YouNoodle Makes Me Feel Much Better about My Finances

Here at SarahLacy.com you could say we're investing in the growth of the business. Think the User Generated Book Tour makes money? HA! My credit cards are wheezing from overuse. And the very talented Olivia certainly isn't volunteering, nor should she be. Combined with a new mortgage and an upcoming $10,000 electrician bill, Mr. Lacy is getting a little antsy about all the money flowing out of our accounts. YouNoodle just made me feel a whole lot better.

The new startup boasts an algorithm that crunches all kinds of data to tell you what your company will be worth in three years. SarahLacy.com will be worth...click for it....

Your Chance to Mock Valley Millionaires

So when you write a book, people and companies keep asking-- even begging-- to throw you a book release party. Then, publication comes, and you hear crickets. Also, bookstores apparently almost never do signings anymore. So I'm throwing my own party on my release date May 15. Here's the link to the open Facebook invitation. It's open to everyone, but the place (TBA soon) maxes out at about 100 people so no promises there won't be a line for latecomers!

Everything at the party is mostly donated (including the time of my friend Johanna Lopez who is organizing!) A generous sponsor appears to be white-knighting in to take care of a few expenses in exchange for me signing my hand off for a pile of books. (Happy to do it, people!) Because I sort of sprung this on Penguin, I will be fronting the cost for the books so you guys better buy copies!!

Anyway, more on the details later today. For now, your help on the drink list. A few liquor vendors are donating spirits, and we'll be coming up with cocktails named after the moguls in the book. I have an idea for "The Kevin Rose" and "The Max Levchin" already, but figured in honor of Web 2.0 and user generated content I'd solicit some suggestions for the others.

Yelp: Help My Reporter Cred. Do Something Dumb! Please!

Sigh. Once again I am writing to praise Yelp. Yawn. Just read about their new business services on TechCrunch. At first, the headline made me think they were somehow allowing businesses to manipulate the results and I thought, "Oh no! I just defended you this morning!"

Nope, in fact, Yelp has done something smart. They've created a mini-portal for businesses to measure and properly respond to Yelp reviews, plus make sure their basic stats are up-to-date. (i.e. hours, phone no. etc) This is a smart move on a few levels.

Impressive Feat by SAI

I'm very busy earning my three-day-a-week keep at Yahoo this way-too-early Monday morning, but I hope to carve out some time to go through Silicon Alley Insider's SAI 25 index today. It's a list of the 25 most valuable private digital companies. Folks, these things are hard to produce. For one thing, getting the real numbers can be an Oceans 11-heist-style feat of reporting. Plus, a private company is typically valued on its potential not its revenues-- or even more subjective, it's valued on what it's worth for others to put money in the company. (i.e. Facebook, Microsoft and that $15 billion valuation)

While Facebook is no. 1 on the list-- at $9 billion, not $15 billion-- there are some surprises.