Great documentary. Ken Burns rules. Frank Lloyd Wright's life certainly makes for good story telling. - Andrew Smith
When I was a student (computer science ingineer) most of my friends were architects, so they told me about him and I learned to appreciate his art! :) - directeur
I have one of these too. It's one of my favorite cameras (and heavy enough to be used as a weapon in a pinch!) - Cecily
@Cecily: Cool, do you have any pictures posted online from this camera? I've shot a couple rolls with the camera, but I don't think I've scanned any of the shots yet. - Cheryl Jones
Nice set! What film did you use for the B&W pics? I haven't shot too much B&W so far. I have tried the Kodak B&W film that can be processed as C-41 (IIRC), and I've tried a regular Kodak Tmax 400 film. But since it takes *forever* to get B&W film developed (I haven't tried doing it myself), I haven't shot much B&W. - Cheryl Jones
Either the Ilford chromogenic film (can't remember the name right now) or Kodak BW chromogenic film (the stuff that can be developed as C-41). - Cecily
Half of it was right. And I'm not posting this from Twitter. ;) - Chris White
Time will tell, but I think it was correct decision. - imran
It's made you one of my favorite bloggers, if that makes you feel any better about it. If you weren't heavy on the social exploration I probably wouldn't read. - Daniel J. Pritchett
From my perspective, yes. It's a much more interactive and broader experience for all. - Kevin C. Tofel
The right decision from which perspective, Robert? Did you increase "eyeballs?" Revenue? Both? Other? - Mark VandenBerg
I like FriendFeed and Twitter, but don't see how they compare to developing thoughtful, deeper blog posts. Really, I think FF and Twitter have their place, and I love them as well, but that place is certainly not a replacement to blogging. - Michael Krigsman
I think yes. Most folks can read twitter 100% of the time -- blogs are scanned. You tend to link to good stuff from twitter and have good headlines. - Ted Simpson
No question about that. In the past, websites were static compared to blogs. Now blogs are static compared to microblogging services. - Berci Mesko
I think only you can be the judge of that. We're all beginning to look at blogs as sort of the core of our outreach, so I'm not sure investing time in microblogging elsewhere is an either/or question. You are you. Your blog and social media network are simply extensions. If you're happy with your business model and continuing to grow, what's the problem? :-) - Chris Baskind
Mark: Revenue? Didn't change much. Eyeballs? Well, I have almost 21,000 followers here that I didn't have at the beginning of the year. Zach: I just saw that FriendFeed was going to be one of the most interesting new services of the year. Seeing how it was on the screen at the Chinese BloggerCon I think I picked the right services. - Robert Scoble
I consider FF as blogging in many ways and more interesting than a blog. - imran
You certainly moved the ball forward for the two companies. And if you think they're a vital part of the "internet plumbing", you absolutely made the right decision in helping to secure their futures. - Christopher Galtenberg
I've shut down my blog for the time being. Not getting the interaction out of it, the way I'm getting out of experiences on FF and Twitter. I think if you want more conversation online, the blogs (for now) would not be the way to go. - Helen Sventitsky
are the 21K followers different from people who followed your blog already? if so that is in increase. if not then the eyeballs are moving from your blog to friend feed. - Jonathan Jesse
My twitter lives alongside my blog in the sidebar, and I keep track of all my tweets by feeding it into a lifestream stored on my server. i think that's the key, as the two platforms, microblogging and blogging, work nicely together. - C. K. Sample III
@Michael great thoughts on blogs allowing for deeper thought development. that greater development, might lead to more meaningful discussion on FF then what may occur in the comment section - Jonathan Jesse
Also, check out Twitemperature if you like Twitter. Tells you whether you're hot or cold based upon what you've tweeted and how it ties into online trends and community: http://twitemperature.com - C. K. Sample III
It's a good question -- I've been thinking (and writing a bit) about the question of a blogging / microblogging balance. My working theory: that going forward the most successful bloggers will be strong microbloggers, and vice versa. - Eric Berlin
Robert, then I have a wunderbar über wonderful idea for you! You know, you can trust me :) - directeur
via NoiseRiver
