Robert Roderick, head of product technology for AgLocal, spoke with WebProNews about how AgLocal is hoping to change meat industry over the next few years.

AgLocal is a technology platform that seeks to connect local pasture-raised meat producers, wholesalers, and retailers with more distribution channels that aren’t normally available to them. The company is less that 8 months old, but has been backed by Marc Ecko and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. Roderick also said the company is getting attention from some big clients (billion-dollar retail restaurants) that he couldn’t disclose.

“We created an online platform so local farms can go to this platform and put their meat for sale,” said Roderick. “Then distributors and retailers can go on this platform and purchase this meat.”

The process isn’t all about how meat is bought and sold, though. AgLocal, according to Roderick wants consumers to know exactly where the meat they are eating comes from.

“End consumers can come to our platform, find out what retailers, grocery stores, or restaurants are serving this meat and find out exactly where this meat is coming from,” said Roderick. “They can find out the history of the farm.”

The platform will also put more control in the hands of local farmers by digitizing payments through Dwolla. Farmers will also be able to manage their livestock inventory through AgLocal, enabling them to get better prices for their meat.

Judging by Roderick’s statements, AgLocal will also follow how the animals are treated before slaughter. He related an anecdote about an AgLocal farm in California that cared for its pigs enough to put aloe on their skin to prevent sunburns, weeks before they were scheduled to die.

“You will not get that type of commitment to an animal is big ag,” said Roderick. “You will get that type of commitment in small, local farms. And that’s what this is about, it’s about local, small farms who aren’t getting these government subsidies.”

Roderick stated that AgLocal’s goal is no less than to change the way Americans eat meat. Ambitious, sure, but everyone on the Internet 2012 bus tour was flush with a drive to use the internet and the communities it forms to change the way established industries work. It isn’t inconceivable that AgLocal could change agriculture in the U.S., given the aggregative power of the internet.

“What’s crazy is that it may cost a little more to use AgLocal, but in the long run – of the United States and the way that we do meat farming – it’s more sustainable, it makes everybody more money, and it saves money,” said Roderick. “AgLocal is about responsible farming, healthier meat, and keeping more money in local economies.”

Since the idea worked for Facebook, does that mean it can work for the whole Web? Adrian Aoun thinks it can and believes the proof lies in his startup Wavii, which recently launched into public beta.

Would you like to have a Facebook-like News Feed for all your news and information? Please share your thoughts.

As he explained to WebProNews, Wavii wants to make a Facebook out of Google. In other words, Wavii aggregates all the information that users typically go to Google for and puts it in a format similar to that of Facebook’s News Feed. This information goes beyond what your friends and family post and actually incorporates the big data problem that so many people are trying to solve.

Wavii attempts to unlock this information by teaching computers to understand “natural language.” Aoun acknowledges that this is no small task but believes it is necessary in giving consumers information in a format they want.

“We’ve taught our machines – our system, our engine – to kind of understand these thousands and thousands of concepts that people talk about,” he said. “What’s cool is that it’s learning more and more concepts everyday, much like you.”

“We’re kinda going past what a Google or a Bing does,” added Aoun.

Although Wavii aggregates and indexes information, much like a search engine would do, it doesn’t consider itself in the same way. Instead of indexing the content on each page, Aoun told us that Wavii finds the meaning behind each page and indexes it, which he believes is a clear evolution of search.

Another reason it doesn’t equate itself to a search engine is due to the user experience. With a search engine, users constantly click links that send them away from the page, but with Wavii, users stay and discover, just like they would on Facebook.

The challenging part to such a service, however, is the accuracy of the information. Raymie Stata, Yahoo’s former Chief Technology Officer, told CNN that making sure the information is correct is the hard part, not the analyzing of the information.

“What we do our best at is reporting the facts of what’s being reported on the Web,” pointed out Aoun.

He laughingly went on to say that Wavii would work on its accuracy right after it invents the toaster that walks. Putting the jokes aside, he did tell us that Wavii tries to remove the bias by pulling the meat of what’s being said and not the opinion. For example, if someone wrote, “I can’t believe Facebook bought Instagram,” Wavii would only include “Facebook bought Instagram” into its feed. One of the company’s goals going forward is to insert user opinions beneath the “fact,” but Aoun said it would be a while before that happens.

