Getting on the cover was nice and all, sure, but what Julia really wants is to write:

Actually, the true goal was never “fame” at all. I wanted two things: 1) editors to publish my work, 2) people to read my work.

Fantastic idea, except for this: Can you recall a single piece of writing by Allison? No matter. Anderson can just hook up a competent reporter already in the Wired stable — we like Fred Vogelstein a lot — and have him write the articles for Allison. Slap her attention-getting byline on them, and done!

Or better yet, why not go with Allison's Plan B? At the end of her email to Anderson, she sighs that she could always go into marketing if the writing thing doesn't work out. Perfect. Chris, can you talk to the folks over on the business side and get Julia a job in Wired's marketing department? She already sounds like she's on it.

The story had been in the works for three or four months, said Cohn, long before Julia caught Wired editor-in-chief Chris Anderson's attention with a marshmallow lollypop. "All the more reason she's eager to be photographed with him!" Cohn explains. "She was very good at her courtship, but we were already interested in using her as a case study for self-promotion."

There you have it: Both parties can feel they've smartly played the other. Wired can sit pretty with the increased Web traffic, and Julia gets the pony she always dreamed of: a national magazine cover! Her starter startup NonSociety.com, the ostensible news peg here, has nothing to do with it. Julia's blog business is a fig leaf for her most reliable product release: Julia Allison.

The new availability of huge amounts of data, along with the statistical tools to crunch these numbers, offers a whole new way of understanding the world. Correlation supersedes causation, and science can advance even without coherent models, unified theories, or really any mechanistic explanation at all. There's no reason to cling to our old ways. It's time to ask: What can science learn from Google?

The problem here is that if we stop asking the question "why?" then we are basically making for the foundations of faith. You can always make statistics say nearly anything you want, it simply depends on the assumptions you make when you analyze and present them. While Google's search algorithms are the best currently available, they are not infallible — if they were, then Google wouldn't have the advertising business that Anderson speaks so highly of, as people would find what they were looking for in the natural results.

It's a typical technocratic argument that privileges the rough trade in applied science over the pansy practice of theory. Applied science can be commercialized, and therefore profitable — pure, theoretical science much less so. The thinking goes that markets, those ruthlessly efficient arbiters of quantifiable value, don't need a priori hypotheses to make their judgments, so let's leave the thinking to machinations of mathematics and simply guess at the intent of the black box.

But by implying that you can simple toss aside causation is specious sophistry. Because when you stop asking "why" and only ask "what" and "how much" you're bound to lose a grip on strict rationality. As Schroedinger clearly demonstrated, the very act of measuring can affect the outcome of the measurement. Anderson should be careful what he wishes for — by putting faith in the invisible hand without modeling possible outcomes, we will get what the algorithm calculates we deserve, whether we like it or not. (Photo by Dave O)

• On former White House spokesmonkey Scott McClellan's new book, which won't be back in physical stock until June 9 but is still available on the Kindle for $9.99: "One of the great things about electronic books — they don't go out of stock."
• Regarding reading on a laptop, Bezos asserted, "You certainly can't curl up in bed with one." Actually, our laptop has been our most faithful sleeping partner in years.
• Playing up the Kindle's ability to look up definitions on the fly. "I have discovered my vocabulary is not nearly as good as I thought it was ... I was living in a nice fantasy world where my contextual guesses were accurate."
• Of the 125,000 titles available as both physical books and Kindle e-books, six percent of the sales go to Kindle. Some, including Bezos, buy both a physical copy and an electronic copy — presumably because a Kindle full of books doesn't telegraph just how smart you are.
• Anderson asked by what factor the number of titles available on Kindle would grow by next year in Bezos estimation. "I wouldn't be happy with 20 million. I'm hard to make happy. Bwahahahaha!" (Bezos' laugh is surprisingly deep and loud for such a small man).
• Like Amazon's offering of used copies alongside new copies, it didn't change the amount of original sales, only expanded, suggesting it's not a zero-sum game. "Most people bought as many books as they previously bought, and plus they buy Kindle books."
• Explaining Amazon's strategy of only offering print-on-demand titles printed through BookSurge in its shipping discounts, he said it's because it's cheaper to pack multiple purchases in one box — hence POD books must be printed at Amazon fulfillment centers to qualify.
• Early in the discussion with Bezos, Anderson kept turning the conversation towards his"long tail" theory. Eventually, Bezos caught on, expounding on how Amazon's whole business model was based on niche content availability being a differentiator — shrewdly buttering up Anderson while subtly claiming credit for the idea.

