Drama’s Roundup - October 20, 2008
My last episode of Drama’s Roundup was on January 23. Since I sometimes don’t feel like writing full posts about a single subject and would instead rather make snarky or insightful comments about a number of subjects, I’m pleased to report that I’m bringing Drama’s Roundup back.
Glam Media, which bills itself as “the pioneer of vertical content networks” (riiight), is reaching out to men and has launched its own lame version of AskMen.com called Brash.com. This “vertical network and content hub of sites targeting men 18-49 years old” has all the content an aspiring alpha male could ask for - “Time.com for national news; Rolling Stone for music news and updates; TheCarConnection.com for car reviews and news; SB Nation for sports coverage and CNET for technology information.”
Throw in ads from leading advertisers such as Axe deodorant, H&M and HP and it’s clear - Brash.com could be contender for stereotypical male website of the year. There’s only one problem.
Its first list - the Brash 100 - introduces us to 100 “unforgettable” men. I know Glam Media swings both ways but I’ll let the Brash.com editorial team in on a little secret - most men don’t like reading about other men. Especially when one of those men is Michael Arrington (to be fair, Glam did owe him a favor for regurgitating the Brash.com launch press release).
Suggestion to Brash.com’s editorial team: from this point on - no Dick, just Bush.
Britney Spears stars in her very own online circus
Britney Spears has apparently learned that there’s more to being social than flashing your twat. She’s become a twat. That’s right, the pop diva turned has-been turned aspiring pop diva has joined Twitter, created a YouTube channel and set up a social network on Ning aptly-named Circus VIP.
Well, this is not entirely true. Britney’s “Social Media Director,” Laura Kozak has joined Twitter, created a YouTube channel and set up a social network on Ning.
After Michael Arrington proclaimed Britney’s account as “solid gold for Twitter” and argued that “a few more of these and it will be hard to argue that it isn’t going mainstream,” Kozak stopped by to thank everyone for their support and for providing “feedback while we find our stride in terms of authenticity and such.”
Unfortunately, there is no “authenticity and such” because, as Kozak admitted on Mashable, it’s not Britney:
I truly wish I could run with twitter with nothing but messages directly from Britney, but it’s not a reality. I do sometimes get messages from Britney. And if i get a message from one of her entourage about what’s going on, I’m not going to change it and write that in the first person, that’s even less transparent and I’m strongly ethically opposed to that.
This was really a blow to me because I had noticed that therealbritney was “following” Cyprus 20 members Dave Morin and Brittany Bohnet, leading me to wonder if Britney Spears wasn’t the rumored 21st member of the Cyprus squad, which would leave open the possibility of an as-yet-unreleased Cyprus sex tape.
Why to Start a Startup in a Bad Economy
Paul Graham, the high-rolling angel investor who is changing the world $5,000 a founder at a time (and who I suspect may secretly be a Top Ramen shareholder), is telling everyone that now is the perfect time to start a new company.
Why? Because Microsoft and Apple were founded during tough times! Good enough reason, right?
While I won’t regurgitate Graham’s article, which you can read for yourself, there are some things I agree with him on. Unfortunately, he takes an oversimplistic view of startups: success or failure is all about the founders, the stock market has little impact, etc. etc. Bullshit.
The truth of the matter is that entrepreneurs who have skill, experience, a great concept and their own capital always have some opportunity. Unfortunately, there are about as many entrepreneurs in the technology space with these things as there are tech bloggers who date models. For reference, at last count, I believe I am the only tech blogger who has dated a legitimate model (a 5′10″ number from Varna who was spending the European winter in Punta del Este was my latest).
Of course, Graham doesn’t want anyone to recognize that starting a company in a recession is usually not a good idea for most because if all the 18 year-olds who think they’re going to turn Graham’s $5,000 into $5 billion start asking questions, Graham won’t have any micro-investments to make in the barely legal.
All this aside, as far as I’m concerned, the best reason to start a new company in a recession: you’re collecting unemployment and would otherwise have nothing better to do than sit around all day playing with your prick.
