ricmac

ricmac, 9 hours ago to random

Sad to hear about Steve Albini. I really liked his Nirvana album and also the one he did with Hugh Cornwell (Totem and Taboo). Such a strikingly powerful yet simple sound in both. -> “Even as he occasionally freaked out the mainstream like this, Albini became adored by musicians for his unpretentious approach, foregrounding the intentions of each artist rather than bringing in a particular production flavour.” https://www.theguardian.com/music/article/2024/may/08/steve-albini-us-alt-rock-musician-and-producer-dies-aged-61

ricmac, 12 hours ago to random

Just as ReadWriteWeb becomes one of the 10 most popular blogs in the world on Technorati, in late April 2008, I travel to New York to meet with Ziff Davis Enterprise about their proposed acquisition. https://cybercultural.com/p/031-zde-due-diligence-begins/ #InternetHistory #Serialization #Web20

ianbetteridge, 1 day ago to random

I see Dorsey is well into his “two croissants short of a breakfast basket” stage.

jackyan, 1 day ago to random

Just finished a wonderful book written by a friend of mine in the rainbow community. He and I are of a similar age, and we have some similar beliefs, but one thing we differ on is that I never visualized Jon and Ponch on CHiPs naked!

ricmac, 5 days ago to random

I blame it all on React developers. https://www.takahe.org.nz/heat-death-of-the-internet/

ricmac, 5 days ago to random

I like this as a (rare?) positive story, and especially liked the callout to Arts & Letters Daily, one of my go-tos in the late-90s/early 00s. I’m glad they’re still doing what they’re doing. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/the-revenge-of-the-home-page

ricmac, 5 days ago to random

Hmmm, I wonder if I can think of a recent example of a “spam site that tricked Google into a high rank (without paying for an ad)”… https://ricmac.org/2024/04/29/why-clickout-media-a-gambling-pr-company-bought-readwrite/ https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic/112376498514495547

ricmac, 6 days ago to random

I listened to these two podcasts today, and interesting to compare the takes. On one hand we have an in-depth (and beautifully nuanced) discussion of fediverse tech by @mike and @snarfed.org@snarfed.org. On the other, 3 media dudes talking about if fediverse will ever be mainstream. I know Troy and Alex from SAY Media days and I like them both. Also know Brian from web 2.0. I found both podcast discussions interesting, but from different angles. Btw Mike, they mentioned you.

ricmac, 6 days ago to random

Well, some good news: the new ReadWrite editor replied to me on X (and yes, I was forced to use that app again!) and he's now removed my name from the About page of this version of RW. It's a small win, really, but the idea of them using my name to promote the gambling content they're now running was too much to bear. Now I need to wash my hands after visiting both ReadWrite and X in the same session...

ricmac, 7 days ago to random

My first programming experience too, as a 13-year old on my school’s BBC Micro. One of the few things I liked about that school :) https://phpc.social/@davidbisset/112367711007188435

ricmac, 7 days ago to random

Thoughts on whether I should've sold ReadWriteWeb when I did, given what happened to the site over the next decade. Do I regret selling? (apologies if this is too much personal stuff recently, obviously this ClickOut debacle has shaken me and made me second-guess my past decisions) https://cybercultural.com/p/on-selling-your-website/

ricmac, 7 days ago to random

An update on my attempts to get my name removed from the about page of the current, gambling-focused, version of ReadWrite: I sent emails to the addresses listed on both ReadWrite and ClickOut Media contact pages [info AT ...], and both emails bounced. I have tracked down the address of current RW editor, so emailed him. Also, have had no response from John Rampton (the self-proclaimed mega influencer) as to whether he owned ReadWrite before ClickOut. Ref: https://ricmac.org/2024/04/29/why-clickout-media-a-gambling-pr-company-bought-readwrite/

ricmac, 8 days ago to random

So the guy who wrote an article about how shoddy tech journalism is, while completely ignoring many tech news and analysis sites not called Ars Technica or The Verge, also runs his newsletter on Substack and has an active X account. Somebody better tell him that any self-respecting tech reporter doesn't use those platforms anymore. https://www.techmeme.com/240430/p4#a240430p4

ricmac, 8 days ago to random

Really nice comment on FB to my "bottom feeders" post about ClickOut Media's acquisition of ReadWrite -> "Thanks for that brave and poignant article. Sadly it's a trend I've seen taking root at an accelerated rate in the 2020s. There are so many bottom feeders that fed a cycle of FUD and what myself and others in my neck of the woods are articulating among ourselves is a tremendous struggle for legitimate early stage companies to find funding while money gets pumped into these shams."

ricmac, 8 days ago to random

I wrote a blog post to shine a light on ClickOut Media, and its founders Adam Grunwerg and Samuel Miranda, and expose their crypto/gambling strategy for buying and using ReadWrite. There’s a reason the founders don’t want their names associated with what ClickOut is doing with ReadWrite. I'm sorry to any former staff and readers of RWW back in its heyday — please share this to warn others of what RW is now. https://ricmac.org/2024/04/29/why-clickout-media-a-gambling-pr-company-bought-readwrite/

ricmac, 9 days ago to random

As I look further into ClickOut Media and its acquisition of ReadWrite, I am wondering if what they're doing is against Google's search rules. I have been talking to a Reuters journalist, who is investigating ClickOut from a legal finance pov. I'm mainly interested in the harm CO is doing to the web — clearly it's using the RWW brand I built up from 2003-2012, and the SEO ranking and social media following we had, and leveraging all that to promote its gambling/crypto content and partnerships.

ricmac, 10 days ago to random

These are the two people behind ClickOut Media, which just bought ReadWrite (I assume from the company formally known as Wearable World, which previously acquired RW from SAY Media). I am working on a post about ClickOut and companies like it, that are buying up established tech media brands for their nefarious means. If anyone has advice or tips for me, please reach out. https://www.warning-trading.com/enquetes-et-decryptages/cryptonews-finixio/

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ricmac, 11 days ago to random

I’ve been doing some digging on ClickOut Media, the gambling/crypto business that recently acquired ReadWrite. Its head office is in Malta and its founders have no presence on the web (that I have yet found). I discovered their names though, and there has been some reporting in Reuters about dodgy dealings… this via a LinkedIn post from the reporter 5 months ago. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rachelwolcott_finixio-owners-also-own-clickout-activity-7133061394433744898-4PzV

ricmac, 11 days ago to fediverse

Fascinating look at how #ActivityPub is being used by the SFO art museum to help encourage revisiting its cultural objects. Still early days, but you can see the potential here -> “The reason I am telling you all of this is that SFO Museum has written it's own limited ActivityPub server implementation and we have, in fact, created an ActivityPub account – a social media, account – for every object in our collection.” https://orthis.social/@thisisaaronland/112339899293624779

ricmac, 13 days ago to random

I just discovered that ReadWrite has been sold yet again. This time the owner is ClickOut Media, which also owns Techopedia. I only found out because someone from said company emailed trying to hire me for Techopedia, clearly having no idea I founded ReadWriteWeb! I took a look at the latest version of RW and was dismayed to see the "featured content"... Sigh.

ricmac, 13 days ago to fediverse

I love writing about the #fediverse, and I'm passionate about the open web, but this is what it's like covering this beat as a journalist. Sadly, it doesn't get the eyeballs, as they used to say. Also, I have nearly as many 'likes' on Mastodon and Threads for the fedi post as people who have actually read it! On the bright side, I know from the comments here that the people who did read it are super-smart ;)