Gawker
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Crack-ups
The Scary Knife Rites of an Apostate Fameball
Hipster millionaire Jakob Lodwick can't stop seeking web attention. Yet even the dim lights of internet semi-fame drive him up the wall. So he's left to stab in frustration, in the dark. More »
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By Ryan TateComment by Lux Alptraum: I fucking hate "lip dubs." They're just lipsynching videos. Calling them "lip dubs" does not make them new, special, or artistic. 3 Responses | Other threads
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self-promotion
5 rules for making a company video worth watching
Austin-based interactive ad agency Tocquigny embarrassed itself with a video meant to show prospective interns how fun it is to work at the company over the summer. Instead of showing how quirky and Internet-savvy Tocquigny was, it proved to be a turnoff — and a ripoff. Besides not copying someone else's work, what could Tocquigny have done differently? Using five examples the agency should have followed, we'll explain how to do a self-promotional corporate video right: More » -
copyfight
Is Opentape a jab at the RIAA?
Following the shutdown of Muxtape, a site for posting online mixtapes, in a dispute with the music industry, someone has launched Opentape.fm, where you can download code to easily create your own Muxtape-like online mixtapes of MP3 files. And if the creators of Muxtape aren't directly responsible, they probably fed Opentape's developers everything they would need. The first clue is that the site is powered by the favored online publishing platform of millennial hipsters, Tumblr. Another clue is that the domain registration information points to 152 W. 57th Street in Manhattan, which just happens to be IAC CEO Barry Diller's address (Justin Ouellette, Muxtape's founder, worked at IAC site Vimeo). Then there are two small hints in the code: More »
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By Jackson WestComment by FaceMelter: This package communicates with the internet via cURL and sends information that identifies the host website. How funny would... 1 Responses | Other threads
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clips
Classic Jakob Lodwick video further explains post-Lodwick productivity surge
Even when Manhattan's favorite Internet hipster Jakob Lodwick isn't high, he's not that hard-working. Connected Ventures cofounder Zach Klein reminisces about the early days of Connected Ventures, the IAC-backed testosteronefest behind CollegeHumor and Vimeo. Lodwick leads the startup's crew in singing "Semi-Charmed Kind of Life," and trashes cofounder Ricky Van Veen's cardboard cutout of Shaquille O'Neal. Any questions on why Vimeo's performance soared after IAC fired Lodwick? shaq attack from Amir Cohen on Vimeo. -
omnisio
YouTube spends on new features for users, but has forgotten video creators
Yesterday, YouTube acquired Omnisio, a Valley startup that developed tools to allow users to trim online videos and assemble multiple clips together. The company also started deploying speech-to-text technology to create searchable data from within videos, starting with videos from the Obama and McCain campaigns — this will make opposition research so much easier! But have you tried uploading a video to YouTube recently? The experienced hasn't changed in months, if not years. More »
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By Jackson WestComment by deathbychichi: Yeah, Vimeo blows YouTube out of the water for music -- STEREO and NOT ineptly compressed. Search for Virtual... more » | Other threads
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earnings
IAC down more than half a billion in second quarter
In the second quarter, IAC swung from a $94.6 million profit last year to a $421.6 million loss this year. Don't blame Jakob Lodwick! His former company, Vimeo, is nowhere near the top of IAC/InterActiveCorp's expense report for the past quarter. The real problem at Barry Diller's Internet empire is Cornerstone Brands, a rollup of catalog companies undermined by weak consumer spending in home and apparel retail. Cornerstone's losses led to a $300 million writedown in goodwill in IAC's second quarter. In addition, the soft real estate market cut revenue for home financing site LendingTree nearly in half. More » -
copyfight
Muxtape creator battles Firefox script kiddies while waiting for the RIAA
Justin Ouellette's Muxtape, a site which hosts online mixtapes, is on shaky legal ground — and not just over the way Ouellette left his former employer, IAC-owned video site Vimeo. Making a mixtape for personal use is clearly accepted; but posting it online, for everyone on the Internet to listen to? Unclear at best. Ouellette himself has hinted that he's worried about being sued. On Userscripts.org, a site where people post and discuss add-ons to the Firefox Web browser, Ouellette has been scolding programmers for creating tools that let Muxtape users download MP3 files directly from the site — even as he was claiming that he wasn't worried about copyright issues. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by ans: Wait... what was that?... did I just hear the sound of 2,000 ruby coders canceling their muxtape variants and returning... more » | Other threads
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vimeo
Amateur video site overrun by — no, not porn
Victim of their own success: Vimeo, the online video-sharing venture owned by Barry Diller's IAC. The site has been been doing well since IAC fired Vimeo's founder, wacky Web 2.0 poster boy Jakob Lodwick. But Vimeo's ample capacity is now bogged down by a glut of videogame screen-capture movies, sometimes called fraps. Why is that a problem? More »
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By Paul BoutinComment by VuzeJohn: Have you checked out Vuze? You can publish video-game screen capture movies (including HD) for free, and Vuze won't... more » | Other threads
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Andrew Pile
