The Big Dow Drop Meets The Nanny Index
The Big Dow Drop Meets The Nanny Index
I recently read David Harsanyi's excellent book Nanny State: How Food Fascists, Teetotaling Do-Gooders, Priggish Moralists, and other Boneheaded Bureaucrats are Turning America into a Nation of Children. It was a thoughtful birthday gift from my folks, who thoughtfully indulge my libertarian bent with such works.
In this book, Harsanyi says that the five most frightening words than can be uttered by the typical U.S. government official are "Something needs to be done."
Starting last Friday and cresting today thanks to the stalled mega-bailout, that devilish phrase is at a six-month all-time... Read more...
Phil's Blogservations, Yesterday, 1:11pm
Serve.Gov Needs Volunteers...
...to watch the serve.gov site, presumably.
Found this evening, though I don't expect it to be up for long.
Technorati Tags:
fail Read more...
Phil's Blogservations, Yesterday, 1:11pm
VCs, Wake Up
From peHUB about video processor startup Novafora folding yesterday:
"'VC appetite has really dried up for later-stage semiconductor companies,' says a former Novafora executive, reached at his home this morning. 'They all want to do social networking and things like that.'"
Sure, you want to go where the money is and where a quick exit can be had, but isn't that how you got into that whole mess in 2001?
NB: If we don't invest in keeping pace with Moore's Treadmill, the next-generation social network, entertainment device, toaster, or garage door opener simply won't happen.
As I told a colleague some years ago: "Dot-coms make headlines. Well and good. But science makes history."
Technorati Tags: Read more...
Phil's Blogservations, Yesterday, 1:11pm
"Lose Sight, Lose the Fight"
We're at about six months since the United States Air Force's blog-response chart made its rounds online. Since then, it has crossed my desk often.
I've always found it well-designed and comprehensive, though something has always bugged me about it. The other day, I figured out what it was.
Somewhat incredibly, it ignores the number-one rule that all combat pilots must follow: "Lose Sight, Lose the Fight."
The flaw is in the little box at the lower right-hand corner.
INFLUENCE: Focus on the most used sites related to the Air Force.
Seems narrow to me. For example, let's imagine that, say, and influencer like Robert Scoble is talking with a buddy in the Air Force. One day over coffee, the buddy says that the plane he flew in Iraq had an intermittent issue where the readouts would blink for no good reason... Read more...
Phil's Blogservations, Yesterday, 1:11pm
Never Forget
For those of us who love freedom, this is a must-see.
More at Reason.Tv.
Technorati Tags:
freedom, communism, cold war, berlin wall Read more...
Phil's Blogservations, Yesterday, 1:11pm
The Art Of 'Goldilocks' SEO
I always pay attention to Aaron Wall, who runs SEOBook, because he is always on the money. He is one of the very few Google Watchers that is consistently insightful and isn't afraid of writing hard hitting articles critical of Google -- if it's called for. Here is one of his latest infographics, and again, he is spot on about the changing trends in how Google views the web. It's shocking how much valuable advice he gives away: Read more...
Silicon Valley Watcher - at the intersection of technology and media, Yesterday, 3:52am
The Dirty Little Secret Of Silicon Valley's Startup Boom...
Silicon Valley Watcher - at the intersection of technology and media, Feb 2, 8:54pm
Facebook's Hidden Gold Mine - What The Others Have Missed
Several reporters have pointed to a big risk that they discovered in Facebook's SEC filing: mobile. Read more...
Silicon Valley Watcher - at the intersection of technology and media, Feb 2, 4:07pm
A Tale Of Two Letters: Facebook's Vague Social Mission
Facebook's IPO documents reveals a far different culture to that of neighboring rival Google...Mark Zuckerberg's letter to prospective shareholders was incredibly vague about his company's "social mission" and there was no announcement of a charitable foundation -- as Google had done when it filed its IPO papers eight years ago. Read more...
Silicon Valley Watcher - at the intersection of technology and media, Feb 2, 5:42am
What To Watch: Will Zuckerberg's IPO Letter Be As Awesome As Larry Page's?
The same media frenzy of interest that we see today in the Facebook IPO we saw with Google in 2004...I remember vividly the day Google filed its "red herring" with the SEC in preparation for its IPO. I was out at lunch when our bureau chief Richard Waters, called me, "They've filed." Read more...
