Transcripts from the Green Business Chat are provided by besustainable.com with special thanks to everyone who has taken part and to 37 signals for bringing us Campfire. To get in on the next green biz chat keep an eye out for green business around you and contact Shea Gunther at Musings of an Eco Entrepreneur.
The Green Business Chat — Today, April 18
| Apr 18 | 5:30 PM |
| Josh S. | has entered the room |
| Apr 18 | 5:40 PM |
| Ryan W. | has entered the room |
| Apr 18 | 7:10 PM |
| Ryan W. | has left the room |
| Apr 18 | 7:30 PM |
| Shea G. | has entered the room |
| Shea G. | Hey Josh |
| Jeff M. | has entered the room |
| Shea G. | People tend to show up rockstar late, if you were wondering |
| Shea G. | Hey Jeff! |
| Jeff M. | Hey, Shea... |
| Jeff M. | Or,... |
| Jeff M. | Arrrggghhh! |
| Jeff M. | Did I get that right? |
| Shea G. | Jason won't be able to make it, but says he has a great (terrible) pirate joke for next week |
| Shea G. | And Jeff, it's more Aaarrrrrrr, not Arrrggghhh |
| Jeff M. | Dammit, I never get that right... |
| Jeff M. | Tried making up a pirate joke this afternoon, but never got further than "A pirate walks into a whorehouse with a parrot, a bottle of oil soap, and an 8-track copy of the "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack..." |
| Shea G. | That's a good start |
| Shea G. | I just stick to the same two, things are nice and simple that way |
| Jeff M. | I was never good at making up jokes, but wanted to get into the spirit of things here... |
| Shea G. | |
| Shea G. | Million dollare home page and Red Paperclip mashup |
| Jeff M. | Cool... I know mdhp, but what's Red Paperclip... |
| Shea G. | I would love to makea million bucks with some stupid-smart internet idea |
| Apr 18 | 7:35 PM |
| Shea G. | It's cool, a guy started with a paperclip and is trying to trade his way up to a house |
| Shea G. | he's at a year's free rent in Pheonix |
| Jeff M. | Wow... |
| Shea G. | 10 trades so far |
| Jeff M. | I love it... |
| Shea G. | feels like it'll be a slow one tonight |
| Jeff M. | How many people are you getting at these? |
| Jeff M. | Usually... |
| Shea G. | I have to respond to an email from you about the OML BoA |
| Shea G. | I didn't forget, it' |
| Jeff M. | That's cool... I was mostly dreaming in that one... |
| Shea G. | averageing 6-10, besides myself |
| Ryan W. | has entered the room |
| Shea G. | Well, Al Gore is on my list, so dream away Jeff, dream away |
| Shea G. | Hey Ryan! |
| Jeff M. | I may be getting together with Joel Makower and other green bloggers in the Bay Area over Memorial day, so I'll pick his brain should that come to pass... |
| Jeff M. | Hey, Ryan... |
| Ryan W. | how's it going gang |
| Shea G. | That'd be great, Joel would be awesome to have on the Board |
| Apr 18 | 7:40 PM |
| Shea G. | Did you guys see, I announced AGreenerDay.com today |
| Jeff M. | Every now and then I get an email from him -- I feel so cool... |
| Ryan W. | am I to early for rock star late? |
| Jeff M. | Yes... sounds like a great concept... |
| Shea G. | Yeah, another few minutes and you would have been good, now you're just late |
| Shea G. | ;) |
| Ryan W. | I have been busting my but this afternoon trying to get the newest bit if besustainable up and running |
| Jeff M. | He's cool radio voice late... |
| Shea G. | I don't think AGreenerDay.com will make us a millionaires, but it could be a nice steady stream of income |
| Ryan W. | its a short, more regular podcast called the Green 5 |
| Shea G. | You're howard stern late |
| Jeff M. | Any sense of how well woot.com is doing? |
| Shea G. | |
| Ryan W. | you two should defintely check ot out, you can listen while you chat |
| Ryan W. | |
| Shea G. | No idea, one of the Woot guys actually commented on my blog, but I gotta imagine they are in the black |
| Jeff M. | Got it on right now, Ryan -- appreciate the link! |
| Jeff M. | What software do you use for podcasting? |
| Ryan W. | no problem |
| Ryan W. | I have a mixed bag of goodies |
| Ryan W. | usually for podcasts I record with audacity |
| Ryan W. | it free and open source |
| Ryan W. | |
| Ryan W. | i think thats the link |
