Author: Wade Roush

Between 2007 and 2014, I was a staff editor for Xconomy in Boston and San Francisco. Since 2008 I've been writing a weekly opinion/review column called VOX: The Voice of Xperience. (From 2008 to 2013 the column was known as World Wide Wade.) I've been writing about science and technology professionally since 1994. Before joining Xconomy in 2007, I was a staff member at MIT’s Technology Review from 2001 to 2006, serving as senior editor, San Francisco bureau chief, and executive editor of TechnologyReview.com. Before that, I was the Boston bureau reporter for Science, managing editor of supercomputing publications at NASA Ames Research Center, and Web editor at e-book pioneer NuvoMedia. I have a B.A. in the history of science from Harvard College and a PhD in the history and social study of science and technology from MIT. I've published articles in Science, Technology Review, IEEE Spectrum, Encyclopaedia Brittanica, Technology and Culture, Alaska Airlines Magazine, and World Business, and I've been a guest of NPR, CNN, CNBC, NECN, WGBH and the PBS NewsHour. I'm a frequent conference participant and enjoy opportunities to moderate panel discussions and on-stage chats. My personal site: waderoush.com My social media coordinates: Twitter: @wroush Facebook: facebook.com/wade.roush LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/waderoush Google+ : google.com/+WadeRoush YouTube: youtube.com/wroush1967 Flickr: flickr.com/photos/wroush/ Pinterest: pinterest.com/waderoush/

The Rise of Evernote: An Interview with CEO Phil Libin (Part 2)

Yesterday, we ran the first part of a wide-ranging conversation with Phil Libin, the CEO of Mountain View, CA-based Evernote. He talked about how he got recruited to the company two years ago by Esther Dyson, and how he has extended the company’s note-taking software across platforms to build a customer base that’s now 3.2 … Continue reading “The Rise of Evernote: An Interview with CEO Phil Libin (Part 2)”

Castlight on a Quest to Create a “Travelocity for Healthcare”

It’s a classic principle in economics: markets don’t work very well when there’s no price transparency. If the airlines refused to quote you a price for a transcontinental ticket and then sent you a bill for an unpredictable amount six months after your flight, you probably wouldn’t fly much. But this is exactly how most … Continue reading “Castlight on a Quest to Create a “Travelocity for Healthcare””

$3.8M Supports Ecohaus in SF

Ecohaus, the Seattle-based retail chain selling eco-friendly building materials, has raised $3.8 million in new financing, according to regulatory documents filed last week. CEO Rik Tokuno told Venture Wire that the funding, which came from existing investors Catamount Ventures, Mindful Investors, and Selby Ventures, will help to support the chain’s newest location, which opened this … Continue reading “$3.8M Supports Ecohaus in SF”

The Rise of Evernote: An Interview with CEO Phil Libin (Part 1)

The paperless office is a pipe dream. But these days, the bulk of the information that knowledge workers encounter every day is born digital, not on paper. As long as there’s an easy way to store and retrieve the important snippets, there’s a diminishing need to print any of it. That’s where companies like Evernote … Continue reading “The Rise of Evernote: An Interview with CEO Phil Libin (Part 1)”

A Video Introduction to Xconomy and Its New San Francisco Editor

Today Xconomy hits a milestone that we’ve all been working toward for several months—well, for several years, really. We’re finally introducing Xconomy San Francisco, our eye on high-tech innovation and entrepreneurship in the Bay Area. I couldn’t be more excited to be coordinating this effort as the company’s new San Francisco editor. There’s just one … Continue reading “A Video Introduction to Xconomy and Its New San Francisco Editor”

BrightEdge Seeks Order, and Profits, in the Wild West of Search Engine Optimization

There’s not much distance, in the minds of many Web merchants and publishers, between the terms “search engine optimization consultant” and “snake oil salesman.” That’s partly because SEO—the attempt to bring more traffic to a website by improving its ranking in the unpaid section of a search results list—is a messy art with many complex … Continue reading “BrightEdge Seeks Order, and Profits, in the Wild West of Search Engine Optimization”

Castlight Collects $60M

Castlight Health, a stealth-mode San Francisco startup building software that lets its customers’ employees compare the costs of medical treatments and procedures, has raised $60 million in Series C venture funding, according to a report in Venture Wire. Existing investor Maverick Capital organized the round, which was joined by previous investors Venrock and Oak Investment … Continue reading “Castlight Collects $60M”

The Story of Siri, from Birth at SRI to Acquisition by Apple—Virtual Personal Assistants Go Mobile

