Month: November 2014
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Short Term vs. Long Term Metrics
Silicon Valley has replaced Wall Street as the preferred destination of fresh graduates. The pursuit of short term wealth on Wall Street in the 80s is replaced with other short term data points which, when pursued with a singular focus, can skew one’s moral compass. “If Google’s primary weapons are relevancy and speed, then Uber’s…
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The Umbrella Man
On this day, JFK conspiracy day, it’s important remember that sometimes, to paraphrase Freud, that an umbrella is just an umbrella. The truth is indeed stranger than any fiction.
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Contextual Dissonance
Contextual Dissonance – When clearly commercial content is offered during a time when I’m not in commercial mode, it just feels off. John Battelle nails that feeling you get when you notice a brand trying a bit too hard to insert themselves into a conversation. To advertise at scale on the web brands resort to…
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Comanche, the new kid in town
In the world of sailing, the big boats are the Super Maxi class ocean-going racers. Netscape billionaire Jim Clark has commissioned Comanche, a 100 foot vessel that only a nautical architect with unlimited resources could dream up. Built in Maine for a cool $1.4 billion, it is currently on a ship enroute to Australia where…
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The Sharing Economy
Joi Ito gave a brief preamble to a gathering at Digital Garage in San Francisco today, Unlocking the Power of Japanese Content in Worldwide Markets. He spoke about the history of remix culture and differences between Japanese and Western commercial attitudes towards fan fiction and derivative works. Historically, the act of reproducing someone’s work required…