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Tuesday, January 06, 2004 |
Here are the features that I want to see on a weblog profile system (in process):
- A simple XML profile for public consumption.
- A simple XML profile that is password protected that includes
restricted profile information (contact information in particular).
- An easy-to-use profile publishing page on my weblog tool of
choice. I should be able to restrict on the form, via a simple
checkbox, any information I don't want to publish in the public domain.
- Spam free e-mail introductions (or an automated introduction
system that works via my dynamic weblog tool) where I can release my
restricted information to people I designate.
[John Robb's Weblog] 
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K-Logs: How Social Networking Software Helps and Where it Doesn't. M2M. David Weinberger critiques social networking software (rightly). My take: There isn't any magic in social networking software. The value this software provides is much more basic than many people think. Here's what it provides:
- It contains solid (but private) contact information on all members.
- Profiles are available on each member (on LinkedIn you can put in a resume).
- There is a safe, formal method of requesting contact with other members you don't know. This is like UserLand's spam free e-mail.
- The connection info (you know D through B and C) is more of a gimmick
than something that provides real value. There is a small amount of
comfort involved in knowing how you are connected to other people (you
can also get info on how many people they are connected to, which is
like a PageRank for social networks). This is the part of these
networks that confuses everyone.
- There is a search function for finding other members based on information in the profile (interests, company, job title, etc).
Now that we have demystified social networking software, let's think
about how to apply the features in an open system that works in
conjunction with weblogs. The current systems are too closed and
limited to be of much long term value. Here's my thinking:
- Solid information on weblog authors. It would be
great to have standardized weblog profile and contact information.
Currently, contact and profile information on weblogs, if it is there at all,
is all over the map. It really sucks. Sure, you can read what someone
is writing on their weblog, but you often need ESP to determine who
they are, what they do, etc.
- A safe way to share contact information. Way
too many people publish their e-mail address in the clear on the their
weblogs. There should be a way to restrict that (via a spam free e-mail
feature) that would allow the weblog's author to release solid contact
information (e-mail, phone, address) to readers that they authorize.
- Search!! This is a simple and powerful
feature. Want to find Microsoft or Google webloggers? Why wait for
someone to build a list that may or may not be out of date? A search
function on social networking profile information derived from weblogs
would solve this quickly and with much more accuracy than a random
Google search.
- Categorization. Have a look at Jon Udell's
lists of CXO webloggers on the right hand side of his weblog. How easy
would this be to create if you had solid contact information contained
in a social networking system. In fact, you could build directories on
the fly customized to your needs based on good profile information.
- Community and portability. The advent of open
profile information would allow people to create custom communities.
There is a lot of power in creating ad hoc communities of members using
this type of information. It could also be used to allow members of
that community to build contact lists in other applications (e-mail and
IM) that are constantly and automatically updated (a new role for
Newsgator -- creating auto updated contact lists for e-mail apps).
OK, this would be very, very easy to do in the weblog world if we start right now. All that is needed is a simple standard for an XML profile (as simple as RSS -- which only Dave
seems able to build) that can be published by weblog authors in a form
on their weblog tool of choice. If the vendors (UserLand, Blogger, and
SixApart) did this, within weeks sites like Feedster and Technorati
would have tools that took advantage of that information. This would
then usher in a whole new deluge of innovation similar to what we are
seeing in RSS today. Let's put Friendster out of business and open this
up. [John Robb's Weblog]
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Kuleshov and reframing: is it illegal to frame a picture?. My co-worker Jason Schultz has written a great LawGeek article about the way that copyright and the Kuleshov effect
(in which art can be made to mean opposing things throught framing or
recontextualizing) interact. The US courts have handed down some
jaw-droppingly stupid rulings on this matter, as it turns out, in
relation to a company called  Albuquerque ART.
ART specialized in buying up books and art-cards, cutting them up
and glueing them to tiles, then selling the tiles. This seems pretty
straightforward: if you buy
the book, you own it -- you should be able to glue the pages to
anything you care to and sell them on, provided that everyone concerned
knows that you're not selling the original deal, and provided that you
are actually buying and cutting up actual books, and not just buying
one copy and scanning it and running off fresh copies from your
laser-printer.
ART got sued by various people, and the courts handed down rulings that
said that while framing a picture isn't an infringement of the author's
copyright over derivative works, that really, really outre frames that
change the context do infringe -- the next time you think about getting a New Yorker cover framed for the toilet wall, think again:
The court cannot agree that permanently affixing a notecard to a
ceramic tile is not recasting, transforming or adapting the original
art work. Placing a print or painting in a frame and covering it with
glass does not recast or transform the work of art. It is commonly
understood that this amounts to only a method of display. Moreover, it
is a relatively simple matter to remove the print or painting and
display it differently if the owner chooses to do so. Neither of these
things is true of the art work affixed to a ceramic tile. Moreover,
tiles lend themselves to other uses such as trivets (individually) or
wall coverings (collectively).
Link [Boing Boing Blog]
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Burning Man + MSFT Flight Simulator = Duuuuude.
Bay Area-based artist Andrew Johnstone has created a digital, virtual,
and three-dimensional Black Rock City for Microsoft Flight Simulator
2002 and 2004 platforms.
[I]n the spirit of Burning Man's no-commerce, gift economy philosophy,
he's making his project available for free. One of Burning Man's mottos
is "participants only," and, fittingly, Johnstone's Virtual Playa
rewards active involvement. On his site, he provides free 3D building
tools that Burners can use to model a version of their own camp or art
project, which they can then upload and incorporate into the complete
Virtual Playa version available to everyone. If people want to design a
camp made from pre-fab pieces, he provides digital tents, domes, RVs,
U-Haul trucks and many of the other details.
"You can be your own Larry Harvey if you want. You can put whatever you
want in," says Johnstone. "They can scratch their playa itch in March
when they're not feeling very Burning Man."
Link to Wired News story [Boing Boing Blog]
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Bush in 30 Seconds finalists.
The Bush in 30 Seconds finalists are posted. This was the competition
to come up with a 30-second, Creative Commons-licensed political ad
exposing the Bush regime's failings, with the winning spot to be aired
in commercial slots bracketing the State of the Union address. Here's my favorite, but the other 14 finalists are also very good.
Link
(via Lessig) [Boing Boing Blog]
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Share and map your RSS reading list.
Dave Winer's created a service that maps out who reads what RSS feeds
-- just upload the OPML file from your RSS reader and it will add your
name to the list of subscribers for all the feeds in your rota. Cool to
see who's reading you, and who you're reading. Made me remember that I
have a bunch of blogs in my bookmark group that I haven't entered into
my RSS reader...
Link
(via Battelle) [Boing Boing Blog]
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© Copyright 2004 William J. Maya.
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