| Jeff M. | I'll have to try audacity again -- tried it on the old computer, but just couldn't get it to work... |
| Shea G. | Jeff, do you have a Skype account? |
| Linda J. | has entered the room |
| Ryan W. | wouldn't record at all or wouldnt export .mp3 |
| Jeff M. | I don't, but I'll get one... |
| Shea G. | Hi Linda! |
| Ryan W. | good idea |
| Ryan W. | hey linda |
| Shea G. | Skype is cool, I just got an account last week |
| Jeff M. | Again, tried it on the old computer and it didn't work too well... |
| Shea G. | I love being able to answer the phone on my computer |
| Jeff M. | Wouldn't record at all... |
| Ryan W. | ? |
| Linda J. | Hi all! I finally made it! |
| Apr 18 | 7:45 PM |
| Shea G. | Glad you could make it |
| Jeff M. | Is that you playing guitar, Ryan...? |
| Shea G. | We're just waiting for a few more people to roll in |
| Linda J. | Let me get caught up... |
| Ryan W. | yeah that is my guitar |
| Jeff M. | nice... |
| Shea G. | Linda, when you get caught up, you'll need to tell us a bad pirate joke |
| Ryan W. | Jeff would you be interested in doing an interview for the podcast? |
| Jeff M. | Love to... |
| Ryan W. | and Shea really when are we going to talk OML? |
| Ryan W. | when is the public launch again? |
| Linda J. | Cool. Any particular topic tonight? I have been running all day, and haven't had a chance to check my email. |
| Ryan W. | i'm glad someone asked! |
| Shea G. | Ryan, you know who you need to interview? Josh Spear, who is in the room, but is either quietly lurking or AFK |
| Linda J. | Oh Heck! I can't ever tell good jokes... |
| Shea G. | We're talking about Green Blogging tonight Linda, Jeff is our Special Guest |
| Jeff M. | Aww, shucks... |
| Linda J. | Or even bad ones.... |
| Linda J. | Hi Jeff |
| Jeff M. | Hi, Linda! |
| Ryan W. | I would defintely be intersted in that. I listened to the green trends link you put up at musings |
| Shea G. | OK, let's get this party started |
| Shea G. | Tonight's guest is Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, the Green Blogfather himself. |
| Apr 18 | 7:50 PM |
| Shea G. | He is the founder and writer at the popular Sustainablog |
| Shea G. | |
| Shea G. | He maintains the Green Blogosphere Lens over at Squidoo |
| Ryan W. | great work there by the way Jeff |
| Jeff M. | Thank you, Ryan... |
| Shea G. | |
| Jeff M. | BTW, I love "Green Blogfather..." |
| Shea G. | Jeff is a recovering academic |
| Ryan W. | can you hype up the green 5 for me |
| Shea G. | is working for a St. Louis dotcom |
| Jeff M. | Definitely! |
| Ryan W. | how many years sober? |
| Jeff M. | None... |
| Shea G. | Give it up for Mr. Jeff McIntire-Strasburg!!!! |
| Ryan W. | ahhhhh ahhhhhh ahhhhhh |
| Jeff M. | Thank youuuu... (that was kind of rock-star like, huh...?) |
| Shea G. | So Jeff, the way it usually works is that you now get a chance to say whatever you want to say, then we open the floor up to questions |
| Shea G. | you have the baton |
| Jeff M. | OK... |
| Jeff M. | sustainablog is definitely a labor of love for me... |
| Jeff M. | and a bit of an obsession. |
| Jeff M. | I started it pretty much on a whim. |
| Jeff M. | I had just finished reading Paul Hawken's "The Ecology of Commerce" |
| Jeff M. | and Daniel Quinn's "Ishmael" |
| Jeff M. | and wanted to start mulling these ideas over. |
| Jeff M. | I was an English professor at the time, so it seemed natural to try to learn more about the concept of sustainability by writing about it... |
| Jeff M. | Started with only my Blogger account and a couple of online buddies in July, 2003. |
| Apr 18 | 7:55 PM |
| Jeff M. | And have been at it with only minimal breaks since... |
| Jeff M. | It's still an incredible learning experience. |
| Jeff M. | And I've been really grateful for the response it's received... |
| Jeff M. | That enough of an intro, or would you like more? |
| Shea G. | that's just fine |
| Shea G. | :) |
| Shea G. | So now, the flooor is open for questions |
| Jeff M. | Cool... fire away... |
| Ryan W. | Jeff how many other places are you writing other than sustainablog |
| Shea G. | How has your traffic grown? |
| Jeff M. | Right now, I do occassional columns for Greener magazine |
