shawn.me

Category: culture

  • Let the newspapers die

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    There’s no shortage of ideas for how the newspaper industry might save itself – by adopting new business models, distribution strategies, etc. The other day, my friend Ben suggested a new twist on subscriptions that would work something like cable television. Others hint that newspapers should push for mass adoption of the Kindle. Still others…

  • 5 things Yelp should do to avoid future lawsuits

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    My last post, “How to win at Yelp: a guide for businesses” was inspired by the recent controversies surrounding Yelp, and the gist of the post is just what it sounds like. However, I think there are some things Yelp can – and should – do to address allegations of fraud and extortion (beyond a…

  • How to win at Yelp: a guide for businesses

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    Last week, the East Bay Express published a lengthy story accusing Yelp of extortion. Among other things, the article charges Yelp of offering to take down negative reviews of businesses who agree to become “sponsors” and pay for advertising on the site. It’s not the first time Yelp has been the focus of controversy. Last…

  • We could have saved the economy… who knew?

    Here’s a remarkably simple formula for personal finance. It’s genius, and I wish someone had told us this sooner.

  • Sign o’ the times

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    I received my weekly BayCHI job bank email today, which has always contained at least twenty or thirty postings.  Today, however, it was so thin that I mistook the email for some other kind of announcement, and I scrolled right past the one(!) job posting it contained: Senior User Experience Designer at H&R Block –…

  • twitter is a game

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    On many occasions and even in a recent post, I’ve said that I just don’t get twitter. I was certain I didn’t want to tune in to the minutiae of my friends’ lives, and I was not interested in sharing mine. A few short weeks later, I’ve totally changed my tune, and I can say…

  • Maybe we need a downturn

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    The other day on my bus into downtown SF, a down-and-out looking guy stepped on and asked if anyone could give him the dollar he was short on bus fare. Amazingly, five or six people stepped up to oblige, and it got me thinking about the economy. I’ve seen people ask for money on the…

  • A Facebook Holiday

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    The somewhat agonizing ritual of sending holiday cards has been my way of keeping long-time and distant friends up-to-date on my life, and each year I feel a twinge of regret that a whole year has gone by without any other communication with many (most, really) of them. Enter Facebook. Facebook hasn’t replaced my holiday…

  • Huffington vs. Stewart backstage – on blogging and web TV

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    For the last couple of months, I’ve been working for Kyte (more on that in a future post), and yesterday we got a nice shout out from backstage at the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, highlighting Kyte’s mobile streaming capabilities. Ever the evangelist, Arianna was pressing Jon Stewart on the question of blogging – specifically,…

  • flirting with twitter

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    No, I don’t mean I’ve been flirting via twitter. It took me a long time to sign up for twitter. I just didn’t get it. I didn’t understand what it would add to my life. I’m not interested in knowing the moment-by-moment minutiae of my friends’ lives, and I’m not interested in sharing mine. It…