Erik Weese - Comments

Scoble’s No Internet Anonymity Rule - http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r...

July 19, 2008 from The Cosmic Tap - Comment - Like - Share

Morton Fox, Jimminy Fuller, Tim and 22 other people liked this

Or, what I think about it. - Anthony Citrano

I would rather everyone be anonymous than no one. - jeneane sessum

Gerard: as I said in the other thread this would be impossible to enforce so I wouldn't worry about it too much. - Robert Scoble

I commented on your blog: I think anonymity is both a horrible thing and a great tool, it depends on how it's used. In some countries complete anonymity is needed, otherwise they would be put to death or jail. I find its far more respectable when someone puts a real name and face to their opinion, though it isnt always needed. - Colby Olson

Robert: I just think it's interesting that you want to abolish anonymity, that in itself is an odd thing to say, I suppose. Perhaps you could explain your reasoning? - Colby Olson

Robert I think we all realize it would not be enforceable but what I'm going after is the idea behind it - that *were it enforceable*, it would be a good thing. To me, the underlying idea that anonymous speech is a bad thing and should be eliminated is rather authoritarian and terrifying. - Anthony Citrano

Colby: everything that I have seen negative on the Internet is due to anonymity. Can you link to one positive thing? Mini Microsoft but even that would be much better if the guy who wrote it would sign his name. - Robert Scoble

Anthony: well, I don't see it as a good thing. I have freedom of speech already and would die to defend that. Anonymity is for cowards. - Robert Scoble

Robert, speaking out on the internet against oppressive governments is not a bad thing. And as I have stated previously, many revolutions start in anonymity. Again, rules of absolutism don't allow for both sides. Anonymity is a tool and it can be used for good and bad. - Tim Finucane

Kind of a night of drastic comments from the Scobleizer, huh?? Everything negative on the internet is due to anonymity. Yikes thats a whole new round of overstatement. I love following you Robert and agree way more often than not but that's silly. - Cody Heitschmidt

tim: what revolution started with anonymity? Certainly NOT the American one. - Robert Scoble

It most definitely did start with secret meetings. The crown didn't know identities until after things got under way. - Tim Finucane

Robert: You just spawned numerous blog posts and threads with that one. I agree with you up to a point. One of the two that I have blocked on FF was determined to be a troll and supposedly anon. However, there are many countries that speaking up and signing on the dotted line will get both your head and hand chopped off. - Mathew A. Koeneker

Cody is right. I did overstate that and I am sorry about that. - Robert Scoble

Robert... i would follow you into the fire.. and here is why we all follow you: Your are passionate. Sometimes it gets in your way because you overstate things but then you admit you are wrong. A guy with 30,000 followers could be big headed enough not to admit something he said wasn't quite right. It's cool that a little guy in Ks can make a contrary statement at you and not just get blocked and you roll over him. Now admit you were wrong on the rule against anonymity too. lol just kidding. - Cody Heitschmidt

The Internet is and should be about choice. You should be able to choose your level of anonymity. It is not one shoe fits all. - Jauder Ho

Robert -- There is legitimate reason for anon speech, especially on the internet. What I think you really want is a "Personal Global Internet Filter" that allows the removal of the ugliest side-effects. Even looking to the American revolution, pen names and aliases were used countless times by the likes of Thomas Jefferson, et al. There is a legitimate purpose to it... the statement that no revolution was started by anonymous is a bit of a stretch. - Mark Philpot

There are a ton of reasons for a person to use a pseudonym on the internet. Especially when you look at people in other countries who can only speak by being "nameless". I even have reasons for using a name that isn't my real name. - Candace

Don't admit you were wrong on the rule unless you believe it... until you believe ! hehe lol Great freaking discussion who started this whole mess with the rule comment? - Cody Heitschmidt

I believe it was started by Robert's response to Laura Fitton's question: "What one "rule" would you make about the Internet?" - Tim Finucane

i'm sorry he's wrong or right depending i've been batting this question lately and i use the internet not to shield who i am but to get people to talk to me who wouldn't do to disability. and if i ever meet any net folks in RL my hope is that they will be over it quicker due to knowing I'm capable and cool to begin with - Cecil Sandus

To all those under pseudonyms: Why? Are you truly in fear of reprisal? @Dtrizzle a link to your blog profile quickly reveals you. @Corvida do you have a reason? - Mathew A. Koeneker

@Robert Scoble (scobleizer): What's so negative about my blog? Well, other than the fact that I don't apply myself. Sorry, there've been too many firings and too many "we won't hire you" situations because of uptight control freaks in power who can't stand employees who have their own minds. Anyone who really desires it can find out who MiniMage is, but I feel the better for not broadcasting my real name, and so do my parents. - MiniMage TKDteacher of FF from NoiseRiver

well said Mage - Cecil Sandus

One rule for the internet is that all data is equal. The second rule is that there are no other rules. I think Scoble's idea of not anonymity is becoming more a reality with people's lives becoming intertwined with their online identity. I would like to preserve anonymity for whistle blowers, etc. Anonymity is a tool that can be used or abused. - Erik Weese

Pseudonyms mean nothing. People do find out who you are. I spent two days in a courtroom reading my blog entries aloud that were posted under a pseudonym. If you don't want people to read what you write, buy a pen and a blank journal and stick it under your mattress. - Trish R

MiniMage many many more people have been hired for their blogs than fired for them and I can't think of an instance where someone who was fired wasn't behaving stupidly. We have a whole chapter in our book about that. - Robert Scoble

yes Dtrizzle that makes sense to me and Trish as for your idea it's an oldie but a goodie... - Cecil Sandus

corvida isn't anonymous. I have talked with her on the phone. Minimicrosoft is pretty anonymous but I know at least one person who knows who he is. - Robert Scoble

Dtrizzle - The bit on your educational background while perfect for a resume can provide an easy way to start skip-tracing you. Not that I am. Just one of the little tricks I learned where tech meets accounting. - Mathew A. Koeneker

it is amazing the conversations that can start with a simple word or two. I am at a wedding with people who have left Iran to get the freedom of speech so understand well the problems with using your real name. One guy here was in Iranian prisons for years. He is not afraid to stand up in public against injustice. - Robert Scoble

@Robert Scoble (scobleizer): Do you remember the Chronicle of Higher Education article where someone talked about being on an interview committee? These EDUCATED folks attitudes were explained thus, "Several committee members expressed concern that a blogger who joined our staff might air departmental dirty laundry (real or imagined) on the cyber clothesline for the world to see. Past... more... - MiniMage TKDteacher of FF from NoiseRiver

Scoble I think he was referring to the fact that I don't use my real name online at all. As for the person who asked why, because I don't want people Googling me. I like to keep my personal life separate from my online life. Same person, different interactions and I don't want them overlapping in any way, shape, or form. - Corvida

@Corvida - Why keep yourself so fragmented? Then you have to remember who you with whom. I am with Robert for the most part on this one. You instantly gain more respect from me if your are proud enough of your name to attribute ALL of your actions whether in the VW or RW to it. You are an American are you not? Unless, you have a TS like my folks then who or what are you hiding from. Telling me that it is just a personal choice is a cop out. @Dtrizzle gives some valid rationale for his decision. - Mathew A. Koeneker

There are certain place on the net that you NEED anonymity !! Take a look at some Forums that ONLY focus on vulnerability disclosures. Each and every one of them is only known by a handle. Chances that you actually associate a handle w/ real name /face is near impossible. - Peter Dawson

I could argue the same. Most in my situation do take that approach. My disease is just that a disease. It is what it is. Like I commented earlier there can be valid reasons; I just wanted to hear Corvida's rationale both from a personal interest as she is just another human being as well as from the pov of the well known blogger. - Mathew A. Koeneker

Interesting convo. I actually talked to Mark Hopkins about this. He brought his anon handle into his identity. I've kept mine apart. I don't agree with no one being anonymous; I happily existed online for years and can still write about personal issues and my children without compromising their (or my) privacy. - Cyndy

I vote for anonymity. If you are anonymous and threatening though, realize that I also support using every tracking method possible to make a community safer. People can not yell "FIRE" in a crowded room. I can not call my neighbor a "RAPIST" just because I feel like it. Regulated Free Speech is ok. Unregulated free speech is not, just as I can not go around town physically hitting anyone I want to ("Freedom of Action"). - Mitchell Tsai

The vast majority of my college friends (Harvard 1982-89, age 40-50) are still petrified of Facebook due to Corvida's concerns - and I have mostly techy friends. There are discussions on our alumni boards (on & off Facebook) about all the potential career dangers. About 30-40% of my college friends are on LinkedIn because they understand resumes & how you can control the presentation of... more... - Mitchell Tsai

P.S. I've spoken with Corvida on the phone also. We were going to visit Georgia Tech together, but plans didn't work out (and my college friend who's a professor there turned out to be out-of-town also). Bummer. - Mitchell Tsai

Assume ANYTHING you e-mail, post on the Internet, or say on a phone is recorded somewhere and scanned for verbal/textual keywords. My first company is now partially owned by the C... and we process information to find ter...... Over 10 years ago (1992-98), I attended academic data-mining conferences where people from the phone company presented the algorithms they were using to scan... more... - Mitchell Tsai

“regulated free speech”, Mitchell? Can you be serious? - Anthony Citrano

Yep. - Mitchell Tsai

well i think the concept is absurd, myself. but i'm out. also, why post 5-6 messages in a row instead of 1? it's messy and inelegant. - Anthony Citrano

Paragraph marks in a comment would work too. I don't like how everything runs together in one comment... - Mitchell Tsai

@Robert people tend to act differently online than they do in real-life, anonymous or not. They perceive a disconnect between their online profile and life. Makes people be more direct, confrontational, and sometimes hostile. They don't feel bound by the same social rules (have respect for each other). - Alexander van Elsas

I can fully understand that some wish to be anonymous on the web. But thinking that the things you do online are disconnected from your offline life is stupid. I am not anonymous online and I am aware that my interactions are always visible. - Alexander van Elsas

Resurrected because of this: http://friendfeed.com/rww... - Anthony Citrano

I'll just add here that I don't agree that we should chop off our whole arm but if someone can point the finger and label me negatively knowing full well that I am public and not hiding behind a fake avatar, I should be able to see who is doing the labeling and so should the community since the insult was brought to the community's attention by the hiding labeler/harasser. We should... more... - Jeunelle Foster

Even aside from my opinion that the Imus thing was a bunch of BS from a clueless Outrage Nation, I disagree that providers ought strip away anonymity every time someone's feelings get hurt. - Anthony Citrano

My rule would be no obnoxious bloggers. - Cristo

There are good (edit: adequate) legal processes for handling truly abusive cases. - LogEx

This is a long thread and I may have missed it in a later response, but what about people finding you in person through the internet? I play WoW and my guild leader was stalked by someone who knew only her first name, state, and profession. He called her and flew to her area to find her. This is just a simple case of a nut job, but the internet is full of them. When you bring other countries, with less freedom into the mix things just get messier. - Heather

The thing is, he never defined his terms either. Is creating a bogus account and logging in through a proxy for a one-time flame the same as using a long-term pseudonym for mostly constructive purposes? I think not. There are so many good and valid reasons for not living completely transparently. - LogEx

@Anthony it's your opinion that you found the Imus thing BS and I'm not talking about when people's feelings get hurt, I disagree in cases where someone can get physically hurt, here is an example. Blogcatalog was in heat a few months ago when some of these members who I see as negative while hiding behind fake persona, fake avatars, hiding their Ip addresses and whois information took... more... - Jeunelle Foster

WOW. I was trying to figure out why I had this pop up from a year ago. I still pretty much side with The Scoblezier with a few exceptions. If you are blogging, chatting, or even surfing on-line....odds are pretty good that a determined individual or govt entity can find you out. You may think that you are "anon" but in reality you are not at all. Plus, I have a lot less respect for folks esp in this country that are unwillling to put their real names in their posts. - Mathew A. Koeneker

I didn't feel like cutting and pasting so sorry. But if you think that your on-life persona is somehow sacred and secure from your real life identity then you have some harsh realities to wake up to. This is the information age people. - Mathew A. Koeneker

Leo Laporte to Leo's feed, TWiT Conversations

Live now This Week in Tech with Don tapscott, Gina Trapani, Jeff Jarvis, and Jake Jarvis. http://live.twit.tv. Discuss here....

