Monthly Archives: February 2012

OK Go – Needing/Getting – Official Video

The new music video from OK Go, made in partnership with Chevrolet. OK Go set up over 1000 instruments over two miles of desert outside Los Angeles. A Chevy Sonic was outfitted with retractable pneumatic arms designed to play the instruments, and the band recorded this version of Needing/Getting, singing as they played the instrument array with the car. The video took 4 months of preparation and 4 days of shooting and recording. There are no ringers or stand-ins; Damian took stunt driving lessons. Each piano had the lowest octaves tuned to the same note so that they’d play the right note no matter where they were struck. For more information and behind-the-scenes footage, see http://bit.ly/z4xRPa and http://www.okgo.net. Many thanks to Chevy for believing in and supporting such an insane and ambitious project, and to Gretsch for providing the guitars. Director: Brian L. Perkins & Damian Kulash, Jr. Director of Photography: Yon Thomas Editor: Doug Walker Producer: Luke Ricci

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)

“I think one of the things that really separates us from the high primates is that we’re tool builders. I read a study that measured the efficiency of locomotion for various species on the planet. The condor used the least energy to move a kilometer. And, humans came in with a rather unimpressive showing, about a third of the way down the list. It was not too proud a showing for the crown of creation. So, that didn’t look so good. But, then somebody at Scientific American had the insight to test the efficiency of locomotion for a man on a bicycle. And, a man on a bicycle, a human on a bicycle, blew the condor away, completely off the top of the charts.”

…

“And that’s what a computer is to me. What a computer is to me is it’s the most remarkable tool that we’ve ever come up with, and it’s the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds.”

Steve Jobs

Facebook’s IPO reminds us, it’s all about the paycheck.

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Big-news-headline events tend to bring out the worst in sensationalist headlines and journalism, and Facebook’s IPO story is no different.

In this post, we are enlightened as to the “3 ways Facebook plans to exploit you the user, in order to justify their plans to increase revenues, profit, and valuation,” all while “FB users get nothing.” While I wouldn’t put it past Facebook to have some nefarious deeds up it’s sleeves, are we really surprised they are selling and going to sell more of our information so that they can continue to earn (and earn the shareholders) ga-zillions of dollars? Also, did you think when you first signed up for a Facebook account, “Hey, maybe if someday I’ll get a big paycheck for being such a valuable user”?

Well, that thought wasn’t on my mind. If you’re anything like me, you signed up to keep up with friends and to share what’s going on. As indignant as you may be about the news of their exploitation, when they roll out a new nifty feature, you, like me, will likely sign right up, and try to get all your friends to as well. It’s an eco-system. They make you happy, they get paid for the data you willingly give them, and that makes the shareholders happy. They make you mad, or cease to hold value for you, they cease to make money and cease to make the shareholders happy. It’s how business works, folks.

I think if anything, this is a good reminder or learning experience for you as you sign up for new social sites, and give your name and email to every startup’s launch page that pops up. Your interest is what pays the bills… If you don’t want your name/email/interests to be used to conduct business, then you best not use these services.