The NAA (National Association of Newspapers) has revealed that newspaper ad revenues are off 9.4% to $42 Billion in 2007 vs. 2006. That’s a huge number, even for the sinking fortunes of print media. And one we’ll surely eclipse when the next round of figures are released next year. I have worked with newspapers for years, and frankly, I don’t often pick them up looking for ad info anymore. If I want to look at used boats, I go to…
Like almost every one of you, I get a regular “Apple Software Update” due to my ITunes installation. I got a little surprise today when the Apple update said it had Safari ready to install. Safari? On my PC? What’s next, dogs and cats living together in peace and harmony? Normally, I’d start off railing about this. I hate it when software update functions, which I generally consider intrusive and unnecessary, try to install software other than that which they…
My parents first date was a Dave Brubeck Concert at my dad’s frat at UPenn – they sat under his piano. I got to tell the story to Dave many years later when I met him in Burlington, VT.
Computerworld has an interesting article up masticating on the notion of what the laptop may look like 7 years down the road. The article, entitled “Hello, gorgeous! Meet the laptop you’ll use in 2015” has some rather interesting feature ideas, such as the keyboard superimposed over the screen. Very interesting, very compelling, but I think that touch screens have always lacked one crucial item: tacticle response. I might be able to get used to typing on a keyboard like that,…
Who’d have thunk it? An article in Wired Magazine entitled “Algorithms Are Terrific. But to Search Smarter, Find a Person.” notices the growing trend of search firms using real meat-space residents to fine tune their results rather than relying on algorithms. The dirty little secret: algorithms can be gamed while humans are tougher to fool. Personally, I’ve been using Mahalo, Jason Calacanis’ new company and I am really liking what I see. The results are pertinent, and spam/splogger free. Give…
Read his post here… A quick taste: The question comes down to Long Tail economics in a mass audience world. How can a small, but strong “niche” site, get paid for its pageviews without assuming the massive cost structure of its own salesforce and ad ops team? How can a mass site move its unsold remainder inventory without devaluing itself? Egads, the truth shall walk up and punch you in the kidneys… I’m on the bandwagon, once you start running…
Okay, as a forum administrator, my initial response was to say “Well, gee, of course it is…” but then I realized that not everyone else might recognize this. News.com.au is reporting that an article in the current American Journal of Psychiatry “has found addiction to text messaging and emailing could be another form of mental illness.” Any of us who have suffered the slings and arrows of an online community malcontent know what it’s like. You get email after email…
Yech, the University of Pennsylvania is recommending students and faculty stay away from Vista SP1, which is something I guess we should all consider. The problem is, there are some heinous deficientcies in Vista which many of us are hoping SP1 will solve, including: Utterly slow file moves – simply moving a file or folder on you computer can take 20 or 30 minutes. A dog slow file compression system which is also prone to error. This weekend I downloaded…
…with a new blog. I’m now working as Senior Developer for Premium Websites at NameMedia, Inc. and since I’m not working with Vario Creative anymore, I really couldn’t continue to blog there. I wish Jill the best, but I found over time the little issues of working on my own, such as not knowing how much (if any) cash was coming in the door, whether or not I’d be able to afford health insurance (as often as not, the answer…
(a reference to seminal rock comedy classic This is Spinal Tap) In 1897, the great state of