Maybe worth seeing what you think of ebook apps in the iPhone App Store later this week ... - Patrick Jordan
I love mine and I haven't even used it to its fullest potential yet. It's so nice to buy e-books and other publications without needing to connect it to a computer. Plus there are a few e-book sites that have free content that is directly downloadable to the Kindle, like Manybooks.net and Feedbooks.com (IIRC). - Cheryl Jones
I need to have the physical book, and I need to have it eventually on a shelf for later reference. Call me old school, but when I want to lend a good read out to a friendor colleague, I can. - Granteezy
The price needs to be attractive enough and the Kindle itself needs a major makeover. I think there will be an update soon. - Michael Narciso
my only issue with the kindle right now is the limited selection. I went through my wishlist and only 8 of the 65 books I want have kindle editions. Once that hits closer to 40 to 50 percent I'll take the plunge. I think v2 will probably be an improvement and can't be that far off as v1 has been out awhile. I'd wait. - aka Taylor
Great technology - My wife, who is a non-tech but avid reader, absolutely loves it. I bought it for me, but I hardly ever get to use it now. Considering buying a replacement for me. The selling point - accessible books are easily purchasable and immediately available for reading. She can't get enough of it. - Rob Bushway
Love mine and worth every penny if you travel a lot and don't want to carry a buttload of books. I think it was an awesome investment and the last trip I made to Chicago proved exactly why. The first time you finish a book in the middle of a trip and can buy another one without adding extra weight to your carry on will make you a believer. - Vinny
I love to have one but it's still too pricey. In the mean time, my iPhone running textreader works great as an ebook reader. - Inksim
i've been trying one out. product works great, i just can't justify the price (and am a constant reader). $10/book > used prices. - Jeremy Toeman
I would like to get a Kindle, but I have questions about being able to read/order top-selling Japanese books on one. Can I? - Vince DeGeorge
Don't you think the new iPhone store will have a book reader app. I can't see spending the $ on a dedicated device. I've even used MobiPocket on my BlackBerry and it's not bad. The iPhone/iTouch would be perfect. - Kevin Shannon
I wish the design was more like the Sony reader and we would be good to go... I hate the looks of the Kindle - Robert
Get it. I would do the same if there was native PDF support. Need it for journal articles. - jeremy franklin
I want this thing too, but I'm convinced that as soon as I buy, v2 will come out with better graphics, better button placement and a more comfortable form factor. I just can't pull the trigger at $350. $199? I'd have one. - BISQ
Get the Kindle, it is legit as an e-book reader and really does work well. - Tony
With BISQ on this one - $399 seems a bit too much. $249 or even $199 would help me make the leap. That said, as a writer, I LOVE LOVE LOVE books (it's SO hard for me to part with them) so the intangibleness of the Kindle is actually what's holding me back more. - Aubrey Sabala
When more PC/Mac/Development related books are published with Kindle editions I'll be hoping on the bandwagon. - Michael Narciso
I own 2 because one is always lent out. I recommend one if you purchase books often. My 2 paid for themselves in the discounts. - LPH
I would wait for something a little more book-ish. Maybe a flexible screen or at least something with side-by-side viewing. Also I'm a bit biased toward Audible, so I do very little book reading anymore. (In the words of Calacanis, "Lo-o-o-ove Audible...") - StephenTorrence
I'd have to see how it would hold up after a 4 hour reading session. - John Storer II via twhirl
I'm thinking there must be a better ereader around the corner... - Charlie
Yeah, I wish there was something as open as the Kindle (unlike the eReader) but with the slick design that I so crave... le sigh. - Veronica
I want a kindle but i'm going to wait till the next generation - Justin
ps by ereader I mean any electronic reader, not a particular brand - Charlie via twhirl
With all the blackout's I've been having, I'm waiting until one has a backlight option. I like that it doesn't use one by default, but I want a light for some situations. - FiZ
Why not wait till the app store opens and see if there is a decent reader for the iphone? - Chris Kuhner
Oh god, I couldn't imagine reading anything extensively on the iPhone. - John Barker
@Chris Kuhner reading on the iPhone is definitely not ideal. The screen isn't quite large enough to be comfortable for reading and the bright screen is an eye sore for long reading sessions. Plus the battery life is not very good. - Michael Narciso
What would be really cool on an e-reader: you're reading something technical (because it's current, gets revised every few weeks, and you don't want to waste paper). You see a mistake, or item that needs clarification. You mark it with a stylus or your finger and hit a button to send it immediately to an errata collection online. When you get the next update, the author has incorporated your feedback. It took you 15 seconds of effort. - Charlie via twhirl
