the startupist

One of the driving forces of the internet has been discovery.  Yahoo is credited with being one of the primary discovery engines of the web while it was still in diapers.  Discovery evolved from a curated page of links, to search with the invention of the search engine. As the internet evolved into it’s interactive age, discovery occurred on a social level, and in the current age of handled computing (read: smartphones) discovery is happening in a much more personalized way.

Joining the society of other discovery engines, is Art.sy - the much anticipated NY-based startup founded by Carter Cleveland just over 3 years ago.  Led be Cleveland, funded by the likes of Jack Dorsey, Eric Schmidt, Charlie Cheever, and Peter Thiel, and advised by global art and discovery leaders Larry Gagosian (Gagosian Galleries) and Joe Kennedy (Pandora), Art.sy, on paper, seems well positioned for success.¹

The art discovery startup debuted at TechCrunch Disrupt NY in the Spring of 2010, showcasing as a sort of new art marketplace.  Art.sy has since shifted their focus, and is now, at it’s core, an art database displaying its contents in a simply searchable gallery.

In much the same way that Pandora analyzes song structure, patterns, and influences to create the music genome, Art.sy analyzes works of art for hundreds of different characteristics in an effort to create the art genome.

After waiting for over a year, I finally received my Art.sy invite today. In the case that you have not received your invite yet or have not requested one, I took the liberty to post a few screen grabs below.

Here, we have the home page showing you works currently on display.

Use the search box at the top of the site, or use the characteristics in the footer to find art based on any number of characteristics/specific criteria.

Next, we have the individual piece page. View the work in detail, find out whether it is for sale (at which point, Art.sy will put you in communication with the artist/gallery).  You can also save the work to your own digital collection (like a Pinterest for the sophisticate).  Finally, you can follow the artist to be alerted when new work is uploaded for viewing/sale.

Art.sy is sort of amalgamation of Pinterest and Pandora for the art sophisticate.  It brings together the best of these applications, and introduces the tradition of art museums, galleries, and brokerages to create a unique, elegant, and obviously artistic experience.

1: http://www.crunchbase.com/company/art-sy

In the case that you, or your mother, have not already shared every last personal detail of your life on the Facebook already, please be informed that it will happen - nudie pics and all.

Released at the end of August and available for both Android and iPhone, the Obscura Cam app, in much the same way as Instagram makes it easy to add visual effects to your photos, allows users to easily obscure and censor their photos with the cliche black box, the anonymous blur, or the ever-pixelated kaleidoscope effects.

Where in the past your mother would have gotten a swift boot from the Facebook for posting those naked baby photos of you, she can now feel free to expose the smooth skin that once belonged to you without having to risk membership to the club that affords her both continual access to her friends as well as her virtual farm.

Seriousness aside, Obscura is a cool app.  I’m not sure I would play it off as a way to “legally” share digital versions of a less clothed self in the way that other reviewers have done.  Rather, this app seems to be just another weapon in the citizen journalists arsenal so that they can observe, snap, and safely report recent sitings of the neighborhood streaker.  Additionally, celebrities, athletes, and politicians may prefer to use the app preemptively - so that, when their nakie pics leak to the press all of the difficult censorship work is done.  Just a thought, is all…

You may remember my overall negative pre-impression of Movenbank, the self proclaimed next generation bank that is looking to create a revolutionary new bank with no paper, no plastic, and no hidden fees.  Well, the startup debuted in alpha mode at the beginning of the month.  I received my alpha invite two days ago.  Here’s an inside look at phase 1.

It all started with a series of 40 questions designed to gauge my personal spending habits, saving habits, and my overall views on money and personal financial management.  The questions are fairly repetitive, with at least 5 of them asking me in one way or another how I view/react to impulse purchases.

It all ended with the results of the survey.  Based on the answers given to the 40 questions, Movenbank groups their users into 1 of 9 classes.  I spend quite a bit of time and energy analyzing my money and allocating it, which is obviously reflected in my classification as an “Accountant” in the table below.

Also, I received a badge!  Gamified banks are fun!

That’s about as far as the alpha goes at this point.  Take a survey, and they tell you what your “financial personality” is.  Cool.  I couldn’t help but ask myself what was next.  Luckily, Movenbank anticipated that question, and had an answer ready.

So, before we get to get all Bank 3.0 up this this interweb, it looks like we’ll have some sort of Mint with game mechanics.  Admittedly, I don’t have high hopes or opinions about Movenbank at this point.  I will reiterate, as I said in the previous Movenbank post, that I want them to prove me wrong.  I love banking, and am excited to see what they put out - whether or not I think it will ultimately be successful.