The Most Interesting Name in the World

Posted on May 28, 2014 by wellsdc

The Dos Equis advertising campaign “The Most Interesting Man in the World” has been around since 2006, and it’s still producing some awesomely clever stuff.

The actor who portrays the titular character has stated that Fernando Lamas, who was a personal friend, partly inspired the character—which, let’s face it, is awesome.

They never reveal the Most Interesting Man’s name, though, because frankly, nothing can compare to whatever name our imaginations can conceive. The actor’s name is Jonathan Goldsmith. From an American perspective (well, my middle-class white American perspective), that’s not a very, um, interesting name, but I had a bit of fun with Bing Translator and have a suggestion.

“Goldsmith” doesn’t have a Spanish translation (I’m starting with the assumption, based on the character’s accent, that he would have a Spanish name). Neither does “Jonathan.” If you translate the component words of “Goldsmith” (adapting “smith” to “blacksmith” for Translator purposes), and make some tweaks to the first name, you get a pretty cool-sounding name: Continue reading →

The Problem with Private-Sector “Free” Services (or, WTF Happened to Google Reader?)

Posted on March 20, 2013 by wellsdc

Google is shutting down its Google Reader service on July 1, 2013, I recently learned. I have used Google Reader for all my RSS feeds for over a year, and have liked it far more than any other similar service that I have used. It works particularly well with an iPad app called Flipboard, which arranges posts in a style reminiscent of a newspaper. Apparently, Flipboard will allow its users to transfer Google Reader subscriptions directly to its service, to the gratitude of many users. I’m pretty sure Flipboard did not have to do that, just like Google does not have any obligation to keep Reader going. The reason for that is that I, and as far as I know everyone else in the world, do not pay for the Reader service, or for Flipboard.

As my friend Kevin said (or quoted), if you are not paying for a service that you are receiving, you are not the customer. You are the product.

Google has no obligation to continue offering a service that does not make it money, even if everyone loves it. Google makes money from its online services by selling advertising, just like nearly every other internet service that does not charge a fee directly to users. You, the user, are the recipient of that advertising. Google’s revenue is based on how it can monetize your online behavior. The company has an interest in keeping users happy, because it needs us to keep coming back to the site, or any other site plugged into Google (which is probably most of the world’s websites by now.) Its bigger concern, though, is keeping those advertising bucks coming in and keeping costs low. If a service costs enough that it impacts the acceptable profit margin, it goes. If you are not a Google shareholder or an actual customer, you ultimately have zero clout in influencing the decision to discontinue a service.

Google Reader is not an essential service for me, but rather a convenience. My life will not suffer for a lack of centralized RSS feeds in a handy newspaper-style format. At worst, I’ll have to get used to a different way of reading the news/blogs. The convenience offered by Google Reader/Flipboard is not something so important that I think it should be a public service. I do think that other services that benefit the public much more directly need to remain public, for the very reason that public service, not profit, should be the primary motivator. Prisons come to mind. So do roads and sewer mains.

I would consider paying something for a service like Google Reader. Maybe no one else would anymore. Maybe that is the problem.

Photo credit: svilen001 on stock.xchng.

All hail Popehat, the snark overlord!!!

Posted on March 15, 2012 by wellsdc

His newly-developed policy on accepting paid posts to his blog is one for the ages:

1. We will accept a paid post from you.

2. The payment shall be in the form of a pony.

3. The prettiness and awesomeness of the pony shall be in direct proportion to the tediousness, banality, and sub-literacy of your guest post. If your post is quite good, you can pay us with any pony, even the sort of tired, dead-eyed pony you can steal from a child’s party in a suburb where the home foreclosure rate exceeds 50%. But for each cliche, null-content sentence, questionable segue, or instance of meaningless drivel appearing in the post, the pony must grow steadily more pretty, to the theoretical point where the pony is so pretty that it causes a quantum pony-cuteness singularity. For each spelling or grammatical error in your post, the pony must be one step more awesome, in the sense of “terrifying.” If you ever use an apostrophe before an “s” in a word that is plural, not possessive, the pony must possess the ability to breathe fire a minimum distance of twenty (20) feet.

4. The pony must be real, not pretend.

5. No Shetlands. Are you kidding me?

6. Also, hay. For the pony. And, frankly, it wouldn’t hurt us to lay some down for Clark.

I salute you, good sir. I wish I had but a fraction of your power.

Photo credit: Pony on the shore, New Forest, © Copyright Jim Champion and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

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The Most Interesting Name in the World