"After arriving home to Fremont in the wee hours Wednesday from her campaign stint in Indiana, she was back to work the next morning at FriendFeed, where, even for a start-up, the days are more predictable than campaign work." :) - Ana
Congratulations on the interview, Ana. I made sure to highlight your stumping for Obama in Scoble's Qik video from the other day, and Kristine enjoyed meeting you as well. - Louis Gray
Here is a version w/ photos: http://www.mercurynews.com/loc... You have to click on "2" under the photo of the Hillary supporters though. That said, it's not really worth it, since I look sort of strange. Must have caught me in a moment of naive, wide-eyed support :) - Ana
Connecting Friends up is getting hot. I'll be at Google on Monday night to cover this stuff as it's announced. - Robert Scoble
Google may be more restrictive with your data, but that is good for your privacy. Some people won't like Facebook just giving your info away and trusting the site to play nice with it. FB certainly seems to have the upper hand in terms of users though. - Tanath
"However, Mr. Angry Overreaction Man decided that he now had a problem with me. He confronted me, demanding my camera. Of course, I refused. He got in my face and started threatening me, telling me that I cannot take his photo without his permission. I told him that yes, in fact, I can. He then walked up and bumped into me, trying to act tough. I told him that one more touch and I would call the police.
Of course, he didn’t like that very much, and at that point told me that if I put his picture on the internet, he would call his laywer. I assured him that his photo would be on the internet" - Paul Buchheit
"Mr. Angry Overreaction Man" is the best phrase I've heard all day. Brilliant. - Matt Harwood
Awesome. I think he deserves to be a new meme. Not only put him up on the internet, but make prints and post them all over the place, make tshirts, videos, ytmnd animations, and on and on and on. - Bill Bittner
lets call him MAO - Man with Angry Overreaction - viki saigal
what an inventive way to make sure that your portrait is widely popularized and massively linked to :D - 9000
@viki is that politically correct? (do we care?) - Alex von Halem
@viki Ahem! That's Mr. Angry Overreaction Man to you! (MOAM) - Kevin D. White
From the look of the guy, you'd just better watch out for detached equine crania in your nocturnal rest area. Uh-oh, did Slippy just use an Italian-American stereotype? You bet he did, but just in fun, honest! - Slippy Lane
This is a huge departure for them, it goes against all the policy of the last 2 years. What strikes me as very odd though, is how they still dont alow you to have a truly public profile like every other social network on earth allows. Perhaps that will follow next. - Robert Kloosterhuis via twhirl
Gore Verbinski's next film will take us back to Davy Jones' locker -- but this time, into the undersea world of BioShock.
The Pirates of the Caribbean director has been tapped to direct and produce a film based on the critically acclaimed world of the Xbox 360 game for Universal, Variety reports. - Tudor Bosman
BioShock rocked. (if you disagree, then, well, you're wrong) It would make a great setting for a movie. - Tudor Bosman
bioshock was pretty good but not as good as systemshock2 - even though bioshock had 10x better graphics, it still didnt achieve the same spooky/crazy atmosphere - and it didnt have psyonic monkeys roaming the hallways :P - bob
"Impressive numbers from Facebook on their architecture: 1,800 MySQL servers (900 pairs of master/slave) holding a heavily partitioned data set managed by just 2 DBAs." - Bret Taylor
what would you see people using the feed for? - Rob Diana
Anything a developer wants. When I'm done it will be possible to make a Wordpress plugin that will pull Google Reader notes into your blog for instance. - Benjamin Golub
Just so you know...tack output=json or output=xml to any (well actually most) URLs and it will give you some json or xml representing that page. It is far from done but technically it is usable. - Benjamin Golub
need for getting into so many services. Now that I can see them all, there's really no reason for getting registered in those I don't actually have contacts. - Rodrigo Jaroszewski via twhirl
I really only signed up for yelp, digg, and stuble upon this way... only to see what they had to offer of course :-) - Ross Miller
