY — The CommunityNext conference opening night open bar at Blue Chalk Cafe was far more entertaining than most of the dry, posh networking events held in the Valley. Noah Kagan of Entrepreneur27 put together the conference to focus on "successful online communities and social networks" and, with conference topics including "How to monetize with ads and not piss off your audience" and "The Patent-Pending skinnyCorp Method for Creating Online Awesomeness and Other Cool Stuff", one would expect a fun-filled opening night. Photographer Lane Hartwell accompanied me to the event last Friday night in Palo Alto. Check our full gallery, and hit the jump for more details and a few select snaps.

So, who was there? Unfortunately, Fark's Drew Curtis, a speaker at the conference and the one guy I wanted to meet, wasn't flying in until the next day. So I missed my chance to have a beer with the king of the Farkers. Boo. I spied Techcrunch guru and Valleywag fan Mike Arrington, who politely asked Lane to refrain from taking his picture. He was much kinder to me, shelling out for tequila shots when we both ran out of drink tickets. (For the record: Patron, no salt, no lime.)

As the night went on, the venue opened up to the general public. Suddenly, there were girls! And dancing! And then, commotion. It's a barfight! Two of the infiltrating inebriates started shoving each other by the stairs, while a group of peaceful conference attendees surrounded them and gawked. Among the venue's biggest hits were the LEDs imprisoned in ice cubes, which even now may be making their way through the intestinal tracts of recently inebriated youngsters.

Much more here.

Yahoo Photos shutting down, Flickr triumphant?

Chris Mohney — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 10:00:10 PST

Time to upgrade this from rumor to unannounced fact — that's our bet, anyway. "Consolidation" was the word seized upon most in Yahoo exec Brad Garlinghouse's "Peanut Butter Manifesto." And consolidating the duplicate services provided by post-acquisition Flickr and Yahoo Photos makes sense. Flickr founder Stewart Butterfield denied there would be any merging, but that doesn't rule out "consolidation" by way of elimination. For the whys and wherefores, read on. When we predicted that competing products like Flickr and Yahoo Photos would be consolidated, Butterfield reassured nervous Flickr fans:

I betcha Flickr keeps going more or less on the same path (always evolving, sure, but more or less the same) for a long, long time to come.

He went on to call us out specifically:

It's interesting to hear all the different perspectives on this. ... Very different from the inside, but it's mostly stuff I can't talk about. However, I can say that I'm really, really happy about all the recent changes. Valleywag has a lot wrong (just factually wrong, but it shows up in their interpretations) so I wouldn't put a lot of stock in it. All good! And in particular, all good for Flickr and it's future :)

M'kay, but what's good for Flickr ain't so good for Yahoo Photos. It's an unfortunate situation, as Yahoo Photos has actually been doing well lately. However, it can't compete with Flickr's brand and fanatically loyal following, and there really is no reason for Yahoo to maintain two flavors of the same service.

As Jason Kottke pointed out recently, Flickr is under assault from Fotolog, which while much less popular Stateside, is eating Flickr's lunch internationally (particularly in South America). Arguments about relative quality of product aside, this should be worrisome for both of Yahoo's photo teams. Secondly, while Butterfield calms the Flickr faithful, his fellow Flickr co-founder Caterina Fake now leads Brickhouse — Yahoo's in-house idea creche that just launched Yahoo Pipes. With Butterfield and Fake both holding power cards, what challenge could Yahoo Photos realistically mount to stay viable?

Flickr may indeed stay on the same evolutionary path, but Yahoo Photos will almost certainly disappear in the very short term, with its users and content migrated to Flickr gently but forcibly. Flickr itself may well "evolve" some of Yahoo Photos' monetization strategies ... perhaps Flickr will inherent the "Prints and Gifts" section from Yahoo Photos once the just-launched Flickr print service gets off the ground. Either way, Yahoo Photos will be consolidated right out the door, and sooner rather than later.

Eric Schmidt is the king

Chris Mohney — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 06:40:28 PST

Amazing what you find on the ol' internets. Here we see Google CEO Eric Schmidt wearing a not entirely ironic king-hat this past Halloween, posing with a (presumably) fellow Googler who went the pornstar route. Apparently this crown thing is something of a trend in the Valley.

Elon Musk back on Sequoia

Chris Mohney — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 06:00:34 PST

After disappearing from the Sequoia homepage of fame, one-time Paypal CEO Elon Musk — see his take on his own backstory here — is back, with a new smiley portrait. Peter Thiel and Max Levchin, the mo' "real" founders of Paypal, are also still on the page of course. They're both wearing crowns as befits their royal status. A polite distance separates Thiel and Levchin from Musk in the gallery. One imagines a similar dynamic emerging at a cocktail party where all three are present.

Gavin Newsom: I touch myself

Chris Mohney — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 06:45:06 PST

So what's up with Gavin Newsom, the handsome SF mayor who was apparently such an unregenerate drunk that he slept with his campaign manager's wife? Though he's set to enter some kind of friendly rehab-like "helping," it looks like he's also going to pay his campaign manager's salary until the poor cuckold finds a new job (the manager, Alex Tourk, resigned after confronting Newsom with the affair on January 31). Newsom's staff tried to find a way to pay Tourk's salary with campaign funds, but it looks like the cash will have to come from the mayor's personal hot pocket. Since we started a trend (two = trend) of running pics of Newsom touching himself on the face, check after the jump for our fulfillment of readers' demands (two readers = demand) for a gallery of such photos.

Further pics from the 'Plex

Chris Mohney — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 10:40:23 PST

Google Blogoscoped horks forth a passel of more photos from the Googleplex, mostly of happy little Googlers bouncing around the giant playland that is their workspace while playing with toys. Three cheers for infantilization.

Google's cafe selections

Chris Mohney — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 05:20:13 PST

After the western attention, a little love for the east. Dodgeball founder and Google purchasee Dennis Crowley chronicles various delicacies from the Google NYC cafeteria. Sadly, this organic PB&J with M&Ms contains no meat. See also New York City tap water and lobster mac & cheese.