Something Witty

"Another insider suggested that Romney might hesitate to pick Christie because the New Jersey..."

Tue, 22 May 2012 23:39:30 -0400

“Another insider suggested that Romney might hesitate to pick Christie because the New Jersey Governor’s star power may steal the spotlight: “It’s like asking Joe DiMaggio if he wants to play alongside Mickey Mantle.””

- Chris Christie Insiders: He Is ‘Comfortable’ Accepting Vice-Presidential Nod | Mediaite

"But that doesn’t mean the companies are actually doing any innovating. Instead they are using..."

Tue, 22 May 2012 22:52:56 -0400

“But that doesn’t mean the companies are actually doing any innovating. Instead they are using the word to convey monumental change when the progress they’re describing is quite ordinary.”

- You Call That Innovation? - WSJ.com

What are some top strategies for conversion optimization? - Quora

Fri, 18 May 2012 14:11:21 -0400

What are some top strategies for conversion optimization? - Quora:

Really in love with this Quora answer page.

"This year, I went to a Thanksgiving dinner for people who are trying to get out, hosted by an..."

Thu, 10 May 2012 23:09:49 -0400

“This year, I went to a Thanksgiving dinner for people who are trying to get out, hosted by an organization called Footsteps, which helps people adjust to mainstream society. There were 350 people at this dinner. They had to rent out a loft in SoHo.”

- T.O.T. Private consulting services: Deborah Feldman I was a Satmar Hasidic Jew - but I broke free

"We hear all these stories about Muslim extremists; how is this any better? This is just another..."

Thu, 10 May 2012 23:09:08 -0400

“We hear all these stories about Muslim extremists; how is this any better? This is just another example of extreme fundamentalism.”

- T.O.T. Private consulting services: Deborah Feldman I was a Satmar Hasidic Jew - but I broke free

"Since 2005, I have spoken to thousands of executives from corporations, government agencies and..."

Wed, 09 May 2012 10:28:04 -0400

“Since 2005, I have spoken to thousands of executives from corporations, government agencies and nonprofit organizations about their discomfort using social media for business purposes. The problem for them isn’t learning which button to push; if that were difficult seniors wouldn’t be the fastest growing segment on Facebook. The real problem is that using social media challenges their basic assumptions of what it means to be “professional.” The definition of professional behavior is an immutable set of behaviors developed early in one’s career.”

- What Does “Professional” Look Like Today? - Allison Fine - Harvard Business Review

"I will boldly say that tech is the new music. It’s becoming a sexier industry,” he said."

Mon, 07 May 2012 12:34:51 -0400

““I will boldly say that tech is the new music. It’s becoming a sexier industry,” he said.”

- In tech, some bemoan the rise of ‘brogrammer’ culture - CNN.com

"The problem I encounter is that many of these “meaningful” startups have trouble raising money from..."

Fri, 04 May 2012 15:45:57 -0400

“The problem I encounter is that many of these “meaningful” startups have trouble raising money from VCs. An entrepreneur working on groundbreaking robot technology recently joked to me that he’d have an easier time raising money if his robots were virtual and existed only on Facebook. He was only partly joking. His startup will require a lot of capital and doesn’t have an obvious near term acquirer. Only a small group of VCs today will even consider such an investment.”

- “Meaningful” startups - Chris Dixon

"USA Today reports that families are now spending an average of $1,078 on the event, and we’re..."

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 12:53:27 -0400

“USA Today reports that families are now spending an average of $1,078 on the event, and we’re not even talking about the kinds of families that encourage their kids go on MTV’s My Super Sweet 16. Actually, those families spend less than parents in lower income brackets: according to a Visa phone survey, families that make between $20,000 and $29,999 a year will spend more than $2,600, twice the national average, while wealthier families plan to spend between $700 and $1,000 on clothing, accessories, grooming, dinner, and transportation.”

- Prom Is Even More Magical When the Economy Is Shit

Wow.

"The picture—taken with an iPhone—had GPS information which showed that the photo was taken at the..."

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 16:17:53 -0400

“The picture—taken with an iPhone—had GPS information which showed that the photo was taken at the woman’s home in Wantirna South. The GPS information was embedded in the photo’s EXIF data (EXIF is a set of standard tags that includes information such as location, camera type, and other image information in every photo you take with your smartphone).”