| Shea G. | and what have you done, if anything, to build your traffic? |
| Jeff M. | |
| Ryan W. | good question shea |
| Jeff M. | and I just submitted an invited piece to WorldChanging. |
| Jeff M. | My traffic has grown tremendously. |
| Ryan W. | how are you tracking stats? |
| Jeff M. | Again, I started off with no fanfare, so readership was about 2 at the beginning. |
| Jeff M. | I've learned how to use trackback... |
| Jeff M. | Commented on other blogs... |
| Apr 18 | 8:00 PM |
| Jeff M. | Tried traffic exchanges like Blogexplosion, but wasn't particularly happy with them. |
| Pete R. | has entered the room |
| Jeff M. | I make sure to ping Pingoat and the local bloggers page |
| Pete R. | late again, sorry-green drinks tonight |
| Jeff M. | |
| Jeff M. | Hi, Pete! |
| Ryan W. | hey pete what city |
| Pete R. | chicago |
| Shea G. | Hey Pete! |
| Shea G. | How was Green Drinks? |
| Pete R. | Really good-there was the head of the City's dept of Environment. There is lots going on here. |
| Shea G. | Jeff, what are the three most important things for a new blogger to focus on? |
| Jeff M. | Probably my biggest traffic builder was last summer's Blogging 'Round the Clock, though -- it really took off after that. |
| Shea G. | and what is the one that's specific to Green blogging? |
| Shea G. | I was blown away after you told me how your traffic exploded after your Blogathon |
| Shea G. | very cool |
| Jeff M. | I use Google analytics primarily now for stats, but have also used FreeStats and Sitemeter. |
| Shea G. | Blogbeat rules |
| Jeff M. | Three things to focus on: |
| Shea G. | I just signed up for a year's account |
| Jeff M. | 1) Post regularly -- not necessarily daily, but at least several times a week. |
| Jeff M. | I'll have to check that out -- always playing with new programs. |
| Shea G. | You can sign up for a month for free |
| Jeff M. | 2) Join discussions on other blogs -- it's the best way I know of to get your name out there... |
| Apr 18 | 8:05 PM |
| Jeff M. | 3) Blog about your passions -- it comes through, and people respond. |
| Jeff M. | I'd love to figure out a way to make oodles of money blogging, but right now it's still mainly a hobby... |
| Linda J. | Do you have a list of good blogs to check out? |
| Josh S. | <ding dong> |
| Jeff M. | First, take a look at the Green Blogosphere Squidoo lens.. it's incomplete (because new blogs are popping up all the time), but there are many good blogs there. |
| Shea G. | Hey Josh |
| Ryan W. | hey Josh, Shea says I should interview you for my podcast. |
| Ryan W. | i heard you piece with the CBC |
| Jeff M. | |
| Josh S. | I'm done with interviews, my publicist says I need to chill out :) |
| Shea G. | Linda, do you have an RSS Reader? |
| Linda J. | Cool, thanks! |
| Jeff M. | The big three are the big three for good reason -- they publish great content daily. |
| Jeff M. | Gristmill: http://gristmill.grist.org |
| Jeff M. | WorldChanging: http://www.worldchanging.com |
| Linda J. | Yes, I usually just get news feeds, though. |
| Jeff M. | Treehugger: http://www.treehugger.com |
| Jeff M. | Oh, and of course there's that "Eco-Entrepreneur" guy... |
| Jeff M. | He's not bad... |
| Jeff M. | ;-) |
| Josh S. | |
| Apr 18 | 8:10 PM |
| Linda J. | :-D Thanks! That should keep me busy! |
| Josh S. | Meta Efficient does a nice job with eco-products: http://www.gotoreviews.com/archives/metaefficient/ |
| Shea G. | Jeff, where do you see the Green Blogosphere in three years? |
| Jeff M. | hmmm... |
| Shea G. | I love Meta Efficient |
| Jeff M. | Definitely more "mainstream" |
| Josh S. | and one of my favorite underated blogs with an eco twist: http://www.inhabitat.com/ |
| Jeff M. | I think Treehugger, for instance, will be right up there with Boing Boing... |
| Josh S. | <i'll be quiet now> |
| Jeff M. | Inhabitat is good; so is Metaefficient... |
| Jeff M. | We'll probably see even more subniche green blogging... |
| Jeff M. | General blogs like mine will have a tougher time rising to the top... |
| Jeff M. | We'll be getting more attention from the mainstream media, too... that's just starting right now... |
| Ryan W. | does a subniche green blogosphere need a network? |
