bigboxcar | words&pics

"The huge drop matches the industry expectation before the Times instituted the paywall that traffic..."

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 10:44:06 -0500

“The huge drop matches the industry expectation before the Times instituted the paywall that traffic would fall off by 90%, which is the standard experience when a site moves to a paid-access model instead of free access.”

- “Times loses almost 90% of online readership” — Less than three weeks after the Times paywall went up, data shows a massive decline in web traffic. [via]

Although 90% is a shocking number (I had thought it would be worse), an online publication can at least project how much revenue they might make when they make the switch to a paywall.

This awesome new t-shirt is going to fit me like #Clockwork.

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 10:25:43 -0500

This awesome new t-shirt is going to fit me like #Clockwork.

I wanted to save that tweet above by @s4xton. Also, I actually...

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:18:13 -0500

I wanted to save that tweet above by @s4xton. Also, I actually wasn’t looking to Rickroll anyone. Really!

I only wanted to make absolutely sure people knew I was JOKING when I twittered a fake headline. Especially because the headline had to do with my coworker’s job (that would be David Brauer, @dbrauer on the Twitter).

Two consecutive tweets hopfully explain this joke:

Just read “Should @MinnPost run a disclaimer on its gubernatorial coverage?” http://bit.ly/djXZDv by @dbrauer
Now reading “Should @dbrauer start looking for a new job?” http://bit.ly/98K8eH [careful, that’s the Rickroll link]

David Brauer, MinnPost’s Media critic (read him here), always has the crappy gig of working in the very arena in which he reports. It can get pretty meta sometimes, and Brauer does a very good job. Particularly when he reports on his own employer.

I apologized to my followers who said they clicked on the fake headline link — Not all of the 74 clicks resulted in people yelling at me. Many probably rolled their eyes, closed the browser window, and just unfollowed me. I was truly very sorry. But I do kinda like my screengrab.

Mugshot Monday - “Kinda Sorta Media” exclusive coffee mug w/ Colombian Heavy Pedal Roast by Peace ...

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 14:42:00 -0500

Mugshot Monday - “Kinda Sorta Media” exclusive coffee mug w/ Colombian Heavy Pedal Roast by Peace Coffee.

For today’s Mugshot Monday, I got an exclusive interview with Rex Sorgatz, creator of Kinda Sorta Media. But first, let’s talk about the exclusive coffee mug I am holding in the photo above. It’s part of the Kinda Sorta Media logo:

A big exclamation point in a yellow talk balloon. Dig it. I thought that would make a good coffee mug, so I inquired with Rex to see if he had any made. For probably smart reasons, he does not have any Kinda Sorta Media swag, so I asked if I could I make one. Done.

I’ve never met Rex Sorgatz in real life. I got to know him before he became famous, via e-mail and through MNSpeak.com back in the OLD days when he lived here in Minnesota and I was the web director at City Pages.

I hadn’t really understood what the heck Kinda Sorta Media was doing until I read this great post by Ryan Sholin — “An Interview with Rex Sorgatz aka Fimoculous”. This is kinda sorta cool actually.

From Sholin’s post, Rex describes what his company is and does:

I despise digital/creative agencies! They’re slow, ineffectual little monsters. And they bill you like lawyers.

But I like to create companies around the fringes of what I hate. So I came up with this twist on the idea: a very horizontal organization that consists of a loose collection of talented but disparate people (designers, developers, marketers, content specialists, product managers) to crowd-source projects. We borrow a trope from cloud computing: finding the resources for the task at hand. Some projects are huge and involve hiring dozens of people, whereas others are just me helping someone figure out a solution to a problem.

That’s pretty cool stuff right there. And it sounds like things are going good, too.

And now, exclusive to Mugshot Monday, now you can buy your very own Kinda Sorta Media coffee mug on my Zazzle store!*

Oh, and here is my ‘exclusive’ interview with Rex:

Mugshot Monday: What is your favorite color?
Rex Sorgatz: Ostentatious Black.

