Freyburg

I was surprised by this news, though I’m not sure why. Ars Technica has been a great resource for technology info for years, and it was only a matter of time before someone snapped them up. That someone is Conde Nast, who will be folding Ars into the Wired Digital network, also known ad Condenet.

But it’s important to note that Ars is no fly-by-night payday. The site has been operating since 1998, first as a labor of love and later as a viable business. It succeeds because the site gives first-rate analysis and news on topics a niche audience want to read about, like games, all things Apple, science and computer hardware. And it took ten years to get to this point, something that some startups forget in their rush to get bought out.

The Vancouver Sun is running a story about how local videobloggers are using the medium to drive up sales and otherwise reap profit. While I have no doubt that some new voices are being heard and in fact reaping the rewards of putting themselves out there. All very well, and Reachd is providing a valuable service by teaching people how to use video on the web, no matter how they end up using it. But the Sun seems to think that videoblogging consists of real estate agents putting their videos onto sites designed to sell house. Again, there’s nothing wrong with that as a form of expression or commerce, but blogging it ‘aint. At the very least, they could have gone to Miss 604, who has a couple of popular audio podcasts and covers Vancouver obsessively. So do Uncle Weed, Megan Cole, and myself, to name but a few. But once again the mainstream media has gleaned what it can from the surface without really delving into the excellent work being done by Vancouver bloggers and podcasters, which is a real shame.

(Full disclosure: Reachd is running a contest in conjunction with Techvibes for their next seminar, and I occasionally blog for Techvibes.)

I’ve been working as an editor on a video podcast featuring Vancouver Adobe evangalist Duane Nickull called Duane’s World. The show is all about coding, tech, music and Duane’s unique take on the world, and is hosted on Adobe TV, a central hub for shows about all things Adobe. Check it out!

Just to dampen the previous “OMGPARADIGMSHIFTBLURGH” of the previous post, here’s a “whoa, nelly, not so fast, Internet honchos” from the recent Web 2.0 conference.

I wrote an article for Mac|Life about the lengths we have to go to north of the border to get and use iPhones. I think Mac|Life deserves extra points for using a flappy headed South Park Canadian as the symbol of our displeasure.

Ah, with web celebrity must come web contempt. A fine bunch of reprobates, these are, though I’ve never understood the Rachel Ray hate.

The New Yorker has a great article up about the dire straits the newspaper industry finds itself in, and how they can best move past what is clearly a dying business model.

The Third Guy was absent for this week’s podcast, and he missed a heap of news with the release of not only the Series 4 trailer and various teasers on the interwebs but an honest to goodness announcement of April 5th as the airdate of the Series 4 premiere. Warren and Steven tried to hold down the fort through jocularity and sarcasm, but their constant threats involving the Gun of Spite (and later, the Cannon of Hatred) because of the Third Guy’s impending trip to Paris and to a studio audience to view David Tennant in person meant an air of amusing menace permeated the proceedings.

 

 Radio Free Skaro #75 - In Search of the Third Guy: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (181)

…as arbitrarily decided by the Guardian. An interesting list, though I’m sure everyone’s got 50 of their own favorites that didn’t make the cut.

Yes, it’s not all nerdery and Doctor Who round these parts (though mostly, it is). I recently shot and cut a video for the Opus Hotel, one of the tonier establishments in Vancouver, all about their “On the List” party featuring DJ Stonebridge. Check it out at the Opus website.