#52: Back from TechCrunch

November 19, 2005 By

So, my son and I helped close out the TechCrunch party. We got there at 11 and stayed until 1:15 a.m.

I, and a small group, were gathered around Riya CEO Munjal Shah. We were trying to find out if the rumors were true. He wouldn’t confirm nor deny any rumors that Riya was being sold to “G.”

Anyway, that means that we can still talk about Riya. Heheh. The brilliance of their concept lies not in the face detection, but in all the metadata they collect. At least that’s what Munjal told me. Turns out they look for other hints to recognize people in the photo. For instance, my son was wearing a wild tie-dyed shirt tonight. You would have been able to recognize my son by simply his shirt, even if you couldn’t see his face. So, Riya’s system stores both your face details and your shirt’s details.

There’s more, too. Lots of attention data is being passed back and forth. Of course that got Steve Gillmor to make a plea for Riya to join the Attention Trust. I’m starting to see a whole attention system that’s possible. I see that Nick Bradbury, who now is a key exec at NewsGator (he authored the most excellent FeedDemon) is talking about attention too.

Damn, I wish more people understood the implications of such a system.

Anyway, the ever present Scott Beale snapped a picture of Tara Hunt and Munjal hanging out together.

Oh, and I won’t even try to name all the geeks I saw at the party tonight. TechCrunch parties are really becoming a “must attend” thing in Silicon Valley.

Filed Under: Blog Tips
  • anon

    Dennis Forbes said “If Riya is as capable as we’ve been told, I’d say that $60 million would be grossly undervaluing the IP – This would make a photo service stand head, shoulders, and torso above its competition, and I’d be looking for a number more like $400-$500 million.”

    Thought that would be interesting to tell. And by the way, there is many oh-so-wrong face detection software out there after decades upon decades of research in the area, it’s not funny.

    I also still don’t get why it should be a thick client.

  • anon

    Dennis Forbes said “If Riya is as capable as we’ve been told, I’d say that $60 million would be grossly undervaluing the IP – This would make a photo service stand head, shoulders, and torso above its competition, and I’d be looking for a number more like $400-$500 million.”

    Thought that would be interesting to tell. And by the way, there is many oh-so-wrong face detection software out there after decades upon decades of research in the area, it’s not funny.

    I also still don’t get why it should be a thick client.

  • Farooq

    i commented earlier that MS should buy them out…or atleast have such a feature by default in Vista…this is gonna be huge…really…

  • Farooq

    i commented earlier that MS should buy them out…or atleast have such a feature by default in Vista…this is gonna be huge…really…

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  • http://www.micropersuasion.com/ Steve Rubel

    Wait a second. You mentioned G in a no GYM post. Gimme back a number.

  • http://www.micropersuasion.com Steve Rubel

    Wait a second. You mentioned G in a no GYM post. Gimme back a number.

  • http://www.psynixis.com/blog/ Simon Brocklehurst

    Google buying Riya for $40M would be pretty damn interesting if it happens, I have to say. It might even signal a change in the way companies get valued (more in my blog entry “Riya, Google, Innovation & Tech Value” @ http://www.psynixis.com/blog/?p=48 .

  • http://www.psynixis.com/blog/ Simon Brocklehurst

    Google buying Riya for $40M would be pretty damn interesting if it happens, I have to say. It might even signal a change in the way companies get valued (more in my blog entry “Riya, Google, Innovation & Tech Value” @ http://www.psynixis.com/blog/?p=48 .

  • Christopher Coulter

    You guys play stupid blog games. Start rumors all over town and then point to others, when it really came from you. Phsaw.

    Rubel —> Shel —> Scoble —> Web —> Om “I’m forever blowing bubbles, Pretty bubbles in the air, They fly so high
    Nearly reach the sky, Then like my dreams they fade and die” (with grand apologies to West Ham United FC).

  • Christopher Coulter

    You guys play stupid blog games. Start rumors all over town and then point to others, when it really came from you. Phsaw.

    Rubel —> Shel —> Scoble —> Web —> Om “I’m forever blowing bubbles, Pretty bubbles in the air, They fly so high
    Nearly reach the sky, Then like my dreams they fade and die” (with grand apologies to West Ham United FC).

  • Christopher Coulter

    Ack, that “flowchart” got smushed in the Comment/WordPress hell.

  • Christopher Coulter

    Ack, that “flowchart” got smushed in the Comment/WordPress hell.

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  • http://scobleizer.wordpress.com/ scobleizer

    Christopher: hmmm, where did you see me reporting on the rumors? And, how do you know they are false? Sounds to me you’re just jealous that you didn’t know first.

  • http://scobleizer.wordpress.com/ scobleizer

    Christopher: hmmm, where did you see me reporting on the rumors? And, how do you know they are false? Sounds to me you’re just jealous that you didn’t know first.

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  • Christopher Coulter

    Ahhh please…you spread it around, and it pops up all over and then you can point to it, how you get away with all those supposedly highly-sacred MFST NDAs. Then filling in Wagged and others as to the “blogosphere beat”. Or sometimes they get you to trial-ballon trickle. I know your game. Being that for more than a year, I helped you pull it off.

    Just jealous? Is that going to become your standard comeback line when you are backed into a corner? But actually I did hear something before, non-blogger rumors. Some of my sources nearly have the eyes of God. But you assume too much if you think I care about some start-up. Just happy to set the record straight when the blogosphere gets full of itself. Many informational sources you know.

  • Christopher Coulter

    Ahhh please…you spread it around, and it pops up all over and then you can point to it, how you get away with all those supposedly highly-sacred MFST NDAs. Then filling in Wagged and others as to the “blogosphere beat”. Or sometimes they get you to trial-ballon trickle. I know your game. Being that for more than a year, I helped you pull it off.

    Just jealous? Is that going to become your standard comeback line when you are backed into a corner? But actually I did hear something before, non-blogger rumors. Some of my sources nearly have the eyes of God. But you assume too much if you think I care about some start-up. Just happy to set the record straight when the blogosphere gets full of itself. Many informational sources you know.

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    erm, i want to know how to change the sidebar?thx

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  • Ann

    Yahoo just acquired Quintura for about 100m, is that true? It’s in some blogs!

  • Ann

    Yahoo just acquired Quintura for about 100m, is that true? It’s in some blogs!

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  • http://blog.macb.net macbeach

    Do you really think that just replacing the word “Google” with “G” should count?

    If I were the judge you’d have to start over at #1 ’till you got it right.

    (But then you’d probably never make it if you did that, hehe)

  • http://macbeach.blogspot.com macbeach

    Do you really think that just replacing the word “Google” with “G” should count?

    If I were the judge you’d have to start over at #1 ’till you got it right.

    (But then you’d probably never make it if you did that, hehe)

  • http://munjal.typepad.com/ Munjal Shah

    Robert,

    It was good to finally meet you in person. I enjoyed the chat with you and Steve about attention, etc.

  • http://munjal.typepad.com Munjal Shah

    Robert,

    It was good to finally meet you in person. I enjoyed the chat with you and Steve about attention, etc.

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