In terms of the social side of Wavii, users can join the service through Facebook Connect and, in the near future, Twitter. It also runs on a follow system much like Twitter or Path. According to Aoun, this model alleviates building a new network of friends. Wavii users can also customize their feeds to follow specific topics of interest as well as show various emotions to their feeds including “surprise,” “love,” and “anger.”

Aoun believes Wavii is distinguishable from StumbleUpon, Flipboard, and other similar services, since it allows users to sort through masses of information without reading all the details. He said it gives users more control by combining an information mining service and a reader-type service into one experience.

“We’re trying to unlock all the meaning on the Web and give users kind of that control or that power over everything that’s out there,” he pointed out.

Ultimately, Wavii wants to take all the information it can get, and present it in a way that users can best digest it. In other words, it hopes to go beyond search engines and also solve the problem of big data through a Facebook-like solution, which is fascinating. The question is, can Wavii succeed with this ambitious goal?

“SEOmoz is one of those companies that you just know is going to do big things, “ said Brad Feld, Managing Director of The Foundry Group. “I tend to judge the organizations I invest in based on character, culture and leadership. I believe Moz has exceptional depth in all these areas and the financial growth trajectory to back them up. The relationship is a great fit from all angles and I’m positive we have a very successful future ahead of us.”

The software that SEOmoz creates crawls websites to find errors or missed opportunities for SEO and then makes recommendations based on SEO best practices. The startup also helps websites battle negative SEO. SEOmoz has 15,000 current paying subscribers and predicts it will take in $18-20 million in 2012.

In addition to the highly detailed blog announcement that tells the entire story of the funding, SEOmoz has put out an official press release that is littered with internet memes. One example can be seen below, and represents the tenuous explanation for their less-than-serious release. The rest of the memes, which, I must warn you, are not all winners, can be seen here.

Despite the silly press release, SEOmoz is sincerely hoping this investment will allow their startup to grow and flourish. “In that first phone call with Brad, I knew we’d found someone special,” said Fishkin. “I was, honestly, scared of starting another fundraising process after our previous two attempts, but the chemistry between Foundry and Moz was instant – we couldn’t ask for a better fit. This new partnership coupled with the continued support of our original investors, Ignition Partners, gives us the ability to achieve some remarkable milestones in the years to come.”

How do you feel about companies that cast their SEO magic on websites? Should all companies be less serious about their press releases? Leave a comment below and let us know.

That is where Givmo comes into play. Givmo is like Goodwill for the digital age. Just log onto their site, post pictures of the junk you want to give way, and the stuff you no longer have use for goes to a good home.

The startup was introduced by software engineer Dustin Byrne, who moved from job to job after college and never knew what to do with the stuff he never used. He introduced Givmo last year as a way to remedy the situation.

Here is an example of how it works: You buy a new pair of swell slacks. You go on a diet and now longer fit into said slacks. What do you do? You barely wore the pants before your diet, so they’re like brand new. You don’t want to be wasteful and throw away new slacks. Selling them on eBay is a hassle, and you probably won’t get much for worn items anyway.

So you post them on Givmo. Someone sees the slacks you don’t want, and decides he’d put them to good use. The buyer pays for shipping. A prepaid label is printed on your computer, and you send the item off with the morning mail.

You get rid of the stuff you don’t need, someone else gets something they do need at low cost. Givmo makes money from a small commission (less than a dollar) and discounts they get from UPS on shipping. They give a dollar to charity. Overflowing landfills get one less piece of junk. It’s socially responsible ecommerce, and everybody wins.

Givmo has been somewhat slow to take off, Byrne said via Mashable. “It’s not enough to pay the bills on its own, but hopefully with volume it will get there.”