I guess some people really do like the Kindle. It surprises me. Maybe we are close to the Kindle II release. Spies, where are you? - MattJhsn
I've been meaning to blog a review but probably never will, so here's probably my only statement on it. The way I talked myself into buying a Kindle after a day's agonizing or so recently: realizing that with the lifetime wireless service it makes a great gift. So that I could give it to my mom if I upgrade or stop using it one day. The fact is, though, within a week of having one, my wife wanted one, and most of my friends did, too. There's a 30-day free return: try it? - Timothy Shey
Kindle is good.But can never be a substitute 4 u sitiing in front of the fire with a some java and a good paper bound book in hand. - Arjun
If Scoble didn't fold like a disposable table cloth when Technigga came out, no one would think they could bully people into disavowing connections with 1938 Media. - Vinny
Scoble isn't a "go to bat for you kind of guy" and he certainly isn't a manager or whatever his title is at FastCompany. He's just Scoble a video guy. Now if he did indeed go about getting Feldman fired from PodTech, then that just makes him just a jerk. - Tony Kanzia
He's a piece of garbage who's over compensating for the fact that he had no friends in high school. - Vinny
Its not whether we agree or disagree but who is next tomorrow - Fred Grott
Dude, 3 mil. Man, those guys are some kinda powerful. - Frank Roche
I like how he talked about the "racist videos" being "removed from the service." The only video in question, the Technigga series, was NEVER ON THE SERVICE IN THE FIRST PLACE. - Vinny
That's what gets me--all of the dumbasses that don't know what they are talking about, and apparently not interested in learning the facts. - Andrew Jecklin
You have got to love the ignorant when they get on their soapboxes. No facts, just complaints. - Tony Kanzia
man, that's Sharpton's and Jesse Jackson's whole schtick. - Matt Wybiral
I hadn't seen the Tech Nigga video until today, and I must say...it was pure genius. Truly I wish there were a series of them. It's sad that everyone's taking it so poorly. - Zach Underwood
.... if you want to push the envelope you've got to be prepared to get pushed back. That simple. - Jason Calacanis via Bookmarklet
Except that he didn't get pushed back, he got yanked because some loudmouthed "activists" were tipped off that a video he did a year ago wasn't appropriate. This wasn't some case of legitimate outrage, it's a shakedown on a mobile carrier without a pair of testicles. - Vinny
I wish I had the cash. I'd sponsor him in a second. - Vinny
I simply do not understand why people think it's Verizon's job to uphold this guy's right to free speech on their network. They are a damn cell-phone company for God's sake. - Rahsheen Porter
Pay attention, Rahsheen. The only reason they yanked the show is because they were strongarmed into doing so, not because they disagreed with the content. That's the egregious part. - Vinny
You'll pay top-dollar for the tenderloin of sacred cows. - Christopher Harley
No, they were yanked because someone brought the video to Verizon's attention. There was no strong arming. I promise you that Verizon did not review the video and then decide to sign the agreement. - Russell Holliman
No, they were yanked because a wanna be Farakhan and his nation of Islam clone decided it was offensive and threatened a boycott. That's strongarming. They threatened a boycott to get their whiny little way. - Vinny
wait reviewing a video that was never to air on their service in the first place? Sounds like back channel play to me - Fred Grott
@vinny those videos were over the top, and I agree with Jason, if you are willing to push the envelope, there's an implicit risk in that. I think the videos are right on the line if not over it myself, so I am not surprised at all with the decision. Just because Loren isn't risk averse doesn't mean Verizon shouldn't be. - Clay Newton
as was stated in a different thread, it sure doesn't take very long for people's true colors to show. we get it vinny, you don't like like loudmouth activist whiners. i'm sure they don't care for people like you in return. - Cee Bee
@clay: I wouldn't care about the decision if Verizon wasn't threatened into making it. - Vinny
@cee bee: What, exactly, are my true colors? Oh, I get it. I'm just a racist, right? - Vinny
What is really sad for me is that most of the reporting around this was wrong on facts - Dennis Howlett via twhirl
i wrote about offensive content aligned with brands - in my case i used facebook's ads. imagine an ad where you're asked if you "wanna bang cindy mccain?" or even worse, michelle obama. http://is.gd/NCr - brands have to be careful to police this sort of thing. an offensive ad or a video aligned with a corporate brand can be a bad thing. so, if you use the word "nigger", or variations of it, and you're not a black person, you'll get attacked by pc america. we're not surprised here, right? - Wolfsbayne
nah, i'm not labeling you as racist, because you haven't said anything outright to earn that label yet, but you do seem to take offense with people who have an earnest gripe over this situation by casting them off as "loudmouth activists" or whiny reactionaries. i don't believe you get the message if you think they're the only ones who can possibly be offended by such a video. - Cee Bee
