… that’s the piece of trash they’re driving all those clicks to?

We’ve got a lot of work to do, people.

But tonight, at the invitation of Ramit Sethi and Michael Fishman I did just that. I was well out of my league sharing time with those two plus:

• Derek Halpern — he writes Social Triggers and is an extremely sharp guy. It’s immediately apparent he not only reads a lot, but catalogs that information and can apply it across a wide swath of scenarios.
• Daphne Oz — The show she’s co-hosting (The Chew) starts very soon. Not only has she achieved an intimidating level of success already, but (as far as I can tell), she is eons ahead of most media personalities in how she’ll turn that into a sustainable business.
• Amanda Steinberg — if everyone had her drive, the world would be an indescribably better place. I love her business, Daily Worth, because it’s a prime example of identifying an under-served niche, figuring out what those customers want and how they want to get it, and then executing relentlessly. This will be great inspiration for me.
• Jonathan Fields — he’s got a new book coming out that, after talking to him, sounds mind blowing. He’s teaching those of us doing creative work the science behind how we think and how we can think better. I think he is on to something extremely huge.

A few observations:

1. You know you’re surrounded by intelligent entrepreneurs when an early question is, “So how much did everyone else read about the other guests?” The funny thing is, we all laughed at the joke because each one of us did in fact prepare. Researching fellow guests isn’t something you get with most crowds.

2. Hosting a dinner of mutually interesting and potentially beneficial guests is a superb method for boosting your personal stock price. Ramit and Michael brought us together (I’m assuming) because, aside from friendship, we all have the potential to help and be helped by each other. The relationships I started tonight are living evidence of how Ramit and Michael (RaMichael?) have helped me. Obviously, I’ll be looking to help them any way I can to keep the karmic pool balanced. Wins all around.

Any one of us could do the same and put together dinners like this to become nodes in our own right.

Headline: Index Leads $4 billion Valuation Round In Dropbox

First sentence: Dropbox is finally moving to close that massive valuation venture round we’ve been talking about all summer.

Emphasis mine. Notice how the headline implies the deal is done, yet the first sentence reveals the real truth. It’s almost done.

Bet he wrote the headline that way to get more traffic from Techmeme. I’m sure it worked, too.

Imagine being able to like and share not only songs on Pandora, but also stations with one click.

• Digging that Grateful Dead rendition of Desolation Row? Click and send it to your Facebook stream.
• Amazed at the string of classics coming through your Elvis station? Click and send the whole station to your stream.
• Or maybe you’re a die-hard evangelist,  you want your profile to persistently show what station/song you’re rocking to. Set the permissions in both services and boomshakalaka, 24/7 Pandora and music evangelism.

That’s cool, but here’s where it gets really interesting.

Let’s take the case of sharing a station in your stream. What if each share included all this:

• The station’s past 5 songs played. Doing so would provide a full context of the station, making it easier for friends to decide if the station is for them, and thus driving sign up or engagement rates for those who click through.
• A link for existing Pandora users to instantly add the station to their list. Music listeners are always looking to re-invigorate their tunes, and if I saw one I liked I would absolutely add it.
• Links to buy the songs listed. With all these songs now getting displayed in streams, it is only natural to offer opportunities to buy immediately. Seems like an easy revenue split for Pandora and Facebook.

You could do similar strategies for those users sharing a song or persistently displaying the current song on their profile. Quick links to jump to or add the station, buy the song, or become a Pandora user.

Obviously, I’m not entirely sure what Facebook sharing environment looks like, but this sure seems like a worthwhile experiment for both parties.

Disclosure: I unabashedly love Pandora.

Update: So it’s a little hidden, but there are a few share buttons. Facebook even lets you share the song or station. Sadly, doing so requires you to let the Pandora app access all your info, which is weak. Here’s how it looks on my profile page when I shared a song:

Pretty cool that you can play a (sadly short) preview right on the profile page. Wish the links to listen were more prominent, but this is pretty cool.

Seems out of place.

Update: Guess it’s for the Boys and Girls Club. That’s cool. Wish it was more than just a link to PayPal checkout, though. Many emotional drivers that could be tapping, but aren’t.

Even if you’re a small business, there’s some great insight to be gained from Marla Erwin, Interactive Art Director for Whole Foods Market. Marla was instrumental in creating Whole Foods’ acclaimed social media program and the results have been phenomenal! For example, in the first year, Twitter.com/Wholefoods gained a million Twitter followers. It has now surpassed 1.75 million people. (Social Media Examiner)

(Emphasis NOT mine.) I love how the number of followers somehow makes the account a success. (Was it ever on the suggested user list? We know that skews things but translates little in terms of quality.) So beautifully misleading about what is truly important.

Just as importantly, there is no actual data in this article. Sure, it’s impossible to be wrong if there is nothing to judge, and that’s nice for the writer’s job security… but I fear how many small businessmen read fluff like this and then waste time joining Twitter with no plan in place.

Twice.

The 2nd go-round was quite different, however, in that we had GPS to guide us through the various suburbs surrounding Madison. As I thought back on this earlier today, I realized that even though we had GPS, the anxiety of finding and arriving at the location on time was far higher. And it wasn’t just the British lady’s voice.

Here’s my thesis.

The 1st summer we never really cared about the route, specifically. We had our point on the map and knew, one way or another, we’d get there. Like those airplanes headed to Hawaii, we spent a lot of time in a state of course correction. Complete information was never available, so a level of confusion was standard. You got used to it.

Summer number deuce, different story. No map. No finding the destination first, then setting the direction. Just plug in the address and go. Information was far more accessible, making the lack of information feel far more perilous.

Life was defined by that next turn in 2.6 miles…

… and suddenly, missing that turn was terrifying; the consequences unknown. Would we still make the appointment on time? What’s the excuse? No, we already had lunch at 10am. The GPS drastically reduced our awareness of the surroundings and general route.

I’ve noticed a similar parallel with the increased prevalence of Google Maps and cell phones. The willingness to adventure to places unknown is far smaller. Securing a commitment more than 48 hours in advance is a much harder sell.

With the convenience of these new tools also comes a reliance on them. And with that reliance, old familiarities become unknowns.

I would imagine that this is also happening to our customers and our markets.

A lot of people made a lot of money via this berry. Wonder what the next one will be.

VCs Say The Biggest Opportunities In Mobile Are Not Sexy Apps [mocoNews.net]

You wouldn’t guess it by looking at where VC’s plunk their money, but consumer cash doesn’t necessarily flow towards sex appeal… when it comes to web apps. Peruse any conversation with web2.0 fan boys and you notice it focuses around design, elegance, and “the user base.” I’m more interested in usefulness and “the customer base.”

You know, the stuff that gets you revenue today and tomorrow.

In a conversation with Ramit, we discussed the differing philosophies between New York and San Francisco-based startups. In my experience, New York is much more bottom-line focused (and its sphere of influence is growing), whereas San Fran is all about wild ideas — profit be damned.

I’m all about the Big Idea, but I temper that with a loyal appreciation for sound business models. San Francisco gets most of the limelight because of the big exits, but I think the coming years will start seeing a lot more New York success stories.