Weekend reading (ad ops, retention, vc, killer apps/platforms)

Mike On Ads: Can’t we all just 302? Report on redirect timings. "Why should you care? Well, latency matters. And not only from a "keep your users happy" perspective. Every additional 100ms of latency increases the likelihood that your user moves to another page, stop loading the page .. or in other words -> every 100ms of latency added is another subset of your users that are lost. ... So how are you redirecting over to your advertisers? Can we all please just 302?"

iMedia Connection: 5 ad operations disasters. "Here are some of the top disasters in ad operations and what you can do to avoid them."

The Long Tail: A passionate amateur almost always beats a bored professional. "Amateurs self-select for the job. Professionals are selected. For most jobs, volunteers beat draftees."

Futuristic Play: How to measure if users love your product using cohorts and revisit rates. I would argue that the single most telling metric for a great product is how many of them become dedicated, repeat users. This angle of thinking naturally leads to a number of metrics around user retention, which we’ll examine in this blog post. ... User retention is especially important for social web products. Failure to consider the backend retention of a userbase can lead to catastrophic results - in particular, without the proper mechanics in place, it's easy to hit the "shark fin" user curve, as well as the death spiral caused by reverse Metcalfe's Law. In both cases, once the core audience of a site starts to erode, then the erosion can cause a negative feedback loop that causes the entire audience to fall away."

Martin Spanar!: Så får du pengar från Atlas Venture. "Igår skrev jag om Facebook Developer Garage och här kommer fortsättningen. Det som jag tyckte var kvällens höjdpunkt var att lyssna och prata med Maximillian Niederhofer från Atlas Venture." I really like the 'voice' Martin has found with his blog. Intellectual curiosity combined with hands-on perspective. A very good read.

iFundVC: Killer Platforms, Killer Apps. "1. The "first party" must be the Market Maker, as spokesperson, evangelizer and brand driver. No platforms succeeded when brand owners faltered. 2. Critical mass or die. 20 Million units sold has been the minimum US audience for a meaningful game machine. Pretty good start with the 3G!"