Gawker: valleywag, david prager

Dude Turns to Twitter As Guy Breaks In His House

Hamilton Nolan — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 10:49:30 EDT

Well, our array of omnipresent blinking gadgets has officially rendered us totally incapable of normal human action. The proof: David Prager, whose reaction to having his home broken into was to Twitter about it:

No words for this. I mean, no words. We present the entire feed as it occurred:

# ok, maybe I should lock my door - I swear a random dude just walked into my bathroom and I can't believe I haven't freaked out
about 4 hours ago from Tweetie

# and I can't believe I'm tweeting about it while he is still in there — in wonder of he is sleep walking - or if maybe I should freak out
about 4 hours ago from Tweetie

# ok - he's still in the bathroom and Im now thinking a combo of hobo and drunk and sleepwalking dude - he seems late 20s - hmmm what next ?
about 4 hours ago from Tweetie

# I'm thinking the hobo part cause I can smell BO - and I really am wondering why I haven't freaked the F out
about 4 hours ago from Tweetie

# maybe I should mention I live in a relatively rustic studio apartment in SF
about 4 hours ago from Tweetie

Yes, please, tell us more.

# there is no TP in my bathroom - wonder if that is complicating things for him - was gonna wait for him to come out and kick him out
about 4 hours ago from Tweetie

# hmmm — should I call the cops like you guys have recommended? find a blunt object before opening the door? my gut tells me he's harmless
about 4 hours ago from Tweetie

# but ... I could be wrong about the harmless assumption
about 4 hours ago from Tweetie

# I'm now thinking maybe he's passed out in my bathroom — I guess that's better than violent — but I have no idea. time to freak out??
about 4 hours ago from Tweetie

# ok - about to make move - putting shoes on first
about 4 hours ago from Tweetie

# glad that GF wasn't here
about 4 hours ago from Tweetie

As is she.

# ok - have weapon if I need it - but don't plan on any confrontation with it - about to go in
about 4 hours ago from Tweetie

# haven't gone in yet ..... debating calling cops but just feel it's not needed for some reason (and probably contrary to all logic)
about 4 hours ago from Tweetie

# ok - still haven't done anything - he is still in there - gonna setup a ustream now I think - standby
about 4 hours ago from Tweetie

# http://www.ustream.tv/channel/revision3
about 4 hours ago from web

At this instant American manhood reached its nadir.

# going in
about 3 hours ago from Tweetie

# if u haven't been watching my ustream -the dude passed out in my bathroom and I just dragged him out
about 3 hours ago from Tweetie

# ok - I think the drama is over - intruder is out - door is locked - think I finally need some sleep
about 3 hours ago from Tweetie

David Prager, American man. Prager is an exec at Internet TV site Revision3, a dodgeball coach, and a character already known to Valleywag.

Update: And of course, his ustream is now a youtube. Watch the hero at work:

Revision3 beats Digg at dodgeball

Jackson West — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 16:20:00 EDT

In a best-of-nine match held on UCSF Mission Bay's campus, Revision3 beat Digg 5-4 to kick off San Francisco's dodgeball season. The online video network took home nerd bragging rights — and all-star free agent Kevin Rose, pictured here making a diving catch.

Revision3 Coach David Prager stated in a press conference after the game, "Digg came to play dirty, but little did they realize that we can play dirtier." In a post game interview, Digg's Kevin Rose said, "I founded both companies ... I'm going to join the Revision3 team now."

Revision3 will now have to face off against a number of unknowns in the six-team league, but coach Prager assured me that he's open to challenges from other local startups. Video of the dramatic final game after the jump.

