I've noticed recently that several people have been proclaiming how TV Ad revenue is falling a lot, and that TV is very quickly going the way of newspapers. I've tried to explain that this couldn't be further from the truth, and that of any "old media" medium, TV has a big opportunity for at least a few decades before it takes a hit like news papers. I don't doubt that TV will change a lot, and have been preaching that for years (I even left the TV industry, for the digital media biz because I felt that strongly about it). But VH1 is just one small example of a channel that has captured a niche that is on the "other" side of the digital divide, has money, and matters - as opposed to MTV who didn't handle the digital transition well, and lost an audience.
In this 3 minute Ad Age video, Crown Media CEO Henry Schleiff reminds us that it's the Babyboomers who are watching more TV than anyone else. Using TV ads for branding (making impressions on young kids so they remain loyal forever) isn't the solution anymore. Use TV ads to drive sales, not impressions - and with Babyboomers, the formula isn't the same.
Seems like it's just a wakeup call - not that we need to definitely do things differently - but at the very least, don't be lazy. Reevaluate what we hold to be true, and if it's still relevant great - but be ready to make big changes if evidence confirms what the guts of youngins like myself tell us is true.
Enjoy!
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on May 26, 2009 at 5/26/2009 03:10:00 PM.
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A generally tangential thought - the way Strogatz starts his article kinda baffles me, "unlike Olivia and the previous guest writers, I’m not a biologist, evolutionary or otherwise. In fact, I’m (gasp!) a mathematician."
Why is strange for a mathematician to comment about science? And further, why is it that the various sciences silo themselves? Why does it continue to be an anomaly for different disciplines to team up on a proect and render a brilliant result?
I remember in High School and at NYU not understanding why there wasn't more of an explicit effort to teach science (including math) and art at the same time. The connections are uncanny. Understanding how lenses on film cameras work requires a solid understanding of math and physics. Yet as a student at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, in the film program, I wasn't required to take one math class in order to earn a BFA. How is that possible?
Strogatz's disclaimer reminds me of this TED talk where, "Emily Oster re-examines the stats on AIDS in Africa from an economic perspective and reaches a stunning conclusion: Everything we know about the spread of HIV on the continent is wrong."
Apparently economists and virologists don't talk much.
Taking this another step, I think the reason for my concern above is similar to the Dark Data Wired talks about in this article both Noah and I referenced recently...
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on at 5/26/2009 12:42:00 AM.
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I recently read this article in the Economist, and was compelled to write this letter to the editor:
SIR - I applaud your recent article, "Catheter and Mouse" (published 7th May, 2009) where you note the "greatest gain" will come from the requirement that researchers share negative results. The scientific community has historically been loathe to share results of studies that don't confirm their hypotheses. The Journal of Negative Results in Biomedicine, founded in 1999, was a small step towards encouraging change in a culture set on burying research that doesn't prove a scientist's hypothesis to be correct. But maybe the new EU law (if passed) will be the big push that's needed to remind researchers that all data collected is useful and valuable to humanity. With the data crunching capabilites available today, our problem isn't how to crunch data, but rather ensuring we have large enough data sets to make accurate conclusions. Curbing pain and death among animals by requiring the distribution of all research results is a noble cause. But we musn't forget that we could also curb the death of many human beings if the data of failed experiments was required to be openly shared. I dare say my own country should follow the EU's lead and consider requiring the release of negative results of any experiment using even $1 of public funds.
---
I was inspired in part by this article from Wired, published back in Sept. '07.
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on May 13, 2009 at 5/13/2009 01:23:00 AM.
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While the title of this article may be accurate, it misses some great / uplifting elements of an otherwise good article. While Darfuris, Southern Sudanese, and Eritreans aren't "welcomed with open arms" they are finding refuge in Israel, and this article is a huge credit to the amazing communitiy in Tel-Aviv that has gone to great lengths to help the refugees.
As part of Tikkun Olam (repairing the world) - and our responsibility to ensure "never again" is applied to everyone, not just Jews - I agree with the author that the Israeli government should have a more positive / helpful approach towards refugees fleeing repression (and even genocide) in their own country.
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on May 3, 2009 at 5/03/2009 05:12:00 PM.
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I love that in light of Darwin's 200th birthday, everywhere one looks these days, there's talk about the theory of evolution. I decided to write this entry, not to join the cacophony of voices, but to shed light on one element of evolution that I don't see many people discussing.
Here in the United States, there is a strong push (sometimes successful) to require that creationism be taught in parallel with evolution, in Science classes. With all the obvious reasons being put fourth regarding why creationism and evolution shouldn't be taught together, I rarely hear the most obvious: Evolution is a scientific theory which is open for debate, creationism as it is known in the United States is one of many creation myths/stories that is not open for debate, nor can the scientific method be applied to it. Creationism by definition does not follow the scientific method and therefore has no place in a science class. One can believe in the creation myth of the Judeo-Christian making, and still appreciate the theory of evolution.
Science seeks to explain the world around us by utilizing the scientific method. Religion does not, nor should it.
Suggesting that stories from one specific religion be taught in a non-religious class, completely out of context, in publicly funded schools is not only illogical, it is highly offensive to students who come from homes where their religion tells a different creation myth/story.
The only place that creationism could logically be taught in the United States, is in world literature classes - and I'd suggest that if the Judeo-Christian creation story is taught in public schools, then it must be taught in parallel to the many other creation myths that exist around the world. Native American tribes in North and South America have their creation myths, Ancient Greece had theirs, Aborigines of Australia have theirs, tribes all over Africa have theirs, Buddhists and Hindus have theirs (and there are others I'm forgetting).
Theories such as evolution are developed by scientists who understand, respect and practice the scientific method. Theories such as evolution are always being questioned, but only by using the scientific method. Everything students are taught in science classes must be taught within the framework of the scientific method, with an appreciation that all theories are developed with the goal of exhausting every angle at disproving the theory. And once the scientific community believes that every angle has been exhausted, if someone finds a new angle to question the theory, everyone will be open to revising the theory. None of that applies to religion. As such, teaching creationism in science classes negates all that students are being taught. Science classes aren't about memorizing facts, they're about teaching students to: a. be curious about the world in which they live b. question everything they're told about the world in which they live c. understand how theories are developed, and how they continue to be challenged
It is obvious that creationists are terrified about all three points above. As far as they're concerned, the bible has all the answers. What they forget is that we live in a pluralistic society, where many faiths (including lack of faith) are observed, and that faith is something that is personal. To impose ones faith on others, especially when using public funds is illegal.
It is also obvious that creationists have no appreciation for the scientific method, or what the theory of evolution is. Otherwise they wouldn't feel that their story is under attack. There is nothing to debate between the theory of evolution and the creation myths told around the world. Creation myths were developed thousands of years ago, and have been passed down through generations - they're believed to be unchanged, but who knows. The theory of evolution is a theory. It is meant to be challenged, debated, and change if the evidence supports change.
OK, I'll stop now. I think you get the point. If I'm missing something, please let me know.
This entry was posted
on Feb 9, 2009 at 2/09/2009 12:40:00 AM.
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On many occasions I've been very critical of various media organizations such as the NYTimes for their often one-sided critical & highly biased "reports" on conflicts between Israel and Palestinians.
Since Israel's defensive assaults on Hamas began three days ago, I've been surprised by the level to which virtually every media organization has been even-handed in their criticism of both sides.
This entry was posted
on Dec 29, 2008 at 12/29/2008 11:25:00 PM.
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Recently my dad has become an attraction for people looking for stories to tell. He's a well of information, so it's not surprising. You can find one of the latest at this blog: Save the Deli where the author, David Sax maintains a pretty fun blog about the art of old-world Jewish deli.
For the longest time I've been meaning to make a film about NYC through the eyes of my father (born July 27, 1933). Maybe now is finally the right time...
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on Nov 19, 2008 at 11/19/2008 02:41:00 PM.
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I love the idea behind this program. Efficient toilets, and appliances like it are generally more expensive than the less efficient alternatives. Helping low income families participate efficiently in the green movement should be a priority for every local government.
Personally I think government subsidization of green programs is one of the best ways to spend our tax dollars. The cost to our country (today and in the future) for being grossly inefficient far out paces the cost of helping all members of society be as efficient as possible.
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on Jun 17, 2008 at 6/17/2008 11:06:00 PM.
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Below is an open email I sent to almost everyone I know, this evening. If you didn't get this email, please read it. I'll post how effective it was in about 2 weeks.
********************************* Hi Everyone,
As you hopefully know, I try to keep non-personal emails to a minimum, unless there is a pressing issue you all should hear about.
This weekend I saw a talk given by John Doerr at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/128. His 15 minute discussion was an impassioned plea for us to change how we consume energy - or, as he put it, we're not going to make it. He is one of a handful of people who's opinion on this I'd believe. Watch the video for details. Part of his plea, included asking us all to do whatever we can. Here's where me and my network chips in...
Back in Feb '05 you may have received an email from me about switching to Green Power at home. Converting your home to receive Green Power is the easiest and single most significant step you can take to reduce your impact on global warming. If you know something easier & more impactful, please let me know, as I'd like to do that too. Back in '05, about 30 people converted their power as a result of my email. My network has grown since then; I know that together we can double the number of converts!
Important facts: - You don't need to change anything in your house. The only thing that changes when you buy Green Power is who your power company buys power from (to power your home). - The price difference is roughly the cost of one Starbucks coffee per week. And everyone receiving this email can afford that. - You can read more details about what your options are, and the differences, on my blog...
If you're ready to do it now (and live in NYC), follow these simple steps: 1. Get your last ConEd bill (you'll need your acct #) & come back to this computer 2. Visit http://www.poweryourway.com/pages/greenpower.html#providers to see your selection of Green Power providers 3. Once you've selected an energy provider, follow the link to their site & enroll! 4. Feel good every time you get your bill that every penny you spent on electric didn't cause any more C02 to be emitted.
And if you're ready to switch now, but don't want to read too much, just trust my research skills and use the same Green Power company that I do - go directly to their site at: http://www.conedsolutions.com/residential/greenpowermain.htm and enroll there!
If you don't live in NYC, please visit your power authority's web site for details on how to select a Green Power provider. If your power authority doesn't offer a Green Power option - contact your state and federal representatives, and lobby for them to give you options. If you need help with that last step, contact me, I'd love to help.
If you're one of the conscientious people who already converted to Green Power - please forward this email to your friends & family - or write your own message!
Thanks, - Steve
Summary of John Doerr's talk: "I don't think we're going to make it," John Doerr proclaims, in an emotional talk about climate change and investment. Spurred on by his daughter, who demanded he fix the mess the world is heading for, he and his partners at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers embarked on a greentech world tour -- surveying the state of the art, from the ethanol revolution in Brazil to Wal-mart's (!) eco-concept store in Bentonville, Arkansas. KPCB is investing $200 million in green technologies to save the planet and make a profit to boot. But, Doerr fears, it may not be enough.
This entry was posted
on Oct 2, 2007 at 10/02/2007 11:33:00 PM.
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I've been working on training my Beta to eat off of my finger tip. He does it regularly now!
Basically I dip my finger in the water, then get a grain of food to stick to my finger, and put it near the surface of the water. He jumps up and grabs it!
This entry was posted
on Sep 28, 2007 at 9/28/2007 12:35:00 AM.
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This article really got me thinking today about the role of government & our relationship (as citizens) with our government. In my mind, the government is us, in the greatest sense of the word. As such, we should inherently trust our government to do the right thing. At least that's what conservative friends of mine think, when it comes to national security.
Then it started to bother me when I realized that I had a serious distrust in my government. That distrust is so strong, that I'm willing to keep inefficient processes in place - which handcuff people at all levels of government. Is part of the problem with our government that people have such a loathing distrust, and expectations are so low (other than in times of crisis) that our government is reaching the level we set for it? (which is quite low IMHO)...
I'll contribute more later when I have more time...
This entry was posted
on Aug 3, 2007 at 8/03/2007 03:06:00 PM.
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"Luck is a bird that flies high in the sky, and every once in a while craps on someone. So go out in the world and take a chance, you just might get crapped on..."
(I'm not sure who originally said it - if you know, pls submit a reference...)
This entry was posted
on Jul 25, 2007 at 7/25/2007 04:25:00 PM.
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My friend Noah Brier recently took advantage of something every Jew between 18 & 26 should take advantage of: Birthright Israel. Some of you may know him as an awesome networker (aka Super-connector), others may know him as a great blogger. While away on Birthright Noah invited several people to be guest bloggers, and luckily I was one of them! You can read my contribution here, as well as the variety of comments people left. I've pasted it below in case you really don't want to navigate away from this page; but I suggest reading it on Noah's site, as you can contribute to the conversation that began there.
******************** A Vision for the Future of Media Distribution
The other day I noticed a sign in Blockbuster's window, announcing an exclusive agreement with The Weinstein Co. I work in the media business and honestly don't know anyone who's compelled to watch a film because The Weinstein Co., or Universal, or any other studio made it. But that's not the main point of this story.
