To start out the discussion, MacManus pointed out that it was the read/write aspect of the Internet that spawned the growth of social networks like Facebook and Twitter over the last few years. In the Western world, this development allowed users to connect and express their thoughts freely. In China, however, even though the same tools are available as in the West, a lot of them are currently blocked and censored. In addition to this, Ai Weiwei noted that sites like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, as well as TV channels like CNN, are currently blocked in China.

Even though there are a number of Facebook and Twitter clones in China, Ai Weiwei argued that those companies work within the framework that the Chinese government has set for them with regards to what users can say on these services. Ai Weiwei's name, for example, can never be used on these sites without getting censored. Indeed, said Ai Weiwei, using Twitter in China is "very physical and dangerous."

Translating Twitter

Asked about the reason for Twitter's popularity among netizens, Ai Weiwei noted that services like Twitter and blogs are easy to use, but once he got too popular, his blog was quickly shut down. Even though Twitter has a 140-character limit, Twitter's users in China can easily express in-depth thoughts because the Chinese language allows Twitter users to express 140 words on Twitter and not just 140 characters.

With regards to how Twitter is being used in China, Ai Weiwei noted that the most active Twitter users in China often use the service for political and philosophical discussions.

Jack Dorsey, after recapping the basic history of Twitter and his fascination with maps, and open, public databases, noted that messages on Twitter, even though they are often trivial, do show that "we are human" and remind us that we are all the same. Twitter, which he called a utility, was extended by the user and the developer ecosystem that grew up around it. Internet users across the world can now use it to communicate, talk to their governments, build a business and create political movements.

Ai Weiwei told Dorsey that the "Chinese people think you are some kind of God" because Twitter allows people to express themselves without worrying about censorship.

A lot of the discussion with Jack Dorsey focused on had to do with what Twitter can do to to help its users in China. Ai Weiwei directly asked Dorsey why Twitter doesn't provide its users a Chinese-language version of Twitter. According to Dorsey, it is just a question of time and mostly a technological issue. Given Twitter's problems with scaling the service, making it work for every character set creates some issues for Twitter because of the legacy framework that Twitter established in its early days. Currently, the company doesn't really have the resources to devote to this. Doresey did, however, argue that users already know how the service is meant to work and understand the setup of the Twitter page.

Dorsey also noted that Twitter isn't sure that it really wants to move into the Chinese market, but would like to offer a Chinese translation of its service at some point. Indeed, Dorsey noted that he wasn't even aware that Twitter was blocked in China until just a few weeks ago.

Censorship and Twitter

MacManus then asked Ai Weiwei if the Chinese government couldn't just censor Twitter or force Twitter to censor its service. Ai Weiwei, however, pointed out that Twitter could easily translate Twitter's registration page to help Chinese users. He noted that he isn't asking Twitter to set up an operation in China - he just wants Twitter to make the service easier to use for Chinese users and to translate large parts of the service. The Internet companies in China, as MacManus noted, tend to "self-discipline" themselves and censor their own content. MacManus wondered what would happen to a Chinese language version of Twitter, and if it wouldn't just get blocked and censored just like other international services.

Ai Weiwei noted that a lot of international companies that would like to enter the Chinese market have a responsibility to not give up on basic human rights. While the discussion didn't go into depth with regards to the issues surrounding Google's exit from China, MacManus noted that Google was one of the few Western services that entered the Chinese market, even though it faced a strong Chinese competitor. According to MacManus, leaving the Chinese market was a "brave move" by Google that sends a strong message that these companies are willing to stand up to the Chinese government.

Twitter's Moral Responsibility

Twitter and other technology companies have, said Dorsey, a responsibility to follow basic moral guidelines, and in his view, many technology companies have helped to push the messages of the U.S. government (and other governments) forward with regards to acknowledging human rights violations in China.

Asked specifically if companies do have a moral responsibility, Dorsey said that Twitter - as a company - is focused on opening information as completely as possible and wants to ensure that everybody can participate in the conversations on the service. Twitter, which according to Dorsey was founded around the principles of immediacy and transparency, allows users to create a shared experience among users around the world and create more empathy.

Towards the end of the discussion, Dorsey said that Twitter is just a tool and that it can't change any governments itself, but that it is the users who can use it to change governments.

As MacManus noted during the discussion, it is people like Ai Weiwei that are using these tools effectively. One day, Ai Weiwei noted towards the end of the discussion, we won't need tools like Twitter to change our governments anymore.

Back in December, we noticed that a new developer had begun working on the MySocial24x7 extension, albeit unofficially, when he posted a note on his blog. The developer, one Dave Hodson, was once the CTO of a company called MessageCast which was acquired by Microsoft in 2005. He now works on the Windows Live RSS team, according to his bio.

Hodson had posted on his blog about how he updated MySocial24x7 so it would work with the latest version of Firefox 3. He had also fixed a few bugs including issues with Twitter authorization and posting to FriendFeed. At the time of the post, Hodson said that he emailed Sandosh for permission to continue work on the add-on and to see if Sandosh would be interested in hosting the new version on his domain.