There are plenty of people up at blog-level covering "the scene". You're on the ground with people as they're trying things, talking about what's missing, what they need, what they like and don't. I think this is a good place for a tech-head to be. But blog posts to send signals up and out to the other tech-heads, reviewing your time embedded with the troops, will still be vital for growth of the net. - Christopher Galtenberg
No =) The audience for the standard blog delivery system is different than a hyper-conversation micro-blogging system. While these services are great with interactivity, they do not generate useful long term content in most cases due to short posts (usually under 120 characters) and basically being a link farm rather than useful content. The initial "posts" are not as in-depth as a typical blog post, and the comments are often "me too" type of responses as well. Balance your tweets vs. your blog posts =) - RAD Moose
I found I moved too much of my activity to Twitter and FriendFeed - I have tried to return to more blog postings, since I do have a community of readers that is only there. - Richard Akerman
Yes, I've heard little about your blog posts, but I've heard plenty about you being very open & active on social sites. That kind of interaction with your audience is a refreshing change and I'm sure it helps your reach (though I'm sure that's not what you meant). - Cains
Honestly? You put you in front of me. I would not have gotten to the blog as often, as I've seen you here. Just too much to read. - Ed Shaz/NextInstinct
I personally miss the longer/thought out posts that used to appear on your blog. While I don't think that using FF/Twitter has been a bad thing, and I know that you don't have time for *everything*, your more "editorial" and reporting style of blogging is missed. - drew olanoff
Cross posting of comments between blogs and friendfeed would be an interesting development. - Andrew Leyden
Jonathan: I think I've gained a good percentage of new people who found me here on FriendFeed. That's why I have more followers here than, say, Michael Arrington does or Leo Laporte do (and they should have WAY more, because of the size of their audiences). - Robert Scoble
I ask myself the same question often regarding whether I should spend so much time on social media sites instead of just writing content on my blogs. What I don't think I realized is that I'm still creating valuable content at all of my outposts that are still ultimately leading to my blogging hub. I think its been well worth it. - Mark Krynsky
@Andrew WordPress has a nice plugin to link to FriendFeed activity. Unfortunately for my platform (TypePad) I don't know of an equivalent. - Richard Akerman
ppl will follow you anywhere on web i think, but this is the best place to folllow you. - imran
I find FriendFeed to be more engaging, but it would be nice to gauge the amount of traffic a post on FF gets. - Spencer
the #friendfeed, #twitter, #socialmedian instantaneous replies, directs, and comments distributed throughout feed aggregation access points establishes a better communication channel for your voice - shayne catrett
depends. did you sacrifice blog content & share it on FF/Twitter? - I stopped blogging about useless junk since I can simply throw that stuff up on FF or Twitter now. Less frequent are my blog posts, but more quality, at least I think - Enrique Gutierrez
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@Richard if you can migrate to Six Apart's Movable Type 4, they have a widget for FF -- in fact, I'm going to be trying to get it running on my blog tonight - Woodrow Jarvis Hill
Here's how you get your answer: (1) Go get some sleep. You just got back from China! (2) Wake up and look at the likes/comments on this item. (3) Compare those numbers against responses to your best blog post this year. - Bruce Lewis
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It depends what you're after. Knowing you, it was the right decision - twitter and friendfeed are like a quickfire conversation, here there, lots of input, changing topics all the time. Blogs are the considered discussion...or lecture. Different methods of communication, you choose which one you prefer. - Rachel Clarke
I'm still waiting for hope and change. All I've seen are a couple guys that got rich as i-bankers and trial lawyers after Clinton left office. - Brian Newman
Increasingly, I'm getting the feeling the Obama administration is turning into a puppet affair. - abacab
What? you mean you're not into paramilitary training groups for children? ;) - V for Veselka
not the ones with religion and discrimination, but I repeat myself. Heh - Eric Rice
Boy Scouts of America Oath: "On my honor I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country
and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong,
mentally awake, and morally straight." - Logical Extremes
The Girl Scout Promise: "On my honor, I will try:
To serve God* and my country,
To help people at all times,
