What's next for Facebook apps
I'm convinced that Facebook's API is on course to become the single most important platform on the web - if someone can come up with a killer app for it. Since launching in May, thousands of apps have appeared but none that appear to be must-haves for now. Stanford is now offering a course in Facebook app building and Widgetbox today released a tool for creating apps with no knowledge of code. Several venture funds have created mini funds just to invest in Facebook apps. Oodles of valuable marketing-ready user data (and presumably the media dollars of the Fortune 500 companies that covet it) are up for grabs to whoever can successfully build the first must-have Facebook app.One thing that's interesting to me about all of this are the parallels between the development of new Facebook apps and the original web development (web1.0 or whatever you want to call it) 10 years ago and what we're seeing now. In the late 90's, we saw many companies scrambling to "internetize" their existing products (witness NBC.com in 1996) without much understanding of how to reach an audience or what to do with them once they arrived at their site, I feel like several Facebook apps are attempting a bit of the same thing right now.
Every web-based widget that's out there now has (or will soon have) a Facebook app. Among the apps added to my Facebook profile are feeds for del.icio.us, StumbleUpon, Last.FM and Twitter. What does this add to my Facebook experience right now? Not sure yet, other than an overwhelmingly larger amount of information that might as well distract my friends from my profile as much as it draws them to it. Call it one part late-90's portal nightmare, two parts awesome.
Right now I get the feeling that I'm the rare TechCrunch50k-type user who drools over integrated solutions on a network like Facebook's, but I'm still not sure how this app race is going to play out longer term. One thing that's certain is that considering the enormous number of apps already put out since May (CNET reported that there were 1,500 apps in the first month alone) will keep getting better and more fully featured. The tougher question is what we'll see that will blow away all the others. Permalink • 0 comments •
Airport Runways - The Next Frontier of Viewable Media
"Marketers see such ads as one way to reach busy consumers who pay less attention to television commercials than they used to."There's a piece in the NYT today about airports opening up landing strips for advertising. Most people will probably hate this because it's such a visible marketing platform and I don't think people like being overtly marketed to, but I think it's a fun idea and if it means that my local airports will have more money to add staff that will improve the efficiency of the airport then I'm all for it.
Link: The View From Your Airplane Window Was Brought to You By... Permalink • 0 comments •
greg oden is such an adorably big dork
Greg Oden, my favorite NBA player slash blogger who hasn't played a regular season game yet, reports that he got a dog and named it Charles Barkley McLovin. The image of Oden and his new friend is particularly awesome. Man I wish Oden wasn't out for the year. His blog is so awesome.Labels: sports
Permalink • 0 comments •Monday, September 24, 2007
monday's best of lerman
(16:37:09) Dave Lerman: btw, i had my ipod touch on the train on friday. i think 3 girls had sex with me.(16:41:27) Dave Lerman: you need to make a choice
(16:41:34) Dave Lerman: are you going with lower-case only, or not
(16:42:05) Dave Lerman: sept 21st: proper case
(16:42:13) Dave Lerman: sept 22nd: you've become e.e.cummings
Labels: davelerman
Permalink • 0 comments •hope springs eternal
(14:05:24) Blake Stuchin: also i like the all intelligent offense(14:05:34) Blake Stuchin: edwards is a stanford guy and lynch is from berkley
(14:05:36) Blake Stuchin: this must be good
(14:05:37) Dan Abramson: yeah - stanford!
(14:05:42) Blake Stuchin: stanford is a big upgrade from tulane
(14:05:48) Blake Stuchin: how can this not work in our favor
(14:05:53) Dan Abramson: um, if you've ever seen an interview with lynch, you may take that comment back
(14:05:58) Blake Stuchin: yeah i know ... he plays football
(14:06:18) Blake Stuchin: even if he maybe didn't take the most strenuous courseload
(14:06:27) Blake Stuchin: if that were a blog post i'd link to andy katzenmoyer right now
(14:06:37) Blake Stuchin: who nearly failed golf at ohio state
(14:06:51) Dan Abramson: (nice)
(14:06:54) Blake Stuchin: and of course penny hardaway only barely passed TV when he played for nick nolte at western
Labels: danabramson, sports
Permalink • 0 comments •more things to love about 100% injury rate
100% Injury Rate on watching usc on saturday: USC is clearly the best team in [college] football. They have no weaknesses whatsoever. ... If this team stays focused, they should beat every team they play by a decent margin, including LSU, Florida, Oklahoma, Cal, and the Philadelphia Eagles.Labels: sports
Permalink • 0 comments •Is this why it's so expensive?
