Author Archive
Well said, that man.
Sometimes you see what someone else has written and think: “Wow. I couldn’t say that any better.” This, from a rally in support of religious freedom in New York City does it for me… Thank you. One day it could be my freedom under threat from bigots with loud voices.
How is this clearer in any way?
Spotted on a bike ride with my son yesterday … Gee, what was wrong with ‘Howick Police Station‘? Is this newspeak really better? “Run, Jimmy! Run to the Community Policing Centre!” Er, nope. (…and what, I wonder, do they call a Fire Station these days?) Any other examples? + Update: A thought occurs — maybe […]
Facebook leaks like a sieve (Part 2)
Sorry if this reads vaguely like an echo chamber, but it’s a point that bears repeating. Everyone has something to hide — or to keep private, which is not quite the same thing. This article Tracking the cyber footprint by the NZ Herald’s David Fisher sets out to reveal something of perils of posting information […]
More good Jon Stewart on NYC controversy
Bless this guy and his team for showing the frailty of the hypocrisy and falsely alarmist nature of the ‘claims’ by the religious right … and pulling out Charlton Heston’s principled speech… … showing their attempted selective application of the ‘founding principles’ of the US Constitution so well. Watch the video below the fold…
‘The problem with Google is that Eric Schmidt is creepy’
Not just for geeks: Here’s a really thoughtful post about Google, culture, and information privacy. From John Gruber. Well worth your time to read. And I like the way he’s unafraid to mention the FACT that people’s personality, ethics and character can lead their decision-making. Good on him. – P
The future of publishing?
I had the pleasure a week or so ago of accompanying one of my authors Olly Newland on a visit to the interest.co.nz offices. The Auckland-based e-publishing business seems like a success story by any measure. Its nearly ubiquitous host, journalist Bernard Hickey provokes ALL sorts of comment — good and bad — on a […]
Wedge issue
In what’s showing up as a litmus test in the run up to the US November elections, my hero Senator Al Franken author of Lies – And the Lying Liars Who Tell Them is, as expected, speaking to uphold and defend the US Constitution.* Franken said conservative opposition to the mosque is “one of the […]
Another con
In my in-box today … Does this con actually work? Have you heard of anyone falling for it? Really? Hi, Its me Mike I really don’t mean to inconvenience you right now, I made a little trip to UK and I misplaced my passport and credit cards,please I know this may sound odd, but it […]
Right/wrong vs Can/should
Oh boy. John Stewart (in fine form) revs up on the plan to locate an Islamic community centre (Mosque) two blocks from the site of the World Trade Centre. I like his take, as usual … and his roasting of the Fox News phoneys on their lack of consistency. And then there’s a squirmy/bad taste […]
Godwin’s Law (again)
Godwin’s Law strikes again… What an arse, sorry, billionaire investor arse.
Hyperbole and puffery — that’s your DEFENCE?
Lawyers for fuel giant Shell facing misleading advertising charges have told a court in Wellington that claims in their advertisement for petrol containing an additive ‘designed to take you further’ were “hyperbole and puffery” and they didn’t expect anyone to believe them. (Source: Radio NZ News) RNZ Court reporter summarising Shell’s statement of defence: “The […]
Plagiarism as a business model
What’s coming up for discussion with the new media/old media/social media/internet marketing debate is: how important is ‘original material’? It’s an issue not just for the Rupert Murdochs of the world: original, quality content for news media — actually any media — is expensive to produce on anything like an ongoing and quality basis. It […]
In a nutshell: a matter of trust
This small comment, in the middle of an article discussing Facebook privacy, explains what’s actually lost when certain spruikers (you know who I mean) expand their hyperbole and ‘puffery’ into potentially misleading claims … and then their offerings disappoint repeatedly, as in the case of some whose activities I have highlighted here. “They’ve lost the […]
