jonathan › Comments

It's true. They work. - Andrew Feinberg

wow... that's amazing. how old is your cousin jesse? - dave mcclure

dave, my cousin's 30, just 1 year younger than me - Jesse Stay from twhirl

You can read her story, in her own words here. I'm inspired: http://thetopotheworld.blogspot.com/ - Jesse Stay from twhirl

This happened to a friend of mine at the beginning of the month. He didn't do so good in the accident, but the helmet obviously saved his life. Thankfully is on his way home tomorrow: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit... - Steve Lacey

I used to ride my bike without the helmet even though it is mandatory in Chennai, India. But after reading this I am not even going to the next street in my bike without helmet. - Sudar

I never wear a helmet. When hearing things like this, I always think of this article.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1.... In the Netherlands no one wears a helmet. It seems safe to me. - Peter Stuifzand

I was hit while riding to work in summer 2006 & did not want anyone to touch my helmet at all costs. If my brain was scrambled, I did not want anyone to touch my egg:) I highly recommend a helmet especially if you think you will not need one! Mine was almost the same color too & manufacturer, but there is no conspiracy there:) - Roney Smith

Bicyclists/motorcyclists that don't wear helmets are better called future organ donors - Brian Sullivan

Thanks for sharing. I ride often at traffic time between cars. always wear my helmet...itsg good to know that It does work :) - jonathan from twhirl

that's incredible... - Jamie Allen from twhirl

Wow, glad to hear your friend is doing well after that. I agree, helmets save lives. Regardless, I've many intentional close-calls by drivers who don't want to share the road. Unfortunately, this is the common attitude where I live (southern US). - pete

we wear helmets for everything: mtb, snowboarding, wakeboarding, skateboarding & even surfing - skulls are fragile why not put a protective layer around it (i also try real hard to not ride on streets - a high percentage of drivers are oblivious to bike riders)... - mike "glemak" dunn

I always ride in my helmet and stay to bike lanes as much as possible. Nice to know the safety tools work. Now, if I can just avoid that NYPD cop with a penchant for knocking people off their bikes. Hopefully, he won't transfer to LAPD. - Jason Toney

Peter Stuifzand, my cousin would be dead if she did not wear her helmet. That article is BS. Wear your helmet! - Jesse Stay from twhirl

Point blank. You are a moron if you ride without a helmet. Sorry, but that's true and you're just going to play into Darwinian theory should you continue to ride without one. Any 'real' cyclist (e.g - you've been hit by a car - and yes, I have been) will tell you this without reservation. Helmets work without a doubt. - AJ Kohn

I survived a nasty motorcycle crash in my youth and would also be dead without that helmet - which cracked in 2 like an egg (that would have been my head, as the nurse aptly put it!). - Susan Beebe

A friend who's a cop refers to motorcycles as donorcycles whenever she sees someone riding without a helmet. I figure that applies for bicycles, too. - ha3rvey (business time)

I was on the way to work Monday morning while it was raining, when the third car in front of me spun out of control and flipped twice into a ditch. When I pulled over to help her out she was just fine. She only had a scratch on her left shoulder from the broken window and was not hurt anywhere else. THE REASON: She was wearing her seat belt. It's nice to hear that these devices are actually helping us! - David Cook

Awesome. I ride my bike to work everyday and I see a lot of people with no helmets on. I don't know how they do it. - Clint Ecker

Wow! I wear mine! Didn't for years - I was lucky I guess. Thanks for posting that! - matthew hunt

OMG... Jesse, do you have a link other than here on FF? I have friends whose kids refuse to wear theirs, and seeing this may help. - Cyndy

Cyndy why not just link here - http://friendfeed.com/e... - Brian Sullivan

Dutch don't wear helmets and they don't get killed by cars http://www.ski-epic.com/amsterd.... - Peter Stuifzand

Actually they do get killed by cars. But culturally they are not inclined to wear helmets. - Brian Sullivan

Cyndy, with this being dug out of the grave, I just noticed your question. That particular picture is from my cousin's blog here: http://thetopotheworld.blogspot.com/2008... You can read the full story here: http://thetopotheworld.blogspot.com/2008... Search for "run over by car" and you can read about her entire ordeal. - Jesse Stay

My brother would not be alive today if he did not wear his helmet while riding his motorcycle; please wear a helmet! - Sandra

man - Shey, Jamaican of FF

If it's nice enough to ride, I probably won't be bothering with the human-powered bike any longer. I always wear a helmet on my gas-powered bike. - MiniMage TKDteacher of FF

As long as we won't have mountains, we Dutch will not wear those things. Otherwise we won't be able to recognise the tourists on bikes. - Ton Zijp

Thanks for sharing - I had a mishap with a car, wasn't wearing a helmet at the time, was lucky. If they don't see you, it doesn't matter either way. Wear the helmet! - Rick Bucich

This isn't as extreme as this but when I fell off my bike onto a sidewalk and broke my arm, I thought I was fine for a while. Later, my dad noticed that the whole front of my helmet was all scratched up and the visor in front was torn off! I realized that if I wasn't wearing my helmet on the 2 minute trip down the road, I probably wouldn't be typing this comment right now! Not that I'd be dead but I would have suffered some head damage, limiting my ability to do most things. - Kevin Lyons

bumped due to duplicate ;p - LouCypher

can't find anyone that actually uses this...so frustrating. - Zee.