After checking out Givmo, I’ve noticed that the shipping is steep according to their calculator (about $12 to $14 for almost every item on there, including a collectible PEZ dispenser at the higher end of that scale.) I’m not exactly sure what’s going on here. If Givmo only takes a dollar and a dollar goes to charity, it still should not cost $12 dollars to ship a pez dispenser within the U.S. By comparison, a 16 lbs. bowling ball on the site costs about $15 to ship. I’m not sure if this is a shipping calculator malfunction or the actual cost, but be careful if you decide you want something. Make sure the item is even worth the shipping cost.

Ella Gorgla, the CEO of the startup, calls the site “the eBay for fashion insiders.” As she explained to us, most people haven’t worn at least 25 percent of their closets in the past 9 months. For this reason, she wanted to create an outlet for people to “share their closet” with others.

“You have stuff in your closet – it’s just sitting there – and the fact is, you could use the money,” she said.

She went on to say that the resell marketplace is one of the fastest growing areas within the retail industry. The problem though is that there is a stigma associated with wearing second-hand clothing. Gorgla told us that I-ELLA hopes to change this perception and emphasize the green aspect of recycling.

She also points out that users can get great bargains using the service. Items that may not have been affordable before, now have the potential to be.

“You can get Chanel at 75 percent off of retail,” she said. “People are selling things for like 90 percent off of retail.”

What makes I-ELLA really unique, however, is the fact that it focuses on charity. The company keeps 10 percent of every purchase and gives 10 percent of this amount to a charity selected by the buyer.

I-ELLA also hosts celebrity auctions using items donated by celebrities such as John Legend and Whitney Port. With these events, 75 percent of the proceeds go to a charity chosen by the celebrity.

Celebrity stylist Mary Alice Stephenson explains how the auctions work in this clip:

Through this philanthropic component, the company has raised $10,000 to date for various charitable organizations.

While I-ELLA keeps a portion of the sells, Gorgla also has other plans for profitability. She told us that she would like to incorporate advertising at some point, but in a very targeted way. In addition, she mentioned the possibility of developing a premium service for members.

The company has also received investments from people such as Alan Meckler, the Chairman and CEO of WebMediaBrands.

Although I-ELLA’s primary focus is pre-owned designer items, it also creates an outlet for up and coming designers. Those looking to get into the fashion industry can post their items and potentially get discovered by recognized fashion designers.

Incidentally, BranchOut is a new startup that hopes to provide a solution to these challenges. It is, essentially, a professional network within Facebook. BranchOut allows users to create connections with individuals at top companies, and it gives businesses the opportunity to professionally recruit, find leads, and more.

Rick Marini, BranchOut’s founder and CEO, said, “It is truly your professional profile within Facebook.”

Although BranchOut has been referred to as the LinkedIn for Facebook, Marini said that it is much more. As he explained, the startup offers a different experience since it brings a gaming feature as well as other “fun” features to the career market.

Up to this point, BranchOut has been focused on the consumer experience. However, Marini pointed out that the next phase of the startup would be geared toward enterprises and would include advanced capabilities.

“We’re really going beyond the consumer experience and trying to build true business tools for people to, hopefully, be able to change their lives,” he said.

TripUp’s less than a year old – a “beta” tag is still prominently displayed throughout the site – so this is quite a win for its owners.  Presumably a win, anyway, as the purchase price remains unknown, but Sam Rogoway, TripUp’s CEO, sounds pleased.

“By joining the SideStep family and collaborating on new innovations, we’re poised to introduce our exciting community and social network to millions of travelers,” he stated in a press release.  In fact, according to the same release, SideStep receives over six million visitors per month.

Now, as long as we’re dealing with SideStep and TripUp, I’ll continue the pattern (in terms of names) and turn to StartUp Beat.  “TripUp came up with a number of social tools for travel enthusiasts, including Trip Gurus, which allows travelers to give and receive advice, meet up with fellow travelers, and hook up with locals,” notes one article.  “The site also includes user-generated travel blogs, photos, videos, maps and reviews.”

Judging by that description, it sounds as if both sides of this acquisition received good deals.  I’m now going to go write about something that doesn’t have two capitalized letters per word.

Like others, the primary activity is messaging to your social network.  You message to all your friends or public like others, or directly like typing "D Username" in Twitter at the beginning of a message, but also lets you select a subset of friends.  Beyond messages, you can share links, files and events.  Beyond doing this on the web, there is a Windows or Mac rich client.

