I never felt particularly comfortable with facebook’s Terms of Service or business practices, but it was their stunning lack of security and disdain for privacy that ultimately led me to close my account. This leak, which was published by Symantec, will be another blemish on facebook’s IT team that will likely have zero impact on user growth and engagement. People often use personal information as the backup security codes to things like credit cards, bank accounts and other sensitive data. There is a definite risk of identity theft. facebook users should consider changing their passwords and pin codes following this news.
While the information accessible wasn’t of the same sensitivity as the recent Playstation Network (PSN) breach (ie no credit card numbers paired with names and email addresses), the sheer number of people exposed is dramatically higher. Facebook has 600mm+ worldwide users who are installing 20mm apps daily.
Consumers don’t want to buy movies anymore, or at least, not as readily as they used to buy DVDs. This is particularly cumbersome in a digital universe where the collectable is ethereal and storage constraints and digital rights make building a library convoluted. Not to mention the impact on consumer behavior of streaming services like Netflix and hulu (among others). If studios want consumers to buy content, they need to offer a greater value proposition.
Considering the rich functionality of emerging distribution platforms, this shouldn’t be all that difficult. Studios have attempted to jam extras into Blu-Ray discs; an access and UX restricted format. Why not exploit the slick operability/usability of iOS and Android? Time Warner gets it. I know this is a very limited release, but I think it’s a very impressive 1.0 product. I also wonder if this will get Time Warner (and by proxy Fox and Universal) out of the download restrictions of the HBO pay-window, since the content is house within an application.
I’m definitely keeping my eyes open to see what comes next.
Sports Night
I’m just a little confused. How is it that a show about a sports show is hilarious, but a show by the same writer about a comedy show is horribly unfunny? Clearly Aaron Sorkin is a good writer (A Few Good Men, West Wing…even a great cameo on Entourage), how did Studio 60 fail so completely?
Either way, thank you Netflix. Let’s move on to Disc 2.
Why Tumblr?
I’ve decided to move this relatively unread blog from Blogger (owned by Google) to Tumblr. Aside from what I consider to be a better feature set and more intuitive interface, the main reason for the transfer is this: personal information disaggregation. I’m de-Googling myself, somewhat. Un-googling myself? I’m also de-facebooking myself (completely). Below, I’m reposting the letter I sent to all of my facebook friends shortly before deleting my facebook account:
Dear Facebook,
I’m writing to say goodbye. After over 6 years, I’m leaving you. I feel like I hardly knew you. But then again, you certainly know me. You know what I told you about myself. You knew what others told you about me: what I was doing, what I liked, where I went, what I was buying and more. You let others put up pictures of me without my knowing it. Not once, not twice, but three times you shot first and asked questions later with regard to protecting my privacy; not to mention your founder’s questionable respect for other people’s privacy throughout facebook’s history. You’ve always opted everyone in; now I want to opt out.
Come to think of it, your entire purpose is to sell my information to advertisers. I don’t begrudge you, it’s a brilliant business model. How could a search engine know more about me than a site I load with my personal information, interests, personal connections and history? You even built-in a “like” button to better understand my likes and dislikes within the facebook universe; recently expanding your thumb[s up] into my eye wherever I browse. But I’m worried about what you are doing with all of this data and how you protect it. On top of that, facebook, your Terms of Service basically state that you own my data as long as I have an account with you.
I know you consider yourself a “social utility;” Outlook on Steroids. I think that’s right. A utility provides basic services at low, regulated prices: electricity, telephone, TV and, now, social interaction. The convenience of this utility is great, but the price is too high. I want my privacy back. Unlike the world of real utilities, where my choices are limited to one, two or three service providers (potentially capping my Quality of Service), the Internet gives me dramatic choice.
