better than a t-shirt
Even though I did recently join Facebook, I'm very much of the same opinion as Jason Kottke regarding Facebook vs. the Internet.
As it happens, we already have a platform on which anyone can communicate and collaborate with anyone else, individuals and companies can develop applications which can interoperate with one another through open and freely available tools, protocols, and interfaces. It's called the internet and it's more compelling than AOL was in 1994 and Facebook in 2007.
Facebook is the new AOL [kottke.org]
After avoiding it for some time, I am now on Facebook.
Note, I'm only friending people I've met IRL or people I've known online for a long time.
American rapper Kanye West, French house musicians Daft Punk (some of my favorite music) and imagery from Japan mixed together. Semi-interesting...
woo! (^-^)/
Of course the big news this week is Semel out at Yahoo! and Yang in as CEO. That topic has been over-analyzed to death and I don't have anything new to add to the discussion there.
What I'm sure no one noticed in the midst of the big news in Silicon Valley is that Paid Content reports that at long last Sony Connect is dead as a business.
Sony Connect To Close Music/Video Services; Focus on Servicing Playstation Group; 20 People To Go
And to add insult to injury, Sony's Japanese music service, Mora has been replaced by Apple's iTunes at Yahoo! Japan Music.
I've written a lot about Sony Connect over the years highlight all the problems with that business:
July 05, 2004 - Sony Connect FAQ
November 10, 2005 - Sony Connect Player 1.0 review
November 22, 2005 - Sony Connect Player fiasco
January 24, 2006 - Cleaning up after Sony Connect Player
April 26, 2006 - Sony Connect E.O.L.
To me, it's absolutely indicative of the malaise within Sony that Connect wasn't killed in mid-2006.
But really, no one cares about Sony anymore, because there's nothing to care about. Wii is killing PS3 in every market around the globe. the DS is killing the PSP in every market around the globe. Sony stock is up on account of Bravia, but "Bravia" is another name for "made by Samsung." Things may be turning around, and we're seeing desperately needed management changes, but I don't yet see new hit products to turn the tide.
Larry Lessig, probably most famous for starting the Creative Commons movement, has announced that he will be spending the next 10 years of his life investigating and trying to help solve problems around the corruption in politics. This is an incredible statement for many reasons.
I have decided to shift my academic work, and soon, my activism, away from the issues that have consumed me for the last 10 years, towards a new set of issues: Namely, these. "Corruption" as I've defined it elsewhere will be the focus of my work. For at least the next 10 years, it is the problem I will try to help solve.
I do this with no illusions. I am 99.9% confident that the problem I turn to will continue exist when this 10 year term is over. But the certainty of failure is sometimes a reason to try. That's true in this case.
Nor do I believe I have any magic bullet. Indeed, I am beginner. A significant chunk of the next ten years will be spent reading and studying the work of others. My hope is to build upon their work; I don't pretend to come with a revolution pre-baked.
Instead, what I come with is a desire to devote as much energy to these issues of "corruption" as I've devoted to the issues of network and IP sanity. This is a shift not to an easier project, but a different project. It is a decision to give up my work in a place some consider me an expert to begin work in a place where I am nothing more than a beginner.
I think history has already shown that Lawrence Lessig is one of the most visionary of men alive today, especially when it comes to intellectual property and law. It's incredible to think he will be changing fields completely, to attack a problem even larger than the problem around copyrights, which is certainly large enough for one man or even one movement (Creative Commons.)
I think what is most impressive about Larry Lessig is his fearlessness. I wish him luck and hope there may be some way I can support his efforts in the future.
I love these kinds of Marxy posts- "your cool new trend is now a boom. Still love it?"
Profile of Japanese high-end denim in the NY Times: Out-Levi-ing Levi Strauss.
This is the kind of thing that is emblematic of Japanese kaizen: attention to detail, interest in authenticity/history, making the item even better than the non-Japanese original. Considering how much time I spend in denim, I do want to check out Hinoya Plus Mart.
Longish profile of Steve Jobs by John Heileman in New York Magazine: Steve Jobs in a Box.
