Category Archives: Uncategorized

Years ago, I saw Sam Rockwell play Chuck Barris in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. It was the incredible story of the Gong Show host and his actual secret life as a CIA assassin. (Or was it all a fantasy? No one really knows.) Years later, I saw Sam Rockwell again as Justin Hammer in Iron Man 2. IContinue reading “Concessions and a dangerous slide”

Maybe I’m going deaf.Maybe I’m going blind.Maybe I’m out of my mind. We were eating lunch during our Cape Cod vacation last week when my eyes started going nuts. The whole room looked like someone had dragged a paintbrush up and down through a painting, making zig zag lines. I blinked and rubbed my eyes,Continue reading “Aura without migraine”

The Ceros product team moves so quickly. New major versions of the world’s best brand publishing SaaS platform appear every few weeks. I mentioned that Ceros added custom canvas sizes in the latest release, but there was so much more. The product added 28 new font choices. The team solved some incredible cross-platform font parity issues. They added 54Continue reading “Interactive brand content”

In 2005, we created a blog to cover Live8 in Philadelphia as a joint venture with AOL. In many ways it was a test of how we’d work together when they acquired us later that year and both sides passed the test. The first thing I always remember when I think about Live8 was thatContinue reading “Duck and cover”

The SoundCloud man can, the SoundCloud man can. The SoundCloud man can ’cause he checks the copyrights and makes the rights holders good. When I wrote about the best TV theme song ever, I wasn’t planning to include a YouTube video. I wanted to upload and MP3 of Sammy Davis Jr. singing the Hawaii Five-O themeContinue reading “Who can take a song file, check for piracy?”

A good friend of mine has used an evil, but effective management trick for as long as I’ve known him. If a designer brings him a layout, web design or logo, he sends it back for another round. Even if it’s the most amazing thing he’s ever seen. He never accepts the first version. ItContinue reading “First drafts”

When we were building The Daily, we built a pretty deep digital asset management system (DAM). The Daily was known for great layouts and high quality original videos, but it was also amazing for audio. Not only could the editors upload audio files to use in their articles, but readers could leave both text commentsContinue reading “You Can Count On Me”

It’s okay to make fun of Matchbox Twenty. Although they were originally described as radio-friendly grunge, they’re a mainstream rock band. In fact, they named their greatest hits album Exile on Mainstream — both a nod to the Rolling Stones double album Exile on Main Street and a joke about how they’ve been “banished” to middle-of-the-road massive commercial success.Continue reading “Matchbox Twenty at Jones Beach”

Soon I will clear up confusion about the Ceros deal and explain how I didn’t sell my company and retire, even though many people think I did. But for now, you’ve got to see why I was so excited about Ceros:

Yesterday morning I had an appointment with a surgeon to check out a lump on the top of my head. For some reason I figured the doctor would inspect me and then schedule its removal for a later date. So I was in a bit of shock when he wheeled over a tray of tools,Continue reading “Scalped!”