PSA: Apps are not the internet

I’m noticing a general misunderstanding about how the internet works. Many people (though perhaps not you, dear reader), think that apps like FB, Twitter and Instagram are equivalent to “the internet”. They are not. They are private, for-profit companies, and you agreed to terms of service with them. They are providing a service to you for free, funded by advertisers and investors, and responsible to the stock market, not to you.

There is still a free and open internet, but most web traffic today is produced by private apps and services, not by blogs and websites hosted on open-source software, as in the early days of the ‘net. If you want unmoderated, free and open information exchange, you can build a website using open-source software. But be aware that if you contract with a web hosting service to power it, that is also a private company, and they can set terms. Just as courts have said a baker can refuse to provide a cake to a couple they choose not to serve, you and your speech fall under that standard too. The sword cuts both ways.

You can speak freely under your own power, but not necessarily under the power of your preferred data center. If a tech company doesn’t want to power an adult site, or a conservative or a liberal site, that’s their choice. They set the terms of their service. And your favorite app is not the internet. You’ve just been trained to think so, by convenience and habit.

Things I Read this Weekend (3-23-2014)

Too much choice is always bad
http://blog.ted.com/2012/07/18/does-having-choice-make-us-happy-6-studies-that-suggest-it-doesnt-always/

http://www.ted.com/talks/sheena_iyengar_choosing_what_to_choose

Simon Sinek is my hero:
http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action

http://www.inc.com/stephanie-meyers/simon-sinek-evolution-leadership.html

https://startwithwhy.com/

The most social companies:
http://mashable.com/2014/03/18/social-small-biz-winner/

It makes me want a chromebook. Except I don’t need a chromebook:
http://howto.cnet.com/8301-11310_39-57620507-285/how-to-run-both-chrome-os-and-ubuntu-on-a-chromebook/?ttag=fbwp

Good business advice from Warren Buffett’s career
http://ventureburn.com/2013/03/14-lessons-every-startup-can-learn-from-warren-buffett/

Russia is building a space hotel with 4 guest rooms, launching in 2 years:
http://en.docsity.com/news/interesting-facts/russia-building-hotel-space/

I <3 N Y ?

I think if the brilliantly simple I (heart) NY campaign was pitched today, it would be rejected. We have become too cynical — too suspicious of advertising for something so direct to work. The reason it endures now is that it’s survived long enough to become beloved kitsch.

Sometimes the right fortune finds you

That’s entertainment?

Today, while the Boston police are tracking the 2nd suspected Boston Marathon bomber, I clicked on a news story, and had to watch a video ad first. It was for a buddy cop movie with lots of guns, car chases. It did not feel like entertainment. It did not feel fun today. Maybe that’s the correct reaction to seeing guns and a car chase. Maybe they should not be entertainment.

Boston

I saw “Argo” on Saturday, which began with a very simple history lesson to remind the audience that the US engineered a coup and supported a dictator in order to secure oil supplies, which resulted in unfathomable misery and killings for decades. Plus the 1979 hostage crisis, etc, etc.
Now this bombing, today.
I’m not condoning violence. I abhor violence. But I also recognize many people are very angry about all sorts of things we generally don’t think about, and from their perspective, it’s with cause. I recognize karma. I recognize there’s always more to the story. And the victims are usually innocent of the cause.
Please be nice. Everyone, please learn to forgive the past and work toward peace and understanding. Violence on top of violence does no good.

Ray Kurzweil and exponential health technology

This really hits my sweet spot — health and sci-fi technology. I stumbled across this report and got hooked.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2012/07/disappearing-dead-economic-optimism-about-immortality.html

There are 3 online video extras about Ray from this report. This page holds the 3rd, and has links to the other two.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2012/07/ray-kurzweil-on-bringing-back-the-dead-and-a-viewer-question-when-is-paul-solman-going-to-retire.html

And Singularity University, which he cofounded to advance technology for good:
http://singularityu.org/

And this is his online nutrition store:
http://www.rayandterry.com/

Excellent business advice

This sign, in a local merchant’s booth, says “Love all, serve all. Help ever, hurt never.”

Good advice, not just for business, but for life.

 

 

 

Chick-fil-A is Insane

I create brands, logos, slogans. And as a professional, I think this lawsuit that Chick-fil-A has brought against a small t-shirt silkscreener is insanity. Do you think a t-shirt that says “Eat More Kale” could possibly be confused with their “Eat Mor Chikin” campaign? Last time I checked, chicken was not a vegetable. Does Chick-fil-A even sell vegetables? Maybe their lawyers don’t know what kale is. Maybe their lawyers just needed to increase their billable hours…

http://www.change.org/petitions/chick-fil-a-stop-bullying-small-business-owners

This is what war does.

Iraqi Taxi Drivers killed for their cars, buried in mass grave.

Are they less oppressed now than before the war?