jason hirschhorn's Media ReDEFined

The New York Times’s Arthur Sulzberger Jr. and the Demise of Janet Robinson -- New York Magazine

2012-05-28T05:04:25Z

Who slew Times CEO Janet Robinson? Was it Arthur Sulzberger’s new lady friend? The advertising market? The frustrated web guru? Or the ambitious Sulzberger cousin?

In Italy, Technology Is Leading to a TV Transformation

2012-05-28T05:40:08Z

Silvio Berlusconi’s television company is flailing amid Internet-driven challenges to the government’s traditional favored status for the media’s old guard.

If Facebook Really Goes Into The Mobile Hardware Business, Investors Should Run Away Screaming (FB)

2012-05-28T01:22:00Z

Facebook is poaching ex-Apple engineers to build a smartphone, Nick Bilton of the New York Times reports. This is the third iteration of Facebook's smartphone plans--from hardware to software and back to hardware again. If Facebook is serious about jumping into making smartphones with both feet...

The Media Equation: The Times-Picayune, New Orleans and a Doomed Romance

2012-05-28T05:30:01Z

In a city where not much of anything works, The Times-Picayune does, and nothing got print romanticists more dewy-eyed than the announcement of its reduced schedule.

Ian Burrell: The internet Antichrist who is converting online evangelists

2012-05-27T23:00:01Z

Andrew Keen, the British-born and self-styled "Antichrist of Silicon Valley", has a problem. The internet evangelists who once heckled and abused him for his heretical questioning of the accepted wisdom of the digital future are now starting to agree with him. Keen is a strange concoction. Based in...

Cannes’s Mischief Maker

2012-05-27T08:45:00Z

Director Lee Daniels stormed the festival with ‘The Paperboy’—and its buzzy Nicole Kidman urination scene. He talks to Richard Porton about race, Hollywood, and gay love in the 1970s.

Please Don’t Ruin The Second Screen

2012-05-28T00:30:24Z

Editor’s note:Somrat Niyogi is the CEO of Miso. There are advantages and disadvantages of being one of the earlier companies in a very early market. While new companies get to watch, observe, and create their own insights based on product features incumbents develop, we get to constantly...

Steve Clayton on Microsoft’s push for “natural user interfaces”

2012-05-28T00:28:18Z

At PSFK’s 2012 Conference in NYC, Steve Clayton gave a talk on Microsoft’s latest push towards designing technology that actually feels natural to users. Overall, this is a trend that has slowly become more and more abundant in consumer tech over the past few decades. Prime examples of designers...

Motion Picture Academy to Begin Presidential Succession Process

2012-05-28T05:32:04Z

Because of term limits, Tom Sherak, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, is leaving a post that has emerged as one of the few bully pulpits in the film business.

Bono's Alter Egos during ZOO TV, by U2fanlife (Spain)

2012-05-27T15:49:54Z

Bono's Alter Egos during ZOO TV, by U2fanlife (Spain): Via

Eduardo Saverin Finally Opens Up: 'No Hard Feelings Between Me And Mark Zuckerberg'

2012-05-27T23:23:53Z

In a new exclusive interview, eight years after the founding of Facebook, Eduardo Saverin finally talks openly about the website's creation, his current investments and, of course, his so-called feud with Mark Zuckerberg.

Hollywood a longtime friend of the CIA

2012-05-27T03:55:00Z

High-level access granted to filmmakers researching a movie about the Osama bin Laden raid is just the latest episode in an increasingly close, cooperative arrangement that has spanned administrations. WASHINGTON — Some Republican lawmakers were outraged when federal records released last week...

Harnessing Strength Of Online Gambling

2012-05-28T07:55:42Z

As more customers embrace tablet and smartphone apps, Paddy Power, Europe's biggest gambling company, is fighting to stay ahead of the competition.

For Tech Start-Ups, New York Has Increasing Allure

2012-05-28T11:59:48Z

New York may not be overtaking the Bay Area as a technology hub, but it is becoming enough of an alternative that a few West Coast-born startups are moving east.

Magid: Facebook IPO hype misses the point

2012-05-26T02:19:58Z

Although Wall Street may see it differently, Facebook's main task is not about making a quick buck. It's about slowly and methodically building a sustainable business that's both financially profitable and socially useful, long into the future.

