I’m not sure what they thought we were supposed to “feel” for them in this NY Times piece. But all I felt after reading this was…

What a bunch of rich unhappy losers.

As you can probably tell, I don’t value money as my life’s goal as many other do. Perhaps this is why I’m not filthy rich. But perhaps this is also why I can honestly say that I truly believe that having money makes things easier… but in no way makes you happy. Me at least.

Mr. Steger, 51, a self-described geek, has banked more than $2 million. The $1.3 million house he and his wife own on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean is paid off. The couple’s net worth of roughly $3.5 million places them in the top 2 percent of families in the United States.

Yet each day Mr. Steger continues to toil in what a colleague calls “the Silicon Valley salt mines,” working as a marketing executive for a technology start-up company, still striving for his big strike. Most mornings, he can be found at his desk by 7. He typically works 12 hours a day and logs an extra 10 hours over the weekend.

“I know people looking in from the outside will ask why someone like me keeps working so hard,” Mr. Steger says. “But a few million doesn’t go as far as it used to. Maybe in the ’70s, a few million bucks meant ‘Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,’ or Richie Rich living in a big house with a butler. But not anymore.”

12-hour days and working weekends is ridiculous, I don’t care how much money you’re making. More at livedigitally.

Final thought. Do you think maybe the NY times piece was too one-sided and really made these people look bad? I’m wondering if that is the case.

Watch the video here.

The Big Brown Box project just went live. Check it out, in less than an hour of it going live, the big brown box has over $13,200 worth of stuff in it. Including a $1700 Dell XPS gaming laptop.

Want to put something in the big brown box? It’s easy, find out more here.

Here are the first four items in the big brown box.

Item #4: $10,000 Web Traffic Package From Jon At Wickedfire Forums!
Item #3: $500 Podcast Design Consultation from David Lawrence
Item #2: $1000 Professional Logo Design Package
Item #1: Dell XPS Laptop Valued at $1700

So What Is The Big Brown Box?

The best way to know what the big brown box project is, is to read this page.

Questions???

What kind of stuff can I send in for the big brown box?

What kind of stuff DON’T you want in the big brown box?

Am I donating these things I send in for the big brown box? Will I ever get them back?

How do I know what you’ll accept into the big brown box?

When will the big brown box fill up & what will happen to it?

Are you guys gonna just steal my stuff?

So if you put my item in the big brown box do I get a link on your site?

We’re almost done with BigBrownBox.com. Just wrapping up some final touches on content and rules. Here’s our logo.

Will you be ready for the Big Brown Box? What’s in the Big Brown Box? Stay tuned.

Perhaps you need some convincing yet still? Ok, let’s try to jam a few things into your brain from a NewYorkTimes article today. I’ll pull out the points that need to stick in your head.

But most of YouTube’s licensing deals have been done quietly. It says it has firmed up more than 1,000 partnerships with content owners ranging from the Sundance Channel to small independent video producers.

Are you hearing what they are saying here? Small independent video producers are/could be you. Case in point, they specifically mention AskTheBuilder.com, a home-improvement site built by Tim Carter. ATB isn’t a giant media company. ATB isn’t a huge corporation. ATB is Tim doing videos out of his home that help people.

Advertisers want that.

“We are creating channels on YouTube for each of these content owners,” said Jordan Hoffner, the head of premium and information content partnerships. “Those who do deals with us will have an opportunity for monetization.”

Let me translate this for you. “Video is the future and those who produce videos will make a crap-load of money.”

Have you started doing videos yet? Why not?

Here’s a good resource to check out. The top Internet gurus are uploading their videos in one place for the world to see, all for free. Visit the Making Money Online video channel. Got a video? Upload it for free!

Well, well, well. Shmuly made it into the New York Times, with a lead in on Techmeme today.

As Sam points out, “traditional walls between media, content and creation are crumbling all around us”. Yep, and this is further, real, proof of that.

No one would mistake the Ask a Jew guy for Lonelygirl15, but these days YouTube contributor Shmuel Tennenhaus is feeling like a hot commodity.

Mr. Tennenhaus, an aspiring comedy writer who gained a modest following on YouTube for his droll question-and-answer clips and other spots featuring his grandmother “Bubby,” is being wooed by the site’s competitors, including Metacafe, ManiaTV and others, with promises of guaranteed exposure, a share of advertising money, or both.

“It’s all very odd,” said Mr. Tennenhaus, speaking from Hallandale, Fla. His YouTube channel, Oneparkave, has logged roughly 32,000 visits and a few hundred subscribers since last fall. “My parents say I’m special, but I can’t imagine I’m the only guy they’re contacting.”

It’s not odd to me Shmuly. From the time we added you to our blogging list at ReveNews last year, I always knew you “had it”. The question is now, how far can you “take it”?