In the spirit of O’Reilly Radar’s “Four Short Links” and in response to being accused of being too negative all the time, here’s a new and possibly ongoing feature of the blog – five great things I’ve stumbled upon online this week.
1. The IFP’s New YouTube Channel:
I’ve been wanting some film org to do this for sooo long, and I know how hard it actually is, having run one myself. Finally, the IFP has a digital channel, and it’s not just long boring panel talks, but short, edited content that is relevant for anyone interested in the film biz. Kudos to IFP.
2. The Possible Future of the Apple TV
Jeremy (founder of Brightcove) Allaire’s insightful post about the possible future look, feel and operation of the AppleTv is a pretty good read, and keeps it pretty simple. Highly recommended reading about the future of entertainment, really, and as an IOS app developer, I really enjoyed thinking about what this might mean for future apps. Hat tip to Scott Macauley at Filmmaker Mag for this link.
3. The Web We Lost by Anil Dash
A great article on how the web has changed. Dispiriting, but not mean spirited, and a much smarter take on these changes than my post last week. Important take-away – we’ll fix all this stuff, but we need to think hard about what we want from the web, and we need to know “what good ideas were simply ahead of their time, and what opportunities have been lost in the current generation of dominant social networks.”
4. Ann Hamilton: The Event of a Thread at the Park Ave Armory
This isn’t a web link, but you can check it out online, and if you are in NYC or will be here in the next month, you should go. More than once. A great art installation that is fun for adults and kids – giant swings that operate a large curtain in the middle of the armory. Two adults can ride each swing, or three (or more?) kids. So cool in so many ways, I can’t describe. Check it out (image above from the Armory’s site). The exhibit is up til January 5th, and lines are sure to only get longer, but weren’t bad this week.
5. Bread and Friday’s Sandy Hook Tragedy Remembrance Poem
I’m not one to get into the whole post-traumatic experience debate. Not that I don’t have strong views on it, but nothing new to add. But I found that one of my favorite bloggers had a great idea, or rather his wife did – that each of us pick a name of one of the victims of the Sandy Hook tragedy and remember it always, to remind us of what needs to change. It’s a simple, beautiful and powerful idea.