I write at http://zerodistraction.com — where the intersection of culture, design, technology & art meet. Also a proud past contributor of The Magazine. Find me on App.net as @zero.
Product Manager here from FeedPress. We've been quietly working on this for months. TLDR: to get setup for podcasting before, you had to add an RSS feed you already owned so we could fetch the contents and give you analytics. Now, FeedPress acts like a mini CMS. We create a new RSS feed for you and provide a post management system so you can create your show notes, upload your files, and publish straight to iTunes. Check out the announcement and you'll find a promo code at the bottom.
Mostly true, with the exception of Safari on OS X. If you have Flash installed on a Mac, Safari runs it as an isolated separate 64-bit process. This was not built by Adobe though, it was built by Apple.
My problem is not with Android. I was merely using Android phones as an example of how bad Best Buy was showcasing their smartphone lineup. If they had done the same with iPhone demo units, I would have lambasted them just the same.
I'm all for services making money. It's not an insignificant amount of money to run something like Google+. I'm just saying there's a place for everything. I don't think using it as a blogging platform is sustainable in the long term IMHO.
You raise a salient point. I do agree as far as discoverability, Google+ one ups Facebook. As you said, Facebook has always been about connecting with people you already know, as opposed to Google+ where people add you to their social circles based on things they have in common with you.
I appreciate all of the insightful comments. All of you have very valid points of course. Do what you feel is right for you. I'm thinking long-term goals though. I've been burned by using services like Tumblr and Posterous, but not in that they're bad services, just that it's much harder to migrate your data to a self-hosted solution after the fact.
Fair enough point, but I don't necessarily agree with that view. Why wouldn't you want to focus on building an audience on a site you control? You can link out to Twitter or Google+.
Like I said, the short pithy comments have their place too, but for me this strategy is what I prefer. Also, I haven't seen solid evidence that people are building larger audiences on Google+, unless you're someone like Robert Scoble. You have to have an established name in your industry, or at least that's the trend that I've seen thus far.
People said the same thing about Facebook, but I very much doubt that's their focus. Some seem to confuse mass user bases with somehow "becoming the Internet itself." Frankly, that argument is bizarre to me and a tad hyperbolic.
On the topic of usability, I agree with you about the changes made to mobile Safari on iPad. Also, those close tab buttons have tiny tap targets. I foresee this getting more annoying over time.
Even if this is true and it does happen, I would think Palm as a brand is dead. Even if the Fire 2 ends up having webOS, Amazon would never market it that way. Just as how Android is behind the scenes on the current Fire, they would do the same with webOS.
If Reading List gains a lot of ground, it may be time for Marco to think about developing an Android app. I'm a happy paid Instapaper user though, and continue to pay the subscription fee to support the service.
Would you rather have a slight inconvenience and have a company act in your best interests (security and safety), or would you prefer your data run the risk of compromise?
I don't think the App Store is necessarily fostering a new generation of entitlement minded people. I think those people have and will always exist no matter what. IMHO I always prefer paying for apps, and I never complain about the prices that are in the App Store. I prefer to support the hard work that goes into the quality apps that I use. I also don't feel it's fair or right for me to complain about a product when it's provided for free. I think Marco made an excellent decision.
While I don't know the details of how this happened, it's a sure fire bet that they were not doing something right when it came to securing their infrastructure. How many times have we heard of big name companies running un-patched operating systems and SQL databases or even weak passwords? From the consumer end, this really sucks. Especially if their personal data was compromised.
#1 don't think about traffic first. My advice? Be genuine, creative, interesting and insightful. All while trying to add your own unique flare to your writing. Focus on specific interests and passions that you are practically obsessed about. Readership will follow afterwards.