| Jeff M. | Though it may not matter... |
| Linda J. | If I decided to start a blog on my business website, other then the basic setup, what suggestions do you have? |
| Ryan W. | or is it the more general meta green blogs that will tie it together? |
| Jeff M. | If I started now, I'd use Wordpress instead of Blogger... much richer in features... |
| Shea G. | WP rules |
| Josh S. | Jeff are you a full time blogger? |
| Jeff M. | That's a possibility, Ryan -- |
| Ryan W. | an mp3 player on the main page with an audio introduction linda |
| Jeff M. | I wish... |
| Jeff M. | would love to blog full-time... |
| Apr 18 | 8:15 PM |
| Ryan W. | agreed! |
| Jeff M. | But, sadly, my marketing skills, at least in terms of attracting advertising and getting users to click on ads, seems lacking... |
| Josh S. | do you think there's money to be made in eco-blogging? |
| Josh S. | and, does green always have to equate with cheap? or will someone step up and run an eco-luxury blog? |
| Jeff M. | I think so... the ideas are starting to buzz in the popular mind, and more people are looking for us... |
| Ryan W. | green isn't cheap at present |
| Josh S. | I don't mean cheap in price, I mean cheap in presentation |
| Ryan W. | green luxury is the majority of products out there right now as I see it |
| Jeff M. | I'd call Treehugger and Inhabitat are eco-luxury... |
| Jeff M. | That's probably the most promising niche in terms of making money... |
| Ryan W. | i don't quite grasp "cheap" in terms of presentation |
| Pete R. | people do equate green with cheap-I run into it all the time |
| Josh S. | In my experience in the green-world, most of the presentation of the product or service is hoaky, and 'cheap' looking |
| Jeff M. | I think (and correct me if I'm wrong, Josh) that he's referring to the "hippy" sense of green... |
| Josh S. | or not high brow branding |
| Linda J. | Cool. I have to agree about the luxury aspect of green. There really needs to be a paradigm shift in our society. |
| Josh S. | there are few companies that have enabled us in a 'cool' way, eco-cool |
| Ryan W. | i get poorly branded and I agree |
| Shea G. | Green just needs to be everywhere, that's all |
| Ryan W. | lots of heart but poor presentation |
| Shea G. | eco-cool is where it's at though |
| Josh S. | I spoke about companies enabling us to change the world last week on public radio |
| Josh S. | exactly Ryan |
| Shea G. | hit Josh's readers radars |
| Linda J. | Green is actually kind of mainstream in this neck of the woods. |
| Josh S. | there are few eco-cool companies though |
| Ryan W. | which neck? |
| Jeff M. | It's getting there, Linda... |
| Josh S. | American Apparel-- eco-cool |
| Josh S. | Toyota gave us a Prius, ouch. |
| Apr 18 | 8:20 PM |
| Linda J. | Portland, oregon |
| Jeff M. | A construction company here in St. Louis built a very cool green headquarters. |
| Ryan W. | LEED certified? |
| Jeff M. | I'm _pretty_ sure it is... I'll have to go back and check my archives... |
| Shea G. | |
| Shea G. | why did it do that? |
| Shea G. | I hate that about Campfire, I tell you what |
| Shea G. | :) |
| Jeff M. | Still, this is a pretty nice little app. |
| Shea G. | I guess Cradle to Cradle certification is the uber LEED |
| Ryan W. | don't tell us tell 37 signals |
| Shea G. | It's a great app, I just hate that one feature |
| Shea G. | Good point Ryan |
| Ryan W. | What I am undure about with cradle to cradle is that there is a huge price tag associated with certification |
| Ryan W. | unsure |
| Shea G. | Good, there should be |
| Jeff M. | Without a doubt -- I don't know how well C to C is catching on, but it's likely the best certification system we have right now... |
| Shea G. | It's an elite certification |
| Ryan W. | there is no way a small startup can get an eco cert the may the market is set up and the official cradle certification isn't going to help |
| Jeff M. | And they promote eco-cool, or eco-style... |
| Shea G. | it should cost a bunch, and the C2C should make some money, it's a great system |
| Ryan W. | c2c? |
| Shea G. | So they have to market themselves without the certifiation |
| Shea G. | it's a privliage, not a right |
| Shea G. | Cradle to Cradle, |