Kevin Rose's parties bid SXSW goodbye

Owen Thomas — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 07:36:55 EDT

I've always loved to watch Mark Cuban dance — but Tuesday night I got to see the billionaire booty-shaker up close. The venue: PureVolume Ranch in Austin, Texas. The occasion: The Bigg Digg Shindigg, South by Southwest Interactive's closing party. "You guys always picked the worst photos of me," Cuban said. Mark, as I said at Sunday's panel on gossip, I live to serve. Digg packed PureVolume's dance floor and backyard tents with hundreds of partygoers. Besides Cuban, Moby was there, as were Digg CEO Jay Adelson and cofounder Kevin Rose, iLike CEO Ali Partovi, StumbleUpon's Garrett Camp, and Automattic's Matt Mullenweg. RealNetworks CEO Rob Glaser had just flown in from Florida on a private jet. But for me the most interesting person was newly hired Digger Aubrey Sabala, who put the party together in three days — after Digg had given up on the idea.

Sabala, who started at Digg on February 6 as community manager and marketing director, is a SXSW veteran. (You can tell because she calls it "South By.") She was set on the idea of a party at the festival, but by Friday, she and the rest of Digg had decided it was a nonstarter. The next Monday, though, she gave it another try. A call to a Napa winery landed a sponsor for wine. A call to a contact at PureVolume secured the club for Tuesday night. With that, Sabala had a party that bridged SXSW Interactive's last day and the SXSW Music's first.

A few blocks away at Six Lounge, Revision3 was also bridging music and the Web, with a live debut of "Rock Band," Randi Jayne Zuckerberg and David Prager's homage to the guitar-wielding videogame at a party hosted by Rana Sobhany. Kevin Rose ruled Austin last night — he also cofounded Revision3.

Prager, Revision3's COO, told me Monday about the times he'd put money from his own bank account into Revision3's coffers to make sure it made payroll. Those lean days are long past for both of Rose's companies. Even as the stock markets waiver, Web startups seem flusher than ever. A Microsoft ad deal has buoyed Digg; the online-video boom is taking care of Revision3's paychecks.

Are we going to see this kind of party scene at next year's SXSW? Let's be clear: SXSW was a good time, not a boundless bacchanal. Nothing smacked of excess: A mild dose of star power is enough to intoxicate the deskbound Web designers who attend the festival. But I noticed that no one talked about the stock market once the whole week. SXSW was a comfortable bubble. As the Webheads fly back home, will they even feel it popping?

Don't you wish your startup were hot like 3?

Owen Thomas — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 09:45:39 EDT

Revision3 COO David Prager, previously best known for the "Dontcha" iPhone video, and producer Sarah Lane, in line for the Valleywag/Lifehacker/io9 party in Austin.

It's for charity, people

Megan McCarthy — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 15:01:51 EDT

Tonight, a charity auction and spontaneous drinking vie for your attention. And, for some reason, everything tonight starts at 6 p.m. To overbook your evening, check out our Valleywag Calendar.

Web analysts unite! Web Analytics Wednesday brings together all web analysts to analyze web things. Most important: The first round is free! 6-8 p.m. at Zebulon on Natoma St. [Web Analytics Demystified]
Yahoo's Brickhouse division hosts another Wii Wednesdays 500 3rd St. Boxing starts at 6 p.m. [Upcoming]
Spontaneous Drinking Night in San Francisco. 6 p.m. at the House of Shields. [Facebook]
Illuminating Paths holds a fundraiser for low-income students in San Francisco with a benefit at Slide on Mason Street. $10 at the door gives you that do-gooder glow, and a shot at winning an auction to go rock climbing with Revision3's vlog-hot David Prager. Starts at 6 p.m. [Illuminating Paths]
Going to the SNAP Summit on Friday? Not bought your ticket yet? Today is the last day to get a 15 percent discount on your entry fee. [Eventbrite]
Psst Go Sox!

Got a to-do that's a must-do? Send it to calendar@valleywag.com. Check out more events on our Google Calendar:

Revision3 COO David Prager, asked to confirm...

Owen Thomas — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 18:45:46 EDT

Revision3 COO David Prager, asked to confirm that Patrick Norton is leaving the Ziff-Davis-owned DL.TV to join his online-video company, answers with a silence that speaks volumes. [Twit.tv]

Dontcha wish you'd come up with this video?