Seems alot like the excellent service provided by Diigo - Dan Nimtz from twhirl

I used it before, but not happy with it. You might also want to try socialbrowse https://addons.mozilla.org/addon... - LouCypher

any feedback anyone wishes to share on this? - jonathan from twhirl

Just heard for this. First thought it is open-source but seems it is 30 day trial. May compete with OSCommerce - TrafficBug

i'll have to check the features to compare :) - Joelle Nebbe (iphigenie)

It looks awfully similar in UI design against GoodBarry. http://goodbarry.com - Jonathan Kong

I've wondered the same thing, there are huge differences all over the map and it's hard to trust any of the review sites since they are all affiliates - David Knight

I wonder if it's like "buying IBM:" well-known hosts can get away with charging more because their customer base pays for the name and because they don't know there are cheaper alternatives that are just as reliable, if not moreso. - Mark Trapp

How about costumer service? I have used MT and c.service is ok for such a plan. How about Slicehost? Also, MT control panel is super sleek. How about slicehost? - jonathan

Jonathan: Slicehost customer service is second to none. They are available nearly 24/7 via IRC and are super super helpful. They have great docs too (http://articles.slicehost.com/). As far as control panels go: VPS shouldn't have a control panel since the point is you have root access. Slicehost has a SliceManager for resizing, rebooting, checking diagnostics, setting up DNS, creating backups, etc. - Benjamin Golub

Mark: I'm not sure this has anything to do with buying into a brand. VPS providers aren't targeting big corporations that require you to "buy IBM" as far as I know. They are targeting developers and every developer I know does thorough research before spending any money :) - Benjamin Golub

I've had great luck with JohnCompanies, been using and recommending them for years. http://www.johncompanies.com/ - DeWitt Clinton

I've heard good things about JohnCompanies and their prices (assuming bursting RAM works well) look to be on par with Slicehost. Note: I'm not in the market for a VPS, just trying to figure out how Media Temple can still be in business :P - Benjamin Golub

A friend of mine lives in Seattle and is a recruiter for visible Technologies, he might have some openings in seattle, email me if interested jcass @ nwlink (dot) com - John Cass from twhirl

Best of luck with that - Glen Campbell, esq.

@Glen It was a business decision, can't fault them for that. And they made sure I had enough time to look for another job too. Glad to see your dept saw the wisdom in ensuring your continued employment; I have always been a fan of your work. - Aaron Krug

Thanks for your kind words, Aaron. - Glen Campbell, esq.

Aaron, I hate to hear that... - FFing Enigma (aka Tina)

That's awful...hope you find new opportunities quickly! :-) - Kev

I am really sorry to hear this...how are you in working with non-profits...huge gap of knowledge for them for knowledge of use of tech for business. - Enriqueta

Best of luck in the hunt. - Nation Hahn

are you a programmer? if you decide to do some freelance coding let me know. - jonathan from twhirl

:( - AJ Batac

Sorry to hear it. Good luck in your search. - Katie is Frittering

This is the third Yahoo layoff post i've read today. Sorry man. I just hope my degree is worth it when I graduate. - Roberto Bonini

sorry to hear that and good luck. - Thomas Hawk

Sorry to hear you're one of the cut ones. You may want to hook up with Telemill on Plurk (I think she's on Twitter too, but I don't follow her there). She has lots of tech jobs all over the country. http://www.plurk.com/Telemill Good luck. - Admiral Anika

Very sorry to hear that. I'm from PDX and have a few friends there still. I'll ask around. Best of luck to you. - vicster is...

Krug, I'm of mixed emotions for this thing. I know it will give you some much needed time with the fam, but I am going to hate not seeing you around the place. I know you will land on your feet. You're a smart guy and everything will be okay. - Dawni

sorry man, that really sucks. I would recommend NIKE. Solid company, good people. - Ryan

Even though I knew about you I had never read your blog until I started using FF a short while ago. Because here I got lots of other people´s recommendations to do so, and also saw your views and comments on other stuff I care about that you wouldn´t necessarily blog about (neither now or earlier).. - Thomas Bøhm

not sure. but the conversation on FF is much better! - Jeff (the マクダジ of FF)

Right... distribution of content and engaging a whole other audience is really smart. Mike still doesn't "get" Friendfeed. Notice he doesn't even contribute to FriendFeed yet. Hey's probably realizing that Scoble is way ahead of him on this emerging platform. Yes, Scoble has posted less blogs, but look at all the BUZZ around his work on FF. Plus we're still seing lots of great stuff and we now get to converse with amazing folks in FF :) - Susan Beebe

Hrm.. interesting thought. As someone who just took a FF vacation, I have some thoughts on this that, ironically, i think I'm going to blog rather than paste right here. Shortcut answer? Yes and no. :) - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins

I think @michael is just little envy ;) - A.T.