Video - Vimeo
Photos - Flickr
Email - Gmail
Chat - Skype
Link Sharing - Twitter
Blogging - Tumblr
Events - Punchbowl
Networking - LinkedIn
Killing Time - Any book
All of these sites provide significantly higher service quality than you. But that’s not all. The best part about all of these sites? They are each owned by different companies. I don’t have to rely solely on your technological ability to protect massive amounts of my personal information. More importantly, I don’t have to rely on your “good intentions.” I’m disaggregating myself in an attempt to reclaim what little protection of my privacy exists in the modern internet world. By the way, that goes for you too, Google. So, if you need to reach me, just send me an email. That technology isn’t exactly out of date and the email server won’t tell everyone what I had for breakfast.
It was oatmeal.
Best of luck to you in the future.
grill
This is pretty clever: The Eph You Phone by Google.
In all seriousness, though, there isn’t (and likely never will be) an iPhone-killer. Because Apple was first and the most innovative (and they have the cool rep), they basically established a pricing umbrella that makes it impossible for other companies to compete on a “gotta have it” basis. Palm/RIMM/Google can’t price at $299 or $399 (thus keeping the phone as a “high-end” device) because you can get an iPhone for $99 or $199. They can’t price for free to lure people in, because that pricing has shown to destroy brand value. They can’t price exactly the same (the Pre launched at $199) because people say, “shit, for that price I can have an iPhone.”
What they are left with instead is to try to market the crap out of their devices (see weird Palm Pre adds and lame-O BlackBerry ads) trying to push smart (or now for some dumb reason, “super”) phones as a category in general.
Oh, and the pricing logic totally ignores that they iPhone has a gajillion apps available in the store as compared to 1,000 for the Pre and like 100 for the Android O/S (and I think 3 for BlackBerry O/S). If Apple ever figured out the enterprise email app, RIMM would be out of business.
One last thing: the Nexus One is a fucking HTC phone with Android…just like the Droid, the Droid Eris, the Motorola Sholes, the Motorola Cliq and a bunch of other Android phones. Yes, it will be marketed differently (sold directly by Google, available unlocked, etc.), but it’s not anything new to get excited about.
Bitsie Tulloch
On my commute to work all week, I’ve been looking at the Improper Bostonian distribution rack wondering what Eva Green (star of “Casino Royal,” “The Golden Compass” and my dreams) was doing on the cover. I wasn’t aware of any big movies she had coming out and she certainly isn’t your typical Boston personality. Imagine my surprise when I finally grabbed a copy of the magazine and discovered the lovely lady gracing its cover was Bitsie Tulloch.
Who is Bitsie Tulloch?
Updated: Females Can Be Are Funny
Well, after posting the Sarah Silverman - Matt Damon clip a while back, I was wondering how long it would take before Jimmy Kimmel put up something similar. Worth the wait I think:
Original Post:
I would normally never post anything during work hours, but this made me laugh out loud…a lot:
Much respect to Matt Damon for not taking himself too seriously.
Earbuds
I have a pair of Shure E4C earbuds (earphones for those who aren’t familiar with the term…the kind you stick inside your ears). I love them. They are absolutely fantastic. When I first got them, I was a little uneasy about spending $300+ for a pair of headphones, but friends assur…promised me I’d be pleased.
I listen to my iPod nearly everywhere I go. As I’ve previously blogged, I am fortunate to have friends who have outstanding taste in music and who are willing to tell me what I need to hear (with regard to music, not with regard to tough life decisions…I avoid those at all costs). I definitely wanted a product with outstanding sound quality, noise cancellation and that would stay firmly in my ears (all traits the free iPod earbuds lack). I used to wear them on the subway platform and I couldn’t hear anything. It was great…except when I was reading and missed my train, but I’m an idiot.
The reason I bring these fantastic dispensers of sound is that they are horrendous for exercising purposes.
Thank Ephing God. This just arrived in my inbox. No more of that crappy Comcast interface. It’s so worthless. Of course, Comcast is so on top of their shit that it will only take them TWO WEEKS to do a software update to my existing DVR. But I’ll tell you what, it’ll all be worth it. They better have gotten rid of that crappy ad bar at the bottom
