features

MySpace: The Business of Spam 2.0 (Exhaustive Edition)

Nick Douglas · 09/11/06 08:55PM

Does Trent Lapinski's exposé about MySpace (digest version here) read like a conspiracy theory? Sure. Does our boss think it's over-outraged? Sure, but you can't trust him, he believes in the lone gunman and a real moon landing. Buy the anger or not, this guest feature story is a great read for those of us who are goddamn sick of Tom, Tom, Tom.

How to be a Silicon Valley cynic

Nick Douglas · 09/11/06 07:57PM

You're still "post-modern"? Dude, that's so five ideologies ago. Don't worry, take this crash course in Silicon Valley cynicism and no one will know you're not a quasi-meta-pomo-pseudohipster just like the rest of us.

Cheatsheet: What is pretexting?

Nick Douglas · 09/11/06 03:15PM

This week's tech news is all about "pretexting," the method that investigators hired by Hewlett-Packard used to get the personal phone records of reporters and HP board members. But what is it? You'd better know, because it's about to blow up the business world.

Cheatsheet: What is Digg?

Nick Douglas · 08/30/06 07:45PM

"When I'm talking to clients," a seemingly well-informed Google employee told me over brunch, "I want to mention Digg. I know it's something I'm supposed to know about, but I don't." No worries. For everyone who needs a refresher on Digg, we have an exhaustive cheatsheet for the popular site.

Expired Wired: All of last season's stories, today

Nick Douglas · 08/29/06 07:56PM

We ought to have sympathy for Wired; the monthly magazine format doesn't lend itself to the quick, first-on-the-scene style of journalism for which the tech audience hungers. Still, when we've seen half the content of the latest issue before we cracked it open, it leaves us asking, what's the point of reading Wired?

These three bloggers want to get you a job

Nick Douglas · 08/29/06 02:52PM

Takeaway: Several big tech bloggers recently launched job boards. Michael Arrington at TechCrunch has the best board, but his competitors rejected his partnership offers, fearing he'd take over the partnership.

Feature: Why YouTube is about to die

Nick Douglas · 07/24/06 08:29PM

The buzz after YouTube's CEO vacationed with media moguls like Rupert Murdoch was that the video sharing company was about to cash in by selling to an industry giant. But no word of a deal has come down the tubes. In fact, the video giant is about to go down the tubes. Here's why.

Escaping Siberia: How Netscape's boss exploits controversy and paid users

Nick Douglas · 07/19/06 05:40PM

After just a few months, the new head of Netscape wants out. That's why he's fomenting controversy over his newest job offer — paying his competitors' top users to seed Netscape. When the smoke clears, the site will have a shot in the arm, and Netscape's boss will be closer to leaving for a better gig at AOL.