rebelutionary
Mike Cannon-Brookes on Java, J2EE, OSX, Open Source, Australia, Atlassian, Bug Tracking, JIRA and more...

Monday, 27 May 2002

Most of the time Amazon's recommendations are spot on - stuff that I would buy (or probably have already). Sometimes you get recommended stuff that you have no idea how it got recommended like today Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls. What I want is a "why was I recommended this?" button. 11:58:54 PM  comment []      Another fascinating piece from Scott - I like watching people's minds work as they think up ideas like this. I think up ideas like this, I'm just never near enough my laptop to get them down, nor have the skill to communicate them so concisely. I need to 'exercise my writing muscle' more (to steal a phrase from Joel). Blogging and a Gift Economy for Appreciation or If I were Jeff Bezos...: "You may be thinking "Amazon Tip Jar". My gut feeling is that gifts are different from cash. And gifts give you the opportunity to direct the blog content in ways you might like to see it go." 11:56:47 PM  comment []      Maurice Maeterlinck. "When we lose one we love, our bitterest tears are called forth by the memory of hours when we loved not enough." [Adam Curry] 11:44:24 PM  comment []      HP is a very big company indeed: "But hey, you can't make an omelette without breaking some eggs. This old French proverb made famous in the wider world by Josef Stalin, is apposite, as the merger appears predicated on some weird Marxist determinist world view." 5:06:21 PM  comment []      bigempty.com - I agree with ev - awesome photography. [evhead] 4:52:06 PM  comment []      Niki Scevak: Dead Wood Words or the People's Publisher?: "The key for corporations looking to experiment with weblogs is to understand their unique characteristics: diary-like lexicon, linear perishable content and contextual subject matter." As always, Niki is metaphorical, precise and cuts through the crap most Australian IT publications put out. I'm not sure I'd call myself an aspiring writer - but it's good to see publicity none the less. There was also an article in the weekend AFR about blogs (c/o Anthony) [australia.internet.com] 2:52:41 PM  comment []      Fuzzygroup :: Marketing Software When You Are A Small Company: "Marketing is the creation of demand for a product or service. Sales is the execution of strategies that fulfill demand. For example, you send out a bulk email about your product to a targeted list. That's marketing -- you are creating demand. When fifty replies come back that need to be individually answered, that's sales. When you follow up on those fifty replies three weeks later to see if you can answer additional questions then you have a good sales program." Simply stated, clear and concise. What more could you ask? The stuff on licensing policies reminds me of Information Rules which is still the seminal work on the economics of information - participating, selling and buying in information markets (software, hardware, telecommunications and the Internet economy). One of the best books I've ever read. 1:09:32 PM  comment []      Video Game League on the Verge. "The Cyberathlete Professional League receives a much-needed $45 million cash infusion, a commitment from Intel and exposure from ESPN. But will anybody watch?" Professional video games - fascinating. As extreme sports were the new 'event' of the 90's, could these be the games of the 00's? [Wired News] 10:38:12 AM  comment []      "Playtime is over": The week in review: Playing for keeps. An early price war sets the tone for a major gaming industry conference, with major players pulling out the big guns to show that playtime is over. [CNET News.com] 10:36:12 AM  comment []      Forbes.com: Pulled in a New Direction: A great article about Dell's future - the PC battle is over, Dell has won. Now the incessant march towards commoditisation of all things digital is forcing Dell to look at applying it's trademark cost-cutting strategies to networking equipment, storage solutions and even services. Good read. 10:21:40 AM  comment []      Looks like we can claim back most of our JavaOne expenses through AusTrade via the Export Market Development Grants. You have to spend $10,000 at a time promoting your Australian product overseas, and can claim back 50% of each $1000 over $15,000 in a two year period. Interesting and good to know for Australian technology companies! 10:12:00 AM  comment []      Scott Johnson talking about the instant feedback loop he's created for his Marketing 101 book with his blog: "Brave New World, Folks, Brave New World." He told me about the book in an email, I'll read over it and let you all know what I think - from the exerpt it seems exactly what we need for JIRA right now. 10:01:27 AM  comment []      Emma Tom: Aussie's snub chic, glamourous UK nightclub Miss Moneypenny's. Australians, you see, are not responding to Miss Moneypenny's brand values of "style, glamour, elegance and exclusivity" in quite the way they're supposed to. Instead of trying desperately to make the grade, they've raised a tatty middle finger and told Scott and his club to "Get f---ed' (for want of a more stylish, glamorous, elegant and exclusive expression). "Sydney is the hardest market we've ever encountered," he says grimly. "Glamour seems to be perceived as pretentious here." They just sound like a bunch of whining British wankers to me. You can't easily 'import' glamour (especially with a brand so few Australians have heard of). [anthonyjhicks.com] 9:11:38 AM  comment []