Fast-forward to a couple of months later, and we finally have an update on where this project is going: Hodson has officially taken over the development of this extension. With permission from Sandosh (who is apparently now working on a gDocs sidebar instead), Hodson will take responsibility for the maintenance and new features of the MySocial24x7 add-on. He submitted the updated extension to Mozilla and it's currently available for download from here on addons.mozilla.org.

About MySocial 24x7

If you never gave the add-on a spin the first time around, you should check it out. Essentially, it functions the same as it did before - MySocial24x7 sits in the Firefox sidebar giving you quick access to your FriendFeed stream. Buttons at the top let you quickly switch from the "Everyone" stream to your friends' stream or even to your own. You can both "like" and comment on the items posted, view comments from others, or share items of your own.

A scrollable row of icons lets you filter the streams by service - a feature which is especially handy if you like using FriendFeed as a Twitter client. You can also filter the view by selecting just one of your friends from the drop-down list provided. Sadly, there's no option to filter by lists or rooms.

Although functional, it looks like there are still some kinks to work out with the new version. The sidebar doesn't always close when hitting the "X" and there seems to be no way to disable the pop-ups that appear (and occasionally remain) outside of the sidebar. Also, the one feature which we really wanted - an auto-refresh - is nowhere to be seen. Refreshes still have to be done manually by pressing a button at the bottom.

Still, for those with limited desktop real estate, MySocial24x7 is a decent way to keep an eye on FriendFeed throughout the day without having to visit the web site. Now that the extension works again, we hope to see some improvements, such as the ones we've noted here, added to it soon.

First, it scrolls. To the left. Of that much we are sure. All sorts of news articles, pictures, stories, reviews, and other informational items appear in two rows. As you move your mouse over each item, you can choose to read more, close, strike, or star it. Or let it float on by. Anyway, if you do click on the item, a new window will open giving you a larger preview. Closing an item does just that. Clicking on the star icon will save the item for your own feed and finally, striking an item will make it (and stuff like it) go away.

Here's where the recommendation system comes in. Starring stuff promotes similar content, so you end up seeing more of it in your stream. Striking things makes them go away, and also makes them less likely to appear again. After a while, you are seeing more and more of the stuff you like. It's that simple.

Atype Studios also added a bit of social goodness to the app, not only building a feed of stuff you have starred, but also allowing you to share particular items with other Ohpan users and eventually, via email and other social networks. And they aren't stopping there - itechmo reports that plans are afoot to include your own content (if it isn't being picked up already), add your Google Reader shared items and even rate inline ads!

Oh yeah - we also promised you some access codes! Here's what to do. Go to the Ohpan site, click on the button called I have a code! and put in this code: RWWROCKS.

The man behind Atype, Simon Plashkes (@plashkes), gave us a roll of 1000 tickets, so first come, first serve!

Before looking at the speed bumps, here are three reasons why New York should be the center of tech/media startup scene:

1. New York is cool.
2. New York has the clients.
3. New York has the money.

Lets look at why these three things matter, and in particular, why they matter to the next phase of web technology.

New York Advantage #1 - cool. Do I need to be so uncool as to list all the reasons why New York is cool? It is cool in a way that Los Angeles, with its movies and music scene misses. It's the edgy edge. London has it as well. Berlin has it. It's a city thing. Sorry, San Jose and Palo Alto, suburbs are not cool. Provincial cities like Austin and Boston are also not cool. Why does this matter to web technology? Web 2.0 is a consumer wave. The web really is replacing, surrounding, augmenting and extending all traditional forms of entertainment. And to make it in entertainment, you have to be cool, or hot, or whatever is the cool or hot word. Cool is a sustainable competitive advantage. No person can be cool for very long, but a city can be cool for a long time. New York is as cool today as it was when Frank Sinatra was doing his thing or when the New York Dolls were inventing punk music. New York has that unique mix of media, fashion, and money that enables cool to thrive.

To see the difference, look at two contenders in what is possibly the hottest consumer web technology wave right now - live online video - Ustream.TV from the Valley and Mogulus.com from New York.

Ustream.TV seems to have the edge if you look at the numbers. But, it just looks so corporate. It lists all these stars that have channels and you cannot even click on them. The traditional big money institutional VCs are pitching at the already established online stars, such as Chris Pirillo. Yes I know it sounds absurd, outside of The Kingdom of Geek, to talk of Chris Pirillo as an established star. But in this very, very early phase of live video online, his niche audience of early adopters does matter. But, as Hollywood knows, stars are fickle, they move to whatever channel, studio, network or whatever that gives them the best deal, as they should.

The "network" matters. It has to have an identity. People have to make a decision about which URL to visit. Live video is a totally different medium from archive video, where YouTube reigns supreme. You "tune in" to a network that suits your style. Just like you hang out in MySpace or Facebook or Bebo or whatever depending on what suits your style. This is about making a fashion statement.

