May 12, 2013
18,953 notes
18,953 notes
With deference to the genius of David Bowie, here’s Space Oddity, recorded on Station. A last glimpse of the World.
Huge thanks in the making of the video to the talented trio of Emm Gryner, Joe Corcoran and Andrew Tidby, plus Evan Hadfield and all at the CSA.Space folk songs of the future.
Sublime.
We can be so much more, you guys.
May 5, 2013
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1 note
Google partners with Kenya's largest bank to launch payment card for public buses.
What is Google up to in Kenya?
The news that Google is getting into the cashless transaction space in the country is no surprise, since Kenya is the home of M-Pesa, the most successful mobile payment system in the world (31% of Kenya’s GDP goes through the M-Pesa network).
Unsurprising, yes, but fascinating all the same. Very curious to see whether Google will import these experiments back to the United States.
Also interesting: bus drivers are apparently working hard to undermine the system. They benefit from the inefficiency of the cash system, which allows them to double or even triple prices at will.
May 5, 2013
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Alan Cohen: The Ad Man Who Molds Tech Startups
Bloomberg Businessweek has a short profile of Alan Cohen, an advertising executive at OMD. Startups work with Cohen during product development in return for a slice of the $12 billion ad budget that his media agency controls.
While I understand the value to these companies of having the support of an industry insider as they inch towards profitability, it’s surprising to see the extent to which Cohen influences the product roadmaps of the companies he advises.
At OMD’s suggestion, the audio-recognition company Shazam expanded its mobile phone-based music-identification technology to TV commercials, enabling brands to offer users special promotions when they’re watching…News-reading app Flipboard added brand-sponsored content at OMD’s suggestion. “The relationship has really helped shape our business model,” says Christine Cook, Flipboard’s head of revenue. Before releasing Flipboard in 2010, Chief Executive Officer Mike McCue gave Cohen an early look, both men say. After OMD pushed Flipboard to develop catalogs that allow readers to buy the advertised products with a few taps, Cohen sank in money from Levi’s for jeans ads.
You’ve likely experienced the story where a much-loved internet product is ruined by intrusive, barely relevant advertising. My worry is that with the ad people given pride of place at the decision-making table, the motivating question will no longer be “How can we best delight our users in a way that helps us maintain a sustainable business?” but rather “How can we get more ads in here?”
Additionally, I wonder if the ready access to advertising dollars isn’t stifling ideas for non-ad supported monetization strategies. Is the answer to the business model question simply “More ads!”?
May 4, 2013
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3 notes
I found out right after the war that if someone were discharged as homosexual, a notice of that fact was sent home to their local draft board, so that their whole community would come to know that they were gay. And this led indirectly to the formation of gay ghettos in the major cities, where people who couldn’t go home, because their sexuality had been revealed by the army, had to move into Greenwich Village or the San Francisco Castro. This was the beginning of the huge gay communities in the major cities.Tell: An Intimate History of Gay Men in the Military
May 2, 2013
19,588 notes
19,588 notes
You’ll be fine. You’re 25. Feeling unsure and lost is part of your path. Don’t avoid it. See what those feelings are showing you and use it. Take a breath. You’ll be okay. Even if you don’t feel okay all the time.Louis CK (via dinocube)
(Source: reddit.com, via pianofights)
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Curious about cities, patterns, design, and marginalia. I use the word 'narrative' a lot. Emmanuel is Ghanaian, and a long way from home. Nice to meet you. (@equartey, Pinterest, email, ask)
tags: i made this, responses
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