New Vimeo boss mocks Jakob Lodwick's pet wantrepreneur
On Monday, we posted Muxtape founder Justin Ouellette's accidentally-emailed-to-the-Internet photo of a napkin on which he'd scribbled details of his investment deal with Jakob Lodwick. Lodwick, best known for getting fired from Vimeo, an online video-sharing site he founded, now owned by IAC. He now spends his days playing the solipsistic teenager in a man's Crocs-shod body. Now Lodwick's replacement at Vimeo, director of development Andrew Pile, joins the fun. More »
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Comment by jadedperson: @dalasv: hey, let's rent cars to people who need them! And make it really cool and convenient! But let's steal... more » | Other threads
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the chart
Vimeo without founder Jakob Lodwick: quite successful
Is IAC's Vimeo, the video-sharing site founded by bizarrely charismatic (and just plain bizarre) New York entrepreneur Jakob Lodwick, missing its founder? In a word, no. Lodwick lost his job due to insubordination last November; his dare-you-to-sue-me funding of an IAC employee's music startup, in an apparent violation of his noncompete agreement, is right in line with the nose-thumbing he did while on the job. We heard IAC finally fired Lodwick because he would blow off meetings with upper management when it wanted to talk to him about things like marketing and growth. So who got it right — IAC chairman Barry Diller's suits, or the wannabe iconoclast? More »
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Comment by fluffy: Vinny is spot on. You have to look at the massive impact the closure of Stage6.com had on high-quality... more » | Other threads
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confirmed
Napkin shows New York ubergeek Jakob Lodwick encouraged IAC employee to two-time Barry Diller
Once an oversharer, always an oversharer — no matter what it costs, personally or financially. When IAC fired Jakob Lodwick — the Internet's own Howard Roark — from Web video site Vimeo, IAC agreed to pay Lodwick $100,000 a year until 2011, just so long as he stayed away from IAC employees in any new ventures. Lodwick, reportedly bipolar and never much one for consistency, has proven unable to resist the temptation. An image posted to former IAC employee Justin Ouellette's personal blog seems to confirm what's already been rumored: Lodwick funded Ouellette's side project, an online-music site called Muxtape, with enough cash — $95,000 in exchange for 1 percent of Muxtape's equity, going by the scribbled napkin — so that Oullette could quit IAC to run Muxtape full time. More »
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Comment by FiveStarEggRoll: Did somebody e-mail this to IAC? Harry "juicy" Wang more » | Other threads
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clips
The Web's 10 best fireworks displays
A full half of our usual readership came to Valleywag on Christmas day last year. Even more showed up on New Year's Eve. We figure a good percentage of you will be stuck at the office today, too. So if you can't come out to see the Fourth of July fireworks tonight, we'll bring them to you, with the Web's 10 best fireworks videos. A surprising six come from IAC's Vimeo, proving that hosting expensive high-definition content is totally worth it at least once a year. All of them are guaranteed not to maim small children or start wildfires. More »
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Comment by raincoaster: Uh-huh. But for Canada Day last year, Vancouver had fireworks in the shape of pot leaves. Let's just say they... more » | Other threads
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exits
Jakob Lodwick too good for the Internet, leaves it to you animals
It's hard out there for an Objectivist. At least, that's according to Normative founder Jakob Lodwick, who cites his mama when deciding that we're all just too negative to appreciate the risk-taking, innovative soul behind Vimeo and (too a much more secretive extent) Muxtape. You animals have scared him away from the Internet with your snide comments and ad hominem insults! Never mind that markets, like emotional states, tend to be volatile — if your will is positive enough, you can conquer all, promise! At least, that's the theory. Lodwick has decided to stop trying to live up to it and will cease to publish anything but positivity online, presumably with comments disabled. More »
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By Jackson WestComment by koalasthewise: What is wrong with all of you? Why are you all such jerks? Seriously... more » | Other threads
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startups
When they were babes: Web 2.0's humble paper origins
Aww, you guys, this is so cute. Making actual babies out of Web people didn't go so well, but these larval stage sketches of popular Web 2.0 sites before they spawned? Adorable. Look, Vimeo was a little funny looking even then! Taken as a whole, it kinda makes you want to pinch someone's Moleskine where it counts. Full-on prototyping-porn after the jump. More »
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Comment by Uncle-Sam's Littlle Helper: This is so Getting real like on 37signals.com Getting über-real. Design the interface first than get the code. Here you... more » | Other threads
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exits
Barry Diller is paying Jakob Lodwick more than $100,000 a year to stay away from IAC employees
We heard Jakob Lodwick may have broken his severance agreement with IAC's Connected Ventures when he poached Vimeo Web designer Justin Ouellette to help him start Muxtape, an online mix-tapes startup. How much could the gaffe cost the Connected Ventures cofounder? Reportedly, $100,000 a year through 2011. "What a mess," an IAC exec tells us. True, but mostly for Lodwick. IAC can hire more Web designers to replace the one Lodwick's entrepreneurial ventures have cost them so far. Diller's six-figure dole will be harder for Lodwick to replace.
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Comment by MATIC: It's actually a bit annoying because all the other college humor guys are cool and smart. Too bad this one... more » | Other threads
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vimeo
Barry Diller's video site cashing in on searches for "beastiality"
Doing some follow-up research on Vimeo's traffic after our post earlier today, a tipster made an intriguing discovery. Compete.com lists "beastiality" (sic) as the fourth-highest search term driving traffic to the IAC-owned video-sharing site. Which may have something to do with open-minded libertarian founder Jakob Lodwick's choice of "Obeastiality" as the name of his blog (it now redirects to jakoblodwick.com). Sadly, there's no hot monkey sex on the site, but I did find a clip of a woman making out with a cat, so that's something. Interspecies lovin' on Vimeo, after the jump. More »
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By Jackson WestComment by Dan Frommer: No. 3 result for Ars Technica is "child porn." [siteanalytics.compete.com] more » | Other threads
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nerdfight
Vimeo designer says Flickr ripped off his design
"Flickr knocked off my player design," departed Connected Ventures cofounder and Vimeo designer Zach Klein writes on his blog. "I hope I at least get a free brunch out of this." Not likely. Though a quick look at the stats suggest someone's going to eat Vimeo's lunch. -
normatism
Jakob Lodwick's new website launches
Normatism. No, we don't know what the recently fired founder of Vimeo is up to, either. The most entertaining interpretation is that this is the first in a series of softcore geek-porn photo spreads. Unboxing, indeed.
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By Owen ThomasComment by montnoirca: Who is this idiot? I have read through his blog on Tumblr and absolutely nothing he writes makes any sense... more » | Other threads
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jakob lodwick
Former girlfriend says Vimeo founder fired for insubordination
Julia Allison, the ex-girlfriend of Jakob Lodwick, agreed to chat with her sadmirers on sister site Gawker. In the comments, she revealed the real reason why the attention-seeker was fired from his own company Vimeo:He was fired for "insubordination" — meaning, he didn't agree with the strategy IAC had for Vimeo, and he just ignored them when they told him to do things. He thinks of himself as Howard Roark and IAC's middle management as one huge Peter Keating, so getting fired fit into that storyline quite nicely. I think he saw it as almost heroic.
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By Tim FaulknerComment by Valleygrrl: totally tacky of the ex to talk. But yes, you can't sell out then fight the people who paid you.... more » | Other threads
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jakob lodwick
Lodwick's latest project is homeless humor
Amateur attention seeker and entrepreneur Jakob Lodwick may be releasing a new project soon with David Karp, the creator of blogging tool Tumblr. Lodwick recently cut ties with both his beau, Julia Allison, and Connected Ventures, the startup he founded, now controlled by IAC and best known for Vimeo and College Humor. Without Barry Diller's backing or Allison's cleavage, how will the pasty, shirtless hipster generate the buzz he's grown to expect but rarely deserves? By mocking the homeless. More »
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By Tim FaulknerComment by jim_rock: @beng you should whois "get a fucking life" more » | Other threads
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crash this bash
Ask.com holiday party tonight at the Independent
Barry Diller likes to talk up how New Yorky his Manhattan-headquartered IAC is, but in fact, his most important online businesses are based in California, like Ask.com. San Francisco-area IAC workers are having their holiday party tonight at the Independent, 628 Divisadero St. "Bonus points to anyone who videos themselves gaining entry as Vimeo staff wearing their best American Apparel hoodie and art-skool glasses," says a Grinch of a tipster.
