Hank Williams - Comments + Likes

Hank Williams posted an entry on Why does everything suck?

October 9 at 5:34 am - Link

What a great title. I *have* to read this post. BRB. - Yolanda ♥s Nuttycakes

Good points, Hank. It is the same with many things. We frequently choose the path of least resistance without acknowledging that we are going to end up paying for it somewhere. - Yolanda ♥s Nuttycakes

Part of the problem is that web development is fairly easy. Almost anyone can learn some html, javascript, css and php and present a decent looking website. People think that once you have a website, the money should start rolling in. - Rob Diana

yeah, the problem is its like saying "writing" is easy. Just because you can create a complete sentence does not mean you can take a few weeks and write the great american novel. - Hank Williams

Hank Williams commented on a blog post on Disqus

Re: re: Hank Williams' How Much Is an Idea Worth, and the Tech Market

October 7 at 7:37 am - Link

"I would definitely agree that a bad founder/CEO/management team can and will ruin a great idea. My main point is that people, I think too often, suggest that the idea part just isnt very important. My point is that the idea part is *really* important, and that the reason the tech market has been sucking is because of lack of good ideas. I would tend to argue that, particularly in the current market, you need both good ideas and good mgmt/execution." - Hank Williams

Hank Williams commented on a blog post on Disqus

Re: AngelSoft & Dinging Bells

September 5 at 4:55 am - Link

"Thanks Nate, I'll take it :)" - Hank Williams

Hank Williams commented on a blog post on Disqus

Re: Open Systems, Open Data, Transparency

September 4 at 8:25 am - Link

"I would agree that the data is more valuable to users than the map stuff. But I do think that giving people real thumbnail dynamic insight into a site is going to become much more common and important compared to dry static homepages. As I think about what our homepage will be like, this has definitely informed my thinking. I think its going to be more important than just eye candy." - Hank Williams

Hank Williams commented on a blog post on Disqus

Re: Reference designery, and the proliferation of Android

August 26 at 6:51 am - Link

"indeed. I had one too. It does suck now, as often happens when the original visionary leader is out the door. They cant seem to do much but tinker around the edges. I left it for blackberry." - Hank Williams

Hank Williams commented on a blog post on Disqus

Re: Reference designery, and the proliferation of Android

August 26 at 6:33 am - Link

"Good points Eric. Although at the end of the day companies are just people, and Andy Rubin, creator of the Sidekick, and creator of and head of Android could have pulled it off, and if he did, they would have been better for it I think." - Hank Williams

Hank Williams posted a message on Twitter

“UI Guru Jakob Nielsen's Site Is Unreadable http://bit.ly/4dD3aE”

August 12 at 4:23 am - Link

Susan A. Kitchens, Ray Metzen, Mike Reynolds and 4 other people liked this

It is pretty ironic. cobbler's children? Still, I mean, there are some new things called templates... - jeneane sessum

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thanks Jeneane. Forgot about the cliche being about the kids having no shoes. I fixed and credited you! - Hank Williams

the design of that site hasn't changed since I don't know when ... isn't it sort of getting a retro cachet now? - Nathan Rein

Nathan, I dont really think it has to be beautiful. But I really didnt want to even look at his post. - Hank Williams

Sometimes, people think good usability = having no/minimal design elements. I disagree, good design can greatly improve usability. However, It can also kill it. - Shey

Eeeck. It is just screaming for a makeover. It looks like some early 90's site that is peddling the latest MLM scam. Ouch. - Yolanda ♥s Nuttycakes

I am all for simplicity and minimalism, but the yellow bar is hideous, and the text sizing seems inconsistent. - Rob Diana

You know, he does have years of experience, research, and testing. He even explains why the site looks like it does here: http://www.useit.com/about/nog... Also check out: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/... and http://www.useit.com/alertbox/... and http://www.useit.com/alertbox/... Stop and think: what are you basing your assessment on? Gut feeling? - Mark Trapp

I am a big proponent of simple but functionally rich design but emotion *is* important. Unfortunately the explanation seems more like an excuse than a reason. Like Hank I find the site hideous. Like clothes you have to feel comfortable in them -- and his site makes me feel uncomforatble. - Brian Sullivan

Brian, it would be an excuse if he didn't have 15 years of usability research, done with real people, to back it up. Usability is not an art. There's no emotion. People don't go to websites, become conversions, and return because the site has emotion. Where's the emotion in Google? Or Amazon? Or eBay? And really, if you have an issue with the science of usability and its value to web design and development, why not argue to that, rather straw man it with "his site is ugly?" Prettiness has nothing to do with what he was trying to do: if it did, why wouldn't have gotten someone to design the site for him? If he was caring about aesthetic design, isn't it a little odd that he didn't? Or is the more reasonable explanation, and the one he purports, is that it doesn't matter? - Mark Trapp

