When Tom Wheeler was appointed FCC Chair in 2013, some questioned whether a former frontman for both the cable and telecom industries could possibly keep consumers’ needs in mind when dealing with the companies he’d known intimately for decades. John Oliver even likened the naming of Wheeler as FCC Chair to “needing a babysitter and hiring a dingo.” Yet, not only has Wheeler demonstrated that he’s not a dingo, he’s also gone toe-to-toe with the companies he once represented, enacting new net neutrality rules that regulate broadband as a utility, challenging phone companies to put an end to robocalls, going after wireless providers for misleading “unlimited” plans, and trying to shake up the pay-TV monopoly on set-top boxes. [More]
interview
iPodmeister Takes Used CDs, DVDs, Gives You iPods
By 11.16.09
A New York-based company called iPodMeister swaps out new iPods and portable hard drives for used CDs and DVDs, covering shipping costs. The business has been around since 2004, but it’s new to me.
8 Things You Shouldn't Say In A Job Interview
By 6.25.08
Most of us know that looking for a job can be a job in itself, but there are few things in life more dreaded than the job interview. Even if you remember to spit out your gum and offer a firm and confident handshake, there is a myriad of conversational land-mines which must be avoided. CNN in partnership with CareerBuilder has assembled 8 things that you shouldn’t say during a job interview. The list, inside…
Online Fraudster Interviewed
By 7.12.06
SmallWorldPodcast interviewed El Mariachi, a man who commits online fraud and identity theft. The interview reveals details about another scammer, Dillinger, who was involved with the ATM hacks of the ill-fabled “Russian Connection” scandal.
UPDATE: Will The Real Guy Kewney Please Stand Up?
By 5.15.06
Earlier we noted how the BBC mistakenly interviewed a French-Algerian taxi driver on his views about Apple iTunes downloads on national television, thinking he was Guy Kewney, editor of newswireless.net.
Will The Real Guy Kewney Please Stand Up?
By 5.15.06
Guy Kewney, editor of newswireless.net, describes himself on his blog as “fair-haired, blue-eyed, prominent-nosed, and with the sort of pale skin that makes my dermatologist wince each time I complain about an itchy mole.” That’s him to the right, looking like every philosophy professor we ever had.
Interview With PR Spokesperson On Mass Graves For Terrorist Holocaust
By 3.21.06
Okay, we’re going on record saying we have no idea if this interview between Gene Weingarten of the Washington Post and Heather R. Huhman, a PR spokesperson for National Funeral Director’s Association is legit. It’s just too perfect. Gene’s side of the interview is the sort of wouldn’t-that-have-been-great witticism that only comes about by mulling a conversation over for hours afterwards. And Heather R. Huhman — from her protests-too-much, “I’m Human! Really!” name to her mindless public relations babbling — is the kind of straight-man that only exists in the magical realm of make believe.
Companies’ Interaction with Bloggers
By 1.5.06
There’s an interesting interview over at iMedia Connection with Wired Editor Chris Anderson. Unlike most interviews, it obviously isn’t a set of static questions mailed off to Chris, but an actual dialogue between Anderson and Brad Berens, his interviewer. It starts off discussing Anderson’s recent interactions through his blog with Microsoft over technical support for his XBox 360, but soon gets up to the elbows in the meaty subject of blogs, consumerism and corporate responsibility. The following quote is actually part of one of the interviewer’s questions:
