Voices

Ben Horowitz: The Next Big Thing Will Be a Surprise

When Andreessen Horowitz Co-Founder Ben Horowitz took the stage at the Web 2.0 Expo Wednesday in San Francisco, he was expected to tell audience members which technologies they should invest in and which ones they should build.

Wanted: Groupon COO. Must Like Cat-Wrangling, Lack of Spotlight and International Travel (Post-Samwer)

Of all the many job openings in tech, perhaps the most interesting to watch will be who Groupon selects as its next COO, after the recent announcement that it was parting ways with President and COO Rob Solomon. Requirements for running the Chicago-based social buying site: epic cat-wrangling of thousands of employees in far-flung locations; deep marketing and advertising prowess; high-level technology, product, mobile and e-commerce chops; and international experience. Also, please stand in the shadows.

Exclusive: Former AOLers Steve Case and Ted Leonsis Raising $400 Million Growth Equity Fund

Steve Case and Ted Leonsis are bringing their old AOL band back together once again, this time by raising a $400 million growth equity fund. The pair, the legendary top execs who rocketed AOL to the top of the Internet business in the 1990s, are now making the rounds in New York and elsewhere to pitch their new investment vehicle, sources said.

Voices

Social Media, Genomics Driving Data Tsunami

The social media wave is being followed by a big data tsunami. Ok, the imagery is getting a little outlandish, but the flood of information that must be stored and analyzed is generating excitement, especially in Boston, where many in the tech world worry that they were at the beach while Silicon Valley and New York enjoyed the fruits of the Web 2.0 revolution.

Exclusive: Facebook Exploring Permitting a Tender Offer for $1 Billion of Employee Shares at $60 Billion Valuation

Facebook is exploring permitting a tender offer up to $1 billion of its employee shares, after being approached by a number of big institutional investors about investing in the company, according to sources close to the situation. The new approximate valuation? An eye-popping $60 billion, sources said, which is a significant increase to a recent $1.5 billion investment round led by Goldman Sachs that had pegged the social networking behemoth at a $50 billion valuation.

Warning: Oversharing Ahead, as Wall Street Bankers Start to Talk Up Web 2.0 IPOs

Goldman Sachs seems to have borked the $1.5 billion deal to sell Facebook shares to its rich U.S. clients, because so much information about it leaked everywhere. That’s right! The loquacious Wall Street bankers are back to take Web 2.0’s social stars public and, of course, are oversharing already.

Viral Video: Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg on "Why We Have So Few Women Leaders”

Here is a must-see video by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg from a recent TED talk about the challenges faced by women in the workplace. Don’t miss it.

The Men and No Women of Web 2.0 Boards (BoomTown's Talking to You: Twitter, Facebook, Zynga, Groupon and Foursquare)

Simply put: The five top Web 2.0 superstar companies have no women on their board of directors. As in zero.

Exclusive: Twitter Raises $200 Million at a $3.7 Billion Valuation; Adds McCue and Rosenblatt to Board

Twitter has completed its latest round of funding–$200 million at a $3.7 billion valuation–with Kleiner Perkins as the lead investor. The San Francisco microblogging service is also adding two new board members: Flipboard’s Mike McCue and former DoubleClick head David Rosenblatt.

Dennis Crowley on the Difference Detween Dodgeball and Foursquare (Video)

If Dodgeball was, as founder Dennis Crowley claims, the perfect storm of bad timing, then his latest venture, Foursquare, is a sunny day. In the video after the jump, Crowley talks about the mechanics of merchant relationships, valuations and frothiness, and the difference between Dodgeball and Foursquare.