The problem with "17 mistakes startups make," is that the guy behind them, John Osher didn't make that many. He started Dr. John's SpinBrush and sold it to Proctor & Gamble for $475 million. Jonathan Tang, who writes "Diary of a Failed Startup," not only founded a company, GameClay, he actually failed because of his mistakes. His advice on how to not be like him, pared down to 100 words, below.
Frank Bruni is pissed! The New York Times' omnipotent restaurant critic (pictured) today reviews a new Tribeca restaurant named Ago, which is owned in part by actor Robert De Niro. And Bruni's experience there is proof for the entire restaurant business that no matter how popular, expensive, or exclusive your place is, it is still quite possible to receive a terrible review if you act like an idiot. Please: Learn some lessons from Ago's fiasco. Here is what not to do when your restaurant is being reviewed:
When you're a professional entertainer—particularly if you're one of the Unfunniest Comedians in America—you have to know how to handle hecklers. Dane Cook, as you see here (click to enlarge), responds to a mere MySpace heckler by calling her "ugly like a trout." His reaction is ineffective, inefficient, and fails by every standard of the Heckler-Handling Handbook. Observe:
If everyone's getting a book deal for their blog, why aren't you? Mostly because your writing hasn't gone anywhere better than a Gawker comment thread, but also because you haven't followed these three steps (note: not a joke article! Real advice inside) to getting a blog book deal. Short version: Start a blog that's short and sweet and high-concept, spread it on Tumblr and LiveJournal, send it to Gawker, and call Kate Lee.
Ads like this one got me thinking: Do people really ride outside of subway cars? Do they do it to the extent that the city of New York must spend thousands of dollars on an ad campaign advising mouth breathers not to take their own lives in their hands and screw up commutes for the rest of us? And if you were going to ride outside a train, would you really do it by clinging onto the outside edge of the closed door, terrified face pressed against the window so all inside could see your horror before you inevitably fell onto the tracks and died? The answer to all of the above is, sadly, "yes."
These are troubled times in the magazine industry. Reed Elsevier announced today that it is selling its mag publishing division, which includes Variety and Publishers Weekly, in order to reduce exposure to "cyclicality" in ad markets. And bad news for any editors looking for employment at Meredith: their president, Jack Griffin, says "We don't hire editors any more. We hire content strategists." Hope they teach that at Medill! But the real question is, is the magazine industry actually changing as quickly and perilously as business types seem to think?
Every once in a while, a Communications Ensign from the bridge of the Gawker Media mothership requests that we briefly pause to explain some new and exciting features they've added to this Web Log for your enjoyment, and because we've learned that disobedience of these directives invariably leads to the sting of the lash or the burn of the cupful of acid tossed faceward, we are more than happy to comply. Starting immediately, there are some new whizbang-y doodads available that will help our cherished, tight-knit community of commenters (more on how to become a commenter here) further enmesh themselves in each other's online lives by tracking the activity of their "friends" and "followers." Sound neat-o? It is! Let's learn more:
NICK DOUGLAS — Are Macs just for hipster designers? Not at all! Maybe you've wanted to switch to a Mac, but you were afraid it wouldn't work with your Office files. Maybe you can't convince your parents they won't lose their vacation photos. Maybe your boss thinks Macs are toys not meant for serious adults. For all those cases, here are 42 reasons that normal people can switch to Macs.
Once you write enough blog posts, and read far too many blog posts, you acquire an instinctive sense for the principle ingredients of an audience-pleasing offering. However, rather than itemize those ingredients, it's far easier to discuss this magical formula in terms of the instinctive emotional responses you hope to conjure in readers. The broadest of those responses are indignation, titillation, stimulation, and affirmation. Hitting any of the buttons is good. Ideally, you pack as many of those responses as possible into your content, even (and sometimes especially) if they're contradictory. Hitting the sweet spot in the center of all four virtually guarantees bloggy nirvana. In honor of indefatigable Silicon Valley guru Tony Robbins, after the jump, you may explore these four spheres and their subspecies by way of a soothingly hued Venn diagram.
NICK DOUGLAS — The tech industry is huge and ungainly, but it's not impossible to get a grasp of its daily news. There are ways to deeply understand tech through hours of reading per day, but for the busy pro with only 20 minutes for tech news, use the following daily process.
NICK DOUGLAS — There are two types of top ten lists: the ones on Letterman, and, well, funny ones. The latter is neither. Instead, it's ten real rules for making attention-getting top ten lists.
NICK DOUGLAS — It's 8 PM and I'm bored, hungry and sober. What went wrong? I'm at one of the thousands of poorly-planned events that plague the business world. While this is a Silicon Valley blog, the following rules apply to all industries. Here are the seven ways that businesses and organizations ruin events:
The Media Mole Rodeo is in full effect — underappreciated media workers, keep sending your stories of frustrated angst to mole@gawker.com. Meanwhile, at the prudent suggestion of our friends at Consumerist, we decided to cobble together a short primer on how to tip without getting burned. After all, much as we want your secret knowledge, we'd hate to see anyone get canned. After the jump, a few simple precautions for the uninitiated on leaking like a pro while still drawing that hott but very low five-figure media salary.
A loyal reader-commenter, "That Chinese Broad," asks Valleywag:
