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I've been trying out Google+ the last few weeks, and so far I think it'll probably kill Twitter before it kills Facebook. But then I never expected Twitter to grow the way it did either. It recently turned 5, and I found this initial review of "twttr" (as it was originally named) interesting for the comment: "I imagine most users are not going to want to have all of their Twttr messages published on a public website." Oh how wrong they were.
Speaking of Google, I'm reading a really facinating book called In the Plex, which is a detailed look at how Google started and how some of the products and events it's famous for (Gmail, China issues, AdWords) were created. Doesn't cover G+ since it's so new obviously, but it's an interesting mindset inside one of the smartest companies in the world. And yes, I used Google to find the link in this paragraph. I don't think people remember how incredibly bad search was before Google.
I got an interesting email from Netflix today too, where I had to click on a link to get 3% of my bill refunded because their streaming service went down. But don't click on the link, don't get the refund. Very smart of them. It only saves like 27 cents, but multiply that by millions of customers and it quickly adds up.
Also I think the whole rate increase anger is WAY overblown. If you sit down and look at your options, Netflix is still the best deal around even after the rate hike. Not to mention it's pretty much the only place you can possible get older DVD's and has the best streaming selection. Redbox isn't going to have that!
Speaking of which, I saw Silence of the Lambs for the first time last night. Great movie!
It's also good news to hear that Obama is putting White House support behind the bill to get rid of the awful Defense of Marriage Act. I don't understand how conservatives who claim to be for small government want to stick their noses into one of the most personal decisions someone makes in their life and tell them "No!". I didn't post about it, but needless to day I was happy when New York chose equality and love over hate and fear. So that wonderful things like this can happen.
Also the only thing I'm going to say about the debt limit ceiling is that I hate the hypocrisy that although it was raised 10 times in the 2000's alone, and was passed easily by Republicans while Bush was president, is now a huge deal because they'd rather see the economy depressed (and try to deflect the blame to Obama) than actually run the country in a remotely responsible fashion. It's so frustrating! I want adults to run the country, not schoolboys! Make your point about deficits now that it's now "supposed" to matter (didn't back when Cheney famously said "Deficits don't matter" when he was VP) but don't play chicken with the economy when you do it!
The article just basically sums up why I can't believe the state of our political system today and how economics is perceived.
- Reagen tripled the debt
- Bush doubled the debt
- The Bush Tax cuts never got remotely close to paying for themselves (what do people say that if something is too good to be true... it isn't)
- The Ryan budget plan increases the debt by $6 trillion, so even the plan the GOP was applauding but a few months ago would cause a huge debt ceiling increase!
::sigh::
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