The implications of Blockbuster paying for exclusivity made me think about where the media industry is, and where it “would” go if I were king of the media universe. The first thought was that when Blockbuster gets content creators to sign exclusive agreements, they show a lack of appreciation for who their primary competition is, and worse yet what their customers' expectations are. Customers don't pay Blockbuster for their ability to curate films, they pay HBO for that. Now that Blockbuster is a completely subscription based business, competing on offering may help to fight with Netflix in a winner-takes-all game, but in the big picture, they're only helping their primary competition: free file sharing services on the web.
File sharing services don't care about exclusive agreements, and neither do customers; until it keeps them from accessing media via their chosen distributor. Everything is available on-demand on the web, no matter where you are in the world. So as a customer considering an incomplete offering from both Blockbuster AND Netflix, what would compel me to pay either, or both of them if I can get it all for free, more quickly, online? While I could recommend ways for Blockbuster and Netflix to fix their businesses, they're going to die anyway... so here's what I see coming down the pike once those two (among many others) are out of the way.
I see a future where portals will offer access to every piece of media ever created (and by media I mean everything: from TV shows & films, to video games, music, books, magazines, poems, paintings, etc...). Furthermore, no portal will have exclusive offerings (similar to Internet portals), and there will be minimal barrier to entry (contrasted with the NFL Network's problems). The business model has two fronts, one facing the consumer, and one facing the content creator.
The consumer facing model is based on the fact that every person has “x” number of minutes per day/week/month to spend consuming various forms of media. There is a dollar figure actuaries can determine those minutes are worth both to the portal and to the customer. Quickly a rate plan very similar to tiered cellphone plans will emerge. All the media you can consume in “x” number of minutes per month, for “x” dollars per month.
The content creator facing model will include paying each content creator a fixed amount per unit of time each unique customer spent consuming the media that content creator made available. The kid who took a picture of himself every day for several years & made a film with those pictures deserves the same amount of money per unit of time spent watching his film as did the creators of Spiderman. Why? Because you can't watch both at the same time, and you have a finite amount of time per month to consume anything.
This type of model will take the curating role out of distributors' hands, and leave it in the hands of the artists and their investors. The portals (formerly distributors) will no longer compete on content offering, but on services related to the searching for and interacting with the content. One example is re-inventing the idea of product placement. It won't be about “hoping” your audience noticed everyone in a show only drank Coke. It will be about making a pair of jeans, or a car that's seen on-screen an interactive object that a viewer can click & buy.
Note: I don't assume that the portals will only be accessible on your computer – the computer and the TV will, at this point be minimally different screens to access the same media. But hardware is the final element in this plan: creating tools for consumers to interact with media. Apple is WAY ahead of the curve on this front. With the advent of iTunes, they're not only acting as a portal, but with iPods, and AppleTV they're also offering the hardware and a “whole-product”. Software is relatively easy to develop & roll-out to market, hardware is much more difficult, and anyone who wants into this game had better start partnering with hardware manufacturers, if not buy one or two.
In this altered universe I've imagined, consumers will have ultimate reign, and artists will have way more freedom. The portals will at once offer two-way access from content creators to the smallest niche audiences, and the largest mass-markets. There will no longer be a studio boss, or book publisher who instructs an artist to change their art in order to distribute it. If an artist can afford to make something on their own, they can, and won't need a distributor to reach their desired market. Artists will be free to display their work, and get paid fairly for it. The most successful artists will be picked by mass appeal, rather than by “payola” systems which enable the distribution companies to shove whatever they want down our throats.
This entry was posted
on Jun 15, 2007 at 6/15/2007 04:13:00 PM.
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I think the extent to which NetFlix and Blockbuster will "die" is better expressed as the death of physically trafficking in media using physical objects. The chairman of Sun, over ten years ago, raged about the absurdity of taking bits and bytes, burning them to a disc and putting them in the mail or in CompUSA (or Tower Records for that matter).
Netflix is already playing with the idea of letting you watch movies over the Internet instead of them having to send them to you in the mail. So, I think they do have a shot at surviving.
On a long enough timeline, most media will be electronically delivered. Time Warner Cable has this already with 24-hour rentals. For $3, you can watch the movie as much as you want for 24 hours, will full rewind and fast-forward capabilities. If you've never tried it, it's pretty sweet.
A major potential flaw in your argument is the assumption that a consumer would be satisfied with this all-you-can-eat model. "I pay $X/month and then watch anything ever made." This assumes that this service has gotten ahold of the rights to everything ever made. Once there is non-participating content, consumers would get irritated at having to pay fees to all these balkanized services. Know anyone who uses Rhapsody AND iTunes Music Store? (technical issues therein not withstanding)
Why wouldn't a content producer participate? A system where the consumer pays a fixed amount regardless of how much of the movie they watch benefits the majority of movies because most movies suck. It would screw with content creators because they'd have to make the first 10 minutes of their content really catchy, lest they lose their audience and thus money with 80 minutes of movie left to go.
Not to mention if users can upload content into the system, you have the groundwork for massive fraud management problems. How about I obtain a copy of the new Batman movie and then post it. The people that watch my copy will create revenue for me, which Warner Brothers would then have to try and obtain via assorted filing with the service or courts. Look at it this way: right now people are posting movies and TV shows to the internet in large numbers. Imagine if they had a profit motive!
I think you're definitely onto something with the notion of being able to buy products right out of entertainment programming with a click. There's probably good money there.
Last night I was at the office ~9pm and Atossa called me up. She was on the guest list for Nouvelle Vague's performance at the Guggenheim Museum and asked if I wanted to go!
I quickly finished up my work, and upon arrival at 10pm, with people lined up around the block, Atossa sneaked us in to the party where between the chicks dressed like they're going to the prom, the flowing wine, awesome renditions of "Too Drunk To Fuck", and hipsters not knowing what to do with themselves, it was an awesome night - one Frank Lloyd Wright would be proud of!
This entry was posted
on Jun 2, 2007 at 6/02/2007 03:17:00 PM.
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I haven't written about bias in the media - specifically against Israel - in quite a while. Maybe this is because Israeli politicians have been careful since Lebanon to restrain themselves... leaving the media with nothing to report on.
Maybe it's because Google News has become my main source of news, and I usually read three articles about any given subject to get as well-rounded a view on the subject as possible - letting the various biases cancel each other out - or call attention to each other & letting the facts seep through.
Today though, I came across an article in the New York Times that went too far in exhibiting the Times' persistent bias against Israel.
The headline read, "Fatah Officials' Home Stormed in Gaza Clashes"
The photograph was of destruction & a large crowd of Palestinians.
The photograph's caption read, "Palestinians searching for survivors after an Israeli missile strike on a building in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip today."
The first paragraph mentions that the Israeli air strike is just one aspect of the violence in Gaza, and then briefly mentions some of the factional fighting. Five paragraphs down the NYTimes finally indicate that the air strike was in retaliation for an increase in missiles raining down on the town of Sderot - which have injured many civilians.
The rest of the article basically focuses on the factional fighting between Hamas & Fatah. They even mention that Hamas militants killed five of their own "by accident" and shot at point-blank range seven Fatah police men.
If it's not clear where the bias is, I'll spell it out. The article was a total of 870 words. Except for maybe one paragraph, the article doesn't mention violence coming from Israel - the article focuses on the "factional violence" (which I'd call civil war). But, we all know what people look at first, in order to determine if they'll keep reading: the headline and the caption for the large photo at the top. Those three elements, in this case, point a bloody finger at Israel.
The headline doesn't indicate who stormed the Fatah Official's home (Hamas stormed it). But the image below the headline, and the caption below the image both discuss Israel's bombing of a "building" (a Hamas office).
At quick glance it's easy to assume that the building bombed by Israel in the image that the caption refers to is the home referred to in the title. Yet the bombing by Israel has nothing to do with the war Palestinians are waging on each other. Considering that the article is about Palestinians killing Palestinians, why is there an image and a caption of Israeli force?
This entry was posted
on May 17, 2007 at 5/17/2007 01:38:00 AM.
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The McKinsey Quarterly often publishes great interviews with business leaders. Today I read an interesting interview with Keith Pardy, Nokia’s senior vp of strategic marketing. Below are some lines that struck a particular cord with me:
"It’s not about pushing out messages any more. You have to initiate interesting conversations and build meaningful relationships with consumers."
"If you start playing games with people, they’ll find out and eat you alive."
"...we haven’t figured out how to unleash all the creative potential that lies in people talking about our products in exciting new ways."
"[in North America] the understanding of the price-value equation is confused, since the cost of the [mobile] device is wrapped up in long-term service contracts."
"watch what happens when you give somebody a new device. The first thing they do is put it in their hands, pop it up and down a little bit, and roll it around. Now that, to me, is an insight."
This entry was posted
on May 8, 2007 at 5/08/2007 12:22:00 PM.
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Today I read about Clear Channel starting an interesting experiment in local social networking. Read about it here.
As a big proponent of local networking, I'm really interested in seeing how this pans out for Clear Channel... Although I'm a bit skeptical - maybe it'll be great for kids who haven't gone to college yet (and don't know many people outside of their home city), as well as older folk who haven't really tried out online social networking, and don't have a network outside of their home city.
My skepticism is borne out of the appreciation for the appeal of Facebook, et al... users who aren't currently in the same city, can keep in touch easily no matter where they are in the world. And at the same time, they're able to keep in touch with people who do live near them. Just today on Facebook one friend who lives in DC posted that he'll be in Columbus, OH tomorrow in case anyone else will be there and wants to meet up. Another friend who lives here in NYC posted that she'll be attending the Salute to Israel parade on Sunday, if anyone wants to join her.
This entry was posted
on May 1, 2007 at 5/01/2007 06:27:00 PM.
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1. Radio stations have missed the whole 'web' game years ago, same with local network tv. Newspapers are the only traditional media that made a valuable addition to the web when creating websites. Have you seen a radio station website, they're garbage.
So adding a crappy social network on top of that is bound to go nowhere. Social Networks are a feature, not a product play. They'll understand that soon.
Vin, thanks for the feedback. You're dead on about social networks being a feature, not a product play. It seems as though many old media companies are trying anything that "appears" to work for any random company, without a full appreciation for what they're getting into. I see this as a product of these companies failing to develop a realistic vision for what their role will be in the lives of their customers tomorrow, or even a year from now. Too many simply aren't able to abstract what it is they're good at, and get stuck seeing what they're doing right this minute as the only thing they'll ever be able to do.
There is one tid bit that I learned at a recent conference I attended. Apparently the web sites for local TV news stations get tons of traffic - regardless of how crappy they are. They have good, reliable data that's easy to find (albeit lacking any nifty features). As long as they're able to keep up the traffic, the ad dollars will come in, and they'll fix that (I hope) - considering they've managed to survive this long.
I'm going to put this out there: from the little evidence I have, it appears to me that High Fructose Corn Syrup is connected to the insanely high rate of diabetes in the US, and the high incidence of obesity.
And while I haven't seen much research on the connection HFCS has to poor health- I doubt we'll see a study any time soon, as it's used in almost every American made product.
I don't particularly like conspiracy theories - this one seems plausible. Hopefully I'll be able to find more evidence soon... If you have thoughts or ideas, please share.
This entry was posted
on at 5/01/2007 12:54:00 AM.
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I remember hearing that soda in Europe has real sugar rather than HFCS and that was part of the reason Europeans are less obese . . . again, no idea if there's truth to it.
While I've been thinking about this theory for about 6 months now, just the other day I was at the supermarket and saw two sodas next to each other on the shelf: Orangina, and San Pellegrino (Aranciata flavor).
Orangina used HFCS, San Pellegrino used sugar.
It was the first time it hit me that it really was just US brands that are using HFCS b/c of how much cheaper it is (in no small part due to our government subsidies...
Yes, I agree that HFCS is very bad, I have my copy of omnivore's dilemma reserved at the library that I have to pick up today.
Costco introduced mexican coke recently which has real sugar: http://www.seriouseats.com/required_eating/2007/05/costco-is-selling-mexican-coke.html
And why do we have so much HFCS you ask? Because corn is subsidized by the U.S. gov't. When the plan was initially put in place, it was a good thing for our farmers, nobody thought of these affects. We have more corn in our diet then any other nation and we throw incredibly hight taxes on sugar from our south american friends. It was invited in our liftime 1980, and is very un-natural.
But it's so f'n hard to drink something that doesn't have it...
I've written several posts about my evolving appreciation for how people adopt to new technology. I've also written specifically about the need for communities to get involved in encouraging their citizens to adopt certain technologies like SMS.
Just the other day, a friend was brainstorming with me some ideas to incorporate interactivity and multimedia interfaces for museum goers.
Two technologies came to mind:
1. SMS
2. Bluetooth
How SMS would work:
As a museum visitor walks through the exhibits, the plaque describing each piece in the collection will have a little Google icon (or whichever search service is funding the project) and a unique number to send an SMS to. The visitor can send an SMS to the given number, with any question related to the piece they're looking at.
The unique SMS number will aide the search service to pull more accurate answers because the unique SMS number will indicate to the search service that the inquiry is related to a specific work of art. I envision this working similarly to Google's SMS service which I use all the time, and is generally accurate as long as I include enough information. Most of the time I use it to find stuff in NYC, and I'd love it if there was a unique number for NYC, so I didn't need to type "new york city" each time...
