Financial Genius

Readers,

Taken from my very own list of companies in development, and mentioned for the fiftieth time in this blog, eDoorways has launched what they are calling their “SOLVE” doorway. This is the first of a line of doorways that will introduce buckets of functionality to their new web-based consumer-problem-solving gateway. With “SOLVE” comes the beginning of eDoorways.

This morning, I saw a press release pop on the wire for eDoorways. One paragraph in it stated, “…was also impressed with the performance of eDoorways CEO Gary Kimmons. ‘Gary Kimmons hit the stage in Austin last week, channeling Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs, to launch a new online tool developed by Kimmons’ company, eDoorways Corp.,’ stated Calnan. ‘Looking like someone dying to tell a long-held secret, he revealed to the audience of about 165 the company’s product called `SOLVE`.’”

It’s too bad they had to let the cat out of the bag by posting a terrible video of the introduction of eDoorways to edoorways.com. In the video, Gary Kimmons doesn’t present eDoorways as if he’s channeling Steve Jobs, he presents as though he needs years of private tutoring from one of Jobs’ assistants. Gary appeared apprehensive, unenthusiastic, and lame. Mr. Jobs rarely appears less than laid back, genuine, proud, and enthusiastic about what he’s presenting to the world.

The video continues, ad nauseam, with one person after another piling onto the stage. Gary was not introduced and then given the stage, he was sharing it with the master of ceremonies. Ask Jobs if he’d be interested in that arrangement; I bet I’ve got an answer for ya’. That wasn’t the end, though.

As Gary drudgingly led the audience through the presentation of an unfinished product, yet another “expert” piled onto the stage. No one ever had the stage, and it started looking as though the MC’s only job was to do her best to bedazzle every terrible tussle that escaped Gary’s mouth. Oh, and Gary; you really need to learn how to smile, dude.

Unfinished product; how could I not elaborate. Even before Gary could explain what Web 3.0 is, eDoorways has been sporting a Web 3.0 capable product. Sadly, no Web 3.0 capability made a debut on October 1st. Once again, you go ahead and ask Jobs if he’d ever present an unfinished product to the world and expect them to gasp in awe.

Instead, the video started with a demo of what’s known to the Internet community as “chat” technology. Now “chat” technology is pretty high-tech, so I don’t expect you readers to catch on immediately, but I’ll explain it for you. This “chat” technology allows you to communicate with a person, or vendor, who is on the other end of the “chat”. Almost as though they’re in a “chat room”, if you will.

What eDoorways does is provide these specialized “chat rooms” where vendors and consumers can meet and talk about the consumer’s needs, and each room can be found by this phenomenal invention called the “Power Key”. Power keys are really where the heart of eDoorways lies. A power key is this search term that can be purchased by vendors looking to get in on the other end of this chat with a consumer. So, if a consumer types the word “vacuum” into their search query, eDoorways shows that consumer a list of vacuum dealers that are currently available to answer their questions.

Here’s the best part, though. The chat rooms will provide vendors and service providers with opportunities to sell their useful products or services after providing the consumer with the “best possible advice”. How innovative is that!

Please. Should I jump now or after you try to tell me how eDoorways is better than Google just one more time. Nothing that’s been presented thus far is new or innovative, and frankly, once the Web 3.0 bits are added in, all it’s going to do is enhance search on the search terms that eDoorways is selling.

What’s that? Oh, right. Sorry, Gary — “Power Keys”. Search terms are a thing of the past, because that’s what Google uses. Good lord.

I’m not impressed, and I don’t think the world’s impressed. I think a good number of small businesses are being suckered into a clunker. Let’s not forget that eDoorways’ target audience is made up of small businesses without an existing web presence. They don’t have a web presence, because they don’t know how to get one. They don’t know much about the Internet at all, in fact. So lucky for Gary, he’s got plenty of suckers to help line his pockets.

What’s worse is that the design of eDoorways has not improved. If it had, Gary and the rest of his team might actually have a usable product. Sadly, it looks like they contracted out to my trucker friend, without a single design-oriented bone in his body, who whipped up a few splotches while making a wide turn or two.

So, what are we left with: a CEO looking to get rich quick or a group of individuals who actually think they’re being innovative and channeling Steve Jobs? Whatever it is, it’s making for one hell of a bucking bronco when it comes down to daily share price. One could flip eDoorways shares a few times a day, assuming one is in compliance with the SEC’s new rules on day trading and the volume stays high.

Shares may make it to ten cents or even a dollar, and they’ll likely be turbulent for a while, but what shareholders should recognize is that what eDoorways is attempting to do here is not far outside the realm of what the world already has. It’s not likely that this offering will last, I don’t see eDoorways on the top ten websites family and friends should visit, and eDoorways is being led by a boob who needs a slightly tougher grip on reality, the Internet, and the fact that the nineties was nearly a decade ago.

If eDoorways keeps staking claims that Google doesn’t provide Web 3.0 functionality, they’re gonna find themselves in a whole heap o’ trouble. Readers, Google is pioneering Web 3.0, and they’re still on the top of the ball game. They also happen to do a very good job of keeping things simple — something Gary still struggles with; especially when he’s trying to define his company for investors.