(Photos by Nicholas Carlson)

The mag was indeed free (but not at newsstands). There have been some scattered reports of people walking out with them without paying. After the alarms went off, we hope they were advised about the web offer ;-)

Jason Calacanis
What he taught us: The trick to being a total mobster is to do it with charm, like Al Capone. Last time I saw Jason, he called me over to his VIP table and pumped my hand with a big smile that said, I'm your friend and I want everyone to see that, and also, if you ever jump an embargo on me again like that TechCrunch40 list you'll be wearing concrete Pradas, wiseguy.
What we still don't get: Ma-hay-lo or Ma-hah-lo?

Robert Scoble
What he taught us: Just be yourself! Post whatever comes to your head! If you do this consistently and never try to edit the message, people will ultimately respect you for it. Even if they think it's kind of autistic to follow 6,154 Twitter feeds.
What we still don't get: What Scoble actually gets paid to do.

Marissa Mayer
What she taught us: You can break the glass ceiling and still wear balloons on your head.
What we still don't get: Was she serious about "looking for random play" on Facebook? We sure hope so, because San Francisco these days is frankly disappointing — less Summer of Love and more Winter of Work.

Chris Anderson
What he taught us: In between meeting with world leaders and star writers, Mr. Time Management actually emails us to correct inane logic flaws in our posts. His meticulous admonitions have raised the bar on our from-the-hip humor. Now it's from somewhere around the sternum.
What we still don't get: He reads Valleywag?

Peter Thiel
What he taught us: Rent, don't own in San Francisco. I'm serious.
What we still don't get: If everyone knows that Thiel is gay and it's no big deal as scolds keep telling us, then why is the rest of Sand Hill Road still in the closet? I'd tell you about the drunk millionaire who wanted to get busy with me Saturday night, but I have a career to protect. Plus I'm holding out for dinner at the Four Seasons first.

(Photo credits: Peter Thiel, Dan Henry / Chattanooga Times Free Press; Chris Anderson, Aaron Tang / designverb; Robert Scoble, BusinessWeek; Robert Scoble with iPhone, Brian Solis)

Early Wired editor Kevin Kelly supported Anderson, but some commenters pointed out that Wired publicist and ad reps are no strangers to spam, while others just considered it bad form to retaliate by exposing flacks' e-mails to real spammers.

Today Anderson dissected the reactions, but he skipped one consequence of his action: Publicity-hungry bottom-feeders now have a list of (hopefully) low-rent flacks.

(Photo by Aaron Tang/designverb)

To be fair, Anderson has reason to worry about perceptions of his hobby. On the one hand, hobbyists' UAVs are slightly more sophisticated versions of radio-controlled airplanes. On the other hand, spy agencies and the military use even more sophisticated versions as surveillance and weapon-delivery systems. While there are perfectly legitimate hobbyist and commercial uses (GPS mapping, aerial photography, etc.), when you see a "drone," instinctively, the average American thinks of a weapon.

Anderson has largely acted appropriately: reserving judgment, asking difficult questions, and allowing debate to ensue on his blog. The majority of commenters, and Anderson himself, initially, voiced support of open-source principles and argued that the information is already available and should remain open to anyone despite Anderson's fears of xenophobic doubt. Others agree but still worry that the U.S. government may take a homeland-security interest in DIYDrones.com's uses, and its users. Few are concerned about aiding the enemy, but realize the public at large could respond histrionically.