The digerati and diggerati will probably rant away about how it doesn’t have SMS or IM integration like Twitter, how the content is mundane (same thing with blogging five years ago), how it needs APIs and microformats (which it does, and hooks into Twitter, del.icio.us, Flickr, Upcoming and Facebook are inevitable), or just complain about adding friends again (Adding friends is the new zen).  The design is slick on both the web and client and they will polish up key details like last names, comment threading like Jaiku, permalinks and need a more public space to explore. 

What does it matter how one comes by the truth so long as one pounces upon it and lives by it? — Henry Miller

But here’s the three trends:

YASMS Gets and Ad Format — I admire startups that launch with an actual business model.  They have introduced a new Ad Format, a message broadcast into the stream with the Pownce icon (the green P in the above screenshot is an ad from PBwiki, I love wikis) that doesn’t seem to persist.  I didn’t mind the ad from LaughingSquid (first I saw) in my peripheral attention.  And if I did, I could pay to make it go away, but subscribing to the Pro version for $20/year and also be able to send files over 100MB.

AIR Gets a Viral App — The client is built on the Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR), formerly Apollo and still in Beta.  Pownce’s virality will give AIR the airtime it needs for base of users to install it, making it easier for the next AIR client to come along.  This should be AIR’s showcase.  That said, Pownce’s model is what I call contained virality, where limits are part of the draw and when you are in you feel in (at least to share music, a hidden driver).

Consumer Collaboration Get Hip — Anyone who follows the enterprise collaboration space will immediately see parallels with P2P collaboration apps like Groove or Shinkuro.  Or IM, Skype and more directly enterprise IM like MindAlign.  The key difference is group forming by social network and default modes of sharing more publicly.  Pownce will appeal to a very different demographic, that’s already collaborating on blogs, wikis and IM, and potentially full a space in between.

There are several vectors in which Pownce could go, or others could go towards including presence, location, public IM, security, indexing and integration.  Pownce will have to open up invites soon (I’m out, please don’t ask) to build its network effect before others encroach.  It isn’t unique enough to gain the continuous or at least partial attention of users for yet another client.  Infrastructure costs will be greater than P2P.  At the risk of breaking the design and making it too complex, Pownce should give serious thought to the role of standards and how they could be a client for Facebook.

Please, I don’t have any invites.

Comments

Tag:

I’m a fan of Joel Spolsky.  I’m impressed with his wit and humor.  Some of his older stuff was really good, but most of his newer stuff just hasn’t struck me in the same way.  But, maybe that’s just me.

I’m a fan of Paul Graham.  I’m impressed with his intelligence and ability to really cover a topic well in a way that makes sense and appeals to my analytical side.

I’m a fan of Guy Kawasaki because despite not having had that much startup experience, he seems to really get it.  He’s got some natural startup instincts and an approachable writing style.

But, none of these is my favorite startup-related blog anymore.  That designation goes to Marc Andreesen’s relatively new blog, blog.pmarca.com (though the name itself is not particularly intuitive).  As evidence, I’ll cite his two most recent articles, which I think are simply brilliant. 

1.  Guide To Startups, Part 1: Why Not To Do A Startup

2.  Guide To Startups, Part 2: When The VCs Say No

I defy you to find more useful and insightful content on the topic of startups.

As a startup blogger myself, I am continually humbled by the quality of content that is out there.  Now, Marc’s raised the bar even higher.  If you are a busy startup founder and don’t have much time to read, you should probably read Marc’s stuff instead of mine.  Trust me, you’ll be glad you switched…

Comments

Tag:

Is 30 Too Old To Be A Web Visionary?

I’m 30 now, so I remember my Twenties well, dead as they are. We say "turning" 30 because that’s what is: turning some crazy corner in life. I’m slower, fatter, and my knees and stomach don’t work like they used to. The music’s getting too loud. I like four-door cars and watching the news.

But I’m not dumber, or less in-tune with things, or limited in creativity. In fact, I’d say I’m better than I used to be at everything except jumping. That’s not arrogance. That’s confidence. I’m smarter, more experienced, less apt to be impulsive and have learned more about how the world works.