Silicon Valley Watcher - at the intersection of technology and media, Feb 1, 4:26am
Report: Facebook IPO Halved -- Its Valuation Could Skyrocket Above $100bn
International Financing Review, a Thomson Reuters publication, reports that its Wall Street sources point to a far smaller Facebook IPO, raising about $5 billion instead of the expected $10 billion. Read more...
Silicon Valley Watcher - at the intersection of technology and media, Jan 31, 6:40pm
Will Massive $1.5 Billion Andreessen Fund Inflate The Bubble In Private Secondary Markets?
(Photo:By Joi Ito.)Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz made their reputation as savvy investors by making lots of small seed investments of up to $100,000. This then helped them raise billions of dollars, $2.7 billion so far, with the latest $1.5 billion fund announced today. Read more...
Silicon Valley Watcher - at the intersection of technology and media, Jan 31, 4:08pm
Bay Meadows Urban Office Campus Opens Up Massive Space
San Francisco is straining to accomodate demand from large and small tech companies but not far down the road a massive new office space has just opened up. Read more...
Silicon Valley Watcher - at the intersection of technology and media, Jan 30, 7:36pm
MediaWatch Analysis: Should The Tech Industry Buy The Content Industry?
Should Apple buy Hollywood? Should Google buy the New York Times? Foremski's Take: People in the tech communities have long discussed the need for tech companies to buy media companies. More recently, there has been discussion about Apple using its $100 billion cash hoard to buy music and movie studios.This won't happen, for many reasons. I discuss some of those reasons here: Read more...
Silicon Valley Watcher - at the intersection of technology and media, Jan 30, 4:38pm
In Defense Of The "Purist"
In Defense Of The "Purist"
I while ago, I was having lunch with my friend "Bart" whose supervisor "James" had left the firm he worked for at the time. Naturally, this meant that Bart had to take on some of his former boss's responsibilities — some considerable shoes to fill.
James was a leader in this company's online communications strategy, not just because of his considerable technical knowledge but, rather, the instincts he developed over a period of time.
During one of the necessary transition meetings, Bart had a meeting with James' former boss.
"The thing is about James was," the boss said. "He was just too much of a purist."
Considering Bart and James were pretty much parallel philosophically, this wasn't such good news for my friend. Bart would leave the firm soon afterward.
Since Bart told me this story, I've been asking myself, "What did James' former boss mean?"
It occurs to me that there are some... Read more...
Phil's Blogservations, Jan 30, 1:11pm
Having A "Message" Is Fine, It's "Messaging" That Sucks
Having A "Message" Is Fine, It's "Messaging" That Sucks
In PR 2.0 circles, it has long been hip to say that there is no place in modern communications for a company with "messages" and that any company with "messages" is somehow lost in the digital weeds. A PR person who says otherwise is derided as a knuckle-dragging troglodyte while the supremely useless you-don't-get-it crowd gleefully jumps in and piles on.
I disagree with the premise that messages are necessarily dead. This was a fallacy that was allowed to progress because the some PR folks were too busy ingratiating themselves with a small set of influencers to think the issues and distinctions through.
If your company doesn't have a "message" — a set of clear ideas that codify how it sees itself, its industry, and the world at large — then why the hell does it even exist, let alone communicate?
Frankly, a distinction needs to be made.... Read more...
Phil's Blogservations, Jan 30, 1:11pm
The Coming Merger Of Power + Data - Apple Patent
I've long thought that electric and computer power will eventually be mixed. There used to be various ways of using a home's electric power lines to guide data connections to every room but wireless technologies became simpler and cheaper.Now Apple has received a patent on a power connector that also carries a data connector. It's a step towards a merging two powers that will fuel this century and beyond.AppleInsider has the details: Read more...
Silicon Valley Watcher - at the intersection of technology and media, Jan 27, 1:06pm
Facebook Use Is Linked To Depression... And More Sex
This study of time spent on Facebook by 425 College students is depressing: Read more...
Silicon Valley Watcher - at the intersection of technology and media, Jan 27, 12:51pm
Moving On
I've blogged my last here and have moved on to a new site, Where the Fishermen Ain't. Of course, I can also be found in all of the usual places. Read more...
Phil's Blogservations, Jan 27, 1:11am
How To Behave In An Internet Forum
How To Behave In An Internet Forum
How To Behave On A Forum - video powered by Metacafe
Technorati Tags:
online, forums Read more...