A couple of years ago, a $999 iPhone app called “I Am Rich” made headlines for being the most expensive item in Apple’s iTunes App Store. (It was the ultimate symbol of conspicuous consumption, doing nothing but displaying a glowing red icon.) But compared to Siri—the “virtual personal assistant” app that can make restaurant reservations, … Continue reading “The Story of Siri, from Birth at SRI to Acquisition by Apple—Virtual Personal Assistants Go Mobile”

Angels Put $1.2M into Thumbtack

Thumbtack.com, a San Francisco-based startup building an online directory of vetted service professionals, announced June 10 that it has collected $1.2 million in funding from what it called an “all-star cast” of Silicon Valley angel investors. Mark Britto of Amazon, Jason Calacanis of Mahalo, Mark Goines of Intuit and Mint, and Joshua Schachter of Delicious … Continue reading “Angels Put $1.2M into Thumbtack”

Quick Hit Cracks Into EA’s NFL Market (But Winning Over Tom Brady Will Take Longer)

Imagine if Tony Hawk owned the rights to all of skateboarding, and he forced everyone who wanted to make a video game about it to call it “rollersmashing” to avoid infringing his trademark. Well, that’s the kind of stranglehold that the National Football League and Electronic Arts have exercised over football since 2004, when the … Continue reading “Quick Hit Cracks Into EA’s NFL Market (But Winning Over Tom Brady Will Take Longer)”

Revolutionary Angels Closes Down, Shelves Business-Plan Contest

Revolutionary Angels, a Cambridge, MA company that planned to give away as much as $300,000 in a private business plan competition, has mothballed its contest after failing to attract enough participants to pay for the prizes. The contest, which was presented as a financing alternative for startups traditionally excluded from the venture and angel investing … Continue reading “Revolutionary Angels Closes Down, Shelves Business-Plan Contest”

Non-Profits Compete for TUGG $10K

Technology Underwriting Greater Good, an organization launched last fall by Jeff Fagnan of Atlas Venture and Hemant Taneja of General Catalyst Partners, will hand out $10,000 to one of three non-profit organizations at its first annual “Spring Fling” fundraising event this Wednesday, June 9. With a self-declared mission to pursue “open source philanthropy,” TUGG mainly … Continue reading “Non-Profits Compete for TUGG $10K”

Stop By Today’s Pre-XSITE Pizza Party, Meet MassChallenge CEO John Harthorne, Michael Greeley, and Your Fellow Innovators

The day-long Xconomy Summit on Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship is just 13 days from today. To help build some buzz around the event, we’re inviting local entrepreneurs and other members of the Boston innovation community to our office for free pizza today (Friday) at high noon. The pizza will be compliments of Za, a hip … Continue reading “Stop By Today’s Pre-XSITE Pizza Party, Meet MassChallenge CEO John Harthorne, Michael Greeley, and Your Fellow Innovators”

Let’s Abandon the Industrial-Decay Porn and Take a Closer Look at What’s Growing in Detroit

If you got all your information about Detroit from the blogosphere, the mainstream media, or the photography section of your local bookstore and never actually visited the Motor City, you could be forgiven for assuming that it’s one giant, bombed-out wasteland. That’s certainly the impression conveyed by many of the artists who have been criss-crossing … Continue reading “Let’s Abandon the Industrial-Decay Porn and Take a Closer Look at What’s Growing in Detroit”

Ten Startups Share Their Wares at TechStars Demo Night

You can’t throw darts at a calendar this month without hitting at least a couple of technology events in Boston. Tuesday night it was Angel Boot Camp, and last night it was the MITX Technology Awards and the TechStars Demo Night. Maybe that’s why they’re calling June Innovation Month in New England. There was definitely … Continue reading “Ten Startups Share Their Wares at TechStars Demo Night”

Calling All Angels: Experienced, Aspiring Angel Investors Confer in Cambridge

If you Google “Angel Boot Camp,” the first seven results refer to a Victoria’s Secret competition to find the next “runway angel.” Well, there were no models or runways yesterday at the Microsoft NERD Center in Cambridge for Angel Boot Camp (the eighth result on Google)—but there were plenty of entrepreneurs vying for the attention … Continue reading “Calling All Angels: Experienced, Aspiring Angel Investors Confer in Cambridge”

Prysm, Maker of Laser Screens, Quietly Breeds a Large-Display Revolution in Concord

When you think of Concord, MA, you’re more likely to visualize Revolutionary War skirmishes or Thoreau’s cabin on Walden Pond than factories full of complex machinery. But in fact, Concord was once a major hub of the clockmaking industry—in 1800 there were at least seven well-known clockmakers in the city, along with a network of … Continue reading “Prysm, Maker of Laser Screens, Quietly Breeds a Large-Display Revolution in Concord”

One Tablet Per Child?

