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Watching time, the only true currency // A journal from John B. Roberts

  • Even better than the real thing: Gmaps Pedometer

    Gmaps Pedometer is the coolest tool I’ve seen in a while. Focused on a small task, the Pedometer delivers a better-than-real-world experience. And my running commute is 3.263935141910354 miles long. New feature idea: allow me to plug in a time for the distance travelled, and spit out a pace. That’s more interesting than a calorie…

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  • The right audio player for listening to Windows Media encoded audiobooks

    Thanks to James Kim, I was able to pass along a useful recommendation to my mom about technology. The narrow limits of my expertise were quickly exposed when trying to help her pick the right digital audio player for listening to audiobooks which can be borrowed from her local library. Here is what I asked…

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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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