In an email he sent to the readers of his publication, Jason Calicanis talks about having to lay off around 10% of people from Mahalo. Here’s the quote:
We’ve laid off a just under 10% of our full-time staff, cut our overhead by doing smart things like renting desks (we have six desks/offices available fyi), and reorganized our editorial department to focus on freelance positions over in-house editors. The net result
of the effort is we are giving Mahalo another year of “dry powder” (or runway) to complete our mission.
This is not to be unexpected after all the talk about the recession coming our way. It does however emphasizes the need for companies to consider there profit margins and accounting strategy.
Mahalo was launched in May 2007 as an Alpha test. That is to say only a select number of people were able to access the site and create feedback to the development of the site. As of January of 2008 it is in what we call the Beta test phase. Which means more people are testing it out and find out it’s flaws to report back about where they need to improve. Mahalo’s directory employs human editors to review websites and search engine results.
Saying that Mahalo is in Beta still doesn’t lessen the fact that they are worried about there revenue model and expect a drastic decrease in revenue over the next 2 years due to the Recession still hanging over our heads. This is where it comes to pure talent and understanding that most people in the business has to worry being laid off for example Merck Laid off 13% of it’s workforce. Most people know the dread and fear of having the possibility of a Layoff hanging over your head and it is bound to affect even the most stubborn person and independent person. It is going to come at a time like Christmas or the first a year and you will have to scrounge around and try to find another job. It’s tough and I’ve got a list that will help you :5 ways to improve your chance of getting hired.
With this list you will be able to get a better grip of the future and maybe create a better future in the process.
Mahalo is still in it’s infancy and will still need time to grow and mature and with this recession looming over everyone’s head they will have quite a time making heads or tails of the future. So why try to create the future if you don’t know what will happen? That comes with the territory of blogging and website that are 2.0. It’s a hit or miss when it comes to people finding the best content and sometimes finds the worst content. This is where you as a reader have to choice what to listen to and who to listen too. I don’t say that will be easy but it is essential in finding what you need at the time you need it.
If we don’t do anything, this will be the last you will see of some of these big name sites. We need to gather around them and show our support, by reading there content and providing feedback if there is something that needs to be change. That is your power to help these websites become the best they can. So go comment on your favorite website, tell them something you think they can do to better the content. So why aren’t you doing that now?
What did happen to that One Red Paper Clip? We know Kyle MacDonld traded that paper clip for something more valuable and sooner or later it got all the way to a house? So he’s trying to sell this house of his. Here’s the quote:
“We’d like to trade the house because it’s kinda sitting empty most of the time, and it’d be great if somebody was in there!” As to his barter options, MacDonald is playing his cards close to the vest. He will reveal only that he has received 300 offers so far. “I’m keeping them all a secret until I make my decision who to trade with,” he says.
Are we having an Economic Death? If so how could we change that? Is it to Late? In a recent CNN release President Bush talk about the Economic Depression of the US.
And you know what. I am not sure how to feel about this. Should I be worried or do I have any reason to worry? Having said that I like to talk about the problems that we might face if we go into a more economic depression and how might that affect your lifestyle.
Having seen this coming the past year, I have been growing more and more uneasy with the way the U.s. Economy is turning out. Worried about paying bills off and earning enough money for my kids and wife. The typical situation for the average family. If your like me you have been struggling to pay bills and deciding on what is more important. You fixing your car or upgrading your PC/Laptop. These questions are undoubtedly going to cause problems with people who do work on computers to become almost non-existent. Not saying that is going to be to difficult to become truth.
It however will make peoples lives much more harder to deal with, or at least motivate people. Ever wonder what people would do if they were not motivated to do anything. Would they walk about the house naked or in there underwear?
You see there is always going to be a time when there will be hardships. We must fight through them to see the other side. They say the grass is always greener on the other side. That is like the economy, it will fix itself over time. I wonder how many of you are having to create a lean bank book? Have you bought any new games or PC hardware or For that matter Software lately? Are you planning on doing that in the next few weeks? Are you worried about the finanical situation and do you think it will impact you? Thease are all very good question to consider in the coming months.
What are you going to do differently and why? I encourage you to discuss this in detail. I want to see what people think and why?
So I been doing a little digging and trying to find out what the heck people are complaining about and I found some great reviews telling me exactly why people hate EA. They don’t necessarily hate Spore or Will Wright, but the Security around The Spore game.
So In a couple of these comments. These reviews talk about Creating the creatures and All. I’ll submit some of the reviews that I thought was relevant and let you decide for yourself. I would however wonder the one big question? Is Spore Worth the Money? Here’s the details that I know of right now:
You can only install it 3 times before you have to call EA to get an override code. (Although I heard rumors that if you unistall it, you will get a credit for an Install)
You can not Install new hardware or upgrade your hardware because if you do, it’ll count as an install, According to this one person.
The game only allows 1 login per Install. So you can’t have more than one character and one universe according to this person.
Part of the Copy Protection prevents you from taking your saved games off your computer and taking it over to your friends house, according to this Person.
According to Amazon the reviews aren’t pleasant. I tend to agree does this mean there are going to be even more people pirating it because they don’t want the DRM or Is EA going to send out a patch to fix this. I am curious as to see how EA responds to all this NONE TOLERANCE to DRM.
After seeing all these reviews of Spore, I tend to agree with everyone. I’ll probably wait and see before I buy my copy. All the reviews however don’t look promising or even makes the games look like it wouldn’t be fun.
Categories: Jason Calicanis, Mahalo | 
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