Year: 2005
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I’ve been called worse
I don’t even try to follow ego feeds for John Roberts anymore (thanks to the Supreme Court), so I missed when Steve Gillmor called my response to Steve Rubel a new form of spam, based on my presumed status as an “incumbent.” Last I checked, CNET News.com wasn’t even nine years old yet. Whatever audience…
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Movie: Super Size Me
I can’t get the picture of the unchanged McDonald’s french fries in a glass jar out of my head. Unchanged… after weeks. That — and a renewed commitment to eating fresh, even when eating unhealthy — is the lasting legacy of watching Super Size Me last week. Every American should see this film. Be afraid,…
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Movie: Fantastic Four
It’s all about the comic book heroes come to life, isn’t it? Sony wishes they had a Spiderman movie every summer, and Marvel and Stan Lee are opening their archives as fast as they can. So I went with a brother-in-law to see Fantastic Four. Metacritic did not give the movie a great score. I’ve…
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Movie: Cool Hand Luke
While commuting on Metro North last month, I watched Cool Hand Luke on DVD. I’d had it out from Netflix for, oh, three months, so about time. I’ve heard some of the famous lines, so figured I had to see it for myself. I don’t know. I never was a rebel, so they aren’t heroes…
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Culture, from Shakespeare to Monty Python
Last month I enjoyed two different types of live theater in the space of three evenings. That’s approximately two-thirds of my annual live performances, squeezed into about 50 hours. First, the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival presented The Two Gentlemen of Verona. The classic tale is told with modern attire, and modern musical interludes amused me.…
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Readers want to find good writers, whereever they are
Steve Rubel checks the current tumult in the media environment, and suggested yesterday “Big Media, It’s Time to Go All Blog.” As a result, it is my belief that media companies that are heavily invested online need to consider going to an all-blog format. Social media is not an add-on. It’s not a feature. It’s…
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What’s a domain worth?
What’s a domain worth? A lot and a little, and never as much as you imagine. Yesterday, at work, I received an offer to buy a domain. (As a courtesy, I’m not going to mention the actual domain.) The suggested amount was extraordinary, especially for a domain which is too specific, and therefore limiting, in…
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If you love your customers, set them free
If a company is really going to gain the trust of customers, it must be prepared to offer the products and services of other companies, even of competitors. – John Hagel, Restoring the Power of Brands, July 12, 2005 Worth remembering, though especially difficult for original content/product companies to trust and enact. Of course, he…
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Movie: Batman Begins
I was looking forward to seeing Batman Begins. So was my wife, so during our recent vacation, we left the kids with family for an evening and caught this most recent tale of Gotham’s defender. None of the movies has really captured the aura of The Dark Knight, the graphic novel by Frank Miller. Still,…
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Book: The Teeth of the Tiger
Since I knew I would finish Calculating God on the flight, I bought Tom Clancy’s latest paperback, The Teeth of the Tiger. I think I’m caught up now with the Ryan novels, at least to date. This one, though, includes Jack Ryan, Jr., instead of his father. Guess it’s hard to do much with a…