Flickr a Day 42: ‘Mobilgas’

I discovered photographer Wes Peck while searching for art to illustrate post “Where are the Comments?” His primary focus: Objects. But behind each photo is a learning exercise, as he reveals in contextual captions. His Flickr stream is rich with learning-teaching lessons that extend beyond the story each image tells to the one behind.

Today’s selection is no exception and presents back-to-back snow photos (see Day 41 for the other). Forgive the indulgence. This is February, and I grew up in Northern Maine—where the white precipitation is visible six months (or more) a year.

Google by Joe WilcoxFeb 10, 20159:55 pm

There’s Something You Should Know About Google

In 2004, at JupiterResearch’s defunct Microsoft Monitor blog, I took a contrary view about Google, by asserting that it is not a search company. “Search is a means to an end, and information is that end. Google monetizes the information through search and contextual advertising”. That Google is all about information should be obvious enough now, although perhaps not to many people outside the company 11 years ago.

In a post four days ago, but only seen by poor pitiful me this morning, Washington Post reporter Brian Fung rightly explains why Google will “win” with its push into telecommunications. He writes: “What made Google one of the world’s five biggest companies? Data…If Google forges into the wireless space, the search giant wouldn’t just be another alternative to Verizon and AT&T. It would control a vertical slice of this universe in a way that no other company does”. Yep. The information giant’s interest in wired and wireless information share the same destination.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 10, 20157:20 am

Flickr a Day 41: ‘Snow in Rome’

The camera you have with you is better than none, and sometimes it’s better than most. When first selecting today’s pic, discovered by searching for “snow”, I missed an important detail: iPhone 4. Hell, yeah. Show me a dSLR that delivers this good—of course, in competent hands. Composition is splendid. The eye’s delight.

Among the official “Most Popular Cameras in the Flickr Community” ranking, smartphones take the top-five spots—three going to Apple mobiles. I remember when iPhone 4, which the company released in June 2010, topped them all. That distinction now belongs to the 5s.

Storytelling by Joe WilcoxFeb 9, 20156:56 pm

Dank Deep Eyes the Darkness

Some days creativity is like the California drought. I sit down to write, and no rain falls. But wanting to post something, I reach into my personal, secret archive of treasures, which for 2015 opens publicly. Sporadically, over the past six weeks, I posted lyrics to three songs: “Disco Queen“, “Empire State“, and “Surrealistic Pillow“—all written in the late 1970s. Today’s contribution is quite a bit newer but still not recent: March 27, 2004, finished at 12:30 a.m. ET. Others lyrics will follow over the months ahead.

This verse stands without melody and, honestly, lacks reading rhythm that would make a good song. Like most of my lyrics, the subject is a young woman—no one I know, and from none inspired. The only inspiration here is the dusty basement office where I worked, where unwelcome late-night pests came out of hiding.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 9, 20157:10 am

Flickr a Day 40: ‘Eye Contact’

Nearly three fortnights into this series, time is come for a reminder: I am posting one Creative Commons-licensed Flickr photo a day for all 2014. Forty days in, the process proves to be more challenging […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 8, 20157:21 am

Flickr a Day 39: ‘Christian’s Workshop’

Intimacy best descibes the photographs of Giandomenico Jardella. He close-crops on face or hands, capturing nuances that define the moment’s humanity. Self-titled “Christian’s Workshop” is among a series of images shot on March 14, 2014. […]

Society by Joe WilcoxFeb 7, 20151:26 pm

Comic-Con Heroes: The Nerd Culturist

Comic-Con’s contractual commitment to San Diego expires in 2016, and the event already entertains offers to move to another city. While conducting interviews during SDDC 2013 for Comic-Con Heroes: The Fans Who Make the Greatest Show on Earth, I asked numerous attendees about relocation. Among them: Tauri Miller, whose profile appears in the ebook.

