“More than 800 people have paid as much as $200,000 apiece to reserve seats on commercial flights into space, some of which are expected to launch, at long last, within a year. Space-travel agents are being trained; space suits are being designed for sex appeal as much as for utility; the founder of the Budget hotel chain is developing pods for short- and long-term stays in Earth’s orbit and beyond. Over beers one night, a former high-ranking NASA official, now employed by Sir Richard Branson of the Virgin transportation conglomerate, put it plainly: 'We happen to be alive at the moment when humanity starts leaving the planet.'”
—The Era of Private Space Travel is Just Beginning | NY Magazine
How Billionaire David Koch Gets PBS To Dance, Monkey, Dance
gothamist.comFor us, this old voiceover brings back wholesome childhood memories: “Funding for this program was made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and viewers like you.” But thanks to Republicans and people like David Koch, only 12% of PBS’s funding comes from the federal government. “Viewers like you” can barely pay their rent, let alone donate sizable amounts to PBS. So the public’s network is forced to “create content that educates, informs and inspires,” so long as it does not offend the plutocrats who keep it alive—even if that means censoring documentary filmmakers.
According to a deeply depressing report in this week’s New Yorker, David Koch withheld a “seven-figure” donation to New York’s cash-starved PBS affiliate, WNET, after a documentary critical of the Kochs aired in November. Jane Mayer, somewhat of an authority on the Kochs, reports that Koch’s influence essentially killed the airing of another film on PBS entitled Citizen Koch.
Help Restore Photos Damaged in the Oklahoma Tornado | Design on GOOD
good.isWhether you’re a professional graphic designer who edits photos of runway models, or just someone who happens to be obsessed with Photoshop, put your skills to use for the greater good: Volunteer to help restore family photos that were damaged in the devastating tornado in Moore, Oklahoma and oth…
Calling all Tumblr photographers!!
Marco Arment on Tumblr: "In many ways, this feels more like a merger than an acquisition."
marco.orgBuying Tumblr is a big enough deal for Yahoo that they clearly aren’t intending to ruin it or shut it down — like YouTube and Google, Tumblr will probably become an extremely important part of Yahoo indefinitely. And I believe they’ll do a good job with it. Yahoo today is a very different company than the Yahoo that neglected Flickr for years — it has extremely competent new leadership making bold changes. (Including fixing Flickr.)
More importantly, it gives David, and the rest of Tumblr’s team, the freedom to continue making the best product they can while offloading a lot of the grunt work to Yahoo’s leadership, staff, and infrastructure.
As for me, while I wasn’t a “founder” financially, David was generous with my employee stock options back in the day. I won’t make yacht-and-helicopter money from the acquisition, and I won’t be switching to dedicated day and night iPhones. But as long as I manage investments properly and don’t spend recklessly, Tumblr has given my family a strong safety net and given me the freedom to work on whatever I want. And that’s exactly what I plan to do.
Side note: If you haven’t seen it yet, the new Flickr redesign is ace.
“We would like to look at them and understand how we could introduce ads, in a very light ad load, where the impact is really created, because the ads really fit the users’ expectations and follow the form and function of the dashboard.”
—Marissa Mayer hints at more ads on TumblrDiscovery, Animal Planet, and History Channel exposed for killing animals for profit
guardian.co.ukThese channels are failing the spirit of conservationism and education. They are failing inspiring awe in young people. Failing much needed inspiration in a very confused and conflicted world.
These shows are failing their core values, their main purpose, which is leadership in environmentalism and cultural education. Far worse, they are failing millions of young people - millions - who look up to them.
Please join me in asking Discovery, Animal Planet, and the History Channels to stop, apologize, and correct.
News!
Everyone, I’m elated to tell you that Tumblr will be joining Yahoo.
Before touching on how awesome this is, let me try to allay any concerns: We’re not turning purple. Our headquarters isn’t moving. Our team isn’t changing. Our roadmap isn’t changing. And our mission – to empower creators to make their best work and get it in front of the audience they deserve – certainly isn’t changing.
So what’s new? Simply, Tumblr gets better faster. The work ahead of us remains the same – and we still have a long way to go! – but with more resources to draw from.
Yahoo is the original Internet company, and Marissa and her team share our dream to make the Internet the ultimate creative canvas. I couldn’t be more excited to have her help. We also share a vision for Tumblr’s business that doesn’t compromise the community and product we love. Plus both our logos end with punctuation!
As always, everything that Tumblr is, we owe to this unbelievable community. We won’t let you down.
Fuck yeah,
David