You can see the difference when you look at Mogulus.com, New York's entry in the live video space. It has that rough, street feel - and all cool fashion comes from the street. But don't confuse that with lack of design. This is a very carefully thought out, well executed design. They don't say anything about their funding other than that it comes from "private investors." I mean, who cares? It also has a sense of humor and personality.

So cool does matter and New York has it.

But somebody has to pay for cool and that brings us to New York Advantage #2 - clients. Specifically the big consumer advertising budgets, which in America means Finance, Fashion, and Pharma and all three are found in New York. OK, Pharma is across the tunnel into decidedly uncool New Jersey, but that's a short hop for an entrepreneur and the Pharma guys want to make the trip to Manhattan (to catch a show and try the latest restaurant). Madison Avenue, in all its old and new guises, serves these big consumer advertising clients and Madison Avenue is in New York - but then you knew that right?

And finally - New York Advantage #3 - money. Or as the Grateful Dead put it - "New York has the ways and means." Yes, startups flock to Sand Hill Road when they want the money. But guess where the Sand Hill Road crowd comes when they want money? Yes, New York, that's right. This is the big money place. This is where you go through the likes of Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley to tap the biggest, deepest, most liquid equity markets in the world. This is where you find the guys who look after pension funds, who put the money into those Sand Hill Road funds. This - or maybe Greenwich, an hour away from Manhattan - is where the Hedge Funds trade the world.

The odd thing here, is that big money currently makes a bi-coastal round trip. It starts in New York, gets sent to Sand Hill Road, where the top tier VC funds distribute it to a few startups who, when they make it big, make the pilgrimage back to New York to meet with Goldman Sachs/Morgan Stanley who will give them their golden ticket, otherwise known as the IPO. Yes, I know that last part of the circuit has been unwired recently, but that will change. Wall Street just needs some Web 2.0 ventures that are pulling in profits.

This bi-coastal round trip may be about to change. The reason is that this wave is more about media and less about tech. We tend to bang those two words together now as tech is going consumer and is funded by advertising - which sounds like media. In the tech venture world, the Valley reigned supreme because the ecosystem was there. You built a chip that went into a computer that made it big because of the operating system and all the people who mattered in that ecosystem hung around in the same zip code.

In a more open standards, API-driven world, that physical proximity matters less. In a media world, where "let's do lunch" is the social lubricant, proximity does still matter and New York (and Los Angeles) has that ecosystem - Ad Agencies, Fashion, Consumer Advertisers, Media.

So you get it? I love New York. So, just what's the problem?

1. Tech Talent. Wall Street sucks it in. The big Wall Street firms just pay too much. A nice Wall Street crash with lots of layoffs would solve that problem (unfortunately that may coincide with a Main Street recession, which stops the party for everybody for a while).
2. Patient Capital. New York is a "hot money" town. New York investors just love liquidity. They worship it. "What's your exit route?" means, "could I sell today?" So angel and VC options are weak compared to the Valley and even compared to say Boston or Austin. There are great and honorable exceptions. The New York VC with the most brand recognition and track record in web technology is almost certainly Union Square Ventures and they are New Yorkers through and through. But they are far from the only game in town. It is now possible to build a reasonable short-list of early stage VC firms in New York or very close by. But, this is still far from the Valley funding ecosystem. It's not even close.

I believe that the New York venture capital situation is improving for the next wave of technology-driven media companies, though. You can see that when you look at Mogulus. They have raised $1.2m from angels. They don't say who the angels are (New Yorkers like a bit of privacy) but I suspect that they are comfortable with a media venture in a way that they would not be with a tech venture. "TV?" "Yep, I get that." Media of all types has always been funded out of New York. Now that the web is officially media, the web will get funded out of New York.

And on the talent front, Mogulus has an interesting one-liner at the bottom of their Corporate Facts:

Corporate Facts

• Mogulus LLC is Based in New York
• Founder and CEO - Max Haot
• Funded by Private Angel Investors
• Development Office Out of Bangalore, India

This is not about India, it is about the ability to build software using virtual teams. If that hot developer rejects your offer to join for $100k base because Morgan Stanley offered $140k plus cash bonuses, find the guy/gal in Boise, Idaho who thinks $100k is more than enough for a nice outdoorsy lifestyle, and your stock options give a shot at real money down the line. Yes, you may need a core team that's local, but you need less people.

Of course, if you want to know "The Secret to Hiring Great Developers," go to a Mogulus channel called "What's Up Silicon Alley." (Embedded below.)

What would really change the game would be if the NASDAQ IPO market opened up again for tech/media startups. It has been closed since Google came out. If ventures can get funded in New York all the way to profitability, the investment bankers can take over the next step, without any hand-over to the Valley. This is when the New York Hedge Funds and Private Equity players come in to fund from the venture phase through expansion to the stage where public market investors get interested. Then the Valley VC funds will set up offices in New York, just like they are doing in Israel, India, and China.