Blog

Plurk’s motivation

Plurk’s motivation, originally uploaded by Box and Arrow. I’m playing with Plurk, and while I find the UI […]

Size Matters

2008-05-05_1101, originally uploaded by Box and Arrow. One of the things I’ve been thinking about and watching for […]

You Are Weird

A nice reminder of the wisdom of “You are not the user” at a product manager’s blog: Eating […]

Amelie Vaudevillian

MVI_0965 Originally uploaded by Box and Arrow We celebrate flickr’s new video feature with Amelie’s debut as a […]

Notes from last night’s product managment class

Last night’s Product Management class covered two important business areas: Business development (Guest lecturer to remain anonymous) and “Tips for success in growing revenues” – Guest Lecturer: Steve Tennant. I’ll put up tennant’s slides when/if they become available. The BD talk was from an individual from a big company with a lot of paranoia any time any of their people talk, I appreciated the chance to learn.

A couple of metaobservations. In a case study, one observation was that advertisers just won’t advertise against user-generated media. There is too much concern over potential porn, infringement and old-fashioned crappiness, making many UGD projects unprofitable, despite guarantees you put in place. Hardly news: i remember randy Farmer mentioning this being a problem back in his palace days. Interesting that with the prevalence of UGC it still hasn’t been solved though.

Secondly, it was pointed out that 99% of your end users will watch the work of the 1% who will actually make content with any tool you offer, which means you have got to make certain that you have enough traffic that 1% of that 1% will actually be cool enough to attract an audience (Don’t forget Sturgeon’s law!), or the whole thing is unprofitable.

That’s motivating

That’s motivating, originally uploaded by Box and Arrow. No, that is not me. This definitely motivates me to […]

The News Business

Out of Print in The New Yorker

Three centuries after the appearance of Franklin’s Courant, it
no longer requires a dystopic imagination to wonder who will have the
dubious distinction of publishing America’s last genuine newspaper. Few
believe that newspapers in their current printed form will survive.
Newspaper companies are losing advertisers, readers, market value, and,
in some cases, their sense of mission at a pace that would have been
barely imaginable just four years ago. Bill Keller, the executive
editor of the Times, said recently in a speech in London, “At
places where editors and publishers gather, the mood these days is
funereal. Editors ask one another, ‘How are you?,’ in that sober tone
one employs with friends who have just emerged from rehab or a messy
divorce.” Keller’s speech appeared on the Web site of its sponsor, the Guardian, under the headline “NOT DEAD YET.”

Amelie: faith healer

Hospital helper, originally uploaded by Box and Arrow. She climbs in my bed, demands getting under covers, steals […]

Why We Lie

From The Financial Times, Seven categories of rot that appeal to big cheeses Last week, I came across […]

Tell Me a Story

Truth, naked and cold, had been turned away from every door in the village. Her nakedness frightened the […]

Diversion

My sister-in-law just got cast in Play, by Samuel Beckett and sent me this fascinating short video of […]

keeping busy

IMG_4483, originally uploaded by philippesar. We’ve got her doing tech support.

poetic spam

poeticspam, originally uploaded by Box and Arrow. prolonged effusion of small talk. How I wished sleep would silence […]