May 31 - Comment - Like - Share

David Gallo, Jim Lavin, Lisa zahara Hopkins and 42 other people liked this

Wow twit is good today, its all about the future - AhronZombi

144 more comments

What impact will be made to blog posters if they use a monthly or one-time donate income system - Michael Mooney

I love when Leo gets guests that are so intellectual. - Jim Lavin

I'm all on the side of new media, but my local paper in Arkansas, which was a terrible paper even before the internet, they began life on the internet by charging (only 4.95 a month) and now they are selling more papers than they were 10 years ago. All of these papers should have done the same thing, and charged from the beginning, but now they can't go back. I'm just saying my paper did the opposite of what Web 2.0 preaches and they are successful because of it. Just a contrarian example - Stephen Pickering

A 10th grade student of mine asked me, "How come they call it news if it is printed yesterday?" - Erik Weese

Leo, looks like Jake just turned into Dr. Manhattan - Matthew

I'll be so glad when newspapers finish completely going digital. I've always HATED the giant newspaper form factor. - Thunderwing from twhirl

I love that type of evening entertainment, so much better than German TV. - David Schmidt

Is it possible have a local blog say The Petaloma Blog with ad's and donate incomes then take the best storys and publish a low cost paper each week localy with ad's for income - Michael Mooney

My daughter never watches TV any more she does everything via the Internet. I can remember that watching TV or listening to the radio to get the news. - Jim Lavin

This will be like watching a great focus group ..with Don Tapscott able to drill down into what Jake and his peers think and do - Joe Magennis

There is right-wing and then there is 'RIGHT-WING'... same on the left... - Johnny Worthington

And those all caps folks are often the most closed minded of all. :/ - CAJ, somewhere else

A friendfeed style service could become the way you get crowed sourced live news - Michael Mooney

twitter does that Michael - Matthew

But also too, sometimes 'the other side' doesn't need coverage. Equality doesn't always equal time when one side is just plain wrong - Johnny Worthington

As a High School teacher, I worry that these students will become consumers rather than producers. I feel that is apart of my role as a teacher. - Erik Weese

Privacy is more important than ever. We should be paying more attention since we have the tools to be more selective about how private we are. - CAJ, somewhere else

there seems to be more right than left on TV, imo. - Matthew

I don't watch that much tv though - Matthew

Swings and roundabouts... - Johnny Worthington

+++++Erik ... I'm concerned about the same w.r.t. my nieces - Richard pancakhaus Walker

Chinese Wispers will ring true for politics - Michael Mooney

They have a machine went BING!!! - Johnny Worthington

Who is that young kid again? - Adam Nieto

Now it's BING! lol - CAJ, somewhere else

Live is the new .net, Microsoft marketing get a name in their heads and slap it on every product that comes out whether it is appropriate or not (mostly not). - Ghworg

Wow, Jeff...just wow. - Mike Flynn

Honestly, Microsoft needs to get Bing (the protocol) into its Exchange and Outlook products so that they can have a say in where the platform goes. They can either take charge or get left behind. - Derek Erdmann

What could happen if Linux os's fully intergrate google wave? - Michael Mooney

Rolling connection - Johnny Worthington

once again google's innovating thinking forward and microsoft's playing catch-up still - Chris Heath

Create WINS, Control disappears. - Johnny Worthington

How does google make money off of this then? - Ghworg

Just how strong Wave takes hold will all depend on how easy it is to develop for it. Too hard and it will only be mediocre. - Jim Lavin

Google Android Devices + Wave services = more google ad's sold - Michael Mooney

Ghworg - Corporate Versions... That plus + Google Voice + Docs + Android - Johnny Worthington

Outlook on Steriods - Johnny Worthington

GWT's been around for a long time. - Gavin

Paid versions - Johnny Worthington

They can embedded a payment/finical module and you wouldn't want that open source - Johnny Worthington

Gundotra - Gavin

I don't like how it shows what you write every single keystroke. - Gavin

you can choose to only display when you're done typing Gavin - Matthew

Class room projects using wave - Michael Mooney

Watching on my mini-9 hackintosh with Plex on HD TV - Jim Adams

@Matthew ok, great! - Gavin

Realtime only works when you trust your network of people - Johnny Worthington

Google needs to hire some UI designers though. Like a lot of Google's products work well, but don't have the greatest user interface. They should hire someone from Apple!! - Devon Govett

What?? I think it looks great. - Gavin

perhaps a gadget can customize the UI - Matthew

Maybe Wave will be backwards compatible. Some people will have Wave. Some will still be using email. - Erik Weese

I got the spymaster post from Bwana as well - Matthew

What happened to twitter's interface will happen to Wave's interface - Michael Mooney

Isn't that a lack of filtering though? - Johnny Worthington

perhaps a Wave Deck in the future? - Matthew

I heard my name from the darkness.... - Bwana ☠

More spyness!! - Bwana ☠

Don't worry Leo, I toned down my tweet settings quite a bit - Bwana ☠

Leo called you out Bwana for your spymaster spam - Matthew

What on earth is spymaster - Michael Mooney

I know Matthew - Bwana ☠

It's a sensitive thing..I barely sent 2 tweets per hour - Bwana ☠

So essentially Wave is Google's iteration of Sharepoint... Interesting. - Marc Landry

but open and better - Chris Heath

Marc more like groove than sharepoint I think - BryanSchuetz

The "lion's share" is open - Bwana ☠

Marc, you should watch the video at http://wave.google.com - Matthew

Wave won't be completely open - Bwana ☠

Audible recommendation Angels & Demons Dan Brown - Jim Adams

Bwana, what parts won't be open that you know of, besides that which the user/s make private? - Matthew

I have to say, what Leo imagines Wave could be, would be fantastic if we could build it. - Jim Lavin

I don't know anything, I'm assuming based on the "lion's share of code will be open" statement by Google - Bwana ☠

oh, I see - Matthew

The great position that Wave has is that the people that are going to use it are smart and willing to mold their workflow around it. Implementing sharepoint is a battle cause in most Businesses, your biggest pain point is resistance to change. - Marc Landry

Leo needs to throw the Russian accent in there somewhere though... - Johnny Worthington

a lot of ff discussion has been had about wave re: sharepoing http://friendfeed.com/search... - Chris Heath

Wave seems to be worth it just because of the Rosy gadget, live translation. it's like the first Star Trek Communicator - Matthew

Audible should get Dvorak to read his best blog post's(rant's) *thanks - Michael Mooney

Michael Mooney: Dvorak - Chris Heath

Bwana, you doing anything for E3? - Matthew

I'd buy a Cranky reading by Dvorack anytime. - Jim Lavin

Sorry about the late comment on the subject. I just remembered I paused the conversation earlier for dinner.. - Marc Landry

Don's talking about something similar to Sir Ken Robinson's first Ted talk http://www.youtube.com/watch... - Chris Heath

If you went to education classes we study inquiry and discovery learning. I have push this type of learning in my classrooms - Erik Weese

When I was in school it was all about memorization, but they never taught a class on how to memorize efficiently. - Matthew

To keep learning - Johnny Worthington

It was regurgitation. Remember long enough to be tested. - CAJ, somewhere else

lol matthew - Chris Heath

Until we can break the cycle of having to check every box to get a job, children will be doomed to learn the test in order to get a head in life. - Jim Lavin

Queens College. Yea CUNY! - Erik Weese

iTunes U? - Johnny Worthington

Google U - Matthew

Ask the audience, university edition - Ghworg

TWiT U - Matthew

Who Wants To Be A College Graduate? - Johnny Worthington

I think that we are on the cusp of the destruction of traditional education. You would seek out the knowledge you need for day to day life. - Jim Lavin

when the digital education environment comes of age the computers can silently find the test scores from the students work and class room interactions leaving teachers to teach - Michael Mooney

that sounds interesting Michael - Chris Heath

Read something a week that you don't know anything about... - Johnny Worthington

That comment about Lectures sounded very Davoracian - eric graeser

love Google's 20 percent rule. - kilbuda

Jim Lavin is right, teaching creativity doesn't get you a job. It helps you *do* a job but doesn't get you the job. - Ghworg

I agree once we can write the apps that can determine a child's intellectl Then education will truly change. - Jim Lavin

say if you had leo give the class to all the schools via a live feed then have a teacher in each class give 1-on-1 to kids that need extra help then the software environment the kid's interact with (+ teacher input about each kid.) wil process the input fully customizing the lessons for each kid - Michael Mooney

One of the reasons for the requirements for liberal arts degree is because high school has failed to teach students to read and write and think critically. Partly because of the standardized tests. - Erik Weese

Choosing by the results of operations results in patients with difficult to operate on conditions being discriminated against. - Ghworg

Everthing I ever needed to know came from a reference guide or the manual.. - Jim Lavin

wow googe gets it's own show? Guess I should be thankful it's not a twitter show - BryanSchuetz

Yes, thank God not another Twitter snow. - Jim Lavin

what's jake jarvis's facebook app? answered my own question: http://www.gigature.com/ found via: http://jakejarvis.com - Chris Heath

Fantastic show! Great discussion! - Jim Lavin

Soo.. no actual tech news today? - Marc Landry

Great show leo, his gests & all friendfeed members - Michael Mooney

But it toasts in realtime... - Johnny Worthington

Quoting don Tapscott - Hey, here's some content - it's a meatloaf. - Steve Burgess

I posted a tweet that said I was going to give a presentation about web 2.0, I got a replay from a teenager saying you teach web 2.0? I replied "yes for 30+ year old people. His replay "Good luck". - John Durham

I'm exactly what they are talking about. I am going to college full time, but on the other hand I am trying to keep up with my game company growing, and having to go through traditional education is severely hindering me. - Kevin