Cannes Finale: The Jury Talks And Hammond’s Analysis Of The Winners

2012-05-27T22:21:17Z

It’s all over now, and really all over at Cannes for the American contingent of five competition entries plus English-language films like Walter Salles’ On The Road and David Cronenberg’s not-well-received Robert Pattinson starrer Cosmopolis. The Cannes Jury led by italian actor-director Nanni...

The Cash Critics of Crowdfunding? Ignorant at best. - by Slade Villena

2012-05-27T06:07:00Z

This is when criticism turns into bullying, and I'm not gonna let that slide.

Forget 'Patton' - Here Are 6 Underrated War Movies to Watch on Memorial Day

2012-05-27T22:35:48Z

This Memorial Day, you don't have to watch, again, as George C. Scott address the troops beneath a massive American flag or quote along as Robert Duvall rants about the smell of napalm in the morning. Here are six films that belong among the most compelling and emotionally involving cinematic...

Morocco hosts world's artists, imprisons its own

2012-05-26T07:23:38Z

Morocco's glittering Mawazine international music festival wraps up this weekend with performances by Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz, after nine days of showcasing the North African kingdom's cool factor — even as dissident Moroccan musicians are imprisoned for their anti-establishment...

Media Decoder Blog: From Dwell and New York Magazines, a Special Design Issue

2012-05-28T12:57:16Z

The modern design guide Dwell will introduce an annual publication with New York magazine tied to a weeklong design festival.

The New Hack Stack

2012-05-27T18:54:00Z

In the past, the starter stack for web programming was LAMP. The ‘P’ originally stood for Perl, and then became mainly PHP. Today, with $5/month shared web hosting and thousands of PHP-based scripts & applications, this success is hard to argue with. But the truth is, managing even a shared...

Lady Gaga Cancels Indonesian Concert After Security Threats

2012-05-27T21:35:42Z

The pop superstar decided to cancel her performance in the Muslim-majority country after Islamic extremists threatened violence if she tried to go on with the show. read more

How The Future of Mobile Lies in the Developing World

2012-05-27T21:26:04Z

Editor’s note: This guest post is written by Erica Kochi, the co-lead of Tech Innovation at UNICEF. Her team started UNICEF’s open source RapidSMS platform which has been adopted in developing countries worldwide. She co-teaches a class ”Design for Unicef” in NYU’s ITP Program, and has lectured at...

Trip Hawkins steps down as Digital Chocolate CEO, says studio is becoming more “streamlined” as layoffs are reported

2012-05-27T21:18:10Z

Digital Chocolate CEO Trip Hawkins today announced he is stepping down as the company’s CEO and stepping into a “consulting and advisory relationship” with the studio. Hawkins is still listed as the CEO on Digital Chocolate’s website and no replacement has been officially announced by the time of...

Foreign Box Office: 'Men In Black 3' Handily Unseats 'The Avengers' as the No. 1 Hit Overseas

2012-05-27T20:40:21Z

Cannes' main competition titles enter commercial playoff with mixed results; China draws in $20 million for "MIB3" while Russia kicks in nearly $19 million, but summer-like weather dampens European action. read more

Is One Superhero's Same-Sex Marriage an Existential Threat to Comic Book Marriages?

2012-05-22T20:47:50Z

Marvel Comics' Northstar, a French-Candian superhero who came out as gay in the 1990s, is getting married to his longtime boyfriend Kyle. Jill Pantozzi at The Mary Sue explains: In a press release Axel Alonso, Marvel Editor in Chief, said, "The Marvel Universe has always reflected the world...

Fracking: The Music Video

2012-05-23T10:00:00Z

This story first appeared on the ProPublica website. Have you been curious what all the hubbub on "fracking" is about? Here is a fabulous music video explaining it: Here's more about the video, which was done by David Holmes and other talented journalism students at Jay Rosen's NYU's...

There Are 200 Million Music Buyers. And 7 Billion People...

2012-05-27T20:40:03Z

Are we just doing it wrong? The downer argument is that price-points are careening towards zero, scarcity has evaporated, and monetization is a lost cause.

