5 posts and columns on Bernie Madoff

Ex-BizWeek Editor John Byrne’s New Company Has a Name, but No Product

in Media on December 1, 2009 at 8:32 am PT

What will “C-Change” do? “It’s too early to tell everyone,” former BusinessWeek.com Editor John Byrne says. But it will have something to do with mobile. Sounds good!
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The Shocking Spot Runner Lawsuit Vs. the BoomTown Video of CEO Nick Grouf in Happier Days

in News on April 20, 2009 at 10:33 am PT

As everyone knows by this morning, Spot Runner–the heavily-funded and once-hyped online-offline advertising agency–is being sued by one of its more prominent investors. Ad behemoth WPP essentially paints an ugly picture of Spot Runner as the Bernie Madoff of Web 2.0. It is alleging in a lawsuit that Spot Runner, in a “pump and dump” scheme, sold over $54 million in “secondary” shares to line its own pockets without telling WPP much, all while losing money, running out of funding and not building a sustainable business. Here’s the background and also an interview BoomTown did with CEO and co-founder Nick Grouf in better days.
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All April Fool's Joking Aside, Omuk Sounds Better Than Kumo!

in News on April 1, 2009 at 9:05 am PT

Microsoft made a funny today with a fake internal memo and screenshot of changes to its search product, which is currently called Kumo. The software giant has jokingly renamed it Omuk, which is Kumo spelled backwards. No kidding, but BoomTown likes it better! Here is the new screenshot and internal memo, sent suspiciously on April Fool’s Day.
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For Getting the Skinny on Apple Stock Hijinks Alone, BoomTown Hearts Jon Stewart

in News on March 13, 2009 at 7:05 pm PT

While the fireworks were great, the most important thing that “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart elicited out of CNBC’s most famous stock jester, Jim Cramer, was the admission of using the malleable press to float fictional rumors about companies in order to make money on the negative news. While Cramer at first tried to deny he did it, Stewart had the videotape of the “Mad Money” host talking about the practice, specifically in regards to Apple. Kind of puts all those Steve-Jobs-Is-Dead-Right-Now rumors from a few months ago into a new light? While we all know Jobs has been quite ill, grave-dancing rumors written without any serious reporting have also been a troublesome issue, because it was clear greedy short-sellers played a large part in stoking the fear about his immediate demise back then.
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Maybe the Feds Can Diagnose What Ails Apple and Steve Jobs (and Whether It Matters or Not)

in News on January 21, 2009 at 2:36 am PT

Early this morning, Bloomberg reported that regulators are looking into Apple’s disclosures about the health–or lack thereof–of its iconic CEO Steve Jobs. And while BoomTown has railed against the creepy obsession the media have had with Jobs’s health and the publishing of rumors and innuendos about it as fact without a whole lot of reporting, I hope it is true. It is also entirely appropriate that the government agency charged with keeping an eye on public companies does investigate–at the very least, to get the story right.