I'm still trying to understand what this is going to mean in practice. I'm working quite a bit with startups who are leveraging social media, but I'm finding it hard to predict success and metrics. And how can an early stage company think about social media relative to important startup metrics (see [link] )? I am a product guy so my bias is always to focus on building a great product first. Visible networking is turning into a really great opportunity to get to know people better, get to meet new people, and have some interesting conversations. This time I'm

We started seeing deals like Intermix, LowerMyBills, Rent.com, Shopzilla--all of these successes started in SoCal--who had not raised money from local investors. They've got some nice metrics behind them. Finally, what's your opinion on where the SoCal VC industry is nowadays? Brian Los Angeles-based Crosscut Ventures (www.crosscutventures.com) is one of the newest venture capital funds in the area, and has quietly been working on funding local companies over the last year. The fund--started by Brian Garrett and Rick Smith --has been focused on digital media investments,

Last year, Dealmaker Media put together Startonomics , a great conference focusing on what really matters: how to define the metrics for your business, and where those numbers should fall to ensure you are on the right path. generations of the web, many bright folks have been able to recognize the best practices for such metrics. Now Dealmaker Build it and they will come, right? Everybody is going to love this, won’t they?