April 2012
68 posts
4 tags
Making the most of every moment →
Amber Rae:
How can we, in our every day lives, skip a little more and sing and dance like no one else is watching?
These moments we have, we ought to enjoy them.
So true. And it’s a great reminder to stop, pause and make sure we’re enjoying life and not letting it swamp us.
3 tags
Why Facebook bought Instagram →
Om Malik at GigaOm:
Facebook and Instagram are two distinct companies with two distinct personalities. Instagram has what Facebook craves – passionate community. People like Facebook. People use Facebook. People love Instagram. It is my single most-used app. I spend an hour a day on Instagram. I have made friends based on photos they share. I know how they feel, and how they see the world....
4 tags
Facebook has bought Instagram →
Mark Zuckerberg:
We think the fact that Instagram is connected to other services beyond Facebook is an important part of the experience. We plan on keeping features like the ability to post to other social networks, the ability to not share your Instagrams on Facebook if you want, and the ability to have followers and follow people separately from your friends on Facebook.
Wow. Pleased to...
3 tags
On Worker Conditions, Apple’s Rivals Are Silent →
Nick Bilton, New York Times:
The makers of tablets and other gadgets want to hold themselves to a higher standard than Apple with the electronics they create. They haven’t yet done the same with worker conditions in factories.
It’s good to see the New York Times doing a follow up piece on the supply chain issues and work conditions in China. It’s great that the pressure has been...
4 tags
The day death died
It’s easy to conclude that the resurrection of Jesus was the moment that Jesus became king. But as we saw on Friday, it was in his death that Jesus was enthroned. The resurrection simply added a dramatic confirmation to the new reality - the new kingdom - Jesus was inaugurating.
The resurrection was a conclusive statement that Jesus’ persecutors had no idea what was truly going on....
5 tags
The day Jesus became King
It’s Good Friday today. For many people this means next to nothing. It’s a day off work. Whoop! But it is a day loaded with meaning. It’s a day that exists to help us remember the horrific, bloody, agony-inducing, sacrificial crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth.
And it’s not something that only Christians should take time to reflect upon. The fact that over two thousand...
4 tags
Apple to release smaller iPad (probably) →
MG Siegler ponders whether Apple will make a 7” iPad:
The fact of the matter is that the iPad is great at many things and the list is constantly expanding. But it’s not great for holding up for prolonged periods of time in certain settings. This is problematic for say, reading in bed. It’s not that it’s too heavy, it’s not. But the large size does make it a bit clunky at times. A 7 inch...
3 tags
How to install Instagram on your Android phone in... →
This made me chuckle. As Fraser Spears tweeted, ‘for the love of sanity please tell me this is a spoof’.
I have a sneaking suspicion it’s not (even if not all Android users are finding it quite so convoluted.)
4 tags
Americans aren't embracing Spotify →
Garett Sloane and Clair Atkinson at the New York Post:
It has been nine months since Spotify debuted in the US and was hailed as a coming music revolution, offering subscribers all-you-can music for up to $10 a month. Now, insiders close to the music labels say the revolution has not been all that was promised, with fewer people paying for subscriptions than expected
…
Since...
6 tags
Keep reading books in order to avoid becoming... →
Justin Zoradi commenting on some alarming - if unsurprising - statistics about how little Americans read after leaving school:
I’m not too worried about the lack of reading for the sake of the book industry or ensuring profit for publishing houses.
I’m worried that the lack of reading is a canary in the mineshaft, warning us of a stifling narcissism in our midst.
The connection he...
8 tags
The new Microsoft/Nokia Lumia 900 Windows Phone... →
Joshua Topolsky:
Don’t misunderstand me, Windows Phone offers some very good experiences in its core apps, and it’s probably the most gorgeous and cohesive piece of software Microsoft has ever released. But after nearly two years on the market, I struggled to find a single thing this platform could do better than Android 4.0 or iOS 5.1.
The sheen has worn off of Windows Phone...
6 tags
Blue Like Jazz: The Anti-Christianity Christian... →
Gerardo Marti:
Is the film merely Don Miller’s personal story put on the screen? Likely not. So many people resonate with Don Miller and his story (and his subsequent speaking and his books) that the film may well be capturing a more recent type of religious orientation within evangelical Christianity today, one that is being legitimated by his film. And one that is threatening to some...
3 tags
“Be happy wherever you are, with whatever you’ve got, but always hungry for...”
– Seth Godin
9 tags
Lessons from an aspiring actress: An interview...
In August 2010, a girl called Jenny shot to internet fame overnight. She decided to quit her job by emailing her entire office with a set of photos of herself holding up a hilarious sequence of messages on a dry erase board. But one of her collegues forwarded them to the Chive and her ‘I quit’ message ended up being seen by the whole world.
But that wasn’t the end of the...
4 tags
New Insight Into How Steve Jobs Thought Different →
In a word: simplicity.
4 tags
Incremental Change Wins Apple Big Gains →
Really smart piece on how Apple differentiates from its competitors.
Apple isn’t selling the third-generation iPad to those who bought an iPad 2. Rather, Apple is targeting both new customers and owners of the first-generation iPad. That’s a key differentiation between Apple and most other hardware companies. Apple has managed to maintain high profit margins on all its products and to couple...
5 tags
Amazon trying to rewrite the rules of publishing →
This is an interesting article that doesn’t put Amazon in a very good light. It’s both a fascinating and uncertain time for books and publishing and Amazon’s tactics - and their fast approaching monopoly - should be something that makes all book lovers nervous. Amazon don’t seem to have had much close, investigative reporting done by the media, and very little negative...
3 tags
“What is needed is a realization that power without love is reckless and abusive,...”
– Martin Luther King Jnr.
March 2012
40 posts
4 tags
Stop talking about how humble you are all the time →
Brilliant post by Don Miller on self promotion and why arrogant people think it’s wrong:
If you’re a dancer, dance, a singer, sing and if you write books, write them well. Lose yourself in the work and play with God in the creative process. And please, cut the false humility and religious crap about how you only promote Jesus. It’s annoying. Get in touch with your own depravity and realize...
4 tags
Buying Influence
I’m somewhat late to the party with commenting on the ‘cash for access’ saga, but I thought I’d share a few thoughts. (If you’ve been living in a hole, it was triggered by revelations that large Conservative Party doners were getting private dinners with David Cameron thanks to their donations.)
Here’s the thing though. Whilst everyone is in uproar and the media are making as big...
