The Infinite Internet
What is this place
where I waste all my time?
Myspace is the decline
of western civilization...
...Amazing and graceless.
Why are 17 year olds so hot?
Maybe because they're halfway to 34, while I'm halfway to 50.
The internet overflows with useless information,
news of dead celebrities and
naked nobodies.
we're so in touch, we're out of touch
with reality.
It's easier to email than to call.
From America Online to wi-fi,
say goodbye to books, handwritten letters, yellowed newspapers and even TV.
So add the video to my digital diary, so I don't even have to type my thoughts up,
and I'll talk in codes, slang and short hand so you'll understand and see everything clearly,
under the influence of the internet; a LCD on LSD.
Showing posts with label The Internet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Internet. Show all posts
24 January 2008
20 March 2007
craigslist crazy
What do you think of craigslist? It’s more entertaining than useful to me. When I search jobs I can count on the amusing calls for call girls and some outlandish part time gigs. A retired friend of my mother’s landed a chauffeur stint for some wealthy Dallas doctor by responding to an ad. A friend of mine met his future roommate and girlfriend through his craigslist curiosity. Another acquaintance has a plush sectional to vegetate on; thanks to some Georgetown yuppie who was just dumping rather than selling, because he had to vamoose.
I know it’s not a reputable place for serious job sleuthing; however, there are more jobs in my field (writing) than any other online employment site. So maybe it is reputable. I admit I get sidetracked by the garage sale items, but I earnestly apply to what seem like legitimate jobs (i.e. detailed and with a real email address not job3456@craigslist.org) to no avail.
But honestly, over the past 2 years the management team is getting much better at weeding out scams and shady posts. Though craiglist’s layout bores, no advertisements assail you at login, you don’t have to subscribe or feed information to anyone you don’t choose to, and often you aren’t whisked to some other site while applying to jobs. In other words it’s less stress than monster or careerbuilder.
All this makes me wonder where the revenues coming from, who owns the site, and why hasn’t some internet or media or internet media goliath snatched craigslist up?
Turns out job postings do cost in major U.S. cities, which discourages some bogus ads. In the startup’s hometown, San Francisco, craigslist want ads cost nearly triple their print predecessors, but at $75 a pop companies shell out anyway. There are 200 active San Fran posts dating from a month and a day ago to today on the writer/editor link alone. That’s $15,000, for you math wizards. And if you want your post to appear under two headings, it’ll cost ya double. More paydirt! Craig Newmark puts the Craig in craigslist and owns 75% of his internet namesake; eBay owns the rest. I knew there was a reason I spent so much time on both sites!
If you are reading this and have experienced the bewildering (or not so bewildering, depending on your take) world of craigslist please post!
I know it’s not a reputable place for serious job sleuthing; however, there are more jobs in my field (writing) than any other online employment site. So maybe it is reputable. I admit I get sidetracked by the garage sale items, but I earnestly apply to what seem like legitimate jobs (i.e. detailed and with a real email address not job3456@craigslist.org) to no avail.
But honestly, over the past 2 years the management team is getting much better at weeding out scams and shady posts. Though craiglist’s layout bores, no advertisements assail you at login, you don’t have to subscribe or feed information to anyone you don’t choose to, and often you aren’t whisked to some other site while applying to jobs. In other words it’s less stress than monster or careerbuilder.
All this makes me wonder where the revenues coming from, who owns the site, and why hasn’t some internet or media or internet media goliath snatched craigslist up?
Turns out job postings do cost in major U.S. cities, which discourages some bogus ads. In the startup’s hometown, San Francisco, craigslist want ads cost nearly triple their print predecessors, but at $75 a pop companies shell out anyway. There are 200 active San Fran posts dating from a month and a day ago to today on the writer/editor link alone. That’s $15,000, for you math wizards. And if you want your post to appear under two headings, it’ll cost ya double. More paydirt! Craig Newmark puts the Craig in craigslist and owns 75% of his internet namesake; eBay owns the rest. I knew there was a reason I spent so much time on both sites!
If you are reading this and have experienced the bewildering (or not so bewildering, depending on your take) world of craigslist please post!
15 March 2007
Navigating the seas of internet piracy
Let’s face it, YouTube has a hot monopoly, but you can’t blame ‘em. No one else caught on as quickly; now traditional media sources like Viacom scramble to catch the digital video clip bus. Viacom may be too late, so it filed a $1 billion suit against YouTube for copyright infringement.
