Maybe Van Veen has been spending too much time with his purported bestie Ben Silverman, the former NBC executive who takes credit for the likes of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and Weakest Link. Because we can't imagine Van Veen's media sugar daddy Barry Diller envisioned this sort of thing when he funded Van Veen's studio, Notional, four months ago. It's such a retro format for a "multi platform" studio that's supposed to be inventing the future. Here's some of what's slated:

• "READY, SET, DANCE!: In partnership with a major production entity, "Ready, Set, Dance!" is a first-of-its-kind dance competition series that seamlessly combines the web and television."
• "YOU VS. AMERICA: Currently in development, 'You vs. America' is a ground-breaking game show that innovatively combines the immediacy of the internet with the excitement of a network primetime television game show."
• "CHASE THE MONEY: "Chase the Money" is an epic scale reality game show that combines the pratfalls of a classic prank show with the simplicity of a child's game of 'Tag'."
• "LOVE TAXI: The dating show that takes place entirely in a taxicab. "

Actually, now that we think about it, the dancing one was probably Barry "Twinkle Toes" Diller's idea in the first place.

(Pic: Van Veen, by Zach Klein)

Ad Age reports (via) that Silverman might take over CollegeHumor at the behest of Barry Diller, who bankrolls both CollegeHumor and Silverman's new online venture. Van Veen, meanwhile. is transitioning out of CollegeHumor and into his own Diller-funded media startup, Notional, which sounds a lot like Silverman's Electus (both have something to do with online video production).

We're told Silverman and Van Veen have been working very closely together and talking to each other every day. Perhaps a grander merger is in the works that would combine Electus, Notional and CollegeHumor into one venture. Silverman may have been ousted from old media, but he could still be lord of the new media flies. Especially within a venture that actually celebrates a refusal to mature, an inability to grow emotionally and a proclivity for partying to excess. Those are Ben Silverman's specialties, right there.

(Pics: via Getty, Webbyist)

Media writer Ken Auletta explored the purported arrogance of Page and co-founder Sergey Brin in his Google book. From an exceprt in the New Yorker (subscriber-only link):

Diller... recalled visiting Page and Brin in the early days of Google. Diller was disconcerted that Page, even as they talked, stared fixedly at the screen of his P.D.A. "It's one thing if you're in a room with 20 people and someone is using his P.D.A.," Diller recalled.

"I said to Larry, ‘Is this boring?' "

"No. I'm interested. I always do this," Page said.

"Well, you can't do this," Diller said. "Choose."

"I'll do this," Page said matter-of-factly, not lifting his eyes from his handheld device.
"So I talked to Sergey," Diller said. "I left thinking that more than most people they were wildly self-possessed."

Then a couple of years later, the co-founder of Twitter, who used to work at Google, straight up "laughed" at Diller, at a conference. Barry Diller gets no respect from the kids these days.

In an interview with Wired's Steven Levy, Williams lashed back at two traditional media fogeys who pooh-poohed his company's potential at the Sun Valley schmoozefest in July. Barry Diller, of IAC, and John Malone, the satellite TV mogul, said the microblogging service would never make much cash.

"I didn't argue my case," Williams says. "But all the Internet guys there were laughing at those media guys. Are you kidding? Do you understand how money flows to the Internet? When you know that Twitter is a vehicle for directing information and traffic to large audiences, you realize there's obviously a huge business."

And, hey, that's coming from a guy who made four whole million dollars last year, old media people, so you better listen up. These guys have spreadsheets that would blow your minds.

Diller will play sugar daddy to Notional; the IAC chairman will fold it into his ConnectedVentrues division, alongside CollegeHumor.com. The video content will be similar — cheap to make, zeitgeisty — but on television proper rather than the Web. Read: Potentially more lucrative. Reports PaidContent:

The focus will be unscripted programming, broader than comedy aimed at young males that they have been known for, and will include all genres.

Van Veen will report directy to Diller. The elder mogul has run Paramount, Fox and USA Broadcasting and no doubt relishes the chance to bestow his knowledge on an adoring young acolyte. One imagines Diller might become something of a father to Van Veen. Or perhaps more like a stepfather.

(Pic: Van Veen, by Nick Gray)

Kushner's assigned an Observer staffer to put out the newsletter, on top of her regular duties, for no extra pay. Insane! Which is why we don't blame said staffer for the mangled subject line on today's VSL — or for any of its other issues with the second VSL mailing of the Observer era.

We also noticed the newsletter is back to running ads for Design Observer, the blog we're told is run by VSL founder Kurt Andersen's friends and thus likely not forking over much, if any cash for VSL exposure. Presumably the Observer sales staff is hard at work finding new advertisers.

