The Webbys: What I Saw, What I Said
Lots of memorable moments at this year's Webby Awards. It was great having some of our HuffPost Politics team -- including Nico Pitney, Rachel Weiner, Sam Stein, Ryan Grim, and Arthur Delaney -- make the trip up from DC to celebrate our wins as Best Politics Site (chosen by the Webby judges) and Best Political Blog (chosen by the public -- thanks to all who voted for us; and a major shout out to Webby honcho Neil Vogel for taking care of us -- as always).
I particularly enjoyed the way the organizers of the event paired people from the new media with people from the traditional media -- concluding with Martha Stewart presenting the Breakout of the Year award to Twitter cofounder Biz Stone (his five word acceptance speech: "Creativity is a renewable resource"), and Charlie Rose presenting the Lifetime Achievement award to World Wide Web founder Sir Tim Berners-Lee ("Free. Open. Keep one Web."). Host Seth Meyers, who was hilarious, had some fun with the dynamic, saying that he loves it "when old media praises new media. It's like when the old guy praises the tennis pro his wife is fucking."
As for my five-word speech, while we liked a lot of the ones you submitted, I ended up going with one suggested by HuffPost's editor Roy Sekoff and our media editor Danny Shea: "I didn't kill newspapers...okay?"
Other finalists included Sekoff and Shea's "Bernie Madoff Stole My Speech," "Norm Coleman Contested Our Win," "Did AIG Oversee the Voting?, and "Beats a Bruno Ass Facial."
But since Roy and Danny already have copies of the HuffPost Complete Guide to Blogging, we'll be sending a copy to the three HuffPost commenter-generated suggestions the HuffPost community said were its favorites: "Journalism isn't dead; it's online" (submitted by shoutingatmytv); "Blogs: Weapons of Mass Instruction" (Michael Pastore); and "Do ask, do tell. Do." (ourmoro).
Congrats to them -- and thanks again to everyone who sent one in.
Click here to check out a slideshow from the Webbys.
TiVo Alert: I'll be guest hosting CNBC's Squawk Box Wednesday morning 7-9 am EDT. I'll be interviewing Nassim Taleb, Jim Grant, and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis), and I'd love to have your help deciding what to ask them. Please post your suggested questions in the comments section of this post.
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I like Sekoff, but I can't believe you guys went with his idea over Pastore's.
No, you didn't kill newspapers, Arianna. They commited suicide by using the same old canned articles as they got them from the same sources. We prefer originality. What didn't happen to newspapers due to the Bush/Cheney financial crisis was due to editors & papers letting Bush/Cheney control their stories. Meaning they were becoming WAY TOO Conservative and in favor of the criminal & unelected administration. Since I felt so betrayed and lied to by major newspapers, I'm certain multiple others felt the same way. Furthermore, I say "good riddance" to the Conservative print mouthpiece. I have hope because it seems to me that Liberals are still way ahead of the staunch, old school Conservatives when it comes to using and launching Internet news as well as political campaigns.
Would Nassim Taleb and your other guests agree, that each of them possesses a different understanding of what is occurring around them? And since, at the optimal, only a single one of those individual explanations could possibly be accurate. Isn’t each, in fact, experiencing a story of their own devising?
To repeat an old saw, "Everybody's entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts."
Look, makin' stuff up, accepting canned BS and ignoring facts (as our newspapers have been doing for a decade now) isn't about perspctive or point of view. It's about cynical or slovenly journalism -- maybe both.
How about a basic question on the economic collapse for which "conservatives" are already blaming Obama? Here it is:
The equation for GDP is
GDP = Consumer spending (C) + Investment (I) + Net Exports (E) + Government Spending (G)
The first two terms have collapsed, so we need G stimulus. But, thanks to what's called "free trade", the U.S. has experienced nearly 3 decades of negative Net Exports ... "trade" deficits that are major anti-stimulus.
From 1980 through 2008, the cumulative "trade deficit", the "trade debt", has totaled over $7 trillion, with $5.1 trillion of that from 2000 through 2008!
Compare that $7 trillion in cumulative "trade" anti-stimulus against the current $787 billion stimulus package and it's quite obvious the latter will be ineffective. "Free trade" has been an anti-matter black hole that has sucked prosperity from the U.S. economy.
Ask "free traders" why they think running a trade deficit should continue and why "balanced trade" isn't necessary. Btw, it is necessary. Ask if Obama will work toward that?
Google "Jobs & 'Trade' Data Update Apr09" for more on what's happening.
I thought of mine too late:
Next stop: Governor of Alaska.
Ah, well.
Huffpost [to Republican]: "What does your party stand for today?"
Republican [hopefullly]: "What does your party _not_ stand for today?"
Arianna,
Please ask them if they "support debt free currency!"
Arianna, how I do worship your mind.
I've been blogging about the fundamental problem faced by this society and many others, namely private sector control of our money. As you well know if we didn't have to pay interest on public funds for public programs and projects at all levels of government, we could have everything we need to achieve real, perpetual social and economic progress.
Pls ask elected officials to describe, to America their understanding of how deficits are created, and how the banking system initiates creeping inflation through the fractional reserve policies established by the Federal Reserve.
Thank you.
Please ask them about the recent spike in mortgage rates. Will this choke off the housing recovery?
And long term, how will the stimulous play out?
Massive inflation?
Currency devaluation?
Growth enough to pay down the debt?
or what?
Arianna : " We love You., for everything
" Thank You Arianna, for everything ! "
" Huffingtonpost is simply the best. "
And...
" Thank You again... For everything ! "
" Thank You for this venue. "
" Funny how this comes out... "
" ... After the Webby's are over. "
" You ARE the best, Arianna. "
-ralph
How can we get a recovery without jobs?
What can be done to get American back to work at good wages?
I'd like to see the "five-word acceptance speech" carried over to the Emmy's, Tony's and especially the Oscars! Make it mandatory that you can't thank god, your mother, your live-in nanny-or whatever-your first BBF, etc. etc. ad nauseum.
Less is better I agree.
TRANSPARENCY, TRANSPARENCY, TRANSPARENCY. How do we get it, and if we don't, how do we demand it? Financial markets do not operate without it.
Questions for Nassim Taleb:
George Soros recently suggested that China's state-owned banking system is coping better with the financial crisis and also better suited to promote economic recovery than the international network of privately owned banks. Do you agree, and would you advocate permanently nationalizing the US banking system?
You have previously been opposed to globalization of business and finance, due to the "interlocking fragility" which we now see taking place. Would the US be better off with an isolationist policy and a return to domestic manufacturing?
Sorry, about the newspaper thing.
was mine and more honest
actually honey you nailed them
Let´s hope that honesty and owning up to our kid´s behavior prevail. I´m embarrassed to see our youth behaving like this. The same kids would be the first to scream that someone acts ¨so ghetto¨, yet they act worse. It´s a tragedy to see our 1st world country going down like this. These kids learned their behavior at home and with peers. This disgusting display is not about being drunk or just kids talking nonsense. Educated and well brought up children, do not and should not act like this. I hope their behavior isn´t how the Israelis feel. I´d love to move back to my old apt. of 20 years ago but there´s someone else living there now and I can´t throw them out or mistreat them. Israel is there to stay but fairness and education is the only key in order to progress.
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