WTF?

From One Sentence, story #1804:

"Up until two days ago, I thought Ernest Hemingway was a large, black man."
-Steph

***
This has 50+ thumbs up. WTF happened to reading a [censored] book?

Thumbs Up! 2

David Choe & Harry Kim in their second Thumbs Up! adventure hitchhiking across North America. This time it's from Tijuana to Alaska.

Social Blend, The Ocho, & The Ape

I wanted to give a shout to the Social Blend podcast crew (cGt2099, Bdog2g2, SilentJay74, and Nomadelle) for The Ocho/8th episode mention of my video Mixx submission. I think it’s a rare online community which so quickly generates such a rich culture for new and “old-ish” users alike. I really do enjoy the entire Mixx universe. Anyway, the Social Blend podcast and the Mixxing Bowl really are top notch resources for any Mixx user, so if you aren’t already, do yourself a favor and check them out.
On another Mixx related note, check out Honest_Ape’s site: hOneStaPe.net, and pretty much anything he submits. I think most Mixxers would put Ape at the top of the list when it comes to consistently great submissions, hilarious comments, and truly honest blogging which will surely draw you in.

Adam Carolla on Dancing With the Stars

On today’s Adam Carolla Show, Adam made a huge announcement: he would be appearing on the next season of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars. I must say I was shocked to hear this news. Adam is not the kind of guy you normally associate with such inoffensive, mass-appeal network shows. But I admit, the more I thought about this news the more I applaud his decision.
From the first time I heard Adam on Loveline I was a fan, hooked by his quick wit, common-man observations, and dead accurate analogies. Throughout his career Adam has blazed a trail unlike most, working from obscurity as a carpenter by day and amateur comedian at night, to powerhouse host of a mega-market syndicated radio show. Simply put, Adam Carolla did not get to his current heights by sitting idly by and waiting for things to work out; he made it all happen. Dancing with the Stars is just another step on that path, breaking Adam into yet another showcase market.
Of course I’m biased; folks seem to either love Adam or hate him, and I obviously think he’s celebrity gold. He’s gold because he will bring a guy like me, who has never watched a minute of Dancing with the Stars, right up to the bar eagerly anticipating more. To all the people out there who are already discounting this decision I can only say, whether he lasts to the end or goes out early, Adam Carolla will entertain the hell out of us no matter what.
***
If you haven’t check out the trailer for Carolla’s new movie, The Hammer, please do yourself a favor. The reviews have been overwhelmingly positive, even among my own friends who aren’t fevered Carolla fans.

Anonymous v Scientology

I, like most people online, have been following what news I can find on the "jihad" against Scientology by Anonymous. I can't say I'm saddened by this news, to me Scientology is nothing less than a dangerous cult; most likely a brainwashing cult on top of that. So what else is there to say other than, "Give 'em hell boys".

Analysis of the Digg Fizzle

What strikes me about this whole thing is the denial that Digg is simply operating under typical corporate business practice. As we all know there is one thing on the minds of the Digg brass now, and that is getting the big payout. Quite simply they are doing what it takes to attract venture capital or outright buyers. Obviously the Digg name is quite valuable as web brands go, but that looses value when you consider the user involvement ratios. As Valley Wag pointed out, much of Digg’s Front Page (FP) submissions come from a small minority. We all know and love these users, they are minor web celebrities in their own right, but to Digg they are an indirect enemy. Perhaps this sounds nutty, but consider the recent changes to the Digg algorithm promoting random users to the FP. In the past the FP was basically the domain of that hardcore minority, a change which was certainly made for a reason. Along these same lines, why does the new algorithm merit diggs from friends as less meaningful than diggs from non-friends? So far it all comes back to “penalizing” established diggers who submit a great deal of FP content and hold huge friend lists.
So why the penalization, and why consider top diggers to be the enemy? To me this is all a play to increase attractiveness to potential buyers/inventors which Digg feels must be waiting behind the curtain. When an investor sits down with Kevin and Jay and crunch the numbers, they don’t want to see a small minority of users being put in the FP spotlight. That’s bad for loyalty ratios. If a new digger can submit a few stories and immediately see one of those submissions go FP he is logically more likely to embrace Digg as a favorite web destination. It’s the basic psychology of seeing your name in the lights. What they don’t care about is that same user hitting the FP a year from now, with his large friends list and high submission rate, when he has become well known. They don’t care at that point because that user has already played their part; now it’s time for another new no-name user to FP with his early submissions.
Yes it is a short term play, but that’s really all the Digg brass are concerned with. They are looking to sell within months, not years. Why play a game for long term loyalty when they can boost page views and stickiness today by making all new users potentially much happier? In Digg’s situation this business plan isn’t really unsound or even bad; it meets all of Digg’s present goals. As a social bookmarking user and fan I don’t think it’s cool, but hey, that’s why I use Mixx.

The Digg Rev[fizzle]

When I began reading all the news which had been emailed to me and made popular on Mixx last night I thought something real was in motion. A real “Digg Revolt”! People would stop complaining and take some action. This was not the case.
The Digg users got all riled up and finally organized to demand answers and perhaps a change or 2. They organized in a way which was obviously meaningful enough to bring Kevin and Jay out to answer questions… or so it seemed. What resulted was more of a calming action than a Q&A session. Certainly I wasn’t there, but what was solved? In reading all subsequent analysis I can’t see much of anything which was changed. Sure some questions were danced around and answers hinted at, but that’s about all. Basically this should be used as a case study in crisis management within business school strategic management classes worldwide. It’s really a textbook example; my old StratMana professor would have been proud of these guys (really!).
Honestly I don’t know if I expected anything less. The Digg community most likely has little incentive to actually revolt until they are actually forced out, which is no revolt. I love good online communities as much as anyone, but once people get insulated in their network they rarely want to disrupt that network on ideological grounds. Just look at the proof: a number of top Diggers have been banned, yet the friends of these high profile users remained. They didn’t move to Mixx on principle as their banned brethren were forced to do. With all the negatives floating around Digg and the obvious dismissal by the user community, I suppose we shouldn’t have truly expected much; certainly not an actual revolt.
***
Have a good Digg Day, the holiday commemorating a revolution that never was.