Finally: A plug for Two Lovers, a hidden gem of a movie that's barely been reviewed in all the major papers and features an up-and-coming young actor named Joaquin Phoenix. Welcome to the "smart set!"

Why the New York Observer itself! The high-brow culture newsletter has been, as was expected, renamed "The Observer's Very Short List," though the art at the top obscures that banner change.

Confirming our earlier reporting, IAC officially announced that the New York Observer will take over Very Short List. Despite its all-star founders, the email shopper reportedly sold cheap.

Observer owner Jared Kushner picked up VSL for somewhere under $1 million, a source tells the New York Post. In comparison, Daily Candy, which inspired VSL, sold last year for $125 million. The sales price must vex the VSL founding team Barry Diller (of IAC), Kurt Andersen (of Spy and New York) and Michael R. Jackson (the British television producer). On the other hand, at least they didn't have to shut the thing down.

The Post put Kushner's stake at 80 percent. Kushner told the Post he planned to shut down VSL's niche spinoff lists, like "VSL:Science," and concentrate on trying to make money off the core property, which will be renamed "The Observer's Very Short List." Kushner's not sweating that fact only one-fifth of subscribers are said to open their copies of VSL:

Kushner declined to comment on VSL's open rate, but said that it was above industry average and compared favorably to peer group newsletters like Daily Candy, Thrillist, and Flavorpill.

Of course, unlike the new VSL, those lists have the advantage of being published by more than half a staffer.

(Pic: Rubenstein)

The deal slinging Barry Diller's attempt at reaching for some of that Daily Candy scrilla, Very Short List, was officially finished around Thursday night, we hear. Brief history: Diller, pissed on missing out on some of that email-blast money that he thought would be a shoo-in for solid ad sales with Daily Candy, decided to form a literal, cultured, once-a-day mailer for high-minded consumers to read. Diller, ever fond of his media buddies, got Spy-founder Kurt Andersen to jump on board. And it was highly enjoyable!

But then they didn't make any money off of it, and had to find an easy mark to unload it on. Enter New York Observer boy wonder Jared Kushner, stage left. Cut to: Thursday night. Six full-time VSL employees are given notice to pack their boxes, and get their shit out, as Friday would be their last day. After a messy, messy ordeal. A (now former) IAC employee writes in:

Timeline: We get a bunch of emails Thursday morning. At 10AM, the GM said he might have news (at 6PM, that news would finally be delivered). Someone else said that the deal had already gone through, and that it was finally over. And yet someone else said that we still had assignments for the next week, so it would stretch for another week. And then we heard that the person who was supposed to take over at the NYO had been fired the week before in their bloodbath. So nobody knew anything. Thursday night, the news came through. Our last day was Friday, after SIX WEEKS of being told we were going to be laid off. The worst part: some of us were on the phone with the NYO's people on Friday, trying to teach them how to do our jobs.

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.

Very Short List recently won a Webby Award! :)

But now Observer staffers - who're probably a little overworked since a grip of their most able colleagues were fired - are going to be running Very Short List. :( So who knows what's actually going to happen to the mailer, or what the Observer plans on turning it into.

Most people familiar with the deal are pretty shocked by it, and by how easily Kushner was rolled on this one. The fact that the young mogul thinks he can make money off of VSL where Diller - with all of his resources - didn't is pretty incredible, and rather audacious. Lesser so is the fact that Kushner just fired a stable of some of the most able writers in New York, possibly capable of turning the Observer's web presence into a viable product. Right before acquiring VSL, something - again - actually proven not to make money.

Among other problems IAC had with Very Short List: the only people who have time to look at some bullshit emailer telling them what to read are broke writers like me, who don't have the money to spend on advertisers' products. Besides which, I already know what book I'm buying next week, because I have the time to figure it out. The high-minded, high-income consumers VSL originally set out to target are actually out there earning money, and are too busy to look at an email telling them how to spend it (besides which, they can typically suss that kind of thing out for themselves). So instead VSL had to depend on a niche audience, and at last count, that was only 200,000.

No telling how many people are going to hit that "unsubscribe" link over the next few mornings as VSL does (or doesn't) begin to hit their in boxes, quality control of the thing in check, or otherwise. For that matter, The Observer's daily mailer, too.

Update: Just found out that Sara Vilkomerson, a onetime VSL editor, will be working on the product at the Observer, where she already is. She'll be working on it there on top of her current responsibilities for no additional pay. And an email, sent to 30 or so VSL staffers, stringers, etc. that went out today:

Dear Team VSL:

Needless to say, this has been an intensely bittersweet week. Last Monday we picked up our Webby, which was the sweetest part, and testament to how inspired your work has been. Tomorrow, The New York Observer is taking over majority control and day-to-day management of VSL from IAC. Unfortunately, as part of the transition, they will not be taking any of VSL's existing staff. But as this extraordinary team disperses, we wanted to tell you how incredibly grateful we are for everyone's great work and dedication to this project. We are very proud of it, and aware of just how hard everyone has worked.