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By Owen ThomasComment by lucifugus: Personally, I'd rather go to The Independent tomorrow night: Von Iva is rocking the house. more » | Other threads
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Comment by sggrf: With only sub-$10M in revenues he should be glad they gave him a job at all. more » | Other threads
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Comment by LongAgoYahoo: Wow. Don't put shit like that on tape. It's illegal to force people out because of their age. more » | Other threads
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Comment by mandarin: Wanna bet he's going to try something to get him in the gossip blogs again soon? more » | Other threads
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exits
Jakob Lodwick working with Tumblr?
Jakob Lodwick, no longer Barry Diller's secret weapon, is out at Vimeo, the IAC-controlled online-video site he founded. So what's next for the notorious fame-seeker? More » -
the chart
Jakob Lodwick likely fired for doing a bad job
Former Vimeo CEO Jakob Lodwick wasn't fired for showing the world Julia Allison's breasts, smoking too much pot, or whoring himself on a bilious New York gossip blog. Not really. The real reason we think Lodwick got fired? Vimeo's position on ComScore's top 10 U.S. online video properties. Or, rather, its nonposition. Vimeo, as apologist and fanboy Nick Douglas puts it, was a "beautiful but flat-lining site." Remember, goofballs Steve Chen and Chad Hurley founded YouTube after Vimeo. The Google-owned site reached nearly 50 million people in October 2007. Vimeo is almost up to 245,000. That's not good enough for IAC and Barry Diller. Vimeo may be a superior product, but its absence from this chart indicates looks aren't everything. More »
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Comment by Nick Douglas: "Apologist" and "fanboy" are redundant. Pick one. more » | Other threads
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Comment by Patricia2: Parties always get busted if you don't have them at proper venues, but what a funny story. more » | Other threads
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vimeo
Did Julia Allison's boobs get Jakob Lodwick fired?
Jakob Lodwick, the Vimeo founder allegedly fired today from the IAC-controlled online-video site loves to post racy photos of himself and his love, notorious New York nobody and Star editor-at-large Julia Allison. That fact can't have been lost on his corporate overseers, which makes commenter brigamortis's theory — that he'd been fired for posting a mildly salacious photo of Allison to his personal blog — seem ridiculous on its face. Still, Lodwick took the photo in question off his blog, a move which raises suspicions. We obtained the photo, above. Could Allison's knockers really have gotten Lodwick canned?
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By Owen ThomasComment by Fidel on the Roof: " BY SAMPLE032 AT 11/30/07 08:07 PM I'm no expert, but is that a push-up bra? " Yup. Overrated and... more » | Other threads
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lazy valleywag
Was Jakob Lodwick fired from Vimeo?
We now hear that Jakob Lodwick, the fame-seeking oddball who started Vimeo, didn't quit the IAC-controlled video site — he was fired. And probably not for his views on Web development, either. Anyone know more? -
vimeo
Jakob Lodwick quits IAC video site
"As of an hour ago, I am no longer affiliated with IAC/InterActiveCorp/Connected Ventures/Vimeo. No hard feelings!" writes Jakob Lodwick on his blog. A shame. Lodwick's work at the Barry Diller-controlled online-video venture was our only excuse for paying attention to him and his can't-stop-watching trainwreck of a relationship with notorious nobody Julia Allison. Aside from your work at Diller's answer to YouTube, what will take the guilty out of our pleasure now, Jakob? Update: Back to guilty-pleasure status with Lodwick. The latest rumor is that he was fired.
