Reed Kavner

The Path Fiasco Will Lower Your Conversions

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 10:06:00 -0800

Regardless of your opinion of Path’s sneaky activities, if you are part of the startup community, you should think twice before you forgive and move on. Their lapse in judgement will lower your conversions.

When the news broke that Path had been peeking into users’ address books and saving a copy on its servers, I didn’t much care. Sure, I thought it was immoral at best to do this without informing the user and it was certainly risky from a publicity perspective, but it was just another example of a startup that figured it would beg for forgiveness rather than ask for permission.

As the news, opinions, apologies, and absolutions swirled around the internet, I still didn’t much care.

But today I care.

Today I read Nick Bilton’s NY Times piece about Path where he poses the question “What’s the big deal anyway?” and immediately answers it:

The big deal is that privacy and security is not a big deal in Silicon Valley. While technorati tripped over themselves to congratulate Mr. Morin on finessing the bad publicity, a number of concerned engineers e-mailed me noting that the data collection was not an accident...

(emphasis added)

That sucks. The Path fiasco because is contributing to the public perception that startups routinely abuse users’ trust with impunity. And as that thought permeates the brains of consumers everywhere, it has the potential to hit me where it most hurts: my metrics dashboard.

It’s a bit of a miracle that startups like Mint, where part of user registration is handing over the keys to your bank and credit card accounts, have been able to get off the ground—let alone become great successes. Consumers are astoundingly trusting and we as purveyors of new products and services benefit from that endlessly. But when a story about a startup abusing users’ trust and not being held accountable by the industry breaks, a chunk of that trust erodes and a few new visitors to your site decide that they’d rather not hand over their data. Good luck, Cake Health.

There’s a lot of chest thumping in The Valley about being a “hacker” or a “hustler.” And that’s awesome if being a hacker means “ building something quickly or testing the boundaries of what can be done” and if a hustler is a founder who masterfully pits VC against VC to get a better valuation. While we should celebrate those who find success in hacking or hustling, we must be careful that we don’t let the spirit of these terms become wed to the idea (or even the perception) that part of starting a business is a willingness to embrace moral ambiguity and play games with users’ trust.

Path has a beautifully-designed product and it’s a shame that this is the context in which many users are being introduced to it. I hope the company is able to recover and move forward. And in doing so I hope they recognize the irreparable systemic damage they leave in their wake and I implore anyone with an interest in this community and industry to make user privacy and security a big deal.

Are they A/B testing language or colors? Or just trying to...

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:28:43 -0800

Are they A/B testing language or colors? Or just trying to confuse viewers?

“You take a hot dog, stuff it with some jack cheese, roll...

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:49:00 -0800

“You take a hot dog, stuff it with some jack cheese, roll it in a pizza, you’ve got Cheezy Blasters!”

Thanks, ~~Meat Cat~~ Epicurious!

In case you’ve been living under a rock (or in a...

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 11:00:53 -0800

In case you’ve been living under a rock (or in a third-world country in which access to potable water, let alone the open Internet, is a rarity) and you haven’t heard, Louis CK is doing an AMA on Reddit right now.

dailyseinfeld: Kramer: My service rates went up? You banks are...

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 12:43:28 -0800

dailyseinfeld:

Kramer: My service rates went up? You banks are all the same with your hidden fees and your service charges. Well, maybe I’ll just take my blood elsewhere, yeah.
Blood bank employee: Well, we can transfer to another bank for you.
Kramer: Oh, no no no…no more banks. I’m keeping my blood in my freezer with…my money!

(via The Blood)

Kramer is the 99%.

The Internet Makes TV Better

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 14:04:00 -0700

This is kind of awesome. Even if you’re not a “Community” fan, check this out.

1. On Thursday an episode of “Community” aired. The episode, “Remedial Chaos Theory” explored several different parallel timelines.

2. A really perceptive viewer Tumbled his theory that events in the prior episode are clues that timeline we are lead to believe is “real” is not.

Last night’s Community featured seven different timelines based on the roll of a die. They led you to believe that the final timeline was the real one, but I don’t believe this to be true. Here’s why.

The episode begins with a brief argument about whether Troy and Abed live in apartment 303 or 304. This episode was season three, episode four. What this hints at is that this episode takes place before the last one.

3. “Community” creator/executive producer Dan Harmon responds to the theory (and puts any speculation to rest) with a thoughtful Tumblr post of his own, revealing just how much respect he has for the show’s viewers.

The production code of “Remedial Chaos Theory” is 303, because it was the third episode to be written and shot. We intended to air it third. Troy and Abed’s apartment is 303 because, hey, we needed an apartment number, so we gave it the production code’s number.

…

As much fun as we want to have, we never want to confuse you or lie to you. We just don’t consider that a right that we have. I hated that stupid “The Killing” show on AMC after the first five minutes; don’t show me someone discovering a body but then reveal that the camera was somewhere else and it was a pig. That’s dumb. That’s not storytelling, that’s a parlor trick and an abuse of power.

4. Dan Harmon Tweeted the text exchange between him and writer Megan Ganz that began the development of the episode.

…And posted pictures of the writers room whiteboards after mapping out the parallel timelines.

