Internet

Now is a Great Time to Be a Media Maker

In Internet, Magazines, Publishing on 24 March 2009 with 21 comments

This may be the best time in history to make media. I’ll explain why, but first a personal story. It’s relevant – I promise.
Santa Cruz, 1991-1995. I worked for a few different newspapers, but the one closest to my heart was The Fish Rap Live. I started out there as the Photo Editor. By the [...]

Video of Me @ FOWD

In Community, Crowdsourcing, Event, Interface, Internet, Video, Wisdom of Crowds on 12 December 2008 with 6 comments

Last month I presented at Future of Web Design 2008 NYC. Now the Carson folks have put the video online. Have a look!

Online Advertising without Douchebaggery

In Advertising, Community, Internet on 6 December 2008 with 12 comments

A couple weeks ago I wrote about the sad case of the Bike Hero video which turned out to be a fake, created by an ad agency to promote the already insanely popular Guitar Hero game. When the video was outed as an ad, it resulted in the expected unhappiness, as well as a few [...]

Kvetch! Reborn with Twitter a Decade Later

In Fun, Geek, Internet on 19 November 2008 with 23 comments

You know all those things you wish you could post to Twitter but don’t want to say with your name on them? Those brilliant angry complaints that would feel so good to get off your chest? Now you can.
Kvetch is an anonymous oracle of complaint. Kvetches are displayed randomly and anonymously. There are no permalinks [...]

Hosted by Media Temple

In Geek, Internet on 17 November 2008 with 3 comments

Just a brief housekeeping note: This site is now hosted at Media Temple. They’ve been hosting Fray since last year, and the few times something’s gone wrong they’ve been completely on top of it. So I finally got all my sites moved over. If you need expert hosting for sites big or small, tell ’em [...]

Brad Sucks is Out of It (in a Good Way)

In Geek, Internet, Music on 8 September 2008 with 2 comments

Brad Sucks is the name of a one-man band by a guy named Brad. He makes great music, full of catchy electronic loops, acoustic guitars, and sardonic lyrics delivered with a slacker vibe. Imagine if Beck kept smoking pot instead of becoming a scientologist and you’re halfway there.
Brad’s also a geek success story, because he [...]

Just One Question for Jason Schultz

In Community, Internet, Just One Question, Law on 30 July 2008 with 3 comments

One of the things that always comes up when I talk to people at companies about community systems is the fear that getting involved with the comments on their site makes them more liable. I’ve denied it until I was blue in the face, but they don’t always believe me. So I decided to ask [...]

Concluding the Comment Culture Clash Cacophony

In Community, Internet on 29 July 2008 tagged Media with Comments Off

Jeff Jarvis sums up the debate nicely with an open letter to Bob Garfield.
But note well, my friend, that all of these people are speaking to you with intelligence, experience, generosity, and civility. You know what’s missing? Two things: First, the sort of nasty comments your own piece decries. And second: You.
His closing thoughts [...]

10 Ways Newspapers Can Improve Comments

In Community, How to, Internet on 28 July 2008 tagged Media with 28 comments

The other day Bob Garfield had a good kvetch about dumb comments on newspaper websites on his show, On The Media, and I posted my two cents, but I still don’t feel better. I think that’s because Bob’s partly right: comments do suck sometimes.
So, instead of just poking him for sounding like Grandpa Simpson, I’d [...]

This is Not a Comment

In Internet on 26 July 2008 tagged Media with 9 comments

(With apologies to René Magritte.)
One of my favorite radio shows is On The Media. I’ve been listening to it for years. Their critiques of traditional media are astute and often funny. But when they talk about the internet, they reveal themselves to be the old codgers they are.
This week, host Bob Garfield did a piece [...]