Tuesday, May 13, 2003

Tubular Blogging There's a new feature from Sarah Lane on Tech TV's The Screen Savers: "Welcome to the Blog Report." [Bag and Baggage] Nice! 12:33:11 PM

Corporate blogs make personal connection Corporate blogs make personal connection. B-to-b marketers seeking more direct conversations with their customers have begun turning to that most personal of forums: the Weblog. Corporate Weblogs aren't exactly sweeping the marketing world, but early adherents say they offer real power to connect with increasingly message-wary -- and message-weary -- audiences in a new and engaging way... [bBlog: A sales, marketing and business weblog | XPLANE] [John Lawlor: blogs4business] OK, enough bluster. Now we need to start highlighting good examples of effective marketing-supportive weblogs. 12:31:46 PM

Fostering Systemic Creativity Leadership: Fostering Systemic Creativity Quote:"Our idea of management had to change from one of command and control, which closes down creative thought in the ranks, to one of coaching, which opens it up. Our leaders learned as a body to listen to and appreciate the ideas of the people in this company." Comment: We need (urgently) similar attitude shifts in education. [elearnspace blog] Amen. 12:30:36 PM

Corante Goes RSS! I'm going to have to find a new site to pick on because the Corante posse has hopped on the RSS bandwagon! Full feeds for all of their great blogs, which I will now actually read! Thanks, Corante!! "In news we hope you'll appreciate: Corante now offers RSS for its blogs! Ad Hominem Amateur Hour The Bottom Line Brain Waves Connected Copyfight Corante on Blogging Got Game IdeaFlow In the Pipeline Living Code Many-to-Many Moore's Lore Open Mind We'll be adding links to them from the respective pages over the course of the day - please alert me to any hiccups you encounter. Huge thanks to the WebCrimson crew!" [The Shifted Librarian] About friggin time! For someone who blazed a trail with online microcontent, Corante was far too slow to accept the absolute necessity of RSS, fighting it really. Glad that struggle is over... and hopefully they don't feel like they lost, because in reality we have all won here! 12:29:39 PM

The NetDisk A couple of new network attached storage devices from XiMeta. The NetDisk Portable and the NetDisk Removable are basically external hard drives with Ethernet ports that connect directly to a local area network rather than to a PC so that anyone on the network can access the files within. With home networks multiplying, network storage drives like these (and the wireless NetDrive from Martian) should prove to be pretty popular. Read [Gizmodo] For local area storage, this is yummy. I wonder, though, how I could utilize such easy plug-and-store for continuously expanding my online content? In other words, how would my web server access and serve content from another device on the LAN? 12:27:43 PM

RIP: E-mail Marketing I'm putting together an invitation-only seminar on the death of e-mail marketing and am currently seeking partnerships and a local place to present it to people (in the Bay Area). Let me know if you can or want to be involved - or if you can deliver a specific location within a month. Thanks!... [C:PIRILLO.EXE ~ Chris Pirillo] Count me in! Too bad this weblog entry doesn't also act as a formal RSVP... 12:26:08 PM

Blogging On Microsoft's Radar Says Bill Gates Blogging's on BillG's Radar Screen. Blogging's on BillG's Radar Screen Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates noted at yesterday's Newspaper Association of America Annual Convention that Microsoft is very interested in making sure blogging tools are there to support folks doing "bottom-up publishing." [via Microsoft Watch from... [tins ::: Rick Klau's weblog] [John Lawlor: blogs4business] This tidbit caused quite a stir in the weblog community over the weekend, as various affects wondered which standard, if any, MS would follow. Too bad the state of standards for RSS and weblogs are already in disarray... prime time for a huge player to come in a "restore order". Ug. 12:24:35 PM