And to live by the Girl Scout Law. [*The word "God" can be interpreted in a number of ways, depending on one's spiritual beliefs. When reciting the Girl Scout Promise, it is okay to replace the word "God" with whatever word your spiritual beliefs dictate.] - Logical Extremes
Apparently the Girl Scouts do accept regardless of faith, Boy Scouts do not; then there's that whole discrimination thing. - Eric Rice
Girl Scouts are a little better... at least you can substitute FSM if you want. - Logical Extremes
I have noticed 4-h has a science and tech side. I thought it was just horses and ag, heh. - Eric Rice
GM sent me an email asking me to lobby Congress on their behalf as a GM owner. I printed the email on my blog. Smells like desperation to me to see GM lobbying all of their GM owners to try to get this money through Congress. - Thomas Hawk
yeah, it feel pretty desperate to me. It also strikes me as a bit of an inappropriate way for GM to use my personal information. - Thomas Hawk
I wonder if GM will reach out via twitter. Is GM trying to take a page from the recent political season with this email appeal to their customers. Some say it is a desperate move but I think desperate times calls for desperate means. - Ruth Ferguson
I would agree about the inappropriate use of personal info, Thomas. I'm expecting to find the same e-mail when I get home. My wife also owns a GM vehicle. - Jeff P. Henderson
I called my representatives lobbying them to NOT support the bailout. - Jason Shultz
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I guess owners of GM vehicles should be concerned though -- it would mean an end to warranties, fixing of future recall worthy faults, and complicate future parts availability. - Brian Sullivan
Autos will be saved regardless of voters input - imran
I doubt it would impact future parts availability. How often do you buy OEM parts for your car. I recently replaced the timing belt and water pump on my car over the weekend and neither of them was OEM. When I replaced the fuel pump on another vehicle it wasn't OEM. - Jason Shultz
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It's a myth that you won't be able to have your car repaired if they fail. Any good mechanic can work on a GM car and parts will still be made as demand exists. That's what the market does. Now the parts may not be made by employees of labor unions, but that's another story. - Thomas Hawk
@Thomas Exactly. It's just fear mongering by the Big 3 to scare those who don't know any better into helping to bailout their antiquated business models. - Jason Shultz
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But it does complicate parts availability. Granted most of the parts are probably manufactured by 3rd party suppliers but quite a number of them will fail as well. If there is demand then somebody will move to fill the demand but this will likely be uneven. I am not advocating a bail out but bankruptcy will come with lots of complications. - Brian Sullivan
You have to remember two things: 1. GM doesn't own the dealerships; franchise holders own the dealerships. Ergo, GM doesn't service the products it makes, other than compensation to the franchise-holders in the form of waranty related repairs. 2. The majority of parts for automakers are produced, under license, by independant vendors who still need to make products to stay in business. - Mark VandenBerg
Lobbying efforts aside, how can the US keep affording to bail out industries with hundreds of billions of dollars? Take that money and invest in alternative energy and entirely new and profitable markets will emerge. You can't really do the same with the financial markets but alternative energy is CLEARLY the most prevalent opportunity for profitable investment that could create new jobs to replace ones lost in the auto industry and actually turn the government investment a profit. Something we're not really seeing with the bail out. - Devlin Dunsmore
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"I want to assure you that we are making our best vehicles ever." Great. Now start making vehicles that can compete with the offerings from the car companies who ARE NOT begging for taxpayer cash to enable their addictions. - Dave Roth
Dave, this post hops over a lot of the parroting of pundits that usually fills the blogs. It has stunned me that the same folks who felt the world would end if Wall Street companies that pay hundreds of hustlers millions of dollars would fail, however, an industry that pays millions of workers hundreds of dollars can go down without serious consequences. - Phil Boiarski
Not to mention that GM's brands are very popular in China, so by killing GM we'd be removing one of the few things that gets money to come back here from China (there aren't very many left). - Robert Scoble
