M.C. Hammer = Web 2.0 guru?

Apparently, the man famous for those catchy tunes, "U Can't Touch This" and "Too Legit To Quit" (hey hey!!) was a member of TechCrunch's TechCrunch40.

TechCrunch40 is an annual conference where the 40 of the hottest new startups show off their products. They get to do it for free and a prize is given to the best company. Mint (previously mentioned on this blog) won the $50,000 prize this year.

So, MC Hammer (could you call me by my rapping name?) was on the panel of experts. When the panelists were announced, TechCrunch was accused of including Hammer only because he was black.
Then, it was revealed that TechCrunch's founder, Michael Arrington, was an investor in a company that MC Hammer is co-founding, DanceJam.

Right now you're saying, "Hold the phone, MC Hammer has a web startup company?"...yes, in fact he does.

DanceJam:
"DanceJam is a social media destination where users hang out and watch people dance, learn how to dance, or show off their moves online."

Read more HERE.

But, the point is, Mr. MC Hammer was supposedly a knowledgeable panelist and provided value throughout the conference. I didn't know the great Hammer was such a nerd.

Perhaps I'll have to put "Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em" back on my ipod (yes, it is in my music collection)...


As a side note, does anyone else find it amusing that after all these years, Amazon still claims you are saving 99 cents on that CD I just linked to? I would bet you could find a copy of that CD selling for less than $10.99.

Google shares revenue with Al Jazeera...

Ok, so my title is slightly misleading, but it is true.
According to TechCrunch, last week, YouTube signed an agreement with Al Jazeera to share advertising revenue from the Al Jazeera YouTube channel.

Interestingly enough, other than YouTube or obscure satellite TV, there are only two other ways to get the Al Jazeera Arabic news network, famous for broadcasting video statements from Osama Bin Laden:

1) Move to Toledo, Ohio and sign up for cable with Buckeye CableSystem
2) Move to Burlington, Vermont and sign up for cable with the municipal supplier

So, Google supports Al Jazeera while cable networks don't. Personally, I've never watched it. I love Google. Does this mean I should check out Al Jazeera? That may be some faulty logic...

Websites I probably shouldn't have visited, at work, while researching this post:

1) All of the above

In a not so related, but I think its similar website, visit:
Jihad On You

Google Reader shared comments...

If you don't use Google Reader or RSS feeds to have news/info delivered to you, you should start.

One of the many features I love is the ability to share things that you read. You can actually have multiple shared feeds, but otherwise your shared feed can be view by anyone. For example, the link to my shared feed. You can also subscribe to someone's personal feed in an RSS Reader.

Apparently, Google Reader is thinking about adding the ability to make comments on shared posts. I think this is a great idea. TechCrunch does not. I know that the only people who actually read my feed, mainly because few people have it, are my mother and sometimes my future wife. My mother subscribes to it in her RSS reader (she prefers Thunderbird). I would love to be able to add stupid or insightful comments to things that I share. I might even just have a shared feed directed right to the blog, make comments on the shared posts and eliminate the use of the blogger interface. Only if Google makes it happen...

As a side note, you can subscribe to this blog by clicking on the subscribe to at the bottom of the page, or if copied it correctly, by clicking here.