Jurors' web-surfing is a problem Before the Internet arose, judges would caution jurors not to read about the case in the newspaper. But most trials weren't covered by newspapers so this really wasn't a problem; and in the high-profile cases that were likely to be covered by the press the jurors were usually sequestered for the duration of the trial. In the world of the Internet, we are learning that mere admonishments may not do the trick. Or another way of looking at it is that perhaps the judicial admonishment never really worked; it was the fact that the information was not so easily available that kept jurors from doing independent research. So, here again we have one of those situations with the Internet where it is completely changing a previously closed world, showering it with the possibility of easy access to information, and thereby disrupting the way it operates. How long will it take the legal system to see the fundamental impossiblilty of limiting juror access to the Internet? Probably a long time.[Ernie the Attorney] The test for a fair and impartial trial must be redefined in an increasingly wired world. Changes of venue are already on the decline... 12:22:40 PM

New Bluetooth headset from Sony Ericsson New Bluetooth cellphone headset from Sony Ericsson: The new HBH-35 is a replacement for the popular HBH-30 and improves upon the device by getting a power boost. The new HBH-35 weighs the same as the older model, 28g, but sports up to 5 hours of talk time and 5 days of standby time - easily the best on the market, if the claims hold true. Supposedly will work with any Bluetooth-enabled device that supports the Headset or Handsfree profiles. Which is great, since the lack of compatibility between headsets and phones of different companies has been a big headache for many users. Read [Gizmodo] Dangit! I want one of these but my Nokia phone just takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin! Then again, getting a new phone these days is alot like getting a new TV... you can't just get a new TV, you need HiDef, a DVD player, surround sound amp, speakers... Same with the phone: you need a computer with BlueTooth to sync, a BlueTooth headset, camera or no camera... 12:19:25 PM

Accessibility Blog Macromedia's Bob Regan now has a blog on the subject of accessibility. If you're interested in Section 508 / Accessibility, you should subscribe to this new blog.... [An Architect's View] Paulette may be interested in this from a legal perspective. 12:09:46 PM

Local Government Goes RSS RSS and eGovernment "Brian Sweeting runs the Spanish Fork City web portal. He announced today that RSS feeds are available for city news and upcoming events. This is a great application of XML to eGovernment. I don't know of another government using RSS in this way, but its surprising that they all aren't since its so easy to do. Brian used an RSS generator from Stargeek. If you want the whole calendar, I recommend PHPiCalendar since it does the calendar and the RSS feed all in one." [Windley's Enterprise Computing Weblog] My home library is helping build a community web site that will include blogging and (hopefully) RSS, so I definitely want to look over what Spanish Fork is doing. Very nicely done! [The Shifted Librarian] Governments across the country continue to march forward with RSS. This is great news for our democracy. 12:08:34 PM

ThreadsML.org ThreadsML. Yay, David Weinberger has put up the ThreadsML web site. Discussions around ThreadsML, and hard work on getting QT Pro... [Blur Circle] If you're into the future of conversations - then come on over and check out the posts, Wiki and on-going development of a new data structure for interchangeable threads and APIs to go along with it. It's fun! [Marc's Voice] This looks very good. More than a year ago, my bro Steve was quick to tackle the issue of threading weblog entries across weblogs, since he wanted to see how our entries intertwined. ThreadsML might offer a solution that everyone can work with. 12:06:57 PM

It's not the End of Email, But Watch RSS Grow EmailSherpa: Exclusive Michael Wexler Interview Part II: The Future of Email Marketing & Publishing e-Dialog's Michael Wexler has been researching email metrics and use ever since he worked for then-start-up Hotmail. Now, in Part II of our exclusive interview he shares insights on: The problem with requiring confirmed subscriptions Landing pages that convert more clicks Why does Hotmail kill your hotlinks at five minutes? The future of email - retro-Pointcast? [marketingfix] I wonder what TonyG thinks of the constant references to PointCast when people try to grok RSS and weblogs... 12:05:07 PM

Macromedia Press Release RSS Feed A new RSS feed went live today - http://www.macromedia.com/go/news_rss - this provides an outline of the current news items from the ticker on the home page of macromedia.com. Feel free to provide feedback as comments here.... [An Architect's View] Excellent! How soon before most major tech companies add an RSS feed to their PR sites? 12:02:53 PM

Watson TuneFinder Watson TuneFinder: This looks like a great little application, if you need a particular problem solved: "I've got this melody stuck in my head; what th'heck is the tune?" The methodology is to accept input of the first few notes,... [JD on MX] What I don't get is, why isn't TuneFinder a Watson plugin? Isn't this the sort of niche function that Watson was designed to encapsulate? I wonder if Dan Wood is going to be able to leverage his fifteen minutes into something enduring...? 12:02:01 PM

