When I’m in need of a good laugh I know there is one place I can go to get it: Fark.com.  This is my favorite Web site.  They aggregate strange and funny news from all over the world then they create their own headline for the story.  Just reading the headlines is worth it.  Here are some examples:

French museums know everything about art, except how to drive a nail into the wall so paintings don’t fall down and shatter into a million pieces when they’re hung there

Sweden to stop selling weapons to Venezuela due to US arms embargo. In related news, world is stunned to learn about IKEA’s new GLOKENWESSEN line of assembly-required line of weaponry

Aside from the occasional human head washing up on an Acapulco beach, tourism in Mexico remains as strong as ever

Three-clawed ‘mutant’ crab caught; plans to fight with two-toned lobster over control of the sea (w/pics)

Sorry about losing your arm and leg in Iraq. Now hand over your wallet and nobody gets hurt

Cool: Norwegian journalist interviews Bill Gates during commercial flight, quotes him for story; Not so cool: Bill Gates wasn’t on the flight, and the entire article was BS

British travellers asked by airline to stop showing up drunk for takeoff, making jokes about bombs in their luggage and trying to open plane doors while it’s in the air

Bad: Teen runs off the road. Worse: Hits large tree. Fark: Tree is home to 10,000 bees, and they’re pissed now

Drunk woman drives onto train tracks. Honks at train to get out of way. Hilarity ensues

Ghost tracker notes, “Usually, 99 percent of the time, the spirits are very friendly” — but one percent of the time, it’s the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man

After her first bike was stolen right under her nose, Wal-Mart gives bicycle to legally blind girl. Lawyers waiting for her to fall off or run into something

And it goes on and on. Check out fark. You’ll have a great time… 

It’s now been three weeks since a federal judge ruled against CleanFlicks, et al and ordered them to destroy all their remaining inventory, shut down, whatever.  I purposely waited for several weeks to weigh in because I wanted to see the knee jerk reaction of bloggers and the mainstream media especially here in Utah.

So here it goes. The court was right in its ruling. Shutting down these infringers of copyrighted material was the correct moral, ethical and legal thing to do. All people who produce copywrited material are better off today because of this ruling.  This county is great because of the respect and protection we place on copyrighted works. Thomas Friedman remarks in his seminal work, The World is Flat, that China will never beat the US as long as they continue to allow copywrite violators to openly operate in their country. It is one of the foundations of a free society and its one of the factors that helps make entrepreneurship flourish in this and many other countries. 

Now with that said… 

Hollywood should be ashamed of themselves for producing such smut. Every movie that they produce is edited with a “made for TV” version that could easily be distributed with the original work on DVD. Why won’t they simply put that version on the DVD as well? The cost is nominal and they would increase their customer base by doing so. Then again, look at the industry. Its in a total slump. People are not going to movies as much as they used to because its nothing but a bunch of garbage. There seems to be a huge hole for some entrepreneur to walk into producing good clean movies with a positive message.  In my opinion, mainstream Hollywood and the producers of pornography are one in the same.

Now the religious view…

Every Latter Day Saint that supports CleanFlicks, et al should be ashamed of themselves for supporting businesses that are clearly violating the law. A rated R movie is still a rated R movie whether the content is “edited” or not. Furthermore, who are they to tell me what is offensive and what is not? Who are the owners of these businesses to define what they believe is offensive and what is not offensive for me? Frankly, that’s very offensive to me.  Who are they to determine what is “sanitary” and what is not?  Obviously most of the people in Utah don’t even agree. I don’t see Blockbuster video going out of business in Utah because of the floods of people frequenting CleanFlicks. 

We are taught to “avoid the very appearance of evil”. If I remove all that is bad about a cigarette and smoke it am I still violating the Word of Wisdom? If I drink non-alcoholic beer am I violating the Word of Wisdom? In my opinion, yes you are. If you watch a “sanitized” rated R movie is it still a rated R movie? Yes it is.  Movie standards have changed since we were first told not to see rated R movies. Its time for a higher standard.

What’s going on at Time Warner?  Did they buy a gas station or something?  The company posted Q2 earnings of $1 billion. They also announced that the majority of AOL’s services would be free by this time next year.  They apparently believe that advertising is better than subscriptions. It will be interesting to see what happens. 

