Month: November 2013

There’s a rather ‘meh’ post [at](http://pando.com/2013/11/27/who-hates-jony-ives-ios7-publishers-thats-who/) PandoDaily with some Newsstand publishers *seemingly* blaming Apple for their lack of success. ((I say seemingly because who knows what context those quotes were given in.)) Most notably is The Magazine’s publisher Glenn Fleishman.

The whole post is dumb. It blames the Newsstand icon and design on faltering sales. Perceived lack of attention from Apple, and lack of icon badging (I assume, because it is never explicitly said) were other ‘excuses’ mentioned.

I have a lot of respect for people making a go of digital publishing like this, and for Fleishman specifically. BUT, it seems to me that if subscribers are dwindling and people are “forgetting” about your publication, then your problem is rather straightforward: content.

Publish things people want to read and they *will* read. Sorry to be Field of Dreams-y there, but it’s applicable here.

I stopped subscribing to *all* Newsstand publications quite a while ago because not a single one had content that interested me enough — that includes the high and mighty New Yorker. I suspect this is also why people stop subscribing to *my* site. It’s not a mystery to *me* why I don’t have more subscribers, it’s because I don’t have good enough content to justify the price in many non-subscribers eyes — especially in comparison to my “competitors”. (Just look at what The Sweet Setup is bringing to the table.)

“How to Solve Email With Carrier Pigeons”
“5 Reasons This Backpack Is Better Than the One I Posted Last Week”
“10 Reasons Why You Hate Facebook, and How That Is Your Fault”
“How Apple Deleted Photos of My Dead Parents”
“Why Google Ads Are Better Than iAds”
“Meet the 28 Samsung Phones That Will Kill the iPhone in 2014”
“Here’s the Tablet That Will Kill the iPad”
“15 Reasons I Love Your Site, but Will Never Pay for Your Shitty Paywall”
“The Best Fork”
“16 Extremely Stupid Things That Will Extend Your Macbook Pro Battery Life”
“58 People Senselessly Beaten to Death (Pics!)”
“Here’s Why This App Is Worth Billions”
“Why Record Profits Spells the Death of Apple”
“Why Record Amazon Losses Means Their Future Is Bright”
“Why Your Remote Office and Open Concept Office Plans Are Shit”
“15 Ways to Value Your Company for More Than It Is Worth”
“20 Reasons Turning Down a Billion Dollar Buyout Is Smart”
“You’ve Been Cooking Your Eggs Wrong, Here’s How”
“69 Things You Didn’t Know That You Needed to Know”
“My 15 Minute Re-Design of Your Well Studied and Thought Out Design”

I really could keep going all year long.

I haven't used an Android device in quite a while, so I don't care to debate which is better — I care to have more experience before making those statements — but this “guide” (Google Plus Plus Minus post) from uncle creepy is ridiculous.

Naturally, let's dive in. The post on how to switch from iPhone to Android involves 14 steps hidden as four steps and some of it must been done on a PC/Mac. Yeah, super duper easy. Let's pull some choice quotes of ridiculousness: ((I think that's an MTV show, right? I haven't seen it, but I'll now assume it stars Schmidt.))

The latest high-end phones from Samsung (Galaxy S4), Motorola (Verizon Droid Ultra) and the Nexus 5 (for AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile) have better screens, are faster, and have a much more intuitive interface.

Where's the proof on that last statement? Also, better and faster in what aspects? All aspects? Proof…?

c) If you are using AT&T, download the Visual Voicemail app from the Play Store.

Wait, honest question here, visual voicemail isn't just built-in?

At this point, you should see all your Gmail, and be able to use any apps and they should work well. Be sure to verify this.

Marketing tip: never end a statement with another statement questioning how well your software may work. “Press the brake petal to stop the car. Be sure to verify this.”

You will need to sign up for Google Wallet and give your credit card information, but it’s free.

I have this same issue with many services: why should I provide a credit card when the service is free?

For texting either use the Messenger app in earlier releases or the “Hangouts” app in Android 4.4.

Why would I be using an earlier version of Android, you told us to update Android in your “step one”? Don't all Android devices get the latest OS right away?

Be sure to use Chrome, not Safari; its safer and better in so many ways.

Wait, I can get Safari on Android? Sweet!

I can't? Then why mention it?

And didn't I read something about new Android phones not coming with a browser? Maybe what the headline said is: “Android can't surf the web?” (See how easy distorting facts is?)

Let's go back to the top for a moment:

Like the people who moved from PCs to Macs and never switched back, you will switch from iPhone to Android and never switch back as everything will be in the cloud, backed up, and there are so many choices for you. 80% of the world, in the latest surveys, agrees on Android.

Uh huh.

You all know how I feel about this, let's see what Google Plus commenters say about the post:

David Bania
Didn't know about the Visual Voicemail app. Thanks!

Jiří Šrámek
I moved from Android to Ios !

LOL.

iPan Baal
I have an Android phone (Galaxy S2, about to upgrade it) – but even I know that +Eric Schmidt didn't write this – his media team did.
Why don't you use your G+ profile to actually write yourself, +Eric Schmidt? Instead of just another advertising platform you can attach your quasi-celebrity name to?
People who read this either already have an Android phone, or don't care.

Mikal O'Neil
This just made me switch the default search engine on my Mac and iPhone to Yahoo.

Perfect.

Tim Bajarin on iPhones/smartphones:

It now has become my GPS system, my digital camera, my flashlight, my voice recorder, etc. With the plethora of software and services available on my smartphone, its hub like nature makes it the most important digital screen in my life.

Smart post. Especially given I have been seeing more and more apps promote that the content collected by the app never leaves the app (a response to the NSA spying).

[Fascinating report from Shane Harris on how the FBI and NSA work together to spy on Americans][1]:

> When the media and members of Congress say the NSA spies on Americans, what they really mean is that the FBI helps the NSA do it, providing a technical and legal infrastructure that permits the NSA, which by law collects foreign intelligence, to operate on U.S. soil. It’s the FBI, a domestic U.S. law enforcement agency, that collects digital information from at least nine American technology companies as part of the NSA’s Prism system. It was the FBI that petitioned the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to order Verizon Business Network Services, one of the United States’ biggest telecom carriers for corporations, to hand over the call records of millions of its customers to the NSA.

And later on in three-pager (DITU is the name of the internal FBI division):

> The NSA is the most frequent requester of the DITU’s services, sources said. There is a direct fiber-optic connection between Quantico and the agency’s headquarters at Fort Meade, Maryland; data can be moved there instantly. From the companies’ perspective, it doesn’t much matter where the information ends up, so long as the government shows up with a lawful order to get it.

This is the first time I recall hearing about the FBI involvement — but I have been reading and *not* reading a lot of articles lately.

[1]: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/11/21/the_obscure_fbi_team_that_does_the_nsa_dirty_work?page=0,0