article thumbnail

Social Networking (the Shorter Version) Past, Present, Future

Both Sides of the Table

Brands didn’t advertise their web pages they advertised “AOL Keywords.&# If you were a newly minted, venture-backed consumer Internet company you had to have a deal with AOL to reach your customers. Companies like GeoCities & Tripod built tools that let you publish web pages that could be discoverable by others.

article thumbnail

What the Past Can Tell Us About the Future of Social Networking

Both Sides of the Table

AOL was controlled by one company and the Internet was distributed. AOL controlled the services, taxed companies to access users and decided what was good or bad. billion in annual subscription revenues not including advertising or eCommerce). Was it massively better software, better companies, better markets?

article thumbnail

5 things Silicon Valley gets wrong about Southern California

SoCal Delicious

Orange County alone is home to more than 300 medical device companies with world-renowned leadership in ophthalmic and cardiovascular devices – a far cry from the “silicone” valley that Ms. MYTH 2: Silicon Valley companies will always have the best shot at funding. Advertise on VentureBeat. Brown was expecting. Things change.