Using SMS promotes the use of an easy to use technology which every phone around the world has pre-installed. It promotes the use of an already adopted interactive technology. Accuracy can be high, and ease of use is already high. Furthermore, there is low overhead to a project like this. Lastly, users can have the answers saved on their phone, for future reference and discussion.
How Bluetooth would work:
When museum visitors enter the museum, there will be a sign (and it will also be on their ticket or receipt for admission) advising them to activate Bluetooth on their phone, and which device to pair it with.
Alternatively, since many people will visit the website of a museum before going, the museum can offer users to pre-set their device to pair with the museum's computers, so that when they arrive, their phone will automatically sync up with the museum's computers and receive pertinent information. There can also be a download right from the site (similar to the already popular downloads of audio-guides to the museum). In addition, if the museum offers ticket sales on their website, users can store their receipt in their phone, and when they arrive they can be validated via Bluetooth at the entrance.
As visitors walk around the museum, each exhibit area can push multimedia data to their phone about the exhibit they've just walked in to, and each piece on exhibit will be feeding information about that specific piece. All of this can include links to the web, for web-enabled phones for further exploration once the visitors leave the museum.
Just some thoughts off the top of my head. Hopefully someone will do something like this soon. I'd use it ;-)
P.S. In the near future, I'll be posting ideas like these to Ideageneration.org - a blog I'm setting up with the specific purpose of posting solutions for various organizations that I simply want to see happen, rather than quit my job to create.
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on Apr 25, 2007 at 4/25/2007 01:46:00 AM.
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"TV networks would get more money than ever. Creative and media agencies will too because while their work might change significantly, the tangible value of that work will become measurable."
This is the most significant line in an article I read today in AdAge about a company called Backchannel Media. What I like most about that line is that it can be applied to almost any sector of the Media industry. So many people in the media business are so scared of changing their daily routine, that change is a fact of life... and that change often brings good things to those who fully accept that reality early on.
As for the article - Backchannel's business is really interesting & worth a read. I have complete faith that the direction they want to take the TV business is the right one it should go in. What I have less faith in is that TV will remain an independent, closed network - separate from the Internet. It simply doesn't make sense to me... Feel free to leave comments and debate points in the article.
This entry was posted
on Apr 23, 2007 at 4/23/2007 05:27:00 PM.
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While I could write a book about how flawed our credit systems in the US are, I'll save that for a later date. Right now I just want to help you check on your credit... You are entitled to a free credit report from each of the credit reporting agencies - once per year.
This entry was posted
on Apr 18, 2007 at 4/18/2007 04:22:00 PM.
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One aspect of improving myself in '07 has been focused on connecting with people; and involves three steps -- in this order:
1. Email more people, more often 2. Email less, call more often 3. Call less, face-to-face more often
I'm not doing as well as I had hoped by now, although I think about it every time my first instinct is to type an email, or pick up the phone. I will do better.
Today I read an interesting review by Kathy Sierra on the importance of face-to-face. She took a good look at why, as more tools are created to give us reasons to communicate remotely, we still flock to meet each other in person. The article was a sober reminder that I should be working harder at my three steps above.
One of the most thought provoking phrases she used was "Legacy Brain":
"...[O]ur legacy brain... still has no idea we aren't living in caves where human contact and social face-to-face interaction are key to our survival."
I don't want to get too esoteric, but there is a lot to that concept above. Not long ago I was so interested in the future, and the capability we'll attain from tech we haven't dreamed up yet, that I was ignoring the merits of the tools we have today. Ray Kurzweil had a big effect on that. While I'm still VERY interested in what the future holds, my focus has shifted to sharpening the tools I have today. I believe this will allow me to contribute to future advances in a more realistic way.
Where I started:
One of the many lessons my yoga practice has been teaching me is to be aware of every muscle in my body, and the affect my mind has on my physical body's tension. We'll be in Warrior Two, and an instructor will ask me why my back toes are crunched, or why my shoulders are crouching up against my neck instead of extending down my back -- only then will I realize that I was even doing that. Over time, using a little abstraction, I've applied this to other aspects of my life. I began to watch myself closely, and began to acknowledge the incredible power of another person's presence. I noticed my physical and emotional reactions to the energy people brought into situations. From these interactions, I have learned so much about myself and others -- bringing me closer to appreciating the power of presence: my own and others'.
LikeMind, started by Noah Brier - a great friend & awesome dreamer - is certainly helping. There's probably one in your city. Try it!
In a later post, I'll try to approach the even more incredible power of touch.
********************* P.S. If you love the intersection of technology and personal interaction, try these services: Meetro, Area/Code, Pacmanhattan, Meetup, Barcamp, and leave comments for others if you know of good ones!
People change when they have to — not when we tell them to.
One of the best lines from Thomas Friedman's latest article for the New York Times, "The Power of Green" - a really well written, and well thought out essay. I recommend it to all.
This entry was posted
on Apr 15, 2007 at 4/15/2007 01:26:00 PM.
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Today, all over the news we heard about the announcement of Al Gore's Live Earth Concert Series. I heard Gore on the BBC this morning talking about how he sees this as a way to kick off wide-spread awareness of global warming, with the goal of seeing results within 3 years. He spent about 10% of the interview discussing that. He spent the rest of his time talking about Live Earth being the biggest concert in history, taking place on every continent, with an unprecedented number of bands from al genres, bla, bla, bla. I can't wait to hear what Danny Goldberg has to say about this (if you don't know him, I suggest reading his book, How the Left Lost Teen Spirit).
The timing of this is interesting for me. Mainly because the other day I was thinking of the Live-8 concert, and cause-based concerts of the past decade or so. I was thinking about how they failed to produce any results.
A little background: In high school and college my brother and I were heavily involved in Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) -- Justin was lucky enough to get an audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama when he came to Central Park a year later. In 1998 we helped put on the massive Tibetan Freedom Concert in Washington DC. Since then I worked at Woodstock '99 (for the television company that put it on) and have been involved in countless conversations with people hoping to produce a concert in order to raise awareness for a cause. Justin attended Woodstock '99 as a representative of SFT, and has also been involved in many of the same conversations about concerts.
I'm completely convinced that putting on a concert for a cause in today's world has but one attainable goal - raising money by selling tickets, dvd's, and the rights to air it live & to re-broadcast it. If the goal is to raise awareness, it's hopeless. Why does everyone conveniently forget that we live in a society that has an attention span of 5 minutes? What's worse is that we live in a "it's all about you" society. Yesterday Justin and I were in Dunking Donuts/Baskin Robbins and Justin pointed out that every sign in the store was encouraging consumers to treat themselves "because you deserve it".
As for the music aspect, I don't think there has ever been a time in history where experiencing music is what it is today: a remarkably personal experience. Something to be enjoyed by yourself - with your little ear buds in your ears, whether at your desk, in the park, on the train or in your room. While people still go to concerts, and lots of them, I find that the experience today is different than it was ten years ago. I'm not suggesting this is a bad thing, or a good thing. My point is that the intensely individual nature in which music is experienced today, in my view, is making it harder to get people to connect to a common cause through a song or a concert the way they did in the past.
There is one more element I think everyone has completely ignored: the Woodstock (1969) cause/effect dynamic. Woodstock '69's success was based on the spontaneous nature of it. This is impossible to repeat with today's overwhelming corporate-commercial nature and hyper-sensitive news media which rushes to categorize, analyze and criticize every cultural movement before it's even happened - with irrelevant pundits who enjoy hearing their own voice. Furthermore, Woodstock '69 didn't have a very specific message other than three days of "peace and music" - which could be interpreted in many different ways - but primarily spoke to it's "hippie" audience. We don't have that today. We don't have a subset of society who's identity is inherently tied to music the way hippies were.
Every time a cause-based concert is forced upon us, with tons of media hype and corporate sponsorship - where sponsors expect more attention on them than the cause - the cause is trying to speak to an audience that doesn't exist. Last summer's Live 8 concert is a shining example. Everyone who went to a concert, or saw it on AOL or MTV did so for one reason: they wanted to see a live performance by artists they liked. End of story.
That said, I haven't given up on the potential music has to influence our society. I'm confident there's a way to rally people around a cause, which speaks to us the way music does. When I figure out what that method is, I trust you'll hear about it in a big way!
In the mean time, if you have ideas, please post a comment.
This entry was posted
on Apr 11, 2007 at 4/11/2007 02:06:00 AM.
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Yesterday as Jessica and I were walking home we were drawn into Union Square by the blasting rock music. Curiously we wandered over, even though I despise crowds, and discovered it was the ASPCA Day Festival. The ASPCA had a huge van that looked like a cat, volunteers walking around with "adopt me" animals (which I almost did), the band, booths, etc. There was a huge crowd in attendance, most of whom I would venture to say were not planning on attending.
I think cause-based concerts absolutely can work. The reason they usually don't is partially because of our self-centered, ADHD culture; but primarily due to the corporate push behind the concerts as you said. The self-centered, either attention-starved or money-greedy founders, promoters, distributors, vendors, etc. that end up driving the cause to focus on the wrong aspects of the event. That ripples down to the attendees who focus on the wrong aspects.
Step It Up is putting together events all over America and New York this Saturday including people holding hands by the water front in Manhattan and a wine tasting in Park Slope. I'm not sure how the wine tasting ties in but anyway... The concert that Al Gore is talking about is just one aspect of a world wide awareness day for Global Warming (not "Climate Change"). You question whether concerts can effect change is pertinent and maybe one way to look at it is to just let the coming together of a large group of people be what it is, a coming together under an idea. Sure, many will just come see the stars and go home but a seed will have been planted in their pea brains. It gives the believers an opportunity to bring the subject up and it put on the radar of the kids attending. Nothing more, nothing less. The other thing it does is get celebrities involved in an idea. There is an article today in Reuters about Sheryl Crow touring with an environmental message. Her bus burns bio-fuel and the producer of Gore’s film is touring with her. “Cause based concerts” are not going to change the world but they are a way to get a message out. So the kids go, enjoy the music and buy a “T” shirt. Is that so bad?
i lean towards the side that cause-based concerts don't do anything towards the cause. Mostly for the fact that majority of the folks are there to see the bands they love, not the message they're promoting (which you point out.)
As lon said with ASPCA, that's a little different, because your attention isn't diveded between a message and the lead singer of the band you'd like to ride backstage (for the females that is.) At a concert, the message is too drowned out. At an event where the focus is the message, and communication between members and the public - then I think something can spark.
My mom called me up today posing an interesting question about my rant on the distribution and use of plastic bags. She said that she never buys garbage bags because she uses the ones she gets from stores like Whole Foods. She asked, "if plastic shopping bags are reused as garbage bags, does that make it environmentally OK to distribute them?
It took me a little while to formulate an opinion, and here it is:
- Few plastic bags distributed by stores are as large as the average garbage can. As a result, for every one normal sized garbage bag, you likely use two store bags. Total plastic usage goes up.
- Few garbage bags use plastic that's as thick as that used at stores. Total plastic usage goes up.
- Few garbage bags have any printing on them (a process which is rather destructive to the environment). While store distributed bags are full of ink.
- I have no numbers to back this up, but I see many plastic bags in public trash cans, which weren't reused as garbage bags. Even if the number is 10%, it's not good.
In summary, the theory that it's OK to distribute plastic bags at stores because they might be used as garbage bags sounds good on the surface. After digging down though, while reusing plastic bags lessens the environmental impact, it's still worse for the environment than the alternative: using cloth bags when shopping to carry goods home, and buying garbage bags that are thin, with no printing, and large enough to fit your garbage can.
If you have suggestions, or think I'm wrong, please leave a comment.
This entry was posted
on Apr 10, 2007 at 4/10/2007 02:17:00 AM.
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My friend Noah Brier, an avid blogger, awesome networker, and great idea man recently blogged about Tim O'Reilly's suggested Code of Conduct for bloggers. I was inspired to leave a comment, which I did... and I've posted it here for future reference (in case I offended Noah, and he subscribes to O'Reilly's suggestion...) ;-)
Noah, you're dead on with being concerned about point #2, "We won't say anything online that we wouldn't say in person" (and the whole concept of a code of conduct). Imagine if the internet existed when there was slavery... would we want to silence Southerners who favored a ban on slavery - just because they likely wouldn't/couldn't say it in person? Their words would certainly be inflammatory and considered offensive by the majority of Southerners (hence the Civil War). Should that kind of discourse be muted? Who determines what is offensive? Remember last summer's riots in Muslim communities because of a cartoon containing the Prophet Muhammad? In the West we were baffled by this reaction.
And suggesting that you can't anonymize (sp?) something is ridiculous. Consider that The New York Times uses "anonymous sources" every day. How else could the Valery Plame incident have been brought to light? Remember how hard the NYTimes fought to maintain their right to keeping their sources anonymous? Why would bloggers so readily accept a code of conduct that their competition, the established media, would never consider?