I think you advanced it, your Scoble empire, increased your profile for sure, time to reign it in though maybe, and consolidate it? - sofarsoShawn

Robert - I read both posts (well I only read the TC post beucase you linked it) Both sides are well warranted and very well presented. IMHO, V-logging is the next wave and you are already ahead of the crowd! Remember what Tim O'Reilly said about you? Whatever you decide, I wish the best for you. And congratulations on your eighth year mark! :) - Mona Nomura

No, you just made me aware of your current work, which so easily can get lost amongst a sea of blogs! Thanks - Michael Fidler

The crappy useless answer, yet true answer is it requires balance. Twitting and feeding are seductive because they are easy. They are reactive. They are in-flow. Blogs are harder because they take more substance. More introspection. More time to write. And we all know by now saying wise insightful things on a regular basis is just damn hard. So it's a balance. Tweet and feed to converse. Blog to pontificate. And since balance is so easy to achieve I expect you'll be just as successful as everyone else :-) - Todd Hoff

http://i.friendfeed.com/01c01f9... - Ari Burton

I assume Robert's blog isn't his primary means of making money so why should he care. The blog is just one feed of many sources. Selling the Robert Scoble brand rather than just scobelizer doesn't sound all that shabby. - Rodfather

In my opinion, you harmed your blog when you started twittering :). Your blog has effectively become a medium for really long posts, so unless you're stirring up controversy, a lot of the interesting conversation just doesn't happen there anymore. - trextor

Did I harm my writing letters home to Mom via postal mail when I started using e-mail? Why is an evolution seen as a step backwards? There's no downside to diversifying your audience and your activity. - Louis Gray

In politics it's called floating a trial balloon. I get the sense that you try things out here on FF and on Twitter, gage the pulse of the conversation. Your blog is the more permanent form of expression and ideas. Each has its own merit. Love the conversation here though, keep it up. - michael sean wright

I liked your initiative with getting Seagate on FF but they didn't really do much after releasing a boring press realize and a few hard drive photos. If I recall, there wasn't even a website where I could look for more information about the products. - trextor

Why does Arrington care if Robert hurt his blog this past year anyway? - Jeff P. Henderson

Jeff: I think he cares because he doesn't have enough Twitter followers. :-) - Robert Scoble

OOOOOooooo... that was almost below the belt in the cajones! LOL In This corner, Michael Arrington... with XX,XXX followers. In this corner, Robert Scoble, weighing in at 42,000.... LOL - Ari Burton

Sorry Michael... The copy and paste didn't work. You have 35,479 Twitter followers - Ari Burton

Robert, the problem with microblogging is good posts can be easily missed. Plus, archiving is nothing like one's personal blog's. When friendfeed and twitter give us a good export mechanism, this will get much better. I wonder, is the RSS stream they provide good enough? - Alexandros Georgiadis

Your activity here has helped promote your blog to me again. I stopped reading it along with many others because it was just too much information. However, now when you do post something on your blog or in a video, I find it's usually of a better quality and worthwhile reading or watching. Also, some of the themes for your posts and videos are started here, so I'm more interested to see how you frame them in a longer format. - Dominic Jones

I defended Robert and FF here http://www.techcrunch.com/2008... - Susan Beebe

"I now have a new news source that other bloggers won’t have: a crowd of 5,400 people who are bringing me the best news from around the web in real time. Already I’m seeing stuff there that will turn into blog posts and insights that other people aren’t seeing." That speaks to me. FF is knowledge sharing. - Dominic Jones

Nicely done, Susan! :) - Richard pancakhaus Walker

lots of thoughts here - http://friendfeed.com/e... - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins

People have more access to you on FriendFeed. You respond fast. People like that immediacy. I’d say that helps you far more than it does harm. - Alex Williams

So many people speak for Robert here, I think that's the gain of spending time in FF/Twitter :) - K.D.

UGC & Conversation are far from wasting time, a Blog or Online You is simply more now. Posts tweets comments video pic's feeds etc, all are 1, aggregated or not. Pros beat the cons when it comes to Twitter and FriendFeed. Honestly, i probably won't revisit your blog if you don't show up, at least on FriendFeed. Robert: FriendFeed is a brilliant modern combination of Forums and... more... - Majento

FF/twitter most like a TV-SET.Scoble & techcrunch's Blog most like a tv-station.so FF/twitter is the platform intergrate all you idea~~i think FF/TWITTER makes Scoble lively to me!not like a media "monster".Scoble's FF and tweets encourage me ahead in the badtimes.hold on,man~wherever you go,we will follow you!But Scoble's blog can't open in china!Who can help me if he start blogging more?BTW,Scoble,merry christmas! - jedorstar

