Well, I’m certainly having a good time watching the US stock market this morning - everything all around is higher and GOOG is up about 4% or $20. One thing I find interesting about CNBC’s coverage is that they keep calling Google “the stock that shall not be named”. I wonder why this is? Is it just because they understand their role as the big traditional media?
If so, then Google’s significant impact is on clear display.
http://sjl.funnyordie.com/v1
Very funny video, and you can’t get it on Youtube! If you search for it on Youtube, it tells you that “Funny or Die” has requested it be taken down for copyright reasons.
So this post has two points: 1. what a funny video and 2. very interesting startup web site concept of comedy videos using high quality content.
RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication”. So it’s about syndicating content and about getting it to you. In a simple way. Why, then, does everyone I talk to (outside the Internet world) think that using an rss feed reader is complicated and tecky and unnecessary? I don’t know.
What I do know is that I use a feed reader (Google Reader) and it is terrific. To me using it is like reading the newspaper used to be except the reader lets me organize everything the way I want. The Google Reader development team has described it as “your inbox for the web”. To me it’s just a great organization tool. And what better tool for organizing things could there be than for the material you want to read?
My mom loves the Internet. She loves to sell things on Craigslist and books on Half.com, look up recipes, nutrition facts, and how to do things. The only problem is she doesn’t know how to use the Internet. Here is a typical conversation between me and her regarding Internet use:
Mom: So did those books sell?
Me: Did you list them on Half.com?
Mom: No, I thought you were doing that.
Me: Yeah, I’ll get around to putting them on Half.com soon. You could go on there and just start reading the site though. I’m pretty busy I don’t know when I’ll get around to it.
Mom: How do I do it again?
Me: Ok, you find “Internet Explorer”. And since the home page is Google, you just type whatever you want on Google and read the results. Then you start reading the web pages that come up.
Mom: So everything just goes through Google?
Me: Pretty much, yes.
Since there are many levels of Internet savvy among people, I’m sure that everybody has family and friends who need explanations (I’m thinking particularly parents, grandparents, but could be anybody). I’d be interested to know how people handle these conversations and what stories they have.
I feel unsure how to respond to this news because the guy was so bizzare during his life. How would he want his death covered? Now I have to read some of those books of his that I never got around to reading.
Says he died of brain injuries.
Update: I thought I’d add a link to Vonnegut’s list of books on Amazon.
While surfing tonight, I found Sequoia Capital’s business idea reading materials. http://www.sequoiacap.com/ideas/
A great resource for thinking and taking action.