Except that I didn't say that. I'm specifically talking about the organization that put the pressure on Verizon. That's it. Period. There's no message to get. They live on being outraged and strongarmed Verizon. This isn't about people being offended, it's about pandering to groups like them so as to not make people feel bad. - Vinny
oh so the video made by that clown has nothing to do with people being offended? all that is beside the point and inconsequential? if it wasn't for groups such as that one speaking out on behalf of others, i doubt much would have been brought to light because those individuals who would have and do complain are and will also be viewed as nothing more than "loudmouths" and "pc" bullies. - Cee Bee
I have two things to say about the N word. 1, It has power because we let it offend us. Otherwise it's just air passing the lips. 2, There are words just as hurtful and hateful that we use all the time and the general public is ok with in terms of comedy and commentary. One specific example would be fat-a$$. Words like these crush just as many people, only overweight people don't have groups like the NAACP or NOW to take up their cause. - Brian Norwood
At what point can we get away from the strawman defense? If someone or organization is behind this... who? - Evo Terra via twhirl
Vinny, Verizon is a business and if they don't feel like paying some guy to distribute his content, that's their choice. End of story. - Eric Eldon
Eric, you like many others have beaten that quote into the ground. No shit sherlock. Verizon is a business. As hard as that is to comprehend and even though you took all your brain cells to work it out, I figured it out too. The problem is that Verizon didn't have a problem with Feldman, and the offending clips were never part of Vcast to begin with. Verizon was perfectly happy until they started getting organized threats from Mr. "I wanna be Farakhan." They were strongarmed into it. - Vinny
Vinny, why don't you go organize your own protest that encourages Verizon to be less influenced by people you disagree with? If Verizon can be convinced that growing a spine is worth it, after all, they will. I'm also curious why you're so angry about this particular issue. Seems like you have some deep-seated issues here, judging by the torrent of vitriol coming out of you. - Eric Eldon
Vinny, judging from your Twitter feed, this isn't just about you defending your friend. I also don't get why you're insulting me. I'm pretty sure we don't know each other at all. - Eric Eldon
Vinny disagrees = vitriol ; Others agree = PC enlightenment - William, CPU Media
Look guys, I have a thick skin so I don't really care what you try to label me as, but I do like understanding what the issues actually are. From the start of this whole thing, all I've said is that Verizon was well within its rights to yank Feldman, if that's what they want to do. I can be convinced otherwise -- I'll totally defend Feldman's rights to publish whatever he wants on his own blog. - Eric Eldon
Un-effing real. She seems pretty proud of herself too. The true laugh is her author bio pic from the site... http://shegeeks.net/about/ Doesn't look that far off from the Technigga video. - Vinny
She feels so entitled that she thinks her opinion is more important that those Verizon wireless customers that want to watch Loren's videos. It's like TV, if you don't like something turn the channel. If you don't like Loren's brand of satire, don't view his videos. - Tony Kanzia
Just once I'd like to see a media outlet (including radio or television) stand up to "activists" and tell them to just fuck off and do their stupid protest. Instead, they hear the word protest, and no matter how little the complainers can do, they panic and submit. Cowards. - Vinny
Ridiculous. I've seen very similar type comedic bits and worse on Saturday Night Live, MadTV and Howard Stern. Loren joins the ranks of stars like Ashanti, R. Kelly and Paris Hilton, who've been protested by Project Islamic Hope. These are the thanks you get when you try to bring edgy, new media content to companies like CNet and Verizon. - Rob Safuto
I'm sorry, but the clip they showed on KNBC wasn't the most forward thinking piece. Ho-Trackr? You've got to be kidding. There are plenty of funny ways to address race and the Internet, but this isn't one of them. - blackmailismylife
I love that Arrington is suggesting that Israel or Winer might be behind this. Weren't their conspiracy theories a laugh? - blackmailismylife
Forward-thinking? You're a fucking idiot because only fucking idiots use terms like "forward-thinking." Usually fucking idiots that are grossly self-important. - Vinny
I am so sick and tired of all the Political Correctness bs in this country. It makes me sick that Verizon would cave to a bunch of people with too much time on their hands and no jobs over a video from a year ago. - Tony Kanzia
It amuses me no end that all the gangsta rap on the VCast music store is staying put, but Loren's shit is off. Verizon is a bunch of hypocrites and I will no longer do business with them. Period. - Vinny
@Vincent Ferrari I thought idiots were people who spazzed out on the Internet over stuff like this. I guess it's impossible to think that Loren's video could be considered objectionable by anyone, even though he himself admitted that it may have been a bit over the top. - blackmailismylife
