Tuesday, February 16, 2010

HIPSTER RUNOFF

HIPSTER RUNOFF

Pitchfork steals URL to start a Tumblr, Tumblr facing ‘big brother’ backlash [UPDATED]

Posted: 16 Feb 2010 10:49 AM PST

Link: http://tumbledore.tumblr.com/post/393030100/tumblr-stole-my-domain-at-the-behest-of-a-corporation


Pitchfork Media dot com, the world’s largest music reviews site started a version of their blog. is a microblogging community which has a loyal, growing user base, filling a niche somewhere between livejournal and twitter. Websites often start version of their websites in order to reach content creators who are looking to share their high level content on a daily basis. This was probably a ‘good idea’ to reach out to the community, but the acquisition of their URL has started a ‘huge’ backlash by and pitchfork fans + users.

The URL pitchfork..com had been squatted upon by the tumblogger Tumbledore. Unfortunately, he woke up one morning to see that his URL had been taken from him and given to pitchfork. At this point, we can only speculate that Pitchfork purchased the URL from . Other conspiracy theories say and Pitchfork were looking to combine their user bases in order to get a lethal amount of mad internet pageviews.

From Tumbledore’s rant against the corporation:

Recently, one of my friends who is subscribed to my pitchfork was surprised to see a sudden change in the content I was posting. That's because stole my subdomain and gave (sold?) it to Pitchfork Media Inc. Keep in mind that the word "pitchfork" is not a proprietary name, it is a noun dating back to the year 1364, so they had no legal right to the word or the subdomain. It clearly wasn't a case of impersonation as none of my posts had anything to do with music. If there was some kind of content quality threshold that failed to be met which led to my blog's demise, then 98% of should now be blank. Is it possible there's a certain amount of time that can pass between posts before deletes your blog? If so, they should probably make that information public just in case someone accidentally makes the mistake of going on vacation.

It seems like has attempted to brand their staff as ‘being one with the user’, but this ‘big brother’ act has users worried about their content + subdomain urls being stolen from them. In the modern world, it seems like websites, social networking tools, and publishing platforms will stop at nothing to get mad hits. The Pitchfork + union was a natural match, but the URL acquisition

It seems possible that all users waive the right to their domain when they sign up to use the service. Unfortunately, this type of action has usually been associate with social tools like Myspace and Blogger. In a world where large megasites are attempting to have a humanized brand, users can’t help but feel pitchfork and fading away.

Stolen URL: http://pitchfork.tumblr.com/
URL that was moved: http://pitchfork1.tumblr.com/

Are yall pissed at / Pitchfork?
Is squatting on the domains of bands + websites + famous people a right that needs 2 be protected?
Is ‘too corporate’ now?
Does care about high level content creators more than micro-users?

The bro who owns @pitchfork on twitter cannot be reached to comment.

UPDATE: PITCHFORK’S CEO RESPONDS ON THEIR
Link: http://pitchfork.tumblr.com/post/393233651/dear-tumblr-community

Dear community,

This afternoon, a user at tumbledore..com claimed that had stolen this subdomain (pitchfork..com) from him and given it to us. The URL had been perceived as inactive by us and by , since the last post that had been made was on November 18, 2009, and said, "This filter is obsolete." The post before that was from March 21. There had been a total of five posts ever made to the account.

Pitchfork emailed the other day to ask how we would go about securing those URLs to use them for our publication. This approach was made to begin actively using them to publish content, as well as to gain control of our copyright/trademark interests in order to avoid potential issues through the misuse of the Pitchfork name, logo, and content. Within 10 minutes, a representative responded: "Hi, Megan. Those URLs are now free. Please let me know if there's anything else I can help you with. Thanks for using !"

It could not have been clearer to either us or that the account had been abandoned. If there had been an active blog at this URL, Pitchfork would definitely have contacted the user before ever going to . We also would have assumed that would not comply with our request if there was an active account at that subdomain.

