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There’s even MOAR talk today about leaving  Twitter for other services.

The point that you hear so often is that people don’t leave Twitter because of the community, rather than staying for its tool set.

So of course, people suggest a move to Pownce or Friendfeed (or Jaiku if they need a nice three-item list).

But the surprise comes when you think about the fact that nobody’s talking about the splintering.

There isn’t going to ever be a mass exodus to one service.  Many will stay on Twitter, some will move to Pownce, some will move to Friendfeed, others will move to Jaiku, still others will tweet with Jabber or RSS, etc.

The reason people need to be more focused on the reconstruction is that this community will never again be rebuilt.

Microblogging will be forever fragmented and that, my friend, is what needs to be taken very seriously.

Remember how great Napster was?  That’s because everyone was on it.  Once the same pool was spread over five or six different p2p clients, things got harder to find.

It’s inevitable, but it’s not a splintering we should be quick to embrace.

 

New York City is a place of learning.  There are certain skills and trades one can learn here that are impossible to learn elsewhere.  Many of these require practice and rigorous training, while some come naturally once one makes the move and buys one  one’s first unlimited metrocard. Read the rest of this entry »

 

Netflix has been awesome all along, but now it is getting even more awesome.  Besides singlehandedly keeping the US Postal Service in business, their live streaming technology is finally available, and it is simple, affordable and easy!  All you do is hook up this little gadget to your computer, which will live stream all sorts of things- including new television shows.  my question is this:  What will motivate me to leave my apartment ever again?

The answer is: warm weather.  The only thing that can lift me from the confines of couch and or bed, is sunlight, chirping birds, and greenery.  Walking down the street with a cold beverage is alluring enough to stop watching the Office, but without the sun and nice weather, forget it.

Twitter’s going to be down tonight.

This would usually really piss me off, but this time they’re telling us about it ahead of time.

Still not a perfect Twitter by any means, but at least they’re keeping the conversation open this time, so I urge everyone to be a bit, erm, polite this time around.

 

Mark Evans caused a stir today and got a whole lot of links.

Good for him.

But he’s not going to overtake the top dogs.

Why?

Because the big dogs have jumped in and have already, six hours later, grabbed all the eyeballs in the debate.

Nobody cares about what B and C-listers have to say during weekday bitchmeme attempts.  They want to see how the top dogs respond.

I raise my glass to the ten or eleven page views this post will gather, and tip my hat to the top dogs.

This is a debate that will reverberate ad nauseum on the internet until, of course, something is done about it.

A majority of internet users believe that the services and software they use on the internet should be entirely free of charge. We know this, but what we also know is that this argument is a rapid-fire gut punch of incongruous logic that even a child could see straight through.

The argument is this: Everything I do on the internet is free. Because I say so, and because I don’t want to pay (this is usually said with a self-righteous shrug or an exquisite whine, if pushed).

And here’s the reality: I pay for every service and product I use in the offline world, and it doesn’t eat me up inside.

Let’s use Twitter as the obvious relevant example.

I pay for my cell phone. I pay extra for SMS. I paid for my computer. I pay for software updates. I pay for several of my email accounts. I pay for the hosting of this very blog (which is interesting in and of itself, that most of us are happy to pay for web hosting, for the sole fact that it has never been free). In essence, I pay a one-time, monthly, or per-use fee for every single product and service that Twitter provides or implements that I (the dunderfuck reader) expect to be free.

But you’re not going to find me making the case for business models or the idea that Twitter “deserves” my money. Frankly, I don’t give a shit.

What I do care about is how well the software I choose to use runs, how stable it is, and how much it benefits me overall.

Would I pay $5 a month to use Facebook? No. I personally wouldn’t.

Would I pay $5 a month to use Myspace? No. But my record label would likely foot that bill as Myspace is a platform we have been able to leverage to actually make more money off of my band’s account than Myspace makes from ads to host it.

Would I pay $5 a month to use Twitter? Abso-fucking-lutely. Why Twitter over Myspace or Facebook? Simply because I like it better and it does more for me every day. Nothing else.

Would I pay $5 a month to use Netflix? Yes. Duh. And is the fact that they actually mail me a tangible disc in a shoddy red envelope the real reason I choose to pay for this service? Of course not.

So there’s a few things going on here.

Read the rest of this entry »

Update 5/17/08 Two of the best photos so far posted at end of post

By now I assume the cat’s out of the bag, as keeping secrets this big usually doesn’t last long, so I’ll go ahead and offer some thoughts of tonight’s mission.

First, since this is my first blog on the topic, know that I am as die-hard a fan of Improv Everywhere as exists on the planet, and tonight was my second mission.

(The banner above features a picture of my sexy mug on the far left).

So let’s get down to it.

Tonight’s mission was the first to be carried out since the ultra-massive viral sensation caused by the video of Frozen Grand Central.

The reason that the success of that video is being noted right now has little to do with how awesome it is (but seriously, it’s fucking amazing, right?) but because the sensation of the video has created a deep impact on what Improv Everywhere is as a group, what they can carry out, and how missions will have to be planned in the future.

With all the press and acknowledgment, one thing is certain: missions can never be free from the eye of the press or watching eyes before they are enacted. This made me curious as to how Agent Todd would go about planning new missions, and I think how he’s done it is perfect. He does occasional small missions with very few agents, and then, on occasions like tonight, city-shifting missions that are amazingly powerful if carried out to perfection.

What happened tonight?

Read the rest of this entry »

This time I won’t forget.

Dear Twitter: 

Last night’s top chef was almost as good as last week’s top chef- even though it was not as intense it was still a good, smart challenge. The chef’s had to cook “boxed lunches” for a bunch of cops- and it had to be healthy. Last night also featured an appearance from Top Chef season two HOTTIE Sam who is diabetic. Sam needs a better haircut and also needs to update his wardrobe. BUT he was still hot. Antonia was all cute and giggly when he tasted her quickfire!

Read the rest of this entry »

The medias have finally decided that Clinton’s campaign is inevitably going to fail. Clinton is running out the clock, hoping Obama makes a really big mistake that would cost him the nomination. Until that happens, she has almost become irrelevant; the headlines today are not “Clinton Creamed Obama in West Virginia” but “What Should Obama do for the General Election” and pundits are already calling it one of the biggest political upsets in history. In that spirit, here’s my advice to Obama as he transitions from seeking the presidential nomination to seeking the presidency. Read the rest of this entry »