You weren't talking about that, shit for brains. You were talking about it being forward-thinking. - Vinny
There's a huge double standard in society that's been going on for years. Little guys make easy prey for media opportunists. I went to a Catholic University that committed the sin of calling our basketball team the Red Men. Protests by "activist groups" forced the University to change the name to Red Storm. Meanwhile, the Atlanta Braves, Chicago BlackHawks and many other pro sports teams escape scrutiny due to their much superior financial means which allows them to fight threats of frivolous legal action. - Rob Safuto
now now we need both pseudonyms and spastics for that web 2 hype machine :) - Fred Grott
Vinny, you must be the bravest man on the Internet. May you crush the vengeful PC scourge that has so wronged you this morning. - blackmailismylife
harsh. Do advertisers avoid Comedy Central for the stuff that South Park do? (http://www.southparkstudios.co...) - Possibly. It's their prerogative. One man's comedy is another man's offence. - kosso
In this case, political correctness seems to be a euphemism for cowardice. - Donna Mugavero
Oh no! Not a boycott! Save us! Please, don't hurt anyone's feelings! I hate Verizon more than I hate the rabble rousing pieces of crap that got this thing done. - Vinny
That sounds like something from "Little Brother" - Harvey Simmons
need to add tags... "whatcouldpossiblygowrong" - Andy Burns
I've got the script for a TV movie of this in my mind ever since I read it... The TSA implements 'neck collars' for that 'shock and awe morning fresh feeling' - the terrorists infiltrate by getting one of their own on the crew... she puts a gun cleverly hidden in the plane's bathroom to the head of one of the other crew members after sending a shock to all of the passengers immobilizing them... then forces the rest of the crew to put on 'collars' themselves... well - you know where it goes, why continue.. lol - Lucretia Pruitt
What I didn't even mention in the article is what *if* terrorists managed to hack the system and disable the entire plane? - Aaron Brazell
Why is this news? They already treat us like cattle at the airport, so why not put in magical electric fences to keep us from running into the road? - Vinny
@technosailor u shld no by now that "if' arguments are only used to support the implementation of such things - not oppose ; ) - Marco
Andromeda, as if this will be an airline decision. If it comes into play, it will be a federal regulation. Don't expect to fly anywhere if you're going to boycott. And don't expect the creeping lunacy to stay within the airline industry. - Aaron Brazell
the pattern of http://www.fastcompany.tv/work... in general seems to be "here's the guest, but lets talk crap for a couple minutes first". from a marketing perspective who ARE SAP after with this sponsorship ? - martin english
A good counter-example is BMW's sponsoring TED Talks. - Ole Begemann
Martin: SAP is after small and medium businesses. The "let's talk for a couple minutes first" format is going to change, though. David Allen will be on next week, and he's very influential in the markets they want to reach. - Robert Scoble
But SAP is for heavy industries, very powerful and expensive, we had SAP for "poor people" MS Navision, but still expensive (hours and hours of consulting work to customize it to every client). - Mário Pires
Mario: most of SAP's growth comes from small and medium sized businesses. This is a show about how the Internet is changing how work is done. Fits right into what kind of market they are trying to reach. - Robert Scoble
SAP's model of over pricing and under delivering will never work in the SMB market. Frankly, it's only because of the state of enterprise IT that they've been able to exist at that level. SMB won't have the patience to put up with it. - Kevin Cearns
Robert, if I was attempting to reach a new market that I am just getting into as a company would not the first 3 sentences in a video show be abut my firm and how it can serve that market? - Fred Grott
Ole and Fred: fair enough. We've been at this a month and are still trying to figure out what works. Thanks for the feedback. Luckily we have a sponsor who is willing to help us get started and see if we can make a quality show and get an audience that'll be loyal. So far we're ahead of the market in doing a show about the future of work, and we'll work to get the quality up. - Robert Scoble
I find it quite good that SAP is sponsoring WorkFast.TV! There certainly is a fit as SAP is moving towards Web 2.0 (and Enterprise 2.0). Of course showing silly cups with huge logos on them is not very creative. What about a person from SAP joining the conversation on the set? That would be really 2.0... - Matthias Schwenk
Fred: keep watching, we'll improve both the show's content and SAP's presence on the show. - Robert Scoble
Robert, i was not aware of that, probably because in here just big enterprises use it. - Mário Pires
Lets see, first 3 sentences: SAP provides software that helps both large and small businesses manage and innovate their business and supply relationships to lower costs and bring more services to their business relationship partners...obviously it has to be jazzed up advertising wise but that is a start - Fred Grott