I miss the blog, but you have done some nice video work - paul mooney

I'd never heard of you until I saw you on EVERY person's follow and subscription lists, so I don't think it's been a waste, as you have a new reader/follower/subscriber, FWIW. - James Schipper

Your blog may have suffered a dip in visitors. But your message has found its way to more minds. I found you through twitter initially - KyNam Doan

Yes, and you should apologize immediately, lest it goes off on one of those pouting fits. - david beckwith

I think the groundwork you helped to lay here, in helping these two services, helping the web get SUP running (by increasing demand for it), and giving the real-time web a great start, is more important than your blog. I think that will also be the view years from now. - Christopher Galtenberg

I believe you did just in the time you spent here vs. there. You know who has an interesting model - John Gruber. Have you seen his approach? - Steve Rubel

I don´t know, did you? how are your traffic stats? # of comments? incomming links? - jonathan from twhirl

It's evolution. My prediction for 2009 is that all blogs will move to FF -provided it allows longer posts. (but then, who the hell am I to predict anything?) - Jordi Soler

If you had not been a blogger prior to jumping on the FF band wagon do you think the response/conversation would have been the same? My guess is your A-List status as a blogger helped your FF numbers. - Sachin Balagopalan

I sure like using Google Docs when I want to share writing duties on a document for sure... Word's just clunky in comparison - Nathan Chase

and openoffice does exactly the same thing. - Terry O'Fee

Word was great in 1992; then they kept adding stuff no one uses to it - RAPatton

Google Docs baby, access to all my files where ever there be web - Toby Graham

I don't care about OpenOffice. Microsoft Office has always done it better for me. - Akiva Moskovitz

Google Docs - Igor Poltavskiy

google docs. words is simply gone. ppt and excel on their way... - jonathan from twhirl

I only use MS Word at work and if I am writing something for my blog because I use the readability statistics. - Shevonne

Open Office user here, both at home AND at work. - Helen Sventitsky

I use Word at work but at home, I think I've only opened Word one time since I got my new laptop. I got all flustered because it asked for my key or whatever and I don't know what the heck that is. I just don't have much of a use for word processing at home now. Plus the new version of Word irritates me. I haven't even installed (or used or missed) Evernote on the new laptop. I use Google Docs both at work and home but don't really consider that as using Word since I create and edit within Google Docs only. - Rochelle

I know longer use MSFT Office anymore either. Seems silly to pay for this software when there is very usable free online software that does essentially the same thing. - Thomas Hawk

open office is good...google docs is also worth using. :o) - Rob Sellen :o)

And here you made that rant for nothing! lol - Outsanity

Right now I'm mainly using Access (through Fusion). Anyone have a viable replacement for it? Is the openoffice access clone decent? It is all for work, otherwise, I wouldn't use MS stuff. - elroy

I take it you like scrivener? - Clay Newton

I have OpenOffice here, but I'll admit I don't often use it. I simply don't do much word processing or spreadsheet work these days. The few things I do use a spreadsheet for are mostly simple databases that I want to share, so I use Google Docs for that. I use Evernote a lot too. Great app. - Ian May

Clay, I do. Oldsanity, it wasn't a 'rant'. - Akiva Moskovitz

@elroy I discovered Suneido http://www.suneido.com/ an open source integrated application platform (somewhat analogous to MS Access). I can't give a review yet b/c I downloaded but haven't played with it yet, but looks interesting. - Micah Wittman

@Micah Thanks. I'll have to check it out. - elroy

Desktop software still has it's place until wi-fi is truly ubiquitous---which is probably VERY soon. That said---I'm going to GoogleDocs more and more... - Rob Michael (Atmos Trio)

@Akiva Moskovitz if you want to spend stupid amounts of money for office, feel free :P - Terry O'Fee

Thanks for your permission, Terry! - Akiva Moskovitz

:P It's just so pricey these days! I mean, they really need to cut the prices down or something. It's not like a premium product or anything like that. These days we all need office for this and that. - Terry O'Fee

Akiva, do you write articles and blog posts with Scrivener? I use it for writing my book, but I write articles and blogs in TextMate. And I discovered Evernote last week and I'm liking it more each day. - Mitch Wagner

It matters the scope is of the project. Even a short project can benefit from Scivener if there is a ton of research, notes, images, etc., that you want to keep together. Otherwise, I type off short projects using WriteRoom. For general note-taking and -gathering, Evernote cannot be beat; I've been using it since it's earliest betas. - Akiva Moskovitz

My biggest concern about Evernote is what happens to the data if Evernote goes bankrupt in July? Can I get the data out? - Mitch Wagner

Yep. Your data is actually stored locally and only syncs to the server occasionally. You can File->Export the load into text files, including tags. - Akiva Moskovitz

amen Akiva. open-source has its own special brand of holier-than-thou zealot to go with it. there are a few apps that have done well in the open source world, like Subversion, Synergy, Audacity... but there's a ton of crap too - Nathan Chase

