Gary Chou

kenyatta: With all of the Yahoo-Tumblr reporting still going on...

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:46:34 -0400

With all of the Yahoo-Tumblr reporting still going on right now it surprises me how many writers still mistake Tumblr for a “blogging platform.”

Anyone who has spent significant time on Tumblr knows that this whole “blog” thing is a front.

Literally.

70% of a given blog’s post traffic actually happens in the Dashboard. For some blogs, that percentage is even higher.

This makes things like ranking a Tumblr blog’s popularity through site traffic fairly dubious.

It also means that the value of Tumblr isn’t just in the original posts but the amplification of ideas through reblogs and the like.

This becomes apparent when you dive into Union Metrics for Tumblr and break down any given post’s reblog tree:

There’s probably an iceberg.gif of some sort that would work really well here.

(btw, the numbers in that image are from an “official” blog that I run, not my personal blog.)

Pen Moms: Why We're Designing a Digital Support Network for Single Moms

Tue, 21 May 2013 13:43:23 -0400

Pen Moms: Why We're Designing a Digital Support Network for Single Moms:

Last Sunday we celebrated Mother’s Day. For most of us, that conjures up memories of great moments that warrant balloons, flowers and cards. It’s unlikely that Mother’s Day made you think of all the mothers struggling to put food on the table and provide their children with the …

Check out what a few of my former students, Jennings Hanna and Alex Todaro, are up to!

laughingsquid: Japanese Barista Makes 3D Latte Art

Tue, 21 May 2013 13:19:28 -0400

laughingsquid:

Japanese Barista Makes 3D Latte Art

This is a sign of a healthy and prosperous Yahoo! Group.

Tue, 21 May 2013 13:18:23 -0400

This is a sign of a healthy and prosperous Yahoo! Group.

longbutgood: Kevin Smith on the crazy backstory of the Superman...

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:30:06 -0400

longbutgood:

Kevin Smith on the crazy backstory of the Superman script that never was.

marksbirch: Someone said I should have more pandas on my blog,...

Thu, 16 May 2013 08:46:37 -0400

marksbirch:

Someone said I should have more pandas on my blog, so here you go…it’s pandas!

laughingsquid: How to Make a Playable Record Using a Laser...

Wed, 15 May 2013 21:12:14 -0400

laughingsquid:

How to Make a Playable Record Using a Laser Cutter

"Here’s a current example of the challenge we face,” he writes in the book’s prelude: “At the height..."

Tue, 14 May 2013 23:01:43 -0400

““Here’s a current example of the challenge we face,” he writes in the book’s prelude: “At the height of its power, the photography company Kodak employed more than 14,000 people and was worth $28 billion. They even invented the first digital camera. But today Kodak is bankrupt, and the new face of digital photography has become Instagram. When Instagram was sold to Facebook for a billion dollars in 2012, it employed only 13 people. Where did all those jobs disappear? And what happened to the wealth that all those middle-class jobs created?””

- Jaron Lanier: The Internet destroyed the middle class - Salon.com

I like Jaron Lanier a lot, but this illustration as some sort of evidence of the internet hollowing out the middle class is, forgive me for saying so, idiotic. A child could figure out where those jobs went.

1) Instagram SHOWS the photos. We have to include all of the people who work on the cloud that supports that.

2) Kodak made cameras and film. Cameras are still being made - even moreso. At the very least, we should include the current #1 camera maker’s employees. At this point, that’s apple. Fifty thousand employees. Pro rate it to only the apple devices that have cameras, ignoring their mac business. 30,000 employees.

3) The film business still exists. It was just lost to Fujichrome, who still makes film and has over 30,000 employees. This has nothing to do with the web, but rather something called “Globalization.”

The internet didn’t kill a single job in photography. There are more cameras now than ever. There are still tens of thousands of people making film.

Take the market cap of JUST these three companies - facebook, apple, fujifilm, and we’re looking at $500 billion market cap, and nearly 90,000 employees.

Think that’s unfair? Canon has nearly 200,000 employees. Nikon has 24,000. 10,000 more than Kodak. Shit, ZEISS has 24,000 employees.

Never mind every single camera in an android phone.

Those jobs went overseas, and they went to computer companies, Mr. Lanier. They still exist. The internet didn’t kill a single one of them.

(via rickwebb)

Rafer sez:
Huzzah, plus Kodak’s consumer film executives went out of their way to line their pockets on the way down, at the explicit and afaik knowing expense of the nascent digital businesses. They killed Kodak, probably knew they were doing so, and showed no signs of caring at all.