It is not our wish to kick people out of active accounts. For example, the user @pitchfork on Twitter had an active account before we signed up. That's fair, and in that case we don't feel any more entitled to a 'pitchfork' URL than anyone else. We'll be happy to surrender the URL and find a home elsewhere if the original register of the account wishes.

Sincerely,
Ryan Schreiber
Founder/President
Pitchfork.com

We can only assume that Pitchfork is doing its best to placate the user community, shifting the blame on to . This was a good move by Pitchfork strategic consultants, making sure that their brand wasn’t ruined within their first 10 posts.

UPDATE: employee posts ‘as-a-matter-o-factly’, defensive response
Link: http://meaghano.com/post/393246405/tumbledore-ive-run-pitchfork-tumblr-com-for

As per our policy, we emailed this account's address to inquire about the dormant account. After you failed to respond for 72 hours, we released the domain.
No content was deleted and no accounts were suspended.
So we are clear, will release dormant domains to trademark holders pursuant to the law, just as all other web services, but never without advanced notice.

Do yall ever wish we could just share one huge URL together and share content/stories together?

UPDATE: TUMBLEDORE RESPONDS, calls Pitchfork and liars
Link: http://tumbledore.tumblr.com/post/393276231/this-is-in-response-to-me-being-libeled-by-a


Tumbledore claims that he was notified of the domain switch after the fact, and implies that + Pitchfork are ‘lying’ to ’save their asses’ from public scrutiny.

Bjork writes conceptual poem to mourn Alexander McQueen

Posted: 16 Feb 2010 08:58 AM PST

Link: http://unit.bjork.com/mcq/


was apparently ‘good friends’ with Alexander McQueen because he designed some zany stuff for her in the pre-Lady Gaga era. Since they are both zany and have ‘creative souls’, they probably ‘connected’ and she is having a difficult time accepting the fact that he is gone/their bond wasn’t strong enough to prevent him from taking his own life.

seems to have written some sort of conceptual letter/poem as a way to effectively mourn his death. Because she is an earnest person from Iceland, we can assume that she is not trying to attach herself to the story of his death to get more coverage.

It seems like this poem is ‘only worth reading’ if you do an impression of ’s voice while you read it. Please feel free to watch 30-120 seconds of this video in order to master your impression/internal voice before you read the poem. (she starts talking at :49 second mark)

Poem:

dear lee

i can´t stop thinking how both fierce and feeble you are

it is difficult to grasp this
my condolences go out to your family and friends and all your team
who must be all trying to fathom this

i would like to thank you for all your inspiration
it was so important to me to get to work with you and your team
a real mashup of fertile minds

it was vital to my development
i´m grateful

and all the warmth all around you and your mom

björk
and her team

Is still ‘really weird’?
Do u think she sacrificed some sort of Icelandic mythical beast in order to try to communicate with Alexander McQueen’s spirit/soul?
When was the last time made an album that ‘actually resonated’ with new fans?
Is ’s bold personal brand is in jeopardy in the Lady Gaga era, now that Lady Gaga has acquired 80% of the world’s outlandish items?
Should I go on vacation to Iceland to chill with and Shugar Rosh [via Sigur Ros]?

Tween Fashion Blogger, Tavi, shows up on lastnightsparty

Posted: 16 Feb 2010 07:38 AM PST

Link #1: http://lastnightsparty.com/iloveepic/
Link #2:http://gawker.com/5471746/an-evening-with-tween-fashion-blogging-sensation-tavi-gevinson


Tavi ‘The Style Rookie’ Gevinson is a tween blogger whose blog ‘went viral’ in the world because of her ‘youthful spirit’, ‘honesty’, and other generic positive elements that people in the world use/value. She built a large readership, and is now in an era where designers must invite her to their shows in order to get ‘authentic coverage’ from her free spirited blog posts.