| Shea G. | = C2C |
| Jeff M. | Jason Graham-Nye got g'diapers C to C certified... |
| Ryan W. | cheers |
| Ryan W. | I am checking it out |
| Ryan W. | got any links |
| Shea G. | I love gDiapers |
| Linda J. | That is the problem with organics, as well. Organic certification has left a lot of the small organic farmers behind... |
| Shea G. | I would submit those as being eco-cool |
| Jeff M. | and while he and his wife have been successful in past ventures, they're certainly not huge... |
| Shea G. | gDiapers that is |
| Apr 18 | 8:25 PM |
| Josh S. | *sorry, japan calling* :) |
| Josh S. | ejsy |
| Jeff M. | Oh, no doubt, Linda. And now the big corporate organics are rewriting the rules... |
| Josh S. | ahh, typo.. 'what i misss |
| Linda J. | Yep. I really don't want to see it go that way with sustainability, too... |
| Jeff M. | Sorry if my typing gets messier here -- Freddy the Cat just joined me on my lap... |
| Josh S. | Shea for president? |
| Jeff M. | Freddy says "Hi, greenies!" |
| Josh S. | Jeff, what do you do when you don't blog? |
| Shea G. | Shea funds the President, I like that better |
| Shea G. | He's a dot commer! |
| Josh S. | Shea funs Josh Spear's sneaker habits. |
| Jeff M. | I feel like I should be blogging -- I really do feel a sense of responsibility now... |
| Shea G. | I will never be that rich man |
| Jeff M. | I try to always make sure readers know when I won't be around... |
| Shea G. | You better hope you stay uber hip, you don't want to have to pay for all of those kicks out of pocket |
| Josh S. | whats your reader base like? |
| Linda J. | 4 dogs on this end... |
| Jeff M. | And I just accept that I'll have to do some rebuilding of traffic when I get back. |
| Shea G. | |
| Jeff M. | In terms of demographics, or numbers? |
| Ryan W. | either? |
| Josh S. | both... who reads? |
| Shea G. | I do |
| Ryan W. | ditto |
| Shea G. | :) |
| Jeff M. | Lots of other green bloggers... I'm kind of proud of being known well within the green blogging community, even if I haven't made as big a splash with a broader audience. |
| Jeff M. | I'm averaging about 200 unique visitors a day right now... |
| Josh S. | I regret not asking my readers about eco-stuff on my last survey |
| Jeff M. | And my number of Bloglines subscribers just went over 4200... today, actually... |
| Shea G. | wow, nice |
| Pete R. | Jeff-hopefully the broader audience is on the way, for all of us |
| Linda J. | Wow. I am impressed. |
| Ryan W. | how was the survey response |
| Josh S. | nice job |
| Apr 18 | 8:30 PM |
| Shea G. | I wonder if anyone is ever satisified with their stats |
| Jeff M. | Thank you... it's very cool to know the audience continues to grow... |
| Shea G. | I remember just dieing to get over 30 subscribers |
| Shea G. | I'm about to break 100 and can't wait to hit 200 |
| Jeff M. | Yep, me too... |
| Josh S. | I can't complain Shea :) |
| Shea G. | I'm a very small fish |
| Ryan W. | i'm going to stop at 318 |
| Shea G. | Yeah, but Josh, there is so much room for improvement, even for you |
| Shea G. | :) |
| Jeff M. | But you're doing good stuff... the numbers will come... |
| Shea G. | Josh is a big fish, if anyone didn't know |
| Josh S. | I've got a question for you guys |
| Shea G. | Josh, what's your numbers like these days? |
| Jeff M. | OK |
| Josh S. | since you're green, and I'm orange |
| Josh S. | If you were me |
| Josh S. | and had 100's of thousands of visits every month |
| Josh S. | and wanted to introduce more green, without losing readers.. how would you do it? |
| Shea G. | bring on a green blogger |
| Shea G. | guest blogger, you know |
| Jeff M. | First, pardon my ignorance... define "orange" |
| Shea G. | who talks about only the uber hip green shit |
| Josh S. | I've got a few ideas I could run by you guys |
| Ryan W. | or links to the existing green bloggers |
| Shea G. | excuse my french |
| Shea G. | No, Josh needs a green blogger |
| Josh S. | just saying-- Orange, and green, look good together |
| Shea G. | I love the green blogosphere, but his audience is pretty sharp eyeed, they need u ber hip |
| Ryan W. | check out my site css! |
| Ryan W. | then only link to the uber hip green bloggers! |
