ABC certainly has been taking its sweet time in releasing the first episode of “V,” a sci-fi television series that debuted earlier this week on the Web in any substantial way.
The premiere of a redo of a 1980s miniseries about a lizardy alien invasion disguised as a peace mission by outerspace hotties turned out to be a big broadcast hit, but it is hard to watch online.
Until tomorrow, that is.
Former Bebo CEO Joanna Shields and Shine Group Chairman and CEO Elisabeth Murdoch have formed a content start-up to produce across media platforms, both online and offline, with a focus on social engagement, according to sources.
The new venture, which does not have a name, is being financially backed by both Shine and Shields.
Based in London, it will invest, develop and partner to create a variety of content offerings that also incorporate interactive and social networking elements.
BoomTown is a major fan of comic Kathy Griffin, so here’s a good one by her from last week, in which she mocks Kate and Jon Gosselin (neither of whom seems to need any help looking like fools).
Her “Kate Is Enough” video–which she did for “Jimmy Kimmel Live”–is very funny, mostly due to the brilliant casting of former Trekkie George Takei as Jon.
Earlier this week, BoomTown pointed out how Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chambers was captured doing duck calls on the Flip digital video camera, made by the start-up his company bought in March for $590 million.
That was an adorable use of the consumer electronic device. But in the not-so-cute department, I submit this photo at right.
Sitting next to her boss, Barbara Walters, an ABC producer used it to ghoulishly take shots of the kids of pop legend Michael Jackson memorial service on Monday.
Oh horror of horrors–Steve Wozniak got sent home last night on the ABC celebrity hoofer-fest, “Dancing with the Stars.”
Whatever will BoomTown do without the peculiar gyrations of the Apple co-founder to praise effusively and mock relentlessly at the very same time?
But with a truly terrible Tango and the lowest judges’ score (12 out of 30) of the remaining 11 contestants from his Monday night outing, Woz’s only chance was the voters at home.
They let Woz down.
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak revved his damn-the-judges juggernaut into high gear this week with yet another low-scoring performance on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” and a full-bore mangle of the Argentine tango last night.
Interestingly, as the trio of judges dinged him for the fourth week in a row, they also tried to compliment Wozniak at the same time, telling him they loved his spirit.
Oh, these judges know that a Silicon Valley mob riding Segways could run them down at any minute if they got too mean.
“The judges have forsaken me,” said Woz, sounding more and more like a very appealing nerd cult leader. “But the geeks shall inherit the earth.”
Getting a foot fracture, pulling a hamstring, claiming there was a voting conspiracy, getting an abysmal score of 10 out of 30 from the judges (the lowest score ever) and, of course, dancing with as much grace as a block of cement were not enough to sink the Good Ship Wozniak last night on “Dancing With the Stars.”
Instead, the people spoke loud and proud for continued goofiness by voting for the clod-hopping Apple co-founder in droves and tossing off actress and Charlie Sheen nemesis, Denise Richards.
Next up: Tango Argentina!
Or, most likely in Woz’s version: Mangled Argentina.
At least Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak can pun through the pain of his foot fracture and pulled hamstring.
“Hey, well, one thing I learned is that if you mix a little dancing with a little Smirnoff, you might end up in an ambulance,” he joked, riffing on the name of his partner, Karina Smirnoff.
What he can’t do, of course, is dance very well, which was why he got the low, low score of 10 out of 30 last night from the judges on his third week of “Dancing with the Stars.”
Oh, it was a bad samba. A very bad samba.
But who cares? Vote for your right to Sam-bad!
Self-described Teletubby, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak sure knows how to make things dramatic.
For the second time, after a foot fracture, his continued appearance on the ABC celebrity show “Dancing With the Stars” appears in jeopardy, due to an apparent hamstring injury he suffered at practice on Friday.
Curiously, a picture of Woz on a stretcher and an update of his injured status were taken off his Woz.org blog sometime over the weekend (I saw the picture on Saturday night on my iPhone, but it is impossible to find now).
Also previously 86ed was a letter he had posted and then unposted about his contention that some vote-rigging was taking place on the show.
Doing the quickstep and wearing taped nerd glasses to the tune of Buddy Holly’s “Oh, Boy,” Steve Wozniak’s dance stylings on “Dancing With the Stars” this week was more like “Oh, Brother!”
Nonetheless, support of geeks world-wide and an infectious spirit kept the Apple co-founder in the running on the ABC television competition, besting former Go-Go Belinda Carlisle in dance-off elimination.
Woz is dancing as badly as he can with a pink boa, Silicon Valley, so get out there and make your 13 votes count!
Last week, BoomTown turned partisan in what is perhaps our only truly fair election these days: “Dancing With the Stars.”
Because he is so lovably dorktastic, it seems as if Silicon Valley has to pull out all the stops to make sure the anti-Fred Astaire stylings of Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak remain in the competition.
Woe to everyone when it was revealed that he had hurt himself dancing, with a fractured leg. But, he will–pink silk shirt and all–survive!
Forget all the noise in the blogosphere about Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak’s lack of involvement in the computer company of late.
And try to ignore the fact that the man has what appear to be at least seven left feet, as you will see in the video here of his first painful cha-cha-cha outing on “Dancing With the Stars” last night.
Because, as DWTS judge Carrie Ann Inaba noted: Woz has some very cheerful gumption to be up there in the first place, boogeying to Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet.”
Oh, you definitely ain’t seen nothing like this yet, and it must continue.
Dear Mark Cuban:
Apparently, Steve Wozniak, the ever-wackier-as-the-years-go-by co-founder of Apple, is taking up your geek banner on “Dancing With the Stars” and is a contestant on the eighth outing for the popular celebrity hoofing show on ABC.
He is among 13 “stars” who will start up their samba-and-tango death match on March 9.
Can Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang be far behind?
One of our favorite D: All Things Digital speakers, and now a regular attendee, has been Hollywood director, producer, writer and big-cowboy-hat-about-town, Barry Sonnenfeld (pictured here at D6).
So, BoomTown extends belated but Texas-sized congratulations to Sonnenfeld for winning an Emmy earlier this week for directing the pilot of “Pushing Daisies” on ABC.
Recently, while I was at a conference in Los Angeles, I caught up with Veoh Founder Dmitry Shapiro.
BoomTown will be focusing a lot on online video this year and Veoh is one of the several online video sharing sites–a group of smaller players that includes sites like Joost, Hulu, Dailymotion, Vimeo and others that I like to call not-YouTube.
Still, it is making progress.
Today, the Los Angeles-based Veoh announced that the ABC television network would put full episodes of its hot primetime shows–such as “Ugly Betty” (love it) and “Desperate Housewives” (not so much)–up on the site.
Kara Swisher started covering digital issues for The Wall Street Journal's San Francisco bureau in 1997 and also wrote the BoomTown column about the sector. With Walt Mossberg, she co-produces and co-hosts D: All Things Digital, a major high-tech and media conference. Read more »
Here is a statement of my ethics and coverage policies. It is more than most of you want to know, but, in the age of suspicion of the media, I am laying it all out.
D is unlike any other executive conference. Since its debut in 2003, D has brought to life the energy and excitement of the digital revolution in an unscripted, upfront and unparalleled way. Read more »
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