It seems like she attended an afterparty, where the renowned alt party pix photographer was able to ’snap a few shots of her. Bronques is famous for taking many nude photographs of women on his site, and we can only assume that his night was a failure after Tavi did not take off her top and show more skin.

Do u know how tweens handle hanging out with high level alts, or is she ‘beyond her alt years’ because of her critically-acclaimed blog?  Will ‘grandma hair’ on tweens be a relevant trend in 2k10

In addition, a post-Lady Gaga arts and crafts blipster was in attendance.

Whatever happened 2 the Misshapes?

Is Tavi ‘overrated’ as a human and as a blogger?
Should tweens have to wait until they are 22 to get ‘kewl, desirable jobs & opportunities’?
Do you wish you were more in touch with a relevant zeitgest when you were a tween, and had started a critically acclaimed blog abt a niche topic that flew you around the world?
Would ur parents be free spirited enough to let u pursue your blog?
Is ‘ week’ ghey?
Are party pix worthless when there are ‘no tits’ in the photos?

Lead Singer of Flaming Lips lives in over-designed sex den

Posted: 16 Feb 2010 06:12 AM PST

Link: http://gizmodo.com/5471131/flaming-lips-bathroom


This is a photograph of the lead singer of the , Wayne Coyne’s, home. As you can tell, he wants to live in a conceptual & meaningful space that can help him to ponder existential topics. This positive space will enable him to make more meaningful albums.  It seems like this house might be some sort of ‘conceptual sex den’, since it doesn’t seem like a place where you would want to live, but maybe a place where you could shoot low budget pornography and snuff films.

While this house/space is supposed to be ‘alt’ and totally different, you can see that the Coyne family installed 2 sinks in the master bathroom. This is probably because they subscribe to the mainstream idea that husband and wife ‘don’t get angry at one another’ when they are getting ready for work in the morning if there are 2 wash stations available.

This seems to be some sort of group shower where we can only assume conceptual orgies happen.

Feel like he really ‘pussed out’ by having flat screen HDTVs in his conceptual living room.  Many architectural experts say that having a TV in a room makes all other furnishings + design decisions irrelevant.

Wayne Coyne resides in Oklahoma, where real estate is probably mad cheap. It seems like this architecture probably would have been more stunning if it had been implemented in a major metropolitan area where real estate was 500% more valuable .

Did the ‘peak’ with “Do U Realize…?”?
Do yall find this house to be ‘architecturally stunning’?
Do u think any of the elements of his house violate neighborhood zoning laws?
Is Oklahoma an authentic breeding ground for indie bands?
Do u hope that 1 day u can make mad bank from selling ur band’s mp3s and build ur dream home?

Woot sells ‘Geologist headlamp’ as their deal of the day [via AnCo fever]

Posted: 15 Feb 2010 07:45 PM PST

Link: http://www.woot.com/blog/viewentry.aspx?id=11522


Woot is a popular website for people who are addicted to ‘looking for deals,’ particularly for random items that they don’t need. Every day they ‘feature an item’ that is a ‘great deal,’ usually when companies look to push large quantities of new/old inventory on retailers. In order to capitalize off the wave of Animal Collective fever in 2k9, woot recently selected a headlamp as their item of the day.

The guy who ‘plays samples’ in Animal Collective, Brian Weitz is seen in this picture. He is know for his personal brand: the bro with the sweet headlamp who used to be a Geologist.

The website even ‘tested the product’, but failed to perform tests on how it would hold up to the rigors a 1-2 hour indie concert.

In 2k10, we will be able to monitor the number of Geologist headlamps that show up at relevant dive bars + indie concerts.
There might be a huge number of adapters to the Geologist headlamp trend since this is a deal that ’simply cannot be passed up.’
Is Geologist ur fave member of AnCo, or would they survive without him [via Deakin]?
Do they really need his services to play weird whale noises in the background of samples?
R u addicted to ‘great deals’ from the internet?