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Somehow the "rules of the game" for the recent consumer software (Web 2.0) seem a lot more simplified than the same for enterprise software. I have read these rules from various sources so I may not be able to identify the sources (that's not for the lack of attribution). Clearly some rules are very valid in both cases, but as you try to implement these rules, you realize quickly they are not always the path to success. So I thought why not examine these rules and figure out which make sense for enterprise software.1. Release early: When I refer to enterprise I usually mean companies that make over $1 Billion in revenue. Having sold to enterprises for years I thought I know the rules of the game, but figured the Web 2.0 revolution had changed some of these requirements. Not exactly. Large enterprise still want a highly scalable, robust, secure and "complete" solution. They would not consider a Twitter (with its frequent failures) as a system to pay money for. While at Ariba, we had a alpha version that we called beta and a beta that we shipped as final release to 3 customers. The first few customers literally threw it out. It just did not work and was out too early. It was feature complete & had a very intuitive UI, but would not scale. So the first 3 customers refused to deploy it in production, until those issues were solved.2. Release often: I have not used Friendfeed a lot, but I know they keep adding new features very quickly. That sounds very cool and seems like they are a company that does things quickly. With enterprise software however a version every other week means user training. I am often asked about the training requirements for customers. "Its simple and needs no training" is what I was told. Not exactly. When you are solving a business problem that's complex primarily due to the global nature of a large business, users expect training. Think of Microsoft Word. How long have you been using it? Its so easy to use that my 4 year old can use it with no "training" and he does. But try rolling out Office 2007 and you get a training budget that runs into 7-8 figures for most enterprises. Is Microsoft Word "complex"? My son will say No. But over 60% of enterprises are not rolling out Office 2007 since the training costs are higher.3. Focus on user acquisition then on revenues: I am not sure any enterprise company can realistically go to their investors (VC or otherwise) without a clear revenue plan. I am truly amazed at how many Web 2 startups that are funded have no idea about their business or revenue model. I do know of how Yahoo, Google, etc. all got started without a business model, but they "figured it out" as they went along. But I have to admit, I dont subscribe to that line of thinking. For every Yahoo and Google there are 50 other companies that got started without a business model that failed.I would love some feedback from some consumer or enterprise software startup entrepreneurs who have successfully followed these rules and achieved success.

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Facebook swelled to 29.2M unique visitors in the US, up more than 10 percent from May. Meanwhile, professional social networking site LinkedIn grew more than 20 percent month-over-month to 9.5M uniques. Year-over-year, that represents 77% growth for Faceb

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Mark was itching to start a new company. It took him over 15 years to establish his business and it was a great success from his perspective. Starting at a small retail outlet reselling home essentials, with a very modest $7500 inventory investment, he had grown it to over $7.5 Million in annual revenues. Now 15 stores adorned with every possible home furnishing accessory, dotted 12 cities in the county he was born and raised. It was a tough road and he learned many lessons. Not to mention he made a lot of good friends in banking, accounting, retail and local government. He employed over 100 people (mostly women) in his business, provided them good benefits and was respected as a pioneer among active retail promotion strategies. His business by most measures was doing very well.Perusing through the Bay area parenting magazine while helping his 8 year old with writing homework, he could not help but notice the number of help wanted ads for local nurses. An opportunity?Quick call to his accountant might be in order? 9% margins; which were 3% better than his peers and competitors suggested to him some calculated risk taking is required. He requested and paid for a good local jobs analysis, spend trend report, demographic profile report (indicating how many senior citizens were to settle in his county in the next 10-15 years), market availability and pricing analysis and a list of top 25 local county hospitals.--She had enough of it. For the 19th time that week, Susan responded to the thank you for your job application email with large frustration writ on her face. Its only Thursday and I am up to 20 rejects, she muttered to no one in particular. The tabby only moved her eyebrow as if to indicate that should be sufficient to appease her roommate. The M mark on the cat's forehead looked like it stood for mockery. Susan contemplated going down to pick up the mail, when it occurred to her that she had not watered the plants for that week. Am I losing it she wondered? It was over 8 weeks since she was laid off from her administrator's position at the county library.The shrill ring on the phone startled the tabby cat. Susan picked it up. The voice on the other side asked her if she'd be interested in "getting some literature" on the latest nursing programs since it was the career opportunity of a lifetime. For the 11th time she hung up saying no, making a mental note to register for the DNC list by days end. It then struck her, how many people had called her over the last week asking to enroll for their nursing program.Getting online she identified the number of her "virtual friends" who were all looking for a position to be close to 15. Sensing an opportunity she called St. Stephens to ask them about the number of open nurse positions. Gratified that it was significant, she decided it was time for Susan Associates to make a headway into the nursing recruiting business and placed calls into 4 of her friends to try and get them to sign up for nurse training as a part time vocation. 90+ calls ensued in the next 15 days, some positive but mostly rejections. Undeterred she kept making calls and adding to her virtual "will call you back to keep in touch" friends, actively seeking part-time nurses.--1. So, 5 year's later, who succeeds in having a nurse recruitment business? Is it Mark the experienced businessman or Susan the fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pantsuits entrepreneur?2. How important is it for the entrepreneur to do the detailed analysis and segmentation of the market potential than to "just do it".

