by Christopher Paul on May 20, 2013 Matt Mullenweg, who started WordPress, wrote a quick piece on how he’s seen import activity from Tumblr to WordPress spike leading up to the announcement. Some quickly thought that was a sign that users don’t think Tumblr will last long or Yahoo will screw it up. I don’t think they have much to fear.
First, I think the platforms are very different – more so than you might think. Tumblr is a simpler blogging platform. That’s great for most people with a bunch of lifestyle rebog posts. Thankfully, Tumblr can also be quite powerful but you have to work at. WordPress is much, much more powerful out of the gate and takes some extra configuration to get it to a decent state. Plus, post formats isn’t as mature yet (coming in the next version, though).
Second, Flickr didn’t get screwed up because Yahoo did something to ruin in. It was screwed up by Yahoo not doing something to it. It got stale, boring, and, to a degree, a little more mainstream. Many pros post to 500px now. That is Tumblr’s biggest risk if you ask me.
And, if we are to believe Marisa Mayer, they’ll let Tumblr exist on its own for the foreseeable future. She’s on a brand transformation mission. She has to focus on being relevant again and, I’m sure, won’t do anything to mess that up.
by Christopher Paul on May 19, 2013 You’re probably not going to get this news first from me but Yahoo is rumored to be buying Tumblr for $1.1b.
Yahoo is getting a great platform. Not sure what Tumblr is getting besides all that cash. I’m sure there are integration opportunities between the two but if I have to sign in with a Yahoo ID, I’m quitting.
by Christopher Paul on May 14, 2013 Similar to decision fatigue, I’m interested in what some call analysis paralysis. It’s where you over think a situation or decision, you lose sight of what you need to achieve or act on. It’s a huge productivity killer and greatly impacts on your agility to solve tough problems. This piece on performing too much due diligence from Fred Wilson reminds me of that:
…you can do too much due diligence. It’s important to talk to the market and hear what it is saying. But you have to balance that with other things; the quality of the team, the product, the user experience, etc. You cannot rely alone on due diligence, particularly early on in the development of a company and a market.
by Christopher Paul on May 13, 2013 Disney is under fire from one of its character creators for altering the Brave protagonist’s look:
Disney crowned Merida its 11th princess on Saturday, but ignited a firestorm of protest with a corporate makeover of Chapman’s original rendering of the character, giving her a Barbie doll waist, sultry eyes and transforming her wild red locks into glamorous flowing tresses. The new image takes away Merida’s trusty bow and arrow, a symbol of her strength and independence, and turns her from a girl to a young woman dressed in an off-the-shoulder version of the provocative, glitzy gown she hated in the movie.
I can’t say Brave was my most favorite Pixar movie to come out in its history but I thought Merida was one of the better characters. I know I certainly appreciated the attitude and confidence they gave her. Given the criticism Disney faced in earlier animated movies, you’d think they’d learn – especially given what they’ve done appears to be in direct conflict with the character’s personality.
I wonder what other changes they’ll make to Pixar movies and characters.
via Boing Boing
by Christopher Paul on May 13, 2013 John Tierney describing Decision Fatigue:
Decision fatigue helps explain why ordinarily sensible people get angry at colleagues and families, splurge on clothes, buy junk food at the supermarket and can’t resist the dealer’s offer to rustproof their new car. No matter how rational and high-minded you try to be, you can’t make decision after decision without paying a biological price. It’s different from ordinary physical fatigue — you’re not consciously aware of being tired — but you’re low on mental energy. The more choices you make throughout the day, the harder each one becomes for your brain, and eventually it looks for shortcuts, usually in either of two very different ways. One shortcut is to become reckless: to act impulsively instead of expending the energy to first think through the consequences. (Sure, tweet that photo! What could go wrong?) The other shortcut is the ultimate energy saver: do nothing. Instead of agonizing over decisions, avoid any choice. Ducking a decision often creates bigger problems in the long run, but for the moment, it eases the mental strain. You start to resist any change, any potentially risky move — like releasing a prisoner who might commit a crime. So the fatigued judge on a parole board takes the easy way out, and the prisoner keeps doing time.
It’s a long article but well worth the read. I’ve often wonder how my own mental fatigue affects my decisioning as the day progresses. I’d love it if they studied this on people in the investment community. It wouldn’t b a surprise to discover traders make worse bets as the hours of the day and days of the week pass.
via MG