"We'll improve both the show's content blah blah blah blah." You would think that improvements would've come already after you showed your buddy the door for his shit GNTV. Now you're doing this workfast bomb and it's unwatchable, forced, and fake (and btw, the off-the-rack suit and stickered laptop make you look like an idiot) and NOW you're saying it's going to get better? What, is Shel gonna suddenly get camera presence and you stop cackling like a retard? - Vinny
I love Shel's cue cards. He's constantly looking down at them before speaking. - Rob Safuto
@Robert: I'm all for giving people a chance and I'm all for trying new things but that show was unwatchable. As a blogger with close ties to SAP, it was embarrassing. If you want to know where SAP growth comes from, read the 10K-Qs. It's dangerous to talk about people influential an any market. There are MANY influence points. - Dennis Howlett via twhirl
This might be one area where MSM could actually help out consulting. Hard to utter that, but true I think. - phil baumann
Robert, keep cranking away and focus on incremental improvement. - Mike Doeff
take advantage of the situation, start a "buy scott a line of new canon gear" fund. Then you can have two lines for the price of one! - Tom Veatch
@Tom Veatch now THAT would be funny - but would probably cause MORE death threats :) - ScottBourne
I am sure that there are interesting psychological case studies on why morons act in this way. Could be part of TWIP podcast?? we have all come across these "photographers" who walk a fine line between fanaticism and dementia!! - Mel.Buckpitt
You have to be kidding! Although seeing the effect of anonymous cowards on my blog it wouldn't surprise me. I'm sure Shakespeare changed 'that pen' from time to time. - Stuart Forsyth
Damn, I never got my life threatened, even during early Mac. vs PC wars. For those who don't know, Scott Bourne is one of the guys who runs This Week in Photography, a very popular (and good) podcast for photographers. - Robert Scoble
Out of curiosity, what camera did you switch from and what are you now using? - Scott Jarkoff
Scott: he switched from a Canon 5D to a Nikon D3. - Robert Scoble
You've GOT to be kidding! People need to get a life! Hey just don't switch computer platforms, the lunatics will come out of the woodwork after you. ;-) - Jeff P. Henderson
That would pretty good actually. I hope they can integrate it into twitter experience, and make it part of their api as well - Shivanand Velmurugan via twhirl
well, they have to get code that works from somewhere. - Slobokan
I think it would be a smart move for them. - Alan Le
I hope not... Summize is great as it is. - Chris Thomson
Considering the email I got from Twitter's help dept. promoted Summize, I'm not surprised. - Erin Kotecki Vest
"I for one welcome our Twitter-Summize overlords." - Joe D'Andrea
Did anyone notice that Summize recently added translation links & language filters? Summize is a VERY well done webapp if you ask me. - Brian Daniel Eisenberg
Buy Summize? Why don't they just integrate the Summize API into Twitter - Just Kidding - Could be a good thing! - Eric Cedo
One company with no revenue buys another company with no revenue and whose existence depends on the first company? Why couldn't Twitter add the main Summize feature set in a few weeks if they could get their act together? - David Fry
valuations? I'm shorting Summize if this happens... - ryangraves
Summize would be doomed by being bought out... At least right now, they have the option of expanding to other networks such as friend feed, and brightkite, if they really wanted to! - Joel
They have to spend their money on something and they sure as hell aren't spending it on infrastructure at the moment. - Adam Helweh
I was thinking about that ever since I started using Summize... it makes perfect sense... - Manos Matsakis
They'd better buy Oracle technology for scalability! - Eric Sausse
I hope they buy up a few of the best apps that have been developed over the last year. They need to innovate, and it's people outside of Twitter who are developing the coolest stuff. Hopefully those people can help them integrate functionality into the site and bring new ideas! - Hillary Hartley
this is smart for twitter, but generally bad for summize -- although I don't think any of those guys are really high profile and a win like this would work in their favor if they were sick of swinging for the fences. Interesting to see how it plays out. - Tyler Willis
We'll need to think up new animals/concepts to signify the eventual 'Fail'
*I'm thinking of photoshopping up a chalkboard with an incorrect calculation* - Jake Fudge
They should just buy friendfeed instead... - Colin Brumelle
they'll buy a service that does what they claim to be able to do... smart.. - Absalon Isaac Prieto
this makes it interesting and open for someone else to potentially come in a build a summize-like search across the other networks like brightkite, plurk, friendfeed etc. - Brandon Zeuner
"He’s a martial arts expert, web celebrity, podcaster, insomniac – and he is trying to develop a search engine to tempt people away from Google. The latter, of course, is no mean feat. It’s a five-year plan and Jason Calacanis is one year into his journey. When one hears of a start-up trying to take on the behemoth of search, Google, a little scepticism is to be expected. But when you talk to Calacanis, you think that maybe, just maybe, he might even pull it off." - Jason Calacanis via Bookmarklet
