Feb 14, 2024Member-onlyThe Internet Isn’t Special. Real Space Is. Larry Lessig on Our Failure To Regulate Tech.I’ve known Larry Lessig for more than 25 years, and throughout that time, I’ve looked to him for wisdom — and a bit of pique — when it comes to understanding the complex interplay of law, technology, and the future of the Internet. Lessig is currently the Roy L. Furman…Artificial Intelligence19 min readArtificial Intelligence19 min read
Feb 9, 2024Member-onlyVint Cerf And The Internet Driver’s Licensehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrV3yTMCkNg (Note: Having some trouble with the YT embed…will try again…) Vint Cerf is one of the most recognizable figures in the pantheon of Internet stardom — and as he enters his ninth decade of a remarkable life, one of its most accomplished. I had the honor of interviewing Dr. Cerf…Internet22 min readInternet22 min read
Feb 9, 2024Member-onlyIs Google Being Too Cautious?As hype escalated around the debut of ChatGPT more than a year ago, I predicted that OpenAI and Microsoft would rapidly develop consumer subscription service models for their nascent businesses. Later that year I wrote a piece speculating that Google would inevitably follow suit. If Google was smart, and careful…AI4 min readAI4 min read
Feb 1, 2024Member-onlyShoot The Messenger, Not the StaffI predicted the death of Jimmy Finkelstein’s The Messenger as soon as I read about its impending launch back in March of last year. At the time I had just soft-landed The Recount and was licking three decades of wounds related to launching, running, selling and shuttering digital media startups…Media2 min readMedia2 min read
Jan 31, 2024Member-onlyWhy Google Won’t Answer This One Simple QuestionReading Ben Thompson’s coverage of Google’s earnings call this week, one thing jumps out, and simply can’t be ignored: Google CEO Sundar Pichai was asked a simple question, and, as Thompson points out, Pichai dodged it completely. A Merril analyst asked this question: “Just wondering if you see any changes…Search2 min readSearch2 min read
Dec 28, 2023Member-onlyAn AI Pause, Apple’s Bad Year, Small Media Rising, Big Data: 2024 PredictionsLet’s talk 2024. — 2023 was a down year on the predictions front, but at least I’ve learned to sidestep distractions like Trump, crypto, and Musk. If I can avoid talking about the joys of the upcoming election and/or the politics of Silicon Valley billionaires, I’m optimistic I’ll return to form. As always, I…Apple8 min readApple8 min read
Dec 22, 2023Member-onlyEat Sleep Drink Dream — A Year of Taking Work Less SeriouslyI don’t often write about personal things here, but the two most-read posts of this past year were Mastering The Rudiments, about my journey with learning the drums, and Unretirement, a personal reflection on my career. I wrote both of those back in May — a shoulder month between seasons…Drinking6 min readDrinking6 min read
Dec 21, 2023Member-onlyPredictions 2023: How’d I Do?Not as well as last year, I’m afraid. I blame Twitter. — Well that was one hell of a year. As I do each December, it’s time to grade my own homework. And the past twelve months certainly started out well. But unless a certain fascistic presidential candidate has a change of heart in the next few days (he won’t), I’m afraid…Predictions6 min readPredictions6 min read
Dec 11, 2023Member-onlyWill Advertising Ruin Threads?It doesn’t have to. I stopped using Twitter over a year ago, as soon as Elon Musk took control of the place. …Marketing3 min readMarketing3 min read
Nov 3, 2023Member-onlyLet’s Bring Back Prime Time TVI hate to admit it, but I miss prime time. For those of you born after Seinfeld went off the air, “prime time” dominated an era when television viewers only had three or four choices at any given time. Before streaming took over our devices, before cable devolved to 500…Television4 min readTelevision4 min read