Phil's Blogservations, Jan 27, 1:11am
2009: Hoping For Audacity, Believing We Can Change
2009: Hoping For Audacity, Believing We Can Change
From the Edelman Digital blog:
The first few years of my PR career in Silicon Valley were marked by a singular frustration most PR professionals did not aspire to be, nor were they particularly expected to be, as driven to innovate in their own field as their clients were in theirs.
"Just get into the Journal," seemed the dictum. "Everything else is secondary."
For a number of reasons so tangential to this story as to be distracting, the advent of social media is what kept me in public relations at a point in 2001 when I asked myself "Is this all that there is?" Years later, I'm glad to see there's a lot more. A hell of a lot more.
For what it's worth, 2009 will be the year when real innovation starts to come back into PR not in the relatively... Read more...
Phil's Blogservations, Jan 27, 1:11am
How Ousted Company Leaders Continue To "Manage From The Grave"
Lucy Marcus makes some excellent points in this article from Reuters' Blogs: Lead from the front, or manage from the grave? | Lucy P. MarcusShe shows how boards of directors at RIM, and Yahoo, are making serious mistakes in their efforts to revitalize their businesses with new leaders. They don't take the necessary steps to cut off the influence of the former, discredited management teams, on the organization. Appointing a new CEO will change little. Read more...
Silicon Valley Watcher - at the intersection of technology and media, Jan 26, 7:09pm
Could Buildings Be Improved If They Were Designed Like A Web App?
David Galbraith has embarked on a fascinating journey, exploring the notion that the flow of people and their interactions inside buildings, is similar in design to the flow of data and user interaction of Web apps.Could best practices in Web app design be applied to architectural design? Read more...
Silicon Valley Watcher - at the intersection of technology and media, Jan 26, 6:26pm
Entrepreneurship is a fundamental human expression whose absence is always a sign of oppression
A group of Indian students at Velammal Engineering College are putting together a book: "500 Definitions Of Entrepreneurship" and they asked me for my definition. Here's what I sent: Read more...
Silicon Valley Watcher - at the intersection of technology and media, Jan 26, 1:10pm
Searching For Race In Social Media - US Government Program Targets Hispanics
Dana Oshiro, publishing analyst at ad network NetShelter, poses an interesting question: "how do you determine race and ethnicity online? "This question arose from her recent attendance at the White House Hispanic Community Action Summit in San Jose, CA where plans were discussed on how to use social media and online marketing to target the Hispanic population. The goal is to offer programs that will raise the number of Hispanic students in colleges by 4.5 million over the next ten years. Read more...
Silicon Valley Watcher - at the intersection of technology and media, Jan 25, 3:32pm
Here's Why Apple Won't Reign-in Its Lawyers Anytime Soon...
Apple has been waging legal battles against rivals such as Samsung. It may have spent more than $100 million on legal bills in 2011.Tim O'Reilly, the influential CEO of book and conference company of the same name, tweeted: Read more...
Silicon Valley Watcher - at the intersection of technology and media, Jan 24, 6:22pm
Hacks And Ca$h: Silicon Valley Outspent Hollywood in Washington
There is a widespread perception that Hollywood's media industries have friends in high places because they have spent money buying influence compared with the poor tech industry. But Reuters reports that the tech industry has outspent the entertainment industries. Read more...
Silicon Valley Watcher - at the intersection of technology and media, Jan 23, 4:17pm
Insurance And Finance Top Google Customers In 2011 - Revenue Breakdown
Which industries and companies were Google's top spenders in 2011? Did you know that "Self Employed Health Insurance" cost $43 per click? Here's a fascinating infographic that breaks down the $38 billion that Google made in 2011: Read more...
Silicon Valley Watcher - at the intersection of technology and media, Jan 23, 2:40pm
2012 StartupWatch: Echo Expanding With Key Hires
Silicon Valley Watcher - at the intersection of technology and media, Jan 23, 1:01pm
Capiche? Y Combinator Finds A Key Metric For Success
Paul Graham, a partner at Y Combinator a successful Silicon Valley incubator, writes that he has found a key sign of future success among the startups that are recruited into YC's twice-yearly mentoring programs.What is this indicator? Read more...
