Don't Forget SVW's Guest Post Friday

Thanks Harriet. I have had a few people notice the idea but not enough. It could make for an interesting startup. Maybe I should pitch it to the Knight-Ridder Foundation for funding...

Tom, your Right to Respond is an excellent idea and it was an excellent idea when you first wrote about it two years ago. So I'm curious if you've had any conversations with colleagues or others in the media about this topic and what the reactions have been.

Its a good question "Is there discrimination against older people? " to think about what's the right answer.

Im not sure if they can a chance in the global marketplace. There a so many stones and the global marketplace is too big for them. but we know
there a miracle again and again.

I never realized the summer had a red zone. I guess the VCs want to go on vacation as well.

Sharon, I would hope so. I certainly would, or did already. He should too. But it must be a bit scary for him to tiptoe out into the light. Best to just jump in like at the swimming pool. The water isn't that cold.

The research I did in June 2009 showed that John Chambers was one of few Fortune 100 CEOs using Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media. I'm glad he's being "suggested" as a friend - that tells me he might actually be using it properly. Perhaps he'd like to friend me too?

"The broader money trail" yes, definitely, plus the "broader context" of such "investigative" pieces like the one by M. Arrington, that happened just when EA is negotiating a deal with Playfish.

Now the deal is done; EA has just acquired Playfish -- let's see if the crusade against the alleged scam-artists will continue.

Tom, while Zynga is responsible for not filtering the scammy offers, the culprit here is the scammers themselves, not Zynga. The Video Professor and others like it exist in the Net, and, I presume, they operate on many sites. Should the CEO of those sites resign as well? Is their credibility in question as well?

Great post, Tom. I think I first sensed the problems with this kind of online universe when all of our friends were enthusing passionately about Second Life.

i've noticed it, just not blogged about it.

i have commented on it at techcrunch and in the comments of my blog.

At first I thought I missed something from the article link that was provided. After reading it, I think its ok to suggest reading the wall street change blog article link provided above if you want a more rounded perspective on the issue.

I just don't think it is as obviously wrong as how I first reacted when I learned about virtual economies.

The journalists were not paid hush money. But they are missing a great story and I can't figure out why. "Scam Scandal Rocks Emerging Silicon Valley Bubble."

the nytimes article is unbelievable! i wonder if these journalists are really clueless about the arrington-shukla saga or if they were paid hush money by the virtual goods companies for better publicity?

Here is an article along with some comments about virtual "economies" you might find interesting.

I don't know what scam you are exactly referring to, but this issue is much more complex than it seems on the surface.

At the end of the day, if someone sits in front of their computer 500 hours a year in virtual land, and it costs them a dollar an hour, they are using less resources than someone who gets in their car and goes into town to see a movie and grabs a meal once a week.

Albert, you make a good point but is the point of SIlicon Valley really about the weather? I live in San Francisco and my district has unremarkable weather. I've never heard anyone tell me they come out here for the weather. Surely people come here for the opportunities, the chance to do something on a global scale.

About the Quarterly Results Show Plunging Print :
is it god or bad when fell 29.6 percent compared to the period a year earlier ?

I cant believe that they mean it very seriously

"sign of an improving economy and that fourth quarter losses should be lower than in the most recent quarter."

I would it call self-caused
:)

On that point of the weather, you wouldn't have to worry about Hawaii because it is inconvenient to live so far away from everything else, so the weather is overshadowed by that negative. And if you've ever lived in florida, you'd know that the weather there is utter crap -- always humid with no seasons. Silicon Valley weather is so much better.

Laura, often the embargo is determined by the print side. For example, the New York Times newspaper first run is published at midnight or 9pm Pacific time. That's a common embargo time.

I ditto Diane's comment. I think the issue is really surrounding the emergence of real-time and even uber-short lead times of bloggers and websites that can break the story much quicker than a print outlet can. What's the protocol there?

I've never been able to understand the contradiction of being smart and independent, and yet somehow completely (not just partially) smitten by the dreams and fantasies conjured up in branding. The latter appears to cancel the former. But I may be wrong.

Ktyson: Yes, exactly. Between the two of us we could come up with way more interesting trends and issues than the man helming the world's largest and most interesting Internet company. What the heck is going on?

Thanks Meredith, some excellent points...

"There is more to be gained from developing an unique editorial stance than there is from pressing the publish button a few minutes earlier than anyone else."

What about the spread of 3d environments in more normal work and play spaces online?

What about the growing irrelevance (except as annoyance) of operating systems?

What about the replacement of the os with a universally standardized browser functionality?

What about real AI?