ShortFormBlogSeptember 3, 2011

We have to parse through a lot of content quickly. So do lots of other people. In an influential post we like citing, Robert Scoble once put this point into strong emphasis, calling it a “billion-dollar opportunity.” Content curation’s biggest problem is that it always takes a lot of steps, and the app that figures out how to simplify the process is going to win. We’re, specifically, the target audience for this, so we have a lot of thoughts on the matter. The closest right now is Storify, though we’ve seen a lot of competitors show up with the express purpose of wooing Robert Scoble. The latest? CurationSoft. This Adobe AIR app allows you to easily drag-and-drop content from YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, or various blogs into your browser in a platform-agnostic way, which is pretty much its best trick. (Tumblr? Google Plus? WordPress? Works the same way.) From there, we worry a little. You can only do a single search at once, which seems like a step back in the age of multi-tab Twitter clients, and the pricing seems a little off ($40 for a single-user license? For just a year?) We think the idea is good, but the execution needs polish. Would like to see where this app is a year from now. Robert Scoble’s billion-dollar opportunity is still out there, kids. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

Right away, over 4,000 workers would be furloughed without pay. If it’s delayed for just 10 days, we will lose nearly $1 billion in highway funding that we can never get back. And if we wait even longer, almost 1 million workers could be in danger of losing their jobs over the next year.
President Barack Obama • Speaking in his weekly radio address about the importance of passing the Surface Transportation Bill — a bill that funds the construction of highways, bridges and so on — before the end of the month. If not, he claims it could cost thousands of jobs, if not more. The AFL-CIO and Chamber of Commerce —a.k.a. unions and big businesses — both support the bill. But Republicans, of course, take issue with the way Obama is framing the debate. Sigh. JUST WORK, GOVERNMENT! source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

This is the CEO’s follow-up to his call for more corporate responsibility, and it’s sponsored by No Labels. All we know is that there had better be free coffee. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

Chaz Bono should not be applauded for asserting she is a man (and goes about trying to look like one) any more than a woman who believes she will be happier without arms, has them removed and then continues to assert that she was right all along—her self-concept was that of a double amputee. Now, all is well.
Member of the “Fox News Medical A-Team,” Dr. Keith Ablow • In an unbelievably insensitive piece about Chaz Bono, the transgendered man who is about to become one of the latest contestants on “Dancing With the Stars.” Ablow, who goes on and on about how he disagrees with Bono’s choice, admits he will take heat for the article. “I already have for making similar statements in the past,” he notes. “So be it. I would rather be the one shouting ‘The Emperor has no clothes!’ than one of the happy-go-lucky villagers applauding the tragic parade.” Look, Bono is taking a lot of heat from conservatives for his decision to do DWTS, some of it clearly unnecessary. Ablow is just throwing chum in the ocean to whet the sharks’ appetite. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Sep 2011 13:50