I was the first internet PM for Kodak Hollywood. My product line was one of their victims.

(via rafer)

Well played, Mr. Webb.

I’m less bullish on Jaron Lanier. After his book “You Are Not A Gadget” everything he says sounds to me like some variation of “YOU KIDS GET OFF MY LAWN!”
(via kenyatta)

nationalfilmsociety: Star Trek’s Best Sulu - George Takei or...

Tue, 14 May 2013 16:07:08 -0400

nationalfilmsociety:

Star Trek’s Best Sulu - George Takei or John Cho?

Studies show women find men more attractive if they hold a guitar

Thu, 09 May 2013 23:40:03 -0400

Studies show women find men more attractive if they hold a guitar:

There you go.

My niece has mad vocabulary skills.

Thu, 09 May 2013 19:29:12 -0400

My niece has mad vocabulary skills.

tastefullyoffensive: [via]

Thu, 09 May 2013 01:21:56 -0400

tastefullyoffensive:

[via]

africanfashion: For those of you who criticize Janelle’s...

Thu, 09 May 2013 01:21:39 -0400

africanfashion:

For those of you who criticize Janelle’s signature monochromatic look.

From her speech on “Black Girls Rock”:

“When I started my music career, I was a maid. I used to clean houses. My mother was a proud janitor. My stepfather, who raised me like his very own, worked at the post office and my father was a trashman. They all wore uniforms and that’s why I stand here today, in my black and white, and I wear my uniform to honor them.

This is a reminder that I have work to do. I have people to uplift. I have people to inspire. And today, I wear my uniform proudly as a Cover Girl. I want to be clear, young girls, I didn’t have to change who I was to become a Cover Girl. I didn’t have to become perfect because I’ve learned throughout my journey that perfection is the enemy of greatness.

Embrace what makes you unique, even if it makes others uncomfortable.” - Janelle Monáe

greg-pak: Gorgeous Guillem March variant cover for...

Thu, 09 May 2013 01:19:07 -0400

greg-pak:

Gorgeous Guillem March variant cover for “Batman/Superman” #1. Preorder it today, y’all!

Via @cbr

bluedirt: “this exam will be easy if you know the material.”

Thu, 09 May 2013 01:15:57 -0400

bluedirt:

“this exam will be easy if you know the material.”

"If you want to be a creative person, then you’re gonna have to be creative in how you put your..."

Thu, 09 May 2013 01:15:55 -0400

““If you want to be a creative person, then you’re gonna have to be creative in how you put your career together. There isn’t a path. Part of the creativity is making your path.””

- Alec Soth on creating a career in photography, and how he pays the rent today. Read our full interview here. (via americanphoto)

propublica: Federal data released for the first time shows the...

Wed, 08 May 2013 13:14:21 -0400

propublica:

Federal data released for the first time shows the wildly different amounts hospitals are charging Medicare to perform the same procedure.

See how hospitals near you are charging with this New York Times interactive.

This chart from the Washington Post lets you compare the highest and lowest averages in your state.

startrekintowhiteness: A handy reference guide from azora_mysta...

Wed, 08 May 2013 00:22:29 -0400

startrekintowhiteness:

A handy reference guide from azora_mysta on Livejournal.

racebending: takealookatyourlife: ★ Who is your favourite...

Wed, 08 May 2013 00:22:12 -0400

racebending:

takealookatyourlife:

★ Who is your favourite villain?

Whoa.
[Additional context: It is unclear if Cho is referring to the character or Montalban. Montalban was a Mexican American actor of Spanish descent who was often cast to play characters of color by Hollywood; as Charlie Jane Anders points out, when he was working in Hollywood he felt he experienced racism and as a result founded an organization to support Latino actors. The character of Khan was South Asian and a character of color.]

miyaando: abstraire: Miya Ando - Obon Miya traveled to Puerto...

Tue, 07 May 2013 15:12:55 -0400

miyaando:

abstraire:

Miya Ando - Obon

Miya traveled to Puerto Rico where she floated 1000 resin and (non-toxic) phosphorescence-coated leaves in a small pond. During the day the phosphorescence collected and absorbed energy from sunlight, giving them a soft, blue glow at night.

Obon [Puerto Rico] 1000 hand painted (resin and phosphorescence) floating Bodhi (Ficus Religiosa) skeleton leaves.