9.25.2009
Times Square spectaculars
[image credit to laughingsquid]
The media that already clog your cognitive arteries are planning a coordinated attack.
[An encyclopedic catalog of existing Times Sq ads]
White space highway
When the FCC passed legislation opening up the "white space" spectrum abandoned by the transition from broadcast to digital TV, they converted a 2-lane wi-fi highway into 8.
Who and what communications innovation will be first to dominate the lanes?
Who and what communications innovation will be first to dominate the lanes?
9.23.2009
9.21.2009
9.20.2009
Is Iraq ironic?
"People who don't find jobs could become thieves and looters."
Despite the billions it is preparing to commit, this is just a small project for the Chinese company - a pump-primer to build relations with the Iraqi government.
It is actually based on an old deal (a 23-year, $3bn (£1.84bn) deal to exploit the small al-Ahdab field) first signed with the government of Saddam Hussein in the late 1990s, but which never went any further.
Despite the billions it is preparing to commit, this is just a small project for the Chinese company - a pump-primer to build relations with the Iraqi government.
It is actually based on an old deal (a 23-year, $3bn (£1.84bn) deal to exploit the small al-Ahdab field) first signed with the government of Saddam Hussein in the late 1990s, but which never went any further.
9.19.2009
9.15.2009
Kanye opens the curtain
At first you started off real cool, singing meaningless pop songs about love and suffering, just like everybody else. Then you thought you'd make a statement, espousing female empowerment and putting your foot down against men who weren't making a contribution to a shared life. And really, I would have been with you all the way, except...
Except you espouse a philosophy that perpetuates a double standard. That men have to earn money to be valuable (in the case of "Bills, bills, bills") or that they'll only mean they love you when they've purchased you with a wedding ring (as in "Put a ring on it").
This is dangerous messaging in the public discourse. Though I totally agree that women should be proud to earn their own money, and should demand of men an equal contribution in the household, as well as expecting and receiving the same commitment and faithfulness they're willing to put in, the moment that you equate that singularly with providing cash or goods, the moment you disregard the statistical FACT that a great number of women do NOT earn money in the marketplace, and do NOT make an equal cash contribution to a union - married or not. And when you assume an arrangement that the men have to pay to be valued, you also - conversely and perversely - defend the women who don't, which simply prevents their non-market work from becoming more valuable.
By destroying the moment for Taylor Swift, Kanye pulled the curtain back on the whole MTV mask: the mask that says we're making meaningful music and authentic art. By promoting Beyonce's work as having more value than Swift's, he came crashing back down into the stage, proving that it's all just a show of most popular (which, at this point, is as much a phenomenon of marketing, distribution and access as it is about reaching the hearts and minds of the audience).
Even worse, Kanye apologized. To Swift, to the audience. I'm all for Kanye getting tore up and getting "real" on TV - in fact, given his track record of insightful public comments, I'd actually encourage it. What I don't want is for someone with his ego and his insight apologizing for having a say. It ruins his image, it undermines the value and accuracy of his statements, and it hands the power back to the marketing machine from which they've all sprung.
If you're going to tell everyone to fuck off, mean it. Never apologize.
Except you espouse a philosophy that perpetuates a double standard. That men have to earn money to be valuable (in the case of "Bills, bills, bills") or that they'll only mean they love you when they've purchased you with a wedding ring (as in "Put a ring on it").
This is dangerous messaging in the public discourse. Though I totally agree that women should be proud to earn their own money, and should demand of men an equal contribution in the household, as well as expecting and receiving the same commitment and faithfulness they're willing to put in, the moment that you equate that singularly with providing cash or goods, the moment you disregard the statistical FACT that a great number of women do NOT earn money in the marketplace, and do NOT make an equal cash contribution to a union - married or not. And when you assume an arrangement that the men have to pay to be valued, you also - conversely and perversely - defend the women who don't, which simply prevents their non-market work from becoming more valuable.
By destroying the moment for Taylor Swift, Kanye pulled the curtain back on the whole MTV mask: the mask that says we're making meaningful music and authentic art. By promoting Beyonce's work as having more value than Swift's, he came crashing back down into the stage, proving that it's all just a show of most popular (which, at this point, is as much a phenomenon of marketing, distribution and access as it is about reaching the hearts and minds of the audience).
Even worse, Kanye apologized. To Swift, to the audience. I'm all for Kanye getting tore up and getting "real" on TV - in fact, given his track record of insightful public comments, I'd actually encourage it. What I don't want is for someone with his ego and his insight apologizing for having a say. It ruins his image, it undermines the value and accuracy of his statements, and it hands the power back to the marketing machine from which they've all sprung.
If you're going to tell everyone to fuck off, mean it. Never apologize.
9.10.2009
I wanted media! and that's what I got
Pardon the references...
Time Warner's letting go of AOL and buying better properties, maybe. "We must have networks."
Good luck Leo! In internet terms, AOL isn't just antique, it's irrelevant. And we don't want to use our (grand)mother's internet. On the other hand, those not in the know think that AOL IS the internet! So you've got that going for you.
Hulu, you f@*#ing traitors! It's over. Pay-to-play is a deal-breaker.
Talk about convergence: my nano now shoots video. This is the best thing to happen to user-gen since the internet. Pretty soon you'll see MYtv on youtube - homemade videos of my favorite songs, playlists, memory-connecting like crazy. Welcome back, Steve!
Don't be threatened by the new model, Disney. If you make good movies for kids, we'll all be stuck buying them... unless, of course, you want to make digital streaming easier, smoother, and cheaper than owning. Come to think of it, why do you care about that?