| Josh S. | I don't want to lose my core readership |
| Shea G. | there is enough eco hip cool stuff on the green blogosphere, but you nee dsomeone to eedit it |
| Josh S. | by posting some green diapers |
| Josh S. | I love green, and when I see it, and it's hip, I post it |
| Shea G. | so you get someone who knows that |
| Josh S. | guest blogger, got it... |
| Jeff M. | I think you're on the right track... |
| Josh S. | maybe I'll do Green Fridays :) |
| Shea G. | Nice, that's a good one too |
| Jeff M. | Stick to your broad concept (hip), but make the green connection... |
| Jeff M. | Lots of hip green stuff... |
| Shea G. | Host a green party, god knows Boulder can fill up a room of eco-cool folks |
| Apr 18 | 8:35 PM |
| Shea G. | that's getting RL though |
| Josh S. | yeah, I'm ready to take off from this lonely town soon |
| Jeff M. | Go check out Summer Rayne Oakes... http://www.summerrayne.net |
| Ryan W. | how about inherently green stuff that is alrady hip as a focus |
| Josh S. | We need to stop calling it global warming |
| Josh S. | terrible branding |
| Jeff M. | Seth Godin had a great post on his blog about that... |
| Josh S. | And who is summer? |
| Jeff M. | Shea beat me to it... |
| Jeff M. | Fashion model, entrepreneur, writer... |
| Shea G. | I'm too quick |
| Shea G. | /draw |
| Ryan W. | people like it a little warmer |
| Ryan W. | |
| Jeff M. | Brilliant, gorgeous, sassy... |
| Josh S. | she looks like an eco-bunny haha |
| Shea G. | I think the fact that global warming could very well swing right into an ice age should be brought up |
| Jeff M. | And very in with the hip crowd... She was one of the people who put together ICInyc (I'll get the url) |
| Josh S. | do you know her Jeff? |
| Jeff M. | We email from time to time |
| Josh S. | maybe she can be my sassy eco blogger |
| Jeff M. | I've written a few pieces about her... |
| Jeff M. | She's impressive as hell... |
| Shea G. | She'd be perfect |
| Jeff M. | She's blogging at Eco-Chick... |
| Ryan W. | "I think the fact that global warming could very well swing right into an ice age should be brought up" |
| Jeff M. | |
| Ryan W. | sorry hold on I have an audio link for that |
| Ryan W. | |
| Jeff M. | |
| Jeff M. | She's incredibly knowledgeable about sustainability, too... |
| Josh S. | or she could just be my girlfriend :D |
| Jeff M. | Wrote a great piece in yogi times... |
| Jeff M. | And does a column in Lucire... |
| Apr 18 | 8:40 PM |
| Jeff M. | And, honest, I'm not her publicist... |
| Apr 18 | 8:40 PM |
| Linda J. | Yep, we have pretty much passed the point of no return... |
| Jeff M. | Just very impressed... |
| Jeff M. | Josh, I'll email her and see about making a connection... |
| Jeff M. | What did you guys think about the Time cover story a few weeks abo... |
| Jeff M. | ago.. |
| Josh S. | thanks-- that'd be great, otherwise I'd send her a note myself |
| Jeff M. | Scared the shit out of me, and I follow this stuff... |
| Shea G. |
changed the room’s topic to
#5: Green Blogging- Jeff McIntire-Strasburg
6:30-8:00pm PST every Tuesday
|
| Shea G. | A little late there, but better than never |
| Jeff M. | Let me email her -- I feel a little odd about passing on her email address without checking... |
| Josh S. | it's on her website, lol |
| Jeff M. | Oh, then go ahead... |
| Josh S. | wait, no it's just a contact form |
| Josh S. | she shows her... everything, but not her email |
| Jeff M. | She may be the one who responds to the contact form... |
| Jeff M. | I was first contacted by her publicist, but, after that, it was always her who emailed me... |
| Jeff M. | She called a few times, too, but I was never there... |
| Jeff M. | Very hands-on... |
| Josh S. | i'd love an intro |
| Jeff M. | I'll drop her a note... |
| Apr 18 | 8:45 PM |
| Jeff M. | Wow, have we really been here over an hour... this is great... |
| Jeff M. | I think I've missed some questions... remind me... |
| Shea G. | Who is your favorite Backstreet Boy? |
| Shea G. | And why? |
| Jeff M. | Uh... uh... |
| Jeff M. | Got to go find my stepdaughter... |
| Jeff M. | Oh, wait a minute... AJ.. he's one right? |
| Shea G. | I don' know actually |
