
News Panel with Steve Blank & Bill Lee #190
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We had some strong opinions on the News Panel today (our favorite kind!) as we welcomed super-angel Bill Lee (@westcoastbill) and the prolific writer and educator Steve Blank (@sgblank). Along with Jason, Tyler and Lon, Bill and Steve delivered their candid views on HP, Netflix, Facebook, Santorum (google it) and even the FBI. Don't miss it!
0:00-2:45 Welcome everyone to the TWiST News Panel with Steve Blank and Bill Lee.
2:45-5:00 Thank you to Carbonite for sponsoring the show. Everyone remember to thank them on Twitter @Carbonite!
5:00-7:00 Bill Lee is with us today, how are you doing, Bill?
7:00-7:15 Steve Blank is also with us today. What’s new, Steve?
7:15-8:45 The number one story this week is that Meg Whitman has been named CEO of HP, ousting Leo Apotheker. Was this a good move? Bill?
8:45-11:00 Steve, can anybody save HP?
11:00-12:15 How does HP ever compete with Apple? Is it even possible?
12:15-14:00 Bill: I have to agree with Steve, I think Apple will be fine.
14:00-15:15 Steve: How many of these board members have talked to the second-level people down?
15:15-17:15 Netflix announced that it was spinning off its DVD-by-mail service into a new company called Qwikster. Why would they go for this? Is it all about valuation?
17:15-18:30 Steve: This should have been named Quicksand, not Qwikster.
18:30-20:30 Will Reed Hastings have to make an apology on top of an apology?
20:30-22:00 Is he sandbagging the service so that everyone will have to move to streaming?
22:00-24:00 Let’s talk about Dish Network, which announced it will also launch a video streaming network. However, it’s only available right now to Dish users. Is this going to work?
24:00-24:30 Who would be willing to also set up a Dish Network just to take advantage of this?
24:30-26:15 What happens to Netflix two years from now?
26:15-28:00 Thank you to MailChimp for sponsoring the show. Everyone remember to thank them on Twitter @MailChimp!
28:00-29:45 Google+ opened up to the masses this week, added search functionality and other features like Google docs integration. What do you think this will do to the activity level?
29:45-30:30 Bill, what’s your take on Google+?
30:30-34:00 Steve, how are you feeling about G+?
34:00-35:00 Tyler: No company has ever iterated into social.
35:00-37:45 This week was Facebook’s f8 developer conference and they announced a bevy of new features including a wall revamp, timelines, Spotify integration, etc. Are they changing too much too fast?
37:45-38:34 Steve, what’s your take on these developments?
38:45-40:15 Bill: I couldn’t agree with Steve more.
40:15-42:30 Tyler, what are your thoughts on the Facebook changes?
42:30-44:15 Bill: What does the market cap for Facebook look like in the next year?
44:15-47:00 Let’s talk about Rick Santorum: The Republican presidential candidate’s named was re-branded after a blogger took offense to his comments regarding homosexuality.
47:00-47:30 Would Google have changed this if it were another politician in this situation?
47:30-48:45 Does Google have an obligation to change their algorithm in this instance?
48:45-50:30 So is this open season on Google’s search results for anyone who can figure out how to manipulate them?
50:30-51:45 It was revealed this week that the FBI has been using a cell phone tracking device known as a “Stingray,” capable of zeroing in on a cell phone even if it’s not in use.
51:45-55:00 Can they subpoena the records of where someone was? Steve, can you discuss this one?
55:00-56:15 If Obama was anti-Patriot act before, have they flipped him? What did they show him that scared the hell out of him so much?
56:15-58:15 What is “Countdown to Zero”?
58:15-01:00:00 Have you seen this film, Bill? Steve, if there is a credible threat of a nuclear attack on the US, would you change your position on the Patriot Act?
01:00:00-01:02:00 How do you frame the debate while acknowledging the realistic chance that somebody could obtain the bomb?
01:02:00-01:06:45 Is there a market for technology to help make us more anonymous?
01:06:45-01:07:30 Jason: I liked the old days, there was at least an appearance that everyone’s rights were being protected.
01:07:30-01:09:30 Twitter announced that they’ll start accepting political ads. Will it spark debate and be great or will people regard it as a nuisance?
01:09:30-01:11:00 Breaking news: Groupon announced that it has swiped Google sales VP Margo Georgiadis to be COO.
01:11:00-01:12:30 Steve, are you long or short on Groupon?
01:12:30-01:15:15 Last story: In-app purchasing in iTunes has been down for a few hours now. Bill, do you have any info on this? (Read more about it here.)
01:15:15-01:17:00 What’s the most important thing Facebook should build next: a search engine, a browser or a phone?
01:17:00-01:19:00 Thank you to Steve (@sgblank) and Bill (@westcoastbill) for being on the program. And thank you to Carbonite and MailChimp for sponsoring the program.
01:19:00-01:20:00 Next up is This Week in Social Media, so stay tuned!
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Jason: @jason
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Steve: @sgblank
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