MM: What is your favorite sport?
RS: Foursquare.

MM: What is your all time favorite logo design?
RS: I’m really into the upside-down Standard Hotel logo right now.

MM: Can you drive a motorcycle?
RS: Can I? No. Will I? Yes!

Looks like there’s a little breaking news in that interview, so I’ll just sit back and watch all the retweets and reblogs roll. You heard it here first: Rex will learn to drive a motorcycle.

See the entire Mugshot Monday Facebook gallery at www.MugshotMonday.com

And if you post your own Mugshot Monday on Twitter, use the hashtag #mugshotmonday, yo.

* Zazzle.com unfortunately forces me to make at least 10% on every coffee mug sold. And since I am not trying to make money off of Rex’s hard work, we’ve agreed to use any of the profits from coffee mug sales to buy as many drinks as we can the next time he is in Minneapolis or I am in New York. And if there is just a ton of money made on these mugs (unlikely), we’ll either have a huge party and invite you, or we’ll donate it to a charity we agree on.

s4xton: Can’t tell me Chuck wasn’t asking for it. Well played!

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:36:09 -0500

s4xton:

Can’t tell me Chuck wasn’t asking for it.

Well played!

I was inspired by Margaret Anderson Kelliher’s Photo taken...

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 11:25:00 -0500

I was inspired by Margaret Anderson Kelliher’s Photo taken “from Mayor R.T. Rybak’s Aquatennial Fireworks event held at the Carlyle last night!” (Saw it posted over at s4xton’s tumblr)

I told my friend Corey that it would be cool to Photoshop myself on those awesome fireworks, and he replied, “It’s already been photoshop’d.”

Sure enough! This looks like the original, minus Kelliher, taken by Sam Stern. Well, that makes things a LOT easier.

UPDATE(s):

s4xton has an updated post with both shots.
crazyinternetbeatz has proof the photo was NOT photoshop’d
Looks like Entenza was there, too.
And my friend Corey gets in on the fireworks action himself!
Mark Dayton and Oliver from Ann’s Cat Blog get pics, too.

Just wanted to say that sunset picture you took looked absolutely beautiful. Saw your post randomly on Twitter. Just beautiful.

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 10:36:17 -0500

Thank you, very much. However, I give all credit to the sky. Here’s another nice shot from that day, Cheese curd stand at sunset by Jenn Barnett.

Cool urban sunset unfolding. Brackett Park, Minneapolis.

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 20:30:14 -0500

Cool urban sunset unfolding. Brackett Park, Minneapolis.

French Bulldog Scratches Records Like a Seasoned DJ via...

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:00:14 -0500

French Bulldog Scratches Records Like a Seasoned DJ

via soupsoup:

via new york craigslist ad: Stolen Bike - $500 Reward - No...

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 13:30:00 -0500

via new york craigslist ad:

Stolen Bike - $500 Reward - No Questions Asked (10th and C)

Some assmaster stole my custom made, heavy, rusty Bologna bike at 10th & C last night.

I’ll give anyone who returns it $500 cash, no questions asked.

I’ll also give $1k for the thief’s nads on a stick

Yes way.

Here are some photos (of the bike, not the nads) - http://twitpic.com/27e3a1 http://twitpic.com/27onqq

It’s a lot rustier now, and it has a black seat, black rubber oray grips, and riser bars.

It’s been passed on from generation to generation in my family for almost 3,000 years.

I’d really like to give it to my son some day.

And if you’re the thief, and you’re reading this, please give it back. I’ll give you the five hundred bucks.

Please.

If you don’t, I will call Dog the Bounty Hunter, Bobba Fett, and Bear Gryls, and they will have a 3 way, and that 3 way will produce a son, and that son will be raised by Tito Ortiz, and on his 18th birthday, he and I will come to your house, and f#ck your shit up.

Thank you for your time.

