October 2008
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Cluetrain tracks
Rich Sands posts Cluetrain Derailed? I respond here. Continue reading
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What actually happened to Sidekick?
Several days ago I posted RIP, Sidekick, which lamented the passing of our favorite section of the Boston Globe. As part of the Globe’s redesign, it got rid of Sidekick and added a new section — a tabloid insert like Sidekick had been — called “G”. As I had recalled, Sidekick was localized. After reading… Continue reading
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An immodest proposal
FORWARD WITH FIBER: An Infrastructure Investment Plan for the New Administration is my second essay at the Publius Project. The first was FRAMING THE NET. This one is a bold proposal: putting $300 billion into bringing fiber to every possible premise in America. Unlike other proposals of this sort, this one goes out of its… Continue reading
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Conservative rundown
Interesting to read the “18 conservatives, libertarians, and independent thinkers” gathered bu The American Conservative. The current cover, The Right Choice, begins, This election offers particularly dismal prospects for conservatives: the Senate’s most liberal member versus a Republican who combines the worst policies of George W. Bush with an erratic temper and a thinly veiled… Continue reading
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RIP, Sidekick
Our favorite section of the Boston Globe is no more. It was called “Sidekick”, and it featured local news and events in our corner of the metro: the one called “Northwest”.* It had local restaurant reviews, club, theater, school and museum notices, plus other graces that made the paper especially relevant to our family. Well,… Continue reading
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Back to real conservatism
Somewhere between Barry Goldwater and Sarah Palin, conservatism changed from a philosophical anchor — what Goldwater called a “conscience” — into a pure partisanship, defined at least as much by what and who it’s against (Liberals, Democrats, Hillary, Obama) as by what it’s for. The latter now includes a list of causes (opposition to abortion… Continue reading
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Reunion.com, discontinued
Last may I wrote Reunion.com spam alert, which ended this way: I am among the least litigious people on Earth. But I can’t help but wonder … Could I (or we) sue these bastards for false representation? Invasion of privacy? I’m still getting comments there, I guess because (I just discovered), my post is… Continue reading
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Newspixelers
Interesting NY Times piece on the emergence of the blog-based op-ed business, courtesy of Ariana Huffington and Tina Brown. Continue reading
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Paper margins
You’d think, from the looks of the endorsement picture, that Barack Obama is gonna sell a lot more newspapers over the next four years. Whether or not, the picture’s not pretty for John McCain, who has clearly lost his “base”: Be sure to scroll down. Lots of wonky grist for obsessive mills in there. Hat… Continue reading
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Cluetrainings
After reading this comment by Jonathan MacDonald, I followed the linktrail from here to here, where dwells one of the most remarkable testimonials I’ve ever seen. One short clip: Competitors had absolutely no idea what the secret sauce was because they were not able to see the hundreds of thousands of micro-interactions and conversations happening… Continue reading
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Quote du jour
“…the Because Effect feeds on openness. And it’s more than an API.” — Dave Wallace Continue reading
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Just in case cheaper gas starts looking attractive…
OPEC Orders Cut in Oil Production. Continue reading
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Nettapping for everyone
ISPs are pressed to become child porn cops is a new MSNBC piece by Bill Dedman and Bob Sullivan. It begins, New technologies and changes in U.S. law are adding to pressures to turn Internet service providers into cops examining all Internet traffic for child pornography. One new tool, being marketed in the U.S. by… Continue reading
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New(s) business models
Jeff Jarvis‘ New Business Models for News Summit is going on now, live. Wish I were there. Samir Arora is on now. I haven’t seen Samir in years. Still, I’ve followed him, and he’s always smart and provocative and has a great nose for business opportunities. For the last few he’s been CEO of Glam.com.… Continue reading
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If you live in the Southwest, check this out
The COSMO-SkyMed 3 satellite will be launched into orbit tomorrow, October 24, at 19:28:21, or 21 seconds after 7:28pm, Pacific time, from Vandenberg AFB in California. Says here that the rocket will be a Delta II, which puts on a great show. While the launch will be spectacular from nearby viewing locations, it will be… Continue reading
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Identity Workout
So we’re coming up on our Nth IIW, which happens on November 10-11. I’ve lost track of how many we’ve had so far, which I think is a good sign. Every IIW has been new and different, and unusually productive. The idea behind IIW is getting work done. Moving not only converations forward, but work… Continue reading
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Quote du jour
David Sedaris on undecided voters: To put them in perspective, I think of being on an airplane. The flight attendant comes down the aisle with her food cart and, eventually, parks it beside my seat. “Can I interest you in the chicken?” she asks. “Or would you prefer the platter of shit with bits of… Continue reading