I love television.

He rocked the fusion of these two disciplines so hard....

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 20:21:00 -0700

He rocked the fusion of these two disciplines so hard. Masterful.

One thing that’s kind of a bummer about the Internet is...

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 12:38:50 -0700

One thing that’s kind of a bummer about the Internet is the constant reminder that people like Hannah Hart exist and that you’ll never be as cool as them.

via Here’s Some Awesome

I spent way too much time last night choosing my FB Cover photo....

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 15:45:32 -0700

I spent way too much time last night choosing my FB Cover photo. Love how the new profile/timeline fosters a great sense of ownership. It screams to be filled with content.

ericmortensen: sunfoundation: The World’s Largest Photo...

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 18:12:44 -0700

ericmortensen:

sunfoundation:

The World’s Largest Photo Libraries

This should be retitled “quality vs quantity.” Of course, that’s not to say that this isn’t impressive or that Facebook isn’t providing a valuable service. If anything, the alternate title demonstrates the problem with most info-graphics. They present a overly simplified version of a relationship that’s easy to pass around without including any sort of context. This info-graphic ought to raise questions. Instead, it is digested as an answer.

Reblogging for Eric’s caption. Infographics make us feel informed like Sorkin dialogue makes us feel smart.

Good caprese makes up for bad UX.

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 18:42:00 -0700

Good caprese makes up for bad UX.

lizlet: By far the most elaborate bus stop ad I’ve ever seen in...

Mon, 05 Sep 2011 17:50:59 -0700

lizlet:

By far the most elaborate bus stop ad I’ve ever seen in L.A.

Very, very cool. But creepy floating hands. Like a ghost flight attendant. A boo-ardess.

mattmorain: Every @robdelaney mention of @BarackObama so far in...

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 20:54:48 -0700

mattmorain:

Every @robdelaney mention of @BarackObama so far in 2011.

Individually delightful, collectively genius.

@robdelaney

Thank God this show is coming back!” - Me Seriously. It...

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 14:38:25 -0700

Thank God this show is coming back!” - Me

Seriously. It ain’t ‘Breaking Bad’, but it’s a fun show.

tvhangover:

“Thank God this show is coming back!” - No one.

Videogum's Fake Interview with Emma Stone

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 10:52:16 -0700

Gabe in fine form…

Videogum: Can I tell you what is weird to me about your friendship with Taylor Swift?
Emma Stone: …
Videogum: It’s just how, like, you have sort of built this career on being this smart, cool, funny girl. You know?
Emma Stone: …
Videogum: But then Taylor Swift is this super-earnest, very chaste, boring pop sensation. Based on your public image you should be friends with Santigold or something, and instead you’re friends with Taylor Swift. Which means that somewhere in there is a lie.
Emma Stone: …
Videogum: I just think it’s weird.
Emma Stone: …
Videogum: You’re not talking to me anymore?
Emma Stone: …
Videogum: This interview is over.
Emma Stone: You don’t say that to me, I say that to you.
Videogum: So say it then.

Watching people enjoy something that I made is why I could never...

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 10:49:00 -0700

Watching people enjoy something that I made is why I could never have a job that doesn’t involve making things. This is tremendous.

If you haven’t tried out StarMaker, please do. It’s free in the App Store and is the result of the ongoing collaboration of a small group of fun, brilliant people. I promise you’ll have fun.

Next week’s CHOW Tip: How to Make Your Own Broad-Spectrum...

Sat, 30 Jul 2011 13:44:00 -0700

Next week’s CHOW Tip: How to Make Your Own Broad-Spectrum Antibiotics from Household Chemicals.

"Though we are grateful for the affection 30 Rock has received from critics and hipsters, we were..."

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 23:16:44 -0700

“

Though we are grateful for the affection 30 Rock has received from critics and hipsters, we were actually trying to make a hit show. We weren’t trying to make a low-rated critical darling that snarled in the face of conventionality. We were trying to make Home Improvement and we did it wrong.

…

No matter how many times we tried to course-correct the show to make it more accessible - slow the dialogue down, tell fewer stories per episode, stop putting people in blackface - the show would end up careening off the rails again. In my limited experience, shows are like children. You can teach them manners and dress them in little sailor suits, but in the end, they’re going to be who they’re going to be.

”

- Tina Fey, Bossypants (via everythingtv)

Talk about a summer jam.

Tue, 19 Jul 2011 14:36:58 -0700

Talk about a summer jam.

"But it’s a hot load of bullshit that [Nick] didn’t get a nomination, and you can quote me on that...."

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 13:49:38 -0700

“But it’s a hot load of bullshit that [Nick] didn’t get a nomination, and you can quote me on that. But I suspect and hope that will change. And certaintly that field, there’s a lot of talented men vying for that position. If you asked Nick, he’d say the show is represented. But I would say his work on the show is the best stuff on TV, and he deserves every award. A lot of people don’t know that Nick designed all of the costumes in “Game of Thrones.””

- Amy Poehler to Hitfix re: Nick Offerman’s Emmy Snub (via popculturebrain)

Amy Poehlr is The Best.