Kevin try to work the games around college start small like xbox live community games, smart phone games and/or google wave games - if it can't work on a phone or Nintendo ds save the idea for later when you are out of college - Michael Mooney

"Web In Progress" may work as a Show title - Michael Mooney

Great TWiT, but a much better aftershow. - Mister IQ from twhirl

Excellent Show! - Dave Marsh

Maybe college is a wast but alote places wont hire you with out that paper =\ - Mike

Those shortsighted companies may be doomed to fail. - Chris Poulson

TWiT 200 lineup needs to be - Leo, Calacanis, Harris, Patrick & Dvorak - Michael Mooney

Would Love to see a Green Tech Show on TWIT - John Boufford

A Hotels/Resorts, Retail Vercals & Airlines from a geek view point show - Michael Mooney

How about: "What Is Google Doing?" for a show title? - Hawklu

Forecast: Cloud Computing Report - Andrew Johnson

LEO: I really enjoyed this episode and the sort of "big picture" look at technology and culture. It made me think of an idea for a TWiT show. What if you created some sort of Digg-esque page on twit.tv. There, people could submit specific big picture topic ideas and the twit army would vote on the topic they were most interested in. Then every month, or whatever frequency you selected,... more... - Mike Bracco

So 18 min into this netcast, leo says that he avoid hard right wing sources because he's left leaning (being polite). So - taking Leo's actions as example, I should avoid leo's twit content so I don't have to listen to the extreme left wing content on TWIT 197? Thought was helpful to listen to all points, even the ones you think are "way out there". Drink the cool-aid! LOL - Tony

What Ioved was someone finally brought up how much higher learning is pushed on a person. - Samuel Lewis from twhirl

Best Twit for a long time - Mel Buckpitt

Very good Twit. I'm listening now. :) - Daynah

Funny, I just interviewed Don Tapscott to. Great guy. - Robert Scoble

I'm a relatively moderate person, I was stunned how left leaning this episode was, especially in the utterly unrealistic education discussion. To suggest that we scrap our higher ed system when the rest of the world clamors to come to the states for it is just silly. Education is changing because of tech, and being an educational technologist by trade I see it every day. I would suggest that everyone take another look inside a modern classroom, as it's quite a bit different now than just 5 or 10 years ago. - Ryan Massie

TWIT, Don Tapscott and a 17 year old. http://www.targetx.com/ithink... - Brian Niles

Who the hell is Don Tapscott and why was he on Twit? I don't normally complain about something I get for free, but this guy made this show difficult to listen to...I'm not sure what, exactly, it was, but he seemed really out of place. Gina, on the other hand, was great. - George Gray

George: ever hear of Google? Don has written 13 books, including one called "Wikinomics" that is a best seller. He's very smart and, while he's a little hard to follow in places, does research on how people use the Internet, especially the younger generation (he also wrote a book called "Growing up Digital" and he has lots of facts to back up his claims, unlike a lot of other people I talk with. - Robert Scoble

George: Totally disagree, his insightful comments about the changes needed in education and the old 'push' and new collaborate models hit the bulls-eye - Mel Buckpitt

However, he is not up on current happenings. Before the show Leo said they would be talking about Googles big announcement, and he said "what big announcement was that?" He had no idea about Wave. Shouldn't be on THIS WEEK in tech. Emphasis on THIS WEEK. - David Lloyd

Mark: that's a good point. Not everyone watches Techmeme and friendfeed like many of us do. ;-) - Robert Scoble

Robert: thanks...I had actually heard of Growing up Digital and Wikinomics, just did not put them together with him. I think Leo even talked about them at them at the start of Twit. I'm sure he's a smart guy, he, to me, just seemed out of place on Twit. I will have to listen again, maybe I was the one who was out of place. - George Gray

We are an odd bunch of people really, we give a shit about all this stuff years before it enters the fringes, and years more before it goes mainstream :p - David Lloyd

This was a great episode. I especially liked the teens perspective. - Dave

I just got a chance to listen to the episode, check out here how one teacher is using Twitter in a college classroom - http://digg.com/d1sizk - Patrick Black

Robert Scoble

Obama Pushes for $50 Billion for Automakers, Oversight Czar - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008...

November 14, 2008 from Google Reader - Comment - Like - Share

Daniel Rowley, sofarsoShawn, J. D. Ebberly and 7 other people liked this

If we give automakers a bailout I want something MAJOR in return. Like 40% electric by 2012. - Robert Scoble

35 more comments

The automakers will agree to any strings attached to a bailout. After they cash the check they will have the funds to pay their lobbyists to find a way to justify weaseling out of such an agreement. - scott anderson

@ScottAnderson Nice, hadn't thought about that weasly li'l loophole. Will be interesting to see how much Obama's rhetoric of no-lobbyist-in-my-administration is true. The world would be a better place without these unscrupulous greedy lawyers and PR spin gurus. - Adam

Agreed Robert. - David Cook

+1 Robert - Shey, Jamaican of FF

Ludicrous. Give them a loan, fine. Iacocca did it and did well, but don't bail them out! - Mattb4rd

ditto: after making the obscenely large SUVs that put them in that position today - sofarsoShawn

Silly. Run your business badly, get bailed out: there's a bad theme here. Agree with the "give us electric by 2012 in return" or some other major change in clean propulsion technology. And stop making cars that can house a cow herd with room for the bull and start making sense. - Henk de Kruyff

With all of these industries asking for a bailout from debt, I wonder how long it will take for American citizens to demand their bailout from this downturn. If this money is going to change hands for auto makers then we need some incentive from them that they are making a serious effort to try and drive America from it's current oil dependence. - Bryan

Detroit doesn't deserve to be bailed out. In the long term, I doubt they are going to survive against overseas competition anyway. Instead, why not invest the money in new technologies to get us off our dependence on foreign oil? Electric/hybrid cars, fuel cells, mass transit, etc. - wrecks

I am not at all into bailing companies out. Once you use the government to prevent failure you are killing the necessary darwinian pressure capitalism counts on. Ont he other side, what government CAN do is remove the current laws forcing the car companies to be at the mercy of their unions in many states. It does put them at a disadvantage. - Soulhuntre from twhirl

I also don't like the idea of the government bailing them out but attaching big strings. The last thing we need is the government intimately involved int he day to day operations of major industries. If the govt wants to offer incentives to develop otherwise not economically attractive technologies, fine... the companies will either re-organize to win the incentive or they will fail. The last thing we need is a de-facto nationalized auto industry. - Soulhuntre

this morning i was thinking what about the retirees of these auto companies. so not only would their employees and the companies that do biz with them be in trouble but folks who worked for years would be screwed if they go belly up. - R. Ferguson

but then again i heard on NPR yesterday that the foreign car makers based in the US is doing fine. - R. Ferguson

USA today increasinglky reminds me of UK in the 1970s. We spent millions over 20 years in successive bail-outs for no-hope car manufacturer British Leyland because no-one could face the truth that they were a lost cause. The end result was just the same -- they went bankrupt after 20 years -- people still didn't want to buy what they built. - Tim Ostler

It sucks, but bad companies who make stupid decisions need to go out of business. That's the only way we all win in the long run. - David Risley

I think the big lie here is that this is a "bail out". What it is is a temporary stay of execution - Brian Sullivan

There is a case for assisting the automakers. But, like Robert says, some hefty strings are going to be attached. Electric to normal is one stick. But the re-hiring of auto workers would do wonders. The government needs to do more to encorage people to buy american. That's what's going to really help GM and Ford and the rest. - Roberto Bonini

Roberto: the government can't convince people of that. Wrong goal. The right goal is to make the US Auto industry the most innovative again. Do that and the consumers will buy again. I know I would. I just drove a brand new Ford Flex. Awesome car except it got 17 MPG. Turn that electric and I'd buy one tomorrow (if priced reasonably). - Robert Scoble

Well, yeah Robert. Thats the only way to do that. But the foreign car companies that will undercut even the most innovative electric ford force consumers to look at alternatives. I'm Not saying that the US should go all protectionist, but economic health and stability is a national security issue. - Roberto Bonini

GM cost to manufacture $78 per hour, Toyota in US, $43. One is failing, one is not. - Robert Hafer

What if GM went into a bankruptcy to reorganize, shed itself of retiree pensions/healthcare ($1200 per car), union mandated employment rules and compensatiion levels. Would GM become a lean, effective company, building consumer-driven products, or would GM continue to build lackluster crap but sell them cheaper? - MVB (Grinch of FF)

Roberto: The *only* way any auto company "bail out" is going to save any American auto company is to immediately impose tariffs and barriers to foreign cars and car companies and effectively force Americans to buy inferior product. Doing that would have a whole set of new consequences. All the "bail out" will do is delay GM. Ford and Chrysler death by a year or so. It will allow the companies to "put their affairs in order" as the euphemism goes. - Brian Sullivan

Electric-Powered Future Two Years Away? - very interesting article - http://tinyurl.com/6jb2dw - the main issue is of course getting all the stakeholders to "invest". - SnakeDoc

@Robert hafer: let's look at the difference between toyota and gm and what they pay labor wise per car and that would be a large part of the difference in the cost - Jonathan Jesse

It would have serious reprecussions, yes. But letting them go under also does. At what point do we draw he line? Do we let hundreds of thousands of people lose their jobs? And , BTW, make things worse in the wider economy in terms to machine tools, steel, rubber, etc. It's a choice to two evils. And it is impossible to think that globalization can be reversed. - Roberto Bonini

The elephant in the room: The world needs a Global, Financial Reset but no one is brave enough to push the big, red button... - MVB (Grinch of FF)

Roberto - these thousands of people are going to lose their jobs regardless -- all the bail out could do is give them time to prepare - Brian Sullivan

A discussion on American cars vs. foreign cars and US auto industry bailout should also address the "inner layers" - here is an example - the Chevrolet Equinox, which is assembled in Ontario, has an engine made in China and a transmission from Japan, which brings its domestic content down to 55 percent. The Chrysler PT Cruiser is assembled in Mexico, has a Mexican-made engine and only 37 percent domestic content.... there are scores of other examples.... - SnakeDoc

For a while the Toyota Camry was the top of the list of domestic content. 97%. Ford F150's are assembled in Mexico. Then there is the NUMI assenbly plant that is a joint venture between Toyota and GM... - MVB (Grinch of FF)

It really won't matter if the government bails out the auto industry or not, because the US population will not have the money to buy the new products. This money needs to go to the US population so that they can start putting more back into the economy. - Wizetux

I would rather see the consumers helped in a more meaningful way now and rather morph away from auto dependence. We need to look to office virtualization expansion now that we have the collaborative (video and audio) technology to do that. When we can minimize the amount of travel, this helps minimize a number of parallel and tangential problems we face now. Our families should be our main concern right now. We are falling behind in that area in America. - Melanie Reed

One of the many advantages we have yet to tap its full potential with technology is to reverse the trend of putting the concern of business over that of family. There is much more to be said on the intangible infrastructure damage to our society this has caused but there is not enough space for that here. - Melanie Reed

how about 100% electric fleet by 2018 - Erik Weese

Yeah, 100% at least by 2018. We need an Apollo project type approach. I want to be able to buy electric for my next car. In my lifetime. - Rolf Schewe

How about a car purchase tax credit? That way maybe I could afford a car. A subsidy for the wealthy leaves me without a car. - Chuck Baggett

chuck there is a car purchase tax credit if bought B4 end of the year. - R. Ferguson

Jonathan Greene

Checking out gravity on the E75 ... Just in time to exceed my API limit

April 27 from Twitter - Comment - Like - Share

does the screen re-orient quickly? or is it like the E70 I had? - Erik Weese

Jonathan Greene

GM May Kill Pontiac, GMC Brands [Carpocalypse] - http://jalopnik.com/5214429...