I am all for the development of FOSS, don't get me wrong. I'm just not on board with using FOSS just because it's FOSS. I'd rather pay for higher quality than to suffer through bugs and crashes as part of some statement. To misquote Fight Club: you are not the software that you use. - Akiva Moskovitz

Word... - Johnny Worthington

shoot, who cares what the cost is, $0 to whatever, as long as it works for you... - Live4Emma (L4S)

The reason I like FOSS is because you or anyone can make changes faster in a piece of software then closed software. Make the software work for you for your needs. - Mark Layton

I use both and agree with Lindsey. Freeware has been around forever and some of it is very good. I enjoy testing all kinds of software from major players to one person shops. - Charlie Anzman

agree. I just mentioned elsewhere that for me, google docs as replaced Word but not yet excel and ppt...and is for he same reason you state - jonathan from twhirl

As a programmer I'm naturally drawn towards things I can actually look at and tinker with, even though I don't exercise the privilege that often. I can understand why non-hackers would choose otherwise, but I actually much prefer most of the free software I use to their competition. I do take some umbrage to the accusation that I'm using it just to be a rebel though, but nothing serious. =) (besides, all software is technically available for free if you care little enough for legalization) - Daniel Bruce

For too long we have been bombarded with advertising that tells us the most important product feature is a low price. I have never bought into that. I always buy Heinz ketchup instead of the store brand, for instance, because it tastes better. - MVB (Curmudgeon of FF)

Akiva, the only thing that could make you less popular in my books is if you told me you weren't really a goat in a suit... - Shey, Jamaican of FF

A tiny sheep in diapers. - Akiva Moskovitz

But this is not alwyas the case. I have run into open source software that I would rather use even if the $1500 model from commercial software developers were free. - Stephan Miller from Alert Thingy

I use a mixture here. I'll agree that open source isn't the b all and end all, but I also do NOT like to be tied to some proprietary solution either. I want to be able to mix and match. For example, I use XP, Vista & Linux here. I don't like/use MS Office for a number of reasons. Two expensive, too slow, and OpenOffice reads more formats, and most importantly does the job I need. Other the other hand give me Photoshop over GIMP anyday. It's all about usability and integration for me. - Ian May

You go on with your bad self, Akiva! - tinypants - Hagitha of FF

Since you have money, Paypal me 10,000 bucks. Thanks buddy - Outsanity

That's the point, Stephen. If the product does what you want it to do, and does it better than other products, price, or lack there of, ceases to be relevant. - MVB (Curmudgeon of FF)

Open source keeps Closed source on its feet. Open source is like art, a form of expression by programmers. - vijay

Yep and I was probably ranting a bit too hard at the start of this. For me, I don't choose software based on whether it's FOSS or not. I choose the software that best does the job with an interface that best suits me. If it's closed-source, then that's fine. If it's open-source, that's fine, too. - Akiva Moskovitz

vijay, I disagree. The marketing of software has nothing to do with the artfulness of those who programmed it. - Akiva Moskovitz

I do look for value for money, but that doesn't mean cheapest is best of course. Nor does it mean that paying more money (or any money at all) gives better quality. I take little notice of advertising claims and hype anyway. I like to review and research (within reason) almost any new product I am buying - from ketchup to a new HD TV. - Ian May

The problem is even when you pay for programs, they tend to have issues too. Everything is not "fail-safe". - Outsanity

True in a sense. There's a lot of FOSS that is not marketed in any way though. I have friends who just do their thing just cause they like it, not to make money. Bottomline is that open source keeps closed source on its feet 'cause there's the democratic thing. Let me give an example here: Linux is leading the industry in head tracking work. There's a build already out there that moves windows on a 2d plane based on how you move your head around in front of the monitor. There's no closed source company that - vijay

@Lindsey LOL - MVB (Curmudgeon of FF)

is even close to that level. But the good thing here is that the community shows the way forward for closed source companies by demoing what they wanna see in their comps. So FOSS is generally not for end user consumption like you already have said. But it has a very important place in giving us some control over Closed source software. Anyway, screw the zealots, everything in this planet has a bunch of them, do your thing, that's all. - vijay

I only use pirated commercial software. That way I get the most expensive product for free and that's really what the game of life is all about...right? - Kenton

Joking, by the way... - Kenton

Very well put, vijay. - Akiva Moskovitz

Be careful conflating free (as in beer) and free (as in speech), to use the old FOSS talking point. I agree there's too much zealotry out there, but I can appreciate the ideological / educational / sociological reasons for free. - mikepk

Quote: And this is the problem with Web 2.0. There is no filter for quality. - Bruce Lewis from fftogo

"Facebook is nothing more than a new version of America Online, with lots of calories but not much nutrition." Let me get this straight...since facebook is pegged as having no monetary future, it's dead and by default, social networking and web 2.0 are dead? That's insane. First web 2.0 never existed, we were only experiencing the natural evolution of the internet and we needed a catchphrase to categorize it. And, second, social networking is the future of communication and is only in its infancy. - Bob Blunk