Any form of attempted censorship (that dirty word O'Reilly chose to omit) shouldn't be tolerated by anyone. It's a reactionary response to a problem open societies will always confront. Noah, you said it best - you can't have it both ways.
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on at 4/10/2007 01:58:00 AM.
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I was in Vancouver this week, and saw these remarkable parking meters. You could either pay with coins, or pay using your cell phone. This is such a wonderfully progressive use of technology that is not too complex for the average citizen to use, while utilizing the most advanced tools available to make life better.
Bravo Vancouver!
Why does this interest me, you may ask? All over Europe, and Israel as well, you can buy food and drinks at vending machines by SMSing a code to the number on the machine, which then causes the product to be dispensed. In Japan, they've taken it a step further and put a credit card chip into the cellphone, replacing the card all together. Here in the great USA, I can't expect consistent service in my home town. Forget about using my phone to make purchases for anything other than what the cell phone company wants to sell me...
How do we expect to stay at the top if we can't efficiently enable and encourage our country mates to embrace technology?
Whole Foods Bowery is the first one I've seen in NYC that got it right - they have a sign at each cash register reading, "Spend an extra $1 and get a reusable Whole Foods Market shopping bag While Supplies Last."
I was excited until I read the big letters "Go Green For Earth Month" - coupled with the line, "while supplies last." It then hit me that I saw this on March 31st, and that in the next day or so, all of the Whole Foods locations will have this sign, along with the cloth bags. While that's a good thing - I'm assuming that as with other corp. image campaigns, this isn't intended to be a long-term investment on the part of Whole Foods to encourage customers to use fewer plastic bags... It appears as though it's another stunt to ride the wave of media attention drawn to earth day / month.
It's more than likely that by May, Whole Foods won't be green anymore, having reverted back to happily distributing plastic bags, and give out more of those silly discs I wrote about below...
This entry was posted
on Apr 1, 2007 at 4/01/2007 01:17:00 PM.
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The sign reads: "for every shopping bag you bring in and re-use when you shop!"
Wouldn't it be more effective to just offer cloth bags? Make it an "in-thing" a marketing stunt where people without cloth bags will feel "out" of the cool club. People without cloth bags will be openly exposed as anti-environment.
These kinds of trends catch on really fast in NYC, I'm sure it would work out well for Whole Foods - and more importantly, for the environment.
This entry was posted
on Mar 30, 2007 at 3/30/2007 12:13:00 AM.
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This product, Hand-Ease - which Whole Foods gives away for free - is a remarkable waste of natural resources, as well as money.
I couldn't figure out why there were cardboard disks at every register, so I had to ask the cashier. She proceeded to chuckle (acknowledging the silliness of the product) as she told me that they're intended to make it more comfortable to carry multiple heavy plastic bags - which often crease your hand... I asked her if they charge people for them (which would be consistent with them taking $0.05 off for each plastic bag you don't take) - she said no. I asked if many people use them & she laughed when saying "people love them!"
For a company that brands itself as an environmentally friendly, this is a disgusting & hypocritical move. They should take note of what was done today in San Francisco (the first city in the US, but far behind many other countries...) - where they passed a ban on plastic bags. Supermarkets will be required to offer paper bags or reusable cloth bags. By offering these discs, Whole Foods is going completely against the ban in San Francisco by making the use of plastic bags more convenient, rather than curbing it all together.
Note: After visiting Melbourne, Australia and Kingston, Ontario, I noticed a trend: everyone brought a cloth bag with them to the supermarket. Why? Because in Melbourne, they don't offer plastic bags, and in Kingston, if plastic bags are offered, you must pay $0.05 each. Since then, I started carrying a shoulder bag with me everywhere, and refuse the plastic bags no matter which store I'm at. You should try it too.
This entry was posted
on Mar 28, 2007 at 3/28/2007 10:31:00 PM.
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I was compelled to write this post because of the complete lack of coverage on a remarkable event that occurred today in Israel. There was a conference held in Haifa, Israel by an organization called "Asawat". This is an organization representing and supporting Lesbian Palestinians.
For all of the bad press Israel gets around the world for their treatment of Palestinians, I rarely find any news organization citing the freedom Arabs (and everyone else for that matter) enjoy within Israel. It's also difficult to find coverage of incidents where good things happen between Israelis and Arabs. In fact, it was only in Israeli and Jewish Press that I found coverage of the conference.
One must note (as the Jewish Post did) that Israel is the only country in the Arab world where Lesbians can be out of the closet, and not be killed for being honest. Apparently Israeli police were heavily securing the conference as Israeli Arabs threatened the conference's organizers (which means Israel, as a State, was supporting Asawat's right to exist). This is a significant event on so many levels. Consider the fact that Israel is a Jewish state - and in general, Judaism doesn't condone homosexuality; but in this case the State defended democratic principles before supporting religious principles - regardless of who's rights need to be defended (Arab or Israeli). Furthermore, consider that Arabs in and out of Israel were threatening Asawat with violence, and Israel was still willing to put it's own civil servants in danger... and for what? To protect the rights of a small, and persecuted minority. Thankfully, we have the Internet, where events like this can be recorded and reviewed in the future - where the full record of Israel's role in the world can be reviewed, and looked at objectively for what it is.
I'll leave the rhetoric about how insane it is to hate someone because of their sexual orientation to others. I'm sure you can guess my position on this.
This entry was posted
on at 3/28/2007 06:01:00 PM.
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Because the amount of time I have to post on this blog fluctuates dramatically, I've found it hard to stick to one theme. I guess that's good since at the end of the day, if no one reads this but me, it'll be a good record of where my mind was at various points in time. That said, one of the many topics I'd like to write regularly about is "listening".
This evening I was watching Charlie Rose on PBS(the only channel worth watching). Each night this week he's asking his guests what they would advise the next president of the United States to do. Tonight he aired conversations with Madeline Albright and Newt Gingrich. They were on separately- he taped Gingrich last night. Independent of each other, each one's first comment was that the next president must be able to listen. Gingrich went as far as to say that the next president should take a tour of the world, go to as many countries as possible... go to their capitals and let them invite whoever they want. Go there and listen carefully to what they have to say. In order to be an effective leader of the world (a role we have, like it or not), we must have an appreciation for what those being led care about.
This is such sound advice, it's hard to find a place to begin. Listening is one of the most important skills that as Americans, we're never taught. Americans grow up believing that we know best, and that others will submit to our will. Our current president is a stellar example of that thought process.
One of the many lessons that I've learned in the past two years is that I don't know everything. And that by listening to others carefully, not only do I learn a lot - it reinforces for me just how much I can learn from others. Wikipedia is a fantastic example of this.
For all of Wikipedia's faults, it will eventually be the most comprehensive and most representative living document of the history of our world. Why? Because it builds on the collective knowledge of everyone with access to the Internet. Throughout history, a select few had total control of what history was recorded, and what history was cast aside. Today, one person can write an account of an historical event; and someone else can refute that account - or offer another perspective. This result is great; because it gives future readers an opportunity to experience / listen to multiple takes on a given event. As is often the case - both (or any number) of accounts will partially be right. I read Google News (as my primary news source) for the same reason. When something happens in Israel, Google News will lead me to news reports from around the globe. This access offers me insight as to how a particular event affected different people, giving me a better appreciation for what happened.
I really do hope the candidates are watching Charlie Rose's interviews this week, and listening carefully.
This entry was posted
on at 3/28/2007 01:02:00 AM.
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Since Napster's heyday, my friends and I have been kicking around business models for the entertainment businesses at large - our favorite idea is one that the music business is finally warming up to.
This is where TV is going (and eventually all forms of entertainment). HBO's current model (to which we're stubbornly sticking to) will have to change drastically. Are we getting ready?
***
Note: I often send out messages like this in email form to my co-workers at HBO, as well as friends and comrades in the business.
This entry was posted
on Mar 19, 2007 at 3/19/2007 07:32:00 PM.
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Last week my brother and I wanted to treat a friend from out-of-town, to the best Japanese Noodle restaurant in New York City: Honmura An. Unfortunately we learned that they closed! Many publications covered the restaurant's closing; I happened to like City Magazine's coverage - it's short, check it out.
The restaurant was very Japanese - in culture. Subtle perfection. If you weren't looking for Honmura, you probably wouldn't notice it. It was on the second floor, with a very simple sign outside. A plaque placed between an I-beam. When you walked in, you walked up a flight of stairs that were made of beautiful wood. Above the staircase was a series of red string, tied in a horizontal row, spaced about 1" apart - creating a "lined roof". There was a light that hit the string on such a subtly perfect angle so as to cast a cascading shadow onto the walls of the staircase. It was beautiful.
Justin was introduced to Honmura by Japanese clients who, when coming to NYC, couldn't stomach the food at most restaurants. Our food has too much fat and sugar in it. Their stomachs weren't used to it (and ours shouldn't be).
When you entered the restaurant, the tables were set up in a "U" shape around the restaurant, with the staircase in the center of the room. The chairs were extremely comfortable, the tables were just the right size, and the acoustics were perfect. It was rare for the restaurant to have a free table - reservations were a must. When you sat there, you felt it was a bustling restaurant, but because of the acoustics - you also felt like you were in an intimate setting. They could have packed in more people, flipped the tables more quickly - but they didn't, because a meal for them was an experience.
And the food... well, it was amazing. Everything was made to order. When you ordered a noodle dish, they didn't drop noodles into hot water - they made the noodles, by hand, when you ordered them. Timing was always perfect, and portions just right.
I'm sad to see this restaurant go. But I have much respect for the owners, who take so much pride in their work, really love and respect their customers, and know how hard it is to create (and more importantly) sustain a great product and service. Most New Yorkers (as City Magazine's article suggests) probably think the owner is crazy. He and his family have developed such an amazing brand, and they're just throwing it away! Why doesn't he sell it?!?!
The answer (imho) is simple. Too often we find in NYC that quality isn't valued. Bigger, Faster, NOW!!! - that's what people want. Slow and steady often wins the race though - a lesson I'm struggling to learn, but certainly respect. Furthermore, the work ethic that this family has is incredible. Their level of commitment and discipline - a requirement to sustain the business that is Honmura An - is rare. You don't build up a brand like theirs, just to see it ruined by others...
Fare well, and thanks for the great experiences! --- So, where do we go now for great Soba and Udon? Soba-Ya on, 9th Street. It's not as good as Honmura, but it's better than the rest.
This entry was posted
on at 3/19/2007 06:23:00 PM.
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Since my last post, I found that The Independent published a response to AdAge's claims about the Red Campaign. Luckly there are people out there who care about facts...
This entry was posted
on Mar 16, 2007 at 3/16/2007 12:45:00 AM.
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Recently a friend gave me the audio book of the 2005 Massey Lecture Series where Stephen Lewis presents at five Canadian universities, giving a first-hand account of the unfathomable challenges Africans are facing as a result of AIDS. After hearing Mr. Lewis' speaches, I immediately felt the need to do something. But where do I start? The future of Africa is really bleak - even if we were able to erradicate AIDS today! So what if I try to help, can I even make a tiny dent? Mr. Lewis mentions that because AIDS has been destroying communities in Africa for the past two decades, in many towns and villages throughout the continent there are no adults! Everyone between the ages of 20 and 50 are dead! The elderly are too old to work the land, and the young haven't had anyone to teach them life/survival skills. So people are starving to death while living on fertile soil. In many cases a child as young as 8 - the oldest in the family - was left to care for their younger siblings, as both parents and grandparents had died. Where do we start!!?!?!
I did develop some ideas that I will post in a future blog...
But for the purposes of this entry, I want to applaud someone who has decided to do something: Bono. His RED campaign is truly remarkable. The problems facing Africa are so daunting that anyone who actually stands up and does something deserves a true salute. If their efforts fail to meet their goals, then we need to reasess - rather than decry. I started writing this post after reading an article in AdAge that really troubled me. AdAge effectively called Bono’s campaign a failure (excerpt below). Their facts seem skewed... but even if their facts are correct, as I wrote above, coming down hard on Bono is just plain dumb. Convincing as many companies as he did to incorporate a “real” cause into their products, raise money, and more importantly raise awareness about Aids in Africa is an amazing accomplishment.
Please let me know what your thoughts are on Bono's efforts. And if you think his efforts are flawed, please offer some suggestions to fix them...
Excerpt: Costly Red Campaign Reaps Meager $18 Million
Bono & Co. Spend up to $100 Million on Marketing, Incur Watchdogs’ Wrath
The Red charity advertising campaign endorsed so lavishly by Hollywood celebrities including Bono, Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Christy Turlington and Chris Rock has taken in only $18 million worldwide since it was launched a year ago. And the disproportionate ratio between the marketing outlay and the money raised is drawing concern among nonprofit watchdogs, cause-marketing experts and even executives in the ad business...
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on Mar 6, 2007 at 3/06/2007 12:04:00 AM.
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This evening I heard about a guy who's unfortunately rather lazy. He's in his early 20's, college educated, and has never had a job - nor any real drive to get a job. The worst part is, his parents continue to give him everything he needs to live an independent life, without working. He's a classic gen-x'er (I think). His parents are immigrants who are each remarkable people in their own right. They came here with nothing, not even speaking the language, and now live the American dream (sans white picket fences). It's remarkable how often I see this scenario.
