Facebook To Reveal “Home On Android” Sources Say Is A Modified OS On HTC

From TechCrunch:

Facebook just invited press to an event at its headquarters on April 4th to “Come See Our New Home On Android”. Sources tell us it will be a modified version of the Android operating system with deep native Facebook functionality on the homescreen that may live on an HTC handset.

Something tells me Facebook making a phone with HTC may go as well as that time Apple made a phone with Motorola.

Amazon.com to Acquire Goodreads

From the press release:

Amazon.com, Inc. today announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Goodreads, a leading site for readers and book recommendations that helps people find and share books they love.

Daaaaangit. I just moved my reading lists from Shelfari over to Goodreads because, get this, Amazon stopped maintaining Shelfari after purchasing it back in 2008. This doesn’t bode well for the future of Goodreads…

Reinventing the Airline Industry by Jude Gomila

I can’t stop thinking how easy it could potentially be to truly “disrupt” the airline industry. Judge Gomila looks at a number of aspects of flying that don’t make sense:

It would be silly if you had to recheck all safety tests with an independent agency before driving a car every single time. Having to watch the simple safety instructions every flight is a waste of time and energy for the passenger. No one even watches it anyway. We need to take this online and out of the cabin, making it a test that people hold a license for, rather like a driving license.

I know the aviation industry is something Horace Deidu has been thinking about recently, too. It encourages me to see smart folks talking about these things in addition to folks like BlackJet creating (admittedly, less accessible) stepping stones in the meantime.

Great ways to spend St. Paddy’s Day in Breck

Some of my writing has been featured over on the Breckenridge Connection blog again for GoBreck (the chamber of commerce). This time I looked at the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day holiday and highlighted some events and venues for celebrating the day of food and feast (the best kind of day, in my opinion). Click through to read the post on GoBreck.com.

The Story Behind Breckenridge Brewery & Pub

A few weeks ago I published a look at one of my favorite restaurants and breweries in Colorado over at the Breckenridge Connection blog: Breckenridge Brewery & Pub. You don’t have to twist my arm to get me to go for happy hour when up in Breckenridge. Check it out if you’re interested in learning more about the little brewery that was early to the craft brewing scene here in Colorado (going on 20+ years now).

Humans Yelling Like Goats Yelling Like Humans

The internet has come full circle.

Don’t watch this until you’ve experienced any of the very odd but very entertaining goats yelling like people videos.

Damsel in Distress: Part 1 – Tropes vs Women in Video Games

Anita takes a good look at the use of “damsels” in video games and provides some excellent analysis. I’m a bit surprised, looking back, at how blatantly bad this has been (and still is).

The Wood Turner

This is a pleasure to watch.

A Manager’s Manifesto — The Year of the Looking Glass

I liked this collection of thoughts and lessons from Julie Zhuo, a design director at Facebook, including:

Sweep up the crumbs. Wipe the tables. Turn off the lights. Plug the holes that need plugging—even if it’s menial, even if nobody will know you did it. Do it in service of the product, the company, and this wondrous, magical thing you are all building together.

It reminded me of this story from Adii Pienaar, founder at WooThemes:

As CEO, I don’t necessarily think that washing dishes is part of my “job description” and it doesn’t carry any obvious priority in terms of things I need to get done today … sometimes the best thing I can do in my business is the smallest, simplest thing; especially if that means I can remove obstacles for my team.

(these were published at medium and svbtle, respectively)</p>