In an ideal world, I'd be spending the next three days at the Web 2.0 conference instead of enjoying an extra dose of summer in Toronto - which is not a bad thing given our Arctic-like winters! That said, I'd like to see the conference Webcast given the people involved and the dramatic changes happening within the industry. Then again, the event is sold out and people paid a handsome sum to attend. Perhaps some panels will be Webcast or podcast after the conference ends. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to seeing some blog coverage.

Not sure whether Terry Frazier is a lone voice in the woods but his decision to split with Skype is intriguing. His post sounds a lot like someone breaking up with a girlfriend who's really nice but not the one: "It's not you, it me, blah, blah, blah." While describing Skype as disruptive, Terry justifies the sudden divorce from Skype with an explanation that will probably shock non-Luddites:
"Skype is currently in the early adopter phase, and there are lots of early adopters (another hallmark of a disruptive technology.) But I am not one of them. I want my phone to work. I want good reliable sound. I want dependability. I want everything the old-fashioned POTS has brought us for years."
Wonder what Meg and Niklas would think?

Henry Blodget, who was ridiculing dot-com stocks within the friendly confines of Merrill Lynch while touting them to the investing public, has stepped back into the spotlight with - what else - a blog called Internet Outsider. While I have no tolerance for the self-serving, unethical, greed-driven behaviour during the dot-com boom, Blodget has paid the price: he was forced to leave Wall St. and, more important, loss the respect of the market. That said, he's entitled to have another chance. After all, if Mary Meeker (a.k.a. The Queen of the Internet) can still be toiling away at Morgan Stanely as if nothing happened (e.g. she couldn't see or wouldn't conceded that most of her dot-com calls were going sour), then Blodget should be able to do his thing too. Meeker's continued role as an Internet insider makes me laugh because I thought she lost all her credibility when the bubble burst. The key to her survival as a Wall St. analyst is her and Morgan Stanley's ability to act like it's business as usual and as for the abrupt end of the dot-com boom: shit happens. Two words of advice for anyone following Meeker's bullish Chinese Internet spiel these days: caveat emptor. From living in Hong Kong and watching too many U.S. executives talk about the Chinese "opportunity", it's difficult to get a real handle on the Chinese market and what's happening unless you live there or have very smart people on the ground providing you with insight. Anyway, I'm way off track but seeing Henry back in the public eye made me all nostalgic.
Update: One person none too pleased to see Blodget blogging is Om Malik, who wonders whether Meeker and Jack Grubman are poised to join the blogosphere.