Bah, disposable technology at it's worst. There's plenty of discussion about the financial cost to consumers when a new version suddenly makes the "old" iPhone (or iPod, or other cellphone) undesirable, but nobody seems to address the negative environmental impact of such practices. Product line refreshes may drive sales of millions of units (and love from Wall St.), but chances are that the displaced "old" units get dumped without regard to the heavy metals and other pollutants being unleashed. - andrei marinescu
I would love to buy an iPhone, but I am currently contractually bound to T-mobile. Wonder if the iPhone will be sold across all wireless networks, not just AT&T... That would rock for the consumer. - Reem Abeidoh
I would probably buy a LOT more things if the manufacturer would take back the old one and recycle it, or find a good home for it. - Amit Patel
It seems quite clear to me that most first generation iPhones will be passed down to family members and friends at minimal cost to the late adopters. Mine still basically looks brand new except for the back. - Sam Pullara
mine too sam, i may give it to my parents or something - MG Siegler
Some manufacturers take back old PCs; what if consumer-electronics makers (especially Apple, with those 2,600,000 iPods/month) did the same? - Voyagerfan5761
Yup, I (and I suspect many of my iPhone bearing friends) plan to foist Gen 1's onto wives and girlfriends sparing our conscience the stabbing wound of purchasing another $500 phone. :) - felix
I've actually figured out how to use these. - Chris White
"Gunmen assassinated the acting chief of Mexico’s federal police early Thursday morning in the most brazen attack so far in the year-and-a-half-old struggle between the government and organized crime gangs." - Bret Taylor
Would love to present the best noise reduction ideas to FriendFeed's team. - Robert Scoble
After the item consolidation feature (where all items which link to the same post are consolidated comment/like wise) are noise reduction features. Some of this may have to do with the interface. I think that the currently available features are enough for right now though. - Brandon Titus
Best way to reduce noise? Turn off Twitters that don't have either comments or "like's" attached. That way, the shared items and other things rise up more. - Ian Betteridge
I only subscribe to around 30 but via Scoble another uh...2500? I don't find it too noisy and I like the diversity. The current feature set around "remove this" seems enough. But I'm not looking to turn FriendFeed into a one-stop-shopping for all information. Maybe with proper noise reduction it could become that, but I doubt it. - Robert Seidman
Robert, let me hear your thoughts on http://ffapps.com/flowcontrol/ - the original design was for a Greastmonkey hack, but due to the complexity involved, I'm incorporating it into ffreader.com - which is essentially a Reader interface that "extends" the default FF interface with a whole bunch of noise reduction features, bookmarking individual items, etc. I'll send you a link to test it out next week - Aviv
Two things. (1) Brandon mentions the item consolidation feature. FriendFeed co-founder Bret Taylor has a good discussion about that here (http://is.gd/dWm). (2) I like Robert's notion of the # of stars/comments as a guide. I agree. Paul posted a question about super-likes here earlier. That might be OK, but I'm not quite grokking its value. I'd also like to add - I'm enjoying the noise! It keeps it lively and addicting to tell the truth. - Hutch Carpenter
This conversation is a recurring theme here. We could talk all day about "noise" or "fractured comments", but this is the new way of the Web, period. The smart content owners will adjust. Those who want new tech to act "the old way" are going to be less relevant over time. - Louis Gray
I agree with @Louis Gray I think there are improvements that could be made but the core elements are what make me come here and drastic changes to the setup wouldn't be appreciated! - Joe
Louis - you're right, and I think this recurring theme may eventually result in FF being perceived as yet another noisy distraction in the life of a potential [mainstream] user. And that's not good, and I'm sure that in the coming weeks and months improvements by the FF crew as well as independent third-parties will help users consume their FriendFeed more efficiently and in ways that are tailored specifically for each user. - Aviv
hide is the ultimate tool for reducing noise. - Thomas Hawk
(1) Sometimes the twitter which announces an item with TinyURL has a good discussion. Be nice to include those too. (2) It's be nice when I find an item (aka put it in my del.icio.us), if FriendFeed would flag me with the already-existing discussions - maybe indent them to the right. This would allow me to get rid of many of my duplicate "likes" (which are simply the attempt to follow the interesting conversation in 5 places on the same blog post.) - Mitchell Tsai
