#topolsky

[dr-lizortecho]

I basically just want Shiri Appleby to be Topolsky but like more bad ass

[spaceylog]

Io vorrei diventare come Joshua Topolsky, compresa la barba.

[consumersneversay-blog]

Gorgeous, luxurious, succulent, sexual midtown Manhattan.

Joshua Topolsky, On The Verge

[eportelance]

Journalistic Integrity and Internet Dick Wagging

I've been watching with great interest this silly little debate about integrity and journalism between Marco Arment, John Gruber, and Joshua Topolsky, and I couldn't resist the urge to comment. First, a quick summary of the issue. A number of prominent tech sites, including The Verge and Engadget, wrote articles about the HP Spectre One all-in-one desktop computer, which looks suspiciously like an Apple product ripoff (think Thunderbolt Display bolted on top of a MacBook Air, with the same wireless keyboard and Magic Trackpad as an iMac). Each of these sites neglected to mention the similarities with said Apple products. And so [Marco noticed](http://www.marco.org/2012/09/10/elephant) and alleged this was due to said tech sites being toothless and wanting to remain chummy with OEMs because their business model depends on it. [Gruber chimed in](http://daringfireball.net/linked/2012/09/10/marco-design) and believes that this has more to do with these sites taking an editorial position that more closely aligns their views with those of certain readers who believe these manufacturers are not copying Apple, are entitled to do so, or one of many other similar positions. [Topolsky responded](http://joshuatopolsky.com/post/31285353423/integrity-and-bullies-with-blogs) with a pretty emotional and heated post. After that, a bunch of Internet ego dick wagging happened on Twitter. Egos aside, I'm more interested in discussing what I believe to be the core issue with the business model of sites like The Verge that leave the door open for these types of omissions. I haven't worked as a journalist, but I have worked on the other side of the fence, in PR. Tech news sites, like any other news sites, are faced with a few fundamental problems: a high volume of news stories, too few resources to adequately cover them in depth, and fighting the clock to get "breaking" news out the door and on the site. These sites primarily make their money through advertising, which either directly or indirectly pays higher returns for greater pageviews. This means there is an incentive to be the first to break a story, to have an exclusive scoop, or take a controversial position on an issue. With so much competition, if you're too slow in getting to a story, you're losing out on potential "eyeballs" from referrals and other sources. On the flip side, companies like HP and their PR agencies spend a lot of time and money trying to craft compelling pitches and use other tactics to get the interest of journalists. The gold standard for PR is that your press release gets published verbatim in whole or in part. Runner up would be that your messaging and spin is intact, even if the words aren't. Providing the messaging isn't totally over-the-top, journalists are happy to do this because they are working on deadline, and need to post a high volume of stories in a timely manner. This means there's no time for editorializing _straight_ news like a first-look piece. This is how the PR business stays alive and stays successful, and news sites keep costs down and revenue up. What it comes down to, I think, is not a desire to suck up to OEMs, or to pander to Android and PC loving readers, or willful maliciousness by sites like The Verge, as Marco and Gruber seem to believe, but rather a sort of unintentional journalistic laziness that results from the pressures of the job and these publications' business models.

[jbgst-blog]

A simpler explanation for The Verge's HP coverage

[Marco](http://www.marco.org/2012/09/10/elephant): > Big “gadget” blogs depend on maintaining very friendly relationships with the companies whose products they cover so they can continue to get exclusives, interviews, press badges to events, and early access to products. [Gruber](http://daringfireball.net/linked/2012/09/10/marco-design): > it’s not about access; it’s about not pissing off the vocal anti-Apple contingent of their readerships. [Topolsky](http://joshuatopolsky.com/post/31285353423/integrity-and-bullies-with-blogs), denying both of these explanations: > We don’t need to mention it in every article, nor will we. Nor is there a rule that we must. My first reaction was the same as Gruber's. But if we take Topolsky at his word, that leaves one simple explanation -- one which does not call Topolsky's *integrity* into question. **The Verge just isn't very good at tech journalism.** You've seen [the pictures](http://thenextweb.com/apple/2012/09/10/hp-imac/). To decide not to mention the similarity to the iMac (and the Thunderbolt Display, and the MacBook Air) is to leave out something incredibly relevant to this story. No matter what the reason was, that's just bad journalism. I don't think any of us believe(d) for a second that the people at The Verge are so bad at their jobs. If Topolsky is telling the truth, though, then that's exactly what they are.