GM has made many, many mistakes. Why should we let them stay in business? - Tyler Hurst
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Tyler: they have made many, many right decisions, too. My Saturn Aura is a great car (it is made by GM). When I was in Shanghai I saw GM cars all over the place. They employ something like seven million people around the world. So you are ready to put seven million people on the street? Why don't we put you and your business on the street? I'm sure you make mistakes every day too. - Robert Scoble
Chapter 11 doesn' have to put people on the street, as long as the govt provides a guarantee on DIP financing. See today's NYT Sorkin piece for details:-) - Francine Hardaway
via IM
Yes, but my business isn't going bankrupt. Hey, I drive a GM car, I don't want them to go under, but why should my tax dollars save them? - Tyler Hurst
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Tyler: because if you put those people out of work they'll cost you tax dollars and you won't get anything in return then. - Robert Scoble
The bailout money would be better spent on assitance to those who are impacted... re-training, relocation assistance, etc. Now (NOT, I meant NOT) wishing for GM go go away - but they have big issues that NEED to be addressed... not patched over (again). - Brian Roy
But what would I be getting for a bailout? If it's anything like the banks, it seems like more of the same! Will GM diversify, streamline and stop making gaudy SUVs? If they are to be bailed out, someone better should be running the company. Where's the hybrid cars? Why aren't they making more of them? - Tyler Hurst
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Tyler: I agree with you, mostly. It's just that if you dump tons of people on the street to teach a corporation a lesson it increases the problems greatly. You also aren't going to find jobs for many of these workers, even after retraining. They simply aren't there. So, short term, I'm all for keeping the jobs going. - Robert Scoble
Tyler, that would be the point behind any kind of bailout. GM is told build hybrids and more fuel efficient cars in order to get the money. Use the bailout money as an incentive to restructure the industry. - Paul
Everyone keeps assuming all these people will get "dumped on the street", but I'm not sure I believe that. Will they shut down entirely? No. So how are 7mill losing their jobs? - ♫ Rahsheen™
"GM has made many, many mistakes." The mistakes were made in design and product decisions, not on the assembly line. Those who made decisions to manufacture Suburbans and ignore hybrid technology should suffer, not the guy bolting it together. And we'll either pay in "bailout" (which we might get back) or in unemployment benefits and other safety net spending (which we won't). - John Craft
A bailout is just a bandage. If it's not fixing the real problems, then why do it? Won't we go through this again? Instead of a bailout, why doesn't the gov't buy the damn company, fire all the upper management and subsidize sustainable/hybrid techology? - Tyler Hurst
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Hopefully there are enough STRONG rules attached to the bailout to force both the execs and the unions to change direction and start making good cars for the long term. a straight bailout will just prolong the business-fail-as-usual mentality that exudes from Detroit. - Glenn Batuyong
Rasheen, at some point another manufacturer (e.g. Honda) might buy some GM assets (factory). But the delay, and uncertainty, will further erode confidence. No one wants to prop up "business as usual" - the goal is to ease (and demand) the transition. - John Craft
Tyler: if you put all those workers on the street you'll have far more pain for far longer. Yes, we should get something in return, but I don't live in an ideal world and I don't always get what I want. - Robert Scoble
"why doesn't the gov't buy the damn company, fire all the upper management and subsidize sustainable/hybrid techology?" - Isn't that essentially what's happening? Have you read the bills introduced in the House and Senate? - John Craft
Rahsheen, any layoffs by GM, Ford or Chrysler is going to have ripple effect. It will cause layoff in their suppliers also. So the layoffs are going to be a lot larger then just GM..... - Paul
John- yes, but this isn't a takeover, it's a bailout. Just as Glenn said earlier, there must be STRONG rules to make sure this isn't just a handout. - Tyler Hurst
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Let them burn. The airlines had to restructure so will the auto makers. Enough with the fear mongering already. Fucking lemmings. - Leather Donut
Leather: where do you work? Can we say the same thing about your business? I'm sure your management hasn't made every best decision either. Plus, next year lots of businesses will lay people off. Should we cheer if you are one of those? - Robert Scoble
