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Interview: Funny guys Chris and Mike of The Daily Blink webcomic
Readers of our Sunday Morning Funnies will immediately recognize the wry mockery of The Daily Blink webcomic. It's all over the web of Warcraft. So are its creators; "great guys" is the phrase you'll hear over and over again. Chris Hanel and Mike Owen are funny guys, too -- and because they're both also rather talkative guys, we'll hop right into our exclusive interview with the creators of this popular World of Warcraft webcomic. WoW Insider: For keeping us laughing with The Daily Blink, you guys have obviously added up a lot more than 15 minutes of fame under your own steam. How did The Daily Blink come to wink into existence? Chris Hanel: The idea of The Daily Blink grew out of this because I'd opened up my screenshots directory to Photoshop a wallpaper for my guild and spotted a shot I'd taken of Katrana Prestor standing next to Prince Wrynn, and started mentally writing an Onion article-type joke in my head. I ended up doing that instead of the guild wallpaper, made a couple more, and then started posting them on the blog. I posted four, left the blog shortly after due to lack of time, and then quickly forgot about the idea for a few years. It was an idea without a home. The strip actually became what it is now in January 2010, when I finally got back on the horse and decided to give it a full and earnest shot as a regular webcomic. I had a coworker, CP, who worked with me on it as a cowriter for that first year before our company closed and we parted ways. That was also right about the time I met Mike.
Former iAd executive Mike Owen moves to AdColony
Mike Owen, who worked at Apple on iAd, has left the company to join the mobile video ad network AdColony. Owen was a senior manager in the New York office for iAd, but is now one of three recent high-profile hires at AdColony. He's also one of a few big exits from Apple's iAd program, the others being former VP Andy Miller, and Larry Albright, both former Quattro executives who joined Apple when that company was acquired. Apple's iAd service has been having some trouble. The company is trying to provide premium ads to developers for their iOS apps, but high prices and low clickthroughs have made the business slow. That doesn't mean iAd is done, however. The company has also made a few big hires recently, and with Apple's cash reserves, iAd's got plenty of room to breathe as it finds both its audience and more clients.