Here's your $32 idea: wave your receipt... Here's your $32 idea: wave your receipt (for whatever) in front of the camera to automatically digitize and import into quicken. Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. [Steve Zellers] Now wait, that's not such a bad idea. First, create a ReceiptML vocabulary (date, store, items, etc...), choose a barcode standard, then print the receipt data in ReceiptML as a bar code on the receipt itself. Stores already do this for their own entry and tracking purposes. If stores could standardize, then consumers could also leverage the system for exactly the scenario described above! 12:00:22 PM

RSS and CSS From News Reader Clients : "One of my concerns about using an aggregator is that I like visiting folk's blogs. The variety of designs complement the actual words of the blog. The plain text, rendered in a soul-less, consistently bland format as viewed using a newsreader is really not the same thing. With newzreader it appears I can easily view the actual page, not just the summary, either using the built-in browser or in my browser of choice." It would be nice to find a way to combine CSS with RSS output. Working on a specification would be very hard though and I don't expect to see anything anytime soon. Since NewsMonster has CSS2 support from Mozilla it would be easy to support this. ... [peerfear.org - Don't fear the peer!] My view is that news aggregators should be very rich indeed. blog entries should look just like their web counter-parts. Someday, i want to aggregate not only news (text) but music, TV ads, TV shows, and movies, too! 11:57:58 AM

Lunar Eclipse Remember to look up on Thursday night at around 7pm PST for a full lunar eclipse. Totality's at 8.14pm. [raelity bytes] FYI 11:56:07 AM

What Is Knowledge Continuity Management? The answer is provided by Anne Field in this HBSWK article, Thanks for the (Corporate) Memories. Knowledge continuity management is an offshoot of the field of knowledge management. Where knowledge management concerns capturing and sharing know-how valuable to colleagues performing similar jobs throughout a company, knowledge continuity management focuses on passing critical knowledge from exiting employees to their replacements. And why is it critical to practice it? Essentially for two reasons: first, downsizings; but more importantly because baby boomers are going to retire in droves in the coming years. So what to do to keep your expertise alive inside your company when workers leave? Field guides you step by step to a detailed plan. Here are the seven steps of her plan. Create a knowledge profile Foster mentoring relationships Encourage communities of practice Ensure that passing knowledge on is rewarded Protect people's privacy Decide whether you're interested in recorded knowledge as well And don' forget: Start small Please read the full article for more details. And if you are involved in the field, you might want to read Continuity Management: Preserving Corporate Knowledge and Productivity When Employees Leave, from Hamilton Beazley, Jeremiah Boenisch and David Harden, published by Wiley. Source: Anne Field, for Harvard Business School Working Knowledge, May 12, 2003 [Roland Piquepaille's Technology Trends] Gosh, I've been using the term "knowledge management" and meaning "knowledge continuity" all along. I think about all the people who have worked at Apple, all the research and prototypes built, all gone to waste when those people walked out the door for (greener) pastures. Yet, somehow, Apple is mining their knowledge base to resurrect old projects like Piles. Ah, it was the patent application that kept it alive. 11:55:35 AM

Does GPS tracking require a warrant? The Seattle PI has a story about William Bradley Jackson, who was convicted partially on evidence that was collected by a GPS tracking device police had attached to his vehicle. The Washington State Supreme Court is set to decide whether police agencies throughout the state may use the device freely -- without a warrant. The Jackson case is the first in the state dealing with the issue. [Smart Mobs] Wow, what a great legal question! Can they simply follow him around without a warrant? Can they automate that without a warrant? What is the expectation of privacy when traveling in public property? 11:50:49 AM