I think we can all agree that American automakers relied too heavily on SUVs. But what's the solution? - Tyler Hurst
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Tyler: that's because of our emphasis on quarterly results. I sure wish our markets would reward long-term thinking rather than worrying about this quarter and next. Capitalism itself brought us these problems. - Robert Scoble
Tyler: the solution is to take 10% of oil industry profits and put those into developing newer cars that'll get us off of oil. But that never will fly past the lobbyists. - Robert Scoble
+100 Robert - the short term thinking of today's day trader/hedge fund market create many of our current problems. - Brian Roy
True. Side note, has everyone here read Hot, Flat and Crowded? Fascinating. Great look toward what we SHOULD be doing. - Tyler Hurst
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Tyler: I watched Thomas Friedman give a speech while in Shenzhen, China. I saw everything he was talking about right outside of my window. This is the #1 problem for the next 20 years. By far. Friedman's work is very important, he just travels a lot so sees the problems in a way that the rest of us can't. - Robert Scoble
Robert, if short term thinking is what caused these problems, then why does Apple create awesome products? What really concerns me is when all this bailout stuff is going to stop. We are going to have this same conversation over and over for each bailout, until we cause US Treasuries to lose their AAA rating, and China, Russia, and the Middle East will start using another currency to trade with. That's what we are risking with these bailouts. - Chris White
Here's a thought: why not eliminate all tax breaks for and/or apply all windfall profit taxes on the fossil fuel industry toward the auto industry bailout? Jack CAFE standard up dramatically and, as others have proposed, commit the Federal Government to a complete overhaul of its vehicle fleet within 5 years, with the prerequisites that replacements must be built in the US and use alternative fuels or new technology. ... - Kevin Pedraja
That would ensure that 1) energy prices don't fall so fast that alt fuel programs wither 2) car makers are both required and incented to invest in new technology. - Kevin Pedraja
I would rather use my taxes to pay unemployment for all of US auto assembly line workers than use my taxes to bail out their braindead asleep-at-the-wheel management. I want my taxes to support American workers, not American executives. - Bjorn Stromberg
I was just thinkng today, how many times have we heard "The consequences of failure would bring chaos" during the past year? It's been the year of the Shepherd Boy. - Ted Gilchrist
Scoble, the stock was just delisted. Shitty management. But then again the management is not going to the government for a handout. I'm not using my taxes to pay for someone else to live when I have to worry about my own. - Leather Donut
The fear mongering is back. Chicken Little all over the place. GIMME $700 BILLION NOW or we will die. Look where that's going. This will keep happening unless people stop supporting the same mistakes and guess what none of this helps YOU. Why do I have to pay for some AIG exec's bonus? I would shed ZERO tears if he was left homeless. In fact, he should be for the monumental fuckup. - Leather Donut
I almost said no, because janitors and other people don't really deal with customers, do they? But then I remembered the lady who cleaned my hotel room. She said hi and asked if she could make my stay better. Made my feelings about Sheraton go up. So, everyone affects the brand and everyone is customer facing and everyone can affect our understanding of what the company does, or help us have a better experience with it. - Robert Scoble
Yes. It makes them easier to contact and simpler to manage. - Tyler Hurst
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Robert: I'd argue that janitors and cleaning staff aren't outward-facing employees. - Kevin Fox
Kevin: I'd argue that they are. Everyone comes into contact with other human beings and they all represent the company in some way every day. If you hire great people all the way through your organization, you won't have to worry. If you hire idiots, then I'd worry about this stuff. - Robert Scoble
No. Most outward-facing employees are already outward-facing and present in the ways they need to be by default. Plastering them on a billboard for people unrelated to see, or opening them up personally for disgruntled customers to stalk... seems to be going a bit far. - abacab
I would say it depends. If you have a sales team with 100 people why not a blog for the team and then each individual member can blog. 100 blogs is maybe taking it a bit far? - Sofia