I’m responsible, mostly because now other people rely on me, rather than just me relying on myself.

The preceding speech is inspired by a recent blogospheric spat that came to a head over the weekend, pitting old against young – a classic battle, really, an "age-old," if you’ll forgive the pun, tale spanning back even to the Old Testament, where conscientious older observers look back and laugh at the ignorance and capriciousness of their youth, and laugh harder as they watch the once-immortal turn 30.

With Thirty comes the epiphany: I really don’t know everything. I’m just really good at blowin’ smoke.

The debate begins with venture capitalist blogger Fred Wilson, who suggested in a multi-part series that web services entrepreneurs over 30 are becoming obsolete. He writes:

I really don’t want to be the guy who made it harder for anyone older than 30 to get funded in the web services market.

But I’ve been thinking about all the young entrepreneurs we are seeing walk through our offices. I’ve been thinking about Mark Zuckerberg, Rob Kalin, all the ycombinator entrepreneurs, and the 15 year olds who are hacking up facebook apps. You can’t ignore it. There is something fundamental and important going on….

Who is developing this "clearer idea"? Who is developing the set of "design patterns"? It’s the younger generation. And its important to understand why.

It is incredibly hard to think of new paradigms when you’ve grown up reading the newspaper every morning. When you turn to TV for your entertainment. When you read magazines on the train home from work.

Though he made a few concessions later, them’s, apparently, fightin’ words. Dave Winer, Original Blogger that he is, was quick to put school in session.

"I’ve been a net native since before I was 20," he writes. "Yes, I read newspapers growing up, but I also blogged before it was called blogging, and created a lot of the technology that the kids are developing now. Yet I’ve had arrogant idiotic asshole kids tell me I don’t understand the net."

Heh. He used the "A" word.

Steve Hodson, aka codenut, takes the curmudgeon profanity to a new level, on par with Mr. Greenlawn’s raspy command to STAY OUTTA MY YARD: 

To Fred – kiss my ass. Just because I have gray hair, fathered a couple of kids, been divorced more than once – you know … that thing call Real Life … doesn’t make me or any of my generation any less of a potential to shift more than an occasional paradigm.

Who the hell do you think invented the net you duffus – it was us gray haired old farts when you were probably still in pampers…[obligatory reference to Berners Lee and Cerf]

You talk about the 20 something’s being the true harbingers of paradigm shifts. Crap. They wouldn’t know a paradigm shift if it slapped them in the face.

If you’re not on the floor laughing now, then you’ve got no sense of humor whatsoever. Just awesome, Steve.

Wilson wasn’t out there on his own though. There are two sides to this, as usual. A surprising supporter is Don Dodge, Director of Business Development for Microsoft’s Emerging Business Team and most certainly not in his Twenties. The same way Hodson cites Winer and Kahn, Dodge reminds us of Jobs, Gates, Brin and Page, all in their Twenties when they changed the world:

Young people have vision for what is possible, and are not blinded by "knowledge" of what is not possible….Older, more experienced people ( I am an old guy) are typically better at taking a startup idea and building it into a business. Older people are great at understanding the potential of "paradigm shifts", but not great at seeing them beforehand.

Indeed, they do seem to need each other most of the time. Brin and Page needed Eric Schmidt. Skywalker needed Obi-Wan Kenobi.

But let’s get back to the arrogant a-holes, that was more fun. Marcus Frind, founder of PlentyOfFish.com (featured on the Today show this morning, it just so happens) takes a harder line on the issue, with a very "modern" view on spelling, capitalization, and punctuation:

I agree with fred,  older people dont’ invent stuff,  they tend to take other peoples ideas and improve on them and use their connections/knowledge/money to get credit for it….

People over 30  tend to go out and look for emerging patterns to predict the future  but don’t really understand it.    Free dating never worked before I came along,

Wow. And girls can’t play baseball, I guess, just like Asians can’t drive and all Kentuckians are toothless, shoeless hillbillies. Nice. Just make sure you keep the pigeon in the hole; he’s unruly when he gets out.