Since we are getting closer to release over here at dig the vibe, we decided to put up a new website at http://digthevibe.com, with a way to sign up to be a part of the beta testing and a countdown. Check it out...

A little bit different than over here at dig the vibe, but this captures the spirit well. There is a lot out there right there - the key is being clear, transparent, and having a unique value proposition. What really differentiates you? Alright.... just watch. #DTV

The current flurry of investments in tech startups is reminding people of the 90's dot-com bubble, but this article from the HuffingtonPost called Champagne And Easy Money: The Web's Young Stars Confront Another Bubble makes a couple very interesting points. Here are some excerpts from the article we found interesting:

• As U.S. venture capitalists raised $7 billion during the first quarter of 2011, Internet firms snatched up $2.3 billion in funds, according to research firm CB insights. Those totals were up 76 percent and 46 percent, respectively, from the first quarter of 2010.
• As cash piles up and today’s top entrepreneurs become pickier about whom they take money from, a new class system for investors is emerging. “We’re not just looking for money, we’re looking for someone to offer advice, networks and relationships,” said one tech entrepreneur at the Summit Series who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
• For one, venture capital firms are investing considerably less capital than they were during the boom. Ben Horowitz, co-founder and general partner at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz,crunched the numbers and found that venture capital firms had invested $200 billion between 1998 and 2000. More dollars were invested in that single 3-year period than in total over the prior 18 years. Between 2008 and 2010, venture capital firms invested $90 billion, which is less than half the 1998-2000 level.
• “I remember 1999,” said email service ccLoop founder Michael Wolfe, who was previously the vice president of engineering at Kana, a web-based communications firm that went public in 1999 at a multibillion-dollar valuation. “Today’s valuations may be 20, 30 or 50 percent too high, but they’re nothing compared to the valuations we saw during the late-'90s bubble." Those valuations, according to Wolfe, were around 10 times what they should have been.
• “I’m bullish on the fundamental’s of today's Web startups,” said Wolfe. Internet businesses, he points out, can be built with substantially less capital than in the '90s because technology costs have dropped precipitously, enabling entrepreneurs to develop products and bring them to market quicker and with fewer resources. During the late-'90s boom, investors placed bets on capital-intensive Internet companies that burned through cash quickly and took years to turn a profit.
• Valuations for most late-'90s dot-com rockets generally didn’t soar until after companies went public, after which money from the masses piled in. This exposed ordinary investors -- the day-traders and giddy optimists -– to risk as they rushed to the public markets to buy up tech stocks, some technology investors say.
• Today, about one in three people are online, or roughly two billion global users, according to data from Internet World Stats, compared to 1999, when less than five percent of the global population used the Internet.

Call us old fashioned here at digthevibe, but we believe as long as we stay focused on delivering tangible value to both our users and businesses, everything will work out in end.  Too many startups rely on their technology to be a "shiny object", hoping the business model will come later, but we're doing our best to avoid that pitfall.  What do you think about the current market for tech startups?  Is it a boom or a bubble?

Check out the iPad of @Zak_Kirchner - representing the one and only DTV from Cali. "It's not about where you are, it's about where you want to be." dig the vibe

So you want to throw a party huh? Like a once in a lifetime straight feeling it for weeks party? We'll over at dig the vibe we're in the party business. The real party business. From the backyard shindig to the party in the Hamptons to a legit night on the town rager, we've got you covered. There are some common threads you need to be aware of. Here's a list of five things that every party needs to be killer bro... or sis

1. The venue matters- pick somewhere that speaks to your audience. Make someone feel comfortable enough, but still excite them with visual candy...

2. Invite the right mix of peeps. You definitely need a solid guy girl ratio and it pays to invite a few of your rainmaker friends. You know the party types that get everything going and as the night goes on, keep everything going.

3. Establish the ideal drink food combo situation. Don't leave anyone wanting, but also don't give too many options. There's no need for a gin and root beer, know what I'm saying? That ain't classy or fun. Speak to the people and give them the goods. It fuels the party and rounds out the vibe.

4. Have a surprise. Something, anything and pull it at the right time. If you know your peeps you'll know what to do.

5. Know when to make moves. If it's getting awkward or people aren't feeling it, have the next step lined up. Be flexible and ready to move at an instant. If you've gotta take the party somewhere else - know the place.

keep it bumping. what up now? dig the vibe

So it's almost one and it's one of those Saturday nights - out with with friends, dinner, wine, laughs, and incredible conversations. The party is still going on, but has moved to the first floor art gallery and I am tucked away working on dig the vibe feeling the bass through the floor. These days I carry my mac and mobile hotspot everywhere.

That's the power of a startup - carry it with you, set it up anytime, and make it happen. The rest of the team in San Francisco and Chicago are crushing it too. This is it. Burning through a Saturday night. What up Chicago? This party's bumping. You better get ready for dig the vibe. It won't be long now. Straight up. When you're feeling it.

DTV

dig |dig|

verb ( digging ; past dug |dəg|)

1 [ trans. ] ( dig something up/out) discover information after a search or investigation : have you dug up any information on the captain?

2 [ trans. ]  appreciate, or understand : I really dig the vibe.

vibe |vīb|

noun informal

1 (usu. vibes) a person's emotional state or the atmosphere of a place as communicated to and felt by others : a lot of cool people giving off good vibes. [ORIGIN: abbreviation of vibrations.]

so pretty much what it says... coming soon to an iPhone near you.

dig the vibe was built by us for us. So who are we? Let's take a quick look...

The Millennials are online natives. They literally grew up with the Internet and have high expectations for online content and usability. The statistics speak for themselves.

Pew Statistics on Millennials and

Pew Internet Generations 2010 Report

-       95% go online daily

-       62% bank online

-       33% get financial information online

-       83% have a profile on a social networking website

-       85% look for health information online

-       43% read blogs

-       80% watch online videos

-       66% send instant messages

-       50% play online video games

-       20% have posted a video of themselves online

-       37% of 18-29 year olds are currently unemployed