I think you are wrong Mark -- emotion is there at Google, Amazon and Ebay. People do return to websites because of emotion, because they feel comfortable there. Maybe the research was done 15 years ago? I think the research should be redone because the results do not pass my smell test. - Brian Sullivan

Brian, he does research on usability issues every 6 months, for the reason of making sure what he says is time-tested and universal. You are arguing from the perspective of one person against scientific research. "Smell tests" and "emotion" doesn't work in any other field of empirical study, why would it work in usability research? It's counter-intuitive that we orbit the sun. It's counter-intuitive that objects of different weight fall at the same rate of acceleration. Nevertheless, the data supports it. - Mark Trapp

Emotion is still the prime motivating factor behind art and advertising and a whole host of other human activities. And you are right -- it defies empirical study. My opinion here is not scientific but based on emotion and feeling but I don't think that makes the opinion invalid. His site makes me (and from comments a number of others) uncomfortable, and I am guessing any commercial site that invoked the same emotions would be an abject failure. - Brian Sullivan

Hank, just needed to share the lulz that you were talking about his templete. :D - Cyndy

I'm glad someone said this so succinctly, thanks! - Mike Reynolds

1993 called, it wants its ui back. On second thought, no it doesn't. - Sprague D

The only problem I have is pragmatic... the text is cramped, and is therefore difficult for me to read. But I'm with Mark Trapp; the man's site doesn't look like that for shits and giggles. He's making a point, derived from years of study. OTOH, it's worth pointing out that his focus is on usability, not things like brand loyalty, which is where emotion comes into play. - Roger Benningfield

Mark. Your point about aesthetics not relating to usability is interesting. Don Norman, his partner and one of the N's in Nielsen Norman group, used to argue this, but then wrote that he felt he was wrong and that aesthetics are an important part of UI. I think that Apple, for example works very hard to get both right, and it pays dividends. I dont think Jakob has done any side by side research on the same UI structure with one ugly and one well designed product. I bet there are important differences. - Hank Williams

Of course, I guess Jakob's argument would be that if we all spent our time focusing on usability, we could cast off the shackles of emotional marketing.. which --let's face it-- does us all more harm than good. - Roger Benningfield

I'm surprised that his years of study didn't tell him that smaller columns of text are easier to read because your eye doesn't have to travel so far from one side of the column to the other when you finish a line. - Jason Carreira

Jason, I agree. I think he is breaking design rules that make the text less readable. Line spacing and column width are important issues that really do make functional differences. - Hank Williams

line-spacing: 150%; would improve things by SO much!!! - Susan A. Kitchens

Userstyles? - Yuvi (has IRL friends!)

Hank Williams posted an entry on Why does everything suck?

Is Customer Service *The* Business Model

August 11 at 4:44 am - Link

Wade Dorrell and Rob Diana liked this

The software industry has been making huge revenue based on support. Typically 20-30% yearly of a software contract is support in the enterprise world. I am not sure how well this translates to online services however. Google is a slightly different case as they have started to offer "enterprise" software with things like Google Apps. I have seen some software charge a fee for "premium" support, which was a different phone number than traditional support. It could work. - Rob Diana

@Rob in the old days, people actually paid for software *and* paid for support. Not just enterprises. The only reason enterprises pay, and the only reason consumers will pay, is if there is real value. If people don't care enough about your software to pay for support it just means its not that important to them. The situation I cite in the story is not an enterpirse one, but a consumer situation, unless you just categorize anything of real value as "enterprise" :) - Hank Williams

Hank Williams commented on a blog post on Disqus

Re: “Network DVR” - Part 2

August 6 at 7:49 am - Link

"interesting extended thoughts" - Hank Williams

Hank Williams posted an entry on Why does everything suck?

Apparently We Are Missing The Digital Revolution

August 4 at 4:10 am - Link

Mohit, Mo Kargas, Allen Stern and Robert Scoble liked this

I agree with Erik M Jacobs on your blog - those products are targeting folks who don't automatically think of using the internet, or who don't have easy access to the 'net. - Brent Newhall

but are those people watching msnbc? And I suspect that Flomax is targeted to upper middle class men. I doubt there are very many people reading popular mechanics that dont have access to the internet. - Hank Williams

Right... so it's half bad ad placement and half bad ads... in a sense. - Erik Jacobs

Hank Williams commented on a blog post on Disqus

Re: louisgray.com: Roll Your Own Blog Leaderboard With Google Reader Trends

July 26 at 4:00 am - Link

"wow... #11 thanks!!!!" - Hank Williams

Hank Williams posted an entry on Why does everything suck?

Is Apple The Worst Company Ever At Public Relations?