And it turns out that the fuss is about a 17-year-old enthusiast. Aalipour, like many Iranians, is strongly nationalistic but, in a comment left on Anderson's blog, claims progressive political views with no anti-American sentiments. "I love friendly," he writes. Well, who doesn't? Can't we all get along — unmanned drone-lovers included?

Anderson, like some pathetic regional sales manager road-warrior type, cashed in frequent-flier miles to get his family to Europe and back. We can think of no earthly reason that Anderson, with a handsome Conde Nast salary and, quite possibly, a low-interest mortgage from his employer, would engage in such an absurd display of frugality.

He got what he paid for, at any rate: Marathon flights, lost luggage, and endless check-in delays. (Oh, and get this: He refused to buy his family new toothbrushes, making them share instead.) We hear that Si Newhouse might have a private jet, Chris. Next time, book it. Or, better yet, like the Wired of old, campaign for a complete digital makeover of the air-traffic control system.

Don't be fooled by these guys' low-flying Alexa charts. Anyone who's anybody in the Valley reads them — or pretends to. So should you.

Mark Cuban, Blog Maverick

• Day job: Owner, Dallas Mavericks basketball team.


• Claim to fame: Web 1.0 billionaire from now-forgotten Broadcast.com.


• Blogs incessantly about: The Internet biz, NBA inside basketball, lying-sack-of-shit reporters.


• Best-known post: "I still think Google is crazy."


• Fail-safe banter about Cuban: "If all reporters are liars, why doesn't he just stop talking to them?"

Chris Anderson, The Long Tail

• Day job: Editor in Chief, Wired magazine.


• Claim to fame: Author of The Long Tail, which posits that because of digital distribution, there's more money to be made selling an infinite number of non-hits than a handful of megahits.


• Blogs incessantly about: Because of digital distribution, there's more money to be made from, say, photofinishing an infinite number of ...


• Best-known post: "What would radical transparency mean" for his own magazine?


• Fail-safe banter about Anderson: "He's brilliant, but just once I'd like to see him go nuts on somebody."

Fred Wilson, A VC

• Day job: Partner in Union Square Ventures, investor in del.icio.us and Feedburner.


• Claim to fame: Made a killing on dot-coms. His house is worth more than your company.


• Blogs incessantly about: The quotidian concerns of a wildly successful investor.


• Best-known post: "Is the traditonal Venture Capital model broken?"


• Fail-safe banter about Wilson: "I'm convinced he's mocking us, 'Here's how to get as rich as me, but you'll never pull it off.'"

Dave Winer, Scripting News

• Day job: Scripting News.


• Claim to fame: Unofficial alpha noodge for Web standards including RSS, podcasting, stuff we forgot.


• Blogs incessantly about: How he never gets enough credit.


• Best-known post: September 11, 2001 when his site didn't crash along with the entire mainstream media.


• Fail-safe banter about Winer: "I can't stand him. Especially when he's right."

• Professional troll (and a damn good one) Nick Carr invites the recently critical Journal writer to continue badgering Anderson about his book. The writer badgers on command. [Rough Type]
• VC blogger Fred Wilson, tired of reading about math, instead wants to talk about the virtual world, and how he's happier there than in the real world, and how all his friends in his Second Life book club are so supportive of his lifestyle choice. [A VC]
• Newsome.org takes the right tack and calls this debate like a by-the-rules boxing match. [Newsome.org]
• ZOMBIES! [Mickeleh's Take]

• The Wall Street Journal tries hard to find a contrarian view for Wired editor Chris Anderson's book, The Long Tail. Chris Anderson, amused, topples it like a sadist at a domino exhibition. [WSJ and The Long Tail]
• At the AlwaysOn Stanford Summit, YouTube founder Chad Hurley says he wants the company to stay independent. Since YouTube's still in the red and will depend on a sale to repay its investors, just add this to the pile of bullshit said at conferences. [ZDNet]
• Another conspiracy theorist has connected Microsoft's Bill Gates to Satan. Yawn. [Rense.com, Illustration]
• A top Digg user explains why he turned down Netscape manager Jason Calacanis's offer to defect — even for money. [tysonhy.com]
• Why did a Digg user get kicked from the site after posting a joke about social sites Digg and Reddit? [jgc.org]
• Steve Case said he was "sorry" for merging his AOL with Time Warner. But it was his best deal ever. [Broadcasting and Cable]

My favorite part is this: "Anderson's voice can be easily heard and he can interact, in a meaningful way..." It sounds like she's pitching an interview with Terry Schiavo.