The Electric Mind: One Woman’s Battle Against Paralysis at the Frontiers of Science

2012-05-27T18:59:36Z

Paralyzed and unable to speak after a stroke, Cathy Hutchinson was trapped inside her mind, only communicating with the outside world through her eyes.

Facebook’s Brilliant Disaster - NYTimes.com

2012-05-27T20:16:27Z

Predict the Future? We Aren't Even Reporting the Present Accurately

2012-05-27T04:00:00Z

Misinformation hurts business. That's why we need better data collection from those inside the industry.

Eurovision spotlight promotes, exposes Azerbaijan

2012-05-27T20:15:08Z

Azerbaijan basked in the promotional spotlight that shone on its oil-boom capital during the Eurovision Song Contest but the attention also brought unwelcome scrutiny of its record on human rights.

The best thing about Facebook’s IPO: The tech “bubble” is over.

2012-05-27T20:48:34Z

A bit more than a week after Facebook’s IPO, two different theories are emerging about the monster offering. The big story is that it was a colossal failure, so bad that it’s hard to think of enough ways properly describe it—a disaster, debacle, catastrophe, maybe even a terrorist attack. The...

Cannes 2012: THR's Film Critic Todd McCarthy Reflects on Festival Award Winners

2012-05-27T19:53:39Z

Cannes jury got it pretty right with Palm d'Or winner "Amour," from Michael Haneke. read more

Cut It Out, Internet Bullies!

2012-05-27T08:45:00Z

After Meghan McCain spoke out about the GOP’s extremists, the blogosphere blew up with personal attacks.

Apple's Biggest Threat in Mobile Ad Space? Amazon

2012-05-27T04:00:00Z

With its own hardware and data on consumers who purchased $48.1 billion worth of goods last year, Amazon is set to make its move.

Instagram Is OK, But Photoshop Is Evil? The Truth About Digital Lies

2012-05-27T04:00:00Z

Instagram's real triumph is that it makes distorting reality a snap (or, actually, a tap). Quite simply, Instagram makes it easy to lie -- or at least fib -- visually.

Shutterfly Bets Kodak Gallery Users' Precious Memories Are Worth Big Bucks

2012-05-27T04:00:00Z

Kodak moments will soon become Shutterfly moments, as the 12-year-old digital-photo giant takes over the online business of the imaging giant.

When Tragedy Becomes a Nightmare

2012-05-27T08:45:00Z

Two widows fight on to clear their husbands’ names 12 years after they died in a military plane crash.

The Cash Critics of Crowdfunding? Ignorant at best. - by Slade Villena

2012-05-27T06:07:00Z

This is when criticism turns into bullying, and I'm not gonna let that slide.

Wists-ful thinking: lessons from a prelude to Pinterest

2012-05-27T19:35:35Z

Back in 2006, Wists, a visual bookmarking site I had launched a year earlier was gaining traction with women who were into crafts. I showed the website to two whip-smart friends, Shana Fisher and her husband, Jonathan Glick. Like many people, they didn’t buy my argument that collecting thumbnail...

Guest Post: Data, Drugs, And Deception- A True Story

2012-05-27T19:07:15Z

Editor's Note: The following guest post by Dr. David Newman is reprinted with permission from his website and blog, Smartem.Org.??Dr. Newman is an Emergency Physician and Director of Clinical Research at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in the Department of Emergency Medicine.?? He is the author of the...

Andy Samberg Announces Death of Liberal Arts, Coolness of Science Majors at Harvard Class Day

2012-05-27T19:08:36Z

Every time Harvard Class Day rolls around, you can expect a few good laughs from a comedian. In years past, Sacha Baron Cohen (a Cambridge grad), appearing as Ali G, offered some words of nonsensical wisdom to Harvard grads. Amy Poehler and Will Ferrell have done the same. This year brings Andy...

YouView trials enter final stage

2012-05-27T18:49:16Z

The much-delayed internet TV venture may go on general sale before Christmas after board gives go-ahead for new test run in around 350 homes

Jamming Tripoli: Inside Moammar Gadhafi's Secret Surveillance Network | Threat Level | Wired.com

2012-05-27T18:53:40Z

He once was known as al-Jamil—the Handsome One—for his chiseled features and dark curls. But four decades as dictator had considerably dimmed the looks of Moammar Gadhafi. At 68, he now wore a face lined with deep folds, and his lips hung slack, crested with a sparse mustache. When he stepped from...