July 25 at 3:29 am - Link

Phil Glockner, Russ and Yolanda ♥s Nuttycakes liked this

Good post, Hank. So bad at PR, so good at Marketing. Are the two inversely correlated? Certainly not in every dimension, but Apple's secrecy regarding product launches and future developments is a big part of their marketing strategy. And they seem to be unwilling or unable to abandon this secrecy in other parts of their communication (MobileMe problems, iPhone SDK). - Ole Begemann

I've wondered the same thing. How can they be so good at marketing but suck at handling their image after the sale? - Yolanda ♥s Nuttycakes

Its funny, I am waiting to see how long it takes for the crazed fanbois to attack over this. it seems to always happen. - Hank Williams

The other disadvantage (in the UK at least) is their repair service. 7-10 days return to base. Buy a similar machine from Dell at around the same total cost and you get 3 year, next-business-day, on-site repairs. - Russ

Hank Williams commented on a blog post on Disqus

Re: You Can't Regulate Just One Industry And Leave The Other Alone

July 24 at 12:02 pm - Link

"But the reason they have distribution windows is so that they can sell you a movie ticket and then sell you a DVD or on demand play later. They make their profit by double dipping, and also, typically at least 2 people (and often a family) go to see a movie so your $20 sale would be presumably for a whole family. Also as far as I remember a substantial majority of the ticket price of a movie goes to the studio. The theaters make money on the concessions. I forget the studio/theater ratio but perhaps someone here knows what it is." - Hank Williams

Hank Williams commented on a blog post on Disqus

Re: http://avc.blogs.com/a_vc/2008/07/you-cant-regula.html

July 24 at 12:02 pm - Link

"But the reason they have distribution windows is so that they can sell you a movie ticket and then sell you a DVD or on demand play later. They make their profit by double dipping, and also, typically at least 2 people (and often a family) go to see a movie so your $20 sale would be presumably for a whole family. Also as far as I remember a substantial majority of the ticket price of a movie goes to the studio. The theaters make money on the concessions. I forget the studio/theater ratio but perhaps someone here knows what it is." - Hank Williams

Hank Williams commented on a blog post on Disqus

Re: You Can't Regulate Just One Industry And Leave The Other Alone

July 24 at 4:03 am - Link

"How would a compulsory requirement to download movies at a "reasonable" price without distribution windows generate sufficient money to pay for $150 million movies? Call me skeptical, but I just don't think what you might define as reasonable prices, particularly with unencrypted content, will generate the money necessary to make these films. If your thesis is wrong, as you would have to admit is at least possible, that would literally be the end of the blockbuster big budget movie. I don't know for sure that I am right, but gosh, if I am, is that really what we want and is it worth the risk? -- Yes I know the artsy people will say who needs batman anyway, but I, being uncultured, love a big budget summer blockbuster :)." - Hank Williams

Hank Williams commented on a blog post on Disqus

Re: http://avc.blogs.com/a_vc/2008/07/you-cant-regula.html

July 24 at 4:03 am - Link

Deon liked this

"How would a compulsory requirement to download movies at a "reasonable" price without distribution windows generate sufficient money to pay for $150 million movies? Call me skeptical, but I just don't think what you might define as reasonable prices, particularly with unencrypted content, will generate the money necessary to make these films. If your thesis is wrong, as you would have to admit is at least possible, that would literally be the end of the blockbuster big budget movie. I don't know for sure that I am right, but gosh, if I am, is that really what we want and is it worth the risk? -- Yes I know the artsy people will say who needs batman anyway, but I, being uncultured, love a big budget summer blockbuster :)." - Hank Williams

Personally, yes, I would welcome a world without big-budget blockbuster movies. Somehow, I'd find a way to cope. - Brent Newhall

Mike Fruchter posted a message

“Did I miss something? What happened to my Twitter followers?”

July 23 at 10:01 pm - Link

Mitchell Tsai liked this

My list of following and followers has been cut in half. - Mike Fruchter

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Writing a post on that now, you are not alone, definitely. And it looks like Chris Brogan lost a few thousand actually. - Svetlana Gladkova

Seen a bunch of comments today about it. Twitter blog says they're aware of the issue, working on it. - Hutch Carpenter

Uh oh. Thanks guys - Mike Fruchter

yeah, I just noticed this too...not as many lost, but still overly frustrating! - JA Castillo

Twitter reported an issue with the server relative to followers, they said they were going into maintenance to repair the issue and you "might" lose some of your followers, but you wouldn't know for sure till it was all over - Dave Feldman

I lost about 70! Most that I got within the last 3 weeks! Also lost some that did not exchanged Tweets recently also lost the Spam bots, which I never followed! They restored the database which is 3 weeks old! - Igor The Troll