April 16 from Google Reader - Comment - Like - Share

jerobins liked this

about damn time. But what about Buick!? - Jonathan Greene

GM should kill everything except the Volt and its bus and street car manufacturing. - Erik Weese

Zee.

This survey says San Francisco is the 2nd best city to live in the US based on standard of living...is it really that great a place to live? http://www.mercer.com/failact...

March 20 - Comment - Like - Share

Bill Romanos, Kyle Weller, Lisa L. Seifert and 36 other people liked this

Yes, if you can afford it. For the rest of us there's always Seattle or Portland. - Alex Scoble

59 more comments

Is it the property that's expensive Alex? - Zee.

Not really... It's too hilly and foggy and smelly. I also HATE the public transpo. - Mona Nomura from fftogo

I like it...just expensive. - Justin Korn

Everything about San Francisco is expensive, Zee. Cost of living is very high even compared to close by San Jose, nevermind how it compares to Portland. - Alex Scoble

trying to find out how much a decent 2 bedroom apartment is to rent in SF...can anyone give me a rough idea? - Zee.

ah found, around 3000-4000 a month for 2 bed - Zee.

Good gawd.... - FFing Enigma (aka Tina)

Yeah, same apartment half that in San Jose. - Alex Scoble

Depends on where you want to live. Starts at around $1,800ish and can go all the way up to $8-10k. London's more expensive though. - Mona Nomura from fftogo

So is NY, Mona. - Alex Scoble

Love SF. Expensive yes, but I imagine my social life will go through the roof. Hoping to move there in the next 18 mos, or longer if the economy continues to trawl the bottom of the barrel. - Derrick

Yes. SF/Bay Area is fantastic. - AJ Kohn

Cost of living example: Gas in SF was $2.55 on Wednesday, and in nearby San Jose it's $1.99. Although many in the city walk, bike, and use the nasty public transport. - Pete Delucchi

I think on average a 2BDRM in Portland would be ~ $1,200 - Christopher Harley

The penthouse in Trump Tower also has a great standard of living. - Mistletoe Glen

Having grown up around and in SF, I'm a little biased in my love for the place, but yes, it's VERY expensive. Expensiveness varies from neighborhood to neighborhood (Mission = moderately expensive; Pac Heights = VERY expensive, as an example). YMMV. - Helen Sventitsky

If you move away from the downtown area and count Beaverton and Hillsboro it's much cheaper, Christopher. - Alex Scoble

Yeah, for sure. - Christopher Harley

I love living in SFO, but yes, it's expensive as f*ck! - .LAG liked that

Probably the most "European" in terms of lifestyle in the states, Zee. You gotta pay for quality. ;) I've lived here now for over 25 years and gotten used the cost of living gradually. Somehow you make the rent. - Oldengrey (Jay)

It's fantastic, says this former Virginian who's been in SF for 12.5 years. - Hutch Carpenter

agree with mona cold and hilly and traffic from hell. much prefer so cal, at least its not cold and hilly and its actually less expensive. - Steve C

Time for me to move... - Mike Nayyar

Sad, no cities in the US placed in the top 50 for personal safety. - jcunwired

I have a 2 bdrm house coming up for rent. 15 min. from STL for $800 - Robert Hafer

The governor of Texas wanted me to leave SF area. I told him "no." - Robert Scoble

@Christopher Your 2Bs have DRM? I'm sorry to hear that. And Portland of all places! :o - Micah Wittman

I'll take 58 degrees and foggy over 95 degree heat any day. And I'll take hills over flat any day. I love SF! - Mike Doeff

Once here it will find a place in your heart. - CW™

I love SF too but I'm surprised that no-one mentions the quakes - Tim Ostler

I like SF but it seems impossible to live anywhere but in the city proper without an auto, so I don't know how much one weighs commuting time in the overall evaluation. Also notable: NYC is the baseline city (100) and the highest ranking city (Zurich) only received a score of 108. I'm going with NYC ftw. - Cecyl Hobbs

Aye, if I can I'd move to NYC before I'd consider the west coast.. but then, my GF longs to work for blizzard at some point, which could mean living there if she ever gets her dream. - alphaxion

it's too expensive. I think Portland or Seattle are much better value. I could stand to live someplace like Reno or Fresno or Bakersfield for a while as well. The weather's pretty ideal in SF though. The food's pretty great as well. - Thomas Hawk

Reno, Frenso and Bakersfield are a world apart when compares to San Francisco. What makes this city so great is the access to public transit, the food, the views, the access to a major world airport, the landmarks. - PC Easy from twhirl

Brooklyn is the best City to live in. Bagels and Pizza are key to a happy life. - Erik Weese

Anyone that ranks Honolulu as a best place to live hasn't had to pay the paradise tax on everything or had to share their place with all the bugs/geckos. Flying roaches = YUK! - craterdweller

Both my husband and I really loved it when we visited, and if our family wasn't on the East coast and money was not object I could see us living there. - Kelly W.

this survey was done before the economic downturn really hit... San Fran is great but sorry ...Boston is better. Nature green and blue and City brick and steele... education, innovation and history... political experimentation with pillars of tradition... ocean/lake forest/beach...sun, foliage and a White Xmas. Music, web, film/tv, science and art... just enough space in a "walking city" to admire what the city looks like ...young enough to be "the open future" old enough to be the respected and wise. - davidlee

It's San Francisco, not San Fran. San Francisco. - PC Easy from twhirl

why be a jackass PC E? - Zee.

SF is great place to visit but living there is very "eh" in my opinion based on many of the reasons listed here. I lived in the East Bay for five years and not SF proper, so perhaps that's a factor. But getting around was a major pain in the ass. I live in Pasadena now and far prefer SoCal. - Eric Berlin

@davidlee - I've lived in both cities. Perhaps you have, too. I was born in Boston, have lived there several times over many years... started and built two companies there, etc. etc. You've certainly hit on Boston's strong points; its central location in New England is one. But Boston is miserably unlivable in many ways. The people are unfriendly, the mental attitude is quite provincial / traditional / closed-minded, the infrastructure is terrible, the weather far from ideal. Just sayin'. - Anthony Citrano

To me the best time to live in Boston is as a college student - and that's about the extent of it. I'd choose SFO over Boston any day. Having said that, when I left Boston, I chose LA. But I do love San Francisco; it is truly one of America's greatest cities. - Anthony Citrano

Anthony you summed up my Kansas City-SF-LA feelings perfectly. Kansas City is an awesome place, beautiful and reminds me a lot of SF in both layout and access to the arts (although IMO, KC does a *much* better job than SF). Still I prefer LA over both just for sheer amount of free cultural stuff to do and the weather. And you can't beat April where you can surf in the morning and ski in the afternoon. - Admiral Anika

Still no mention of quakes? You people are in denial..! - Tim Ostler

Quakes? Funny. - Alex Scoble

I hated SF. Great food and lots of gay people and drugs are its only virtues. As well as proximity to wine country. - fn (fairnymph)

I'll take earthquakes over tornadoes, hurricanes or snow any day. I felt 4 earthquakes last year, 3 of them I wasn't even sure I felt them. Only noticed it because the light was swinging and Twitter. One of them I was sitting here in a tank top with a fan on me, while the rest of the country was on blizzard lockdown. LOL No comparison. - Admiral Anika

I love living in SF. - Eric Florenzano

@fn I doubt you have actually visited San Francisco. - PC Easy from twhirl

Think again, PC. I lived in NorCal for 5 years. - fn (fairnymph)

Pthhpth. Central Coast / Monterey Bay area baby. Air quality FTW. Still expensive though. - Rodfather

And you honestly think the only virtue in this city is Gays and Drugs? Honestly? Not the million dollar views, the buildings, landmarks, neighborhoods, BART, Parks. - PC Easy from twhirl

FN said food, gays and drugs. Don't forget the food. And yeah, those views cost more than a million dollars. - Alex Scoble

I don't like the neighbourhoods. I hate the climate. The parks are nice, sure, but lots of city have nice parks, or better. Not impressed by the view or landmarks. The public transport is a joke compared to NYC. And yes, I said Food first. Coffee included. - fn (fairnymph)

You don't like SF's climate? I love it there. - Andrew C

Too monotonous. I need SEASONS. - fn (fairnymph)

I find the novelty of snow kinda wears off after about a day, and I don't like it that hot either. - Andrew C

Went there 5 years ago. Great city, too chilly in summertime. Without a car you're dead. - Jordi Soler

it's expensive but so is NYC (where I lived for 3 years prior to moving to SF) - the cost are somewhat justified because enough people willing to support the current cost of living, It's supply and demand. I live in south beach / soma - and I love the proximity to everything and walkability (for the most part). - Rajiv Doshi

Thomas Hawk

Damn. CNBC is totally going on the offensive today. Stewart hasn't been mentioned once but Cramer's show today is basically a compilation of every other talk show he's ever been on and every call he's ever gotten right. It's pretty obvious that this is in direct response to Stewart's broadcast.