Whole release is after the jump.

MEDIA ALERT...MEDIA ALERT...MEDIA ALERT

CHRIS ANDERSON, AUTHOR OF THE LONG TAIL,

WILL SPEAK TO 100 PEOPLE IN A FREE, IN-DEPTH,

CONVERSATION VIA SKYPECAST

WHO: Chris Anderson, Editor in Chief of Wired magazine and author of The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More.

WHAT: Will participate in an intimate conversation, moderated by Michael Sippey, General Manager of Typepad, the hosted blogging service. The conversation is free and open to 100 attendees. These attendees are invited to join in via Skypecast.

WHERE: People can attend Andersons' conversation by accessing the following link: https://skypecasts.skype.com. The conversation is open to 100 attendees. These attendees will be welcomed on a first come/first serve basis.

WHY: Since publishing his essay in Wired in October, 2004, on what he called "The Long Tail," and then following it up with his book in May, 2006, Chris Anderson has been in high demand. By conducting a Skypecast—a live, moderated conversation for a group of 100 people from anywhere in the world—Anderson's voice can be easily heard and he can interact, in a meaningful way, with those interested in his perspectives on business and culture.

WHEN: Monday, July 24, at 4:30 PM EDT

CONTACT: For more information, contact, Leslie Koren at Kaplow Communications, [info redacted]

Photo by Ben Hammersley

"Hits are going to have to share the stage with nonhits," says Chris Anderson in US News, summing up his new book, The Long Tail. Chris's personal long tail stretches back into New Wave. The Wired Magazine editor-in-chief played bass for Egoslavia, a D.C.-based post-punk band that released one self-titled record in '82. Wired contributor Paul Boutin pulled out a copy of "Lost Song," the appropriately named first track. In the interest of rescuing it from obscurity, we're releasing the mp3. It's a real treat.

"Lost Song" by Egoslavia

After the jump, Boutin remembers buying the record, zinesters describe the band, and the man who hired Anderson for Wired makes an Osmonds reference.

A lot of people's old band demos would be embarrassing, but the indie record store owner in DC who sold me the still-shrink-wrapped copy of Egoslavia said they were considered one of the key bands in the scene of that time there. "Ohhh, yes, Christopher Anderson," he recalled before launching into the sort of local band family tree only an indie record store owner straight out of High Fidelity could pull off 20 years later. He also said he was in the middle of shutting down the store to sell online only — how fitting.

The band isn't listed on the All Music Guide or even Wikipedia, though it's mentioned in two rock history books and a few music-buff sites. One webzine writer says, "If I didn't live in Washington DC in 1982 when this came out and didn't see them live at the time, I never would have found this record."

Egoslavia, says the zinester, mimicked the style of Gang of Four, throwing in some Plastics and Pylon, for an "asexual post-punk funk" feel. In the few online accounts of Egoslavia, Anderson is rarely mentioned. Nostalgic punk fans instead focus on band leader Greg Strzempka, who went on to form the Southern boogie band Raging Slab.

Anderson, meanwhile, moved from New Wave to New Media. Condé Nast's James Truman hired him to edit Wired, calling Anderson "a little bit geeky, and a little bit rock 'n' roll." Despite some media skepticism about Anderson's future (the New York Times saw him as "fighting for custody" of Wired's soul in 2002), the ex-punk is now riding a wave of publicity well-deserved, thanks to his theory of the Long Tail.

In 2004, Anderson wrote and published a Wired feature story called "The Long Tail." His premise: In the new marketplace, selling a sea of little-known products can bring higher combined revenue than the top hits. Those little-known products make the Long Tail, shown below in a drawing from Anderson's Long Tail site.

