Andrew Rollins

I noticed this article about Pubmatic today on TechCrunch, and I found it interesting. It includes a video of Amar Goel, founder and CEO, presenting at TechCrunch 40. They were a 2007 TechCrunch 40 finalist, and the company is based in India.

Pubmatic is an ad optimization service. Think of it as aggregating the different ad services out there (Google Adsense, Yahoo Publisher Network, etc.) in order to maximize the return you get on your ad space. While it seems mostly targeted at publishers - people who want to display advertisements on their own site - they also provide some features for those of us who want to place ads.

For publishers, the idea behind Pubmatic is simple. They automatically pick and display the highest paying, highest converting advertisements out of the major ad networks, allowing the publisher to increase their ad revenue.

It certainly sounds like something I could use, but how does Pubmatic make money? For now, the service is free to their beta users, but eventually they’ll need to take a cut or have some sort of fee. I’ll have to keep tabs on this service and similar services and see how they develop in the future.

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TechCrunch is having a meetup in Boston on November 16. I found this a little too late to actually make a point of attending it, and it seems to be sold out anyway, but this is interesting none the less. The event is sponsored by IDG Ventures Boston, a well-known, early-stage investment group in the area.

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I found this preview of Gmail 2.0, including screenshots. Seems legit. Looks like they’ll be updating the contacts page and integrating more Google services into Gmail.

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My picks are:

1. Assassin’s Creed - PC, Xbox 360, PS3
   Release: November 16, Assassin’s Creed - Amazon
   My only must play game for this season, this is a definite buy.
2. Halo 3 - Xbox 360
   Release: Available Now, Halo 3 - Amazon.com
   I already have this, and so does just about everyone else.
3. Half Life Orange Box - PC, Xbox 360
   Release: Available Now, Orange Box - Amazon.com
   My interest lies in Episode 2, Portal, and maybe Team Fortress 2. I’ve heard great things about Portal in particular. I’ll most likely get the PC edition.
4. Hellgate: London - PC
   Release: October 31, Hellgate: London - Amazon.com
   I’ve been looking forward to this game for a while now, especially since some of the developers come from Blizzard having worked on the Diablo series. I’m hoping for a game with some good ambiance and personality.
5. Crysis - PC
   Release: November 16, Crysis - Amazon.com
   From Crytek, maker of one of my favorite games, Far Cry. Crysis is going to require an upgrade for my PC, so I’ll probably hold off on playing this until a year from now. I don’t mind being way behind on PC games, it means I save a ton of money on hardware. Update: The single player Crysis demo has been released.
6. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - PC, Xbox 360, PS3
   Release: November 6, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - Amazon.com
   I’ve played the others in the series and enjoyed them, but I might delay on this one. I’m not sure if I want it for the 360 or PC. The single player PC demo is now available.
7. Mass Effect - Xbox 360
   Release: November 20, Mass Effect - Amazon.com
   There’s a lot of talk about Mass Effect, but I haven’t put in the time to understand the hype. I’ll give this a mention, because I want to keep it on the radar and see how it gets reviewed upon release.
8. Super Mario Galaxy - Wii
   Release: November 12, Super Mario Galaxy - Amazon.com
   If you’ve got a Wii and you miss the days of Super Mario 64, this is probably for you. Too bad I don’t have a Wii.
9. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass - DS
   Release: Available Now, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass - Amazon.com
   I wish I had a DS so I could play this. The reviews are positive.
10. Rock Band - Xbox 360, PS2, PS3, Wii
    Release: November 20, Rock Band - Amazon.com
    I probably won’t be purchasing this myself, but I have to give props to Harmonix for coming up with this. They’ve grown a whole new genre of games. I’ll need to find a full setup somewhere to try this.

Picks from other sites:

• Gamespot’s Game Watch ‘07
• Blog Critic’s 2007 Video Game Holiday Buyer’s Guide

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Microsoft will invest $240 million for a 1.6% stake in Facebook. This investment will extend Microsoft’s advertising deal with Facebook, allowing Microsoft to run Facebook ads internationally (as opposed to the previous arrangement which only covered ads within the United States). For the full story, see Microsoft to Pay $240 Million for Stake in Facebook at the New York Times web site.

An investment of $240 for a 1.6% stake means Microsoft is valuing Facebook at $15 billion. Let’s not forget that it was roughly a year ago when Yahoo was in talks to buy Facebook for $1 billion. It appears that Mark Zuckerberg had the right idea when he turned down Yahoo, and I have to say I agreed with him.

What some people continually fail to realize is that Mark isn’t trying to sell a company, he’s trying to run a company. Zuckerberg isn’t trying to earn a quick buck for a bunch of venture capitalists high on Web 2.0, he’s pursuing a vision and adding value to the world. Unlike Myspace and its confused Rupert Murdoch, Facebook has a purpose. This won’t be the last time we see Facebook’s valuation grow.

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The following quote is taken from Halo 3 : Biggest Day in U.S. Entertainment History.

Microsoft today announced that Halo® 3 has officially become the biggest entertainment launch in history, garnering an estimated $170 million in sales in the United States alone in the first 24 hours. The Xbox 360™ title beat previous records set by blockbuster theatrical releases like Spider-Man 3 and novels such as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Impressive for a video game. I picked up my copy at the company store on opening day at 9am. Halo 3 is a decent game for some mindless shoot-em-up fun, and the campaign is decent, though nothing spectacular. Overall, I think it’s a worthwhile purchase for anyone who wants varied online gaming of the FPS sort.

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