March 16 - Comment - Like - Share

Eric Thompson, Brian, grant fox and 54 other people liked this

They are really trying hard to rebuild their credibility. It almost feels like they are trying wayyyy too hard. Cramer's gotten a ton wrong over the past few years. To try and only highlight stuff he's gotten right is misleading. It's the wrong way to counter the Jon Stewart problem. - Thomas Hawk

54 more comments

today's show is like one huge endorsement of Cramer including even gimmicky stuff like Chris Matthews wishing him a happy birthday. Basically they are surrounding him in promos with the most credible people saying good things about him. They've pulled out everyone from Dr. Phil to Stephen Colbert in clips to paint him in a positive light. - Thomas Hawk

Even a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day. - Jasmin Patry

CNBC is in a bit of a spot. They suck and have been outed for it but they can't really admit that it's true. - ·[▪_▪]·

Jasmin, that's it. Highlighting calls that he's gotten right could just be luck. He's gotten so much wrong over the past few years that to try and somehow paint him as a financial genius in response to the Stewart interview just comes across as pathetic. - Thomas Hawk

I was just wondering what Kramer's hit rate is - i.e. how many wrong vs. how many right - Bindu Reddy

Is there any way to counter it right? - Jens Christian Freund

They're doing this because their ratings have gone down 24%. Yet, Stewart's have gone up 20%. - Michael Forian

that's it Bindu. there is no public hit rate that I'm aware of, but he has gotten a lot wrong. To try and counter that by selectively highlighting clips over the past four years where he's made a right call is totally and completely misleading and I bet it ends up backfiring. If I were Stewart I'd show the same promos they are showing today with him getting everything right and then after it show an identical promo with him getting everything wrong. Selectively pulling his right calls is disingenuous. - Thomas Hawk

Jens - by doing what he said he do on Stewart's show. Go forward being a good reporter, doggedly follow stories and work to expose those he knows to be lying to him. This attempt to go forward as if everything is Smurfy is just insulting - Matthew DeVries

The way to counter the criticism is to issue a mea culpa and both promise to do and do better. Anything else is just horseshit. - Brian Sullivan

Brian - curse you for saying the exact same I did, in 20 fewer words. Curse you and your lingual efficiency! - Matthew DeVries

Not only are they going forward as everything is smurfy, they are painting him as a financial genius who gets everything right. Colbert: "hip, hip, hooray Jim Cramer!" The show is full of every other commentator who has every said anything positive about him combined with selective clips of him making right calls. - Thomas Hawk

Thomas and Bindu, this might give you an idea of the accuracy on his 2008 predictions: http://www.businessandmedia.org/article... - Michael Forian

Brian's right, mea culpa and promise and do better. This circus show of a show today is just over the top. CNBC didn't need to take this tact and it's going to end up backfiring on them I bet. They are trying too hard to push their credibility. It rings false. - Thomas Hawk

I guess they ( the suits) won't get it until the populous is outside with pitchforks and torches( this is not a threat ). - Erik Weese

What really struck me about Cramer when he was on Stewart was how sheepish he was. Probably knew he was in hostile territory. So I guess that makes him a coward for appearing to accept his failures in the interview and then going and pulling something like this. - Jasmin Patry

NBC Brian Williams endorsing him. Showing the Iron Man clip. Showing clips of college students calling him a hero. it's just one big marketing show marketing Jim Cramer today. - Thomas Hawk

The thing is Stewart called him out as a snakeoil salesmen and rather than try to become more professional today he just comes out with more snakeoil than he ever had on any show ever. The truth of the matter is sometimes Cramer gets it right, more often lately though he's been getting it wrong and the show is entertainment not financial advice. - Thomas Hawk

CNBC's gotta know they're just setting up Stewart's next move, compiling and calling them out on it. I wonder what their follow-up move is? - Kevin Fox

As Karl Rove famously said, "If you're explaining, you're losing." - John Craft

If I were Stewart I'd replay his promos today with him getting everything right and then immediately after it make their own promo of one of him getting everything wrong. The fact that they cherry picked good calls for today's promos was stupid. It's easy to counter and he'll look foolish for even trying to counter this way. - Thomas Hawk

Daily Show ftw. - Will Higgins™

you know the daily show is going to have a field day with this. - Carlos Ayala

Really? Someone made bad financial predictions in the last 12 months? Burn them at the stake! - Ryan Kaisoglus

I (I think) agree with Ryan: Fighting back with a clip reel of Cramer's bad calls misses the point. You have to call out CNBC for distorting reality rather than just replying with another distortion in hopes that it'll prove a more subtle point. - Kevin Fox

Ryan, when he's running ads for his show like "In Cramer We Trust", I think it would be appropriate to burn him at the stake. - Michael Forian

Chris, not when he's acting like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch... - Michael Forian

Destined for the trash heap. Unquestioned loyalty to the subject bring investigated <> 5th estate; CNBC proves they have no interest in that roll. Now we can question whether they can even claim entertainment value as a mitigating feature of their diatribe. - David HC Soul

They should have never given TDS credence in the first place sending Cramer to all their sister channels to defend himself from a comedy show. Now they're digging a bigger hole completely missing the point of Stewart's ire. NBC has a lot of financial assets to protect, but this is so not the way to do it. - Admiral Anika

bidniss as usual! - Richard pancakhaus Walker

The problem isn't in Cramer - it's in ANY show that claims that they have expertise in Wall Street and has stunning accuracy. It's the same kind of tactic that is used by the infomercial services that share gambling predictions for sporting events. Rather than Cramer promising that he'll do better, the world would be better served if Cramer AND ALL THE OTHER FINANCIAL SHOWS simply issued their predictions, and when they get them wrong - and they WILL get them wrong - analyze and figure out WHY. - John E. Bredehoft

Michael, I guess my point was...if you are going to crucify Cramer, you've got lots of other people to crucify at the same time. And if individual investors are taking his word as the one and only truth, it's their fault - not Cramer's, or CNBC's. Just as you should diversify your investments, you should diversify the sources of your investment advice. - Ryan Kaisoglus

I agree with the pundit who says Cramer will be gone in six months. This is good news. He himself admits to gaming the market and misleading others--both crimes. Perhaps a little jail time will set him straight. It's what I'm hoping for--as well as Stewart staying on the attack. - Shawn Michel de Montaigne

Kevin - not really where I was going with my comment, but we agree on your point. The best move that CNBC could have made, IMO? A clip reel of Jon Stewart's bad jokes. ;-) - Ryan Kaisoglus

Ryan, you should always keep an open mind to different investments. But seriously, do people actually trust the TV? I'd say the internet is an investor paradise. - Michael Forian

In my opinion, if I were CNBC I'd just drop it entirely, and over the next few months add a few personalities or shows that are chock-full of journalistic integrity. Of course, the root problem is that they're trying to fill 17 hours of programming a day, and they can't do that without adding 'entertainment' to 'information'. - Kevin Fox

CBNC painted themselves into a corner. If they ignore their issue with Stewart, then maybe it goes away - until the next time one of their own slips up. So instead, they turn this into a personal vendetta between two personalities, which helps to diffuse Stewart's message - unless Stewart come after them again. - Steven Perez

Plus, there's an x-factor here no one has thought of - Stephen Colbert. If Colbert's mug was used in their spots, CNBC then runs the risk of having ***two*** professional comedians gunning for their network. Stewart hits them with truth, and then Colbert makes them looks like buffoons. They're stuck, so they have to pimp their message hard. - Steven Perez

Chris White, when I saw Jon Stewart I began thinking of JIMMY Stewart. "Mr. Smith goes to Wall Street" or something like that. - John E. Bredehoft

inevitable and good news - Thomas Power

Someone in a position to know told me that CNBC top brass was absolutely mortified by the interview; they did not expect it to go as poorly (for CNBC) as it did. This would appear to be a clumsy attempt at damage repair and control. - Anthony Citrano

I guess CNBC brass didn't hear about the "Jon Stewart Killed Crossfire" incident. - Daniel J. Pritchett

fixcnbc.com - will it matter? - Aaman (Clone of FF)

definitely damage control but wayyy too obvious. By highlighting everyone famous who loves Cramer and all his right picks they are giving Stewart and opportunity to contrast that with the opposite in order to point out that it's must more of the same business as usual BS at your spin doctored CNBC. - Thomas Hawk

I haven't watched Mad Money in a while (got rid of cable). But when I was watching it his show didn't seem to be as much about him picking stocks as it was about getting people to do their homework and invest smart, according to what he thinks is smart investing. I heard him say many times to not just go and buy and sell stocks just based on his opinions. - ChiliMac

Cramer is a joke inside the business. A clown. - John Flynn

@Chris, he said she lost a lot, right? But it wasn't from 'playing the stock market' it was from 'investing long term.' The kind of investment that is good and stable and will always go up as we're always told was nullified by the dudes 'playing the market' and that's part of his anger. - Chieze Okoye

@ChiliMac This isn't about Crammer's financial advice. He jumped of the Obama bandwagon and Stewart is being a loyal cultist and attacking him for it. - Robert Hafer

must of hit a nerve. :) - CW™

@Robert: not even close. this is not about politics, it's about the media. Stewart pissed off the media elites and now he's on the block. people didn't trash talk him while be beat up Bush or Kerry. they got on his case when he beat up Carlson and Cramer. - MikeAmundsen

Robert, that's hilarious - anna sauce

@MikeAdmundsen which is why Stewart is more of a true journalist that most of these media dweebs. - Helen Sventitsky

@Helen: i enjoy Stewart's show, but i like my journalism straight-no chaser. i miss in-depth researched reporting that spans several days/weeks/months. i like pointed questions and dogged reporters. details that take minutes to read and understand, not seconds. i like the background as well as the foreground characters. finally, i'm not interested in the *big* story, but the *long* story. really miss that kind of reporting. - MikeAmundsen

Count on Robert to go all Politico on the media. Stewart and his writers have the common sense, down to earth touch of someone like Will Rogers. Much of the show consists of playing clips of words media mavens actually blurted out on the record. We have gone from Wall Street Week with Lewis Rukeyser, a once-a-week panel and interview PBS show, to several full time networks desperate for content, starving for any sort of bell-ringing, horn-honking ego-bozo in just a few years. I blame the boomers. - Phil Boiarski

CNBC sucks. They aren't a news org, they are entertainment and spin. frak 'em.! - Greg

Blake Robinson

Seeking a new section of Brooklyn in which to live! Entertaining Brooklyn Heights, Boerum Hill and Cobble Hill. Suggestions appreciated.

March 8 from Twitter - Comment - Like - Share

I have recently been dreaming of moving to Windsor Terrace / Kensington - Erik Weese

John Biggs

RT "@beckycosta: Does anyone else love arizona as much as I do? 99 cent value drink tastes pretty good" can i get an amen?

February 1 from Twitter - Comment - Like - Share

Green tea with honey is the Almighty refresher. - Erik Weese

Scott Beale

I Hardly Know Her, A Ultra Simplified Interface For Flickr - http://laughingsquid.com/i-hardl...

January 31 from Laughing Squid - Comment - Like - Share

Jason Stajich, Manila Envelope, Muge Cerman and 3 other people liked this

turned some of my photos sideways - Erik Weese

Barack Obama

House of Representatives Passes American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan - http://my.barackobama.com/page...

January 28 from Obama HQ - Comment - Like - Share

Shannon Clark, Bunny Pancakes, Angela P. and 2 other people liked this

Mass Transit funding parity would have been nice. This is a good first step. - Erik Weese

Louis Gray

New Blog Post by @changeforge: Four Reasons the Pre Might Save Palm http://www.louisgray.com/live...

January 10, 2009 from Twitter - Comment - Like - Share

Davide D'Incau, Nicholas James, Tyson Key and 3 other people liked this

Agree with the 4 points Luis, but Sprint being the carrier and the rumored 399 price point will kill the Palm Pre before it even has a chance. - Erik Weese

Erik, I was not excited to hear that Sprint will be the only carrier for 3-6 months either. However, I do think Palm can hold this charge for a while. According to Gartner, though - they have a huge gap to make up. I would be interested to see what their definition of success is with this "1st launch". - Ken Stewart | ChangeForge

Robert Scoble

Interesting. Congress bails out banks, but not auto industry. When I was at Davos I saw lots of banks and congressmen, but no UAW workers.

