Category: Random, But Interesting

New Book, New Model

My friend John Heilemann points me to the site for this new book, Safe: The race to protect ourselves in a newly dangerous world. This is a bit off topic for my site, but the folks behind the book are old colleagues and wonderful people, and the book itself…

Book2My friend John Heilemann points me to the site for this new book, Safe: The race to protect ourselves in a newly dangerous world. This is a bit off topic for my site, but the folks behind the book are old colleagues and wonderful people, and the book itself is the expression of a new model in authorship, pioneered by Katrina Heron, who took over the editorship of Wired magazine a few months after I left to start the Standard. From the site FAQ:

Safe was a collaborative effort; having multiple authors allowed us to address a broader range of subjects than any one of us could have. It enabled us to talk to a vast collection of thinkers in a relatively short time, and to find links and themes connecting wide areas of counterterrorism-related research. Technology moves quickly, and working together also helped us to make the book as current as possible.

Leave a comment on New Book, New Model

SIGN UP FOR THE NEWSLETTER

Stay up to date on the latest from BattelleMedia.com

Weber’s New West

Nearly two years ago I traveled to Montana to see Jonathan Weber, a good friend and partner in the Industry Standard. Weber had set down roots in Missoula after teaching there one semester – he was planning to come back, but he met a girl, bought a house on…

Jonathan

Nearly two years ago I traveled to Montana to see Jonathan Weber, a good friend and partner in the Industry Standard. Weber had set down roots in Missoula after teaching there one semester – he was planning to come back, but he met a girl, bought a house on a river, and by the time I saw him, he was settled in. Weber wanted my take on a new idea he was turning over in his mind – the creation of a regional magazine covering the Rocky Mountain area in which he now resided. I told him I was skeptical – regional print magazines are a tough road – but agreed that the basic premise of a new western ethos certainly seemed to be forming, driven by both local forces and the influx of educated outsiders drawn to the region’s beauty and promise – folks like Weber, in fact.

Well, I am tickled to see the fruit of Jonathan’s labor, just announced: New West. (Yes, Weber did call my teaching partner Clay Felker, who started another “New West” in California nearly 20 years ago, for his blessing). But this is not a print magazine- that is coming later. Instead Jonathan is building a full bore second generation blogging network covering the Rocky Mountains – Idaho, Montana, portions of Colorado, Utah and eastern Washington. As one might expect with Jonathan, the site is full of excellent reporting and strong voices. It includes elements of citizen journalism as well as strong long form. I think it’s really going places. Congratulations, Jonathan!

From the About page:

Read More
Leave a comment on Weber’s New West

Googler Says: Google’s Corporate Blog Is Lame

OK the "lame" was my addition. But it sure is nice to see some constructive criticism from a real live Googler. Massless is the site of Chris Wetherell, a UI jockey at Google. This was posted over a week ago, but I'm just catching up on some of my…

OK the “lame” was my addition. But it sure is nice to see some constructive criticism from a real live Googler. Massless is the site of Chris Wetherell, a UI jockey at Google. This was posted over a week ago, but I’m just catching up on some of my reading.



The Google Blog hasn’t caught up yet. It’s a surprising mis-representation – the culture we work in is fast, decisive, and colloquial but the blog voice is stiff. It’s your not-so-cool uncle unbuttoning his shirt, listening to The Postal Service (but only the single of Such Great Heights) and proclaiming that Yeah, I totally dig your stuff you kids, this hip-hop speaks to me too. Um. Dogg. *flashes hang ten sign*.

1 Comment on Googler Says: Google’s Corporate Blog Is Lame

The G-Bay Economy

Reading Bizweek (yup, the print edition) earlier this week, I noticed this article, titled "Keywords for Ad Buyers: Pay Up." (BTW, it's entirely too hard to find this stuff on B'Week's site, but that's another issue.) In the article, Ben Elgin notes Google's extraordinary earnings, then adds that Google…

Googlebot EarthReading Bizweek (yup, the print edition) earlier this week, I noticed this article, titled “Keywords for Ad Buyers: Pay Up.” (BTW, it’s entirely too hard to find this stuff on B’Week’s site, but that’s another issue.) In the article, Ben Elgin notes Google’s extraordinary earnings, then adds that Google has the enviable position of pricing power:

What accounted for the outsize profits? The high prices Google charges for search keywords, for one. Industrywide, they were up an average of 43.7% last year, according to search marketing firm iProspect.com Inc. And the most sought-after words have become far more dear: “background check” rose 258% in a year. On the day of the earnings announcement, Google CEO Eric E. Schmidt told analysts: “There does not seem to be price resistance” from advertisers.