I just posted about this. http://bit.ly/3NxGg8 looks like everything is probably going to be ok, but it does highlight what I call the nightmare twitter scenario - Hank Williams

I've also just published a post on it at http://www.profy.com/2008/07/2.... So we now have a new glitch in addition to a simple fail whale. Now I guess we will start to see new twitter backup" apps emerging :) - Svetlana Gladkova via twhirl

Duncan Riley posted a link

The picture that shames Italy - Europe, World - The Independent

July 22 at 8:33 pm - via Bookmarklet - Link

Jasmin Smith, Steve Spalding, Sid and 23 other people liked this

This makes me angry and forces me to curse. - AJ Kohn

31 more comments

Oh my gosh. I'm not even sure what I would say in reaction to that. I'm just..stunned. - Candace Holly

geeze, that's pretty awful - Cee Bee

The headline is misleading. People rushed to help them when they saw they were in trouble, but got to them too late. At least the article makes it clear that the Roma are non-Romanians. Thank goodness for that. I'd gotten sick and tired of hearing Romanians blamed for Roma-related stuff in Italy. - Raoul Pop

WTF?!?! - Carlos Ayala

So the shameful part is that they didn't remove the bodies from the beach? - Chris Dahl

"Their corpses were recovered from the sea – then left on the beach for hours while holidaymakers continued to sunbathe and picnic around them" - Bwana

=O wow - Mona N.

:( - sergiooo via NoiseRiver

"unlike" - Mitchell Tsai

This sucks but it happens a lot everywhere, even here in the US. On numerous occasions in Downtown Denver I have seen dead homeless people who didn't make it through a winter night laying on the sidewalk... and people just step right over them. - Brandon

unsanitary, at the very least. - rambn

Raoul, WTF? they left dead kids on a beach. That people helped when they were drowning doesn't justify them being left there - Duncan Riley

ah, so sad... - Brian Ries

This was just so sad... - Mitchell Tsai

I have to agree with Candace above. I am beyond speechless. - Kirasha

It's awful to see. Especially when it's kids. - Larry Kless via twhirl

Hey Raoul - do I detect some anti-Roma sentiment from yourself there? Roma have been in Italy for centuries and form a tiny proportion of the population. Scapegoating of them by the Berlusconi and co. for Italy's ills hardly needs support here I would have thought? Personally I am sick and tired of the Roma or any other ethnic group being lamed for Europe's ills but there you go. - mattpovey

This provides another good motivation for the Roma Diaspora to get underway and land in the US, the one place on Earth they can keep many of their old ways, find new ones, and be welcomed as part of a larger experiment. Good luck on finding that anywhere in Europe, dying from decadence and the appeasement of too many people living in too tight a space with too little bloodshed too long. You let the Euros go a couple hundred years without meaningful internecine warfare, you just can't do a thing with 'em. - Alexander Williams via NoiseRiver

"unlike""unlike""unlike""unlike""unlike""unlike""unlike""unlike" - kostasprint

Speechless - Sally Church

Unconscionable --- wow - Shey

This angers me. - Michael W. May via twhirl

Just unbelievable. - sean808080

w.t.f.? that's amazing(ly shi!tty) - acedanger

This has been in the Spanish press too - Matthew Bennett via twhirl

wtf? that's horrible - Sarah Perez

what kind of sick person, wants to sit on the beach next to dead bodies. That area should have been quarantined. Let alone the fact that the bodies should have been picked up and taken away. Those sunbathers, will now be infamous. - clarke thomas

wow. that is incredible - Hank Williams

omg one of the worst things I have read. What is the human race coming to? - Susan MacGillivray

Just saw it on Wired, so unreal. - Nir Ben Yona via twhirl

I don't even know what to say! Disgusted doesn't even begin to cover it. and at the same time, i'm not surprised. reading the article I couldn't help but notice parallels between the racism against the Romas and race relations in North America (past and present). - Jasmin Smith

Read about the fingerprinting about a week ago. It is worrying, this is the kind of thing that happened just before WW2. - Andrew Roche via twhirl

Heavy people, heavy life..., incredible! What is the humanist is to italians? - Gabcsi

Mona N. posted a link

Chocolate Cake In 5 Minutes! | Dizzy Dee

July 22 at 10:19 pm - via Bookmarklet - Link

Maryam Ardakani, DSaad69, acedanger and 45 other people liked this

4 Tablespoons cake flour 4 Tablespoons sugar 2 Tablespoons cocoa 1 Egg 3 Tablespoons milk 3 Tablespoons oil 1 Mug Put in microwave for 3 minutes on maximum power - Mona N.

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Wow. Who has what it takes to try it out? - Vincent X

...is this too ghetto for everyone? I'm SO gonna try it lol - Mona N.

