HEATHER IS WATCHING

our more reasonable (and actual) road trip for july

Thu, 23 May 2013 18:13:44 -0400

our more reasonable (and actual) road trip for july

I do a thing that requires me to be sort of serious about names like “yeahimfreaky” and...

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:17:00 -0400

I do a thing that requires me to be sort of serious about names like “yeahimfreaky” and “drteens247.” This is a part of my life that I like.

Btw, those are the two latest confirmed Twitter poets for Cool Date 3.

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Wed, 22 May 2013 16:36:17 -0400

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Mon, 20 May 2013 22:40:08 -0400

COOL DATE 3 will be on July 24 at Cake Shop NYC. It’s 21+ and the cover is going to be $7....

Sun, 19 May 2013 21:46:53 -0400

COOL DATE 3 will be on July 24 at Cake Shop NYC. It’s 21+ and the cover is going to be $7. I’d love for it to be free and all ages, but this is how it goes. I hope that anyone who’s interested is able to make it.

what lies ahead

Sun, 19 May 2013 18:45:04 -0400

what lies ahead

deal-breaker: I DONT HAVE TO LISTEN TO YOU YOU’RE NOT MY REAL...

Sun, 19 May 2013 15:19:44 -0400

deal-breaker:

I DONT HAVE TO LISTEN TO YOU YOU’RE NOT MY REAL MOM

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Sun, 19 May 2013 14:26:41 -0400

maxistentialist: The Verge: CNBC is reporting that Yahoo will...

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:48:42 -0400

maxistentialist:

The Verge:

CNBC is reporting that Yahoo will hold a “product-related” news event this Monday in New York City. None other than CEO Marissa Mayer will be speaking at the event. Exactly what Yahoo plans to announce hasn’t yet been disclosed, but news of the event comes in the midst of rumors pointing to an acquisition of Tumblr. The extraordinarily popular microblogging site is based out of Manhattan, so the location would make sense if a deal has indeed been finalized.

Reports indicate that Yahoo could spend up to $1 billion for Tumblr, which would represent Mayer’s biggest spend yet after high profile acquisitions of Summly and Astrid. The company has also recently signed exclusive content partnerships that will bring it video programming from Saturday Night Live, World Wrestling Entertainment, and others.

Update: Yahoo has made the event official, providing The Verge with an invitation that reads, “Join us as we share something special.” Clearly the company isn’t being shy about hyping its coming announcement. We’ll be bringing you all the news as it happens Monday starting at 5PM EST.

Cool announcement graphic.

I’m putting on another Cool Date this summer! For those who don’t know about it...

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:44:51 -0400

I’m putting on another Cool Date this summer!

For those who don’t know about it already, it has nothing to do with dates. It’s a series of Twitter poetry readings that I organize and host sometimes. There were two in the fall last year, which were each a surprising success. Cool Date 3 is long overdue. I’m excited.

Follow Cool Date on Tumblr. Follow Cool Date on Twitter.

Follow these cool people, too (LINEUP HINT!): @freecorgi, @drugleaf, @dreamfroth_3.

Date TBA. Late July.

stephenlovell: so-treu: newmodelminority: futurejournalismproj...

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:26:51 -0400

stephenlovell:

so-treu:

newmodelminority:

futurejournalismproject:

Is Yahoo Trying to Acquire Tumblr?

All Things D reports that Yahoo is trying to get its cool on with a potential Tumblr acquisition:

Earlier this week, Yahoo CFO Ken Goldman spoke at JP Morgan’s Global Technology conference and underscored the need for the aging Silicon Valley Internet giant to attract more users from the coveted 18-to-24-years-old age bracket. Along with more marketing, he explicitly said Yahoo needed to be “cool again.” …According to sources close to the situation, that could mean a strategic alliance and investment in or outright buy of perhaps the coolest Internet company of late: Tumblr.

Adweek follows up saying a deal could be done by this weekend, adding:

Such an acquisition could be just what CEO [Marissa] Mayer has been looking for to turn around Yahoo’s momentum; Tumblr has the potential to excite the engineering/Silicon Valley community (even though it’s based in New York) while recapturing the imagination of advertisers, who have grown to view Yahoo as big but stale.

