Critical Fluff

"I was having dinner with a group of friends about a month ago, and one of them was talking about..."

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:46:41 -0400

“I was having dinner with a group of friends about a month ago, and one of them was talking about sitting with his four-year-old daughter watching a DVD. And in the middle of the movie, apropos nothing, she jumps up off the couch and runs around behind the screen. That seems like a cute moment. Maybe she’s going back there to see if Dora is really back there or whatever. But that wasn’t what she was doing. She started rooting around in the cables. And her dad said, “What you doing?” And she stuck her head out from behind the screen and said, “Looking for the mouse.” Here’s something four-year-olds know: A screen that ships without a mouse ships broken. Here’s something four-year-olds know: Media that’s targeted at you but doesn’t include you may not be worth sitting still for. Those are things that make me believe that this is a one-way change. Because four year olds, the people who are soaking most deeply in the current environment, who won’t have to go through the trauma that I have to go through of trying to unlearn a childhood spent watching Gilligan’s Island, they just assume that media includes consuming, producing and sharing. It’s also become my motto, when people ask me what we’re doing—and when I say “we” I mean the larger society trying to figure out how to deploy this cognitive surplus, but I also mean we, especially, the people in this room, the people who are working hammer and tongs at figuring out the next good idea. From now on, that’s what I’m going to tell them: We’re looking for the mouse. We’re going to look at every place that a reader or a listener or a viewer or a user has been locked out, has been served up passive or a fixed or a canned experience, and ask ourselves, “If we carve out a little bit of the cognitive surplus and deploy it here, could we make a good thing happen?” And I’m betting the answer is yes.”

- Gin, Television, and Social Surplus - Here Comes Everybody

Thanks Kate!

"The graphic was already proudly etched on mousemats and pens before it was unveiled for employees,..."

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:36:30 -0400

“The graphic was already proudly etched on mousemats and pens before it was unveiled for employees, who spotted the clanger within seconds….”

- OGC unveils new logo to red faces - Telegraph

Smart Mobs » Blog Archive » Howard Rheingold one of 17 winners of HASTAC/MacArthur Foundation Competition

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 10:00:42 -0400

Smart Mobs » Blog Archive » Howard Rheingold one of 17 winners of HASTAC/MacArthur Foundation Competition

"It’s worth remembering that, in a literary context, another word for “parasitic”..."

Sun, 06 Apr 2008 21:42:20 -0400

“It’s worth remembering that, in a literary context, another word for “parasitic” is “critical”. Blogging is, at its essence, a critical form, a means of recycling other writings to ensure that every molecule of sense, whether real or imagined, is distilled and consumed.”

- Nicholas Carr: Feel free to call my blog a parasite | Technology | The Guardian

Gore Launches Ambitious Advocacy Campaign on Climate - washingtonpost.com

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 14:51:20 -0400

Gore Launches Ambitious Advocacy Campaign on Climate - washingtonpost.com

Security: The Man Who Owns DoNotReply.com Knows All The Secrets Of The World

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 11:28:18 -0400

Security: The Man Who Owns DoNotReply.com Knows All The Secrets Of The World:

(and he helps dogs)

eMusic making good money from back catalog

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 07:18:45 -0400

eMusic making good money from back catalog:

Each quarter, [eMusic] sells at least one copy of 67 percent of its total inventory, and has done so consistently…

Honey, will you marry... Oh. Never mind... | U.S. | Reuters

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 07:14:26 -0400

Honey, will you marry... Oh. Never mind... | U.S. | Reuters

my 15 seconds. okay, 3.

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 07:28:49 -0500

my 15 seconds. okay, 3.

DIY wine blending kit

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 14:26:40 -0500

DIY wine blending kit

Locamoda Video on NECN

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 10:09:08 -0500

Locamoda Video on NECN

Dork talk | Technology | The Guardian

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 19:23:34 -0500

Dork talk | Technology | The Guardian:

This Blog Sits at the: Adam Smith and the American corporation

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 19:05:50 -0500

This Blog Sits at the: Adam Smith and the American corporation

Poynter Online - The Sad Decline of Britney Spears and Our Voyeuristic Complicity

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 18:54:50 -0500

Poynter Online - The Sad Decline of Britney Spears and Our Voyeuristic Complicity

University Of Brighton Professor Places Ban On Google And Wikipedia

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 18:31:28 -0500

University Of Brighton Professor Places Ban On Google And Wikipedia

This Blog Sits at the: Bill Belichick: cultural innovator or bobo poseur?

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 13:00:15 -0500

This Blog Sits at the: Bill Belichick: cultural innovator or bobo poseur?

Shower With Girlfriend

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 20:41:02 -0400

Shower With Girlfriend

NPR : Marion Jones Admits Using Steroids

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 09:44:35 -0400

NPR : Marion Jones Admits Using Steroids

"Sort of like all those cute bottles adorned with moose, monkeys and penguins that took hold a few..."

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 10:22:59 -0400

“Sort of like all those cute bottles adorned with moose, monkeys and penguins that took hold a few years back, except with Jesus?
“Yes, like that.””

- At Sunday Dinner, May We Suggest This Divine Wine?

"sin tax"

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 09:56:58 -0400

"sin tax"