Ever found yourself killing time somewhere, and wondered if you could read my blog on a wireless device? Well, lucky you because Plusmo.com has introduced a new service to easily create mobile blogs. Wonders never cease! There's a Plusmo chicket on my blog. (I found out about Plusmo after its CEO, Krisha Vedati, sent me an e-mail that include a customized logo. Savvy marketing move.

Nicholas Carr has been a loud and constant critic of Wikipedia.com. His latest lament against the online encyclopedia - "The death of Wikipedia" laments the fact there are now controls on who can write and edit entries - something Jimmy Wales describes as "semi-protection". I can see both sides of the argument but Carr's problems with Wikipedia boil down to Wales' role in the encyclopedia's future. As a living breathing online organism,  Wikipedia thrives and grows because it's a community entity that leverages the power of the Web and the willingness of people to freely contribute. The key question is whether Wales should continue to be Wikipedia's benevolent dictator? Is his "guidance" still needed even though Wikipedia has become a large and increasing prominent entity? While Wales will always be involved in one way, shape or form, it's probably time for him to move on and let Wikipedia walk on its own. Wales, after all, has moved into the commercial market with Wikia, which provides a Wiki platform supported - at least for the time being - by Google AdSense. With Wikia poised for growth, it's time for Wales to leave Wikipedia behind. He did a great job nurturing it, and it has become a wonderful online resource but sooner or later, you have to let the kids leave home.
Addendum: Ross Mayfield offers up a short, but cutting, rebuttal to Carr's claims - highlighted by these bon mots: "sensational stuff as always, but factually wrong as usual".

Ever wondered about Vonage Canada's subscriber base? I've asked senior management on a regular basis for a number - even a ballpark number - but got nowhere. The answer, I think, is about 52,000, which is much higher than anyone estimated given the scuttlebutt was 15,000 to 20,000. So where does the 52,000 figure come from? Well, if you read through to the end of Vonage's S-1 filing, the company breaks out its Canadian and U.K.sales. In the first-quarter, Canadian sales were $4.25-million. You divide that number by Vonage's average revenue per subscriber ($27 a month X three months) and, voila, 52,000 customers. One thing that is a bit of a puzzler is it appears Vonage Canada has had tremendous momentum in the last quarter or two because sales for all of last year were US$7.6-million, which works out to about 23,000 subscribers using the $27 ARPU figure x 12 months.
Update: My Financial Post story on Vonage's first day of trading can be found here. The Streetcom's Jim Kramer has a rant about Vonage, in which he concludes it is a "piece of junk".
Update II: Vonage shares down another 11% today to $13.17, which means it has lost 23% from the IPO price, or a cool $575-million. closed down $1.85 to $13 so the value of the company has dropped by $588-million in two days. Yikes! Buying opportunity or dead dog?