Ben Padnos

Birthers and the Republican Party

Ben Padnos — Wed, 11 May 2011 04:36:04 +0000

I was recently explaining to a friend that I didn’t leave the Republican Party — the Republican Party left me.

Want more proof?

Results of a survey conducted by Public Policy Polling of Raleigh, North Carolina reports that of 2012 Republican primary voters, 52% still either think Obama was born outside the United States or aren’t sure.

One particular friend tells me I’m guilty of characterizing the entire GOP with the positions of the fringe extremists. But this poll proves exactly my point: fringe, extremist positions are often held by a majority of voters in the Republican Party.

So to all Republican readers of my blog, I just want to congratulate you on the company you keep.

Launch of 3 New Sites

Ben Padnos — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 02:51:28 +0000

Announcing the launch of three new sites: Cardiologist.com, Gynecologists.com, and Urologists.com.

Please stay tuned for more updates about these and other new sites joining our network!

NCAA Tournament 2011

Ben Padnos — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 23:15:50 +0000

Great to see the Michigan Wolverines back in the NCAA Tournament!

In reading about Michigan’s history in the tournament, I came across a very interesting blog post last night about President Bill Clinton writing a personal letter to Michigan’s Chris Webber after C-Webb made the fateful “Time Out” call against North Carolina.

I was a freshman @ U-M when the “Fab Five” were all sophomores. And I was in New Orleans for the NCAA Championship game when it all went down.

I remember how devastated Webber was at the time. Obviously, there’s no turning back the clock in life, but it was a pretty neat gesture by the President!

Welcome Back Audioo!

Ben Padnos — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 04:59:39 +0000

My friend Ryan Born, CEO of Audio Micro, licensed Audioo from DONE! Ventures in early 2010. He attempted to breathe new life into the business by shifting the site from a general collection of all things audio to a focus on voice mails.

Ryan’s initial efforts were very successful. We were selected as a finalist for TechCrunch Disrupt, one of only 20 companies chosen, and the publicity and enthusiasm around Audioo’s re-launch led to over 50,000 visits in both June and July…up from just a trickle of visitors. (As I wrote last May, we didn’t win, but it was a tremendous thrill to be one of the very few companies who made the cut!)

Fast forward a little less than a year, and, as it happens in entrepreneurland, Ryan got busy with other aspects of his company. Priorities shifted. He was able to close an additional round of funding to expand his “stock licensing” business from simply stock music and sound effects into four additional verticals: cartoons, infographics, celebrity photos, and tattoos. Ryan announced these new properties in February at the Launch conference in San Francisco. And less than two weeks later, Ryan exercised his option to return Audioo back to me. So, I’m back in control, and will give it another go!

Thinking back to the early days of Audioo reminds me of the exchange I had with the founders of a podcasting directory service called Odeo. The team running Odeo, led by a guy named Evan Williams, weren’t all that excited about podcasting — neither were many users, for that matter — and were considering selling Odeo to focus on a project they were calling “Twttr”…you know it today as Twitter!

Ha!

Final Tally from Mid-Term Elections

Ben Padnos — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 22:48:46 +0000

I predicted “62″ and “8″ for Republican pick-ups in the US House of Representatives and Senate, and it’s looking like 63 in the House, and 6 in the Senate.

Not bad! (I’ll bet this was as accurate or better than all of those talking heads on CNN!)

Frankly, Nevada and Colorado were winnable races for the Republicans, but they put up extremist candidates in Sharron Angle and Ken Buck, and they lost two seats because of it.

There’s just no room for moderates in today’s Republican Party.

Prediction Time…

Ben Padnos — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 21:52:27 +0000

There’s going to be a giant RED TIDAL WAVE in the mid-term elections today with Republicans re-gaining control of the US House of Representatives and picking up numerous seats in the US Senate.

My instinct is that it’s going to be worse for the Democrats than their expectations. I predict the Republicans will gain:

62 seats in the House

8 seats in the Senate

I was pretty spot on with my predictions in the November 2008 election. Let’s see how my crystal ball fares this time around…

A Good Reminder

Ben Padnos — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 06:24:18 +0000

I feel like I have a pretty good perspective on how lucky I am in all aspects of my life, but I saw someone tweet a link to this and thought it was a good reminder…

John Wooden (1910 – 2010)

Ben Padnos — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 20:07:35 +0000

As an Internet entrepreneur, subject to all sorts of wild swings, I particularly appreciate this quote from legendary basketball coach John Wooden: “All of life is peaks and valleys. Don’t let the peaks get too high and the valleys too low.”

I’m thinking good thoughts for Coach Wooden’s family, friends, and millions of admirers around the world.

He was a very special man.

Audioo a Finalist in Startup Battlefield @ TechCrunch Disrupt!

Ben Padnos — Mon, 24 May 2010 22:56:24 +0000

Hello from New York City!

I’m here @ the TechCrunch Disrupt conference and am excited to share the news that Audioo has been selected as a “finalist” to compete here in the “Startup Battlefield”.

We’ve been selected out of hundreds — and possibly thousands — of applicants to present to the nearly 2,000 attendees for a chance to win $50,000.

Read all about it here and here!

The competition is fierce and this truly is one of those things where we’re “just happy to be here”. But as the original Founder of Audioo, I’m extremely honored and proud!

I Choose Optimism

Ben Padnos — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 08:50:22 +0000

Followers of my blog know the Republican Party drove me away years ago, and I’ve watched with disgust — and concern — the expansion of fear-mongering scare-tactics they use to push their agenda.

For me, the GOP no longer represents America as the “shining city upon a hill” as Ronald Reagan inspirationally declared. Where President Obama is a symbol of hope and aspiration, empathy and optimism, competence and confidence, the GOP leaders carry the torch for anger and dissention, fear and negativity, exclusion and intolerance. Obama is about what’s possible; the Republicans focus on what’s wrong.

Positive attitudes are contagious. Negative ones are malignant.

It’s not just a coincidence that the stock market is up 70% from the March 2009 lows, that consumer confidence is on the rise and the economy is finally creating jobs again.

Things are simply better for Americans since Barack Obama took office.

Consciously or subconsciously, a lot of people are responding to Obama’s leadership in very positive ways.

For the vocal minority of naysayers and stone-throwers the media is transfixed on: You can continue looking at the President’s message and record cynically and scornfully — there’s probably nothing Obama will ever do to change your mind. But if you’re right and Obama is unsuccessful, do you prosper? Is America’s decline really a win? What does “being right” get you?

When I think about the future for my 3-year old son and my unborn daughter — she’s due August 10 — I can’t help but hope my optimistic vision for the future comes true!