So, in all, eDoorways is no longer looking like it’s a good position to go long in the market even though short gains may still be in order. While they may make it past Christmas, or even through next year, they will never make it to the big time with what they presented on October 1st.

Let’s trash this holding and move onto the next one folks.

~A

Dear Readers,

Development is exciting, and it’s something all companies must undergo in order to exist. The nature of the development may be physical, technological, virtual, spiritual, ideological, or monetary. It is these developments that excite human beings, and excited human beings often offer their vote in direct response.

A vote may be positive, negative, or neutral. In the stock market, votes of excitement, fear, confidence, or a lack of confidence help make bulls and bears of positions. Because developments cause excitement, it would stand to reason that an investor savvy in predicting development is a wealthy investor indeed.

Currently, my portfolio is full of companies on the brink of development. eDoorways, Camelot Entertainment, and Cord Blood America are only a few. Recently, Cord Blood America (CBAI) built what may reasonably be the largest cryogenic research and storage facility in the world. The building will also act as their world headquarters.

eDoorways launches their online service platform tomorrow, and Camelot Entertainment has opened two offices — one in Europe, and one in the United States — in preparation for tons of upcoming film projects that they are scheduling as I write. These developments are exciting, and all three positions have been wildly active over the past month. For some, it feels as though these are now opportunities that have passed. For me, however, it was obvious long ago that these developments are only the beginning of a slew of opportunities to come.

Camelot Entertainment will release several hit titles in their massive barrage of developments. At the upcoming film festival, they’ll strike some connections that will take them, and their investors, far and wide. For eDoorways, their Austin, Texas launch will be followed by several modular releases that will add to their portfolio of service offerings, and their service offerings will go nationwide in the visible future. Cord Blood America will educate and expand on their and the world’s knowledge of cryogenics and stem cells.

These are all extremely exciting developments that are slated to occur in the foreseeable future. For anyone to say that these are opportunities long gone is a shortsighted opinion. As a savvy investor, it is often necessary to look at a larger picture and take the road bumps with a grain of salt. For businesses without development, business as usual is business of the past, and unfortunately for them, I look only to the future.

~A

The concept of a ‘free economy’ recently surfaced in a press release for a company that I’ve been following closely for more than a year.

It should be preemptively noted that the idea of free economy is different than that of a ‘free market’ in which no regulation, subsidization, single monetary system, or governmental monopolization exist (think barter and trade). The idea of free economy is an easily misconstrued one that speaks to the capitalized benefits or distractions introduced, and taken advantage of, during the course of a percentage of consumer experiences with a monetarily free product or service.

This idea has been exorcised without a name for ages — but as we know and as is important in our corporate analysis as investors — with a name, all things in our culture tend to become more popular as they are more easily referenced and recognized. Now that the ‘Open Source’ community has exploded over the last decade, along with software patent protests and plenty else, a massive industry has been born from the idea of free economy. In these models, software is usually offered free of charge, and the company accepts payment for support services or additional software features that might be more tailored to enterprise utilization; thus, they target the guys with money in their pockets.

Recently, I got an idea started for a new company of mine that will greatly utilize, but well balance, the idea of free economy. In this business, I will utilize a key service, which I offer to consumers without charge, to keep consumers and past customers on, and coming back to, the retail website on a regular basis. This provides many benefits for the company and as such is much more than worth the cost of upkeep for the free service.

In any case, it does make you wonder where a world populated by free economy will end up. If everyone offers a free product or service to attract more uptake for their paid product or service, how long will it be before crossover begins to rear its head on a massive scale? For instance, if I offer free use of inventory tracking software with the hopes of getting the consumer to purchase my physical inventory bar-code tags, but someone else is offering a free system to help print your own inventory bar-code tags while wanting you to purchase their inventory tracking software, why wouldn’t I just grab the best of both worlds for free.

Such an act would hurt both business models. While support is one service offering that’s difficult to overlap, there are valid instances in which this crossover could do some serious damage to hard-hitting business models.

Supposedly, there are also some good books on free economy. The one recommended in the eDoorways press release I mentioned earlier is called “Free: The Future of a Radical Price“. While I haven’t read it yet, I certainly intend to. Perhaps Mr. Anderson has some answers for me.

In any case, if free economy is our future, how can I — as a consumer, myself — really complain? Does it inch us closer to a truer idea of a free market or does it inch us closer to communism? Is it better or worse? Even if support becomes free, only as a matter of necessity, wouldn’t it be interesting to exist in such a system? Where would that leave business in general, and where would it leave our race?

With such deep questions, I imagine you can see the root of my desire to get my hands on that book, but for now, free economy is what it is. It will take its toll on business, and it will provide opportunity for business as it is doing for eDoorways, as it will do for the company that I’m working to build, and as it has done for many companies in the last decade.

Thankfully, no matter how unknown the future is, being armed with these new ideas will help us to make more informed decisions, regarding potential investment opportunities, when presented with the term free economy, and we will be better able to understand the cause, caution, and opportunity behind a price of “free”.

~A