I have never been so upset in my whole life! One Robert Merrill has created a Web site called UtahTechTalent.com and has aggregated my blog posts to this site. He is stealing my precious intellectual property! He is stealing my valuable words of wisdom that I have worked so hard to self publish!  He is ripping off my sacred content! He must die!!!

Ok, so that was a little dramatic. Here’s how I really feel. Robert Merrill of SOS staffing has created a great site called UtahTechTalent.com where he aggregates the best of Utah bloggers in the tech industry. I am all for blog aggregation.  Its a great way to get the word out about your blog.  It draws more people into your blog.  Its basically and electronic word of mouth. Some of the “purist” bloggers are adamantly against aggregation. Why? Because someone might make a buck or two off your content?  So what! They are marketing you for you at their expense. Not only should you encourage it but you should actively ask aggregators to pull in your content.

Good work, Robert.  Thanks for helping to promote me and the other Utah Tech Bloggers.   

I am in the process of writing an article for Connect Magazine about now being the best time to start a business in Utah.  Colin Kelly and I are meeting with the Governor next week to discuss this topic and to get his take.  We’ve got 30 minutes to get it all on the table.  What would you ask Governor Huntsman if you had the chance to sit with him for 30 minutes? 

Send your questions to me at ctknud “at” gmail.com and I’ll see if I can get your question into the interview.

I am very excited to be involved in the U|Tech Conference on Internet marketing for small business.  This all day event will be held on October 18th at the Miller Innovation Center in SLC.  The event will feature Paul Allen as the keynote.  Sponsors include PR Web and 10x Marketing.  Other speakers will talk about utilizing the Internet to grow your small business. Topics include, Internet based public relations, search engine marketing, pay per click strategies, blogging and affiliate programs.  This conference will be centered on “show” not “tell” so come prepared to learn.

The cost to attend this all day event is $149 if you register before September 18th. For more details on the show visit the U|Tech Conference site.

If you’ve been wondering how to capitalize on the Internet then this show is for you. 

Also, if you are a Utah Blogger, please blog about this event.

Does anyone out there know a good graphics guy who is also relatively inexpensive? I know a lot of good computer programmers but I have not had a lot of experience with graphics guys.  If you are a good graphics guy or know of one drop me a line at ctknud “at” gmail.com. 

Sometimes stepping up to the plate to do what is right means stepping down. 

Over two weeks ago I initiated a conversation with Paul Allen about stepping down as CEO of 10Speed Media. Why would I do such a things when things are going so well?  10Speed Media is a winner.  This company will be huge someday and the exit will be huge.  Its by far Provo Labs best bet.  Herein lies the issue.  This business really needs a CEO who has been around the block before. Someone who has raised a lot of capital. Someone who has had a large exit.  Someone who knows what it takes to get a business from $0 to $100 million in three years.  Frankly, that person is not me.  In order to see the maximum value out of my stock I have agreed to swallow my pride and turn over the keys to someone else.  That said, I will still play an active role in the business moving forward. I have agreed to stay on in some capacity for the foreseeable future to help in a number of areas as well as evangelize the business to the infomercial and affiliate industries. I will also be working with several other Provo Labs companies on strategy and business development.

Beyond 10Speed Media and Provo Labs, what’s next for me?  At the moment that is unknown.  I have considered several other start ups and thought about going back to consulting.  I’ve even been considering a PhD (I teach as an adjunct professor at Westminster College). Next week I’m going on my first vacation in a long time and frankly I can’t see beyond that.  I just need some time off to think, relax and play with my kids.

Overall its been a great ride - one for the books. Stay tuned for cool and exciting things.

This is the funniest video that I have seen in long time.  Senator Ted Stevens who heads the Senate’s committee on commerce, which oversees Internet regulations and rules has no clue about what the Internet is.  Besides being very funny its also very scary!!!

It time for this guy to hang it up!

I am proud to announce that 10Speed Media and PRWeb have finally launched the much anticipated PRWeb.TV.  This was a monumental task completed in only a few short months.  Congrats to all the people who worked on getting PRWeb.TV up.  You have done a great job!

If you are looking to use PR Web’s services including PRWeb.TV.  Contact Judd at 801-602-8384.