The Cambridge, MA-based One Laptop Per Child Foundation arguably launched an industry with its XO-1 Laptop, which first went into large-scale production in 2007. The worldwide buzz generated by the little green machine, which was intended mainly for classroom use in technologically underserved areas of the world, inspired computer makers to build an array of … Continue reading “One Tablet Per Child?”

Goby and TripAdvisor: Two Great Mobile Apps for Your Upcoming Travels

It’s almost Memorial Day weekend, when thoughts turn to vacation and summer road trips, so I thought I’d write briefly today about two cool travel-related mobile apps, both hailing from the Boston area. But first, I want to take a moment to remind you that June is Innovation Month in New England. Similar to the … Continue reading “Goby and TripAdvisor: Two Great Mobile Apps for Your Upcoming Travels”

Teradata Buys Xkoto

[Updated 1:00 p.m. May 26, 2010] Waltham, MA-based Xkoto, which makes database virtualization software for businesses, has been acquired by Teradata (NYSE: [[ticker:TDC]]), the Dayton, OH-based data warehousing and business intelligence giant, PE Hub first reported this morning. In an e-mail to Xconomy, Teradata public relations director Dan Conway confirmed the acquisition, and said the … Continue reading “Teradata Buys Xkoto”

Google Touts Its Role, State by State, in U.S. Economic Growth

Google unveiled the results of its first state-by-state analysis of the company’s impact on regional economies at press events in 10 cities on Tuesday, including Cambridge, MA, Detroit, and Seattle. For the most part, Google measured the value it generates when local advertisers and Web publishers use its AdWords and AdSense platforms for Web advertising. … Continue reading “Google Touts Its Role, State by State, in U.S. Economic Growth”

UTest Tests Its Testers in Payday Snafu

Creating Web-based marketplaces for “crowdsourcing”—farming out digital piece-work to freelancers around the world—has been a hot business idea for the last half-decade. IStockphoto does it for stock images, TopCoder does it for enterprise software, Innocentive does it as a supplement to corporate R&D, and uTest does it for software quality assurance testing. But when push … Continue reading “UTest Tests Its Testers in Payday Snafu”

Putting My iPad’s Geocaching App to the Test, on a Vlog in the Woods

Today’s column is in video form, which is a first for me. I was out hiking with my dog Rhody in the Blue Hills Reservation south of Boston last weekend when a few realizations hit me at once. 1) I had my 3G iPad with me 2) I had my camera with me 3) I … Continue reading “Putting My iPad’s Geocaching App to the Test, on a Vlog in the Woods”

Mocospace Moves Beyond Feature Phones, Launching Android and iPhone Apps for Mobile Social Networking

Boston-based Mocospace, proprietor of one of the country’s largest mobile social networking services, has long kept its focus on users of feature phones—meaning cell phones that can connect to the Internet via built-in Web browsers but that don’t run separate apps. Now, in a major change of tactics, the company has launched Mocospace apps for … Continue reading “Mocospace Moves Beyond Feature Phones, Launching Android and iPhone Apps for Mobile Social Networking”

OurStage Lifts Curtain on $2.6M

Chelmsford, MA-based OurStage, which runs an online community where indie bands gain recognition through audience voting in monthly contests, has raised $2.63 million in an offering combining equity, options, and warrants, according to a regulatory filing. In 2009 the company collected $3 million out of an intended $6 million Series B round; its backers then … Continue reading “OurStage Lifts Curtain on $2.6M”

Calling All Innovators: Strut Your Company’s Stuff in Xconomy’s June 17 XSITE Xpo

Attention tech entrepreneurs: We’re looking for a few good startups to tell their stories during the climactic “Xpo” segment of the Xconomy Summit on Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship (XSITE) at Babson College on June 17. What’s the Xpo? Well, if XSITE were an elegant, absorbing, tightly woven sentence about the work high-tech innovators in New … Continue reading “Calling All Innovators: Strut Your Company’s Stuff in Xconomy’s June 17 XSITE Xpo”

Rocket Racing League, Led by XSITE Keynoter and X Prize Founder Peter Diamandis, Readies iPhone & iPad Game