Owen Thomas — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 01:26:38 EDT

Hate to say it, but Jason Calacanis had it right: NYT gadget reviewer David Pogue's "iPhone: The Musical" was a trite, derivative, and boring piece of Apple propaganda. But a group of San Francisco webheads have come up with a pitch-perfect take on the iPhone phenomenon. Behold the glory that is "Dontcha Wish Your Cell Phone Was Hot Like Me?" — and after the jump, my take on why this spoof gets it right while Pogue's flopped.

Pogue attempts to pack the supposed evenhandedness of a gadget review into his song-and-dance routine, with tiresome results. And in the end, all you remember is the disgraceful spectacle of a Timesman bawling at the top of his lungs, "I want an iPhone!" Gee, David, we thought a call to Apple PR chief Katie Cotton would have scratched that itch a long time ago.

"Dontcha," by contrast, captures the most essential point about the iPhone: It turns its owners into monsters, imbuing them with a false sense of their own importance and sex appeal. The spectacle of geeks attempting to rap and perform dance hip-hop moves perfectly captures the inflated sense of self the iPhone lends. The video, directed by recent L.A. transplant Nora McDevitt, has a cast of microstars: Randi Jayne, the force behind "Valleyfreude" and sister of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg; David Prager, COO of online-video startup Revision3; and Irina Slutsky of Geek Entertainment TV. (Jayne, Prager, and Slutsky also produced the video.) Jayne, in particular, shines, getting the Britney Spears wind-machine treatment as she disses the Sidekick, the Razr, and other cell phones that just aren't as hot. It almost — almost — made me want to buy one, something the endless Apple hype parade has yet to achieve.

Pownce founders party in pot-laden pleasure palace

Megan McCarthy — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 14:38:32 EDT

MEGAN MCCARTHY — "Pownce is the new pink," declared Valleywag's capricious new editor Owen Thomas in assigning me to go cover a party thrown by Leah Culver and Kevin Rose, cofounders of Digg. The new pink? More like the new pot. The microblogging site, which people use to send around URLs, MP3s, and updates on their lives, is just as coveted — invitations are still up for sale on eBay — and seems to leave its users just as unproductive. So what better place to hold a party than a pink castle of a house in the Castro owned by Dennis Peron, one of the heads of California's medical marijuana movement? A list of Internet-glamorous attendees, a crime scene, and a photo gallery, after the jump.

Peron's place, which Culver is renting, is amazing. The backyard is built like a treehouse, with hidden stairways leading to the an outbuilding that doubles as a blacklight garden and hot tub. A model of the Golden Gate bridge serves as a walkway connecting the second floor to the guesthouse. Oh, and there are full-grown pot plants everywhere you turn.

The party had the feel of a high-school kegger, as if Web 2.0 High prom king Kevin Rose had convinced his venture capitalists to go away for the weekend and leave the liquor cabinet stocked. Pownce cofounder Leah Culver danced around the kitchen lip-synching to "Lip Gloss." On a screen, Randi Jayne, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's sister, debuted her latest viral video, a very clever iPhone parody. By 11 p.m., the kegs were kicked, and people stood around holding red plastic cups, hoping in vain for more liquor. Attendees included just about every boldfaced name from the San Francisco Web scene: StumbleUpon's Garrett Camp; Om Malik and Liz Gannes from GigaOm; Sarah Lane, Martin Sargent, and David Prager from Revision3; and recent New York Times profile subject David Ulevitch from OpenDNS.

And of course, there was some drama. A group of wannabe gangbangers walked into the party and, eyewitnesses say, walked out with a MacBook and at least one purse. My purse, to be exact. After I noticed that my purse was missing, three of the alleged thieves came back to the party, apparently hoping to steal more stuff. Partygoers detained one of them, who was then arrested by San Francisco police on a conspiracy charge. Good thing they didn't check out the back yard. For a glimpse of the scene, here's a gallery: