“If you’re building on someone else’s platform, whenever they are down, you are down. There is no way around that.” – Brian Breslin on why TwitBin development is stalled. A year ago, I wrote about my hesitation of building on someone else’s platform. Since then, I launched Cullect. Which is nothing if not built atop …
Author Archives: Garrick van Buren
The State of Dense Comparisons
One of my biggest pet peeves is comparisons of the U.S to other countries – especially European countries – to show how the U.S. is “behind” in some nationwide attribute like healthcare, broadband speeds/adoption, public transit. My first issue with these comparisons is one of scale. The United States is closer to the European Union …
For Sale: Lief’s Green House in Nordeast Mpls
Looks like Leif Utne bought a 1-way ticket on the high-speed underground tunnel between Minneapolis and the Pacific Northwest. “Pass it on to anyone you know who might be interested in a beautifully-remodeled, energy-efficient home close to bus lines on a safe, quiet street in an artsy neighborhood. It has a brand-new kitchen and furnace …
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iPhone: Must Have Show Stoppers
Last week, I wrote: “For every really cool thing the iPhone has, there’s a really lame thing. 3G even more so.” Abi Jones asked me to draw up the list. This is the first pass at the list. I’m expecting corrections and additions, especially post-July 11. Cool Lame From Apple From AT&T Lower device cost …
Dave Just Got a New Phone
There was a time when, if you wanted telephone service, there was one model that AT&T leased to you. Today, there’s no requirement that you and I must use the same phone when we talk to each other. Just as there’s no requirement that we must use the same email or IM client. This weekend, …
Now That It’s Either Obama or McCain….
The 2 parties have a 6-month opportunity to show the American public how serious they are about solving this country’s problems. “…Spend 1/4 of the money [raised by the campaign] telling everyone how you’re using 1/2 of the money to help people. This proves that your Presidency will be about solving problems, because you’re not …
Fore
Tim Brunelle passed me the baton 4 jobs I’ve had (and would be even less good at today): graphic design laser printer repair baling hay hand-milking sick cows 4 places I’ve been (and anxiously await returning): Brussels Hamburg All those waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge That hill I used to spend winter afternoons hiking …
I Bet It’s Self-Fulfilling
Back in May, Barry Ritholtz bet James Pethokoukis that we are in a recession. From my view and the numbers I’ve seen, the downturn is concentrated in the housing sector. A good thing. Unfortunately, housing is a huge percentage of our overall GDP and it completely collapsed. Reminds me of early 2001, when the tech …
First Green Light for High-Speed MSP – MKE – ORD AMTRAK
Big thanks to Tom Elko over at the Minnesota Independent for bringing me the best transit news I’ve heard all year. “The House of Representatives easily approved the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act….legislation authorizes $14 billion in appropriations to modernize and expand passenger rail…includes $850 million in grant money to fund high-speed rail initiatives.” …
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Twitter: Build a Revenue Stream on Dunbar’s Number
The problem with many of the suggestions on how Twitter should charge1,2,3 is they put the emphasis on the wrong problem. The problem isn’t on the publication side (number of ‘tweets’ written by any individual), it’s on the distribution side (delivering the ‘tweets’ to their ‘followers’). A simple equation to understand this ‘spew’ problem. Message …
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