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Technology

This category contains 42 posts

Two Important Digital Videos


Two digital videos, one by Dylan, the other by GoldieBlox, broke down norms — of both medium and message. Continue reading

BuzzFeed’s Mobile Philosophy


Mobile advertising is diseased and Buzzfeed believes it has a cure. Continue reading

Quick Thoughts on Yahoo/Tumblr (maybe) Marriage


Can Yahoo help Tumblr? Continue reading

How Bands and Start Ups Are Similar


There are several parallels to being in a band and being in a start up. Continue reading

Stupid Thoughts: Charging for Email


Throughout our communications history, we’ve been charged for sending information. Yet with email, we aren’t. Why? Continue reading

Loose Thoughts On Higher Ed


College is not a pathway to jobs or to riches. It’s a place where young people — not quite kids any more, and not quite yet adults — go to learn, and not just within the four walls of a classroom. Continue reading

Twitter vs Google


If there were a global thermonuclear war between Google (and all its services) and Twitter, and only one survived, which would you rather see? In other words, if you had to choose one to give up, which would you choose? I posted this question on Tumblr and Twitter last night, and here are the results: Continue reading

5 Underreported Stories of 2011


As we ring in 2012 and close the books on 2011, we take a look back and assess stories that had major impact on our society. Current.com asked me to put together what I thought were some of the stories that flew under the radar. Continue reading

Community Management and Tumblr


Last week, I wrote at Digiday how the symbiotic relationship between Tumblr and big-brand media properties has contributed to the growth of the site. Here’s a second part to that story – how the community manager’s role has also contributed to the growth of Tumblr, and why their approach is significantly different than other social networks. Continue reading

Missing the Forest for the Trees


Earlier this week, I wrote an article about the often misguided approach from technology startups and their quest for media placements for Digiday, an online publication for the digital audience – those who work in digital media, advertising or marketing. Based on my experience representing many tech companies, and getting anecdotal evidence from tech reporters … Continue reading

On Steve Jobs


I wrote this about 15 minutes after learning of the death of Steve Jobs on my Tumblr blog: Going to step away from my iMac and onto my iPad as I wait for my iPhone to ring. Possibly the biggest outside influence in my life, in all of our lives – he changed the way … Continue reading

Occupy Wall Street: What A Difference A Week Makes


Yesterday evening, I strolled down Broadway from Houston to Zuccotti Park, about a half hour walk, anticipating what the Occupy Wall Street protests would look like a week after I last visited.
I passed the inelegant federal buildings on Broadway and Reade, and saw ahead of me, a couple blocks away on the sidewalk in front of City Hall, a group of protesters and picketers marching side by side. I maneuvered around them and noticed there were several police officers and quite a few paddy wagons with more cops sitting inside them. It began to rain.
Continue reading

Why I Will Never Fly KLM Again


Imagine this scenario: you are a doctor – a heart surgeon – who is away on a much needed vacation overseas. You booked your flight months in advance, followed all the rules, and after 2 weeks away, as you get ready to board your flight home, you are told, “Sorry, sir, but the flight is overbooked and there are no seats available for you. Not even in business class or first class.” Now imagine you are supposed to fly home on a Monday so that you can perform open heart surgery on Tuesday on a 6 year old child who, if she doesn’t have this surgery, will die. Instead, you are stuck in a foreign country, with no way of getting home.
I am not a doctor. Obviously. But the subtext of this scenario, getting bumped from a flight, happened to me recently. And according to the concierge at the Courtyard Marriott in Amsterdam, this happens at least 15 times a day.
Continue reading

Critical Analysis of “Page One: Inside the New York Times”


It’s been a very long time since I wrote a critical content analysis of a film, so I decided to write one about “Page One.” A note: This is unedited and very, very long, and is not meant to be a “like it or not” review, but instead, to use a theoretical lens to discuss this particular documentary. This critique looks at “Page One” through an expository mode of representation lens, which is meant to highlight a) how to read documentary film, b) how this film uses a the expository mode of representation to push its agenda and from that, c) can documentary film be objective? Continue reading

Beware the IRS Phishing Scam


Fifteen years ago, I was almost a multi-millionaire. I received an email from a Nigerian prince whose parents died in a tragic plane crash and he needed to move money around, so he naturally contacted me, a complete and utter stranger, asking if he could wire me $7 million into my bank account, of which I’d get to keep half. I’d have to fill out some forms which included my social security number, bank routing number, etc., and then I’d have a cool $3.5 million to my name. Not bad for an 18 year old college freshman.
Continue reading