I was discussing this issue with a friend today, and we were considering why it is that so many parents - who are so motivated and accomplished - end up with kids who are so unmotivated. Is it even the parent's fault? Could it be that a percentage of the population is simply born lacking motivation?
We agreed that it's probably a little bit of how people are born, but mostly how they're raised. I went on to consider what parents can do - how they find the middle ground between providing opportunities for their kids, while developing a solid appreciation for what they've got - as well as a solid work-ethic.
We discussed how when raising a child, one can't really "teach" them how to have a good work ethic - with a specific goal in mind. Rather, the approach should be one of creating a good framework within which children can experience a nurturing environment that espouses an appreciation for achievement - and setting goals that are attainable, yet challenging. An essential element to this is to keep kids hungry. Regardless of your ability to provide everything for your kids - from the age of ~ 14, I believe it's healthy to begin showing them that they can't expect to rely on their parents much longer for financial support. Give them jobs to do - rather than chores (which they can earn money from). For example: rather than "force" your kids to mow the lawn (a chore) - pay them to be your landscaper, by letting them pick which plants and shrubs to plant, learning how to keep the ph balance of the soil just right, maintaining a compost heep, etc... this way they have a vested interest, and can develop a sense of self-confidence because they are the ones who make the big decisions. Soon they'll be doing it more for the challenge than the money - and you won't have to remind them to mow the lawn because they'll be excited to do it. Landscaping is an easy one because it's very public, and easy for your kids to be recognized for it. Every neighbor and visitor will be impressed with their work & likely let them know it.
If you don't have a yard, or if yours is simply too big - help your kids get a job - no matter how "menial" you think it is. Let them work for someone who sees them as nothing more than an employee - so they can develop social skills with adults, and have an appreciation for money that someone else other than a family member gave them.
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on Mar 1, 2007 at 3/01/2007 01:41:00 AM.
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I agree with you, work experience is definitely imperative for High School students. I remember some of my friends whose parents would not allow them to hold a part time job; they thought it would get in the way of their school work. Those kids were much less well-adjusted and took a longer time to enter the work force. Most of them only have one job on their resume to speak for their life experience. I bussed tables during 10th grade and and then started hostessing and serving until I graduate Highschool-- I loved working! it was one of the fonder memories I have of being a teenager-- I was 15 and hanging out with 20 somethings (the server) who were in college and would tell me all about it. The money I saved funded my backpacking trip to Europe and part of my freshman year exchange program in Israel. So, yes, there are many advantages to holding a part-time job as a High School student.
This is what I'm talking about when I say that a big step we need to take in the US is to inject into the public consciousness a sense of responsibility. This program in tiny Kingston, ON shows just how committed the people there are to being responsible to their neighbors both near by, and in distant lands.
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on Nov 20, 2006 at 11/20/2006 07:13:00 PM.
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A yoga instructor at Jivamukti said this once. When she said it, I was completely perplexed. I pondered this sentence for a few weeks. It simply didn't make sense to me. "Most people rarely do their best, in fact they're usually doing a mediocre job" I kept saying to myself.
And then it hit me.
Do most people approach a task and actually try to do it poorly? I would argue that that is rarely the case; for even if they did, it is a conscious decision they made... and they will likely try to succeed at doing the task poorly.
In either case, reminding myself of that sentence has allowed me to take situations that would normally enrage me and turn them into pleasant situations. Most people laugh when I say that. It has been argued that in most situations, those words "they are doing their best" are factually incorrect because:
- most people can do better & are choosing not to
and that:
- I'm creating an excuse for them and their life situation - I'm accepting something that should be unacceptable - by doing so I am lowering standards
Focusing on the words in such a restrictive manner is to look but not to see. "They are doing their best" is more about what the words do to you - the person who thinks of them - than what they mean about the person the words are meant to describe. By thinking a positive thought, you immediately approach the situation with a positive attitude. Having a positive attitude will almost always increase your chances of successfully achieving your own goal - and can help get the person you're interacting with one step closer to getting out of their "funk".
If someone is performing in a below-average way, it's often because they are in "funk". Without sounding too esoteric, they have bad energy - they are carrying bad baggage. When you respond with a negative attitude, you are allowing your response to be dictated by them and their bad energy; rather than your own positivity. And in turn, you begin to generate your own bad baggage/energy.
It has been said that a more correct/appropriate phrase would be, "they aren't performing their best, and must be shown that they can perform better". This phrase breaks two rules of how to interact with people. 1. You can't change people - you can only change yourself. 2. By starting a thought with a negative connotation "they aren't..." immediately puts you in a negative state of mind - dooming any chance of improving the situation.
By telling yourself, "they are doing their best" you immediately think good thoughts. And if you qualify that statement by adding, "at this point in time" - you are allowing yourself to consider - if you think their performance is below where it "could" be - why they're performing the way they are... and how you must react in order to respond appropriately. Otherwise your only reaction will be to lash out - and no one wins in that scenario.
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on at 11/20/2006 12:16:00 AM.
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Date: Thu, 20 Jul 2006 17:56:10 -0400 To: Conversation: U.N. Chief Calls for Cease-Fire Subject: Re: U.N. Chief Calls for Cease-Fire
To Whom It May Concern:
I recently read your July 20th article by Warren Hoge entitled: “U.N. Chief Calls for Cease-Fire.” In detailing the U.N. Chief’s comments, Mr. Hoge made excessive mention of the “excessive” force used by Israel to destroy the terrorist threat that is Hezbollah. However, there was absolutely no mention of the 1000+ missiles that Hezbollah has been firing at Israel since July 12th or the fact that life in the North of Israel has come to a complete stand-still. This imbalanced reporting in the Middle East Conflict is exactly why I cancelled my subscription to the NY Times and will no longer read your online version either.
Regards,
Justin Kalifowitz New York, NY --------- Note: I normally like to provide links within posts on my blog, especially to referenced sources... but in this case I won't support/promote the NYTimes in that way.
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on Jul 20, 2006 at 7/20/2006 07:04:00 PM.
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I have one question maybe someone can answer. After 9/11, America went (with the full support of the world - both ideologically and militarily) to Afghanistan, and blew the shit out of that country. Note the US traveled half way around the world to do this - it was that high of a threat.
The logic was that Afghanistan had been hijacked by the Taliban, and that since the country couldn't do anything about the Taliban, the US and several other countries had to go in and take care of the problem.
Would civilians die? Yes. Would infrastructure be torn apart? Yes. Did anyone seem to care? Not really.
So, as for my question. With noting the facts above... How is the situation Israel is confronting now ANY DIFFERENT? Other than Hezbollah is still lobing bombs 9 days in a row, and is sitting on Israel's border, a few hundred feet away, not half a world away?
I've certainly developed more "left-leaning" ideas in the past few years... but in this case, where Israel was attacked for no reason other than what every "Arab Expert" is saying on TV "for their crimes committed since 1948"... what's going on now is outrageous.
It really makes me sick to see the news media give so much air time trying to dissect the questions of "is Israel responding too hard?" and "when will Israel stop?" and "will there be a ceasefire?"
These are totally inappropriate questions to be asking as long as Hezbollah continues to lob bombs, retain Israeli hostages, and be the instigator. Just as in Afghanistan, if Lebanon is unable to contain and control Hezbollah, they have no right to ask Israel to stop defending itself. Lebanon may not be directly responsible for Hezbolla's actions - mainly because they're not strong enough to combat Hezbollah - but they will suffer the consequences of harboring a terrorist entity.
Maybe if the UN, the EU, and the news media at large would focus on sending in their own forces to help Israel dismantle Hezbollah (as they did in the wake of 9/11), the fighting would stop, and Iran would get the same message the Saudis did - support terrorists and you'll feel the wrath of the world.
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on at 7/20/2006 01:28:00 AM.
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I'm trying to be a little less long-winded. To that end, here is an exchange from yesterday with a good friend from work, which I think succinctly describes the vacation I just got back from. Enjoy:
-----Original Message----- From: Sent: Monday, July 10, 2006 8:24 AM To: Kalifowitz, Steven Subject:
Look who's back. How was the trip?
-------------------------- Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld
-----Original Message----- From: Kalifowitz, Steven To: Sent: Mon Jul 10 08:25:16 2006 Subject:
Remarkable, fun, exciting, therapeutic, nostalgic, emotional, classic. I brought back lot's of great photos and even better memories.
-----Original Message----- From: Sent: Monday, July 10, 2006 8:26 AM To: Kalifowitz, Steven Subject:
That sums it up nicely. Translates lots of friends, family, booze, sun, and ladies
-------------------------- Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld
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on Jul 11, 2006 at 7/11/2006 08:43:00 AM.
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Regularly I have conversations with people, and wish there was a stenographer standing by to transcribe the conversation so that it can be shared with others on my blog. I often complain that of all the remarkable things I can do with my phone it doesn't have software that allows me to record my conversations.
There's one conversation topic that lon and I often have - where we discuss a concept he came up with - that basically brilliance is one's ability to abstract.
Here's an email that he wrote on January 5th 2006, that I just now got around to re-reading (I had marked it as unread so that in the future I'd refer back to it). Here it is for your reading pleasure:
My thought below is tangentially related to the article [Sal sent]... It sprang to mind because of the Star Wars reference and the fact that there are many discoveries to be made in our universe, but we won't hear about them until there are stores houses in our collective, thought vernacular.
My perspective on the universe of scientific discovery is that there are some minds, the most brilliant of humans, who are capable of thinking in almost pure abstraction. These are people who do not need to be able to have concrete examples or visualizations of concepts and may thoroughly think through concepts in theory alone. These people see ideas as clearly as others see the ground beneath them... and are typically scientists, though possibly artists or more.
However, for their discoveries to become celebrated by the rest of us, concrete examples or visualizations must be made available. Otherwise their concepts go on the shelf (in their mind, of course).
The fantasy (fantastic) freedom of books, movies, and other media often provide a way to house (and I use that term because of the limitations it connotes) abstract ideas. For instance, the original thought of diving 20,000 leagues under the sea was probably swimming around in some brillian russian engineer's mind a century before Jules Verne wrote his book. However, (a) technology and (b) a concrete example was not available for the implementor of that abstract idea to sell it to the rest of us.
- Lon
p.s. Humorously I am currently reading "Everything's Relative" a enjoyable book about the misunderstanding of famed scientific discoveries.
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on Jun 8, 2006 at 6/08/2006 10:53:00 PM.
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on Jun 3, 2006 at 6/03/2006 12:47:00 AM.
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Back when AOL bought TimeWarner, I was excited that TimeWarnerCable (TWC) would work with AOL to convert all of AOL's dial-up subs to be RoadRunner subs.
Well, that didn't happen. TWC stole customers from AOL, touting how much faster RoadRunner cable modems were than dial-up. All the while, AOL foolishly pushed forward with their dial-up model, and their expensive BroadBand option that was basically BroadBand with an AOL filter (which cost extra - but was required). It took them ~4 years to realize it was a mistake, and decided to make their service free. They firmly believed no subs would leave b/c no one wants to part with their "@aol.com" email address. Ha, what a joke. In Wednesday's First Quarter '06 report they write: "[AOL p. 3]: Revenues declined 7%... due to a 13% decrease in Subscription revenues..."
Fastforward to today - 5 years later, TimeWarnerCable is pushing their VoIP service. They're even touting it as a big revenue driver. In Wednesday's First Quarter '06 report they write: "[TimeWarnerCable p.3]... significant growth in Digital Phone revenues ($108 million)." So what does AOL do? Offer free VoIP, with a real phone number (sorta like Skype-In). I'd provide a link to AOL or TWX's sites with a news release, but I can't find anything. Let me know if you do.
And if you want to talk about competitive positioning among non-sister companies, somehow AOL always finds ways to be a day late and a few million dollars short. In this article they point out that as of last week, AOL has 80 million subs between AIM & ICQ. Skype has 100 million. This doesn't surprise me. For a week I've been trying to register a new AIM screen name for a project I'm working on. There's a bug in their system that won't let me do it - and there's no way to email them to tell them. You have to leave a message in a general message box that they don't respond to.
When is someone at TimeWarner going to get their children to play nicely together? This game of last man standing might be fun for the CEO's, but it's not fun for shareholders or employees.
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on May 5, 2006 at 5/05/2006 03:17:00 PM.
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As the spring/summer rapidly approach, I'd like to remind everyone who loves NYC of one very worthy cause. One which our involvement is limited to having fun:
Almost everyone living in NYC, or visiting NYC has likely experienced the sheer brilliance that is Central Park. Well, like everything else, it costs money to keep Central Park in the shape that it's in. If you've ever wondered how so many services are provided, without having to buy a ticket to get in; in addition to tax dollars, Central Park's funding is supplemented by donations (so that we don't have to take money from NYC Public Schools, road repair, etc...).
Please take a second to visit their website, and donate something, even $5. It only takes a minute, and ensures that the park - an oasis in the biggest city - will be there, in good shape, for all of us.
