Saturday, August 24, 2002

Groove Blog Policy. Ray Ozzie has published his company's new weblog policy. It's a very interesting read and after my first initial reaction, I don't think I have many objections to what is said within. It's actually a surprisingly reasonable document having been written by a company lawyer. I'm sure the first draft was quite a bit more stringent, so good job Ray! Having said that, something I would like to have seen is a an acknowledgement of the free speech rights of the employee. Also, I do have a problem with the assumption that employees' blogs are mouthpieces for the company only because that employee stated the fact that they work for that company. And the veiled threats of employee agreements are quite disturbing. But basically if you think you're working for a company that might possibly sue you (because you explained in your blog a neat algorithm you thought of last night before bed - and your company decides they "own" that idea for example) then you obviously need to find another company now... I can't really fault Groove for writing this document and covering their asses. Lots of talk about quiet periods... Groove isn't POSSIBLY thinking about going public are they? Not that I don't like the company, but a one product company AGAIN? They'll probably go public so that Microsoft can do a share-swap or some other tax-avoiding deal to buy them outright. -Russ [Russell Beattie Notebook] 3:50:04 PM    trackback []     Articulate []

More about English. Moof got me going, so I asked Google and Google told me some cool things about the English language: How many words are there in the English language? What is the proportion of English words of French, Latin, or Germanic origin? Is it true that English has the most words of any language? What English words end in -dous? A Brief Look at the History of English Another Brief History of the English Language How Does a Word Get into the Dictionary? The "Another" history above has this bit, which I ADORE: Also significant beginning around 1600 AD was the English colonization of North America and the subsequent creation of a distinct American dialect. Some pronunciations and usages "froze" when they reached the American shore. In certain respects, American English is closer to the English of Shakespeare than modern British English is. Some "Americanisms" that the British decry are actually originally British expressions that were preserved in the colonies while lost at home (e.g., fall as a synonym for autumn, trash for rubbish, frame-up which was reintroduced to Britain through Hollywood gangster movies, and loan as a verb instead of lend). Did you see that? American English is actually CLOSER to Shakespeare (the god of all English writing) then modern British English. WONDERFUL. Don't think I'm not going to put that in my back pocket to pull out the next time I get corrected by some Brit... Now! The thing I want are the same items, but for Spanish! How many words, the history, etc. etc. (Once again, ask Google: Spanish language history). -Russ [Russell Beattie Notebook] 12:53:13 PM    trackback []     Articulate []

Employee Blogging Policy. Ray Ozzie has kindly shared Groove's first draft of an employee policy on blogging. If you choose to identify yourself as a company employee or to discuss matters related to the company’s technology or business on your website or weblog, please bear in mind that, although you and we view your website or weblog as a personal project and a medium of personal expression, some readers may nonetheless view you as a de facto spokesperson for the company. They go on to outline several guidelines to help employees understand what lines the company needs to draw. The guidelines seem very reasonable to me and should help employees understand what their employer may or may not be comfortable with. [High Context] 11:52:02 AM    trackback []     Articulate []

Taramania Wired News: "They're already calling her the Weblog Candidate." Tara Grubb gets some more good publicity. Props to Paul Boutin, the writer, for processing a lot of complex information quickly. I think the story is a little short on the Weblog angle, actually, but I understand that Wired needed to do some remedial work for people who haven't been following the whole P2P issue (which, by the way, I will revisit in my N&R column on Sunday.) Boutin notes that the digital rights issue will follow the chairmanship of Coble's subcommittee to another district, so that running against the man may be "futile." But it's not futile, there's a bigger picture. The next chairman is going to be in the bloglight from day one. Both the entertainment industry's dollars and the weblog network will follow the issue to that representative and his/her opponents. P2P is almost certainly not going to knock off Howard Coble , but that's not the point. The weblog has moved from talk to action. Using the Internet for politics is not new, and in Tara Grubb's case the weblog network may be a meaningful but not revolutionary step in the development of Web activism. But there is something else going on that may prove more important than the Berman-Coble bill: Tara Grubb has a weblog of her own. Unmediated, instantaneous, regularly updated, one-to-many-to-one communication from a candidate for the United States House of Representatives. Others candidates will surely follow. And others will surely not. Blogs are tools, not toys, and somebody could end a political career pretty damn fast by letting out some 2 AM brainfart onto the Web. Politicians will have to be careful with their weblogs...and yet the immediacy of the medium might allow some candidates to be less concerned with looking perfect every moment. A talented weblogger in a tight race, connecting to bloggers everywhere, is going to win an election, soon. [EdCone.com] 11:08:17 AM    trackback []     Articulate []