Chip Griffin: Pardon the Disruption

Scott Karp Launches Publish2

Scott Karp over at Publishing 2.0 has quit his job and is starting a company, appropriately named Publish2.  He aims to "put his money where his mouth is" by betting on the vision of the future of media that he has outlined on his blog.  His stated goal is to create the ultimate consumer-facing news site by networking online journalism (everything from "news bloggers" to more formal journalists).

The details are still a bit vague, though an invitation-only beta is slated for September.  It sounds like something similar to what I have suggested is the future of news aggregation: a cross between free-for-all ranking sites like Digg, automated ones like TechMeme, and highly edited ones like Yahoo News.  Plus it may have original content, though I haven't had a chance to read all the material Scott has put online to achieve clarity on that point.

If Publish2 really does incorporate all of these different components, then I think it has a chance to be a powerful news resources. Hopefully, it will incorporate more than just text and pictures, as my own vision for the future of media sees convergence of text, audio, and video, with the right medium utilized for the content being conveyed.

This will certainly be a company I will be keeping an eye on.

Throwing in the Towel on Second Life

Chip Graysmark is leaving Second Life.  For those who don't know (and from what I can tell that is probably most of you), that's my avatar's name in that online world.  I started trying out the service about 6 months ago when everyone really started chattering about it.  But I have reached the conclusion that it isn't going somewhere I want to be.

Perhaps I never gave it enough of a chance -- I stayed mostly on Crayonville Island, created by my friends at the new media marketing company headed by Joseph Jaffe.  While I enjoyed the weekly "Coffee with Crayon" event for the chance to chat with fellow communicators, it felt a bit too much like web chats circa 1997.  I would love to have a way to interact with these people without the platform being such an important part of the discussion and without the video game feel that Second Life has.

The folks behind Second Life may end up doing well for themselves, but the numbers so far seem disappointing, according to many observers, as far as giving the product an important role in online life in the future.  Proponents argue that it is still early, but anecdotal evidence suggests companies are not reaping big rewards from participating. 

Is it worth sticking with Second Life to better understand it and be prepared if it does take off?  I don't think so.  It just doesn't feel like it has the staying power or the ability to go mainstream. 

I always try to avoid living within the tech bubble and put myself in the shoes of "average" users.  That doesn't mean I won't live out on the cutting edge or even the bleeding edge, but it is important that we all never lose sight of the fact that we are an abnormal minority and not necessarily the harbinger of trends to come.

I'll always have the memories, and maybe one day I'll be proven wrong and have to slink back to Second Life with my tail between my legs, but for now I'm throwing in the virtual towel.

Flight Delays Really Are Getting Worse

Paul Kedrosky, the always insightful data guy, points to new US Department of Transportation statistics that show that more flights have been delayed so far this year than ever before.  He even includes an astonishing list of flights delayed 100 percent of the time (though it isn't clear if these are daily flights that have been operating for the whole year or not).

I've been telling people lately that flights have been getting worse, but now we have hard data to go along with my gut feeling and one person's data.