December 2010
“If the terrorists have won, it’s because we’re so decent that we’d rather...”
– Jeff Miller (via soupsoup)
November 2010
“The Pentagon has concluded that allowing gay men and women to serve openly in...”
– Pentagon Sees Little Impact if Ban on Gay Soldiers Is Repealed - NYTimes.com
Weak tea gets weaker
aatombomb:
WASHINGTON (TheStreet) — The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has confirmed what the Obama administration has been saying for months: the hated government bailout program will cost taxpayers much less than initially projected.
On Tuesday the CBO released its most recent quarterly analysis of TARP - short for the Troubled Asset Relief Program - showing that the cost has dropped 62%...
“[W]hen the mayor of Paris had the Eiffel Tower lighted in Turkey’s national...”
– WikiLeaks Archive — Mixed View of France’s Sarkozy - NYTimes.com
“TV really does need search. It also needs scrobbling, channel bookmarking,...”
– Lucas Gonze (via betaworks)
“Hulu is facing competition from the likes of Google TV and a new streaming-only...”
– Networks grapple with Hulu ad sales - Entertainment News, Weekly, Media - Variety (via evangotlib)
I think it’s so sad that these media companies are completely unable to grasp the reality of the coming digital age. Big media distributors have been making huge profits for ages now by engaging in...
“Hulu is facing competition from the likes of Google TV and a new streaming-only...”
– Networks grapple with Hulu ad sales - Entertainment News, Weekly, Media - Variety (via evangotlib)
The time is quickly approaching when more people will access video for their big screen via internet and not just through cable. We’re still a few years off but anyone who has messed around with a...
Ad Sales: A Snapshot
evangotlib:
Mike: Do you not agree that cockroaches running around the payer is a bad user experience?
Evan: I think people think it’s cool…it’s interactive.
JD: Everybody loves cockroaches!
“Hulu is facing competition from the likes of Google TV and a new streaming-only...”
– Networks grapple with Hulu ad sales - Entertainment News, Weekly, Media - Variety (via evangotlib)
Watchkellysutton:
bliptv:
This week, Annie sits down to chat about the sales team with Evan Gotlib, SVP of Sales at blip.
We also feature the popular show Day9TV. Day9 is a show about becoming a better gamer, specifically in Starcraft II.
As a side note, blip.tv is hiring three sales assistants: one in San Francisco and two in New York. Please see our blog for more information!
Hey folks!...
“Remind me of Modern Warfare 2…”
– Rio’s drug war - The Big Picture - Boston.com
A comment on the Big Picture photo essay showing the clearing of the Rio slums.
“There seems to be a common cycle for many startups. First, you capture users....”
– Reading this, I’m pleased to say that for SoundCloud, step three came before step two.
Instagram Captures Their First Big Brand Partner: National Geographic (via david-noel)
“So what is causing the delay? The likely culprit is disagreement on the design,...”
– Google’s Secret Social Initiative Delayed Until Spring 2011 [EXCLUSIVE]
This is not just a Google problem. This is a pervasive management/organizational design flaw that we often see in this industry. Is there a better way of organizing the firm to mitigate these issues (with limited impact on...
Watchatencio:
The Sound and Music of The Social Network Panel
Music composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are joined by sound re-recording mixer, supervising sound editor Ren Klyce to discuss their work on “The Social Network.” It’s 45 minutes long. Watch the whole thing.
Between The Social Network, Tron: Legacy, and Inception, this is the best year for film music in recent memory, and heavily...
“There are legitimate reasons for keeping many diplomatic conversations secret....”
– WikiLeaks and the Diplomats - NYTimes.com
“Psychological research has proven again and again that anonymity increases...”
– Online, Anonymity Breeds Contempt - NYTimes.com
Comments on blip will have people’s real identities attached.
“Rejecting the emergency talks amounts to a pointed rebuke to China. The United...”
– U.S. and South Korea Balk at Talks With North - NYTimes.com
The PRC is terrified of what a unified Korea would mean for their national and economic security.
Two phrases every startup should adopt
gregnews:
The term for a mob boss “godfather” was invented by Mario Puzo for his book of that same name. After Francis Ford Coppola turned The Godfather into a hit movie, the mafia actually adopted that term for their bosses.
Sometimes it pays for life to imitate art (what is good art if not one step ahead of real life?). There are two movie phrases from the last year that every startup should...
