Randomize

Richard Tallent’s occasional blog

Don’t Monetize My Friendships

Apparently, MySpace, Facebook, etc. are having problems actually making a profit. Duh. People on a social network site ignore ads. And if you make the ads un-ignorable, they leave. Web 2.0 is already dead, and people just don’t realize it yet. Why? Because the “NASCAR solution” to profitability (slapping ads all over it) doesn’t work for social networking sites. I made a prediction a few years ago that there is one killer app that remains to be built. Read more →

Happy Bissextile Day

So, why isn’t this a holiday again? Looking forward to my trip to San Antonio next week. Good client, decent city to visit, and a break from remodeling the new house (which we’ll move into any month now…). Read more →

We Do Need a New Internet

I read today (somewhere) that an FBI agent claimed that we need a newer, “secure” Internet. I agree that we do need a newer Interenet. But one that is secure for the people, not for the government. First, there was the illegal domestic spying, and Bush still wants us to let the telcos off the hook for being his henchmen, despite zero evidence that the Bush administration had no ability to follow the FISA laws on the books and still get their precious wiretaps/i-taps. Read more →

The Obama Hype

The Republican Party has, once again, lost my vote. I refuse to vote for the lessor of two evils. So I’m now paying more attention to Clinton and Obama, and deciding whether to cast my vote in the DNC primary this time around. I’m not a Kos fan, but I thought this was an interesting comparison of the candidates’ Senate records. Read more →

Religion vs. Science

This is why I stuff my ears whenever someone tries to use religious arguments (of whatever persuasion) to prove their “scientific” views. This is also a prime example of why modern “news” programs suck. Where else is the village idiot always given equal air time? Read more →

Why I’m not yet for Barack, but might be later

Here are some great thoughts from Mr. Lessig on why he supports Obama over Clinton. But I think we’re missing the point about “change.” We’ve seen the “change” that one President can bring when he does not respect the balance of powers. A few “changes” come to mind: $400 billion deficits, trashed civil liberties, undeclared wars, recession, poorly-considered appointments, distracted mismanagement of basic services such as emergency response, and promotion of torture for political expediency. Read more →

PolitiFact

Now this is a seriously cool web site: http://politifact.com/truth-o-meter/ They dig into each candidate’s statements about their own record and others and try to give a complete, unbiased analysis of the truthfulness. In a world where “truthy” wins debates, this is a Good Thing. Read more →