Reading "A Welsh View" this morning there was a post linking to the 25 most interesting webcams of 2005. One of the winners is PandaCam. I find it hard to disagree with the blurb at EarthCam, this has to be one of the most of the heartwarming webcams on the internet. I spent an uplifting hour or so this afternoon just watching Tai Shan playing in his feed tub.
The webpage also pointed out a forthcoming program on Animal Planet titled "A Panda is born" which follows the National Zoo's recent giant panda breeding efforts, culminating in Tai Shan's birth. I've set the Sky Plus Box (a UK version of TiVo) to record the program, it promises to be one of the highlights of the Christmas TV season.
The airing is at 7pm on New years Day in the UK, the webage says New Years Eve which I presume refers to when the program airs in the US.
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
It doesn't get much cuter than this
Panda Cub Tai Shan at the National Zoo in Washington, USA
If you have a minute, go and watch the video at the Washington Post.
Monday, December 26, 2005
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Outlook and RSS
As big as the blogosphere is today the RSS explosion yet to come requires two things:
(1) the killer application for reading feeds
(2) a simple, consistent and generally understood way of subscribing to feeds
Robert Scoble's recent post (reproduced below) links to the blog of a Program Manager on the Outlook team. Having had a look at the source post I believe that the basis of the killer feed reader is being built into Outlook. Robert points out that synchronisation across PC's would be a killer feature, as would the capability to post to your own blog from Outlook.
Michael Affronti is a program manager on Microsoft’s Outlook team and is starting to write about the future of Outlook. Here he’s writing about RSS Aggregation into Outlook 12. I haven’t yet played with this feature. One reason? I’m happily stuck in the NewsGator family of products due to its synchronization features. See, if I read a feed on NewsGator on my desktop PC (which, ironically enough, gives you similar features to Outlook 12 in today’s Outlook) it marks it as read on the Web service and also on NewsGator on my Tablet PC and also on my new SmartPhone (and soon it’ll be synchro’ed with NetNewsWire on the Macintosh and FeedDemon and RSS Bandit on Windows) and also on the Media Center PC that’ll soon run my home office (which is how I’ll display stuff on my HDTV screen at home when I get that next year).
It’s going to be very hard for me to give up NewsGator because of this synchronization. Hey, Michael, is Outlook 12’s aggregator gonna hook up to NewsGator?
That said, don’t underestimate the effect of Outlook 12’s support of RSS here. It’ll bring millions of new businesspeople into the RSS world. This is HUGE. Outlook is probably the most used application in the world after Internet Explorer (and, on my desktop, is used more often than IE).
Via: [Scobleizer - Microsoft Geek Blogger]
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Word of Mouth
This following post, from the excellent Church of the Customer Blog, serves to underline how truly powerful blogs (as the largest connected word of mouth network there is ever likely to be) are today, and are going to be in the future given the rate at which the blogosphere continues to grow. Blog search tools that help consumers zero in on product reviews and new services that aggregate product reviews and present them back in meaningful, helpful, inventive ways are likely to be technologies worth investing in.
Word of mouth is the chief influencer when it comes to purchase decisions, no matter the age group, according to a new study.
A few times per year, Big Research surveys a panel of 15,000 people; across the board, the panel ranked word of mouth as the most influential medium for buying stuff.
The 10 top list of most influential media, all age groups:
1. Word of mouth
2. TV
3. Coupons
4. Newspaper inserts
5. Read article
6. Direct mail
7. Magazines
8. In-store promotion
9. Cable TV
10. Internet advertisingWord of mouth that drives sales is the result of existing customers talking about your remarkable product, service, people, or experience, not because you put a guy in a chicken suit on a website.
Via: [Church of the Customer Blog]
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Another find in the "Blog This Later" folder
Getting back into the habit of blogging I just found my "Blog This Later" folder, which is where I stick incoming blog posts that I found interesting enough that I wanted to blog about them but didn't have time to write a post there and then.
I found a gem from several months ago, which is actually two posts from the 43Folders blog about building a smarter to-do list. Here are some things I've snipped from the two articles that I found useful...
(1) Keeping an updated accounting of the things I'm committed to, is a smart thing to do.
(2) A to-do item should not be framed as project (e.g. create presentation) it should be framed as the next action, “the next physical, visible activity that needs to be engaged in, in order to move the current reality toward completion (e.g produce 4 draft ideas for the theme of my presentation)”
(3) If you frame a to-do as a physical activity it's easier to visualise yourself doing it
(4) Phrase the to-do in a form like: “VERB the NOUN with the OBJECT.” So, instead of "Year-end report,” use the more accurate “Download Q3 spreadsheet from server.” And, instead of “Get with Fred,” try “Email Fred on Monday to schedule monthly meeting.”
(5) Keep the to-do list about the now, use a separate list (someday/maybe list) for things that can't be addressed yet.
(6) Reflect on the list to check that items on it are the best use of your time, that you are the best person to do the task, that the task should be done now, and that the task really does need to be done.
(7) Treat the things on your list as a serious comittment.
(8) When you get an item that get's stuck, try a to-do that addresses why the item is stuck.
The full articles are here and here.
Actually the more I think about stuff like this, the more I think I want to focus my blog on Getting Things Done (the David Allen approach to stress free productivity), the visualisation of information using Mind Mapping (I use MindManager software from Mindjet), and personal productivity hacks. At the end of the day though I can always write about whatever is on my mind.
Technorati Tags: GTD, MindJet, MindManager.