Come up with a NEW story idea, why don't you?! Moving DC Comics into films is just a rehash. And you can pillage stories from anywhere TW.
Broadband is "essential" for new jobs. Well, I could have told you that!
Shit. If you can smoke pot, do coke, write about it, and then become President of the US, what could I possibly put on facebook that will matter "when I grow up"?! Hypocrisy is, possibly, one of the things we'd avoid.
If there's a survey, it must be true: more people are watching tv on the internet.
Truer words... "If operators can make their networks as accessible or nearly as accessible to developers as the iPhone, they will be able to offer their own versions of applications stores."
Fighting for freedom but not getting it. Soldiers get screwed by official policy (again)?
Disney, your ass is getting fat. Or maybe that's just the acquisition of Wideload. Or maybe the acquisition of Wideload is going to make you realize that you aren't the svelte traditional multimedia hub you once were. Or, maybe you'll fit right into those genes.
Time Warner's letting go of AOL and buying better properties, maybe. "We must have networks."
Good luck Leo! In internet terms, AOL isn't just antique, it's irrelevant. And we don't want to use our (grand)mother's internet. On the other hand, those not in the know think that AOL IS the internet! So you've got that going for you.
Hulu, you f@*#ing traitors! It's over. Pay-to-play is a deal-breaker.
Talk about convergence: my nano now shoots video. This is the best thing to happen to user-gen since the internet. Pretty soon you'll see MYtv on youtube - homemade videos of my favorite songs, playlists, memory-connecting like crazy. Welcome back, Steve!
Don't be threatened by the new model, Disney. If you make good movies for kids, we'll all be stuck buying them... unless, of course, you want to make digital streaming easier, smoother, and cheaper than owning. Come to think of it, why do you care about that?
Come up with a NEW story idea, why don't you?! Moving DC Comics into films is just a rehash. And you can pillage stories from anywhere TW.
Broadband is "essential" for new jobs. Well, I could have told you that!
Shit. If you can smoke pot, do coke, write about it, and then become President of the US, what could I possibly put on facebook that will matter "when I grow up"?! Hypocrisy is, possibly, one of the things we'd avoid.
If there's a survey, it must be true: more people are watching tv on the internet.
Truer words... "If operators can make their networks as accessible or nearly as accessible to developers as the iPhone, they will be able to offer their own versions of applications stores."
Fighting for freedom but not getting it. Soldiers get screwed by official policy (again)?
Disney, your ass is getting fat. Or maybe that's just the acquisition of Wideload. Or maybe the acquisition of Wideload is going to make you realize that you aren't the svelte traditional multimedia hub you once were. Or, maybe you'll fit right into those genes.
9.09.2009
9.08.2009
An advertising work of inspiration
It may just be desperation, but experimenting with advertising formats is an as-yet unexplored narrative territory.
Plus, desperation leads some to do truly awe-inspiring things. Biting your own arm off, for one.
Plus, desperation leads some to do truly awe-inspiring things. Biting your own arm off, for one.
Tapping into the music
One of the interesting things about the music business since the emergence of the internet is the proliferation of underground artists (and, sometimes, their adoption by the mainstream) through social networking.
Ever watchful for the new revenue stream, the giants - in this case, Time Warner - have partnered with software to facilitate their entrance into (and, no doubt, subsequent control of) this phenomenon.
Bets on whether or not it'll work?
Ever watchful for the new revenue stream, the giants - in this case, Time Warner - have partnered with software to facilitate their entrance into (and, no doubt, subsequent control of) this phenomenon.
Bets on whether or not it'll work?
9.01.2009
Free and slow to all
The government's stance on net neutrality issues is ironic, considering states' reliance on toll roads, FCC auctions of broadcast frequencies and limited access to 3G networks nationwide.
The Obama administrations support of net neutrality, however, is a shift in attitude that just might open access enough to encourage communication which will drive innovation and the exchange of ideas that the internet-age philosophers prophesied in the early days of the web.
Why are we so afraid of open and unbiased communications?
It's expensive. And it's not profitable in a short-term, privately held balance sheet kind of way.
But if we had a nickel for every new idea that arises from a free exchange, well, we'd probably be able to afford the infrastructure improvements that a non-tiered internet system will require. And then we'd really be rich.
The Obama administrations support of net neutrality, however, is a shift in attitude that just might open access enough to encourage communication which will drive innovation and the exchange of ideas that the internet-age philosophers prophesied in the early days of the web.
Why are we so afraid of open and unbiased communications?
It's expensive. And it's not profitable in a short-term, privately held balance sheet kind of way.
But if we had a nickel for every new idea that arises from a free exchange, well, we'd probably be able to afford the infrastructure improvements that a non-tiered internet system will require. And then we'd really be rich.
Severed Ways reviewed in the NYT
This is blatant and enthusiastic propaganda. But seriously, what do you do when someone you know does something so phenomenal that Manohla Dargis says something really good about it?!
You break open the Cristal, motherf@#ker!
You break open the Cristal, motherf@#ker!
SEVERED WAYS: THE NORSE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA TRAILER from heathen dude on Vimeo.
Phenemenon watching
California's on fire, and we're watching from a web cam.
Time Lapse Test: The Station Fire from Eric Spiegelman on Vimeo.
Off with your lights!
An example of the positive changes brought about by being broke: going green by necessity, not by choice.
Some cities look to cut their annual budgets by eliminating street lights. And with good reason, some people object.
Motions sensors could solve this problem instantaneously.
Some cities look to cut their annual budgets by eliminating street lights. And with good reason, some people object.
Motions sensors could solve this problem instantaneously.
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