Monthly Archives: May 2012

After Bitly’s fail

Posted on May 30, 2012 by Doc Searls

[This post was read by Bitly folks, who reached out appreciatively. The thread continues with a follow-up post here.] Last night huge thunderstorms moved across New Hampshire, and later across Boston. There was even a tornado watch (the red outline … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging, Broadcasting, infrastructure, Live Web, Personal, problems, Social, Technology, VRM | 15 Comments

Lessons

Posted on May 25, 2012 by Doc Searls

When our kid started using a computer in the seventh grade, I got him a copy of Mavis Beacon so he’d learn how to touch-type. I didn’t see him using the program, but I did see him typing. So I asked … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, Gear, Past, Personal, School, Technology | 6 Comments

After Facebook fails

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Doc Searls

Making the rounds is The Facebook Fallacy, a killer essay by Michael Wolff in MIT Technology Review. The gist: At the heart of the Internet business is one of the great business fallacies of our time: that the Web, with … Continue reading →

Posted in Berkman, Books, Business, Cluetrain, Friends, Harvard, history, Ideas, Life, Live Web, MIT, Personal, problems, Technology, VRM | 107 Comments

The Real Story of Send

Posted on May 19, 2012 by Doc Searls

With The Story of Send, Google follows a single email as it travels through wires, under streets, through an ISP’s high-rise, in and out of Google’s various gear, including one of its vast data centers, and finally up a tower … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology | 4 Comments

So long, and thanks to the bird

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Doc Searls

Independent commercial alternative rock radio in Boston is heading to the grave. The Boston Phoenix‘ WFNX has been sold to Clear Channel, which — says the press release — will expand its “footprint” in Boston. (Bambi vs. Godzilla comes to mind.) Boston Business Journal suggests … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Broadcasting, Business, Future, Geography, history, music, News, Past | 1 Comment

Won and done

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Doc Searls

Okay, my foursquare experiment is over. I won, briefly… … and, about 24 hours later (the second screenshot) I was back in the pack somewhere. So now I’m done playing the leaderboard game. I’d like to say it was fun, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Berkman, Business, Friends, Fun, Future, Geography, history, Ideas, Live Web, Personal, Photography, Places, problems, Research, Social, Technology, Travel, VRM | 3 Comments

An AR treat

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Doc Searls

Enticed by Maarten Lens-Fitzgerald (aka @DutchCowboy) in this tweet, I fired up Layar (an AR — Augmented Reality — browser from the company by that name, which he co-founded), and aimed it at the cover of my new book. What … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Awesome, Business, Friends, Fun, Ideas, Technology, VRM | 1 Comment

A way to see what you get

Posted on May 13, 2012 by Doc Searls

According to The Cost of Reading Privacy Policies, a paper by Aleecia M. McDonald and Lorrie Faith Cranor of Carnegie Mellon University, “national opportunity cost for just the time to read policies is on the order of $781 billion.” This is … Continue reading →

Posted in Awesome, Business, Friends, Social, Technology, VRM | 3 Comments

Tsé Bitʼaʼí

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Doc Searls

That’s the Navajo name for what everybody else calls Shiprock. It’s a rock spire that rises out of the desert southeast of Four Corners in the far northwestern corner of New Mexico. Elevation at the peak is 7,177 feet, with … Continue reading →

Posted in Photography, Travel | 1 Comment

Department of Corrections

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Doc Searls

One nice thing about blogging is that you get to correct what you write. Tonight I put up a long post that I had second, third, fourth and fifth and additional thoughts about, and finally decided to kill. I do … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 13 Comments