Bluetooth GPS receiver Another new Bluetooth gadget today: a Bluetooth GPS receiver from PalmTop. The TomTom Navigator Bluetooth GPS is designed for use with Pocket PCs, but will also work with laptops and a few Bluetooth-enabled cellphones like Sony Ericsson's P800 and Nokia's 7650 and 3650. These Bluetooth GPS receivers are great because you don't have to actually connect them to your PDA, and instead just carry it around in a bag or leave it somewhere in your car. Read [Gizmodo] All I want now is a consumer-focused digital camera with BlueTooth, so that it can GPS stamp each photo! Oh so tantalizingly close...! 11:48:29 AM

RSS and News aggregators I've totally been disabused of my enthusiasm with RSS and news aggregators. This is after trying a variety of products, one paid for some time. I've come to the conclusion, at least for now, that whilst RSS is a great syndication format and the idea of a news aggregator is very much something I'd like to use, it just isn't there yet for my purposes. The major problem for me comes down to the following: Too many sources. When I hit over 100 different sources of information, the products become unusable. Too little time. Desktop news aggregators punish you for not being fanatical about keeping up with the latest. If you stop reading for a few days, you have a huge number of unread posts which simply get marked as read. Anything useful from that source gets skipped. Lack of emergent categorisation. Folders are a great metaphor but they are over-used. All the aggregators want me to tell them what a pariticular source is about and want me to make sure that's the place for them in future. Never mind most sources are rarely about a single-topic and I usually want to read about some area at a time. Lack of emergent prioritisation. There's no way for me to know what's worth reading and what's not. A combination of the author's own prioritisation (like email) plus a network indicator of importance would help me filter out the important items when in a rush or with an excessive backlog. Lack of a decent outliner, archiver and integration with other communication tools. Reading news is not a one-way process for me. I need to make notes, shuffle things for later consideration, pass them on to friends, integrate them with email, blog them, code them and scribble little stick men on them. For the most part, aggregators are very poor at most of these tasks and require a third-party app for what they do provide which is usually just email forwarding. Lack of clarity of RSS usage. Each source provides something different which is fine for the source but annoying for me. Some provide full posts (or provide a full post feed). Some comments. Some images and full markup. Some just text. All this is fine except my usage of a news aggregator has to be continually supplemented with a browser. Yet another desktop programme. I've got too many apps which are trying to wire me up with the network, allow me to do programming or just keeping my system usable. So I routinely clean out anything from my system or my daily usage which doesn't add value to my life. That is after a good period of geeky playing with it. Now, news aggregators just don't add more value than a browser and blogroll. I need a browser. My aggregator usually makes me use it. Google makes me use it and Google is my friend (sometimes my best friend). My documentation for various technologies make me use it. Anything with decent media makes me use it. By comparison the news aggregator is less than essential. So that's my rant about news aggregators. I hope some day I'll get what I'm looking for but I'm not really going to adopt this new information pull mechanism in preference to the browser. [MonkeyX - Hairy Thoughts] A very nice summary of the problems with the current crop of news aggregators. I completely agree. Interesting that he implies that a news aggregator should replace his web browser, and I've been thinking along similar lines. The first incarnation of the web involved "browsing" which was novel in and of itself. The next generation must be much more productive, and should be focused on automated and intelligent information retrieval. 11:46:39 AM

Rich Media Continues to Expand ClickZ: Why Rich Media Is Suddenly Everywhere. According to this article, the expansion of rich media being tied to the expansion of broadband is incorrect. The real reasons rich media have expanded are as follows: Flash Player Penetration Rich Media Proven to Increase Branding and Direct Response Falling (and irrelavance of) Click Through Rates Industry Layoffs Left the FOrward Thinking Ones Behind Publishers Need The Increased Revenue Rich Media Can Bring [marketingfix] I don't agree. All the points listed above were true last year, and perhaps even the year before. Here's an excerpt from the referenced article: The real question is, "Why?" Why did rich media finally achieve prominence? Why now? This is a sore point for me. Broadband adoption has soared over the past few years. Certainly, it hasn't penetrated as quickly or deeply as some predicted, but it's made huge gains. Broadband is a factor in rich media adoption, but its effect is more psychological. And there is the key factor: the appearance that broadband is here means that creatives and ad clients are willing to pursue rich media over simpler techniques. The feedback loop is complete. The chicken-or-egg problem is gone, and now it's simply a matter of growth. 11:19:49 AM