Shelly’s Blog

“Dear Netflix” is a trending topic on Twitter today and you don’t need to set up any sophisticated social listening software to get the message: @jerrybyers Dear Netflix, I only knew you for a short time. Streaming library is limited and Redbox is a lot cheaper. See ya. #fail The social media backlash to Netflix’s Continue Reading →

According to the Center for Copyright Information fact sheet: “In 2011 the Center for Copyright Information will be formally opened. This newly formed Center will help educate consumers about content theft on the Internet. It will help them to understand the difference between lawful and unlawful online downloading and file sharing. How does it work? Continue Reading →

The US Government says they have credible intelligence that al-Qaida’s newest bombs are people with surgically implanted explosives or explosive components. This is the logical extension of the current arms race. They use metal weapons, we install metal detectors, they escalate the race by using non-metallic weapons, we create better scanners … now, we have Continue Reading →

ComScore says that there are 77 million people in the United States with smartphones and Nielsen Media Research says that in Q1 2011 data usage grew to an average of 435 MB per user/per month.  I’ve seen studies that say these numbers are likely to double every year for quite some time. Give ‘em the Continue Reading →

I got a bunch of pushback on my blog post about Gary Shapiro’s Declaration of Innovation.  People are somehow equating the idea of recapturing spectrum from the broadcast television industry as an encroachment on our 1st Amendment rights.  But this has very little to do with the 1st Amendment.  The issue can be illustrated by Continue Reading →

“With the July 4th holiday approaching, we are asking all Americans to sign a new declaration — the Declaration of Innovation — and pledge to keep innovation a priority and strategy for our nation.” So says Gary Shapiro, President & CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association. They’re the nice people who put on International CES, Continue Reading →

In his book Guns, Germs and Steel: A short history of everybody for the last 13,000 years, Jared Diamond offers a couple of explanations for the evolution of bureaucracies. One may be the physiological limit to the number of faces you can store in your mind as “friend or foe.” The other may have been the need for centralized irrigation in dry, lowland regions. He may be right or he may be wrong, but one thing is for certain – stable, overblown, crushingly oversized bureaucracies have evolved from the very dawn of history. They are big, bulky and decidedly analog. Continue Reading →

Now we know that Representative Anthony Weiner (D-NY) did not have his Twitter account hacked, he simply lied. A combination of the Congressman’s name, the object of his “indiscretion” and his pathetic attempt at damage control have all combined to inspire headlines like, “What’s Wrong With My Weiner?” But, there is a serious side to Continue Reading →

First, apologies to Eugen Herrigel, this article is in no way a reference to his exceptional book, Zen in the Art of Archery. I am not a Zen Buddhist (neither was he) and this is not an exploration of a particular religious teaching. It is, however, a request for us to look at privacy through Continue Reading →

Restless leg syndrome, Vacuums that lose suction, Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction and most recently, Apple knows where you are and where you’ve been! It’s all FUD-mongering. (FUD is an acronym for fear, uncertainty and doubt.) And Apple has inspired a huge FUD cycle. It’s not surprising. People are always looking for things to be Continue Reading →