One upshot is that as retailers like Amazon and Rhapsody offer long tail products, more little-known items can gain a cult following or even become hits. But some would-be hits are still stuck in analog obscurity like Egoslavia's "Lost Song." Not any more. Drag and drop Egoslavia onto your PostPunk playlist, smack between Gang of Four and Romeo Void.

Album art [:30 Under DC]
Egoslavia [Old Punks zine]
The Long Tail [Official site]

At about 5pm, we got an office wide email asking us to meet up in the main conference room. We got there, and Chris [Anderson, Wired's editor-in-chief] gives us the announcement — it came as a pretty big surprise to most of us.

Chris described it as a deal "eight years in the making" and then opened the floor to questions. One senior ed, half kidding, asked "does this mean we're going to have more work?"

Chris said,"No. We'll run them as separate companies for now, and work on things closer in the future."

After that, we dispersed, and some went to across the hall to meet the new coworkers. It was not unlike the episode of Lost when the tail-end passengers appeared out of the jungle, tired and hungry. Those poor guys have been working on a tough budget for awhile now.

Picture: The Obvious [Splash page]
Earlier: Condé Nast bought Wired News: What that means
Earlier: What Chris Anderson told me before Condé Nast bought Wired News

May I suggest this soundtrack? Maybe you've heard the song before? I'm told it was a hit.

The Rise and Fall of the Hit [Wired Magazine]
Gnarls Barkley's Crazy [autoplay, Myspace]

Chris says, "Call it the Age of Peer Production."

Look, Chris, you already got your famous coined phrase. Don't be like Malcolm Gladwell with Blink and make "Peer Production" your disappointing sequel. At least wait until your Long Tail book hits the bestseller list.

People Power [Wired]

A monthly magazine like ours — which combines long-form journalism, lavish design and high-end photography — really shows paper at its finest. Online, the design is lost, the photos become thumbnails, and you have to click through as many as 16 screens [to read the longer articles].

In other words, Wired can't find a decent web designer.

Chris Anderson [I Want Media]

But from all but Blogger co-founder Evan Williams, Curt didn't get so much as a "screw you." Not all of the non-responders are worth millions, but one suspects they're all better off than the average Central African farmer.

Decent People
Evan Williams (Blogger, Odeo)

People Who Would Rather Buy a Fourth Lexus Than Give a Dime to Keep African AIDS Babies From Going Tits Up
Chris Anderson (Wired)
Ted Leonsis (AOL)
Steve Scott Johnson (Ookles, Feedster)
Craig Newmark (Craigslist)
Craig Mundie (Microsoft)
Esther Dyson (I have no idea)
Joi Ito (goes to lots of Blogger conferences, other than that...visits diaper hookers in Kabukicho?)
Michael Arrington (Techcrunch)
Steve Wozniak (Apple)
Tim O'Reilly (O'Reilly Media)
Kevin Kelly (Wired)
Jason Calacanis (Weblogsinc/AOL)
Nick Denton (Gawker)
James Hong (Hot or Not)
Max Levchin (Slide, Paypal)

The Blogswana Project [Official site]
Donation page [Blogswana Project]

• Friday and Saturday: TiECon 2006. From Indus Valley to Silicon Valley, the TiE Conference founders travelled to tomorrow's center of the universe to promote the entrepreneurial spirit. Hear from business heavyweights like investor John Doerr, statesman John Dean, and Japanese nicotine drink salesman Arnold Schwarzenegger.
• Friday and Saturday: DCamp is another "unconference"! OH BOY.
• Friday: Chris Anderson, God's gift to Wired (source: Chris Anderson), talks about his book, The Long Tail.
• Saturday: It's like religion for smart people! There's an overflow room for the latecomers at the Singularity Summit at Stanford, where we'll all hear about the coming of the glorious millenium. Catch me there; I'll be checking my e-mail, so ping if you wanna meet up.
• Saturday: For those staying in the real world tomorrow, Meetro's holding a barbecue in Palo Alto.