Silicon Valley Watcher - at the intersection of technology and media, Jan 22, 10:29pm
Lessons In Online Culture From Plancast - When Sharing Doesn't Work
Mark Henderson, founder and CEO of Plancast, has written an excellent article about lessons learned from operating his event planning service -- mostly popular in the Silicon Valley/San Francisco area. It contains a good analysis of the different types of users and what people are willing to share online. Read more...
Silicon Valley Watcher - at the intersection of technology and media, Jan 22, 6:05pm
NYT Profile On Jolie's Media Management Shows Profession Has A Long Way To Go
NYT Profile On Jolie's Media Management Shows PR Profession Has A Long Way To Go
I'm still not sure whether The New York Times was repulsed or intrigued by the fact that that Angelina Jolie exhibits greater media savvy than the average Hollywood type, taking more than 1,500 words to tell its very literate readership what it already intuitively (or explicitly) knows about celebrity PR.
Where The Old Gray Lady sees a "carefully orchestrated image", I see a very smart woman who has a greater level of media savvy than the average actor or actress. Like Princess Di, Jolie also knows that she can channel interest in her celebrity life to bring attention to the topics and world issues she cares about.
Putting aside for the... Read more...
Phil's Blogservations, Jan 22, 1:11pm
Blaming The Victim
An exchange today, reacting to a press release about a topic that I have never been even remotely interested in:
Sammy Spamalot: [Insert spray-and-pray release here.]
Phil: Please take me off of your list
Sammy: Use the unsubscribe link in the email please
Phil: Way to blame the victim, dude.
Sammy: Thanks Phil, it would just take me ages to find your addres in our database.
Phil: Probably no more time than it took for me to fish your note out of the trash and find the link, I'd imagine.
Almost as good as the time the PR person told me that she was blameless and advised that I call the company that sold them their media list. Read more...
Phil's Blogservations, Jan 22, 1:11pm
Quick Update
Quick Update
So, I spent some time here:
Met this way-cool guy: Read more...
Phil's Blogservations, Jan 22, 1:11pm
Vice Media: The Best Network Effect Is The Old Boy Network
Vice Media is a great success story: three friends in Montreal start publishing a magazine about tattoos and drinking and now run a media empire across 34 countries.Vice could be worth $1 billion by the end of this year and become "the next MTV," writes Jeff Bercovici at Forbes: Read more...
Silicon Valley Watcher - at the intersection of technology and media, Jan 20, 6:15pm
Google+ Numbers Could Be Higher Than Larry Page Says
Larry Page, CEO of Google, said at the analyst call on Thursday that G+ has 90 million users and that 60% are active daily. Read more...
Silicon Valley Watcher - at the intersection of technology and media, Jan 20, 4:40pm
Are VCs Abandonding Seed Funding? Report Shows Massive 48% Dive In One Year
Silicon Valley Watcher - at the intersection of technology and media, Jan 20, 4:31am
It's Interesting That Google Hosted Unblocked Wikipedia Pages During SOPA Protest
Wikipedia, which features at the top of many searches, blacked out its English-language site to protest the proposed SOPA legislation but the entire site was readily available on Google. Read more...
Silicon Valley Watcher - at the intersection of technology and media, Jan 18, 7:49pm
Google's Strategy To Boost Its G+ Social Network Risks Harming Quality Of Search Warns SEO Expert
Silicon Valley Watcher - at the intersection of technology and media, Jan 17, 4:17pm
Cloud Computing Is Driving A Digital Arts Renaissance
Silicon Valley Watcher - at the intersection of technology and media, Jan 17, 1:38pm
"Think Fair" - Apple Moves To Become The World's First Fair Trade Electronics Tech Company
Silicon Valley Watcher - at the intersection of technology and media, Jan 16, 2:10am
Instructor's Notebook: PROpenMic At Six Months
Instructor's Notebook: PROpenMic At Six Months
Cross-posted from Authenticities:
Auburn University's Robert French is to be congratulated for what he's accomplished with PROpenMic. In just six months, the site stacks up quite favorably in every measure to the likes of myragan.com (the closest thing I can compare it to) and even some other well-known PR-focused sites.
I'll let Robert's analysis speak for itself. For my part, there are a number of lessons for all PR... Read more...
Phil's Blogservations, Jan 16, 1:11am
Media Postions GM PR Adviser As 'Auto Analyst', While Arrington Derails PR's Focus
Media Postions GM PR Adviser As 'Auto Analyst', While Arrington Derails PR's Focus
Yuck:
CBSs 'The Early Show' included a statement in its Dec. 18 report on the Big 3 bailout from 'auto industry analyst,' Dan McGinn. Letting the massive car companies fail 'would be like 10 Katrinas hitting America at the same time,' McGinn asserted. 'The American public understands that.'