But the pricing power cuts two ways. Elgin goes on to give eBay as an example, quoting CEO Meg Whitman:

Read More
Leave a comment on The G-Bay Economy

Make Launches

Congrats to the O'Reilly team and to Mark, the editor and my partner over at Boing Boing, on the launch of Make, a magazine/book hybrid that I think has great potential (my shorthand for it is "Popular Mechanics for the digital age.") I was involved in conceptualizing the project…

01Congrats to the O’Reilly team and to Mark, the editor and my partner over at Boing Boing, on the launch of Make, a magazine/book hybrid that I think has great potential (my shorthand for it is “Popular Mechanics for the digital age.”) I was involved in conceptualizing the project early in its life, and I am so pleased to see it out in the world! Full release in extended entry.

]]>

Read More

1 Comment on Make Launches

Union Square Ventures

Fred Wilson and Brad Burnham have started a fund – reportedly oversubscribed – that will invest at the intersection of technology, media, and disruptive internet models. I'm very pleased they are doing this, and there is such interest from institutional money. I like these guys a lot (caveat, Fred's…

Fred Wilson and Brad Burnham have started a fund – reportedly oversubscribed – that will invest at the intersection of technology, media, and disruptive internet models. I’m very pleased they are doing this, and there is such interest from institutional money. I like these guys a lot (caveat, Fred’s previous fund, Flatiron, invested in The Standard) and met with them today when I was in NYC. It was nice to be able to congratulate them in person on closing their fund and getting on with investing. They noted, as we spoke, that the advent of lightweight business models and the excesses of the bubble make it actually harder to invest in Web 2.0. That’s good, I think – it really makes investing a considered decision on both sides. I am sure they’ll have a great time, and thanks to Fred’s site, we can keep tabs on how it’s going in real time.

1 Comment on Union Square Ventures

Google Blogger Is Gone

Mark Jen, the fellow who reported on internal company activities at Google, is gone from the company. I pinged a Google rep and he confirmed it. This is a clear message to Google employees. I imagine any who are blogging, are re-reading their HR policies about now… I guess…

Mark Jen, the fellow who reported on internal company activities at Google, is gone from the company. I pinged a Google rep and he confirmed it.

This is a clear message to Google employees. I imagine any who are blogging, are re-reading their HR policies about now…

I guess someone who violates the rules like this will, I imagine, be dealt with in various ways by various companies. I wonder what Yahoo might have done in the same situation, or Microsoft? The information on the site, which was taken down and then redacted, was really not that big a deal. At least, it seems that way to me. But one never knows.

Read More
20 Comments on Google Blogger Is Gone

Findory Moves BlogPlasma Closer to Reality

Recall my BlogPlasma idea? Well Greg Linden at Findory has worked up a first draft of it, which he calls Findory Neighbors. He explains the thinking behind it here. Here's Searchblog's "neighborhood." I like this, but it needs more work – the alphabetical approach doesn't work for me (it…

Findory NabesRecall my BlogPlasma idea? Well Greg Linden at Findory has worked up a first draft of it, which he calls Findory Neighbors. He explains the thinking behind it here. Here’s Searchblog’s “neighborhood.”

I like this, but it needs more work – the alphabetical approach doesn’t work for me (it creates some false positives), and I still want MusicPlasma’s skin. I’m going to try to work with the MusicPlasma folks and Greg to build on this and make it even better!

1 Comment on Findory Moves BlogPlasma Closer to Reality

Fark Future Google Scenarios

Fark is having a Google photoshop hack contest. These are priceless. (thanks, Rick!)…

Fark is having a Google photoshop hack contest.

These are priceless.

Thoughtsearch

Smeagle1Vc

Read More
19 Comments on Fark Future Google Scenarios

Conferences Ahoy!

Earlier this month we set the dates fro Web 2.0, the second edition. So mark your calendars – Oct. 5-7th, in San Francisco. Details to come! Meanwhile, I want to use this space to plug another great event. It's called eTech, and it's pretty much the kissing cousin of…

EtechEarlier this month we set the dates fro Web 2.0, the second edition. So mark your calendars – Oct. 5-7th, in San Francisco. Details to come!

Meanwhile, I want to use this space to plug another great event. It’s called eTech, and it’s pretty much the kissing cousin of Web 2.0. eTech is where the seeds of new and interesting technologies are first discovered, whilst Web 2.0 is where they take root in the soil of business. Of course you should go to both, but eTech is coming up first. It’s another conference from the great folks at O’Reilly, who I work with on Web 2.0.

In any case, Rael Dornfest, program chair and O’Reilly CTO, has graciously given me a registration discount code to pass along to you all for the event, which will be held March 14-17 in San Diego.

Read More
Leave a comment on Conferences Ahoy!