Pravda on Media and Technology - Latest Comments

Re: Does Like Make Us Stupid?

Merlene — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 08:06:57 -0000

I think the Like button has become rather Pavlovian - we who receive the "Like" feel validated, right or endorsed - those who click the "Like" feel like they've participated, engaged, encouraged and agreed. Both feel rewarded even when there truly is no reward.

Re: Does Like Make Us Stupid?

Bill Cammack — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 05:15:01 -0000

Agreed that "like" is useless to begin with and the ease of which you can like/unlike/like/unlike with a click of a button makes it something people are liable to do without actually caring at all about the post or the author.

It's a nice way for people to endorse something by putting their "me too" on it, but it's also creating a path of least resistance when it comes to online interaction, where people are content to click a button and move on instead of thinking about and posting their own opinions on the topic.

Re: Does Like Make Us Stupid?

Kfir Pravda — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 09:39:44 -0000

It is marginal if looked upon as business activity

Re: Does Like Make Us Stupid?

Tal — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 01:46:22 -0000

זה מאוד נכון, השאלה היא האם אנחנו המלייקקים לא עוברים בעצמנו איזשהו תהליך אבולוציוני בעקבות מהפכת הלייק ומתחילים לחשוב פעמיים לפני שלוחצים על הכפתור. זה נכון שזו פעולה מאוד קלה ופשוטה אבל אני חושבת שאנשים חושבים לפני שמפיצים ולו רק בשביל לא להעמיס על הניוז פיד של החברים שלהם (כדי שלא יימחקו אותם או יחסמו את הפיד שמגיע מהם) אבל אולי זו רק אני? לדעתי אנשים כן חושבים על מה שהם חולקים (אני אומרת אנשים ולא ילדים כי זה פחות תופס לגביהם) ולכן אולי בכל זאת יש איזשהו ערך לכמות הלייקים.

Re: Humus Manifesto and Shakshuka Reality

Kfir Pravda — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 09:25:42 -0000

You know I love your company :)

Re: Humus Manifesto and Shakshuka Reality

Kfir Pravda — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 09:25:17 -0000

Good question. I think there is a need for out of the box thinking re content consumption for such companies.

Re: Humus Manifesto and Shakshuka Reality

Kfir Pravda — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 09:24:19 -0000

That's my main concern

Re: Humus Manifesto and Shakshuka Reality

Eytan — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:52:19 -0000

Very interesting post Kfir.
(and thanks for the mention of Outbrain).

Eytan

Re: Humus Manifesto and Shakshuka Reality

Keren Dagan — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 15:14:10 -0000

I liked your list of the creative forces that led to the growth of the Israeli High-Tech industry.
This country was(and still) good at solving tough problems not always looking for the perfect solutions. Many of these solutions dealt with communication quality, deliverability and scalability.

I see two options for Israeli companies adding value going forward:
To perfect existing solutions
or
To find new and tougher problems to solve
That's in my mind the way to deal with the cost effectiveness problem. Israel has smart and talented people.

Do you see any tough problems in the digital media to solve?
Keren
www.webnomena.com
@kerendg

Re: Humus Manifesto and Shakshuka Reality

Resnicke — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 13:28:14 -0000

I honestly do not think that the Israeli developer is close enough to the tagged enduser to really develop those media startups that you are looking for. My experience is that the Israeli innovator can create wonderful platforms and tools to enable new technologies and therefore the problem is how to allow them to grow and be succesful from the end of the earth (is our little country of Israel).

Re: Android Apps: From Open Market to Flee Market

Kfir Pravda — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 01:28:49 -0000

I think they are missing the point - customers want predictability

Re: Android Apps: From Open Market to Flee Market

Kfir Pravda — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 01:28:09 -0000

Agree re numbers - but what will it do for the customer?

Re: Android Apps: From Open Market to Flee Market

Alok Saboo — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 17:50:32 -0000

I completely see your point, but I guess (or hope) that your fear is over rated. Firstly, even on the App Store, there are thousands of absolute crappy apps, which no one cares about. If anything, this move will result in such apps.

It, however, enables everyone to provide inputs in the development process and thus Google has essentially crowdsourced the app development to a broader audience. If nothing else, it will give Android market the "numbers" to beat the App store :)

Re: Android Apps: From Open Market to Flee Market

Noam Abta — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 07:45:29 -0000

I totally agree. as a developer on the Unity platform I will soon have the ability to port all my games to android, but I hate the hassle of having to check them on all these devices.