@Mitchell either that or they could work it in a similar way to the likes - ___, ____, ____, ____ and ** other people liked this - Joe
Noise isn't too much of a problem for me in FriendFeed. However: (1) I don't try to read everything in my feed. (2) I'm following less than 300 people. - Ontario Emperor
I've cut down to following 92 people (maybe fewer when I have time). Most people I simply pop by their pages occasionally (by saving those pages in a list). Same on Twitter. I try to trim my listen-to-list to people whose interests match mine more closely. - Mitchell Tsai
Mitchell: I will start hiding people who are not providing interesting info about the tech industry. At least here on FriendFeed. I'll keep Twitter open so I can see the raw noise. - Robert Scoble
Robert: And I thought you were going to listen to 20,000 FriendFeeders, includng all the Farsi ones. :-) - Mitchell Tsai
I already hid the Farsi ones. My wife can tell me what's going on in those. Or they can translate for me. - Robert Scoble
Robert: You should run the script from internetducttape.com and import over all of your Twitter friends. That would be some noise ha! - Joe
Joe: I tried to, but it crashed. 21,000 friends proved too many. - Robert Scoble
I am keeping Friendfeed fairly quiet for myself as I have all the noise I can handle on Twitter and FB - Francine Hardaway via Alert Thingy
One other way to reduce noise? Look at just the FriendFeed items that I've commented on or liked. That will ensure you won't see my noise, but is the feed where I've found the great stuff coming at me in FriendFeed: http://friendfeed.com/scobleiz... -- I wish there were a better way to point to this in the FriendFeed UI. - Robert Scoble
Robert: The only thing I didn't like is that the script submitted a message from my FriendFeed account here http://is.gd/dZf - Joe
The problem occurs, as I see it, when the technology that is supposed to serve human aims instead passes the balance point and enslaves or demands from us. Personally, I believe that this occurs when our lives are out of balance and we are looking for the technology to do what it cannot do, and what it is not meant to do. For example, fulfilling our social needs (as when the industry (e.g. social network) group becomes one's best or only friends). (I'm friendly and make friends with people on social networks, but have a distinct life as well apart from that). When our lives are in balance, then technology fits into its proper place. It's just a tool, like a pencil is a tool, with a functon to serve. - Alex Hammer
Specifically related to noise -- best not to create it in the first place, then there is nothing to undue. I go to Friendfeed when I need to up the information/noise level. When I have enough I don't continue and I don't go back. - Alex Hammer
Robert, while I'm not claiming it's faster than the Web UI, FriendFeedMachine at http://www.friendfeedmachine.c... lets you sort by # of comments or likes, and this is yet another way. You can also "star" real friends vs. people you follow here, to filter the stream. - Louis Gray
Louis: Thanks for the FriendFeedMachine tips. - Mitchell Tsai
Thanks for the heads up Louis I wasn't aware of that either! - Joe
how are online friends lesser than face-to-face friends? That is often asserted, but rarely supported. And what about those in geographically isolated areas? or those with limited mobility? or those with mental issues that make it difficult for them? An earlier commenter said that he makes friends easily, so of course for him, he will. Not so for everyone. People have different balances. - chris ramey
@Aviv: Your "FlowControl" idea looks really cool, I know that I would be interested. I think the most beneficial thing for my current view of FriendFeed would be a link-centric interface. - Brandon Titus
Thanks for the FFM plug Louis. As an update, I have a chest cold atm so it will be maybe another week before a new release, however I plan on addressing the speed and also adding some extra views. - via FriendFeedMachine - Scott Goldie
Oh, and btw, any feature suggestions are most welcome and will be implemented as fast as I can if they're reasonable :) - via FriendFeedMachine - Scott Goldie
Hey, we just pushed some changes - are you having problems? Email me at btaylor@friendfeed.com or the discussion group (or just reply here). Sorry for any issues. - Bret Taylor
“Got myself out of a speeding ticket tonight... going twice the speed limit. Didn't need to cry, whine, or even try. Cop just let me off with a warning!”