News articles as assets and paths

2012-05-27T00:30:25Z

This is the start of a new project I’m working on to brainstorm new forms, relationships, and (business) models for news. Responding to a current discussion on Twitter among @AntDeRosa, @felixsalmon, @jayrosn_nyu & @davewiner about the form of articles, I’m posting it here. The discussion...

A Rapper Ravaged By An Online Firestorm

2012-05-27T18:09:00Z

Two degrees from Stanford aren't your usual recipe for hip-hop credibility, but Korean rapper Tablo found success at the top of the charts. That was, until a single rumor set websites ablaze with pop-culture paranoia and conspiracy. » E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us

How David Byrne and Brian Eno Make Music Together: A Short Documentary

2012-05-25T22:02:24Z

On Monday, we posted the Artist Series, short profiles of various aesthetically-oriented creators by the late Hillman Curtis. Today, please enjoy what feels like the jewel in the Artist Series’ crown, despite not officially being part of it: Curtis’ promotional documentary on Brian Eno and David...

Seeing Like a Cable Company

2012-05-26T22:20:58Z

The great Comcast bandwidth cap debate continues! What worries Tim is Comcast blocking YouTube or newer, heretofore undiscovered forms of content. But here's the rub: Comcast benefits from the existence of YouTube. If users get consumer surplus from watching YouTube videos, that's great because...

'Vagina,' once unmentionable, has become a fashionable term

2012-05-27T07:00:00Z

The word with so many euphemisms is increasingly used in TV shows, films, social media and the culture in general. The word with so many euphemisms is increasingly used in TV shows, films, social media and the culture in general.

The experience economy

2012-05-26T22:52:40Z

Before World War 2, the middle-class in the developed world struggled to afford basic needs. In the post-war boom, standards of living rose dramatically, and people consumed far beyond what they needed. It was the age of conspicuous consumption: a race to own bigger cars and houses, and accumulate...

Facebook Tries, Tries Again on a Smartphone

2012-05-27T17:53:40Z

Can a software company build its own smartphone? We may well find out soon. This past week, Google completed its acquisition of the hardware maker Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, which could lead to the search giant's making its own smartphone. But another software titan might be getting into...

Traversing the Valley

2012-05-26T19:10:52Z

In Walter Isaacsonʼs biography of Steve Jobs, Isaacson describes the time that Jobs cold called Wendell Weeks, the CEO of Corning, Inc., to learn about Gorilla Glass (which is now used in more than 500 devices). Weeksʼ assistant refused to put him through, but offered to take a message. Jobs...

The Return of D'Angelo - GQ

2012-05-24T22:47:33Z

He was once hailed as the next Marvin Gaye. Then, after his ripped body threatened to overshadow his music, he vanished into addiction. So what the hell was he doing recently singing his heart out in a Pentecostal church in Stockholm? And how are his abs? Amy Wallace witnessed D'Angelo's ecstatic...

O'Brien: Steve Blank believes social might be killing Silicon Valley

2012-05-27T06:00:00Z

The influential entrepreneur and Stanford University instructors says investors are too busy chasing quick returns on social media startups to invest in innovations that have more impact, but take longer to pay off. To balance, Blank argues that there's some kind of role for the U.S. government to...

New York Times columnist David Carr talks media | TPMDC

2012-05-25T19:14:51Z

David Carr, media columnist and culture reporter for The New York Times, talked recently to TPM about the future of news, the “glorious” view of the Port Authority Bus Terminal from his desk and what would happen if Twitter went dark tomorrow.

Fair Game: James Breyer, a Director With Irons in Many Fires

2012-05-27T03:20:02Z

The woes are multiplying for James W. Breyer, a venture capitalist who is on the board of four companies with high-profile problems: Facebook, Dell, News Corporation and Wal-Mart.

Op-Ed Columnist: The Facebook Illusion

2012-05-27T03:03:03Z

The Internet economy isn’t as revolutionary as we had hoped.

Online video services need offline caching - gdgt

2012-05-25T19:36:03Z

I have a simple feature request for Hulu, Netflix, and all of the other online video services out there: let us cache programming for offline viewing.

Distributed And Destination Thinking - Only Dead Fish

2012-05-26T17:26:11Z

When I talk to clients about getting into a 'digital mindset' I often end up talking about the differences between distributed and destination thinking. Destination thinking is the kind of media approaches that have been with us for many years.

Red Bull Enters New Territory In Austin With First StarCraft II BattlegroundsTournament

2012-05-27T02:23:42Z

Red Bull has been at the forefront of blending real sports thinking, and marketing, with eSports. Over the past few years the energy drink maker, which has become a mainstay of extreme sports athletes, has treated its pro gamers just like its soccer players, skateboarders, surfers and NFL players....

Facebook says it knows you better than you do -- how?

2012-05-25T09:04:36Z

Facebook is different from Apple or Google or Amazon or Microsoft, says Mark Zuckerberg, because it doesn't build products. It seeks to improve the products built by everyone else. "If Apple or Google want to build a product, they typically go build it," the Facebook CEO told Charlie...

Jenkins: Guess What? Facebook Is Speculative

2012-05-28T08:30:35Z

What does the social-media company know about you that Google doesn't?

As Apps Move Into Cars, So Do More Distractions

2012-05-27T17:24:00Z

Automakers are fighting an undeclared war over in-dash apps, worrying regulators about more distracted driving.

The incredible story of Indie Game: The Movie

2012-05-27T07:01:10Z

The independent film’s lifecycle has undergone a lot of upheaval in the last 20 years, but it’s digital distribution that’s truly disrupting things, the latest example being Indie Game: The Movie. The independently produced documentary first premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, began a...

This 21-Year-Old Entrepreneur Is About To Start A Tech Dynasty

2012-05-27T12:39:00Z

Meet Darren Dodge, founder of About Last Night. He and his brother Derek Dodge, both sons of tech legend Don Dodge, have built an app that's designed to be the "operating system of your night life." It's an application designed to help you share your night life experiences and figure out what...

Telefónica risk-taker bets the future on digital expansion

2012-05-26T23:08:16Z

Matthew Key, former head of O2 in the UK, is gambling that he can make new digital and online ventures pay off for the Spanish telecoms firm Matthew Key's career has been marked by three big bets. As head of the O2 mobile network in the UK, he decided to back the 2007 reopening of the Millennium...

Slipstream: Fab.com and the Value of Online Word of Mouth

2012-05-27T03:20:02Z

Fab.com is a social-retailing pioneer — encouraging shoppers to discover and choose products through crowd-sourcing. And it keeps a constant watch on how customers spread the word.

Disrupted Rainy Weekend Reading (Or Viewing): IBM On Disruptive Innovation

2012-05-26T17:28:38Z

The Dynamics of Disruptive Innovation | vPanel 05/23/12 Jasper Maskelyne was a British stage magician. At the advent of World Word 2, Maskelyne rapped on the door of the British Army and volunteered his services. "We need soldiers, not entertainers," the desk sergeant quipped. Nevertheless,...

Goal-line technology prepares for international kick-off

2012-05-24T16:14:07Z

Goal-line technology might be coming to football a lot sooner than you think, as FIFA announces that the friendly matches between England and Belgium, and Denmark and Australia, on 2 June will be used to trial the two systems under consideration. For years the international governing body for...

Will the move to digital cut off my long-wave radio?

2012-05-27T06:00:20Z

A reader wonders if the BBC's move to digital will cut off his long-range service in Brussels

With Personal Data in Hand, Thieves File Early and Often

2012-05-27T11:58:08Z

Criminals filing false tax returns with made-up incomes have received hundreds of millions of dollars in refunds, law enforcement officials say.

What Apple’s Vibrating Pen Tells Us About the Future of Everything

2012-05-26T20:12:30Z

The site Patently Apple Wednesday posted a detailed analysis of a new Apple patent application for an iPen, a vibrating pen that makes noise. The application describes a haptic stylus containing a tiny speaker, which is designed to be used on touch screens. Apple watchers are scratching their...

Mercury News interview: Greg Woock, co-founder/CEO, Pinger

2012-05-26T06:00:00Z

Startup, one of the largest U.S. data carriers, is expanding into a fragmented telecom industry overseas that is ripe for profits.