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Over the last few weeks I have had a chance to go to Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Hyderabad from Bangalore (besides Goa) via 5 different airline carriers - Kingfisher, Indigo, Spice Jet, Jet Airways and Deccan (Kingfisher's low cost carrier).There has been a boom in Indian aviation business in the last decade and over 30 new low cost and full service airlines have benefited from the growth.All the major airports in India were in major need of renovation and they are all in various stages of it.My assessment of the airports is based on 5 criteria:a) Ease of access / location - how easy is it to get from the airport to where I want to get to - including taxis, mass transit options etc.b) Availability of restaurants - not being much of a shopper, in many cases I am rushing in from a meeting or rushing out to catch a flight, so grabbing healthy food is very important c) Overall cleanliness of the airport d) Speed to get to gate - time it takes for checking in, security clearance, etc.e) Availability of waiting lounge space (or waiting areas in general)Of the major airports, Hyderabad is the BEST by a mile. This is a totally new airport, so I am sure Mumbai and Delhi (which are undergoing major upgrades) are going to get better. The airport has been privately built and managed by GMR (which also is working on Mumbai, where unlike Hyderabad it does not have a clean slate to work from).Even though Bangalore is new (a month newer than Hyderabad), it just pales in comparison to Hyderabad. Its smaller, more cramped, less clean and has a lot fewer options for good food (or shopping).Of the others, Delhi and Chennai are the worst so Mumbai gets ranked in the middle.Why I like the Hyderabad Airport:1. Access is good, and getting better. There are buses, taxis, an upcoming Metro project and they look spanking new and clean. Mumbai is the worst and absolutely crowded. It took me more time to drive 4 miles out of the airport than to fly from Bangalore.2. Lots of good food options (especially since most Indian flights are delayed by at least 15 min minimum to an hour plus at the worst case). Delhi is the worst in this regard.3. Restrooms, pathways and aisles were all very clean and constantly being cleaned so I was impressed with their overall ability to keep it well maintained. Bangalore airport, on the other hand already looks old. Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai were all dirty even though both Delhi and Mumbai are relatively new.4. Its a little further away from the city (similar to Denver or San Francisco) so options for a train are not yet great, but you have lots of taxis and buses that were reasonably priced. Bangalore is comparable but the traffic once you get into the city just stalls.5. It was fairly fast to get in and out and you did not get overwhelmed at the exit (which happens even at the new Bangalore airport with the number of unsolicited visitors offering taxi or transport services).In terms of the airlines between Kingfisher and Jet Airways (both are full service) I preferred Jet - very hospitable staff and more punctual. Among the low cost carriers there was not much to choose from, but SpiceJet is moderately better than Indigo and I would not at all recommend Deccan.

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1. Advertising spending in India is roughly one-third of that in the US and Europe.2. There are now more Indian homes with television sets. India's 119 million television households comprise about 1.5 billion units (not DVD players) per year. This figure is expected to grow to 4.5 billion units per year by 2010.5. Total Indian Advertising market = $111 Billion in 2005, $150+ Billion in 2008.

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Back to the Bay are by Friday. Hope to catch up with everyone there. Wonderful 2 months here in India. I need up upload images.

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Highest Paying Search Terms

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Saw AdMob numbers and some of the analysis both pro and con after that. I have to be in VentureBeat's camp - AdMob is onto something (at least in India).Granted India figures #2 in Admob's advertising geography with about 349 Million requests. But that's part of the story. Lets get

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These eighty sites are the places I turn to when I’m trying to figure out how to accomplish any particular goal.

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There was no growth in broadband adoption among poorer families or blacks, while growth was strong among rural residents, older Americans, and those in households earning $20,000 to $40,000