A note for my colleagues: while neither HBO nor TimeWarner will match your contribution... Here are four worthy organizations associated with Central Park that HBO & TimeWarner will match your contribution:
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on Apr 4, 2006 at 4/04/2006 10:28:00 AM.
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Last night Justin & I went to a great restaurant, High Chai.
I def. recommend the chicken wings (they're not fried), and the steak - it's crusted with tea! Justin's salmon with an apple+greens salad was awesome too.
The raspberry crepes were pretty good. Before you walk in, be sure to pick up a post card at the door which gets you a free pot of chocolate tea - which is very good. It's basically a black tea infused with chocolate flavor of sorts. It tastes almost like chocolate licorice...
Last week, I visited a Basque restaurant, Euzkadi. I was a bit upset (for them) that CitySearch listed them under "Spanish" - but whatever. I highly recommend this place for great tapas. I def. recommend the spicy chocolate & chorizo.
Lastly, one I haven't tried but comes highly recommended by Courtney is Cafesito. I'll provide a brief review after I try it.
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on Mar 26, 2006 at 3/26/2006 10:12:00 AM.
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Last night I was walking to my one of my favorite restaurants with my brother and we were discussing many things, from relationships to income, where to live and what's going on with China and globalization.
Right now I feel as though China's impending "dominance" will be unlike any we've seen - in the sense that I don't believe they'll rule the world as other nations have in the past. While they do have strength in numbers, their growth is due in large part to foreign investment, both in money and minds. I find it hard to believe that China will be able to dominate over other countries without harming itself by scaring away foreign brains and money. More to the point, their growth is also a result of companies who source parts for a single product from 30 different countries. China will enter the game at a point where the level of interdependence is so high that it's ability to exert force will be mitigated. [I'll pontificate more on this later]
This conversation led to my thoughts on an issue that I talked at length about with Nimrod while I was in Australia in December/January. The idea is that at this early stage of globalization, many communities & countries are focusing more on competition for industry than the well-being of their community - and as such, are lowering the quality of life for their citizens today... Here in the U.S., counties have given a new definition to Eminent Domain by trying to take private property in order to give it to private corporations. Luckly it's been stopped in a few places.
In the not too distant future though, I believe there will be a healthy fight between commuinties to attract people to live in their communities - because borders will be more fluid. This will stifle globalization at first - because people will be incented to stay at home. But in the end I believe it will allow more people to live in a greater variety of places around the world. Further homogenizing the human race, both in physical, and social respects.
This article which Courtney brought me today talks about how brain-drain is coming full circle as countries such as Taiwan and Israel are winning out. Many of their citizens who left to study or become entrepreneurs are returning home.
"Once peripheral, Taiwan and Israe now host the largest venutre captial industries outside the U.S."
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on Mar 20, 2006 at 3/20/2006 04:48:00 PM.
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My prediction re: GOOG's aspirations continues to unravel... here are three recent articles that bring us way closer to a world where everything is web-based... running through GOOG, or a GOOG-like company - kicking MSFT on it's ass (except for in the corporate world where stupidity will always reign supreme). I will put a small caveat that my good friend Lon made... GOOG has yet to develop a successful product since their search engine and related interfaces (note-I'm not counting products/companies that they bought).
In a small deal that signals big changes on the Internet, Google announced Mar. 9 that it has acquired a Silicon Valley sensation called Writely. The online word processor is still in the testing stage, but it's attracting attention as a free alternative to relatively expensive desktop applications like Microsoft (MSFT) Word.
I am now in possession of screenshots from Google’s long delayed new Ajax calendar application, which will be called “CL2? (the CL2 login screen is here). It was only a matter of time before someone broke down and leaked these - as far as I know these screen shots are the first on the public web. Previous ones were almost certainly photoshopped fakes. These are real.
"With infinite storage, we can house all user files, including: emails, web history, pictures, bookmarks, etc and make it accessible from anywhere (any device, any platform, etc). We already have efforts in this direction in terms of GDrive, GDS, Lighthouse, but all of them face bandwidth and storage constraints today." — excerpt from Analyst Day presentation notes.
The GDrive service will provide anyone (who trusts Google with their data) a universally accessible network share that spans across computers, operating systems and even devices. Users will no longer require third party applications to emulate this behaviour by abusing Gmail storage.
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on Mar 14, 2006 at 3/14/2006 02:36:00 PM.
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As you'll see below, I called in and asked Cramer about CNX & BTU... he recommended BTU over CNX.
I bought both b/c I thought I knew something... I bought them both on Wednesday 2/15/06. I got into BTU at $84.50. Today, I'm out at $90.27... a one-day 9.3% return!!
CNX is up 4% today - not bad, but onto 9.3%.
Cramer is THE MAN!
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on Feb 16, 2006 at 2/16/2006 03:41:00 PM.
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Those who know me, know that I don't often endorse products unless I'm really impressed by them on a whole variety of levels.
Today, Sony really impressed me.
In June '05 I bought a Sony DSC-W5 digital camera. It is easily one of the most amazing sub-$350 cameras out there. Check out my Flickr page & you'll see virtually every shot there was taken with this camera. Below I write about the quality of the camera... which isn't the focus of this entry.
I've traveled with the camera quite a bit, and it's taken a beating. While I was in Australia I slept on several beaches with it & got sand in it, etc... When I got back to the States, the lens stopped working. It wouldn't come out & the camera wouldn't work. I went to Sony's web site & found the repair section. It was very simple to fill out the basic information, and get a document to include with my camera, along with an address to mail the camera to. In less than two weeks, the camera was back in my possession, with a new lens & was completely checked out. They even updated the firmware! Best of all: they didn't charge me a penny. Not even for return shipping.
THAT is customer service.
As for the camera itself... it's a remarkable device. Below is my take on it:
While I like to think I'm a good photographer, most of the photos I've taken with it wouldn't be possible with other point & shoot digital cameras in the 3-5mp range. Why? Two features:
1. Remarkably easy to use manual controls. I can manually focus at really short focal lengths, and my ability to control the shutter and aperture is strikingly similar to my experience using my Canon EOS Elan (one of my favorite 35mm cameras ever - I bought it when I was 15 with my hard earned cash). The ability to control the shutter/aperture easily allows me to adjust the camera on the fly in changing situations to capture the moment instead of tinkering with the camera. Most point & shoot digicams have several menus you need to go through to adjust shutter & aperture & ends up wasting lots of your time.
2. I'll copy what was written in the Crutchfeld review, as he said it most concisely: "Real Imaging Processor produces remarkably fast response, minimizing shutter lag and maximizing battery life." What this means is I can keep pressing the button to take the picture and I don't have to wait to take the next one, the camera is ready instantly.
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on at 2/16/2006 12:13:00 PM.
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on Feb 15, 2006 at 2/15/2006 08:34:00 PM.
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Today I was lucky enough to be able to call in and talk to Jim Cramer, the man, the myth, the legend. Here's the video clip:
As a side note, the ease with which I was able to record the show, convert the video to a digital file, and publish it here is simply remarkable. I've been wanting to do this since I was 12 years old. I feel like I've finally arrived. What impressed me the most is how seamlessly the hardware and software worked together - and all of it is relatively cheap, if it costs anything at all. My cost do do this was under $600 (for the hardware & software).
I went to blogger.com and simply clicked the "Upload File" icon.
The freeze-frame was done by simply clicking "ALT+PrintScreen".
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on Feb 14, 2006 at 2/14/2006 10:18:00 PM.
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The Onion's headlines are usually a bit believable - depending on your level of cynicism... This headline, unfortunately is not only true, but several years old.
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on Feb 8, 2006 at 2/08/2006 04:43:00 PM.
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Is this article a joke? MSFT wants to sell you a faulty product, and then charge you $49.95/year to fix their problems? Are they trying to usher in my prediction even more quickly that GOOG, Linux, Lenovo, OpenOffice & Mozilla will work together to provide an open-source computer with a great GUI, on a super-cheap computer (~$100) and leave only the corp. world ot MSFT and the Upper-Class BMW buying crowd to AAPL. Don't buy MSFT's product - stick to SYMC's - they're the best (and not only b/c I own a bunch of their stock).
By AP Online Last Update: 2/7/2006 10:25:00 PM Data provided by MarketWatch
SEATTLE, Feb 07, 2006 (AP Online via COMTEX)
A new security service from Microsoft Corp. will charge users $49.95 per year to better protect its Windows operating system from spyware, viruses and other Internet attacks.
Microsoft plans to release the product in early June.
Called Windows OneCare Live, the subscription service will compete with security products made by traditional Microsoft partners, including Symantec Corp. and McAfee Inc. - although the software giant insists that its aim is not to run those companies out of business.
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on at 2/08/2006 04:30:00 PM.
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"In science, 'fact' can only mean 'confirmed to such a degree that it would be perverse to withhold provisional assent.' I suppose that apples might start to rise tomorrow, but the possibility does not merit equal time in physics classrooms." - Stephen Jay Gould
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on at 2/08/2006 12:03:00 PM.
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Listen, I love your show, and I'm reading your book now - love them both. I have a suggestion - if you're really interested in helping people make money, I think you should take a pro-active approach, and move your show's time-slot 30 minutes up - and start at 6:30pm - right as the after-hours market closes.
By doing that you'll force people to take the time to research the stocks you recommend.
I'm sure you've noticed that people jump in and buy the stock you recommend before you're done saying the last letter of the symbol. It's nuts what's going on.
One quick example:
Last night you recommended BKHM - when you taped the show it was at 6.95... it went to 8 and change (up 30%) in after hours trading after you recommended it.
Today the stock closed at 7.80... and in after hours - after they released earnings - it fell down to 6.80. I'll disclose that I bought it at 6.80 in after hours today... clearly it should never have gone up 30% in after hours the day before...
I know CNBC won't like it if you go to 6:30pm as they might loose viewers and hence ad dollars... but it's the right thing to do. Your effect on the market is too strong - and for that reason, they can air you at any time, people will watch whenever you air.
Thanks and keep up the great work. - Steve
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Biting the hand that feeds IT Google at work on desktop Linux By Ben King Published Tuesday 31st January 2006 13:46 GMT
Google is preparing its own distribution of Linux for the desktop, in a possible bid to take on Microsoft in its core business - desktop software.
A version of the increasingly popular Ubuntu desktop Linux distribution, based on Debian and the Gnome desktop, it is known internally as 'Goobuntu'.
Google has confirmed it is working on a desktop linux project called Goobuntu, but declined to supply further details, including what the project is for.
It could be for wider deployments on the company's own desktops, as an alternative to Microsoft, but still for internal use only.
But it's possible Google plans to distribute it to the general public, as a free alternative to Windows.
Google has already demonstrated an interest in building a presence on the desktop. At CES Las Vegas this month, it announced the Google Pack (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01/07/google_ces_pack/), a collection of desktop software bundled together for easy downloading.
The pack includes many apps which compete directly with the Windows bundle, such as Google Talk, Google Desktop, Mozilla Firefox, the Trillian instant messenger client, RealPlayer, and Picasa photo management.
Going the whole hog and distributing a complete desktop software suite would merely be another step down the same path.
However, entering the desktop software world would be a huge step. Making Goobuntu as easy to use as XP will require a lot more development. It's unlikely to be ready for showtime any time soon, and it's possible Google itself hasn't finalised where the project should go.
Whatever Google's intentions, the input of Google engineers and developers, writing new features and fixing bugs, will be a huge boost to the Ubuntu project.
Ubuntu, funded by the South African internet multimillionaire and occasional cosmonaut Mark Shuttleworth, is already emerging as a leader in the desktop Linux world.
It has built considerable momentum in the Linux community, and is starting to appear more widely. Shuttleworth is seeking to persuade white-box PC manufacturers to start shipping machines with Ubuntu preinstalled.
It is top of the Distrowatch download chart, is installed on up to six million computers, and doubling every eight months, according to estimates from Shuttleworth's company, Canonical.
It has spawned a number of different offshoots, including Xubuntu, Kubuntu and Edubuntu (for schools).
The word Ubuntu means "humanity to others" in several African languages, including Zulu and Xhosa. It's one of the founding principles of post-apartheid South Africa. The origin of the word 'Goobuntu' is not clear, though it does not appear in online Zulu dictionaries.
The Goobuntu.com domain has been registered in the past couple of days, though presumably not by Google. It now redirects to a Cuban portal. Perhaps Google will have to think of a new name for the system before they launch it to the wider public. Related stories
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I enjoyed your post on the future of media distribution. Some of youur thoughts are new and some are old. I am most struck by your quick dismissal of benefits of large media. Read this old, but still relevant report. http://www.futureexploration.net/fom06/Future_of_Media_Report2006.pdf
check out the 9th page where the "key features" of social media is compared to mainstream media.
I'd like to keep our conversation going. IM me at 'cdinic' on AIM
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on Jan 28, 2006 at 1/28/2006 01:00:00 PM.
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My friend and former Intern, Gavin just wrote me this email:
The extended cease-fire from last year may be lost. Unless they feel the pressure from our government to clean up or we won’t deal with them. This which has already been stated by Bush in my mind is one of the few positives. But with men behind bars who are massively intelligent terrorists, coupled with deep hate still having much influence in a now voted on government, I wait with curiosity and hope that the peace process will not be abandoned.