The Pirate Bay, everything is IRL but not AFK. →
seanbonner:
ellens:
When did you meet [fellow defendant Gottfrid] for the first time IRL?” asked the Prosecutor. “We do not use the expression IRL,” said Peter, “we use AFK.” “IRL?” questioned the judge. “In Real Life,” the Prosecutor explained to the judge. “We do not use that expression,” Peter noted. “Everything is in real life. We use AFK—Away From Keyboard.” “Well,” said Roswall. “It...
“If you’re going fishing, make sure you don’t bring your sperm-whale line with...”
– Leslie Nielsen (via petervidani)
"Andrew Mason, Groupon’s chief executive, declined... →
apsies:
I’d take him up on it.
“So let’s say you build a nice dollhouse and then someone comes along and wants to buy it, what do you do?”
“Not only did its enormous library of titles satisfy film snobs and action-movie...”
– Reed Hastings: Leader of the pack - Fortune Tech
“The picture that emerges is of a world in which the sole superpower has a dog in...”
– FT.com / Comment - A history of the present in 250,000 cables
KK: I have some sympathy with both sides of the should we/shouldn’t we report the Wikileaks cable argument (and the FT editorial is good on this balance too).
But here’s a more interesting, bigger-picture take on what the cables...
Level 3 Communications Issues Statement Concerning... →
On November 19, 2010, Comcast informed Level 3 that, for the first time, it will demand a recurring fee from Level 3 to transmit Internet online movies and other content to Comcast’s customers who request such content. By taking this action, Comcast is effectively putting up a toll booth at the borders of its broadband Internet access network, enabling it to unilaterally decide how much to...
“The German-American relationship is mature. It has grown so robust over the...”
– A spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Secret diplomatic cables leaked by WikiLeaks and released over the weekend showed a U.S. diplomat describing Merkel as “risk averse and rarely creative.” (via officialssay)
“Don’t worry about it. You should see what we say about you.”
– An unidentified foreign official, speaking with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as she tried to do damage control over the release of secret diplomatic cables that described many foreign officials in blunt terms. (via officialssay)
This is my greatest regret over the WikiLeaks leak. I want to...
“Don’t let people tell you your ideas won’t work. I also went through a few years...”
– Dennis Crowley via What are your top 5 pieces of advice for entrepreneurs? - Quora (via bijan)
The blip.tv holiday party →
We have 376 RSVPs so far. It’s going to be a great time. Are you going?
Squashed: Notes on the WikiLeaks Release →
squashed:
It’s fascinating. The information on U.S. Diplomats’ impressions of various movements is definitely worth reading. I got absorbed in reports about the formation and power of Iran’s Green movements and made myself late this morning. The information about the Italian/Russian relationship is…
what i learned today: the egg theory →
dihard:
When instant baking mixes were introduced in the 1940s, some did well (piecrusts, biscuits) and others did not (cake mixes). Marketers wondered why this was the case.
One theory was that the cake mixes simplified the process so much that women did not feel as though they had actually made…
“An Iranian nuclear scientist has been killed and another injured in separate...”
– Iranian nuclear scientist killed and another wounded in separate bomb attacks | Mail Online
This is either Mossad or CIA. I’d put heavy, heavy money on Mossad. (via mikehudack)
not the first round of nuclear scientists assassinated either. 4 one rubbed out in the last couple of months…...
“An Iranian nuclear scientist has been killed and another injured in separate...”
– Iranian nuclear scientist killed and another wounded in separate bomb attacks | Mail Online
This is either Mossad or CIA. I’d put heavy, heavy money on Mossad.
Today's plan
Eat bacon, egg and cheese I just picked up.
Play Starcraft ranked games until 3p.
Plan unranked coop Starcraft games with Evan until he gets tired and can’t play anymore.
Play more Starcraft ranked games.
Leave to pick Caroline up at the airport.
At some point, have dinner.
This is going to be a great day.
“In the two hours between 8:00 and 10:00 PM, Netflix streaming movies and TV...”
– Will the Next Internet Revolution Be Televised? - EconMatters - - Forbes (via adamiss)
Dropbox's original application for Y Combinator →
david-noel:
Startups: read this and learn. Sneak peak:
What is your company going to make?
Dropbox synchronizes files across your/your team’s computers. It’s much better than uploading or email, because it’s automatic, integrated into Windows, and fits into the way you already work. There’s also a web interface, and the files are securely backed up to Amazon S3.
Dropbox is kind of like...
“I would say that the real drivers of the “Post-American World” won’t be China…...”
– CEO of Coca-Cola says the 21st Century will be the “Women’s Century”. (via andymartin)