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Sunday Papers
Weeks go by where I don't pick up the paper. We get both The Post and The Times at home and we get both the Journal and The Times at the office. But I can't be bothered. My news is coming at me all day long and prefer to get it on my phone and laptop than in paper form.
But I've been travelling today. From Naples Maine to Amagansett New York. You do that by driving, flying, and then taking a bus. I am on the bus portion, happily connected to mobile broadband.
I read the Times and The Journal today. Here are some stories I found interesting.
Happy Blogiversary - WSJ - Blogs are ten years old this week according to the WSJ. So they celebrated by getting 12 people to tell us what they make of blogs. First of all I am shocked that Dick Costolo didn't mention this blog as one of his three favorties. I guess now that he's at Google, he doesn't have to pretend to like this blog anymore! Second, I think Tom Wolfe's section was written tongue in cheek. He can't be that much of a luddite. It's an entertaining read and I had no idea that Mia Farrow is a blogger. I'll have to check that one out.
A Patent's Worth Having, Not! - NYT - Ok, I bastardized the headline. But not the point of the column by Michael Fitzgerald in the Sunday business section. He covers some research that shows that patents are a huge waste of money and are stifling innovation. All you need to do is listen to most of the people working on software and Internet technology and they'll tell you the same thing. Patents are absurd. But you know I felt that way a while ago. I think patents are like nuclear bombs, if others have them you have to have them as well. Fortunately we can eliminate patents. Unfortunately we cannot eliminate nuclear bombs.
The Boat Is About To Rock In Internet Video - NYT- This is Brad Stone's piece on Veoh's new software for watching web video. First, I like the sound of Dmitry. He's a nimble russian technologist/entrepreneur. I've made money with guys like him before. Veoh came in as an also ran in the web video sweepstakes. We all know that YouTube won that one going away. But instead of giving up, they've copied Joost and build a client side app that acts as a set-top box style interface to video. But, and this is a big but, instead of going and asking permission from the content ownes like Joost is doing, Veoh is just pulling all the stuff that's already on the web. That's the way to do it. Nobody wants a closed system anymore other than the content owners. Open wins, closed fails. My only beef is with Todd Dagres's quote (Todd is a friend who sits on Veoh's board). Todd says:
“We are going to try to be friendly to content owners,” said Todd Dagres, a partner at Spark Capital who serves on the Veoh board. “We are going to try to be the white-hat company.”
Not exactly Todd. Joost is the while hat company. That's why Veoh is going to win and they are going to lose.
Sushi For Two - NYT- If you love sushi, read this. I've gotten to the point that I don't want to eat sushi anywhere other than the bar talking to the chef.
Comments (9) | Posted July 15, 2007 in Politics , Venture Capital and Technology
Comments
About you not reading the newspaper, is this largely b/c of blogs?
B/c what I often tell my friends who are skeptical of freinds is that one of their advantages is that you allow subject-experts to serve as you filter to the news. You let them highlight the articles that are important to you. B/c even if you go to the newspapers website, its tough to scan it quickly an pull out what you want. I think this is a huge advantage of blogs that many non-readers don't see. Lots of people also miss of course that papers like the NYT and WSJ have probably some of the best assortment and specific types of feeds available as well.
Posted by: Pablo | Jul 15, 2007 3:37:08 PM
I just *assumed* you you would be one of Newt Gingrich's favorite blogs, so I thought my mention would be redundant.
Posted by: Dick Costolo | Jul 15, 2007 4:49:43 PM
That sushi article is awesome. Both times I went to Sushi Yasuda on a recent NYC trip, the sushi bar was packed and we couldn't get anything but a table. Bummer!
Posted by: Marc Hedlund | Jul 15, 2007 8:19:44 PM
I fully agree with your insightful perspective, actually there is a similar thread at Frontier Blog
( http://www.hwswworld.com/wp )
Posted by: Edward | Jul 16, 2007 12:49:36 AM
He has to say they're going to be the white-hat company...on the record.
Posted by: Michael Parekh | Jul 16, 2007 12:51:03 AM
@michael and @fred
well, we (dmitry, veoh investors) very much believe that veoh is going to try and be the white hat company here.
There are benefits for everyone to do just that.
I just can't wait to for the Mac version. The windows version just rocks.
Posted by: bijan | Jul 16, 2007 8:41:20 AM
I rely on RSS/Netvibes/online news sources as much as any web-addled professional, and AS A RESULT OF that, I am relieved and look forward every Sunday's NYT -- I am mostly reacting to the two-paragraph disclaimer at the top of Fred's post...unnecessary!
I would say thank you for pointers to the articles I missed during my plane travels yesterday (eg, sushi piece). And further, I had to visit four (4) different locations of Hudson News stands across two concourses at Chicago's ORD before finding the ONE remaining copy of Sunday's Times in the back of the store, almost hidden. That's an unscientific way of saying "I'm not alone" and others love their Sunday Times too.
If perspective (even weekly perspective) has any hope, please DON'T stop reading the Sunday Papers -- it's great respite from the torrents of online, less-filtered and week-to-week news that's part of the grind.
Posted by: Chris | Jul 16, 2007 2:09:27 PM
"patents are like nuclear bombs, if others have them you have to have them as well. Fortunately we can eliminate patents. Unfortunately we cannot eliminate nuclear bombs."
Just made it as my email signature.
Thanks for that one Fred!
Mike (hater of patents)
Posted by: Michael Ossareh | Jul 16, 2007 2:30:17 PM
Couldn't agree with you more about sushi, we've gotten to the point that we go less often, but better quality.
As Gotham Gal has mentioned, the bar at Sushi Yasuda is an expensive indulgence, but worth every penny.
Posted by: JAH | Jul 17, 2007 9:04:21 AM
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