The Rocket Racing League game coming to the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad early this summer is a rare beast: a futuristic video game that’s based on real life. RRL Games, a wing (or should I say fin?) of the Orlando, FL-based Rocket Racing League, is expected to release its game for the iPhone and … Continue reading “Rocket Racing League, Led by XSITE Keynoter and X Prize Founder Peter Diamandis, Readies iPhone & iPad Game”

Google’s “Passive Sniffing” Technique May Have Paved the Way for Wi-Fi Privacy Flap, Skyhook CEO Says

Every Wi-Fi network in every home and business broadcasts both public data—such as its network name and unique machine identifier—and “payload data,” or actual content such as e-mails and Web pages. For the last several years, Google said on Friday, the Street View teams who crisscross the world taking pictures and collecting Wi-Fi network location … Continue reading “Google’s “Passive Sniffing” Technique May Have Paved the Way for Wi-Fi Privacy Flap, Skyhook CEO Says”

Helping Businesses Join the YouTube Era: How Pixability Found Its Groove

If you’re a disciple of the “lean startup” philosophy now in vogue among tech entrepreneurs, you know you’re supposed to “fail fast, fail cheap,” then “pivot to a new vision” before you’re “out of runway.” In ordinary English, the idea is to quickly scrap your product if it’s not flying with customers, and find one … Continue reading “Helping Businesses Join the YouTube Era: How Pixability Found Its Groove”

Okay, You’ve Declared E-Mail Bankruptcy. Now What?

There’s lots going on in Xconomy-land, so this week’s column will be shorter than usual. Which is probably fine with you, since everyone seems pressed for time these days. Microsoft is notorious for its lame ad campaigns, but lately the software giant has been putting its finger on the overcommitment problem, through an amusing series … Continue reading “Okay, You’ve Declared E-Mail Bankruptcy. Now What?”

Norway’s Think Plans to Build Electric Cars in Indiana and Test Them in Southern California with Additional Funding from Boston

Boston’s Rockport Capital has chipped in $12.5 million as part of a $40 million financing round for Think, the Oslo, Norway-based company building long-range electric vehicles. Think said in an May 11 announcement that it plans to use the new funds to expand operations and sales in North America, including opening a planned assembly facility … Continue reading “Norway’s Think Plans to Build Electric Cars in Indiana and Test Them in Southern California with Additional Funding from Boston”

Boston’s Litl to Bring Simplicity–and Flash—to Big-Screen Televisions

[Updated 1:30 p.m. 5/13/10 with product images] Litl, the Boston-based startup behind the unconventional Webbook home information appliance, is about to jump into the tumultuous and competitive “connected TV” market. At the Flash and the City conference this weekend in New York, the company will announce plans for a set-top box designed to let people … Continue reading “Boston’s Litl to Bring Simplicity–and Flash—to Big-Screen Televisions”

Localytics Raises $700K

Cambridge, MA-based Localytics, whose software helps mobile software developers track usage of their iPhone, iPad, Android, and BlackBerry apps, has raised $700,000 in a first round of funding, according to a company announcement. Launchpad Ventures and New York Angels led the round. Localytics participated in the 2009 version of the TechStars Boston startup incubator program … Continue reading “Localytics Raises $700K”

Swipely Launches with $7.5M

Providence, RI-based Swipely, which aims to let consumers share information about purchases with people in their social networks, has launched an invitation-only beta version of its service and collected $7.5 million in Series A venture funding, the startup announced today. Index Ventures, Greylock Partners, First Round Capital, and a group of angel investors participated in … Continue reading “Swipely Launches with $7.5M”

Enterprise Mobile, with Microsoft’s Blessing, Moves Beyond Windows Phones

I’m going to start this article in a way that’s pretty unfair to Mort Rosenthal—the founding CEO of Enterprise Mobile in Watertown, MA—by referring to some things Rosenthal told me back in early 2008 about the leading smartphone platforms. At the time, Enterprise Mobile was just setting out on its mission to help big companies … Continue reading “Enterprise Mobile, with Microsoft’s Blessing, Moves Beyond Windows Phones”

MIT’s $100K Business Plan Prize, $200K Energy Prize Up for Grabs on Wednesday; A Look at the Finalists

[Corrected, 1:40 p.m. May 10, 2010] For teams of student entrepreneurs in Boston, early May means one thing: the culmination of the year-long MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition, the country’s oldest and most prestigious business plan contest for young startups, and of its even more lucrative spinoff, the $200,000 MIT Clean Energy Prize. Last week, judges … Continue reading “MIT’s $100K Business Plan Prize, $200K Energy Prize Up for Grabs on Wednesday; A Look at the Finalists”