Nice job Ana. I used to get out of speeding tickets fairly often by politely asking for the most expensive non-moving violation ticket. I wouldn't often get the most expensive, usually something like a seat belt ticket. - Robert Konigsberg
In response to all the people giving me flack about how I must have flirted my way out of it, it's not true! The cop was female, and I admitted to driving too fast :) She was very nice about it all... even told me to not keep my car's title in the glove box. Now, I must go get that title before some FriendFeed user decides to steal my car! Then again, has anyone ever *seen* my car?... no one would want to steal that thing... - Ana
John: I don't think Ana even has Obama stickers on her car. Something about not wanting to tarnish his image by associating it with her driving style. :-) - Kevin Fox
I've gotten out of at least 3 speeding tickets, and I'm not at all cute like Ana. It helps to be honest and admit upfront that you were speeding when the cop walks up to your window. I think they're mainly looking to catch drunk drivers. - Thai Tran
A 12-month chart of monthly vehicle-miles on U.S. highways from 1983 to today. It has flattened out over the past three years. "Maybe the cure for higher prices is higher prices after all." - Bret Taylor
Maybe we've just already driven everywhere we want to go? ;-) - Brian Johns
"Very early this morning, after many voters had already gone to sleep, the conventional wisdom of the elite political pundit class that resides on television shifted hard, and possibly irretrievably, against Senator Hillary Clinton’s continued viability as a presidential candidate." - Bret Taylor
word is she's dropping out on the 15th - MG Siegler
Having run for Governor of Maine (2006) I am well aware that the roles of the media in regard to advocacy can become complex. On the one hand, in the present situation it can be a tool for the party and others to gently (or not so gently over time) put the reins on Hillary a little bit. On the other hand, sometimes the media can also play kingmaker (or attempt to do so), potentially usurping the will and role of voters. - Alex Hammer
A senior campaign official and Clinton confidante has told me that there will be a Democratic nominee by June 15. He could not bring himself to say the words “Hillary will drop out by June 15,” but that is clearly what he meant. I kept saying, “So, Hillary will drop out by June 15,” and he kept saying, “We will have a nominee by June 15.” He stressed what a reasonable person Hillary is.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/... - Mike Fruchter
Love the insider information I'm getting on FF! : ) - Carla Thompson
Yeah, but I am disappointed it is June 15, not May 15! - Sheila Taylor
She really is risking an awful lot each and everyday. She is a political joke by June 15th. If she wants to maintain an influential role in the party, she doesn't have that long. - Shellee OBrien
yep sorry, meant june 15, forgot what month it was, what city i'm in... - MG Siegler
You can't imagine how hard I had to fight to have no phone number at Google. The concept was anathema to them. But, I eventually won out and my life was measurably better for it. Amen, Kevin. - Sacca
I didn't check my Google voicemail for my last four years. I was thinking of listening to it on my last day, but I never got around to it. - Bret Taylor
my boss informed me that my voice message was outdated. it was an out of office msg from february - Ontario Emperor
Nice one, Chris. At Google I changed my voicemail message to "Hi. I don't ever check these messages, so if you need to reach me please call my cell or send me an email." Then I put a piece of electrical tape over the voicemail light. I figure if people don't know or can't get my cell number or my email address then they shouldn't be contacting me at work anyhow. - Kevin Fox
Kevin, I did nearly what you did. I left an outgoing messaging urging people to e-mail me instead. - Adam Lasnik
We actually have a policy at my company not to have any voice mail, so I literally don't have a voice mail box here. Basically, all calls go to the secretary during the day and a main voice mail after hours. Otherwise, you call in for me and I'm here, I get the call. - Chris Reed
I hate phones and voicemail and state so explicitly on my website. I tell clients email is the quickest way to get a response. - Diane Ensey
But did you guys get the message from HR about those one-time bonus stock grants in 2006? You had to dial them back with the confirmation code left on voicemail for them to go into effect. - Chris White
You can have your voicemail disabled at Google without much hassle. - Gary Burd
I started using simulscribe - now called PhoneTag - for my cell phone a while back and I love it. I get emailed transcriptions in minutes with voice audio attachment. works great. - David Vasileff
What's the quality of their transcriptions? I signed up for Vonage's (confusingly named) "visual voicemail", and their transcriptions were initially great but are now very poor quality. - ⓞnor
Our voicemail has gotten a lot better ever since they were integrated with our e-mail system as .wav file attachments. Now I can screen calls, but still double-click to not miss any messages. - Louis Gray
Heck, I don't even have a phone at my desk and that's the way I like it. - Akiva Moskovitz
Not work related, but I'm enjoying using iPhone voice mail for dealing with contractors. I can see who has called, pick the most important messages to listen to by speaker phone, and call them back easily. - Chris White
ⓞnor: PhoneTag quality has been pretty good, messages may be slightly off but I usually get the gist. it is poor for things like names or long messages with lots of details. I think the PT greeting says this will be transcribed, leave a brief message, speak to be understood, etc.. most of my msgs fit that. I rarely have to listen to audio and you can ask PT for re-trans but I've never done that. - David Vasileff
I just got back into the office yesterday after 3wks away and this reminded me to check my voicemail ... except some wally has nicked my phone! In no hurry to go find it : ) - Patricia Hanrahan