Sound familiar? Napster succumbed to similar pressure from Metallica and the RIAA, and started charging for downloads as clone programs such as KaZaa sprung up, staying under the radar. Who’s going to pay for something you can still get free? Then the RIAA started making examples of users who illegally downloaded music. It didn’t stop pirates and didn’t get people to pay. When was the last time you heard “Napster”?
YouTube’s parent company is too savvy to charge users, so they’re trying to eliminate the offending videos. Some speculate Viacom really wants a piece of the action or partnership, but the company denies it. Publicity is my guess, because otherwise not aligning Viacom with YouTube seems strange:
This is what Napster creator Shawn Fanning should have held out for. If enough devotees “steal” media with your server’s help you have enough buzz to generate big bucks and buyout. That’s the lesson I see here. People want internet content free—at least at first—then pseudotheft pays off. What did we think all the out of work information tech geeks would do when the bubble burst? They found a way out of a necktie noose. Good for them.
Sound familiar? Napster succumbed to similar pressure from Metallica and the RIAA, and started charging for downloads as clone programs such as KaZaa sprung up, staying under the radar. Who’s going to pay for something you can still get free? Then the RIAA started making examples of users who illegally downloaded music. It didn’t stop pirates and didn’t get people to pay. When was the last time you heard “Napster”?
YouTube’s parent company is too savvy to charge users, so they’re trying to eliminate the offending videos. Some speculate Viacom really wants a piece of the action or partnership, but the company denies it. Publicity is my guess, because otherwise not aligning Viacom with YouTube seems strange:
BitTorrent, a popular file-sharing technology that claims 135 million users
worldwide, developed a loyal following as a tool for pirated video and audio
downloads. Now, the company has re-tooled itself as the BitTorrent Entertainment
Network and partnered with Viacom and other media companies to offer paid video
downloads. Users can buy new release movies for $3.99 each; TV shows and music
videos cost $1.99. So far, 20th Century Fox, Lions Gate, MTV Networks, Paramount
Pictures, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and MGM have signed on.
John W. Schoen, MSNBC.com
This is what Napster creator Shawn Fanning should have held out for. If enough devotees “steal” media with your server’s help you have enough buzz to generate big bucks and buyout. That’s the lesson I see here. People want internet content free—at least at first—then pseudotheft pays off. What did we think all the out of work information tech geeks would do when the bubble burst? They found a way out of a necktie noose. Good for them.
02 February 2007
I'm really a sentimental fellow
Sometimes I wish someone would bulldoze the internet. Can something that big just disappear? Not likely. Not when a mere human of biodegradable material can no longer live anonymously.
We are social animals, most of us, and the internet is just another soiree. It's as dangerous as any other party; there are thieves and killers mingling in the next chat room.
People can take cover on the internet; there are lots of nice hiding places. But the shady privacy is being harvested to clear the way for surveillance. Now the internet is a detective tool. Prospective employers spy on a perspective employee’s elife. This applicant had too many virtual cocktails. Our government snoops through our email, rummaging in and outboxes like a bum in a dumpster. Subversive correspondence is better off by pony express.
Perhaps the evildoers seek shelter in someone else’s shoes; they’re imposters, now that the internet thicket is thinner. Identity theft may be the only ticket to anonymity today. Everyone is ensnared in the worldwide web. Some folks don't eat meat or buy material possessions; does anyone snub the internet? I'd like to say goodbye for good someday, but first, I'll need your identity.
We are social animals, most of us, and the internet is just another soiree. It's as dangerous as any other party; there are thieves and killers mingling in the next chat room.
People can take cover on the internet; there are lots of nice hiding places. But the shady privacy is being harvested to clear the way for surveillance. Now the internet is a detective tool. Prospective employers spy on a perspective employee’s elife. This applicant had too many virtual cocktails. Our government snoops through our email, rummaging in and outboxes like a bum in a dumpster. Subversive correspondence is better off by pony express.
Perhaps the evildoers seek shelter in someone else’s shoes; they’re imposters, now that the internet thicket is thinner. Identity theft may be the only ticket to anonymity today. Everyone is ensnared in the worldwide web. Some folks don't eat meat or buy material possessions; does anyone snub the internet? I'd like to say goodbye for good someday, but first, I'll need your identity.
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