| Jeff M. | 'Cause he's the bad boy, of course... |
| Ryan W. | i just poured a scotch so anybody can feel free to join me for a drink |
| Shea G. | Do you get a lot of emails from people wanting you to blog about them? |
| Jeff M. | Yeah, I do... more than I can handle... |
| Jeff M. | Most are pretty legit... |
| Linda J. | I am having a nice Porter... |
| Jeff M. | The big enviro organizations have started in recently... |
| Ryan W. | how do you deal with the ones that aren't legit |
| Ryan W. | I have few readers but have already come up against requests for links etc that I don't feel are congruent with what I am up to |
| Jeff M. | Tell them that I make editorial decisions all of the time, and I just can't write about everything... |
| Jeff M. | Same thing with links... |
| Jeff M. | So far, no psychos... |
| Ryan W. | jameson |
| Jeff M. | that I know of, anyway... |
| Apr 18 | 8:50 PM |
| Jeff M. | On responding to emails -- I've tried to back away from straight business promotions... |
| Jeff M. | Unless they're doing something really unique... |
| Ryan W. | business promotions meaning people looking for you to review their stuff? |
| Shea G. | I am a sellout, if someone wants to send me something free, I'll post about it |
| Shea G. | I'll be honest, but for free, that gets a post |
| Shea G. | :) |
| Jeff M. | Yeah, or "Hey, I own/run/manage a _____ -- would you write about it?" |
| Jeff M. | I'm not above free stuff, either -- got some great Fair Trade coffee out of one of my pieces on Greener... |
| Josh S. | if i posted everything I got in the mail |
| Jeff M. | But after I wrote it... |
| Josh S. | i wouldn't be able to sleep |
| Jeff M. | I'm getting to that point. |
| Shea G. | I look forward to that point |
| Jeff M. | I do try to respond to everyone who writes in, and generally do pretty well -- although my responses have gotten shorter. |
| Ryan W. | then you can woot the extra booty |
| Jeff M. | Still, a kind word buys a lot of good will, I've found... |
| Josh S. | shea you have mail from me |
| Jeff M. | In fact, Shea was one of those folks that approached me out of the blue if I remember right... |
| Linda J. | Man, My email is out of hand, as it is... |
| Shea G. | I did |
| Shea G. | I wrote to a bunch of bloggers I read and asked them to check mine out |
| Jeff M. | Just looked at mine -- sure enough, someone promoting a "free green email service..." |
| Apr 18 | 8:55 PM |
| Linda J. | LOL |
| Jeff M. | Of course, you also had Skye Creative's site up... |
| Josh S. | i try to respond to my readers mail |
| Shea G. | But I had a blog up on the site too |
| Jeff M. | And the GreenBusiness.net connection... |
| Josh S. | but takes me weeks sometimes, i get an insane amount |
| Jeff M. | That's right... |
| Shea G. | Gotta love GB.net |
| Jeff M. | I've got to get back over there... |
| Jeff M. | It's been ages... |
| Jeff M. | Don't know if I ever told you (or if Jason did), but we had a huge book project planned at one point... |
| Jeff M. | First, people were going to write essays, and I was going to edit them... |
| Linda J. | We would love to have you! |
| Jeff M. | But only a person or two wrote their essays... |
| Jeff M. | I miss it -- great people over there... |
| Shea G. | You should edit a Best of the Green Blogoshopere book |
| Jeff M. | That's an idea... |
| Shea G. | Blogosphere that is |
| Shea G. | Group them by topic, try to build a coherent thread as the book progresses |
| Linda J. | Projects sound great, till you have to find time to DO them... |
| Shea G. | That's the kicker |
| Josh S. | Is there a future in eco-friendly air travel? |
| Jeff M. | and that's what happened -- I knew people were busy... |
| Shea G. | That's why i want to be a green VC someday |
| Jeff M. | then I tried taking on the project by myself... |
| Linda J. | I think a book is a great idea |
| Jeff M. | but, of course, I was busy, too... |
| Ryan W. | biodiesel jets? |
| Shea G. | I think very much so |
| Josh S. | would be cool |
| Apr 18 | 9:00 PM |
| Jeff M. | I still like it -- we even had a title -- "The Fire Souls" -- That was Jason's idea... |
| Josh S. | I travel so much lately-- when i'm in nyc I take the eco-taxi |