- These Breasts Nailed a Hacker For the FBI

DOH!

"I’ve been at the company … since 2006,” says Sam Moreau, who oversees design and user..."

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 19:38:39 -0400

““I’ve been at the company … since 2006,” says Sam Moreau, who oversees design and user experience for Windows. “Internally, that’s code for: Vista isn’t my fault.””

- Microsoft Gets Brutally Honest About Its Bold New Design For Windows | Co.Design: business innovation design Also. NO START BUTTON!

"The digital substance of our friendships belongs to these companies, and they are loath to share it..."

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 12:29:25 -0400

“The digital substance of our friendships belongs to these companies, and they are loath to share it with others. So we build our little content farms within, friending and upthumbing, learning to accept that our new landlords are people who grew up on Power Rangers. This is, after all, the way of our new product-based civilization — in order to participate as a citizen of the social web, you must yourself manufacture content. Progress requires that forms must be filled. Thus it is a critical choice of any adult as to where they will perform their free labor. Tens of millions of people made a decision to spend their time with the simple, mobile photo-sharing application that was not Facebook because they liked its subtle interface and little filters. And so Facebook bought the thing that is hardest to fake. It bought sincerity.”

- Facebook and Instagram: When Your Favorite App Sells Out — Daily Intel

"You can’t blame users for becoming hooting primates when a giant spaceship dumps a billion dollars..."

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 12:28:27 -0400

“You can’t blame users for becoming hooting primates when a giant spaceship dumps a billion dollars out of its money hole. It’s like the monolith in the movie 2001 appeared filled with candy and a sign on the front that said “NO CANDY FOR YOU.””

- Facebook and Instagram: When Your Favorite App Sells Out — Daily Intel

"It’s a big need for many start-ups. With sloppy graphics, hard-to-navigate pages and excessive steps..."

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 15:21:05 -0400

“It’s a big need for many start-ups. With sloppy graphics, hard-to-navigate pages and excessive steps to complete a transaction, poorly designed websites can kill a start-up faster than you can say “bridge loan.””

- Google Ventures Takes on Web Design - Digits - WSJ

"With the development of GPS controlled drones, far-reaching cheap radio equipment and tiny new..."

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 10:35:50 -0400

“With the development of GPS controlled drones, far-reaching cheap radio equipment and tiny new computers like the Raspberry Pi, we’re going to experiment with sending out some small drones that will float some kilometers up in the air. This way our machines will have to be shut down with aeroplanes in order to shut down the system. A real act of war.”

- The Pirate Bay - The galaxy’s most resilient bittorrent site

"Jeremy Goldman would never have known his employee was lying when she called in sick had he not been..."

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 10:33:13 -0400

“Jeremy Goldman would never have known his employee was lying when she called in sick had he not been checking Instagram, a social network where users post photos that anyone can see.”

- 10 Things Your Employees Won’t Say - SmartMoney.com

"Dranks An American wine will be paired with each course. Everybody getting crunk. Everybody swapping..."

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 00:27:58 -0400

“Dranks
An American wine will be paired with each course. Everybody getting crunk. Everybody swapping state secrets.”

- Everybody at the White House Is Eating Buffalo Right Now

"Blakely owns 100% of the private company, has zero debt, has never taken outside investment and..."

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 23:12:47 -0500

“Blakely owns 100% of the private company, has zero debt, has never taken outside investment and hasn’t spent a nickel on advertising.”

- Undercover Billionaire: Sara Blakely Joins The Rich List Thanks To Spanx - Forbes

"Nobody wants to need friends,” Elston said. “It’s hard to be the first one to start a conversation..."

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 14:11:26 -0500

““Nobody wants to need friends,” Elston said. “It’s hard to be the first one to start a conversation because you seem like you’re needy.” Platforms like Twitter or Flickr, where conversations about news and photos often lead to people meeting each other, seem to be a more natural environment for making connections, Elston said.”

- Yobongo Acquired by Mixbook; Will Shut Down and Become Mobile Team - Liz Gannes - Social - AllThingsD

"He has already suggested that he might run again in 2018, potentially extending his tenure as..."

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 12:21:36 -0500

“He has already suggested that he might run again in 2018, potentially extending his tenure as Russia’s pre-eminent leader to 24 years, on a par with Brezhnev and Stalin.”

- Observers Detail Flaws in Russian Election - NYTimes.com