Microsoft’s Kin Phones Resurrect the Lifelogging Debate

This week gadget reviewers got their first hands-on look at Microsoft’s much-discussed Kin One and Kin Two phones, which are designed from the ground up to support young hipsters’ social media and content sharing habits. So far, the pundits are raving about the phones’ novel operating system and the cloud-based “Studio” feature, a flashy private … Continue reading “Microsoft’s Kin Phones Resurrect the Lifelogging Debate”

Behind the Scenes at Google Ventures: The Full Q&A with Bill Maris

Last week Google Ventures unveiled a new website that includes the first public information about its portfolio and its staff. Yesterday, as part of the fund’s first real media outreach campaign, managing partner Bill Maris and partner David Krane spent about 45 minutes speaking with reporters in Boston via teleconference. I summed up the conversation … Continue reading “Behind the Scenes at Google Ventures: The Full Q&A with Bill Maris”

Google Ventures Pulls Back the Veil: Deals in San Diego, Boston, Dallas, and Silicon Valley

Just over two years ago, Google decided to get into the venture capital game, setting up a fund to invest in promising startups in much the same way that Silicon Valley VC firms Sequoia Capital and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers invested in Google itself back in 1999. Google Ventures has stayed mostly under the … Continue reading “Google Ventures Pulls Back the Veil: Deals in San Diego, Boston, Dallas, and Silicon Valley”

The Building Blocks of Innovation: Part 2 of Our Q&A with David Egner of the New Economy Initiative

Last week I wrote up Part 1 of my interview with David Egner, president of the Detroit-based Hudson-Webber Foundation and executive director of the New Economy Initiative for Southeast Michigan. The coalition of 10 community and philanthropic organizations is working to support economic diversification efforts in the Detroit region. Egner talked about the attitude of … Continue reading “The Building Blocks of Innovation: Part 2 of Our Q&A with David Egner of the New Economy Initiative”

Massachusetts CEOs, VCs Launch “12×12” Mentoring Program

Prominent Massachusetts venture firms and CEOs have formally rolled out a mentoring program aimed at supporting “a new generation of technology entrepreneurs” in the state, in the words of an announcement this morning. Called 12×12, the initiative is supported by 12 local CEOs and 12 venture capital partners, and will match entrepreneurs with advisors for … Continue reading “Massachusetts CEOs, VCs Launch “12×12” Mentoring Program”

The iPad May Kill the Kindle, But Amazon Could Still Come Out Ahead: The Only Comparison You Need to Read

If you’re interested in the electronic book craze, but you don’t yet own an e-book reading device, your options just got a lot more complicated. Not only are there a handful of great devices that use electrophoretic screens from Cambridge, MA-based E Ink, such as the Amazon Kindle, the Barnes & Noble Nook, and the … Continue reading “The iPad May Kill the Kindle, But Amazon Could Still Come Out Ahead: The Only Comparison You Need to Read”

Thinking Screen Pulls in $2 Million, Looks to Apple iPad

Thinking Screen Media, the Wellesley Hllls, MA, startup that pushes news, photos, and other content to Internet-connected screens, is tweaking its business model once again. Formerly called Frame Media, the company started out in 2006 with a focus on delivering information to wireless photo frames. But last year it started thinking bigger—wireless photo frames weren’t … Continue reading “Thinking Screen Pulls in $2 Million, Looks to Apple iPad”

Feds Approve Cape Wind Project

In a joint press conference today with Governor Deval Patrick at the Massachusetts State House, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said his department has approved a scaled-down version of the long-delayed Cape Wind project at Horseshoe Shoal in Nantucket Sound. Salazar said that the revised project approved by the department will consist of … Continue reading “Feds Approve Cape Wind Project”

d’Arbeloff Departs New England Clean Energy Council for EnerNOC, Rothstein Replaces Him

[Updated 2:00 p.m. 4/28/10] There’s an unexpected transition underway at Boston-based energy management company EnerNOC (NASDAQ:[[ticker:ENOC]]) and the Cambridge, MA-based New England Clean Energy Council (NECEC). In a pair of announcements today, the organizations said that Nick d’Arbeloff, founding president of NECEC, has joined EnerNOC as vice president of enterprise energy management. Peter Rothstein, former … Continue reading “d’Arbeloff Departs New England Clean Energy Council for EnerNOC, Rothstein Replaces Him”