"And this is the problem with Web 2.0. There is no filter for quality". WRONG. This is called an OPPORTUNITY - jonathan from twhirl

inductive reasoning does not make the conclusion correct in this case. i do agree with some of the author's criticism re. facebook, but it is missing the forest for the trees to assume facebook et al dead and web 2.0 a failure. maybe it is a problem of definitions and semantics? - Pascal Bouvier from twhirl

I love all the "Web 2.0" links under the article, you know, in case you wanna share it in a social networking fashion... The Web evolves. Until we have passed along to a new phase, the current phase remains. So, to say Web 2.0 is "dead" according to "irrefutable evidence" is just a bunch of hooey. He based most of his opinion on whether kids would pay for Facebook or MySpace access? Old-fashioned mindset... - Gus

If i understand correctly, the basic premise here is that current generation social network properties will fail because "they cannot propagate a sustainable user base willing to pay for its services".... didn't we all figure that out about 8 years ago? the challenge has always been finding effective ways to monetize. - Chris Hollander

i have been considering go "technical". this presentation was the inflexion point. tks! - jonathan from twhirl

Interesting. Assuming that the slides with the biggest font are the key points, this presentation can be summarized as "Employees suck. Bosses suck even more. Salespeople are a bad idea. Don't hire." - Jess Lee

Having been an employer, off and on, for the last 30 years, I would have to agree. - Robert Hafer

It's activated only in one of my 4 gmail accounts. - Bibi

I don't have them either, yet... /sigh - Danielle Closs

One of the guys at my office has it. let me know if you want a screenshot.. - jonathan from twhirl

Main account no theme, old account has theme...Life is a bitch! :) - Olcayto Cengiz

Waiting on mine too - my wife has themes, but hasn't made it to me yet. - Hal from twhirl

hehe me neither :p - DC Crowley from twhirl

Steve, please remain calm! - Allen Stern

Still no themes for me either. :-( - Jason R. Hunter

I had great success with Gastric Repair Complex: http://www.seekinghealth.com/pd_180_... It was recommended by my doctor at the time. She said she had seen great results with it. Worked wonderfully for me. - Rochelle

Not sure if I have an actual ulcer or not, haven't seen a doc yet, but at times I have a constant burning sensation in my stomach. Makes me nauseous and I can't eat...which seems to make it worse - Rahsheen ™, Coach Rah

Stop drinking? - Shey, Jamaican of FF

Try an apple. It has just enough acid to tell your stomach to stop producing so much. Bases like milk, Tums, etc. quickly coat and mask the symptoms but your body actually reacts by making more acid. - Andrew Smith

Do you drink a lot of water? If not, drink more... help flush out the acids... - Fa La La La Lindsay

What about the lactobacillus in yogurt, though, Andrew? Plain milk upsets me because I'm lactose intolerant, but yogurt definitely makes things feel better. I don't think it's just a mask. Tums are less effective, so I think those probably are just a mask. - Kamilah Gill

Sounds like heartburn. I know you want natural but there are some pills that do the trick easily when it's bad like that. Trust me, I deal with this all the time. I have to consider the effects that anything I eat might have on my stomach. - Kamilah Gill

Yogurt does have good stuff in it Kamilah for sure and should be part of your regular diet. The apple trick was something that sounds counter-intuitive but actually keeps your PH balance in check. - Andrew Smith

Well, I guess anything over-the-counter is fine too. Shey, drinking definitely aggravates it, but I get it regardless. This was one of the reasons I had calmed down on all that...plus I got old...LOL - Rahsheen ™, Coach Rah

cabbage juice. - Carlos Ayala

The opposite is true here in Chicago. Smooth sailing in the morning. Bumper to bumper heading home. Even if I leave at 3:30. - Brian Newman

Wait until you get to China. Then you'll see traffic. - Andrew Leyden

this traffic is not what you mean - 阿石

seeing the same in my little patch of the UK, too. Maybe it's people who normally work from home feeling that they need to be seen "in the office" more often these days? - Andrew Terry

any reports from NYC? if traffic is leight there? - jonathan from twhirl

Ok, so maybe this isn't about cars. But @Robert, to be honest the biggest traffic drop I see on FF is when you are not around. When you're online my regular homepage is like the 'live feed' with constant updates and whatnot. - Andrew Leyden

Not really, but at least there are fewer "stunt drivers" than in India - Christopher Galtenberg

heavy here too, weird. You're on to something with thinking folks might be scared about their jobs...that I KNOW is true. - Susan Beebe

Well, apparently a lot of people would. There was meme on FF and I know Fark had fun with it, as well. - MVB (Curmudgeon of FF)

I would. - Robert Scoble

Yeah... - Uncle CW™

Why not? - Kamath (नमः)

All this time, I was thinking that was a fake. That's just sad, and with that, yeah, I totally would. - Derrick

considering I just shared it on every social network I'm a member of, I'd have to say yes - shaun mclane