December 11, 2008 from Twitter - Comment - Like - Share

Daniel Schildt, Mathew A. Koeneker, cjmart and 9 other people liked this

Interesting and pretty sad. - Adriana

15 more comments

It'll still happen, Robert. Just needs a tweak or two... - MVB (Grinch of FF)

Guess we now wait and see if GM is really going under at the end of the month. - Dave Hodson

Perhaps congress has less stake in auto industry? Bail out has nothing to do with saving economy and jobs but saving corporate interest. - Moushumi Kabir

The Senate wins the Grinch Award for 2008. Or alternatively, the Satan award. - Karoli

This is due to some Southern Senator's relationship to Japanese car companies with workers in the South (non-union) and the Republican's desire to break the last strong Union in U.S.A. I would rather see the gov let the car companies go bankrupt and protect the workers pensions, unemployment ins. and re-education into green jobs. It would cost less than propping up a failed CO. and be better for overall economy to apply capital efficiently. - Erik Weese

Mark - no, it won't. I am against the auto bailout, but will readily grant supporters that it made a lot more sense than the financial bailout did. And the financial bailout was more than 50 times bigger, with zero accountability, far less moral, and oh, it passed! - Anthony Citrano

Know we know who really runs America. - Sean McBride

Okay: @Gregory Agreed. @Erik Check out the service workers union, their role in the scandal with the Illinois Governor and the $26Million they donated to Obama. @Sean but why would a group that now uses oil as a commodity not want to keep these laggards around? - MVB (Grinch of FF)

@Anthony Why don't you think it will pass with some tweaking? - MVB (Grinch of FF)

Many years ago I worked for a plastic injection molding company and 70% of their business was for GM. There are thousands of such companies and if any of the big three fails they will likely take thousands of companies with them. I just wonder if the Republicans who killed this bill would have done so if McCain had won the election and a Republican administration was coming in in a few weeks. - Jeff Jones

@Jeff but the demand for cars, and therefore car parts, won't change whether GM/Chrysler exist or don't exist. People will still purchase cars, somebody has to make them, and somebody has to make parts for them. - MVB (Grinch of FF)

Very different problems. In October, banks were not longer issuing commercial paper, short term loans between business. Without out such loans, businesses (including GM) can't pay their suppliers, can't make payroll, etc. There is 1.75 trillion dollars worth of commercial paper outstanding any given week. In comparison, GM's annual revenue is $200 billion. Loan the banks $700 billion, they will issue commercial paper again. Give GM $8 billion, what will it do differently in the next 12 to 24 months? - Steve Wilhelm

@Mark: When, next year? That's too late for GM. - Anthony Citrano

@Steve - sounds great in concept. That's not what's happened though. Credit remains frozen and bonds are not getting underwritten. The banks kept the money. - Anthony Citrano

That said, I don't think we should let the big three fail. But I personally want to see: much higher CAFE standards, elimination of the Flex fuel loop hole, targets for hybrid and alternative fuel cars in fleet, and UAW concessions on future wages, benefits, and pensions. - Steve Wilhelm

Generally speaking, bad businesses should fail, including these. But what I suspect will happen at this point what may happen is a last-minute "forced" credit push by Treasury from the (bankrupt) big banks who got TARP money and to the automakers. - Anthony Citrano

John Biggs

EOS Wireless Music System - http://www.youtube.com/watch...

December 11, 2008 from YouTube - Comment - Like - Share

Rocking the Primus COOL!!!! - Erik Weese

Robert Scoble

I am watching CNN and seeing bad employment numbers from US auto industry. Interesting, though, here in China US brands, like Buick, are very popular.

November 7, 2008 - Comment - Like - Share

Brian, Mo Kargas, Rahsheen ™, Coach Rah and 11 other people liked this

That's refreshing. US Autos need some good news (especially here in Detroit), regardless where it is coming from - Ken Burbary

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Toyota own's here in Uganda, American cars are very hard to find. - Jon Gosier from feedalizr

It's likely that in China US brands are popular because they're an import and therefore a status symbol. - FFing Enigma (aka Tina)

US brands like Buick are actually made in China. They're popular because historically before China was communist, Buick was a very popular brand. So when GM entered the market in the 90s, they thought they'd begin by bringing a well recognized brand back. It worked. Became status symbol for all government officials and wealthy folks. Now they're introducing other GM lines like Cadillac etc. - Christine Lu

Very cool, Christine =) - FFing Enigma (aka Tina)

Interesting about the Buick "brand's" adoption. When I visited (Guangzhou) China in 1987, Mercedes seemed to be the popular auto (and truck) there (aside from waves of bicycles). - Jim Courtney

Buick seemed very popular 2+ years ago, when it was primarily the only car on the road, but now don't see it that often in Shenzhen or Songjiang. (there are few re-branded cars there sold as Buicks, like the Suzuki) Buicks in the US use Chinese engines, but the cars I think are made in the US(though it is cheaper to replace the whole engine nowadays then to fix parts). You will notice slight refinement differnces; such as how much better a German VW is made VS a Shanghai VW. - clarke thomas

I read an article, I'm pretty sure it was about Buick, how they designed a model in a Chinese design shop specifically to appeal to the Chinese market. - mikepk

And at Ford, we've seen profitable results this quarter in South America and Europe, where the Blue Oval is particularly popular. - Scott Monty

All the western brands are majority-owned joint-ventures by Chinese. Mercedes is still the most prestigious brand for government officials, and Audi for the richest in China. - Joshua Allen

@Christine Lu: That's very interesting. Though I did guess they were produced in China. I wonder if there is ANY real goods import from the US to China. - Amit Morson

"There were some bright spots around the globe for GM. It saw a solid 4.3% jump in sales in China, even as industrywide sales there declined, allowing it to pick up market share. China has become an increasingly important market for GM, one which accounts for more than one in ten vehicles it sells worldwide." - http://money.cnn.com/2008... - Steve Wilhelm

Buicks rock. My Buick set on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos... - Thomas Hawk

the auto industry has been have problems for a long long time, just ask anyone who lives in the state of Michigan which has been in a one-state recession for almost 5 years - Jonathan Jesse

The problem is that money is sitting offshore. Corporations aren't going to bring it back into the US just to lose 35% to taxes. - Chris Mayer

Agreed, Chris. That's why potential auto manuf. bailouts are disgusting to me. They made their beds by just moving junk metal and pumping up stock returns, instead of focusing on making a good product matching customer desires and making profits through customer satisfaction. Hope China can learn lessons from us. - Kevin Leroux

I don't know if its wise to save the big three. Capitalism is about renewing the old and I cant see Ford, GM, and Jeep changing anytime soon. What if we let them fail. Doesn't that give companies like Tesla a real chance of changing cars in this country? - Erik Weese

president-elect obama will bail out the big three, think about he has massive support from the unions and also has governor granholm (of michiga) on his economic transition team. we definitely see an economic bailout for the big 3. also i doubt very little limits on these companies as any more would put even more constraints on them and more job loss/facotry closure, less union employees, etc - Jonathan Jesse

Erik... are you saying if we lose Ford GM and Jeep then we'll all be able to afford Tesla cars? How's that work, exactly? - Michael Markman

Well, American brands are actually quite popular overseas. People actually consider it a.. mark of wealth of sorts, if that makes any sense. In some countries, anyway. Which is a good thing for us, of course. Whatever little help we can get, we probably could use. Also, by what I heard on CNN last night, it sounds like Ford doesn't need a bailout as much as GM does. - deepikaur

Yes, Ford seems to be better positioned. GM has been having issues for quite a while; years. I really do not think Chrysler learned from their last bailout round and that bothers me. - Robert Miller

Erik Weese

Don't Get It - http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archive...

November 13, 2008 from Google Reader - Comment - Like - Share

not just a Senate seat for the life, but with Ted Kennedy on the way to better places. The most powerful Senate seat for life. - Erik Weese

Mark Trapp

Andrea Mitchell of MSNBC is reporting that Obama is about to tap Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State

November 13, 2008 from Twitter - Comment - Like - Share

imabonehead, Morton Fox, Jessica and 4 other people liked this

"Under consideration" so not as strong as I made it out to be. Confirmed by two Obama advisors, three other possibilities: Richardson, Kerry, and Daschle. Richardson and Kerry reportedly want the job. - Mark Trapp

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I figured that Hillary would either get that Sec of State or else be "promoted" to Senate Majority Leader - Mark Dykeman

Online source, but it's the same as what I wrote: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive... - Mark Trapp

I have no idea why she wants this job. She is about to replace Ted Kennedy ( I am not wish him dead or anything) as the Dem power broker of the Senate. The Senate position has more long term possibilities.. - Erik Weese

Official response from the transition team is that they aren't commenting on speculation. That's not a denial! :-P - Mark Trapp

What? This doesn't make sense. - Nate Pilling from twhirl

BreakingNewsOn (http://friendfeed.com/breakin...) usually sends out such alerts pretty quickly. Haven't seen this one from them. - Atul Arora

BreakingNewsOn gets most of its news from the Associated Press. This broke via NBC News. - Mark Trapp

Obama is so showing his penchant for "Change" ... or at least hiring Clinton Admin retreads. The upside here is that Clinton was a centrist.... - Curt Mercadante

John Biggs

TeleNav Shotgun - http://www.youtube.com/watch...

November 8, 2008 from YouTube - Comment - Like - Share

um ...sounds like the Dash GPS - Erik Weese

Robert Scoble

Watching Obama commercial. I looked over at Maryam. Noticed she was crying. It's her first time to vote in our country.

October 29, 2008 from Twitter - Comment - Like - Share

rowlikeagirl, Sara Maternini, Patricia and 36 other people liked this

that's great robert... - Johan

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Congratulations - that's very inspiring. I'd love to hear her thoughts on her blog - think you can convince her? - Jesse Stay

She is going to a class tonight with a friend. Truth be told there was a tear in my eye too. - Robert Scoble

Wow, that is great! Yeah!!! :))) - Susan Beebe

Beautifully made, smartly conceived, perfect in tonality. It connects Obama's platform and biography to mainstream American voters. Can't imagine how it could have been better. Obama was almost a supporting player. Moms, dads, and families were the star. Maryam wasn't the only one crying. - Michael Markman

Yeah, the thought of Obama being President makes me cry, too. ;) - Dawn

@Michael yeah I got very teary watching it in a busy cafe, subtitled - anna sauce

That's amazing. It's things like this that refresh my appreciation for our rights. - David Cook

it's my 1st time too, I know how Maryam feels - Sally Church

Sally, congratulations! I think we often take for granted what we have. - Jesse Stay from twhirl

Jesse - soo true! - Susan Beebe

"our country" includes Maryam, right Robert? The wording of that Tweet sounds exclusive rather than inclusive. - Erik Weese

Exclusivity is not a bad thing when exercised positively. For instance, The fact that America is a country implies it has borders, a gov, laws, etc. Which means it cannot be annexed at the whim of say another country. Bit uncomfortable when we take a word a demonize it as it seems "exclusive" and so many words that are easy to do that with. It is "our country" to those who have spent all or most of their life here just as it becomes "our country" to those who have been granted citizenship. - Melanie Reed

I guess I'm not the only one who appreciates the continual influx of people... how quickly some forget we are based on immigration to our stolen country. There's a bit in HBO's Angels in America ... where Meryl Streep plays a Rabbi... very moving. Episode 1, scene 2 I think - Richard pancakhaus Walker

I cried too, but I don't think it was for the same reason. - Thomas Capote from twhirl

2008 Debates: Darryl

McCain ad in "FIFA '07" - http://yooryoo.com/

October 16, 2008 from Bookmarklet - Comment - Like - Share

Karim, Jon Anderson, nicolas dengler and 3 other people liked this

probably should have been in a NASCAR game..maybe Madden 2008. oooooh I couldn't resist. - Greg

you know those are photoshopped, right? just want to make sure - Cee Bee

should put those adds in MS Flight Simulator 2.0 for Windows 98. - Erik Weese

The Takeaway

Which issues will matter most as you select the next president? - http://vote2008.thetakeaway.org/2008...

