Nels Wadycki

Nels W

Writes Code, Fiction

  • Deep Post on the Future of Facebook

    Nels W

    This guest post on TechCrunch is a not only a good read, but an awesome example of how to write a blog post. The only thing that’s really wrong is the number of typos. I realize that proofreading such a long post is difficult, but with the amount of effort that went into culling the links and writing and formatting the post, I would think that making sure things like “TechCrunc” wouldn’t slip through the cracks.

    Nevertheless, the number of links by itself is impressive, as is the formulation and support of the argument. It’s almost like this form of blog post is a lost art in today’s world of “pump the news out as fast as you can move on to the next big thing”. Thanks, Adam.

  • J&J Music Factory

    Nels W

    Justin Timberlake stops by the Jimmy Fallon Show (or whatever its called) to rock a hip-hop medley with Jimmy and the Roots. Awesome.

  • So close

    Nels W

    I’ve been about 10 seconds late for the train home at least 4 out of 5 days this week. I always think back to when I was daydreaming and walking a bit slower, or when I slowed down to use my phone/minicomp for a sec. Not like I’ve been in any hurry, but it’s frustrating, especially when it happens so frequently and especially when I worked hard today and I just want to get home and crash.

  • Follow Friday

    Nels W

    In this inaugural (and hopefully not singular) edition of Follow Friday, Pigeons and Planes provides us with a song called Cameras by Matt and Kim.

    Why should you follow (nee “Subscribe To”) Pigeons and Planes? Because the lead blogger Confusion provides just enough detail about the musical artists and doesn’t throw too much crap in with the cool indie rock and new hip hop. I’d recommend staying away from any post with Nicki Minaj or Li’l Wayne in the title, though. If it’s a band name that you’ve never heard of, though (like Matt and Kim, for example, or King Charles), you’re good to go.

  • Quit the Twit

    Nels W

    There is a reason that people who blog are quitting Twitter. Those people include John Mayer, Paul Carr, and (sort of) Leo Laporte. In case you didn’t hit the links (and who has time for that with all the Information Overload and whatnot?) the reason is: Length of Life. Not the life of the people who author the tweets or blog posts, but the length of life of the tweet versus the blog post. Most tweets are retweeted or replied to within an hour. After that? Good luck. (Unless you’re famous enough for people to write blog posts about your tweets, which, when taken together, are about as long as a blog post would be anyway.) Blog posts, though? When well written they can draw comments for days (for a news blog) or continue to garner hits for months or years if the content is truly high quality (or if they have pictures of Kim Kardashian).

    Think about books compared to tweets. People still read books that are hundreds (and in some cases thousands) of years old. Is anyone going to read even the most retweeted of all tweets in 100 years. My money’s on No.*

    And so, I’m going to do what Leo did and rededicate myself to the blog that bears my name. As Laporte said:

    I should have been posting it here all along. Had I been doing so I’d have something to show for it. A record of my life for the last few years at the very least. But I ignored my blog and ran off with the sexy, shiny microblogs. Well no more. I’m sorry for having neglected you Leoville. From now on when I post a picture of a particularly delicious sandwich I’m posting it here. When I complain that Sookie is back with Bill, you’ll hear it here first. And the show notes for my shows will go here, too.

    * Full disclosure: my money is actually mostly in mutual funds. I avoid making investments, let alone bets, with a 100 year payout time since I probably won’t be around to collect.

  • Best Yet: Twitter Movie Trailer

    Nels W

    This one not only has its own song, but the best parody of the magnitude quote with “140 words per post?” “140 characters.”

    (Brought to me to you by TechCrunch, of course)

  • Groupon Fail Whale

    Nels W

    I’m sure this is a situation that’s starting to happen more and more often as Groupon gets bigger and bigger (what up Chicago-based start-ups!) …

    Just a bit ago, (okay, it’s actually been over a month now) I went to Tank Sushi with my wife and a friend for dinner. We were going there because we had a Groupon – an expiring Groupon. As in, expiring on the day we went. (Can you see where this is going?)

    We got there about 8:30 and were told it would be about midnight before we would be seated. Now, if it were just me, I’d say “funk dat!” and use the 3 hours to make up for the $20 I would have lost by not using the Groupon.

    But, since I was with my wife and a friend who I hadn’t seen in a while, we were okay with waiting for 3 hours since there were plenty of things to talk about.

    As we waited, the length of wait for people who came in after us was given as anywhere from 11pm to “We’re not going to be able to get you in.” The point is not the variation, though, but rather that the restaurant was staying open an extra two to three hours just to accommodate all the people who’d waited until the last minute to use their Groupons.

    Here’s my solution: Give restaurants (and other Groupon offering establishments) a sign (preferably designed by either the person who does the Foursquare badge or the oatmeal [that dude is awesome]) that would basically say “You waited till the last minute and now we have too many people up in here. Let this be a teaching moment for you.”

    Of course, they might just be able to turn the old Twitter Fail Whale upside-down and have all the little birds bringing the big guy down.

    So, really, I guess the question is: Can something like Groupon be too big for it’s own good? Even with their “diversification” via “personalization”? People are looking to cut costs just as much as businesses in this economy…

    Twitter Fail Whale

  • YouTube Movie Trailer

    Nels W

    Awesome.

    Thanks TechCrunch

  • Evidently AT&T Does Know What Kind of Phone I Have

    Nels W

    This one is a much better sell than the previous marketing email. Still kind of odd they’re going for the upsell iof adding a line with the 3GS instead of the 4G, but perhaps they did some checking and saw that I’m not actually eligible for the 4G just yet.

  • Doesn’t AT&T Know What Kind of Phone I Have?

    Nels W

    Maybe they make more off the BlackBerry since they don’t have to give as much back to the manufacturer of the phone?