***update*** my friend has offered to show her boobs to anyone who finds my bike. So now it’s $500, and boobs, or get your ass kicked in 2029 by myself and the ultimate justice baby.

That is an awesome bike. Not surprised it received such an awesome reward post.

Found via a @craignewmark retweet of @robertgorell’s tweet.

Crazypants sinkhole TwitPic photo taken in Milwaukee, WI...

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 08:03:00 -0500

Crazypants sinkhole TwitPic photo taken in Milwaukee, WI at Oakland Avenue and North Avenue. Photo by @Mike_Thiel.

JSOnline.com story: “Car, driver tumble into giant sinkhole amid rainstorm”

I went to Riverside High School, just north of there.

JSOnline photo gallery of flooding.

There should be a name for letting a domain expire that was for a business plan you had 2 years...

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 15:10:00 -0500

There should be a name for letting a domain expire that was for a business plan you had 2 years ago.

Any suggestions?

+ Expired Potential / from @garrickvanburen: He even owns expiredpotential.com!)

+ Untrepreneurialism / from @mthomps

+ Closure / from tomelko.tumblr.com

+ Abandomainium / from tdmoose.tumblr.com

+ Domainicide / from @jeepsterdave

Old Spice sales drop 7%, despite hot ads

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 10:09:00 -0500

Old Spice sales drop 7%, despite hot ads:

The recent Old Spice social media ad campaign’s impact not seen yet, most likely, but still interesting.

[via stlworldwide:]

5-year-old had his 1st soccer practice today, and he did awesome! He ran so hard and so fast, I...

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 09:24:40 -0500

5-year-old had his 1st soccer practice today, and he did awesome! He ran so hard and so fast, I almost cried. I just smiled instead, remembering he couldn’t even walk in April. So happy.

My Facebook Status yesterday. I’m actually relieved, and happy.

Almighty god replied to my tweet today. No word from unholy...

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 10:36:05 -0500

Almighty god replied to my tweet today. No word from unholy satan, yet.

Who killed more people in the Bible, God or Satan? Pls note, I...

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 09:45:30 -0500

Who killed more people in the Bible, God or Satan?

Pls note, I have not fact-checked this, yet. But writer Steve Wells has taken a stab at compiling the data in his post How many has God killed?

[via samglover: stfubelievers:]

Google Escher Effect – Paris, France via Noupe.com’s...

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 09:58:52 -0500

Google Escher Effect – Paris, France

via Noupe.com’s “40 Bizarre and Cool Google Earth Photos”

Bike Ride. Blizzard. Then Bike Ride again.

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 21:04:33 -0500

Bike Ride. Blizzard. Then Bike Ride again.

Peace Coffee Yeti Cold Press Poster by Miss Amy Jo

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 16:50:00 -0500

Peace Coffee Yeti Cold Press Poster by Miss Amy Jo

Mugshot Monday - “Surly Brewing Company” coffee mug w/ Surly Coffee Bender at Birchwood...

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 14:21:00 -0500

Mugshot Monday - “Surly Brewing Company” coffee mug w/ Surly Coffee Bender at Birchwood Cafe.

Now, this is what I call a coffee break! Actually, my friend Corey and I headed over to the Birchwood Cafe to pick up some lunch, so I decided to snap a quick Mugshot Monday and share a can of Surly Coffee Bender. It’s really good beer. I got it at Birchwood a few weeks ago and they serve it in a very cool Surly glass coffee mug, which is a nice touch.

Here is Corey drinking his “half” of the Coffee Bender:

And here is the awesome can design and the other side of the mug, “It’s never too early to get surly.” Indeed.

I think I need to buy me one of those coffee mugs. But it doesn’t look like they are for sale on the Surly website. Now worries, I’ll get the Trucker Hat instead.

See the entire Mugshot Monday Facebook gallery at www.MugshotMonday.com

And if you post your own Mugshot Monday on Twitter, use the hashtag #mugshotmonday, yo.