Smash hit? Tennis star Rafael Nadal tries out new ‘electronic’ tennis racket

2012-05-26T18:45:08Z

A new 'electronic' tennis racket capable of collecting and instantly transmitting a stack of information about a player's performance was tested out at the French Open this week.

Mark Hurd: 'I felt Oracle was in a position to do something nobody else could do'

2012-05-26T18:00:44Z

Mark Hurd has made his Silicon Valley second coming at Oracle - he explains why he is so excited about 'big data' and the impending battle with rivals.

Anghami: The journey of launching an unlimited music streaming service in the Middle East

2012-05-26T18:44:07Z

Internet connections in Lebanon are notoriously bad, so much so that the Middle Eastern country is ranked among the very worst worldwide as far as speeds are concerned. That hasn’t deterred a pair of Lebanese entrepreneurs from launching a first-of-its-kind music service in the Middle East –...

For one night only! - FT.com

2012-05-27T08:59:09Z

It started as an informal read-through at a film director’s home but now Jason Reitman’s Live Reads are one of the hottest nights out in Los Angeles and New York

A Share Too Far: the Failure of Social Readers - The Cloud

2012-05-26T00:24:20Z

David Simon, creator of The Wire and Treme, on the Times-Picayune cuts

2012-05-25T16:09:22Z

It's grievous what is happening to regional newspapers, especially. But the whole industry will continue to collapse until everyone swallows hard and goes behind a paywall. The New York Times has shown us the end of the beginning; they've embraced the paywall and they are seeing significant...

The paidContent Interview

2012-05-27T18:47:56Z

It's memorial day weekend. We are at the beach with our family and I am taking it easy after a hectic week. I did a bunch of interviews and talks last week. It felt like I was in front of an audience at last a half dozen times in the span of four days. So I am going to take a short hiatus from...

Sheryl Sandberg's Full HBS Speech: Get On A Rocketship Whenever You Get The Chance

2012-05-25T17:00:00Z

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg delivered a speech to the graduating class of Harvard Business School this week. As usual, it's a great speech. We have the full video here, as well as a transcript from HBS below. (HBS warned us that one of their people, not a professional transcriber, wrote up the...

Next Up in Kinect-Style Motion Sensing: Ultrasound?

2012-05-25T15:00:00Z

Microsoft researchers have been developing a system called SoundWave that emits pulses in ultrasound ranges and detects Doppler-based changes to track human movements. Its creators hope their accidental discovery could improve gesture-based controls.

Spotify In A Box: Why Sharing Will Never Be Stopped | Techdirt

2012-05-26T00:39:14Z

Most people will be familiar with Moore's Law, usually stated in the form that processing power doubles every two years (or 18 months in some versions.) But just as important are the equivalent compound gains for storage and connectivity speeds, sometimes known as Kryder's Law and Nielsen's Law...

Retrans Fees Lurk at the Heart of the Lawsuits Over Dish's Auto Hop Service - Variety

2012-05-25T17:50:24Z

BBC News - Is there a future for local daily newspapers?

2012-05-25T22:06:35Z

Kim Polese: Stop Comparing Female Execs And Just Let Sheryl Sandberg Do Her Job - Forbes

2012-05-25T23:49:55Z

Home Screen: Apple's Social 'iTV' Will Change Our Living Rooms, and Our Lives

2012-05-26T15:32:01Z

Rumors have swirled for years about Apple launching a branded TV. Apple board member Mickey Drexler let slip last week that "Apple has 10 products... The living room they're dealing with at some point in the near future." What will it mean that Steve Jobs "cracked it" with a unique UI for an Apple...

How (RED) United the Social Web in the Fight Against AIDS

2012-05-25T16:42:41Z

Chances are, Product RED first came on your radar in 2006, when The Gap debuted its line of desi(RED), ado(RED) and inspi(RED) t-shirts. The t-shirts were the start of a viral movement, which today is recognizable in distinctive digital campaigns and partnerships with some of the world’s most...

"Saturday Night Live" Figures It Out

2012-05-25T19:53:20Z

Conan O’Brien has embraced TV’s new rules for the Web. So has his old employer. It used to take NBC a very long time to get clips from “Saturday Night Live” on the Internet, which is the whole reason that “Lazy Sunday” became a YouTube sensation.* Fast-forward to today, where NBC and its social...