External Links: Paul Graham’s criticism of Apple + Phil Schiller Grants Interview About Apple’s App Store, Claims Devs Actually Like Approval Process. + The BusinessWeek interview + iPhone developers are stupid.

#1. The founder of RedFin believes that serial entrepreneurs are likely to do worse, not better, than start-up newbies. Guy Kawasaki agrees.

#2. Google’s Melissa Mayer was on CNBC to talk about the You’Re The VC website.

1. Alea – (finance)
2. Endless Innovation -
3. Read & Write Web – (information technology)
4. Guy Kawasaki – (marketing)
5. Technology Review -
6. Tierney Lab – (applied science)
7. The Numbers Guy -
8. Add your suggestion(s) in the comment area, just below.

Here’s the bottom line: Whether Truemors succeeds or not, I learned a helluva lot. One thing is for sure: no entrepreneur can tell me that he needs $1 million, four programmers, and six months to launch this kind of company. With products like WordPress, MySQL, and Salesforce platform, things are a whole lot cheaper and easier these days.

For not a whole lot of money and time you can get something out there and see if it works. If it does, hallelujah: there’s no better time to raise money than after your prototype is scaling up. Indeed, you may not ever need to raise money. Fyi, there is no worst time to raise money than when you have nothing but an idea. Actually, there is a worst time: When you’ve burned through the first million, and you haven’t shipped or gotten any dogs to eat the food.

I end with a truism (as opposed to truemor): There’s only one way to find out if your idea will succeed, and that’s to try it, so go for it.

In the field of prediction markets, once can think of Inkling as the cheapest and faster incubator. (Whether what’s out of Inkling will last, that’s a horse of another color.)

2. The rolodex is already online. Almost every journalist publishes his e-mail address, and many have a blog. You can also use LinkedIn and Jigsaw. The point is that you can get to journalists without a PR person. Usually a sincere note from an entrepreneur is enough to start a conversation. Pick out something good that the journalist wrote and say what you really think. Make a top-five list of what your company has learned in its first six months. Suggest an idea for a story. Keep it short; ask for nothing. It’ll mean a lot more coming from you rather than a publicist. Odds are you’ll hear back.

7. Even bad coverage isn’t so bad. I was once profiled in a national business magazine doing odd things in my underwear. It was terrible; I lay face down on a couch for an hour after reading it. And you know what? It wasn’t that bad. Never whine to the journalist about coverage, avoid narcissistic story-lines, and don’t worry if you make a few mistakes.

I also like #6 and #10. Go read it.

#1. I was harassed by some LinkedIn fanboys a semi dozen of times.

#2. Marketing expert Guy Kawasaki is bullish on LinkedIn.

#3. All of the Fortune-500 firms do use LinkedIn.

#4. It seems that most of the prediction market luminaries (or so they think they are) use LinkedIn —Yahoo! research scientist David Pennock being the exception that confirms the rule.

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Guy Kawasaki:

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- Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn

Most people use LinkedIn to “get to someone” in order to make a sale, form a partnership, or get a job.

- LinkedIn Profile Extreme Makeover

If you’re going to use LinkedIn, you should put some effort into your profile. [*]

- LinkedIn and the Art of Avoiding an Asshole Boss

To do this, I propose that you check your prospective boss’s references just like [he/she]‘s checking out yours.

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[*] I promise I’ll do it in the near future.

Previous: Jack Welch to Alex Forshaw: FOSTER YOUR INTERPERSONAL SKILLS. + an interesting comment from Jason “The Brain” Ruspini.