my gym is so weird. most people belong to gyms that have weights and treadmills. my gym has djs, an apparel line, and the periodic dance club events where I'm served champagne before I work out. natch. Permalink • 0 comments •
Saturday, September 22, 2007
dare to be awesome
unlike last comic standing, weird al yankovic is funny. mike and i saw him on thursday night at the beacon. and yes, he played eat it. he played fat (in a giant fat suit). he played all about the pentiums, white and nerdy, smells like nirvana, the star wars songs, a bunch of 20 song polka medleys, and of course, amish paradise. new york magazine has a nice little piece on the hilarious show.Labels: music
Permalink • 0 comments •Friday, September 21, 2007
Last Person Watching
Has there ever been a bigger trainwreck to a live reality TV finale show than Wednesday's conclusion to Last Comic Standing? What happened to this once watchable program? The show hasn't had any credibility in the comedy world since Dat Phan won the first season, but at least they've traditionally had good talent leading up the finals. The first four seasons brought us Rich Vos, Todd Glass, Kathleen Madigan, Alonzo Bodden and Jay London. Even Gary Gulman seemed funny when I first saw him do his I-am-a-gigantic-Jew routine. And at this year's auditions we got the amazing comedic stylings of Mel Silverback, the world's first stand up gorilla, whose act was easily the best two minutes of the entire season.But back to the atrocious season finale of this year's garbage fest. After eliminating all the good performers in the early rounds (thanks America!) we were left with the funny-when-you-can-understand-him LaVell Crawford, and the not-very-funny-but-certainly-quite-excitable Jon Reep. The two hour I-Can't-Believe-It's-Not-Cable schlockfest featured special guest performers Carrot Top, a bunch of puppets, and some guy whose entire act is an impression of John Madden. I couldn't make that up if I wanted to. This is NBC, the network that gave Jerry Seinfeld a show, and this is the best that they could come up with for guests on their season finale. Carrot Top? Really? Was Sinbad not available? And the guy who did the impression of John Madden... I spend half my week thinking about fantasy football and I don't even find that guy funny.
Oh and Dane Cook! They had Dane Cook! The internet loves Dane Cook! What does this say about the LCS season finale that it was so grossly unwatchable that I found myself actually thinking "gee Dane Cook is coming up at least he's a real comic, maybe he'll be good." And I hate Dane Cook. But I digress... so when Dane Cook came on, he didn't even do his act, he just showed a clip of his new movie with Jessica Alba, did 30 seconds of unrehearsed talk show style blather with Bill Bellamy, and then walked out. I actually felt cheated. What's worse - thinking that I was about to see totally unfunny stand up from totally unfunny Dane Cook, or actually feeling gipped that totally unfunny Dane Cook didn't even bother to do totally unfunny stand up, he just stood there.
Thank God they gave five minutes to Robert Schimmel. At least one person at NBC still understands that if you're going to do a show about stand up comedy, it helps to have funny comedians.
TVSquad panned the episode, too. Permalink • 0 comments •
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
I've created a monster
This year I'm doing a fantasy football league with my friends and their girlfriends. It's a 12 owner league, 7 guys and 5 girls, and of the 12 people, 8 of them are new to fantasy football. As a lender, my goal is to manage risk. Risk of capital, risk of litigation, risk of emotional stress. In terms of my ego, creating this fantasy league is one of the dumbest things I've ever done.Best case scenario, all that happens is that I win this league and I get accused of beating up on a bunch of newbies. Far more likely, however, is that I will be horribly humiliated. Even if I come in second place, I'll never hear the end of it. Personally, no good can come of this, but hey it's fun to do stuff with friends.
Meanwhile, the newbies are getting into the league and I fear that I've created a monster. Two weeks into the season and we're already getting arguments over trade vetoes, smack talk, and a whole lot of emotional ups and downs. I'm sitting at the top at 2-0 right now, but I expect to spend the better part of this Sunday cursing Andre Johnson's knee and wishing bad things upon Peyton Manning. Stupid laser rocket arm.
Labels: sports
Permalink • 1 comments •
9th-seed-in-the-draft Bobbo beat you this week. You were supposed to be infallible, what gives?
A kid at the Make-a-Wish Foundation requested you go undefeated this season, and you let him down. You let that poor, sick kid down.
Be who he thinks you are -- he really wants to crown your ass. And if you don't take first place this year, I will simply assume that you love children like Michael Vick loves dogs.
Monday, September 17, 2007
The watch of champions
(12:39:56) Blake Stuchin: what about sand(12:40:04) Blake Stuchin: what if you had a watch with sand grains
(12:40:06) Blake Stuchin: that would work
(12:40:09) Dave Lerman: ooh, sand is good
(12:40:13) Blake Stuchin: and sand could be very in next fall
(12:40:16) Dave Lerman: i'd have to hold my arms steady
(12:40:18) Blake Stuchin: sand is the new black
(12:40:25) Dave Lerman: hahaha
(12:40:25) Blake Stuchin: that would improve strength
(12:40:27) Blake Stuchin: it's a win-win
(12:40:35) Dave Lerman: it would be a statement
(12:40:44) Dave Lerman: i'm so masculine - i tell the time with DIRT
(12:41:05) Dave Lerman: i could have a computer based sun-dial outside with light phospors on a sensor that emails my blackberry every minute with the time
(12:41:10) Dave Lerman: granted, the bberry has a clock
(12:41:14) Dave Lerman: but that's missing the point
(12:41:15) Blake Stuchin: any hedge fund guy can wear a normal watch, but only the smartest bankers can wear sand
(12:41:23) Dave Lerman: i like it
Labels: davelerman
Permalink • 0 comments •
del.icio.us
Flickr/bstuchin
Myspace/bstuchin
Facebook/blake stuchin
Friendster/blake stuchin
Linkedin/bstuchin
Twitter/bstuchin
Last.fm/bstuchin
Del.icio.us/bstuchin
Wishlist/blake stuchin
Technorati/bstuchin
MyBlogLog/bstuchin