What’s your take?
Here it is (for now):
I was just constructing the outline for a blog on this issue... my quick response - I don't believe Hamas will change for the worse... if anything this is the best outcome we could hope for. Hamas will have to show results, now that they are the ruling authority in the PA. Their marching cry & rise to power came from first blaming Israel for the Palestinian's problems, and then blaming Fatah for their problems (both are well-justified claims). I believe that most Palestinians appreciate that armed struggle is not the way to stabilize their situation... but their leaders haven't given them other options.
Hamas' leaders aren't stupid. They engineered this rise to power over many years. Hell, look at how they stuck to the cease-fire... if they were crazy, disorganized bandits, they wouldn't have been able to do that. Furthermore, they didn't take over with a coup d'etat - they used the democratic process. Personally I'm impressed.
Now they've attained the control they sought - and have the power to live up to their claim that they will make life better for Palestinians... While living peacfully with Israel wasn't in their plans, I'm confident that Hamas leaders acknowledge that pushing the Jews into the sea isn't possible. But pushing them out of the West Bank is... and now that they have political control, pushing will require a lot less blood - something neither side want's to spill. I'm confident that Hamas understands that if they don't make life better for Palestinians, they won't remain in control for long. And as long as there's violence, the problems for the Palestinians will only get worse. Hamas has no option but to start real negotiations. They can't improve the lives of Palestinians without working with Israel.
At this point I'm more concerned with how Israel will respond... I'm concerned that Israel will work to tear apart & embarras Hamas - the first organization that has real control of and respect from the people - as opposed to using international influence to help Hamas become less militant, while not loosing face amongst their people.
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I often wonder if Bush cares at all about how absurd his statements are. To propose that spying on AMERICAN CITIZENS without obtaining a warrant is "legal", and "designed to protect civil liberties" is simply outrageous.
Someone asked me the other day, "well, don't you think that if they (the State) strongly believe someone is involved in terrorism that they should be monitoring that person?" My answer was very simple...
"When it comes to invading a person's privacy, the law is VERY clear... the State must get a warrant. If the State has even a shred of evidence that someone is doing something wrong and feel the need to conduct intrusive surveillance, go get a warrant. Why is Bush so adamant about avoiding a very clear process? The laws our founding fathers set up were pretty good, and the relatively few amendments made over the past several centuries have made a great rule book even better. If Bush doesn't like the rules, then change them, don't just act as if they don't exist."
I think in this "war" on terrorism, Bush & the majority of Americans he's successfully frightened have forgotten the war is on terrorism, not our civil liberties. One of the principles this country was founded on was that the State is "for the people, by the people." At no point should the State forget that it must fear the people, rather than vice-versa. Today we can see that our State is in no way frightened of the people... and the people have much to fear from our State. I wouldn't be surprised if this posting gets me put on some "watch-list" for anti-American ideology.
The other night at around 12am I walked into the Bleecker St. Uptown 6 train station with Lon. There were two cops there who asked me to put my bag on the table so they could search it. They didn't ask me if they could search it, they simply asserted the State's right to search my private property without any reasonable cause. I looked at them and said, "you're joking, right?" And one of the said, "no." And I said, "without any probable cause, you're not searching my bag." His response was, "well then you're not getting into this train station." I asked Lon if he minded walking three blocks North to the Astor Place Uptown 6 station. He responded, "absolutely - under no circumstances should you let them search you."
At that point, Lon and I were geared up for a debate, and couldn't hold back. I asked the cops to put their badge aside, pretend they're civilians, and consider what they're doing. To consider that they're clearly breaking the law, which provides that all citizens have the right to private property, and that without probable cause (something I learned about in Social Sciences in 7th grade) he can't just search me or my property. Hell I've seen many episodes on Law & Order where cases were thrown out because a cop searched someone, searched someone's car or apartment, etc... general personal property, without a warrant or probable cause.
Their response was that you can't get on an airplane without being searched. Lon & I responded that when taking a plane there are several factors:
1. Airlines aren't run by the state. They retorted that neither is the MTA... to which we asked what other private company has it's board members appointed by the Governor of a given state? And what other private company is funded almost exclusively by tax dollars? They gave up quickly. In case you're wondering... the MTA writes on their homepage: "A public-benefit corporation chartered by the State of New York." Wikipedia does a good job of describing a Public-Benefit Corp. They also give a good explanation of Public-Benefit Corporations in New York.
2. When flying, you almost always have other options of transportation. If you don't want to be searched, you can take a bus, a train, a car, etc... Furthermore, flying is often the most expensive option, and therefore, highly elective.
They said we don't have to take a subway.... to which we both responded that in general in NYC, more than any other city in the world, where few people have cars, the Subway is the main form of transportation - especially when traveling inter-borough. Furthermore, it is the most cost-effective, and an option most people can't afford not to take. They also didn't have much of a response to this.
3. You are inspected at EVERY airport. There isn't a plane you can board without being checked. There is no chance for discrimination or cause for someone to feel as though they were being targeted by the government. Furthermore, it is difficult for the government to actually try to target one group when they have to check everyone.
This they had no answer to.
I asked the cop, "you think there's something in my bag, yet you'll let me walk out of here and go to another station 2 minutes away, and potentially cause havoc over there?" And he said, "if you want to go there, that's your option."
Lon & I thanked them for talking with us & doing their job, asked them to consider what we had discussed, and wished them a safe evening.
The laws this country is based on give the people the fundamental right to dismantle the gov't when the gov't isn't doing what the majority of people want. Bush is working hard to make sure that's not the case. If you're in NYC and are asked to be inspected, don't give in to the State's misguided attempt at protecting us. You're just helping them do more harm to our way of living than the terrorists could have ever hoped. While this issue is being debated in court - the state will go as far as the people will let them, regardless of what the court says. Send a message to the State - your state.
I leave you with, as Jon Stewart puts it, "your moment of zen:"
Associated Press Update 4: Bush Confident Surveillance Is Legal 01.26.2006, 10:47 AM
President Bush defended anew his program of warrantless surveillance Thursday, saying "there's no doubt in my mind it is legal." He suggested that he might resist congressional efforts to change it.
"The program's legal, it's designed to protect civil liberties, and it's necessary," Bush told a White House news conference.
"I'm going to continue using my authority. That's what the American people expect."
Bush used the beginning of his first news conference of the year, and 10th in office, to preview some of the issues he will discuss in his upcoming State of the Union speech.
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you know what's remarkable about the story below...MSFT should totally be in GOOG's seat here... it shows how fickle people can be... and that in any system, balance is the strongest force.
Yahoo! gives up quest for search dominance Tuesday, January 24, 2006
By JONATHAN THAW BLOOMBERG NEWS
Yahoo! Inc., one of the first Internet search companies, has capitulated to Google Inc. in the battle for market dominance.
"We don't think it's reasonable to assume we're going to gain a lot of share from Google," Chief Financial Officer Susan Decker said in an interview. "It's not our goal to be No. 1 in Internet search. We would be very happy to maintain our market share."
Yahoo!'s comments underline the difficulties any Internet company faces in trying to challenge Google's dominance of the Web search industry. Google has at least double the market share of Yahoo! and Microsoft Corp. in Internet search, the largest and most profitable segment of online advertising.
"In some countries, it's already game over in search, with Google the clear victor," said RBC Capital Markets analyst Jordan Rohan in New York. "Google's product development pipeline runs at such a fast rate that it's very difficult for any company, Microsoft or Yahoo! to catch up."
Shares of Yahoo! fell as much as 13 percent Wednesday, the day after the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company reported fourth-quarter profit that missed analysts' expectations. The stock rose 43 cents to $34.17 Monday in Nasdaq stock market composite trading.
"It kind of makes you wonder about how serious they are about search," said Danny Sullivan, editor of London-based SearchEngineWatch.com, which tracks the search industry. "It really ought to be their goal" to be No. 1, he said. "Whether it's realistic or not."
Yahoo! founded in 1994 as one of the first online directories of Web sites, switched from Google's search engine to its own technology two years ago.
To boost revenue from each search, Yahoo! plans to make ads more relevant to search terms, meaning people will be more likely to click on them. Advertisers pay Yahoo! a fee when Internet users click on the ads.
"We have held our own, and we should gain revenue share in the industry as we roll out these new initiatives," Decker said in the interview after the company reported earnings last week.
"Our goal has been to hold our share and to be a leading, if not the leading, total marketing platform, which would include both brand and search."
Yahoo! handled 19 percent of global Internet searches in November, a drop from 27 percent a year earlier, according to Web tracker ComScore Networks Inc.
Google's share, by contrast, rose to 60 percent from 47 percent.
Decker last week cautioned analysts on a conference call against taking the ComScore figures too literally, saying the data exclude Asian countries where Yahoo! is "exceptionally strong."
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It is there that I discovered (3 days before my flight) that EVERYONE needs a visa when going to Australia!!! I was told I didn't need one by the agent who sold me my ticket. Luckly they have an online application that offers instant approvals, and as of the date of this posting, costs $20 Australian.
There is also a link where you can find out what you can and can't bring with you... they're a bit nuts, as per the line at the top of the customs website: "Nature made Australia unique, we want to keep it that way."
I won't post all the links as they'll likely change - but suffice it to say that you REALLY should check the website of your local consulate before you go. Should you have any questions - they're the ones you should call.
- Call your credit cards and notify them that you are traveling abroad. Doing so will ensure that they won't suspend your cards for fear of credit card fraud. When your card is used outside of your home state flags go up...
- Exchange rates: When using your credit card, Amex charges 2%, Citibank-Visa charges 3%.
More to come...
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on Dec 5, 2005 at 12/05/2005 11:43:00 AM.
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on Oct 26, 2005 at 10/26/2005 10:01:00 PM.
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I remember reading somewhere not too long ago someone reminiscing about how going on a plane was an event. People would dress up in suits, you felt special. Today, you feel like cattle. Many people today dread flights, and often see it more as a chore rather than a great event to get excited over.
I'm hoping that with the introduction of services such as Eos Air, and Airbus' A380 double-decker plane, as well as MAXjet that air travel will once again be something to be excited about - and become an event that people walk away from, excited for the next opportunity.
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on Oct 25, 2005 at 10/25/2005 02:29:00 PM.
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10 letters, 4 sylables, spelled phonetically (aka literal}, and almost always scary the first time one stumbles across it. Hey, that's a good way to describe me and my brother... Interestingly, the name itself is also a good way to describe me and my brother.
For a very long time I've known what "Kalif" (aka Calif) meant: "A leader of an Islamic polity, regarded as a successor of Muhammad and by tradition always male."
This part of the surname can be ascribed to my Mother, who is an Iraqi Jew (she was born in Jerusalem, but her parents were born in Iraq - making them what's known today as Sephardic Jews). Technically though they're Mizrahi Jews - the difference is defined really well by Wikipedia. Whichever one you choose, the connection to the Arab lands and reference to "Arab Jews" is relevant vis-a-vis a "Calif." A minor tid-bit: my mother's maiden name is "Mizrahi" - and now that this is posted here, I'm no longer using that when asked for it by companies thinking it's a clever security question ;-)
Strangely, I've never taken the time to look up what "owitz" means - until this evening. According to Wikipedia: "...[T]he owitz ending, meaning "son of". Poland, Russian Empire, other Eastern European countries.." This part can be ascribed to my father - not only because we are his sons, but because he is an Ashkenazi Jew - half Polish, half Russian.
Had our surname been invented at the union of my parents, I wouldn't be as curious about it. But it came from my father's father... I wish I could find out how far back it goes...
So there you have it. My brother and I have a surname that perfectly defines our heritage. Now we just need to figure out that whole leadership/successor of Muhammad thing...
My desire to figure this out once and for-all was sparked after reading "Are Jews Smarter" in New York(which I'll comment on later).
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on Oct 23, 2005 at 10/23/2005 08:50:00 PM.
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I came across the biography of Abraham Kalifowitz today while searching for my family background. I found that he was in hiding during part of the war with my mothers family. I was wondering if your father might have any pictures of his ancestors from Sokoly, Poland that you could email me.
To sekada405@aol.com... your email address doesn't seem to work - AOL bounced my response back. I will gladly look for the photos though, and will post something here should I find something.
Does anyone know if Google or Yahoo offer a service where you can query your email account (that either of them serve) using SMS? The way that I can SMS Google a search term & they'll SMS me back the answers... (or the way I just MMS'd this question to my blog that you are looking at)?
Just now I was trying to dl an email to my phone in order to pull a phone number from it... But b/c of Cingular's crappy service, compounded by the rain, it couldn't connect...
As I write this email it occurs to me that this is a nifty feature they could even add to Google desktop - b/c I was thinking about how it may be potentially difficult for them to have already crawled & indexed my email... And how w/Google desktop - they've already done that!
And at this point, after thinking about this some more (while waiting extraordinarily long for a subway) I'm sure that they scan each email as it comes in, so that's not a problem either.
Either way, being able to SMS either one of those co's w/a query & being able to have my entire pc, server-based email, AND the Internet be searched is def. Something I'd pay for...
