Azure Capital Dinner - Here's Lookin' At You, 2008

February 12, 2008 | Event Report

Last night, Azure Capital Partners hosted a round table at Postrio Restaurant in San Francisco, with no other agenda than to chat with folks about what’s coming up in 2008.

Over cocktails, the Microsoft-Yahoo news was definitely a buzz, with the general and obvious consensus being that the deal will go through. Ciena recently acquired Azure portfolio company WorldWidePackets so there were many congratulations and discussions regarding the investment and the space.

I also caught Tom Foremski, Silicon Valley Watcher, (rather he caught me!) with his new Flip camera from the recent MySpace Developers Party. Great branding on MySpace’s part as he kept referring to it as his “MySpace camera!”

Although the table ended up being rectangular, not round, there was great dialogue between everyone present, and opinions for what’ll happen in technology and investing in 2008 were freely flowing. Everyone livened at the chance to project their tech winners for the upcoming year.

I chatted with Janet Rae-Dupree about LiveScribe’s launch at DEMO. She raved about the intelligent writing system which includes an innovative smartpen and dot paper bringing traditional paper to life. With audio recording and translating available, the paper-based platform aims to change the way people capture, use and share information. I might plan a trip to Paris just so I can use the translate function.

Some other great snippits that I caught were Mike Kwatinetz chatting about the evolution of standard e-commerce models, with a shift in focus from CPM “clicks per 1000 visitors” to RPM “revenues per 1000 visitors” using examples like Education.com (which recently launched a new School Finder service at DEMO), EzRez, Rooftop Comedy.

In the open source world, often seen as less sexy than the web, I overheard Cameron Lester was engaged in a great discussion about the open source community. He’s observed a great divide between the open source idealists and those aiming toward monetization.

Every now and then the economic forecast for 2008 came up, but was outshined ““ with cautious optimism ““ by the fact that technology is still on the rise and will become a strong focus in the US and global marketplaces. What an exciting time to be a part of the hustle and bustle that is Silicon Valley!

-Jacqueline

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