While its revenue is modest, Tumblr has positioned itself as one of the few players in the digital ad world that is well suited for brand advertising. And Tumblr is also the domain of the young, cool and creative crowd—not currently a Yahoo sweet spot.

From Tumblr’s point of view, the deal also would seem to make a lot of sense. The company has been looking to make a big exit to justify its huge valuation.

Over at GigaOm, Om Malik suggests Facebook might try to swoop in on a deal.:

We have heard that Yahoo is worried that Facebook could swoop in at the last minute and beat it to the buzzer. If the Instagram acquisition was any indication, then we shouldn’t doubt [Mark] Zuckerberg’s salesmanship. [Tumblr’s David] Karp is said to have a close relationship with Facebook and was recently spotted at the Facebook Home launch. Facebook could use the much needed younger 18-to-24 year old demographic, something it (successfully) tried to acquire with Instagram. A Facebook spokesperson declined to comment.

Word of warning via 37signals: What happens after Yahoo acquires you:

Whether it’s Flickr, Delicious, MyBlogLog, or Upcoming, the post-purchase story is a similar one. Both sides talk about all the wonderful things they will do together. Then reality sets in. They get bogged down trying to overcome integration obstacles, endless meetings, and stifling bureaucracy. The products slow down or stop moving forward entirely. Once they hit the two-year mark and are free to leave, the founders take off. The sites are left to flounder or ride into the sunset. And customers are left holding the bag.

Sweet.

Fun while it lasted. Hence the importance of owning your own platforms.

the bolded.

Rather depressing thought, a Yahoo acquisition is a slow death sentence.
If it happens, I’m going to miss this place.

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Thu, 16 May 2013 20:07:04 -0400

FYI, I’m pretty sure I’m related to this guy named Increase. It’s too bad he and...

Thu, 16 May 2013 20:06:40 -0400

FYI, I’m pretty sure I’m related to this guy named Increase.

It’s too bad he and his son were part of unspeakable things, i.e. the murder of almost two dozen women during the Salem Witch Trials.

Could have been a good name to bring back…

Pippin Barr made a game about Marina Abromović’s The Artist is Present. Now he’s going...

Thu, 16 May 2013 10:51:37 -0400

Pippin Barr made a game about Marina Abromović’s The Artist is Present.

Now he’s going to work with her on a project.

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Tue, 14 May 2013 21:22:16 -0400

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Tue, 14 May 2013 20:09:54 -0400

minemice: cubist sunset by Glass Planet on Flickr.

Mon, 13 May 2013 22:39:50 -0400

minemice:

cubist sunset by Glass Planet on Flickr.

For the Teenz

Mon, 13 May 2013 22:06:00 -0400

Do any high school kids read my Tumblr? Here is something that Joyce Carol Oates said on Twitter today, which you should keep in mind:

“My ideal college would not admit ‘well-rounded’ students at all. Expecting excellence in many areas is unrealistic & encourages subterfuge.”

This is my own little story, in replies:

“Yes. I was HS debate team secretary without passion for what I was doing. Knew it would look good for college. Regret that.”

“Doing something without passion is useless for life and work.”

I did a lot of activities like that in high school. It worked out pretty well, at the time. I got into my top choices. I received a generous state scholarship that covered my undergrad tuition in full, plus others that helped with additional costs.

But, I was so focused on getting into college that I was a bit lost when I finally got there. It probably wasn’t until the last semester of my last year, while I was writing my thesis and taking my first and only art class, that I truly started to feel like I was figuring it out. Then it was time to hand it in, and be set free in the world.

I am lucky enough to know awesome people who feel self-actualized. Those are people that I admire. They didn’t shy away from their passions early on, and now it’s working out well for them. This is true across different fields. Awesome people pursue what they feel passionate about, then keep going with it. I now believe that, if you do that, it will serve you well (perhaps not immediately — eventually).

Design your life purely to look good on paper, and you are wasting it. You won’t be honest, and you won’t be happy. People will pick up on it.

Passions will serve you. (They make things more fun for you, too.)

- from Heather, an almost-30-year-old

“A revised version of David Bowie’s Space Oddity,...

Sun, 12 May 2013 19:25:00 -0400

“A revised version of David Bowie’s Space Oddity, recorded by Commander Chris Hadfield on board the International Space Station.”

Amazing

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Sat, 11 May 2013 17:34:38 -0400