Very nice, but no apologies for self promotion! - David
Nice. I don't think (personally) Mahalo is a Google killer. I use both search engines and, both for different purposes. I could definitely see people using the two of them together. - Candace Holly
agree... we're not trying to kill google. we're trying to work with google, get ranked as one of the top 20 pages for a LARGE number of topics.... we're more like the wikipedia with trusted links. - Jason Calacanis
I find myself using Mahalo when I want more in-depth info on current things and Google if I know what I'm looking for specifically. Mahalo has turned, in my mind, from an also-ran silly idea to a great resource that I use very often. Not kissing ass, just telling it like it is. I'll be the first to eat crow on it. I thought it would fail, and now I'm using it all the time. - Vinny
mahalo was awesome as a GTA4 guide... even after the videos got taken down... though dear god those video walk throughs were invaluable. I would pay a (small) fee for them. - Stefan Hayden
Vincent Ferrari: if you're using it like that you've had your "mahalo moment" -- the moment when you realized the value of scanable wikipedia page + curated results. - Jason Calacanis
what's wrong with frikkin' self promotion .. .you all really think Jason should wait for someone else to do his promotion of Mahalo for him? lmao ... pathetic - JohnBfromMemphis
The interaction between these great "friends" is so forced and fake you have to wonder if they've ever spoken to each other aside from IM. It's really painful to watch. - Vinny
"...work as little as you can..." Fucking great. Welcome to America. - Robert Bruce
I like the way that Scoble was grooving to the opening jingle at the start. - William, CPU Media
I just cringed when I saw it. How much silly "banter" can there be before they show the guest? That's worse than public access TV...hey, SAP, how's the sponsor money working out? - Frank Roche
i like the "dressed for success" version of Scoble... and how can you not love the fact that he is actually taking the 30 seconds to introduce the guest... as opposed to showing up and saying "uhhh... who are you!??!" Scoble is taking it to t he next level. - Jason Calacanis
actually, it was your "technigga" video that was the truly uncomfortable thing to have to sit through. http://blip.tv/file/326972/ - Cee Bee
@Frank: Isn't banter usually a bit more fluid and organic, though? This is like "banter from a cuecard." - Vinny
"WHO ARE YOU??" makes me wince every time. - Ian Linkletter
@vincent You're right...that was so strained it was crazy. Scoble was trying to redirect to the interview, but Shel was trying to do some Inside Baseball kind of thing. Very, very uncomfortable. They really don't interact with each other in an authentic way. I don't get why Scoble just doesn't do it himself. - Frank Roche
Robert does well in a sit. Just not that green one. - Andrew Feinberg
Shel Israel is constantly looking down at cue cards while on camera. I noticed this during beginning of the previous video. The man does not have any kind of comfort level in front of the camera. - Rob Safuto
Something else very weird in this video. The interviewee is sitting right there next to Robert and Shel. In the first few minutes after they show you Tim Ferriss, Scoble and Shel act like Tim is not there. Very weird technique. - Rob Safuto
The whole thing is surreal. Literally surreal. Are we the only ones who see this stuff? Talking about no budget, the forced banter, I mean isnt this shit obvious to people? I swear to g-d I feel like im going insane when I watch this shit. - loren Feldman
I wonder, day after day, if anyone at Fast Company is watching this drivel and going "Wow... We really got our money's worth. These guys are gold!" - Vinny
Good backgrounds are deep, go out to the park or sit in front of a big window or have a landmark in the background. Even an unobtrusive chunky pattern would help. Find a film/TV student set up a proper three camera shoot for you. Take off the tie and put the damn laptop away. Don't just sit face-on to the camera. Get a bigger table or some armchairs. It all feels tight and constricted. Let the guest introduce himself, he's the most interesting person there. Then buy my 'better TV' ebook for $399, j/k. - sergiooooooo
I just embraced the video in all its cringeworthy glory. Maybe they should give up this FastCompany thing and advise the cast of The Office. This is what would happen if Michael Scott and Dwight Shrute hosted a public access show. - blackmailismylife
@blackmailismylife LOL, it does have the vibe. You just can't write that kind of uncomfortable...the reference to Playboy pictures, Shel looking straight at the camera and saying "What Robert means is, on our budget, we need something for free." WTF? Is this Tourette's Theatre? - Frank Roche
Shel just needs to stop waving his freaking arms around like a south-bound peacock going north... - Andru Edwards
This is amazing... at least the first 4 minutes before they let Tim speak. I predict a massive spike in viewers if this intensity can be maintained. A new award category might need to be created. Is there a link to invest? - Jay Cuthrell
