Cheers!
RBH

I just finished reading an interview with Tom Fastner, senior member of technical staff and architect at eBay on ODBMS Industry Watch with Prof. Roberto V. Zicari. From a technical perspective it’s a great read but more importantly it represents a growing trend I’m seeing more of from our company: the very welcome “under-the-hood” conversations with our thought leaders and key drivers of change about the technology infrastructure of our marketplace.

Q1. What are the main technical challenges for big data analytics at eBay?

Tom Fastner: The primary challenges are:

I/O bandwidth: limited due to configuration of the nodes.

Concurrency/workload management: Workload management tools usually manage the limited resource. For many years EDW systems bottle neck on the CPU; big systems are configured with ample CPU making I/O the bottleneck. Vendors are starting to put mechanisms in place to manage I/O, but it will take some time to get to the same level of sophistication.

Data movement (loads, initial loads, backup/restores): As new platforms are emerging you need to make data available on more systems challenging networks, movement tools and support to ensure scalable operations that maintain data consistency

To read the full interview, please visit odbms.org. You can also follow @odbmsorg on Twitter.

Cheers!
RBH

You can read the full post – Chatting with eBay Partner Network: Richard Brewer-Hay Gets Social. Be sure to follow @ebaypartnernet on Twitter too.

In the meantime, here’s the video interview…

Cheers!
RBH

Chatting with ePN: Richard Brewer-Hay Gets Social from eBay Partner Network TV on Vimeo.

Related Reads:
Check out eBay Partner Network TV
Scott Parent joins the eBay Partner Network Blog

It is my great pleasure to announce the newest addition to the official eBay blogging family. Authored by Joe MacFarland, the eBay stories Blog‘s charter is to inform eBay Marketplace members of eBay.com product and features, surface “remarkable listings,” and to highlight weekly search trends. You can read more in his eBay stories Welcome post.

I have been following the development of the blog closely and have met regularly with Joe as he ramps up towards today’s launch. I am looking forward to collaborating with him on posts where appropriate and having another resource for eBay users to get information… this time with a link directly from ebay.com! (Don’t worry… I’m trying to find out what I have to do to make that happen for Ink). ;)

I sat down with Joe earlier this week to chat about the blog, his vision for the editorial content, and how he sees this will differ from our focus here on Ink…

Full Name: Joe MacFarland
Nickname: Joe
Official Title: I don’t have one, I am a “non-employee: ☺
What you really do: Write a blog
Education: BA in Sociology from Dartmouth College
Interests: Travelling, reading, cycling, playing with my kids, soccer
Favorite Quote: We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. – Vonegut
Most Memorable eBay experience: Selling my 2006 World Cup tickets (soccer) to someone once my team (Brazil) was eliminated…
Most recent eBay purchase/sale: A set of six Pokemon Black and White Figures with Light (for my son’s 6th birthday in August… shhhhhhh)
Favorite Album(s): Too many to mention, who listens to albums anymore – bring me Pandora or Spotify! But anything from the Café del Mar series would work in a pinch.
Favorite Movie(s): Again, to many to mention, but I was intrigued by Before Sunrise
What you wanted to be growing up: A paperback writer (like the Beatles song)

Fill in the blanks:
I should have gone to the beach yesterday
I wish that I could visit my family in Brazil.
The first thing I do when I get to work is check to see what the most popular items are being sold on eBay.

RBH: What is your vision of eBay stories?
Joe: 1. To be the place folks come to learn about the amazing product features the entire team at eBay works on every day to make the life of the eBay shopper better. 2. To be the reference point for people interested in finding out more about the amazing products that are being sold via eBay; 3. To keep a casual “history through commerce” view of any given week.

RBH: How does this differ from existing official eBay blogs? Like eBay Ink for example?
Joe: The blog focuses specifically on ebay.com, not on eBay, the company, as a whole. And within this focus on ebay.com, the blog further focuses on eBay product features, the stories behind the remarkable listings that are not surfaced anywhere else on eBay itself, and what people are searching for when they come to the site.

RBH: Who is your target audience?
Joe: eBay shoppers who are interested in, and want to learn more about our products and features, and are interested in the stories behind the remarkable items being sold on the site.

RBH: What do you consider success to be with eBay stories?
Joe: If people enjoy what they are reading.

RBH: What are you most looking forward to with the blog?
Joe: Finally launching it and having a conversation with our readers about the things written on the blog.

RBH: What does it take to get some link love on the ebay.com homepage?
Joe: I don’t know what this question means, and if I did, I wouldn’t answer it. ;)

So with that, please join me in welcoming Joe and the eBay stories blog to the blogging family. Looking forward to reading future posts!

Cheers,
RBH

Welcome to the first in a new series entitled, “eBay Employee Collectors.” Each month we will interview an employee who also has a passion for collecting something unusual or notable.

The first interview is with Pierre Donzier of Customer Strategy as he and Griff discuss his passion to collect anything and everything associated with aviation – specifically with a focus on flight helmets.

I’m looking forward to reading more of these in the future. Enjoy!

Cheers,
RBH

The interview covers (among other things):

* How to balance innovation and execution at scale
* How tech innovaton will lead to more change in the next 5 years than it did in the last ten
* The company’s success in mobile and how it is lowering the boundary between online and offline
* EBay’s acquisition strategy

Check out the full interview with John Donahoe.