October 19, 2008 from Vote 2008 - The Takeaway - Comment - Like - Share

What is the candidates plan to renew the economy? How will the candidate solve the Military / Diplomatic issues of the U.S.? How will the candidate solve the environment and energy issues of the U.S.? Does the candidate realize that these issues are all connected? - Erik Weese

Erik Weese

What Did Voters Google During The Last Presidential Debate? - http://www.techcrunch.com/2008...

October 17, 2008 from Google Reader - Comment - Like - Share

This is an example of the singularity trend with information being available to people almost instantly. I wonder what the break down between mobile and desktop searches. - Erik Weese

Leo Laporte

Calacanis: Apple to release networked HDTVs - Nate Lanxon, MP3 & Digital Music Editor - Technology Blog at CNET.co.uk - http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/natelan...

October 11, 2008 from delicious - Comment - Like - Share

Mihalcea Razvan, martha, Dave Winer and 5 other people liked this

These LCD HDTVs will be fully networked, with the ability to stream all your iTunes content from your Mac or PC. In fact, Calacanis told me they'll function like a standard TV with an Apple TV box, only without the need for the box. - Leo Laporte

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This doesn't sound likely to me. Few people replace TVs on the same regular basis that they replace their computers. - flammable

That's true, specially for those of us who already have Apple TVs. There must be more to this story if it is true. - Ash Matadeen

A STB does sound more likely. Would it need Blu-ray to succed? - Robert Hafer

I don't think it's a wild-ass idea, it's kind of obvious that they're going that way. Look at it this way -- who needed a portable hard disk that had a headphone jack but no keyboard in 2002? Yet it was one of the products that defined the decade, not just in computers -- but across the board. - Dave Winer

Gee, I wonder what they are going to be talking about on TWiT this Sunday ;-) // Something tells me Calacanis might be there and Dvorak.org/blog AKA @therealdvorak won't be - LMAO. - Darrell Bell from twhirl

It's definitely cheaper and easier to replace a little AppleTV box than to replace an entire television. There are still so many avenues Apple hasn't explored yet - iPod/iPhone docks on the AppleTV, for example (for playing movies and music without needing A/V cables handy). - flammable

If they did it it would be a good idea to introduce it before the Feb 19th DTV switch. I will be in the market for a TV in Feb and and Apple product would make the decision interesting. - Erik Weese

I don't see this happening at this event at least (and they need to do it at an event). This will be focused solely on notebooks since that's what everyone is expecting. Also, why would people toss the HDTVs they already have in such bad economic times for something they could do with a simple box? - Brandon Titus

The Takeaway

Adaora: They can clap before and after. #debate08 #nashdebate

October 7, 2008 from Twitter - Comment - Like - Share

then why is McCain cracking jokes looking for a reaction from the crowd? - Erik Weese

Mike Fruchter

I'm in the mist of doing a permanent career change. I'm just putting some feelers out on FriendFeed to see if anyone knows of any opportunities that may exist within digital media/social media.

October 2, 2008 - Comment - Like - Share

S. Charles Balazs, Lu Tao, Kol Tregaskes and 28 other people liked this

Either locally here in South Florida, or working remotely. - Mike Fruchter

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Do you want to be a part of a new startup? It will be 'first semantic chat' application, talkneed.com. : ) - Erhan Erdogan

If you don't already know from FriendFeed, Mike is quite a dedicated worker, and very passionate about social media, brand promotion/online identity, etc.. :) - Tim Hoeck

Mike - I have been mulling this for about 6 months (as opposed to self-employment). Still not convinced for me at least that it's a good idea but I'm networking 2 or 3 times a week (in person) and will certainly pass anything 'real' along. Count on it - Charlie Anzman

I hope you find your dream job, Mike. You are second on my "people I find interesting" list (after Mona). Whenever I see you posting or commenting I sit up and pay attention because I value your thoughts and analyses. I hope you keep blogging and posting here while searching for work. - Laura Norvig

Good luck, Mike - and Charlie. - Ontario Emperor

good luck! FF would be the place to ask :) - Sarah Perez

Mike you are definitely active and bring a lot to the table. Good luck! - Phil G

Good Luck Mike! - Franklin Pettit

Laura, Charlie, Phil, Franklin and Ontario, Thank you for the kind words. Spending four years at a dead end job has finally taken a toll on me. I'm very optimistic, and confident at the moment that I will soon embark on a new journey. One that has my passion behind it. I cant say it enough, but the supportive words of encouragement truly mean a lot to me. I know we are all Internet friends, but I tremendously value our relationships. - Mike Fruchter

I do but i think you have to be in Denver, CO. let me know you want me to pursue... - Susan Beebe

resharing: “Looking for FC.com editor:(Fast Company mag) passionate about the intersection of social media and journalism. can spit out story ideas about innovation, the web, social media, sustainability, and other core FC topics - and make them reality. Work w/me (Dir, SM), Robert Scoble (FCTV), and Ed Sussman (Pres, Digital)” hiring mgr is Lynne d Johnson @lynneluvah on ff and twitter. - Ms_Krista

I am extending my feelers for you from here as well Mike. - Carlos Ayala

@KriStatus thank you for resharing that. @Carlos, Thanks!! - Mike Fruchter

@Susan, I appreciate it, thank you. Definitely has to be in South Florida or remotely. - Mike Fruchter

FastCompany is hiring. We should talk. - Robert Scoble

Good luck, Mike! Do what you love. - Chris Baskind

Check out http://www.efactor.com we should also talk. - Stephanie

@Robert thanks, I will definitely send you an email tomorrow. @Stephanie, thanks for the link. I will also send you an email tomorrow as well. - Mike Fruchter

I've been using theladders.com lately. Quite a few hits if you search for digital media. - Andrew Leyden

Go Mike go! I'm digging the use of FriendFeed for this. - Hutch Carpenter

Yeah, this is awesome: good luck, Mike! Hmm, maybe I should start thinking about doing something like this... - Mark Trapp

Mike - Think you just created another use for Friendfeed :) This is part of the reason I started traveling again recently. For lack of a better way of putting it ... totally bored. Stay in touch and Good Luck! - Charlie Anzman

Mike, I can't help you right now, but good luck in your search. - Rob Diana

@Hutch, thanks. I figure it's worth a shot :) I think you guys are right, this is the start of something new on FF. I predict a trend to follow. - Mike Fruchter

and ... why not? You did it again Mike :) - Charlie Anzman

Good luck, Mike! I hope something comes of this post for you. - Sally Church

http://twitter.com/blake... - Erik Weese

I just heard Fastcompany is looking for someone. - Tim FitzGerald

I hereby solemnly swear I already got Mike somebody who's interested. I'll never tell who. - Louis Gray

hey Mike, I know you have no idea who I am, but -- good luck! You're made for the profession! - Nathan Rein

Louis who??!! Mike, talk to Louis and Scoble...seriously! - Susan Beebe

Can I like this twice now? - Tim Hoeck

Start here http://www.web-strategist.com/blog... - Jeremiah Owyang

Good Morning. Louis, Nathan and Jeremiah, Thank You! - Mike Fruchter

Mike stick it out, you will find something. Good Luck! - Irene Katz

hey mike good luck in your search. I have been talking to some people as well at a few companies about social media opportunities...so we will see. never hurts to at least try to make a job out of it. :) - (jeff)isageek

Steve Rubel

I am getting a lot of Plaxo invites today. Google shows growth. http://tinyurl.com/64u6r9...

July 15, 2008 from Twitter - Comment - Like - Share

Hutch Carpenter, Elliott Ng, Susan Beebe and 5 other people liked this

Yep. We're surging. Check out: http://siteanalytics.compete.com/plaxo... - John McCrea

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Plaxo? used it once two years ago. what in the hell is it anyway? I heard Scoble works for them - Noah David Simon

David, the rumor that Robert Scoble works for Plaxo is just that: a rumor. - John McCrea

hah! I work for all tech companies that improve my life. - Robert Scoble

They're owned by Comcast now, right, or is that just a rumor too? - Nathan Rein

All passionate customers work (voluntarily) for the companies they love, paid in innovative products, with a hallucinatory desk within the promotions dept. - Matt Harwood

Plaxo is a great tool for getting your contacts in the cloud - Erik Weese

I like what you're say, Matt! Great visual on the desk, too! And thanks, Erik! Parvez, I am with you in spirit. The last thing we wanted to do with Pulse was build yet-another-walled-garden-social-network. We are 100% committed to interoperability and data portability, with the user in control. And there's some big things coming. Stay tuned. - John McCrea

I just shared this to the PLAXO room here on FF --> http://friendfeed.com/rooms... - Susan Beebe

I've commented before how Plaxo shows stronger growth than FF. - Russellreno

Robert Scoble

@MaryHodder I disagree. We should do what we can for immediate energy needs first while looking for better long-term solutions. Drill now.