| Shea G. | if a small airloine come on the scene that was as green as possible, it could catch on big time |
| Linda J. | OK, define VC... |
| Jeff M. | We were going to do seperate chapters on individual green businesses... |
| Jeff M. | venture capitalist |
| Ryan W. | venture capitalist |
| Josh S. | OZOcar |
| Jeff M. | Beat you.. |
| Ryan W. | yeah yeah |
| Jeff M. | ;-) |
| Josh S. | vulture capitalist |
| Linda J. | OK. |
| Shea G. | Two poinds deducted for not capitlaizing |
| Ryan W. | a venture capuitalist speculates cool projects and funds them |
| Shea G. | one point from me for misspelling that |
| Ryan W. | expanded def |
| Shea G. | I want to be more of an Angel than a VC |
| Jeff M. | Damn, you guys, I was an English professor... watch the spelling! |
| Jeff M. | ;-) |
| Ryan W. | i am a part time high school teacher but I'm not at work |
| Josh S. | why shea? |
| Jeff M. | You're a brave man... |
| Shea G. | I an an entrepreneur to the bone |
| Jeff M. | High school teaching scares the hell out of me... |
| Linda J. | Yea, I know what a VC is. |
| Shea G. | I love the startup environment |
| Shea G. | the more the better |
| Josh S. | I don't want to be a VC, I just like VC money :) |
| Jeff M. | Define "angel," Shea... I'm fuzzy on that... |
| Shea G. | I love the idea of being able to help and fund a ton of projects over the course of a year |
| Shea G. | Angel is just small money |
| Josh S. | angel is very basic startup phase |
| Shea G. | I give up to $30-40k to each invetment |
| Shea G. | very early stage |
| Josh S. | long before a VC would want to invest |
| Jeff M. | OK... |
| Shea G. | maybe just have my own incubator |
| Linda J. | Hey Jeff, I have a daughter who needs a whole box of commas, since she apparently has run out. Any idea where to source those? |
| Josh S. | I don't think there are $ numbers tied to angel investment |
| Josh S. | angels can invest millions |
| Shea G. | it's the process of taking it from an idea to reality that I get my kicks on |
| Jeff M. | lol |
| Shea G. | I know, but my type of Angel investing will be small |
| Shea G. | boot strap to the max, revenue generating cash flow positive from launch ideas |
| Josh S. | how boring |
| Shea G. | no, it's very freeing |
| Josh S. | just kidding |
| Josh S. | do you read techcrunch.com? |
| Shea G. | :) |
| Shea G. | Sure do |
| Josh S. | fun to watch funding |
| Jeff M. | I like TechCrunch, too... |
| Josh S. | It blows my mind how much VC money is being pumped into stuff right now |
| Apr 18 | 9:05 PM |
| Josh S. | a few projects I am involved in got VC cash almost... too easy |
| Jeff M. | Green start-ups are starting to see some of it, too... |
| Shea G. | We got $16M+ of it back in the Zoom Culture days |
| Pete R. | and don't VCs put a ton of preformance pressure on a start up versus angels |
| Josh S. | if they're good |
| Shea G. | depends on teh angel, but yes, VC's are all about the flip |
| Josh S. | they're vultures |
| Josh S. | and won't let you fail |
| Shea G. | it's a business model |
| Josh S. | you read brad feld's blog? |
| Jeff M. | I read a lot of the Web 2.0 companies are actually staying away from VC money... |
| Shea G. | if you don't know it going nto it, you have no one to complain to if you get hurt |
| Josh S. | doesn't seem that way Jeff... everyones taking funding these days |
| Shea G. | it's so cheap to start a Web 2.0 company, |
| Shea G. | only 2-3% of new companies are traditional VC funded |
| Jeff M. | That's what I was reading... for instance, Flickr avoided the VCs... |
| Shea G. | I have to double check that number, but I am pretty sure it's that low |
| Shea G. | You just read about the ones that take the VC cash |
| Shea G. | Jotspot got started for $100k |
| Jeff M. | I'll check to see where I saw that... one of the business blogs... |
| Josh S. | the social ones don't avoid it.. |
| Josh S. | tag world, facebook, myspace, linked in, and on down the gauntlet |
| Jeff M. | Are they generating any revenue? |
| Josh S. | sure, not much |
| Josh S. | facebook is some 17 million deep in VC |
| Jeff M. | This is sounding strangely familiar... |
| Shea G. | I can't be |