My Splunk coworker Steve Sorkin, who started at the number 1 slot in Netflix’ million-dollar contest to improve their movie recommendation algorithm, has dropped back to the #5 slot. Anyone else, I’d presume they were just an early adopter who’s been surpassed. When ssorkin does it, though, I wonder: What’s he up to that I haven’t figured out yet?
Slate press critic Jack Shafer just emailed me about the new Valleywag. When I asked him to explain exactly what he meant, Jack replied, “Denton shows his Gawkermates by example that smart is a more effective takedown agent than mean.”
Exhibit A: This morning’s item that explains how due diligence is about to get harder for tech startups. Web 2.0 startups especially. Why isn’t this on the front page of the NYT’s Business section? Or on any of the so-called business blogs? Hello? If you’re a vice president at a tech startup, or an entrepreneur with a gleam in your eye, you wouldn’t want to be caught not knowing about Sequoia when the topic inevitably comes up today. Good thing you read Valleywag.
I got a ride in a Telsa Roadster prototype yesterday. Wow. I get it now. Photos and words don’t do it justice. But it helps to click the photo above and realize this is the fastest, possibly most fun car I’ve ever ridden in. What’s wrong with the photo? No exhaust pipes. There’s a big electric motor back there. You plug in a power cord instead of a gas pump to refill it. The socket’s bezel lights up as it charges, just like an old PowerBook.
I’ll have a longer writeup next week. For now, I’ll just say that one spin in this car could probably convert most commuters into not pumping gas. Al Gore should be out giving rides. Arnie, where’s yours?
A couple of friends asked about Denton’s Valleywag item The Times Bows to Google. How does asking reporters to submit their questions in writing along with an interview request make Google evil?
It doesn’t. Denton explains it better. The anecdote in Mother Jones struck me as unusual, too. Partly because journalism prof and famous hoaxbuster Adam Penenberg (whom I know from Wired and Slate) was the one recounting the tale. Read the Valleywag explanation linked above, and you’ll see the takeway from Penenberg isn’t “Google is Evil.” It’s that there’s a subtle power shift that’s already happened.
I had another takeaway: If the New York Times wants to do an interview with your CEO, don’t be afraid to ask them about what. Someone else in the company may be a better person to give the answers. If your CEO hogs the interview anyway, that’s also an interesting revelation.
The guy I work for directed someone at the bottom of the org chart yesterday to “be my proxy on this while I’m gone.” It was obviously the right thing to do, yet I’m pretty sure most managers wouldn’t have done it.
