Stephen Colbert gets ahold of an iPad during the Grammys | Hacker News Reader

Stephen Colbert gets ahold of an iPad during the Grammys

networkworld.com

71 pointsanderzole38 comments

Brilliant PR by Apple. Not sure how many people actually watch the Grammy's but I bet you this cost a lot less than a commercial spot.

Actually, Colbert's been asking for an iPad from Apple this whole last week. Every show, he'd work in how he wants--nay, deserves--an iPad.

... which might just as well be part of the PR :P

Perhaps, but it's also part of an ongoing bit. He did the same for the iPhone.

It might very well be authentic, but for some reason I'm a cynic when it comes to big business and advertisements.

I'm not really sure if he really wants one or just makes fun of the hype. Apple gave him one, so they think he really wants one or they dont care.

"I'm not really sure if he really wants one or just makes fun of the hype."

Why is there an 'or' in that sentence?

Colbert loves attention. He may or may not be genuinely excited for the iPad, but I bet he's more excited for the press it generates.

The ongoing bit could have been part of the PR too.

>> Not sure how many people actually watch the Grammy's

~ 20 million in US only?

"The 3 1/2-hour music awards show on CBS was seen by 19.05 million US households (in 2009), compared to 17.18 million in 2008, according to early data from Nielsen Media Research."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/4...

the surprising thing is it must be a real one -- look at that orientation sensor going nuts!

That orientation sensor is way faster than my iPhone's.

"Honey, does this make me look like a shill?"

He may look like a shill, but that doesn't make him one. He's the one that asked for it early. He almost certainly received no money. He's genuinely excited about it.

No more than during The Stephen Colbert Presidential Campaign brought to you by Doritos.

Part of the beauty of Colbert's television persona is that he can shamelessly shill for products, and then pass it off as "just part of the character."

You don't get Colbert, do you?

Downvote me if you like, but it will still be Grammys.

Holy shit his wife is hot.

That's his daughter, you horribly inappropriate person.

Well, he did say honey...

Would it be appropriate if it was his wife?

You mean the one looking like she'd rather be vomiting than sitting there?

That's a reasonable assumption, you horribly prudish person.

Actually my wife made me sit through the thing which is why I know. Earlier in the show he talked to her after identifying her as his daughter.

Yeah, I just didn't think a person deserved to be insulted for what I saw as a relatively benign comment based on an assumption which was reasonable for a person who only saw the video clip.

I think we're all used to rich people dating young.

Wonder why no one has downvoted this chain?. (I can't)

To all you nay-sayers: see, the next time you host the Grammy's you'll be able to pull out your nominees list in style! How's that for a use case scenario.

But seriously though, I think the iPad is going to be the next big revolution: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1091208 (I'm really desperate for readers).

Shameless self promotion aside, this was pretty funny, and I don't understand the hate.

Jokes almost always get down-voted unless they're phenomenally clever (probably a reaction to the legacy of the +5 Funny from slashdot). We're a humorless bunch here :)

As a fellow person seeking a little attention lately, just you know, for the motivation to get into something... it is a shame that the groups we mingle with (I've browsed HN for ~2 years without making account but have always felt at home here) do not support mini-adventures very much.

I always viewed HN as a place where I could go for reviews or receive some advice from other people seeking the same thing. Yet, it seems the groups I once called home are showing this aura of 'elitist' instead of lending a hand.

If HN is the group we associate with, why is a harmless plug after a comment on a fresh blog such a terrible thing? We want the group we associate with to give us feedback!

Do I need to take out a loan, invest $30,000 in a startup, and get VC funded to be able to plug a website?

I guess this is over-dramatization and full of useless e-motions; and not entirely aimed at HN, but communities in general. I participate in a few forums, but let a few years pass by and this elitist wave of old timers seems to just mock/bash the people coming up from the bottom.

If plugging a site isn't the right thing to do, explain why, and give some advice for pulling in readers. If HN is your only community and you don't have some massively read site, how do you get fresh readers?

edit: (I told you I was being over-dramatic), but yeah, I do tend to click the "Review my App: etc."

it's different when the person plugging the site hasn't even bothered to register a domain...and the blog only has the one blog post that the person is trying to link.

Since when does a domain equate to relevancy (in my situation here)? And doesn't everyone have to start somewhere?

EDIT: Can you tell me how I should have approached this then?

I don't think you were really trying to spam anyone, but your plug came off as such, to me, because: a) HN has been inundated with iPad blog posts and we've already heard opinions of all angles, so it's safe to say your post wouldn't have made any points not already made, b) Your post is somewhat irrelevant because although this submission is about the iPad, it's not about whether it's revolutionary or not, and so it seems like you were trying to shoehorn your plug in here, c) You plugged your blog by linking to the HN submission when you should've just linked directly to your blog post, and d) You admitted you desperately needed readers, which was probably meant to be taken in jest, but others might think you were being serious. HN humor is pretty hard to gauge sometimes.

There's no doubt I was trying to plug my post, but it's not as if I simply commented with that link.

I linked to the submission because I was hoping it would jumpstart it so that more people could see it. If I only linked to my blog post then I couldn't potentially bump up my HN submission. It was a practical decision, and morally I don't see what's wrong with it.

I could understand if people didn't bite, but I'm a little overwhelmed by the negativity. Sometimes this place can feel a little too stiff.

Since you have been hanging out in HN for 2 yrs and just decided to create an account, you of all people should know that HN is very lenient towards self-plug; as long as you are upfront about the self-plug.

ie, Ask HN: Review my App/project/hobby-site

You can even submit your own site/blog as often as you want (as long as it is relevant to the audience), it is up to the audience to decide whether it merits 'upvotes' or not.

What chrischen did was not self-plugging or self promotion, it was just spamming.

Wow I just checked up on HN and surprised to see a bunch of responses to this post.

Sorry if I offended anyone, but I want to offer an explanation as to why it's the only blog post. I don't have a blog. That's why it's the only blog post, and I've heard that it'd be better to submit a blog post instead of typing it all in the comment when submitting. So I decided to start a blog.

I really wanted to get that post out and google blogs kept on rejecting my display name so I kept adding to it until it worked. I also really wanted to go to sleep last night. But I am actually going to keep that URL, at least until I buy my own personal domain.

So yea I didn't intend to "spam" and I think I had something meaningful to say, so before you go ahead and label it as spam, please at least read it.

Also to address your statement about merit: I think that only applies in a perfectly ideal system. No offense to HN, but I don't think the system is perfectly ideal yet. I think there are probably tons of stuff that are deserving of attention but simply posted at the wrong time. I know this because I've seen lots of people post "duplicate" and what else could have caused it than the fact that the system somehow failed. And because I don't have perfect faith in the system I feel I had to "plug" it. But I did my best not to cheat. I think my link was at least somewhat appropriate (also I tried to be upfront about the promotion too by admitting I was desperate--that wasn't edited in).

So if you truly believe in a meritocracy, then please, I'll ask again, take a look at the article and determine its merit by the article alone without the need to judge it by my supposed shamelessness.

Also take a look at my previous comments. This would be the first time I not only self-promoted but also "spammed" a link.

Wow I just checked up on HN and surprised to see a bunch of responses to this post

.. it was only 2 hours, geeze.

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