UPDATED: February 15, 2011
You can now access the full interview transcript: The HBR Interview: How eBay Developed a Culture of Experimentation

Cheers,
RBH

** Download the RedLaser App for iPhone.
** Download the RedLaser App for Android.

It has only been two business days since the Milo acquisition was announced.

The following interview with Milo founder, Jack Abraham, was uploaded on Friday.

Cheers,
RBH

I was fortunate to visit the Milo.com offices yesterday afternoon on the same day they were celebrating becoming a part of the eBay Inc. family.

In addition to enjoying some good beer and meeting some great people, I also got to sit down for a few minutes with Milo.com founder, Jack Abraham, to talk about the origins of the company, the future of online and local business, and why he felt eBay was such a good fit.

Cheers!
RBH

There are a number of special projects we’re working on behind the scenes and to kick things off, I thought I’d ask a couple of simple questions to each of our sellers and share their feedback with you folks here. I can’t thank our social media sellers enough for taking the time to think the questions through and provide insightful answers to us here.

I saw some trends right off the bat (you’ll see them below). Primarily, there is a definite focus on “the little things”; all the little details that can be easily overlooked and end up costing you time and, ultimately, money. Secondly, it takes a LOT of hard work, effort, commitment and determination to be successful.

Please let me know what you think. I’m obviously completely open to suggestions and recommendations. Video? Audio? Questions to ask? You name it, please let me know in the comments. For now, here is the first Q&A with our eBay #SMSellers.

What is the biggest misconception you think people have when starting their own online business?

“The biggest misconception is that people need a lot of money to get started.” – Kat Simpson

“Without a doubt, the biggest misconception is that, more than any other type of business, people go in expecting to become rich instantly while doing less work. The issue is two-fold. First, they hear that you can make money online and assume that means buckets and buckets of money which is something they’d be much less likely to assume if we were talking about opening a pizza parlor or other brick-and-mortar store. Second, the idea of starting a home-based business appeals to people because they think of working from home as sitting around doing nothing. Starting an online business has all the challenges and pitfalls of any brick and mortar business and is certainly not anymore of a goldmine than any other business you work and build on.” – Hillary DePiano

“Easy. People actually believe, and have been lead to think by many, that no work is required. They think online success is a slam dunk and that it’s guaranteed… NOT!” – John Lawson (aka ColderICE)

“Some people believe that the Internet is so populated that if they put their items on a site for sale, customers will beat a path to their door automatically without much further effort.” – Auction Wally

“I think people starting out come to think things will be both too easy and too hard all at once, easily leading to being overwhelmed either way. Usually the roadblocks along the way are numerous but easily enough to navigate. Take a deep breath, read any available documentation and plow forward. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, even if it costs you a little money, the lessons learned are usually worth the investment. Once your current mission is accomplished, feel good about it yes, but don’t get cocky – this game changes every day and there will always be new roadblocks and challenges.” – Cliff Aliperti

If you could go back in time, knowing what you know now, what would you do differently about getting started on eBay?

“I would do more research and learn the difference between a fad and a trend (that lesson cost me about $6,000)” – Kat Simpson

“Having the basics down means saving a lot of time… and time is money. That said, the first thing I would do is start reviewing my ABCs. For example, I would have thoroughly read my digital camera manual to become more familiar with the settings. I would have set up a good staging area for pictures… I would have also started my customer email list much earlier and would have developed an organized system for shelf placement of listed/sold/unsold and “to be shipped” items. Again, back to basics. Save time. Save money.” – Auction Wally

“I would spend more time finding successful large sellers and listening and researching their business model. I also would spend more time educating myself on good business basics and accounting. I think I lost a lot of money on some products simply because I did not really know how to calculate a TRUE profit analysis.” – John Lawson (aka ColderICE)

“My only regret is that I didn’t start out on eBay earlier. I had the buying and selling lifestyle in my blood from my teen years on through trade shows and other outlets, but I was scared to death of getting on a computer throughout the 90′s and so I wasn’t online until I was forced by virtue of my employment in 2000. My eBay registration was an early stop on day 1 of that job! If I’d already been on eBay at that point I probably wouldn’t have even needed the job but it all worked out as I wound up leaving it to sell full-time by 2004 anyway.” – Cliff Aliperti

“To be honest, I wouldn’t change much. I think even my missteps got me where I am now. You can take a million classes, read blogs and books but, in the end, there is no better teacher than letting yourself make mistakes and learn from them.” – Hillary DePiano

You can follow all of our Social Media Sellers on Twitter by following the SMSeller Twitter List.

Cheers,
RBH

Joining Jones will be Michael Mosser and Sam Shaffer, who will focus on eBay Fashion, directly engaging industry designers, brands and retailers to participate in Fashion Vault, eBay’s destination for limited-time flash sales, and launching branded outlet storefronts. Mosser previously served as vice president, business development, for Home Shopping Network (HSN). Shaffer joins eBay from the New York office of IMG Worldwide, Inc., where he was director, business development, for the designers and brands category.

Completing the team are Fredrick Crosby, Theresa Casey, Steve Dueck and Greg Snodgrass, who will focus on eBay’s Electronics, Home & Garden and Sporting Goods categories.

I thought it would be worthwhile to sit down with Michael Jones and members of his team to talk about their vision, goals and objectives over the coming months. However, rather than conduct my standard “5 Minutes With…” interview format I thought it would be a great opportunity to solicit questions from you, the Ink readers.

So… please take the time to ask a question you’d love me to pose to the team and I’ll do my best to get it answered in a upcoming blog post.

Cheers!
RBH