Here is the interview I did with PaidContent.org founder Rafat Ali last week on WatchMojo Live:
Pretty amazing to see Michael Arrington evolve over the years. This past week he penned a post that basically took down a few questionable people and practices. Today we see this gem of a video:
Crazy to see what VCs back. No comment.
I am extremely happy and honored to greet Paid Content’s Rafat Ali tomorrow on the next installment of WatchMojo Live. Our first guest was Tech Crunch’s Erick Schonfeld.
When Rafat launched PaidContent.org in 2002, he pioneered a breed of media and information company that spawned a new generation of media publications covering the digital media, technology and marketing segments. After raising financing from Alan Patricof’s Greycroft Partners, Ali sold PaidContent.org’s parent company Content Next Media to The Guardian Group in 2008, continuing to stay one step ahead of the competition.
Tune in tomorrow at 3pm EST. If you have any questions you want me to ask him, please email me at ash [at] watchmojo.com.
Facebook has added a new feature to encourage users to reconnect with friends that they haven’t written to in a while…the back thing is that for some users those people had actually passed away. As one user put it - “#MassiveFacebookFail.”
“In an Oct. 26 blog post, Max Kelly, Facebook’s head of security, announced the company’s policy of “memorializing” profiles of users who have died, taking them out of the public search results, sealing them from any future log-in attempts and leaving the wall open for family and friends to pay their respects”
So show 1 is done. Good start. Lots of room for improvement. Keep tabs on us at WatchMojo.com/live.
TechCrunch posted the video as well on their site.
After publishing 5,000 informative and entertaining videos, we launch our new initiative: WatchMojo Live, straight from Manhattan. Expect a wide array of newsmakers and celebrities in the weeks to come, today, it’s business, new media and technology, with Tech Crunch co-editor Erick Schonfeld.
I’ve done hundreds of taped segments for WatchMojo.com since 2006, but I haven’t done a live show since 2005 when I stopped doing radio to focus on launching WatchMojo.com. Expect some rust…
CNET’s ZDNET, Iran and Yahoo!? You know this would not end well.
I was very surprised to read that Yahoo! had handed over names of Iranians youth to the authorities. Turns out it was false. Interestingly enough if a blog would have written that, it would have gotten much less consideration… but at the same time, because a “well respected, traditional, new media source” such as ZDNet reported it, it’s a big deal.
What is wrong with entrepreneurship these days? Let’s see:
A few years ago, everywhere you looked, everyone was launching a social network.
Then it was a video sharing network.
Then you had the social bookmarking tools.
These days it seems to be all about URL shorteners.
Is there no originality or creativity left in us? What the hell is wrong with entrepreneurship?
Update: Incidentally, the fact that Wordpress (an actual company) added this feature reiterates my other beef with entrepreneurship of late, most of the URL shortening “companies” were in fact simply features… as are 90% of the “companies” that pop up these days.
A bit floored that Marc Andreessen is investing in content: Talking Points Memo. Not many investors are comfortable investing in content, unless there’s really no risk…
Personally I wonder why TMP bothered raising money if they’re profitable. I think some entrepreneurs (ie. me, in 2007) get enamored with the notions of raising capital… then reality sets in. Methings Josh Marshall will wake up from this nightmare sometime in 2011.
Read more.
The Ten Commandments are recognized as the moral foundation in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. They also serve as the basis for many judicial systems around the world. Today however, I will be focusing on a specific commandment, namely number VIII on the infamous stone tablets Moses schlepped down Mount Sinai: Thou Shalt Not Steal.
A few weeks ago I stumbled onto a blog developed by two former ad execs, Jon Noel & Adam Kubik. Now, this isn’t your typical Perezite Hilton, celebrity gossip site… StealOurIdeas.com is creativity with a sense of humor, media relevance and political flare.
I had a chance to ask Jon & Adam a question, here’s what they had to say:
WM.com:
“So guys, what if someone wanted to steal one of your ideas and use it in a campaign?”
Jon & Adam:
“…we’d of course hope they’d either give us credit or compensate us, but it’s up to them. There are a lot of reasons we’re doing the site and money & fame aren’t too high on the list. It’s similar to why does a graffiti artist leaves his mark on a wall if no one knows who he is. We needed a creative outlet that we weren’t getting from the ad world so we started this site in response to some of the problems with the industry. We’re having fun with it, and people seem to enjoy it as well; so we’re going to keep it up as long as we can.”
Not only do they freely allow advertisers and agencies to steal the ideas posted on their blog, but they even allow people to submit creative briefs, which they will develop into a custom idea just for you. Briefs can be emailed to Stealourideas@gmail.com.
So if one day you find yourself with a mental block lasting longer than Moses and his posse’s trek through the desert, send Jon & Adam a quick note and you should expect to receive the creative equivalent of manna…
PLAY