July 13, 2008 from Twitter - Comment - Like - Share

Mitchell Tsai, Allen Fuller, Chris Kuhner and 4 other people liked this

great, so in 7 years we have enough oil to last a month - Dave Hodson

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The problem is, we'll never look for better long term solutions so long as we remain dependent on short term solutions. If we drill in ANWAR, and off the coast, people will not have a need to look elsewhere. They've been saying for years and years that oil will run out, but no one has really taken them seriously and no one will until it's too late OR there is a good economic incentive to. - Jason Shultz from twhirl

no drilling in ANWAR. quit bandaid-ing the situation and dedicate full momentum towards real solutions. It's taxation without representation on future generations. - sedgewick

drilling will not decrease the rising demand for oil world wide which is how the price of oil is set. - Erik Weese

Hybrids are a step, not a perfect step but a step none the less. Hybrids are expensive. If a Hybrid is within your reach, lease one. When the lease is up, or maybe the lease on your second Hybrid is up, the next step (plugin Hybrid?) may be in reach for you so lease it (repeat as required). Meanwhile you are helping drive up demand for alternatives which will send a message to the fatcats that there is coin to be made away from oil. And making coin is the only message they will ever listen to. - Capn' One Eye - adrift

are you serious? It is going to take 10 years to get the oil from offshore. And then who says that the oil companies will use it to lower the cost of oil to US citizens? This plan is idiocy and an extremely obvious handout to the most profitable industry in America. It isn't a lack of oil that is the problem. It is a lack of will from the American people to change our lifestyles one iota or to hold this president and his palls in the oil industry responsible for their continued extortion of America. - Kevin Goldsmith

When will more people face the fact that we have to change our lifestyles NOW rather than a year from now, a decade from now, or a week from now? I managed to live and conduct business for many years without owning a car, and now I have one (a 1999 VW Beetle), but I don't use it very much. I take public transit most of the time or carpool when necessary. If you must drive a lot, get a hybrid or electric. Ride a bike or walk to do simple errands in your own neighborhood. Offshore drilling is not the answer. - Cathryn Hrudicka

Agreed - Nicholas James

at what point do we stop putting band aids on huge gaping wounds?? - Jeremy Toeman

We can't ignore our short term needs because "we need to have our backs against the wall to force change." While you're trying to force change by doing that, the economy could collapse and that reverberating effect could very well sink the world into recession. Scoble's absolutely 100% correct - we need to drill now. We need to POWER our search for alternatives, you know. It takes energy to make energy. - Ben Parr

@Ben (and others) perhaps the voters at large should just get more educated on energy issues in the short term? do you *know* how much oil we actually need? what alternatives have you considered, for example purchasing oil from other nations that we tend to ignore while throwing money at massively unstable places like Saudi Arabia? how about the government create incentives (and penalties) to huge companies that consume massive amounts of energy instead of stiffing individuals even further? - Jeremy Toeman

Jeremy: Why are you punishing huge companies with huge energy needs? They need it for their operations and to run their companies. Do you really believe they're wasting tons of energy? NO! They're corporations, which means they MUST be efficient in order to improve the bottom line. Government is what is inefficient and needs to be kept in check, not corporations. - Ben Parr

@Ben normally i'd agree, and tell the gov to stay out. However, their hands are already stirring the pot with the fundamental structure of energy distribution, so the free market is not in proper control. IF there really were numerous power brokers and they were in charge of buying/selling power, that'd be one thing. But it aint, and the only entity who can effect change is the gov. This is one of my big beefs, that the system is NOT regulating itself, nor is it truly capable anymore. - Jeremy Toeman

@Scobleizer I have been following your entire energy discussion, which has been fascinating. I have a video for you on this very topic: http://talktech.tv/2008... Kevin Surace, CEO of startup Serious Materials, shares an analysis of his energy projections in 30 years (i.e. no more oil), and, interestingly, how addressing energy wasted in heating/cooling with improved insulation could contribute more energy savings than nuclear, solar, and biofuel combined. Thoughts? - Kristin White

Robert, all due respect but drilling now will do nothing to solve the energy needs. The recent International Energy Agency said we need an extra 3.5m barrels/day to meet increased demand. The prob is there is nowhere for that 3.5mbd to come from. Any drilling done now is likely to only produce a fraction of that amount in several years time.We need to stop subsidising big oil (they are... more... - Tom Raftery from twhirl

Dave Winer

What I *love* about the NYer cover is that people are way way too careful, let's blow the whole thing up and have a laugh. Lighten up!

July 13, 2008 from Twitter - Comment - Like - Share

Susan Beebe, ryan, Brad Davis Seal and 14 other people liked this

I'm a huge Obama fan. And I love the cover. I think it's hilarious and perfect satire. A lot of people have commented that many will not get the joke and will use the cover to hurt Obama. Since when should we curb satire because some people will take it the wrong way? - Bill Bittner from twhirl

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No one ever gets to have any fun. Wolf Blitzer is just a reporter he isn't king god of the universe. He may not have a sense of humor, but that doesn't that the rest of us can't ever once in a while have a laugh. What's the point of all our wealth and power if we can't enjoy it a little. :-) - Dave Winer

Don't you think a lot of the uneasiness is about not wanting to talk about race in a direct way? I learned not to be uneasy the easy way, working in an environment with a 20:1 black:white ratio. - Amyloo

You're absolutely right that there's uneasiness in discussing race. However I there are many things in the cover that aren't productive in race discussions. There's satire for the sake of discussion, and there's satire for the sake of satire. I believe the cover is in the latter category. Maybe I'm just over-analyzing the whole thing and I should let it go. I probably am - Thomas B

What I love most about the NYer cover is the stick-up-the-rear blow hards who aren't sure whether it's kosher to laugh at it. - Michael Markman

I'm pretty sure the type of people who are exposed here, and they are quite numerous in America, will love the cover too http://scienceblogs.com/pharyng... - Adam Turetzky

The thing is brings up is that, believe it or not, its not outrageous *enough* (for some people) to be obviously a satire on the politics of fear. In other words, its too close to what serious anti-obama people are putting out to be a joke... it perhaps cuts a little too close to the real thing. - Gabe Wachob from twhirl

Look ont he bright side, this cover will probably win hima lot of fans over on the Daily Kos - until they realize it is satire. Then they will be dissapointed. - Soulhuntre from twhirl

@Soulhuntre that's a cheap shot - Thomas B

No, that is his wife, Michelle. It's so ridiculous that people think this is tasteless. It's so obvious that they are parodying not Obama, but peoples' perceptions of him. Political correctness is alive and well unfortunately. - Kevin L

A cheap shot? I don't think so - have you seen some of the peopel who call Daily Kos home? I think @klecu has a good point about political correctness but you do have to realize that accusing folks of being racist about Obama is literally a campaign strategy at the moment for many Obama supporters. They are trying to equate any criticism with racism. As such, PC is not only alive but thriving. - Soulhuntre

DailyKos is a bloody cesspool. More times than not when I've gone over there, I've encountered rabid antisemitism and a lot of frightening sentiment in extremely poor taste. Of course, you can find a lot of the same at Obama's campaign site, Huffington Post, and so on and so on. - Akiva Moskovitz

I love the cover. I think we should be able to laugh. - Francine Hardaway

In a strange irony the critics might not want to be lumped with the same people who wigged out about a certain Danish cartoon. - Oldengrey (Jay)

I agree that it's over the top satire... but now the Obama and McCain campaigns are officially offended. I wonder... could he not be? If he's not offended and sees it as it is, he plays into the "elitist" arguments, is misinterpreted as endorsing it(ie it is true) and that he is not the president of the people. Interesting conundrum. - James Williams

The cover is great. It brings to light and creats a discussion of the whisper campaigns against Obama. - Erik Weese

It's smug satire. I just hope that once again the self-satisfied aren't handed their asses by their butts. More Bottom than Puck, too bad the play is not a comedy. Do butts of jokes often engage in discussion as to why they are being laughed at? In my experience they get meaner and dirtier to maintain a seat at the ego trough. Nope. You don't open a dialogue with the bear by poking him with a sharp stick or pointed cartoon even. - Boo

I have to say I fell for it badly then. I thought they were "satirising" Obama's race and name....which just isn't satire. I was offended. I feel a bit stupid now as you guys are telling me they were satirising the whisper campaign. I have to say if it wasn't clear to me, then a lot of people are going to be pissed off. - Chris Nixon

Robert Scoble

@Ross you make a great point. Our energy leadership is a huge fail. I advocated for gas tax in college which got huge amount of hate mail.

July 13, 2008 from Twitter - Comment - Like - Share

Peter Ghosh, Susan Beebe, Brandon and Kim Landwehr liked this

Raising taxes has never failed to produce exactly the effect opposite its intention. That's the way to really sink this economy. - Gregory Pittman

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It's too late for a gas tax. We need more electrical power from sources that are free and abundant such as wind, water, and solar. . . and NO, I'm not talking about hydrogen either. It takes too much energy to obtain the hydrogen in a pure form, whereas solar is always free, and is practical to obtain on an individual basis. Companies like Nanosolar are going to change the world and how power & wealth are obtained if they can just get a little more efficiency out of the film. - Peter Ghosh

We will never lower the price of gas with out reducing the demand. ( if it takes taxes to do so so be it) We need a comprehensive transportation policy with an emphasis on Mass Transit, as well as a reduction of urban sprawl. Getting energy efficient is the cheapest and fastest way to reduce demand. At the same time we need to pressure the B.R.I.C. to reduce demand as well by switching to renewable resources. - Erik Weese

Erik - how are you going to do that without being super heavy-handed? Mass Transit here in Phoenix, AZ will fail because it's too damned hot outside to wait for busses - people would DIE. How will you stop urban sprawl without some kind of awful police state tactics? - Chrimmus Tad

Robert Scoble

@titanas: tech people are way ahead of the journalists, by the way. I spoke to a group of journalists and none are using cell video. Sigh.

July 2, 2008 from Twitter - Comment - Like - Share

Susan Beebe, Charles Barthold, Bryon Thomas and 3 other people liked this

The BBC have tried some mobile video in the last couple of months, Rory Cellan-Jones has a post up about it here http://is.gd/A6F (even includes a link to you Robert) - Mat

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For US TV broadcasts (over the air) I seem to recall there is a requirement/regulation that XX% of your broadcast be of a certain 'broadcast quality' level and only YY% be of a lower quality (i.e. camcorders or cell phone video). - Andrew Leyden

this is much more about cost containment than lack of desire for some robert - cnn has been doing cellular video reports for awhile - mike "glemak" dunn

Mike and Mat: yeah, I know that there are some exceptions. But this was to a future of journalism conference. There should have been more. And a Nokia phone is a VERY CHEAP way to get photos and videos on scene at stories. So, if cost containment is a big deal, they should be handing these things out like water in the desert. - Robert Scoble

don't disagree regarding cheaper and should be handing out but when you look at the scale and day-to-day issues in media companies - cost containment is always an issue unfortunately - mit media lab is doing a very interesting project called civic media focused on this exact issue - mike "glemak" dunn

Shame and it's so easy to use Quix - even politicians can do it - like this: http://qik.com/video/114722 - Craig Thomler

Robert - "future of journalism conference", in that case, Sigh++ - Mat

Tools and techniques are just that, got to put them to good use if they are going to be useful. In that respect, perhaps Journalists will be better at that when they learn how to use them. - Mário Pires

AFP has been using the N93 for over a year now. We have about 40 deployed throughout our network. Some journalists shoot, edit and FTP to Paris right off the cell. Some shoot and return to the bureau to edit and transmit off their desktop. - Jon Dillon

I think that's just a quality issue Robert. Qik does not look good at all on a T.V. - Erik Weese

You should talk to @dkiesow at http://nashuatelegraph.com in New Hampshire about what his newspaper is up to with N95/Qik. - Ryan Sholin

"Tech" people should be ahead of journalists w/ tech stuff, that's what they do. Plus I wouldn't call Qik a fully fleshed out "cell video" service. Basically, you have one phone N95 (plus iPhone). Many tech people--early adopters still complain about the N95 flakiness. - Pokai

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