Soup

jacob: Five years ago I emailed David about an outdated job...

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:04:05 -0400

Five years ago I emailed David about an outdated job listing at Davidville. A few months later I was living in the East Village as Tumblr’s fifth employee.

So much has happened since then.

"So yes, the conflict with al Qaeda, like all armed conflict, invites tragedy. But by narrowly..."

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:29:40 -0400

“So yes, the conflict with al Qaeda, like all armed conflict, invites tragedy. But by narrowly targeting our action against those who want to kill us (with drones), and not the people they hide among, we are choosing the course of action least likely to result in the loss of innocent life.”

- President Barack Obama

"The Internet has solved the basic distribution of event-based facts in a variety of ways; no one..."

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:16:37 -0400

“The Internet has solved the basic distribution of event-based facts in a variety of ways; no one needs a news organization to know what the White House is saying when all press briefings are posted on YouTube. What we do need is someone to tell us what it means.”

- Jonathan Stray

"The most obvious, important realities are often the ones that are hardest to see and talk about"

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:39:50 -0400

“The most obvious, important realities are often the ones that are hardest to see and talk about”

- David Foster Wallace

"I’ll wake up on the morning and go on Facebook just … because, It’s not like I want to or I..."

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:40:44 -0400

““I’ll wake up on the morning and go on Facebook just … because, It’s not like I want to or I don’t. I just go on it. I’m, like, forced to. I don’t know why. I need to. Facebook takes up my whole life.””

- Fourteen-year-old Casey Schwartz

The art of the deal, by Steve Jobs

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:59:00 -0400

The art of the deal, by Steve Jobs:

James,

Our proposal does set the upper limit for ebook retail pricing based on the hardcover price of each book. The reason we are doing this is that, with our experience selling a lot of content online, we simply don’t think the ebook market can be successful with pricing higher than $12.99 or $14.99. Heck, Amazon is selling these books at $9.99, and who knows, maybe they are right and we will fail even at $12.99. But we’re willing to try at the prices we’ve proposed. We are not willing to try at higher prices because we are pretty sure we’ll all fail.

As I see it, HC has the following choices:

1. Throw in with Apple and see if we can all make a go of this to create a real mainstream ebooks market at $12.99 and $14.99.

2. Keep going with Amazon at $9.99. You will make a bit more money in the short term, but in the medium term Amazon will tell you they will be paying you 70% of $9.99. They have shareholders too.

3. Hold back your books from Amazon. Without a way for customers to buy your ebooks, they will steal them. This will be the start of piracy and once started there will be no stopping it. Trust me, I’ve seen this happen with my own eyes.

Maybe I’m missing something, but I don’t see any other alternatives. Do you?

Regards,
Steve

"Journalism is not stenography. It isn’t nice. It often isn’t comfortable. And sometimes it isn’t..."

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:09:22 -0400

“

Journalism is not stenography. It isn’t nice. It often isn’t comfortable. And sometimes it isn’t right.

But it is necessary

”

- David Schlesinger

Photo

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:12:41 -0400

Stop matching

Wed, 22 May 2013 09:32:30 -0400

Stop matching:

I beg us all to end the duplicative journalistic practice of “matching”

Union Square gets 5,000% return on Tumblr

Tue, 21 May 2013 20:08:08 -0400

Union Square gets 5,000% return on Tumblr :

shortformblog:

soupsoup:

Tumblr’s employees will also do well. The company’s first 10 employees will receive an average of $6.2 million in cash; the first 30 will receive an average of $3.3 million in cash, and the rest of the 178 employees will each receive $371,000.

However, in a comment on Hacker News, Union Square’s principal, Fred Wilson, calls the numbers offered by PrivCo ”total garbage.” “There is not one fact in this privco thing that is close to right,” he continues. “The numbers are good but nowhere close to that good. This is the same firm that predicted Foursquare would be out of business this year which will also prove to be nonsense.”

Union Square gets 5,000% return on Tumblr

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:52:29 -0400

Union Square gets 5,000% return on Tumblr :

Tumblr’s employees will also do well. The company’s first 10 employees will receive an average of $6.2 million in cash; the first 30 will receive an average of $3.3 million in cash, and the rest of the 178 employees will each receive $371,000.

via KWTV’s helicopter

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:43:00 -0400

via KWTV’s helicopter

The best thing you'll read on Yahoo buying Tumblr...

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:45:31 -0400

The best thing you'll read on Yahoo buying Tumblr...:

comes from employee #2, practically the co-founder: Marco Arment

Mayer on Tumblr porn

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:16:00 -0400

Q: Will you restrict content on Tumblr?
Mayer: No, we don't. It's the nature of user-generated content. It's really important to have great community tools like 'NSFW' that Tumblr already has in place.

"At Yahoo we have a lot of experience with artificial intelligence and search in a way that’s..."

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:11:28 -0400

“At Yahoo we have a lot of experience with artificial intelligence and search in a way that’s unbranded and seamless to enhance the Tumblr experience.”

- Marissa Mayer on how Yahoo will help Tumblr

Photo

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:18:47 -0400

buzzfeed: The Top 5 Most Popular Blogs On Tumblr: Minecraft...

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:07:32 -0400

buzzfeed:

The Top 5 Most Popular Blogs On Tumblr:

Minecraft Updates

Como Eu Me Sinto Quando

Dedalvs

The OneNaBible

The Worst Room

Doesn’t take into account people who have custom domains, like EatSleepDraw

"I typically refer to the IAC sale as “the worst business decision of my life.” I’m not sure IAC is..."

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:10:06 -0400

“I typically refer to the IAC sale as “the worst business decision of my life.” I’m not sure IAC is worse than any other large company in this regard. An entrepreneur is someone who, almost artistically, designs a living entity which embodies the values, beliefs, and ambitions of the creator. It’s impossible for a larger entity to swallow a smaller one without completely reshaping it. When this process begins, a wild visionary – the entrepreneur type – is the most toxic, indigestible actor imaginable. And this is why I roll my eyes when a new acquisition is announced: Because I don’t see it as a triumphant graduation but a sacrifice to an industry that is afraid to dream big.”

- Jake Lodwick, An acquisition is always a failure

dirkdallas: Lower Antelope Canyon, Arizona

Sun, 19 May 2013 17:19:05 -0400

dirkdallas:

Lower Antelope Canyon, Arizona

alexblagg: @alexblagg

Sun, 19 May 2013 14:17:35 -0400

alexblagg:

@alexblagg