Maybe SAP is just following the "There's no such thing as bad publicity." moniker. - Robert Chute
I cannot watch this entire thing because then I'd be forced to bill FastCompany for the time they stole from my life. The suit and tie would be fine if there were any gravitas to hold it up. Is anyone else amazed that the interviewee spoke for 2 seconds at 3:32 and wasn't actually being interviewed until 5:07 into this farce? Anything else I want to say, everyone here already has. Setting a new low for deplorable, - Donna Mugavero
Why would anyone go onto such a poorly produced show? - Dennis Howlett
Dork and Dorkier. It's like Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon gone horribly wrong. Hi, I'm Robert, and this is my pet monkey Shel. Two minutes in and I feel really sorry for Tim Ferris. I'm surprised he didn't make a run for the door. Terrible, just terrible. - Tony Kanzia
does it get any better after the first 4 minutes? -- that's as much time as I could put into it - Pete Delucchi
Loren, are you really commenting on Scoble's tie while your career is going down the tubes? - Jay Tannenbaum
I would be flattered if someone liked my images enough to download for their personal use. However, I'd be irate if some company took my images and sold them for their own profit.. - Becca
But the question is ought it be Flickr's job to try to design their system and police those who use their API? Should flickr be required to monitor every single API key for copyright enforcement? Some use the API for personal tools, others use it for commercial purposes. My own feeling is that Flickr should not have to play the role of copyright police -- that misuse of imagery ought to be between a photographer and the offending party. - Thomas Hawk
I'm not familiar with Flickr's API, but I imagine it's pretty easy to retrieve the license data for each image. If so, the responsibility rests solely on the API consumer to make sure what they're doing with the images is legit. I suppose if Flickr really wanted to be proactive about it, they could provide a "Don't expose my images through the API" option. No one would ever see those pictures again, but at least the copyright would be slightly more secure. - James Williams (willia4)
James, Flickr already has a way for users to opt out of the API if they want. If people are that concerned about misuse then I think it is their responsibility to opt out, not Flickr's responsibility to play copyright police. You can opt in/out of the API on Flickr here: http://www.flickr.com/account/... - Thomas Hawk
Ok. Then I don't understand the problem. Flickr's already giving their users the the tools to keep their photos from showing up in random API places. There's nothing to see here. Move along. - James Williams (willia4)
Becca, this is the whole point of this discussion. If you tag your images with a specific copyright, legally that should be honored by all who want to use that image. - Jeff P. Henderson
I'd be interested to know if policing the use of the API changes Flickr's liability in regard to safe harbor? Do they move from being not responsible for how people may misuse copyright of photos that happen to be hosted on Flickr, to being liable for that misuse? If they do, I can see why they would not get involved with policing the API - Mike McBride
Right, flickr gives you both the option to block your images from external search and API, and the option to allow the programs *you want* to access your files through your API key, I don't see a big issue aside from the fact that those options aren't made more clear to new users and/or asking users to set them as part of the setup process. On top of that, you can choose who can/cannot see certain sized files of yours. All the tools are in place, it's whether/how you use them or not. - cmiper
I don't think that Flickr should have to play copyright police and monitor all usage for their API for violation, and the courts would most likely uphold this as they have with ISP's liability for people distributing copyrighted music over their networks. But it seems that they might be able to rewrite the API to plug the holes or make it easier for programmers to abide by the rules. This might fall under the category of being a good citizen on the net. - Jeff P. Henderson
Flickr is just horrific with its users and very cavalier with their photos. Completely disrespectful imho. - Vinny
@cmiper That is good information. I will look into how this all works. It is definitely not clear to most users that they have an option to control how their images are seen/used and by whom. If this is the case then Jim's original issue is really a non issue, and he just need to configure Flicker to function to meet his copyright needs. - Jeff P. Henderson
Part of the problem Jeff might be that Jim doesn't want to totally opt out of the API. For instance. He might enjoy that people can see his photos in PicLens or Flickrleech or other apps (or maybe not), but wants to restrict it to other companies. Much of the API use is not dependent on individual permission given to approved apps. Still, I think if it matters that much to someone that they should just opt out entirely. - Thomas Hawk