The question should be "why wouldn't you publish this photo?" You can actually frame a discussion of ehtics around that question. I'd have published it if I'd had space -- it's not important news, but it is a unique moment, like a cat that can perform calculu is unique. - Mitch Ratcliffe from twhirl

There's even a video about it - Jesse Stay

Why not, it's the truth. It happened. - Ryan

I love that these publications probably have absolutely no idea we're talking about them. Traditional journalists are clueless. - Jesse Stay from twhirl

Um, every person in the world can be made to look awful if you capture the right frame. Obama blinks and licks his lips, like any other person, yet we haven't seen Reuters distribute photos of him doing that. - Rob Sterling

Rob, because no one posted anything about Obama blinking and licking his lips. Find a good frame, post it, and we'll laugh about that, too. These are funny - I don't care who it is. - Jesse Stay from twhirl

Rob, http://friendfeed.com/e... - Jesse Stay from twhirl

My first thought to myself was: which one? lol - Far

It's pointless I think. - Tejas Patel

Wow, all this time I thought that was a photoshopped image. Every time I see it though I bust a gut laughing. Not so much because McCain looks like such a freak, but imagining what Obama thought the first time he saw the pic. - jcunwired

Yes. Every President deals with unflattering photos. If you're screaming foul before you're in office then forget it. - AJ Kohn

This is America, damn it! Censorship—even self-censorship—is for commie pinkos! Of course we'll publish it, and you'll be happy about it, too! - Victor Ganata

This is one of the two guys aiming to be our nation's leader. The people need to know what he's like off camera, because in four years, he'll likely look like that a few times more on camera. - Aram Zucker-Scharff from twhirl

He makes funny faces just like everyone does. Sometimes I feel that Obama can be sober to the point of being condescending. I think most people will agree, we want to see the human side of the candidates sometimes too. So long as they don't go overboard like Dean did. - Will Higgins™

just change yourself http://www.obamayourself.com :-) - hendrik Dacquin

It seems McCain likes to stick his tongue out: http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos... - Gabe

I would publish. A President is a diplomat. Maintaining dignity in public is part of the job. If he were a candidate for a job where dignity was not relevant, then I would not publish. - Bruce Lewis from fftogo

@bruce. If you want, yo can snap a picture of ANYONE looking like an idiot. Journalist just decide not to do it (for whatever reason). But here the decided otherwise. I am not a fan of McCain, but this one seems unfair... - jonathan from twhirl

When I saw that happen, I rewound my TiVo and snapped a photo. http://www.flickr.com/photos... Made a video too. - Steve Garfield from twhirl

Jonathan, yes, you can catch anyone in mid-sneeze, or with their mouth frozen in what seems like a funny position just because they're talking. Sticking your tongue out is different. A sneeze doesn't look idiotic when you see it in real life. Sticking your tongue out like that does. People will notice. Foreign dignitaries will notice. - Bruce Lewis from fftogo

If this picture hadn't been published we would never have had WFMU's Photoshop contest. (Some hilarious, some awful) http://blog.wfmu.org/freefor... - Michael Markman

Seriously, when did we start expecting the press to censor themselves? What is this, Soviet Russia? - Victor Ganata

there is a difference between censorship and tact. where that line is, even in this story i would not be ready to place. - Shane Grant

Is that what the kids are calling it these days? - Mark Trapp

lending books is 99% of the time a bad idea. People rarly return them :) - jonathan from twhirl

lol @ Books. Mel Brooks anyone? It's a pretty classic movie folks! - Yuvi

Yuvi - You don't know who Jimminy Cricket is, but are an avid follower of Mel Brooks? Crazy. - James (@willia4)

Crazy it is, I guess :D - Yuvi

He who lends a book is a fool. He who returns a book, even more so. - Arab Proverb. - Vijayendra (V-Mo) Mohanty

"HISTORY OF THE WORLD" is NOT a book. And I don't think I'll have anyone in our class 'interesting' enough to be interested in books like that. - Yuvi

That's never a mistake. - ronin

Nom nom - Johnny Worthington

This is an all new high. - Andrew Trinh

Sugar high, that is. - Brian Chang

I had a heart attack just looking at this! - Toby Graham

I'd be thinking along the lines of diabetes. - Andrew Trinh

I'm thinking those need something salty to go with them. - Cyndy

Nice, but not nice. - Roberto Bonini

Interesting! ok roll those in little pieces of peanuts and it's almost a sundae! - Susan Beebe

i prefer chocolate :) - Hayk H.

