I got a call last Friday from a potential client. Could we move our meeting to the offices of a Sand Hill Road VC that they were dropping in on. "Sure," I said, "what's the address?"

"I'm not sure, just search for [XYZ_VCFirm],"... a polite way of saying (pardon my language), Fucking Google It.

Right... easier for me to do a search than for someone to tell me where they were standing (ironic, but actually true in this case).

And so, I banged the VC firm's name into my Google toolbar, instantly got a Google Local result, and headed out the door. Arriving at the address, I looked high and low for the VC firm, without luck. I spotted a property management office, and knew they'd help me.

"Oh yeah, they moved recently," the lady at the desk told me. "Umm, how recently," I asked. "Oh, a couple of months ago," was the reply. Right. Months.

Clearly the mistake was mine. I could have sought out the firm's web site and checked their address (which was correct). I also could have called the firm. But, when using an online directory, especially Google, I have certain expectations, namely: comprehensiveness, responsiveness and accuracy. That doesn't seem entirely unreasonable, does it?!

So, my advice to Sukhinder Singh and the rest of the team over at Google Local (not that they asked) ; add the date your directory information was last updated on your Local search results so I know if I have to verify your information or if I can trust it...

Tangetally, Friday was the first time I visited Sand Hill since I spent way too much time there drumming up funding for WishClick. Some things have changed, while others have remained the same. One thing that, surprisingly, hasn't changed, is the complete lack of security; I strolled into several offices, glancing at pitches that werein progress, etc, and was never challenged. Given the crazy things that have happened in the past, one would think that a street packed with millionares and billionares would have a visible security presence in addition to whatever behind-the-scenes security the employ.