What the report didnt say is that McGinn is also an adviser to General Motors. Furthermore, TMG Strategies the public relations firm McGinn heads, lists GM as a client. McGinn has been making the case for an auto bailout in many news stories and issuing some compelling statements on behalf of his client.
You'd think media organizations would know the difference before booking such a guest.
And, yet, Read more...
Phil's Blogservations, Jan 16, 1:11am
The Fairness Doctrine Is Not A PR Tactic
The Fairness Doctrine Is Not A PR Tactic
PR Week discusses the quite inappropriately dubbed "Fairness Doctrine" and basically ends with the the following message in the form of a quote by Chris Battle of the Adfero Group: PR people can use this crusty old regulatory idea to browbeat broadcasters into covering their clients.
From the article:
However unlikely its reimplementation, Battle adds that the Fairness Doctrine even if applied only to now-conservative-dominated talk radio could benefit the PR sector.
If the measure were to gain passage, PR firms could, in theory, demand airtime for their clients, he says.
In a sense, it could be a... Read more...
Phil's Blogservations, Jan 16, 1:11am
Sad
Sad
At a volunteers' meeting at UIC tonight, I noticed that this Silicon Graphics O2 workstation was serving as a doorstop in one of the Science & Engineering Lab's rooms.
Funny thing was, I hadn't yet heard the news that SGI was sold to Rackable Systems for $25 million.
Remember when SGI was synonymous with "Hollywood blockbuster?"
What a long, strange trip it's been. Read more...
Phil's Blogservations, Jan 16, 1:11am
Semper (Wi)Fi? Not so much...
I don't mean to spend my two most recent posts picking on our armed forces (which I do have a very deep respect for), but this strikes me as a little crazy:
The U.S. Marine Corps has banned Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and other social media sites from its networks, effective immediately.
These internet sites in general are a proven haven for malicious actors and content and are particularly high risk due to information exposure, user generated content and targeting by adversaries, reads a Marine Corps order, issued Monday. The very nature of SNS [social network sites] creates a larger attack and exploitation window, exposes unnecessary information to adversaries and provides an easy conduit for information leakage that puts OPSEC [operational security], COMSEC [communications security], [and] personnel
at an elevated risk of compromise."
In any event,... Read more...
Phil's Blogservations, Jan 16, 1:11am
Government to Kneecap Innovation
From The Wall Street Journal:
In the Treasury financial reform proposal, who comes in for more regulatory retooling: Fannie Mae, or your average 14-man venture capital shop? If you said venture capital, you understand why one of Americas greatest competitive advantages is now at risk in Washington.
It's clear to me that government isn't interested in solving problems but, rather, interested in "problems" it can "solve."
Technorati Tags:
venture capital, Read more...
Phil's Blogservations, Jan 16, 1:11am
Dear Government: The News Media Doesn't Need You
On September 15, the Federal Trade Commission is going to begin offering workshops for media organizations entitled "Can News Media Survive the Internet Age? Competition, Consumer Protection, and First Amendment Perspectives."
"I'm from the government, and I'm here to help."
For one thing, it's unclear how the FTC reconciles the delivery of this seminar with its self-stated mandate of working "for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them." Lacking a "Ministry of Information" in the U.S. I suppose this had to be filed somewhere.
For another... Any media outlet that lets in the government, in any form, loses a proportionate share of its credibility. At that point, you might as well call it a "newsletter" or, less charitably, "propaganda."
The First Amendment implications,... Read more...
Phil's Blogservations, Jan 16, 1:11am
Dear Government: The Venture Capital Industry Doesn't Need You Either
Sorry... My Libertarianism has been showing the past couple of days. *blush*
Fruit-smashing comedian Gallagher used to joke that "If 'pro' is the opposite of 'con' then 'Congress' is the opposite of 'progress.'"
I can hardly disagree, given how our legislators are considering applying regulatory burdens on venture capital.
From the always-insightful Techdirt:
In a recent Congressional hearing where venture capitalist Trevor Loy explained this to our elected officials, Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky apparently told Loy that he didn't believe him... Read more...
Phil's Blogservations, Jan 16, 1:11am