We're also pleased that Very Short List will endure — and sincerely hopeful that it can maintain the remarkable standard of excellence established by all of you, so that our 200,000 subscribers will continue being uniquely surprised and enlightened and entertained every weekday.

Thank you. And let's raise a glass together soon — date and place TBD.

Kurt Andersen, Gary Foodim, Michael Jackson, Emily Oberman and Bonny SIegler

Very Short List was, from the beginning, an act of hubris. In 2007, Diller failed to buy Daily Candy, losing out to former AOL executive Bob Pittman. So the IAC chairman decided to round up some buddies and start and shopping list of his own. If Dany Levy could make a mint, why couldn't they?

Besides, VSL would be highbrow where Daily Candy was mass market, targeting a "smart set" of billionaires looking for a shortcut to cultural literacy. Diller is said to have seeded the list with own rich friends, but the early results were unimpressive, at least from a media standpoint: The list reportedly had collected just 20,000 subscribers.

By last year it was up to 100,000 subscribers; now it's 200,000. No matter: It's widely believed a dud, with no real revenues to speak of. Diller needs to dispense with VSL. Which means he needs, as P.T. Barnum would put it, a sucker. Luckily, he may have found one.

A quick sketch of the characters in this shakedown:

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.Barry Diller - The wily old ringleader. A consummate dealmaker who got the better of his evil master John "Darth Vader" Malone in a court fight over IAC. VSL was once his favorite toy; he once told a reporter, ""Without Very Short List, I would be much diminished." But he's moved on. He's putting $18 million into the Daily Beast, his new favorite toy.

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser. Michael Jackson, the legman. A highflying television executive in Britain, Jackson has been vexed by the failure of VSL.A sale would help Jackson save face. After all, he co-founded VSL and has overseen it at IAC.

Yes, VSL has 200,000 email addresses. But one source tells us only 40,000 of readers open a typical mailing. And Jackson would appear to have fallen out with Diller, losing his title as IAC's president of programming right around the time Tine Brown came on board for the Beast. We hear his remaining portfolio at IAC consists entirely of VSL.

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.Kurt Andersen, the pretty girl (a.k.a. the bait). Like Diller and Jackson, Andersen was also a founder and also wants to save face. But he has a unique asset: His experience as a founder and writer at places like Spy, New York, the New Yorker and Inside.com help make VSL — or at least a meeting with VSL — attractive to prospective rubesinvestors or buyers.

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.Jared Kushner, The Mark. The 28-year-old media mogul came into possession of the New York Observer just as the newspaper industry entered its death throes. He's rumored to be in talks with Diller about a joint venture.

While Kushner is likely impressed with VSL's 200,000 subscribers, he should ask IAC for specifics about the list's "open rate" — the number of subscribers who actually read it. Then, if he still wants to buy after learning only a fifth of readers do so, he should ask about those frequent ads from the blog Design Observer. Run, we hear, by Andersen's friends, the site is unlikely paying much, if anything, for the spots.

It might just be too late: Observer scuttlebutt has it that the "joint partnership" would amount to the newspapers' remaining staff writing the VSL. In that case, chalk another one up for Diller, an operator no more ruthless than his New York peers would expect him to be.

(Michael R. Jackson pic via Cityfile; top Diller pick by Esther Dyson on Flickr.)

The email publication appears to have been bulking up dramatically. When last we checked it had 20,000 subscribers, too few to get much attention from advertisers. A year ago, VSL contributor Kurt Andersen told Charlie Rose it was up to 100,000 subscribers.

We checked in today with VSM general manager Gary Foodim, who says the list is up to 200,000 subscribers.

Tenfold growth is a commendable achievement for a list that targets a "smart set" of well-to-do would-be sophisticates. The question is whether VSL still has any claim on that set or whether, as we hear, the list has been diluted with users from other IAC brands, resulting in an open ad rate surprisingly low for a database of upscale consumers. One anecdote making the rounds even says that Diller's friends have abandoned the service; of 25 buddies he used to seed the VSL list, all but one is said to have unsubscribed.

Apparently retaining at least some highbrow airs, VSL hasn't responded to our request for comment on that scuttlebutt.

But it's easy to imagine that Diller, who once said he would be "much diminished" without VSL, has moved on. Rumors that he wants to offload the site have been rife this year. Now VSL is said to be in talks with Jared Kushner's ailing New York Observer. And Diller would appear to have a new favorite toy, judging by the $18 million he's feeding into the bonfire that is Tina Brown's Daily Beast.

