ShortFormBlogsucks Archives

yes Chatroulette is back after having been down an entire week (not a day, as previously hinted).
no It’s not very good and has the hallmarks of a 17-year-old’s rough programming skills. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

They look like the establishment now. Mashable’s always had a lot of clutter in its design, due to the fact that they tended to try a lot of things and throw them on the wall and see if they worked. It’s what the site’s always been about. They did need a redesign, and we’re glad they’re trying. But we’d rather have the old design back than this slick hodgepodge that feels like absolutely nothing at all.

Why does it suck? The colors of this design are so quiet, so muted, so similar to Yahoo!’s longstanding mid-decade quiet tones, that it doesn’t make us feel anything. Also worth noting: The headshots, which emphasized that this was a personality-driven site, have been de-emphasized too much, creating an anonymous, generic feel.
Changes worth considering Mashable’s a popular site, but it could stand to be hipper (like Engadget, which just got a great redesign) or more playful (like Twitter, which drives much of the site’s traffic). It should have as much personality as the words of its jetsetting founder, Pete Cashmore. Cleaner doesn’t mean lifeless. Never forget that, kids.

Posted by Ernie Smith • 9 Comments • Permalink

36 years ago, this guy was responsible for one of the cheesiest, corniest songs to ever become a No. 1 pop hit, “The Streak.” (In his defense, Owl City’s blatant Postal Service rip-off “Fireflies” might be cornier and cheesier.) Since then, he’s maintained a cult audience, but in recent years, he’s taken to releasing topical country “comedy” songs about current events, with a far rightward lean. This one, “We the People,” threatens congressmen who vote for health care. And it has a million views on YouTube. Who are these million viewers, and what are they doing searching for “Ray Stevens” on YouTube? It’s not even funny!

Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

Second? WTF guys? Seriously? How? The public voted, and somehow, some way, the lady who seemed like a shoo-in to win “Britain’s Got Talent” fell to second, behind “Diversity,” a dance troupe who isn’t Susan Boyle. We call bull$*#^. By losing, Boyle lost a chance to sing for the Queen of England. It’s kind of terrible we have to say this about an entire country, but: Screw you all. There goes our chance at moving into diplomacy. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Aug 2010 10:16