Re: What does Wallstrip Cancelletion Mean for Internet TV?

Maverick Money Makers — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 05:42:45 -0000

well friend I theorize that one reason why advertisers are shunning TV for the Internet is that online ads let them track something!

Re: A year later, Iran Proves that the Gun is Mightier Than the Tweet

Arik Fraimovich — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 02:18:05 -0000

Yes, Twitter's power is only an amplifying power -- without people to amplify, it has no power at all.

Just think about that: there were almost no killings as long as people around the world were monitoring the situation. It's only when it went off the headlines, the Basig started torturing and killing the protesters in masses.

It's not the Basig who killed the uprising it's our indifference...

Re: A year later, Iran Proves that the Gun is Mightier Than the Tweet

Kfir Pravda — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 02:04:29 -0000

True. I wrote this post cause I felt that people are talking about Twitter more than about the uprising, and often forget that at the end of the day, the power of Twitter exists only when all sides are playing nice.

Re: A year later, Iran Proves that the Gun is Mightier Than the Tweet

Arik Fraimovich — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 02:01:10 -0000

Twitter nor any technological/media tool won't bring democracy to Iran -- it's the people who will bring. In the case of Iran's uprisings, these tools served just as an amplifier and enabler. The protests would've started even if there was no Twitter or Internet, the only role Twitter and the media tools had was to amplify their efforts.

I'm quite certain that this is not the first time there are protests in Iran, but the reason you know about them and that they lasted as long as they lasted, is thanks to the Internet.

Re: iOS4 – Multitasking done wrong

Yaniv Eidelstein — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 05:18:48 -0000

You don't really have a gazillion open apps. The menu actually mostly lists recent apps, not open ones.
I like the implementation, and I think you're just not used to it yet. I think you're over-thinking it... Just double-click the button and go to the app you want... Maybe it'll be faster than before, maybe it won't... That's about it.
Also... Are you sure you double-clicked the home button and got to the search screen? That never happened to me.

Re: iOS4 – Multitasking done wrong

Omer Aloni — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 03:19:05 -0000

You can't always "Keep It Simple, Stupid", but Apple does approach that scheme in a very narrow limit. Normal users don't ask those questions, power users look for the answers.

As for the Home button new assignment, we're sailing on the same boat, but for different reasons - I just think it's not mechanically strong enough, after having to replace one in a 1st gen device. Pretty sure we will see a dedicated button for app switching in the next generation of iDevices, call it Exposé button.

Re: iOS4 – Multitasking done wrong

Kfir Pravda — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 01:38:58 -0000

That's my point exactly. If you need to explain to me in two paragraphs why it is done the right way, and I, a power user, don't get it from using the device, something is wrong.

Re: iOS4 – Multitasking done wrong

Kfir Pravda — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 01:37:43 -0000

True but still annoying

Re: iOS4 – Multitasking done wrong

Omer Aloni — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 10:46:56 -0000

Should also mention that an app sitting in the 'active apps' dock is active (that is, taking up resources) only if it supports iOS multitasking and if and only if it's doing an essential task. Else, it is just frozen, taking up no processor resources at all (memory aside)
Non-supporting apps just sit there, but they are not really active (not even frozen).

Re: iOS4 – Multitasking done wrong

Omer Aloni — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 10:34:17 -0000

I think you got it all wrong, the new iOS is not only a rebranded iPhoneOS upgrade. It is, in fact, the first major update of Apple's mobile OS. And as such, you can't expect every app to support the new APIs one week after release (think of it like Apple's transition form PPC to Intel, or from OS 9 to OS X - it took months for developers to fully adapt).

That said, multitasking in iOS is done right, keeping only essential tasks alive (e.g. uploading a file, streaming music) and not blowing up your memory and keeping your processor busy with the unnecessary ones (e.g. user interface), leaving you with more battery power.

Re: iOS4 – Multitasking done wrong

martyndavies — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 10:21:43 -0000

You can kill apps, although it's clunky. Click and hold on an icon in the "open apps" area, and all of the icons start to tremble with a little minus in the corner (a bit like when you delete apps from the menu). Click on the minus to cancel the app.