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By Owen ThomasComment by blue_sheep: where's the post on jakob's blog? it seems that he's taken it down. who's betting that the gf... more » | Other threads
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jakob lodwick
"Twentysomething boy millionaire" explains how Web works to "younger person"
Jakob Lodwick took a moment away from running the video site he founded, Vimeo, to blog some of the advice he'd been giving a "younger person named Chris about web development." Younger? This from a guy Wallstrip's Lindsay Campbell described as "just a normal, twentysomething boy millionaire." Share with us, oh wise and aged one, your precious pearls. No, not those. Eww. Save those for Julia Allison. Your pearls of wisdom, Jakob. More »
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Comment by The_Age_of_Plastic: All net worth numbers where the only source is the "mill/billionaire" should be divided by 3. Thus, Mr. Lodwick is... more » | Other threads
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self-promotion
Avert your eyes, it's JakobandJulia.com
Connected Ventures cofounder Jakob Lodwick and notorious New York nobody Julia Allison now plan to more efficiently whore their relationship in a joint blog venture. Consider it the Hulu of self-promotion. If only you people would stop paying attention, this could all just go away. Sure, Lodwick's Vimeo, an online video-sharing site, is so pretty that rumor has it MySpace wants to poach its designer. But that doesn't explain why you're transfixed by the man himself, or his geek-seeking missile of a girlfriend. You people need to stop. In fact, don't read any further. Look away from the following image of Jakob and Julia, sprawled on the beach. It's for your own good. More »
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Comment by SanFranciscoJim: Did they just break up? Or this another publicity stunt??? Any idea how many viewers they get? more » | Other threads
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rumormonger
Patrick Moberg selling NYGirlofmydreams movie rights
A source tells us that Vimeo's Patrick Moberg is in talks to sell the movie rights to the story of how he met Blackbook intern Camille Hayton through NYGirlofmydreams.com. The pair were last seen at a CollegeHumor party, ducking out early. No word yet on whether Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal have been contacted about possible roles. Patrick Moberg is almost certainly wearing a hoodie at this very moment.
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Comment by jann9884: doesn't everyone realize this movie would be like, five minutes long???? more » | Other threads
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rumormonger
MySpace redesign to match Facebook feature for feature
Why does Facebook seem to have more momentum now than MySpace? Some might tell you it's Facebook's vastly superior user interface. Oh, and that the site actually works most of the time. While they might not say so in public, MySpace executives agree. The News Corp.-owned social network is hiring for a redesign and it's being very upfront with candidates as to what it wants: a feature by feature Facebook match. Innovation be damned, News Corp. wants to catch the perceived leader. The same source also tells me News Corp. already knows who it wants for the job. More »
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Comment by joeduck: Smart. This plus Open Social will really rain on the Facebook parade. more » | Other threads
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steve chen
YouTube founder thinks this is good enough
Steve Chen just told a conference that he thinks HD isn't a high priority because video on YouTube is "good enough." To which I say: More »
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By Nick DouglasComment by dweezel: Can the current infrastructure handle millions of users streaming HD video with high quality sound? more » | Other threads
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Comment by Patricia2: I like the idea of that, what he's saying. Though there are a lot of entertainment people playing in video... more » | Other threads
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blogging for dollars
Microblogging software startup Tumblr raised $750,000 in a first round that included Vimeo founder Jakob Lodwick. He's not just a user, he's an investor! 21-year old Tumblr founder David Karp says Vimeo and Tumblr are planning further integration soon. Tumblr has no revenue yet, but has picked up 100,000 users since launching 7 months ago. [Silicon Alley Insider] -
web apps
What to use instead of Evite (and five other popular but terrible websites)
Oh god, Evite. It starts with an email about a party with no information about that party, and then it gets worse. But in many cases there's no reason you have to use the most popular site. Here's what to use instead of Evite, YouTube, Blogger, Twitter, Digg, and MapQuest. More » -
geek love
New York faux-celebrity Julia Allison and online-video entrepreneur Jakob Lodwick, founder of Vimeo, are back together, following Lodwick's public posting of a pseudo-apology on his blog. Of course, Allison had to nudge him by text message to write it. We hear the makeup sex was anything but virtual, though. [Obeastiality] -
geek love
Julia Allison breaks up with her nerd boyfriend
How typical: Julia Allison, the New York dating columnist and TV personality, has broken up with her boyfriend, Vimeo founder Jakob Lodwick. By blog post. And email. Yes, she has, at last, become one with the byways of Silicon Valley. Gawker has the blow-by-blow. So why should anyone on this coast care? Only to note the spread of our unfortunate social mores eastward. The Allison-Lodwick relationship, according to her email, was sexless. The couple, instead, bonded by talking about blogging and business plans. Lodwick never even had a chance to unseatsoftware blogger Joel SpolskyMichael Pryor, the business partner of software blogger Joel Spolsky — yes, he's the one she wrote about — as the ultimate object of Allison's carnal attentions. (Photoillustration by Gawker)
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By Owen ThomasComment by meowmeow: Sexless? He posted a picture where she was at least naked in his bed: [obeastiality.com] more » | Other threads
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Fri Jul 10
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