Good luck with that. Although, I guess I'm going to have to record me eating it now, eh? - l0ckergn0me

um, that's gonna be your bday cake... just so you know. - Mona N.

Try that out. Let us know how it works. I'm currently downing a totally rigged chocolate milkshake. - Candace Holly

omg now i want a milkshake too.... - Mona N.

That second thumbnail just doesn't look right with the pig on the side of the can. Remember, I grew up NEAR farms... - l0ckergn0me

We've tried this at home. It works a treat. - Barak B

How to make a screwed up milkshake. Chocolate ice cream in a cup, little bit of milk and beat the crap out of it with a whisk (yeah no hand blender). It works. - Candace Holly

Barak: That's awesome! Thanks for the tidbit Candace: i'll save it for a day i'm super stressed hahahha - Mona N.

When you're stressed - substitute half the milk for coffee and add a bit of cocoa powder. That's the best. - Candace Holly

What about some rum? hehe - imabonehead

You used to be able to buy steam puddings just like this cake mix for the microwave - they were ready in about 2 minutes, and were the reason I put on about 10lb in a week when I discovered them :) - Jonathan Beckett

LOL!! ...wait are 'steam puddings' the ones from Cadbury? The canned cakes? - Mona N.

Wow, I gotta try that microwave cake thing. And beating ice cream with a spoon?! Way too much effort there. Just put some in a container, nuke it for a bit and then mix with a spoon. Have at the deliciousness afterwards. - Louie

This is insane, i was just thinking to myself if there's a chocolate cake to make in 5 minutes, i open my computer and - eureka! - Nir Ben Yona

be right back.. ;) - Anthony Citrano

WIN - Mona N.

fail - Anthony Citrano

proof! - Mona N.

Anthony: How was it? - Vincent X

Wow. I just made some. I'm impressed! I didn't have pure cocoa so I used Nestle Quik and messed around with the sugar/Quik proportions instead. It's not very sweet (I didn't put enough sugar), but it raised just like in the picture, and it's actually pretty good, the consistency is nice. With some vanilla ice cream that would have been delicious! - Vincent X

This I am definitely going to do when I get home. - Olaf via feedalizr

This is ghetto like a two-plate stove. - Olaf via feedalizr

it was gross. i'm going to try a variation, but some other time.... - Anthony Citrano

question, what's cake flour? Self raising flour, corn flour.... - Duncan Riley

this is such a typical computer-geek post, I don't know what to say. But… nice find nevertheless. - Vincent van Wylick

I've been sort of half-looking for this recipe for a while now. (The other half was afraid I'd find it.) Might surprise my wife with one after work. - Derrick Burns

I DRINK UR CHOCOLATE CAKE - Paul Montgomery

Looks like poop, but prolly tastes great. - Iain Baker

I'm glad my kids are too young to see this (not surfin' yet), the mess would be epic. I'm still cleaning up the last 'potion'. Imagine walking into the bathroom and finding a 3 year old with 50% of a container of Noxema slathered on his face and hair. Add to that, at the same time, the 5 year old has expended all my shaving cream onto the bathroom mirror, the toilet, and his little brother. Oh and it was the shaving cream/noxema 'footprints' that led to the discovery. - Capn' One-Eye ☠

I'm tempted to try it, but there's no salt. Chocolate *needs* salt. - ha3rvey

Just tried it. Agree w/ Anthony, it was gross, way too sweet. Sorry. - Sally Church

Someone should TOTALLY add this on Knol! -thanks for all the feedbacks. some of the comments made me L-O-L - Mona N.

Mine wasn't that sweet but it was sorta like.. ehh, i dunno.. cocoa foam sponge? 98% of it was fed to the garbage disposal. - Anthony Citrano

i love ur mug - DSaad69

Hank Williams shared an item on Google Reader

CrunchGear » Archive » GE sold out of wind turbines till 2010

July 23 at 3:01 am - Link

well, this is good and bad news - Hank Williams

Louis Gray shared an item on Google Reader

The Real Reason IPOs And Mergers Are Down

July 22 at 7:35 am - Link

klaste, Mo Kargas, Robert Scoble and 12 other people liked this

Great post. The end is the salient point: VC's push for liquidation events, either sale or IPO. It would be nice to see a VC that was interested in developing a portfolio of businesses that they maintain a long-term stake in, rather than trying to flip them for quick returns. - Jason Carreira

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While I agree with the points in the post, there will always be a need to invest in new technologies or business models where there is clear value to users but not necessarily a clear monetization model. The problem is when all available funds are directed towards that goal. - Marc Vermut via twhirl

No, there is no need to "invest" in things with no monetization. It's not "investing" in that case, it's charity. - Jason Carreira

Marc - You're essentially asking investor (VC's) to provide charity to new technologies for the 'better good'. This simply isn't what investors do from my experience and I think it's indicative of the Bubble 2.0 mentality that's still popular. The problem is that the money starts to run out and the VC's are not going to be willing to continue to prop up these companies without a clear vision of becoming self-sufficient (at worst). - Jim McCusker

Jim, I don't think that's what Marc is saying at all. VC's, if they're smart, must take risks with unproven or unclear monetization strategies because sometimes those are the companies that hit it out of the park (exactly what VC's are looking for). Google had no clear monetization strategy until it hit on adsense and became an ad company. - mikepk

Michael, I agree that VCs need to take risks. The problem is they do the opposite. They do not take risks on new ideas. Like lemmings they all copy the already demonstrably bad ideas that all their VC brethren are doing. This is why we have so many money losing video companies for example. I think if VCs actually tried to invest in innovative stuff instead of so much me-tooism, we might have more IPOs and M&As - Hank Williams

Michael - I'm not aware of too many VC's that would be happy hearing a pitch that didn't include a revenue model to back it up. After all, their goal is to make a profit from their investment in your company. It'll be interesting to see how many of today's Web 2.0 darlings will survive a year from now without initiating a revenue model. - Jim McCusker

You just contradicted yourself. If they were asking about revenue models, how did these companies get funded? - Jason Carreira

Jim - Actually that's a misconception as to what VCs are looking for. If they were looking for simple profit from your company, then solid revenue models would be most important. What most VC's really want are *superstar* investments with many times the return on initial investment within the lifespan of their current fund. They do this by funding many they know will fold, but that they believe have at least some potential for explosive growth. - mikepk

like = bookmark (need to read hank's post before commenting) - mike "glemak" dunn

really good thoughtful post hank - couple things, bubble 1.0 wasn't just about an ad shell game, it was also about tech overbuild and astronomically overvaluations on anything having "web" or "internet" stamped on what passed for a business plan - now, not all vc's are alike, they have many different degrees of focus, most strategics invest for either/both economic gain or/and a seat at the table (to learn) - finally yes, there was an abandonment of fundamentals which is slowly returning in my experience - mike "glemak" dunn

mike, certainly you are right that bubble 1.0 was made up of a variety of ills, but my goal was not to fully illuminate all the detail, but to make the general point about fundamentals and the importance of creating real value. - Hank Williams

I disagree that a return to fundamentals is occurring. I worry that Facebook's future spectacular demise under a sea of debt and bills coming in faster than the revenue is going to trigger another burst and we'll see just how many fundamentally unsound companies are out there. - Jason Carreira

totally agreed hank and i think you definitely did that :) - mike "glemak" dunn

Jason, I think that a bit of fundamental sense is returning, but even if a whole bunch of sense returned there is still *tons* of dead underbrush that is going to have to be cleared out. For facebook to be the best we have to offer in web 2.0 is **INSANE**. With CPMs of a few pennies per thousand, (vs TV at $10-$20) we are busily investing huge amounts of money in the totally useless. - Hank Williams

the only hope is that money really is energy, as the new age mystics say, then we will see some sort of circumstances that allow the thing to continue (not unlike the american economy) - Gregory Lent

Michael - I agree and you're right about how VC's only expect a small fraction of their investments to return high valuations. But those high valuations typically include revenues, a sale/merger, or an IPO. So perhaps some VC's are willing to chance a cool technology without a revenue model, but I suspect in todays market that these are harder to find. - Jim McCusker

Totally forgot about my comment, but glad it sparked a reaction. Michael understood exactly what I was pointing to. Thanks for addressing it more timely and eloquently than I. - Marc Vermut via twhirl

Nate Westheimer posted a message on Twitter

“Reading an email reply from Richard Stallman. He asked me to read this: http://bit.ly/qI2Dd Very interesting nuances I was uneducated on.”

July 22 at 10:36 am - Link

indeed they are different. Stallman is a socialist. He does not believe in making money from software.He thinks its wrong. He believes everyone has a *right* to explore the source of software and to have it for free. He believes copyright in all forms is wrong. So whatever he believes I suggest you dont start believing it as it will be the end of being an entrepreneur or business person in tech. - Hank Williams

well, i'm a language stickler, so i support his desire to distinguish between open source and free. i asked if we go free first and foremost, but open source second and importantly. we'll see how he responds :-) - Nate Westheimer

Hank Williams shared an item on Google Reader

Why a Texas Oilman Is Spending $58 Million to Promote Wind Power

July 22 at 5:22 am - Link

silpol, Jill, Superhero Librarian, Yolanda ♥s Nuttycakes and Jim McCusker liked this

People are criticizing Pickens because he stands to make money here. I am personally happy that *someone* is doing something. Thats the way things work, people invest money to make money. If that is good for the economy and the planet, all the better - Hank Williams

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It's also interesting to note how similar T.Boone's ideas are to Al Gore, although neither are admitting it at this point. Gore was on Meet the Press this past weekend and was only able to criticize T.Boone's proposal to use natural gas for fleet vehicles. - Jim McCusker

yeah, it seems like arguing around the margins. natural gas is clearly better than petro, and in any case I think the future will be a mix of all kinds of non petro fuels including electric, gas, and hydrogen. - Hank Williams

Well of course he's going to promote his venture. I don't get the kerfluffle. Like you said Hank, I'm glad someone is putting money down on this stuff. Nothing speaks louder. - Yolanda ♥s Nuttycakes

At the point Pickens has more credibility than Al Gore. - Jill, Superhero Librarian

Jim McCusker posted a link

Alicia Lane's email hacked by co-anchor Larry Mente

July 22 at 5:22 am - Link

This story is heating up as more details come out. It's claimed that Mente installed a hardware key logger to get Alicia's email password on Yahoo. - Jim McCusker

I heard this last night. Freaking incredible. - Hank Williams

Hank Williams posted a message on Twitter

“The Real Reason IPOs And Mergers Are Down http://bit.ly/3wPwkK”

July 22 at 4:47 am - Link

Jim McCusker liked this

Good points overall Hank. It's intersting to note that many Bubble 2.0'ers argue that lack of profits don't outweigh the greater good of many websites, like Facebook, Twitter, and FriendFeed. What they fail to realize is that the VC's will reign in these companies sooner than later at this point. - Jim McCusker

Yeah, thats insane. Without profits there is no business. Unless we want to set up taxes to support these companies providing these "greater good" providers. We could set it up along side the social security trust fund! - Hank Williams

Dave Martin posted a link

In my opinion, Feldman's goal here is not to entertain but to stir the pot, to fan the flame, to gain attention, it's all about him, lest we forget.

July 19 at 1:29 pm - Link

Mark Edwards liked this

well said Dave - Hank Williams

Hank Williams posted an entry on Why does everything suck?

The 2008 Definition of Racism

July 10 at 7:36 am - Link

Everyone should take a few seconds out of their day to read this. What took me so long to find you? wow - Mona N.

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I'm simply amazed that so many people WEREN'T reading Hank. Oh, and that he's on FF. Which I had no idea, I don't think. I probably should check that filter I created and see who ELSE is on here. - Cyndy

good read. One contradiction though I can't get my head around. You criticize people who don't talk about this, then defend the right of others to shout down those who do give their opinion. The problem for me still remains that there is a lack of civility between the differing opinions here, indeed that while I might not have agreed with the people you highlight (Rizzn comes to mind), I also don't agree with the vicious nature of the return takedown either. People will always fear the mob. - Duncan Riley

I should also note Hank, your articulate contributions are something we also need more of. - Duncan Riley

Cyndy, definitely agreed. I'm reading through his older posts. I am now a HUGE fan. - Mona N.

@duncan certainly mobs can be a bad thing. Its all a matter of who you agree with and what you say is right. Were the "mobs" of people at the washington monument for the MLK "I had a dream speech" bad? It seems to me that the distinction between mob and "gathering" or "peaceful protest" is purely ideological. It tends to be a "mob" when you don't agree. I would probably personally call any KKK gathering a mob regardless of whether they were violent. - Hank Williams

@duncan in the context of whether people were vicious to Loren, this is just my take, but I don't think its that vicious to be angry and to say so when you feel someone has hurt or offended you. To me the response was reasonably matched to the action, but I understand that for many who don't think what loren was doing was that bad (or bad at all) the response may have seemed over the top, and demanding that he be dropped too much of a punishment. Again it all comes down to perspective. - Hank Williams

The "mob" word has been adjective used alot. Of course only to highlight the negativity and the emotion of those who disagree with Loren. - Shey

MOB: a large crowd of people, esp. one that is disorderly and intent on causing trouble or violence. GATHERING: coming together; to assemble. Nope, doesn't seem like an 'ideological' distinction to me. - Cecily

@cecily where was the violence? Are you saying that customers asking verizon to not hire feldman is violent or disorderly. If so, you have just negated the entire american civil rights movement on the basis of it being a mob, and in fact every other form of what i think most would describe as democratic protest. - Hank Williams

That's not how I read her comment -- I think she meant to contrast the definition of a mob with what's really going on. - Shey

oh I see. Sorry Cecily. I misunderstood - Hank Williams

I am careful of what I say because mobs tend to react and not hear what is being said. Real discourse works best when it is between those that are willing to take the time to understand each other. Seek to find agreement, not accuse. Quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to become angry. - Christian Burns

No worries. Shey nailed the intent behind my earlier comment. And if anyone was threatening in that entire discussion, it was Feldman himself. - Cecily

@Hank. My take on this mess.http://tinyurl.com/6hkydp - Dave Martin

@Dave well said - Hank Williams

Hank Williams shared an item on Google Reader

Identi.ca Implements Twitter API

July 18 at 2:44 pm - Link

the end is near. Microblogging is going to be like email - Hank Williams

Cyndy posted an entry on Industry Standard Unique Content

Q&A: Hank Williams discusses racism, 1938 Media videos, TIS comment thread

July 17 at 4:08 pm - Link

Charlie Anzman, Leslie Poston, Jeduan Cornejo and 18 other people liked this

This is it exactly: "I think that Loren is angry. I think he's an angry guy. He didn't start out being angry at blacks, but he is now based on the response he's gotten. He also seems to have a racist fan base in there, and he feeds off that as well." Very calm and thoughtful interview. - Mark Trapp

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Hank, you've just found yourself a fan. Level headed, reasonable, informative analysis + I just subscribed to whydoeseverythingsuck.com. - Duncan Riley

Hank does a great job, not just on his personal site, but on the Silicon Alley Insider. Glad to see Cyndy and Duncan recognize it as well. - Louis Gray

Of all of the people I've met in NYC over the last year, Hank ranks right up there in the top few. I always enjoy our conversations. Note that before Hank went to SAI, he used to contribute on CN - so like Roi, Kristen and others, CN makes them then they go sign the big money deals elsewhere :-P (I am hoping Matthew doesnt leave!) - Allen Stern

Hank's last response puzzles me greatly - Feldman himself comes from a minority who has a rich history of pain and suffering. - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins

"web side story" - sean percival

Mark, that was my edit. Hank did say that would have been the only other group that would have the same type of discriminatory history. To me, that makes this whole thing all the more curious. - Cyndy

@rizzn: I like the "his little corner" bit. If that's not a certain modicum of arrigance, I'm not an evil squid-demon-thing, and believe me, I know arrogance. The real issue is that no matter the group Loren decided to use to mock the tech-crowd he'd be branded a racist or sexist. Unless you're telling folks that white people and mainstream culture are bad, you're a racist, a sexist, and probably a pervert, because otherwise people don't get to feel sufficiently victimized. This is a First World Problem, in the sense people with REAL discrimination, bigotry and trouble don't care. - Alexander Williams via NoiseRiver

Why is it such a shocker that when someone sets out to stereotype and mock a group of people it's treated with offense? Negativity breeds negativity. You're not highlighting some core issue when you set out to be an asshole to a group: you're just being an asshole. You're not funny, you're not clever: you're a prick. The fact that Loren won't realize this and exacerbates the issue by making these videos makes him a racist prick. - Mark Trapp

@itafroma: Or it just means that he doesn't think he's being a prick, there are people that find him funny, and he's not, actually, being an asshole. Being short psychic powers this week, I find it impossible to say, but I do find it possible to say that offending people is not inherently bad. Nor is being offended, though it doesn't actually earn any of my respect. That Loren keeps producing things that mock / reference stereotypes doesn't make him racist, pointedly. It makes him not blind. He didn't MAKE UP the stereotypes, after all. - Alexander Williams via NoiseRiver

Very well said Hank, you hit the nail right on the head. - Shey

Cyndy, this is a great post and interview. Thank you for sharing - Mona N.

@duncan thanks, glad to have you aboard - Hank Williams

@shey, as usual, thanks - Hank Williams

Thanks Mona. It was mostly just giving Hank a chance to respond. Equal time and all that. ;) - Cyndy

Phil Glockner posted a link

Why does everything suck?: The 2008 Definition of Racism

July 10 at 10:08 am - via Bookmarklet - Link

AJ Batac, Louis Gray, Oliver Ortega Chua and 7 other people liked this

"To suggest that the right thing to do is to be silent in the face of racist words, or worse, to suggest that not being silent, or that protesting or boycotting or threatening boycotts is wrong, is to wipe away and invalidate what, for me, is the part of American history that has made my life possible, that is, peaceful protest. And what is apparent to me is that there is a current, younger generation that has in many cases never known about things that are recent enough for me to actually remember." - Phil Glockner via Bookmarklet

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Amazing, clear and powerful article, Hank. Thank you. - Phil Glockner

Outstanding article. As a historian of the civil rights movement, I'm amazed and often appalled at the lack of knowledge and understanding of the movement and Jim Crow among most Americans, especially among those who grew up after around 1980. My wife, who's African-American, was among those who desegregated her school in SC--in 1970! This is NOT ancient history, folks. - steplow = Steve Lowe via NoiseRiver

@steplow It's even worse here in Canada. NOTHING is taught about Black history about the US or even Canada. Oh the horror stories that folks don't know about. - Shey