[joecaiati]

App.net: The lure of an exclusive social network

[App.net](https://join.app.net/) boasts a simple concept. A user pays yearly for a social economy free from ads, spam, unwanted features and potential endangerment of third party clients. A product that is for the people and not driven by ad dollars. It gives the users a voice. With many seeing social networking as something casual and free, giving App.net money and attention is probably slim in most cases, especially with its well established competitors already put into place.  So who is App.net for? Ideally, everyone. As of now, the majority of their backers are nerds. The ones that are fed up with companies who are focusing more and more on selling ads and ignoring the user. The fact is that the average social goer has probably never heard of such a project. Although you have probably heard about the service from your go-to tech blog or fellow nerd elitist. I'm very interested in joining App.net and I don't mind paying for something that I will get daily use from. To be clear, I did not back the campaign. It intrigued me, but I wasn't sure if I was ready to commit $50 to the cause. I'm very happy that the project was successfully funded and I hope to be there when an official release happens to the public. But I foresee some key caveats going into it.  From what the [alpha](http://dribbble.com/shots/664770-App-net-Initial-Feed-Design) has shown us, this is a very similar service to Twitter. Or so it seems that way. The people behind App.net put together the alpha to show its backers and skeptics that this was not “vaporware”. What we see now is probably nothing close to the final vision they have for the site. With that being said, its closest competitor, Twitter, is my central hub for information. It is my social and all-things-tech news RSS feed. It's a vital part of my day and how I digest content. It's a service that I don't think I could let go of. The current selection of third party clients are great, and Twitter has not done anything too disruptive (yet) for me to pull the plug on it. App.net has also seemed to attract some of the people who I enjoy following. Names in tech like [Gruber](https://alpha.app.net/gruber), [Topolsky](https://alpha.app.net/joshuatopolsky) and [Siracusa](https://alpha.app.net/siracusa). People that if they left Twitter, would definitely be even more reason for me and others to join. Though I don't see those guys abandoning Twitter altogether. For many, the lure of an exclusive social network and the lust for reaching the masses will keep most attached to both services; including myself. As much as I would rather just be navigating to one unified service, App.net has the potential to disrupt my social experience. A disruption that can turn out to be pleasant surprise or another failed startup. This time at an actual price. Until we see the direction it takes, App.net will be a more focused conversation taken place between the ones who believe in its cause -- which may not be a bad thing. Though a strong user base is key and convincing many to pay for a service that is, on the surface, a similar social network could be problematic. Hoping that it reaches a more mainstream audience could attract more third party developers to integrate both Twitter and App.net which would be really convenient for me and many others. We really have not seen enough to make any snap judgements; But until then -- I will be keeping a close eye on App.net and I recommend you do too. It would be nice for some change in the social space.

[joecaiati]

Instagram advertised on the unsupported One X.

Joshua Topolsky makes a good point regarding Instagram for Android:

Can anyone explain how Instagram is using a One X to advertise the service, but it doesn't work with a One X?

— Joshua Topolsky (@joshuatopolsky) April 8, 2012

What Topolsky's referring to is the Instagram for Android landing page. The page shows two Android devices running the newly released application -- one of them (the white one) being the HTC One X that -- in fact -- is not supported right now. 

To be fair, the HTC One X has just hit the market and the developers for Instagram may have not had the time or knowledge to make the app compatible for the device (which is a whole other problem with Android).

Instagram has updated their support page to explain that the handset will be supported "in the future", but to show the device running the application on the company's main landing page doesn't seem to be the smart way of promoting your app.

I guess you can chalk it up to a bad Photoshop decision or lack of communication -- though I would probably recommend they support the HTC One X soon.

[joecaiati]

CES 2012

CES 2012 is officially January 10-13, but the news will be rolling out starting tomorrow. There will be a lot of tweets, posts, tumbles, and whatever means of online communication flying around -- BUT I strongly recommend you check out the official technology news partner -- The Verge. Head on over to their CES hub for all the latest scoop on everything CES 2012, and I if I see something that I think is worth exploring further, I'll post my thoughts right here.