KassemG

Salon has this great article on how Netflix is closely monitoring user behavior to determine how their site (and business decisions) grow and change. Basically, you're a "puppet" to Netflix the same way you're a "puppet" to Google - just by using their sites you are providing them with a wealth of data to learn about your behaviors. It's staggering to think about notions such as these:

Netflix doesn't just know that you are more likely to be watching a thriller on Saturday night than on Monday afternoon, but it also knows what you are more likely to be watching on your tablet as compared to your phone or laptop; or what people in a particular ZIP code like to watch on their tablets on a Sunday afternoon. Netflix even tracks how many people start tuning out when the credits start to roll.

However, it's also not scary. Why is that? Is that because I work in the world of technology and understand that it's part of the deal of Existing Online? I think puppet is a bit harsh of a word to use. Everyone benefits from the data mining. We are being used as much as they are... right?

Where are the conspiracy theories that go along with this? Surely there is a contingent of people losing their minds over all their clicks being tracked. I'm surprisingly comfortable with it.

via Adam.

I'm still wrapping around the musical offerings of Beest Records but I'm pretty firmly decided on the greatness of the consistent artwork for every release. There's a good bit of variety within the template but I love that you can look at any single one of them and know they all belong to the same family. I suggest browsing them on Bandcamp to get a clear idea of how the music connects with the cover art - always an enjoyable connection.

Are you having a lack of animated gifs or 80's nostalgia in your life? Shoot over to Operation Neptune to fill the void. Obviously it's easy to be a fan of this but can anyone please provide explanation for this or this? Wait, maybe it's best not to know.

via Casey.

Interesting 2012 Annual from AirBNB that not only shows off some of their stats from the past year but, mostly, focuses on the human connection of home sharing. It's an interesting angle to take but certainly one worth taking note of. Regardless of the message, the design is clean, simple and enjoyable to scroll through.

lincoln

pimsy75

ShortlineDental

Michael Cheng

You know the drill. Watch the playlist and browse various extras if you're in need of more. Especially that Lizzy Caplan short.

• Horse Plays Flute - you're welcome.
• McDonalds Commercial #5 - lets hope this is a new trend.
• Rewind This! - trailer for a movie about VHS. Looks pretty great.
• John Cleese and The VCR - you saw the clip in the Rewind This! trailer, here's the full thing. Perfect.
• Kitten Fail - wait for it.... waaaait for it...
• The Future - Hover Hover Hover Hover
• Pete Drake - Forever - I'm sure I've linked this before but I found myself listening to / watching this video all week long on repeat. I love every moment of it.

BONUS Watch this kid. All weekend.

You are likely familiar with The Pirate Bay; the world's largest torrent tracking site. What you might not know is that filmmaker Simon Klose made a movie about the founders - Gottfrid Svartholm, Fredrik Neij and Peter Sunde - and their fight against the Swedish court system regarding their assistance on copyright infringement. The movie is definitely interesting and worth a watch.

It should be noted that Klose has put put the full movie on Youtube as well as provided high quality torrents. So, if you don't want to pay for it, you don't have to. His reasoning for this is clear - the more people that see the movie, the more benefit it is to him. Income stream or not.

The film is distributed by VHX but we welcome you to watch it however you prefer. It's a solid movie and an equally interesting distribution experiment. One that I hope succeeds wildly.

I realize that top image may not be the most enticing for a click through but I implore you to read this great Polygon article - Gabe Newell on Valve's Past, Gaming's Present and Steam's Future. Even if most of that headline is nonsense to you; click through. Newell has a lot of great insight into hiring practices, community embracement and just Doing Good Business. This paragraph is definitely worth a roundtable of discussion:

Giving control to the internet and its users is the only logical choice that a modern corporation can take on, Newell said. Pre-internet thinking in terms of direct communication with consumers is harmful; the internet is much better at organizing individuals than a corporation will ever be. Open markets are what thrive in the digital age, and as technology improves — particularly 3D printing and other forms of digital-to-physical fabrication — that philosophy will become relevant far outside the Steam ecosystem.

Heads up via Adam.

There's an excellent balance of "Intriguing Idea" and "Terrible Decision" involved with TxtPals - the service that anonymously pairs you up with a new "pen pal" once a day. On the one hand, interacting with a new stranger might be entertaining. On the other hand, the likelihood of it devolving into something terrible is super high. Regardless, I'd love for someone else to do it and tell me how it turns out.

Matthew Frost

It's been a long time coming but Jeremy Okai Davis has relaunched his site. The new design is simple and to the point but enables him to post new work with less hassle than the previous iteration. Anything that gets more work of his out into the world sounds good to me. I love the featured work from 2012 and can't wait to see what he gets into this year...

Andy Rementer ran Techo Tuesday from 2006 until 2011. I'd never seen a bit of it until Steve shared the greatness with me yesterday. The above strip is a prime example of the content - get ready for some sad-but-true poignant commentary on technology in our lives.

There's nothing really to report at the moment but XOXO 2013 is going to happen. I suggest signing up on that announcement list as it's not really something you want to miss. Even if you dont' consider yourself the type to go to conferences, you should stay in the loop. It'll be good.

Here's a great test. Head over to this Martin Gorner presentation, Animate Your HTML5, from November 2012 and see how much of it your browser can handle. Can your browser see all these transitions? What about these, these or these? If the answer is No to any of the above, you need to talk to your IT department and get an upgrade.

free tour EP in exchange for your email address

I love the variety of work from Miles Price. There's plenty of Slice of Life documentation, beautiful scenery, strange occurrences and other enjoyable goodness. His portfolio is a great overview but you gotta dive into the blog. It's been a long time since I've been compelled by a photo blog but he certainly caught my attention.