An API white-list doesn't seem like it'd be worth implementing. I'm sure the VAST majority of Flickr's users wouldn't ever use it, if only because most of us (myself included) just don't take very good or interesting pictures. I'm not really worried about someone stealing the snapshot I made of my mom's dog, after all. If I really cared, I'd get my pics off flickr and on to my own server and do white-listing with .htaccess files. Not that anyone would go to the trouble of accessing my site then. - James Williams (willia4)
I just don't understand why those who have their photos marked All Rights Reserved don't get their photos removed from any API apps by default. Seems like common sense to me. I don't think it's asking them to be copyright police by simply telling them "Hey, if that photo has this license, keep it to yourself." If they aren't going to honor the licenses in the first place, why give people the ability to set them at all? - Vinny
Thomas, I think you left out some key information. Flickr allows you to mark your photos as to whether you're willing to share them or not, but the API disregards that information. While you may be perfectly willing to let someone else profit from your photos, others may not. My view follows what Becca wrote. If Flickr's API followed the same rules as it sets for a person viewing photos on their site, this would not be an issue. That's the key issue as I see it. - William Beem
@James - Why should I have to deactivate a useful feature just because one vendor broke the rules? Perhaps I want to use BigHugeLabs.com or Moo.com to access my Flickr photos and provide a service, but I don't want them sold without providing me any notice or income. I don't like being used. - William Beem
William, see my comment above, you have to OPT IN to use those services, which you do through YOUR API key. Blocking unauthorized access through API/search does not affect this. - cmiper
@William - Why should Flickr have to spend development, QA, localization, maintenance, and documentation resources implementing an API white-list feature because one vendor broke the rules? And why would anyone put their pictures on the Internet if they really cared about people copying them? Once it's on the Internet, that's it. Game over. It's going to be copied and shared and ripped-off if it's any good. Period. I just don't see how this is Flickr's responsibility. - James Williams (willia4)
It is flickr's responsibility because they allow you to set a license on your photos and then they just choose to ignore them in the API. That's 100% on them. - Vinny
So...you would be perfectly happy if they just removed the license information? ::shrugs:: I'd rather they didn't, personally. - James Williams (willia4)
Well, really, what good is it if they don't do anything with it? It would be trivial for them to not pass photos with certain licenses out through the API. Why not just do it? - Vinny
Unbelievable! Why should Flickr make it's own API follow its own rules? I'm stunned that you would even ask that question. This isn't so much about Flickr being a copyright cop as it is about Flickr being consistent between its presentation and its API. - William Beem
If you folks would click on "Show XX more comments" above, you would see that you can OPT OUT of access to your photos through the API except for third party apps that you authorize to have access to them. The tools are there, if you don't use them then they are useless. - cmiper
Why should people not have the benefit of the Flickr API just because someone abuses it? That's just punishing the people who don't abuse it because of the actions of a handful who do. - Ian Betteridge via twhirl
What if I don't want to block ALL my photos? Again, this is why they give you granularity with licensing; so you can license photos as you see fit. They have the mechanism in place to do this already and just choose not to use it. Truth is, they don't care, never have, and never will, about their users. - Vinny
The API is just a data layer. It's not supposed to follow the rules of the presentation layer. That's why the API lets people do so many cool things: by not having the restrictions of the web page. This is just another one of those things; it seems to be the only one anyone's up in arms about. And I can't see a good solution that wouldn't also remove the desired functionality of sites like moo.com. So...what's the better idea? - James Williams (willia4)
If they can allow you to opt out of the API entirely, they can allow certain licenses to not appear in the API. It really is that simple. - Vinny
The "better idea" is to improve the API. - William Beem
So just because I don't mark my picture as CC, I'm not allowed to make a Moo card with it? See, if they did THAT, I'd agree that they obviously don't care about their users. - James Williams (willia4)
I think it would be handy if Flickr would provide me the ability to see who accesses my photos through the API and how the photos are used. That way policing my copyrights is in my hands and not in the hands of some programming logic. Don't forget that Flickr was designed to share and distribute images widely. Don't be surprised when they get out. If you that concerned with protecting you work, use PhotoShelter or similar service that is designed for controlled distribution instead of Flickr. - Aaron Schaub via fftogo
If Flickr API allows others to sell your photos when you dont want them to, Flickr sh