And w/all the talk earlier this week (prior to GOOG's release of their 10Q) of how GOOG needs to diversify their income stream b/c something like 94% of rev. comes from advert's... This is an easy one...
Which leads me to another thought (as this train crawls through the tunnel on my way to help out w/ NY Cares Day) - all week long, every would-be pundit (save for Jim Kramer, a genious in his own right) was talking about how GOOG was going to prob not have such stellar #'s b/c they rely too heavly on ad rev. I tend to agree that it's not a sustainable (or prudent, rather) course to be on. All they need is a slight downturn where co's advertise less & they're fucked (at least for that quarter). But GOOG came out w/great numbers and all of a sudden CNBC spends the whole next day talking about one thing & one thing only - how amazing GOOG is, how great being in the ad biz is, how new media is KILLING (not will kill, but has already killed) "old media"... Basically they had maybe one person sobering up everyone to remind us that what was being said not 24 hrs earlier was still true even though GOOG had a great quarter - that GOOG needs to start monetizing their many ventures & diversify their streams of rev. - in order to maintain their high P/E (which, btw was pointed out to be slightly lower than that of YHOO). Note: I love GOOG as a company & love how they don't pander (yet) to "the street". It just never ceaces to amaze me how the media jumps on whatever they perceive to be "hot" & because of how much they talk about smething, they make it an issue, when all they're doing is pushing their own fakakta ideas which usually are heavily flawed b/c they're far from experts. And CNBC takes it yet a step further by bringing on "experts" who get so enthralled by the limelight that they often ceace to be the "source" and quickly become part of the media machine... IMHO b/c CNBC brings the same people on - who get to enjoy a super-extended 15 min of fame... These people become regular "contributors" & don't want to be wrong, want to be invited back, so they say/do/act in whatever outlandish way they think will get them asked back... Thus their motivation changes...
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Seeds of Peace invites you to Stand-Up for Peace The Second Annual Comedy Benefit for Seeds of Peace WHEN: Thursday, October 27th 8:00pm WHERE: Gotham Comedy Club 208 West 23rd Street (between 7th -8th) New York City
Hosted by David Wain (Stella)
Comedians Include: Caroline Rhea The Caroline Rhea Show Colin Quinn Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, Saturday Night Live Susie Essman Curb Your Enthusiasm Greg Giraldo Comedy Central, Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn Robert Smigel Triumph Insult Dog, Conan O'Brien, Saturday Night Live Demetri Martin Conan O'Brien Writer, Perrier Award Winner Dean Obedeillah Saturday Night Live Aziz Ansari Premium Blend, ECNY - Best Male Stand Up Catie Lazarus ECNY - Best Comedy Writer
Questions? Call Nassim Majidi at (212) 573-8040 ext. 32 or email events@seedsofpeace.org.
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[13:53] skalifowitz: it NEVER ceases to amaze how no one is able to answer more than one question in an email [13:53] avtlbinder: yea [13:53] avtlbinder: that is truly remarkable [13:53] skalifowitz: no one [13:53] avtlbinder: i would LOVE to do a study on that [13:53] skalifowitz: hahaha [13:53] skalifowitz: I never get more than one question answered [13:53] skalifowitz: and I've been working on the length of my emails [13:53] avtlbinder: and what's really amazing is that I don't think you or I noticed this occuring before last year-ish [13:53] skalifowitz: really hard [13:53] skalifowitz: yeah [13:54] skalifowitz: w/the publicist [13:54] avtlbinder: yea [13:54] skalifowitz: its b/c everyone is on their blackberries [13:54] avtlbinder: well she was the most absurd [13:54] skalifowitz: and they can only read a few lines at a time [13:54] skalifowitz: so as they're responding, they forget there are more questions [13:54] skalifowitz: and this is compounded by the fact that b/c they're on their blackberry [13:54] skalifowitz: listening to their iPod [13:54] skalifowitz: drinking their Starbucks [13:54] avtlbinder: well i've read in several books that the average person can only hold seven things in their mind at any time [13:54] skalifowitz: and smoking a cig [13:55] skalifowitz: and talking on the phone [13:55] avtlbinder: so if they're doing all that crap, and trying not to wander into traffic, then there's only room for one question [13:55] skalifowitz: they can't concentrate on shit [13:55] avtlbinder: Of course, I'd assume they could do one question at t ime, but you're right -- they just forget there are more than one question [13:55] skalifowitz: its amazing [13:55] skalifowitz: I was noticing it this morning while stumbling in to work [13:55] skalifowitz: as I was looking at all the hipsters around where Justin lives
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on Sep 21, 2005 at 9/21/2005 04:41:00 PM.
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[14:57] avtlbinder: i need this: [15:50] skalifowitz: OK, that is so damn cool!!! Getting closer to Kurzweil's vision of the future [15:51] avtlbinder: btw, i saw some articles earlier about people using ipods at their weddings instead of hiring DJs [15:51] skalifowitz: baha lol [15:51] avtlbinder: the article also talked about the trend towards people using amateurs with awesome digicams [15:51] skalifowitz: makes total sense [15:51] skalifowitz: there's such a marginal "need" [15:51] avtlbinder: And while I don't think the photography side is there yet, it occurred to me that it is changes like THESE that truly produce kurzweil's results [15:51] skalifowitz: that finally it's being appropriately filled [15:51] skalifowitz: yup [15:51] skalifowitz: proper fitting [15:51] avtlbinder: yea [15:51] avtlbinder: i would never hire a dj [15:51] skalifowitz: people think that nature is "too" perfect [15:52] avtlbinder: a band maybe [15:52] skalifowitz: (those who believe in intelligent design) [15:52] avtlbinder: aka morons [15:52] skalifowitz: the point is that nature has has billions of years to make "appropriate" use of energy [15:52] skalifowitz: we're only a nano-second into that process (on a time scale of the universe)
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It blows my mind as I watch Apple tighten its grip on the music industry. They recently released the Rokr phone and the iPod Nano, while only a few short months ago, Sony released the PSP - a remarkable device that I see TONS of people on the street carrying around (actually playing as they walk). Friends of mine who have it are addicted to it.
Will someone please explain to me why Sony didn't follow Apple's highly successful model? Why didn't they launch a music downloading service where you download the music to the PSP, and have the device serve as a video game device, dvd player AND an MP3 player. In case you've been living in a hole somewhere in the woods, you would have noticed that every film being released on DVD (by Sony) mentions in their commercials "available on DVD & PSP on 'x' date." Actually - someone did try to explain this... I read it here the day after writing this blog.
I can't wait for the record labels to implode... the movie studios are next. I just read an article about Blockbuster (formerly part of Viacom) "considering" VOD... here's all I have to say:
While the headline is rather uplifting, the article is rather upsetting. The worst is this line: "Blockbuster has about a dozen technicians who work part-time on development of online video."
That's all they are committing the future of their business? WTF?
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on Sep 18, 2005 at 9/18/2005 11:28:00 PM.
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With GWB's designation of today as a "National Day of Prayer" - we have come several steps closer to becoming the theocracy his followers want this nation to be (and the theocracy that the blind-faith followers of the Republican Party are too impaired to admit to being a part of).
From USA Today 9/17/05: "'In the life of our nation, we have seen that wondrous things are possible when we act with God's grace,' Bush said in his weekly radio address."
I'm slightly comforted by a judge ruling that forcing kids in public schools to recite the pledge, with the words "under God" is unconstitutional... I'm proud to say that from the first few days of 7th grade I (along w/several other students) refused to recite the pledge & haven't done so since. Yet another example of why it's good to question everything, and follow your gut.
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on Sep 16, 2005 at 9/16/2005 11:47:00 PM.
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I have only recently begun to fully grasp the extent to which GWB missed an opportunity that comes as often as a flood in a desert.
Encouraging the maturation of the "world culture" towards a global society with fully respected international organizations who's members work in concert, with established agreements, procedures, & visions - no matter how idealistic they may seem today - should be a top priority for every government, especially for the US government, today's single world power.
My insistence of this goal for US governments has various roots - the strongest being the impossibility for the US to maintain its Superpower position indefinitely. Should the transition away from Superpower status take any shape other than towards internationalism, the US will likely suffer greatly as the transfer of power occurs. The US will not go down without a fight & it will be in that fight that small cuts will become gaping wounds.
It was on 9/11 that the world was formally made aware: enough of the world community (mainly Western / 1st-world nations) was no longer interested in full-on, formal wars between nations - or at least to morons like myself who are too idealistic... I believed that 9/11 was an opportunity for the first-world (at least) to come together and acknowledge that wars where lethal force is used in a highly targeted fashion, with the express result being large-scale slaughter of the "enemy" will mainly be carried out in the following two examples:
1. Guerrila armies who don't have or respect political borders, and believe lethal force is the only way to get their message across & achieve their goals. Thus engaging formal armies into war.
2. Third-world / rouge-nations piss off first-world nations (or vice-versa) and one bombs the other.
The second scenario is unfortunatley the track that our fearless leader has chosen to take. Had he chosen to acknowledge the first scenario, he could have done so much to further the development of an international culture. An international force could have been developed - which can fight guerillas (aka terrorists) on their terms. Moving across borders without going through protocol, tracking down and breaking apart the networks - working in concert with many governments.
Unfortunately GWB chose to polarize the world much as he has done domestically. He has built up barriers, destroying any sense of unity - the key to bring people together.
I guess my only solace is that the Internet is spreading faster and faster every day. And the Internet will eventually break down the barriers that Bush has been putting up.
I'll be adding to this post over time, as I have time to mull this over a bit more.
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on Sep 15, 2005 at 9/15/2005 03:06:00 PM.
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on Sep 12, 2005 at 9/12/2005 04:10:00 PM.
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This statement is as true today as it was in 1933. Too bad our fearless leader doesn't read.
"It also follows that the continued policy of aloofness would not only injure all mankind, but harm the United States as well." A. Einstein ca. 1933
From "Out of My Later Years" a collection of essays by Albert Einstein.
This entry was posted
on Sep 11, 2005 at 9/11/2005 10:29:00 PM.
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Interviewer: You are an artist, I mean you have incorporated drawings in your own books; How important has art been to your work?
Kurt Vonnegut: Well its a perfectly agreeable innocent thing to do and it's a way of being human.
What I hate about public school systems that cut out the arts because they're not a way to make a living - it is such a human thing to do and it is the experience of becoming - if you make something that wasn't in the universe before.
And that feels so good to human beings and to cheat kids out of that- is criminal. Everybody should be painting now, or drawing, or whatever, just as they should be singing & taking walks, or falling in love, or whatever - it's so human, and not to teach kids how to do this is to cheat them, terribly. --- I wrote this transcript after being really moved by this particular segment in a pretty good interview done on NPR. You can listen to the entire interview here. --- My own minor observation... I find the question posed by the interviewer to be a rather poor choice of words. The question seems to suppose that Vonnegut's drawings used in his books are art, but that the books themselves aren't art.
It Reminds me of a comment which often drove my friend Bruno crazy in college. He was a photo major, but he also loved to draw. When people would stop by our dorm room (which doubled as a large art studio) and see his drawings, they'd say, "oh, so you also do art, how nice." Presupposing that photography isn't art.
It's funny how often what people are exposed to as children remains with them throughout life. In most American schools, "art class" means you're going to play with paint, and maybe study paintings. Writing, another form of art, is tought in "English class", while music & song , yet other forms of art, are tought in "band / chorus / music class(es)." All the while, the idea that these are all art forms are lost on the kids - most of whom are pushed by their teachers, parents, and society (in general), to treat these courses as chores - a task on a check list that must be completed with all of the other requirements in order to move on to the next list - with the ultimate goal: finding a trade.
It really urks me when I go to museums (anywhere around the world) and can easily pick out the American families. They're usually the ones with the least appreciation for what they're looking at, and I frequently get the impression that their being in the museum is just one more thing to check off the list, one more thing to talk about with their friends back home - often using it as a gauge of how wonderful they are as parents, exposing their kids to "culture." The parents are often uncomfortable explaining to their children what is beautiful about an image of a naked man or woman, as our puritan society seeks to brandish any images of sexuality. While at the same time when the children show excitement about a particular piece, they are hurried along, not allowed to simply enjoy the stimulation caused by another human being's vision. Why? "Because we paid to come into this museum; we're going to get our money's worth - and see every damn thing they got in here - and still make it to our dinner reservations on time!"
My highschool, which had good funding for arts programs, never understood the concept of embracing all forms of art under one general umbrella. Photography and cinema (OK, T.V.) were administered by the technology department - a department who's courses were reserved for students who otherwise would have dropped out, but were given "vocational skills" such as car repair. I for one was strongly advised not to take photography, or TV while in high school because I was an "honors student" and wasn't supposed to waste my time there. I'm glad that my intuition (which often got/gets me in trouble) even at a young age, told me to question everything - especially when listening to authority figures.
This entry was posted
on at 9/11/2005 05:56:00 PM.
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And the brainwashing begins... From a young age our future is being trained to take adversarial positions, as opposed to approach "perceived" conflict with a conciliatory tone
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on at 9/11/2005 03:39:00 AM.
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