I'm with Hayk, chocolate all the way. My teeth hurt just looking at that :p - Zulema ◕ ◡ ◕

Archery Practice? - Stephen Pierzchala

I thought that said CAMEL coated marshmellows at firs... which don't sound as appetizing. - SolidSmack from twhirl

I want to eat those right now! amazing! - Kipp Bodnar

The more I see Paul and April communicating this way, the more it appears they have separate residences. - Louis Gray

Louis, we are all one residence on FriendFeed - Jesse Stay

+10 Jesse - Mathew A. Koeneker

OMG. I think I would OD on those. - Fa La La La Lindsay

the caramel coating is thin and crispy and they are still quite delicious the second day :P - bob

Cashew nuts. Amazing with caramel :) - Vamsee

Are these going to make it into the office? I'd be much happier giving one of these a try than more bacon cookies! - Kevin Fox

this batch is pretty much taken care of but maybe another one can be produced :P - bob

How did you make them? - Bill

pretty simple - just heated a cup of sugar with a 1/2 cup of water until it melted and most of water was boiled off, heated it further until was a nice golden color and then just dipped each marshmallow - bob

I can feel the pain from toothaches as I see this - anna sauce

The pain tells you it's awesome - Mo Kargas

Mmmmn, served with a nice glass of port. - Janet Fouts

wow sugar-coated sugar. - Kelly W.

it's up here - AJ Batac

Really? Oh crap... Can't get it to run on both Chrome and firefox... It's actually both my sites...Trying again... - Ron

itls live on my end - jonathan from twhirl

I even have my friend telling me his site is down, we share the same host. - Ron

@Mark: Thanks for that site, it says that its just me... :( What the heck am I supposed to do now... Already filed a ticket... Maybe I'll Spore for a while... :( - Ron

*smile* - Anna Haro

Morning to my fellow "Donna Dancin' D'Mode Lovin' Diva! You ok? ;) - Emma

Awwww... - Ron

hahahaha! Doin' just peachy. Heavy work load again today? - Anna Haro

how nice to see pictures like these in the morning! :-) - paula simoes ☃

I think elephants are amazing, I always wanted one as a pet but my parents wouldn't sanction any offers to fulfill my wishes! - Joe Dawson

Anna, that pile of work is still mysteriously growing! :) - Emma

I think you should test it for steroids. - Anna Haro

Anna, it's either that or just an evil plan by higher forces to keep me away from FF and try and make me do more work! ;) - Emma

These are from a fascinating National Geographic article in this month's issue. Elephants are really amazingly intelligent and emotional creatures. Recommend the article if you're interested in more. http://tinyurl.com/6jo77v - Carla Thompson

Emma, convince them that quantity of work is irrelevant and should instead focus on the quality of your work, and how your FF time is bringing so many new ideas that your implementing to improve your output - RAPatton

Robert, you and I both know that quality should far outweigh quantity but I somehow think the higher forces will not agree with us! The only other plan I am left with, is to charm them into submission, therefore allowing me to get away with certain things, such as valuable FF time! :) - Emma

thanks for the article, carla - Cee Bee

You must watch out, because if the enjoy being charmed (as I am certain they do), then they may engineer more circumstances that require them to be charmed. - RAPatton

They look happy! That makes me happy, I love animals - orionstarr

I love elephants, a baby one, Bodhi, lives about a quarter mile from home, and we visit him often - RAPatton

thanks!!! made my day :) - jonathan from twhirl

When I saw the pictures I immediately "liked" because I thought it was a Political Jab. LOL - Vox

great post. Great timing ; low bank account today ;) - jonathan from twhirl

Oh dear James. This one is going to haunt you isn't it! - Kate Foy

By those numbers, about 18% of the UK population is on Facebook... - Nathan McDonald from twhirl

Wow! Chile is on fire! - Oli Kenobi

let's not forget that number of users does not matter that much though, revenue per user matters much more.... some Countries in this list have lots of users but almost no revenue.... - Loic Le Meur

wouldn´t you say then that there is a great biz. opportunity in commercializing ads on these countries (LATAM, etc) for such sites (facebook, hi5,etc)? - jonathan

jonathan, these countries account for almost nothing in online advertising yet, unfortunately - Loic Le Meur

Amazing growth in Latin America. Going online in most of those countries is pretty expensive compared to US, Europe, so doubt it's spreading the signups to Facebook across demographics. Wonder what's driving the growth. - Neville Hobson

I agree, but I wonder how much - if any- is due to poor commercialization strategies. E.g: Venezuela advertising budgets are soaring with the price of oil...couldn´t these sites take advantage of this? Perhaps it just to little and atomized between countries...but I can´t help but thinking that sales efforts might surprise us all. - jonathan

I'm sticking to my original opinion that FB is hype until they can generate a decent revenue per user. I haven't heard one person in marketing say that an ad campaign on FB was productive and I've seen plenty of terrible numbers - Steven Cains

Not sure how reliable are these stats. They said they gather them from "Facebook’s advertising tools" (which I assumed are biased). I'm from LatAm (live in Argentina). Argentina/Mexico users are kind of "hard-core" social network users and on those numbers Colombia has 4 times the number of fbook users than Argentina/Mexico (where internet market/users is, at the same time, bigger than in Colombia). BTW, I'm sure there are a lot more fbook users in AR/MX. - Martin Añazco

Turkey is still the 3rd one, even its growth is staggering right now ... Interesting - Alemsah Ozturk