For whatever it’s worth, I favor keeping the Con in San Diego. While the convention center limits the number of participants to about 130,000 over four days, the city already is a tourist destination with all the right amenities, which include hotels and the Gaslamp Quarter. Getting in out and around (including the airport) is much easier than Los Angeles, by contrast.

Apple by Joe WilcoxFeb 7, 201512:14 pm

iPhone, Android, and the Need to Belong

Outside Apple Store, people excitedly line up to buy iPhone 6. The crowd is remarkably eclectic. Tattoos here. Mohawk there. Someone wearing a prim business suit chats with a burly biker wearing sleeveless T-Shirt. Everyone’s clothes beam bright, vibrant colors. Loud laughter and uproarious chatter is everywhere. This is one happy group of buyers.

The store’s doors exit onto a green pasture of sheep. Each wears a chain around its neck, with iPhone 6 attached. Cow bells appear on the screens, and clanging sounds against the chirping of birds. One animal looks up: “Baaaaaaa!” Then another, and another. An announcer asks: “Do you really want to be an iSheep?” Then the Android logo and robot flash across the screen.

That’s the kind of TV commercial Google and/or its manufacturing partners need to air now that in the United States iPhone market share nudges ahead of Android handsets (fourth quarter 2014, according to Kantar Worldpanel Comtech). Such circumstance was unfathomable 12 months ago. What happens in the four quarters ahead depends much on who wins the mindshare wars. I got to admit: Apple’s lead is momentous.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 7, 20156:50 am

Flickr a Day 38: ‘Master of Venice’

Cat photos on the Internet are just so cliché. Your, eh, Caturday selection is not, which is why I chose it. The composition is lovely, and photographer Alexis Bross wisely chose to make the feline […]

Apple by Joe WilcoxFeb 6, 20157:06 pm

Anyone Calling This Article Clickbait Doesn’t Get It

In December 2014, I cajoled: “Writers, Own Your Content!” All my work-written blogs—thousands of posts—between mid-2003 and April 2009 are gone. The companies shut down the sites (because of acquisition and restructuring). Now, to prevent future deletion calamity, everything I want to preserve cross-posts here, as is the case with yesterday’s “Whatever Apple Was, It Isn’t Anymore“, which appears on BetaNews as “Apple’s core is rotting“.

Unsurprisingly, the BN version generated more reader reaction—119 comments as I write. You can consider the post as example of what I referred to two days ago when answering question: “Where are the Comments?” Most of the reaction to my stories takes place elsewhere. As such, I sometimes feel need to transplant some of the interaction here, as I did four months ago with post “Who’s the Troll Here — This Dude or Me?” I do so again, today.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 6, 20157:38 am

Flickr a Day 37: ‘Bushwick Dreams’

Street smart best describes the photographic style of Chris Ford. From Appleton, Wisc., he now lives in New York City, which is principal location for his atmospheric art. Composition is his talent, by which he creates sense of presence—being there—whether it’s the Big Apple or his fantastic travel photography.

Among the 37 Flickr photostreams viewed to date, Chris’ is by far the most difficult to cull. The challenge is greater than the images; he generally tells a story behind each, providing historical or current context. The guy just kills me—and causes me to also hunger for the City, where I hope to one day live again.

Apple by Joe WilcoxFeb 5, 20159:55 am

Whatever Apple Was, It Isn’t Anymore

I should read Harvard Business Review more often. There, Juan Pablo Vazquez Sampere offers insightful and fresh perspective in post: “We Shouldn’t Be Dazzled by Apple’s Earnings Report“. Of course, I would agree, having written something similar in past BetaNews posts. Point is the same, just the context changed. I lack his prestige and venue, and that’s okay. The observations we both make aren’t rocket science, or shouldn’t be.

Simply stated: Atop the pinnacle of success, Apple stands at the precipice of failure. The scrappy innovator is gone, replaced by the, ah, Establishment cofounder Steve Jobs and his renegades challenged with years of guerrilla tactics. Apple has in this decade achieved huge success. But managing success is challenging, if your business model is innovation. The two objectives often work cross-purposes.