I may have never heard of this show if it weren’t for a British Airways flight, but after a second run through the series, The Inbetweeners is quite possibly the funniest show I’ve ever seen. It’s a crude British series about four high school friends that go through embarrassing situations like none other and this clip right here would be considered tame in comparison to some of the things that go down. While it’s a little disappointing to hear it’s being adapted for a US audience like The Office, I can’t wait for the movie and two specials that are slated to begin this summer.

If “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” came out this year instead of my birth year (1986, thank you very much), would hipsters flock in droves to see it? What if the movie trailer portrayed it as a coming-of-age, quirky (and perhaps, at times, dark) indie flick like that of Sofia Coppola’s “The Virgin Suicides”? Watch UK filmmaker Joseph Brett’s recut trailer and revel in the slow-mo.

As you might have noticed, we removed just about all advertising from our site. Last summer, we signed on board with an ad network that specializes in indie content. We had high hopes that an additional source of revenue would enable us to kick more ass and potentially quit our day-jobs. So, what happened?

Holiday Matinee in November 2010

As it turned out, the traditional advertising model of CPC just wasn’t a good match for us. To make any significant income, you’d need crazy amount of traffic and the reality is, that model just doesn’t work well in today’s online landscape unless you’re the NY Times or CNN. We had enough of subjecting your eyeballs to crappy American Apparel or ITT Tech ads. It wasn’t worth it. We’re a niche site and it’s okay that we’re not for everyone.

But delivering great content is what’s important. Writing to help, inspire or make you guys laugh means the world to us and gives us a purpose. We should not have let bold advertising interfere with that, but the experiment is over. Moving forward, we’re keeping our day jobs while maintaining an open discussion on how to bring in additional revenue sources so we can keep spreading awesome. One company that we’ve got our eyes on is The Deck. Rather than pay a cost per click, they sell ads on a monthly basis to brands that fit your content and they seem to truly value engagement of your readers rather than the number of site visits. That’s definitely more our speed and hopefully, we’ll make some magic together.

What are your thoughts on blogs with ad models? Do you find yourself relating to a lot of the content thrown in your face? What are your favorite sites that have a good balance between advertising and content? Let us know!

It was 1998 and I was doing music pr for Tristeza, a band who lived upstairs from my closet of a bedroom in San Diego. The day they were leaving for tour, they asked if I wanted to jump in the van. Hmm…a free, cross-country adventure with bands, booze and good friends? Yes, please. I packed a quick bag and twenty-seven hundred miles and several taco smells later, I was in Austin, Texas to experience my first SXSW.  By 11Am, I was at Stubb’s getting handed free BBQ and Shiners, watching Modest Mouse and locations of the next five parties. After the keg went dry, I popped around the corner for some tamales with Tim Kasher. About two hot bites in, I signed his new project, The Good Life to my record label.  From there we strolled down 6th Street, caught an acoustic set by Neil Young, a surprise performance by the Beastie Boys and tasted my favorite guacamole at Iron Cactus. Fast forward 12 years and I no longer come to SXSW for the music. Now it’s an all-out nerd fest and one of my favorite weekend’s of the year. This year, I’m helping Etsy produce a series of workshops and craft labs (handmade music, turn your ugly SXSW tote bag inside out and learn how to screen-print, button-making, DIY hangover kits and a social media meetup). On Sunday, I’ll be speaking on a panel about creating deeper connections both online and offline. It’s part of the Texas Style Council Conference and you should totally come by and say hello. From there, I’m heading to the 3rd Annual Girl/Guy Party, hosted by Kirtsy and Alltop. Holiday Matinee is a sponsor so cruise by to get your beer, bbq, bands and bowling fix. Who knows, Guy Kawasaki might be droppin’ tweets in cowboy boots. Only at SouthBy, it’s a total circus and you don’t sleep but completely worth it. Final advice? Screw the iPad2 and get your ass to the Driskill for happy hour. I’m heading there now.

You can be sure to find me standing dumbstruck at the intersection of technology and art. I am in awe of projects born from the desire to creatively express some technical detail of our daily lives. This can probably be best summed up by the video below, created by Timo Arnall, Jørn Knutsen and Einar Sneve Martinussen. They have found a way to unveil the invisible world of WiFi networks through long-exposure photography. Watch, and be amazed. [via YOUrban]

Can bad advice be good? When it’s written using gorgeous type on a wood background, it can be. What terrible advice would you submit to this website?

To admit I like Donald Glover just a little bit would be an understatement. But instead of picking apart the intricacies of his latest Childish Gambino EP (it’s straight crack per usual) I thought I’d just explain what I can’t get enough of. For people like me and all you creatives out there, he’s made rap relevant again. Street life is something I don’t (and sure hope to never) relate to, but mention your work being your playtime and you’ve got my ear. Witty pop culture lyrics mentioning Twitter, Ariel Pink and The Social Network? Yes please. Overcoming self-doubt and pressing on with faith it’s all going to pay off? Hell yes! It’s something that feels like it was written for me and to cap it off the dude’s been totally real and human discussing a frenetic work pace and the roller-coaster feelings of a creative lifestyle. So enjoy this totally free EP you can download here and I promise I’m going to shut the hell up about Donald Glover… you know unless I get to interview him or something.

Childish Gambino – Lights Turned On