An idea just came to me. I’ve been writing for a long time, so the ideas come partially formed. Not written but formed into the beginnings of a familiar shape. It is critical in the next hour that I write this idea down somewhere accessible because it’s just an idea, and failure to capture it… more
I was lying on the 22nd floor of The Standard1 I was three martinis up the Hudson and surfing YouTube when the new Superman trailer dropped. This one: This trailer hit me hard. The prior Superman, as we’ll read about in a moment, was a watered-down meh version of the hero. This brand-new take on… more
For this piece, I am going to simplify management a bit. Let us assume there are three different hats you wear as a manager. They are: the Leader, the Fixer, and the Coach. I will briefly explain each role and then explain how I’ve screwed up each. I’m going in reverse order because I’m building… more
Your manager has a default management mantra. You see it when they are not paying attention and a problem – large or small – presents itself. It’s the sound and shape of their first reaction. Their default reaction. And after a few months, everyone knows their mantra. Here are a couple of my least favorite… more
Peggle is a casual game developed by Popcap. Originally released in 2007, the game is memorable because of it’s absolutely over the top level finishing sequence. In an explosion of rainbows, fireworks, unicorns, and Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, you are generously emotionally rewarded when you finish a level. As a friend commented at the time,… more
What social networks like Facebook really offer is empathy in the aggregate — an illusion of having captured the mood of entire families and friend networks from a safe, neutral distance. Then they turn around and offer advertisers a read on more than a billion users at once. Buzz Andersen — a tech veteran who has worked for Apple, Tumblr and Square — told me that in Silicon Valley, “empathy is basically a more altruistic-sounding way of saying ‘market research.’ ”
(Via Amanda Hess on the New York Times.)
DJ and I play Destiny. I’ve never met DJ, but each week he and I and a dozen or so other regulars are sitting on our respective couches, chairs, and bean bags tackling the various parts of this gorgeous first-person shooter. You can play much of Destiny by yourself. There are daily missions on various… more
As near as I can tell, this Twitter robot will DM you when folks you follow start following someone that you don’t follow. I don’t follow a lot of folks, but it is true that I will give greater consideration to folks that my friends are following. Say that ten time fast. Recommendations are infrequent and, so far, worth investigating.
Douche is trending. I’m going to start by saying this is a dangerous article to write because an article that attempts to define the characteristics of douchery is, well, kind’a douchey. However, usage of the word douche has been on the rise in current culture and I believe I know why, so I’m going to… more