When a waiter approaches Diller with a plate, he sniffs, "You're actually bringing food?"

Then he goes crazy for just a second: "They wouldn't let me—if even take one bite of that, somebody will come and put a fork in my neck." The "fork in the neck" bit is a classic manorexic avoidance technique.

When the interview ends, he looks down and says, "I'm not eating that stuff."

[Via Silicon Valley Insider.]

Safka's example — a search for the popular tween star Miley Cyrus which yields TV listings for her Hannah Montana show — looks convincing, at first glance. Neither Yahoo nor Google show TV listings in the first page of search results. But Googling "Miley Cyrus TV listings" readily pulls up a page on TVGuide.com.

Ask.com's strategy relies on the notion that a small team of engineers and product managers can guess what users want, find the right databases to pull the information from, and assemble it more effectively than the dominant search engine's algorithms. It's a romantic notion of man vs. machine. But I seem to recall John Henry died at the end.

Zwinky Cuties is free to enter, but little girls who want to dress their avatars in the latest fashions will need to pony up $5.99 a month. Worry about turning our children into consumer drones, but don't worry about the pedos, says IAC exec John Park. Zwinky Cuties is "entirely safe and really designed for young girls," he says. Does Mr. Park have a Zwinky? "I do. He looks twenty years younger." Park would not show his Zwinky to us. IAC CEO Barry Diller, who showed up to the event and made a speech to press and a crowd of bored IAC spawn, said: "I guess it would be clear that I do not qualify to join Zwinky Cuties or if I did I would probably be arrested." Then Disney's latest 20-something pop star took the stage, said she was proud to be a role model, and began to sing a song to the children about a cute, but shy boy who hangs out by his locker. Men in sports jerseys stopped and stared in through the studio's windows. They waved and took pictures with their cell phones.

The site uses a package of Javascript, Mootools, which was also used by Muxtape. And in the source code, an HTML comment reading "Liberating taste" appears where an ASCII graphic appears in the Muxtape source code. The launch of Opentape is likely a tactic in Muxtape's fight against the RIAA. It puts the record industry trade organization in the position of having to play whack-a-mole as mixes pop up on numerous clone sites using the open-source software. It also means that Muxtape's backers no longer have to shoulder the site's soaring bandwidth costs.

Incidentally, the site's branding was outed by Tina's friend, octogenarian gossip columnist Liz Smith. Having been burned by the backlash against Talk magazine—the glossy backed by Harvey Weinstein which Tina Brown launched with massive hype and one of the most lavish parties in magazine history—Manhattan's "queen of buzz" has been more discreet in the preparation of her first web venture. One assumes that Liz Smith forgot the sneak peek of the website was supposed to be for her eyes only—though Tina Brown can hardly complain about Smith's discretion, having pressured the ancient New York Post gossip writer to come out as a lesbian for an early issue of Talk.

No doubt The Daily Beast will invite comparisons to the newspaper of Waugh's novel; already Liz Smith compares the IAC mogul backing Tina Brown to a character in Scoop, proprietor Lord Copper; and there will be easy jokes to make whenever Brown's news site makes an error or hypes a story.

But I was reminded more of the scene in Scoop in which the hapless hero goes on an extravagant shopping trip before heading to Africa to cover the war, buying six linen suits, surgical instruments and a portable humidor. Waugh, himself a foreign correspondent during the Italian invasion of Abyssinia, once said: "There are few pleasures more complete, or to me more rare, than that of shopping extravagantly at someone else's expense."

That quote could serve as a statement of editorial principles for the notoriously profligate Tina Brown, who happily doubled writers' contracts to lure them to Vanity Fair and the New Yorker. The Daily Beast has already run through a series of expensive design consultants and employs about half-a-dozen staff its office in IAC's Gehry-designed office palace. During her magazine career, Tina Brown shopped at the expense of Conde Nast's Si Newhouse; reinvented as an internet entrepreneur backed by Barry Diller, she's still spending other people's money.

IAC is moving ahead with plans to spin off four of its divisions by the end of August: HSN (which includes Cornerstone), Ticketmaster, Tree.com (which includes LendingTree), and Interval Leisure Group, which operates vacation sites including ResortQuest Hawaii. That leaves IAC with Ask.com, Match.com and Citysearch. What's happening? Simple: Diller and company have learned that bundling a bunch of diverse online businesses together doesn't create the promised "synergy" of the Web 1.0 boom. Better to let each site fend for itself. Since IAC got rid of Expedia in 2005 (Barry Diller's still chairman of the board), the travel site's ups and downs have closely followed the travel market. That's the watercooler version. You can wonk out with the full details.