I found a gem from several months ago, which is actually two posts from the 43Folders blog about building a smarter to-do list. Here are some things I've snipped from the two articles that I found useful...
(1) Keeping an updated accounting of the things I'm committed to, is a smart thing to do.
(2) A to-do item should not be framed as project (e.g. create presentation) it should be framed as the next action, “the next physical, visible activity that needs to be engaged in, in order to move the current reality toward completion (e.g produce 4 draft ideas for the theme of my presentation)”
(3) If you frame a to-do as a physical activity it's easier to visualise yourself doing it
(4) Phrase the to-do in a form like: “VERB the NOUN with the OBJECT.” So, instead of "Year-end report,” use the more accurate “Download Q3 spreadsheet from server.” And, instead of “Get with Fred,” try “Email Fred on Monday to schedule monthly meeting.”
(5) Keep the to-do list about the now, use a separate list (someday/maybe list) for things that can't be addressed yet.
(6) Reflect on the list to check that items on it are the best use of your time, that you are the best person to do the task, that the task should be done now, and that the task really does need to be done.
(7) Treat the things on your list as a serious comittment.
(8) When you get an item that get's stuck, try a to-do that addresses why the item is stuck.
The full articles are here and here.
Actually the more I think about stuff like this, the more I think I want to focus my blog on Getting Things Done (the David Allen approach to stress free productivity), the visualisation of information using Mind Mapping (I use MindManager software from Mindjet), and personal productivity hacks. At the end of the day though I can always write about whatever is on my mind.
Technorati Tags: GTD, MindJet, MindManager.
Phil Spector
It being the start of my Christmas Holiday I have begun my traditional approach to getting into the spirit of things, listening to the Phil Spector Christmas Album (at least that's how I always refer to it). It just doesn't feel like Christmas until I've listened to that album a couple of times.
My wife, Linda, asked me if Phil was still alive and I checked out his Wikipedia entry, where a couple of things stood out:
(1) Spector had admitted in an interview with the British Daily Telegraph that he suffers from bipolar disorder and that he considered himself "relatively insane".
(2) On February 3, 2003, Spector was arrested for murder after the body of 40-year-old actress Lana Clarkson of Los Angeles was found at his mansion in Alhambra, California. Police responded to a 911 phone call from one of Spector's neighbors and discovered Clarkson, who had been shot and was pronounced dead at the scene. On November 20, 2003, Spector was indicted for Clarkson's murder.
Sad.
My wife, Linda, asked me if Phil was still alive and I checked out his Wikipedia entry, where a couple of things stood out:
(1) Spector had admitted in an interview with the British Daily Telegraph that he suffers from bipolar disorder and that he considered himself "relatively insane".
(2) On February 3, 2003, Spector was arrested for murder after the body of 40-year-old actress Lana Clarkson of Los Angeles was found at his mansion in Alhambra, California. Police responded to a 911 phone call from one of Spector's neighbors and discovered Clarkson, who had been shot and was pronounced dead at the scene. On November 20, 2003, Spector was indicted for Clarkson's murder.
Sad.
Meet the family - part 2
I love this picture of Mulder because it gives you an idea of just how big he is.
Blogging's First Family
If you ever read back through my blog you'll probably work out that one of my most favourite bloggers is Robert Scoble. I have to say though I've grown to love reading his wife's blog, Maryamie. I especially enjoy the quirky posts that Maryam writes that take a gentle sideswipe at Robert's geeky behaviour. Here is a link to a recent example.
And now Robert's son, Patrick, is blogging over at Mini Scobleizer.
And now Robert's son, Patrick, is blogging over at Mini Scobleizer.
The Sun: Maggots found on patient
I'm glad I wasn't eating my breakfast when I read this.....
A GRIEVING daughter told yesterday how she found MAGGOTS crawling on her stricken mum’s face in hospital.
Horrified Nyree Ellison Anjos saw the fly larvae near a feeding tube attached to mother Christine at Gloucestershire Royal.
Via: [A Welsh View]Naked Conversations
Catching up with links to my blog on Technorati I see that I was given a mention on Naked Conversations, the blog by Shel Israel and Robert Scoble on which they wrote their forthcoming book. The link is part of a post in which I'm acknowledged as one of the many who left constructive comments during the book writing process. It seems that the acknowledgments will transfer through to the published book. What a nice touch. It will certainly make me buy at least one copy of the book! And maybe one for my Mum.
According to Amazon.com the book is available on January 24th, but the Amazon.co.uk site suggests it's available from January 3rd. Nice to see us Brits getting something first for a change (although I suspect that one of the dates is a typo). I'll go and pre-order my copy now.
Update: I did a search for the book via Froogle. Interestingly the book is still referenced as "Blog or Die" (which was going to be the book title at one point in time) by some retailers including Tesco, Play.com and DVD.co.uk. Pricing shows quite a variance, ranging from £12.74 to £15.29.
According to Amazon.com the book is available on January 24th, but the Amazon.co.uk site suggests it's available from January 3rd. Nice to see us Brits getting something first for a change (although I suspect that one of the dates is a typo). I'll go and pre-order my copy now.
Update: I did a search for the book via Froogle. Interestingly the book is still referenced as "Blog or Die" (which was going to be the book title at one point in time) by some retailers including Tesco, Play.com and DVD.co.uk. Pricing shows quite a variance, ranging from £12.74 to £15.29.
The coolest sites of the year
I've finished work for the year so I've got some time to blog a little more consistently than I have for the last few months. I spent an interesting few minutes this morning looking at the Time magazine "50 coolest websites". From the "tools and essentials" section of the article I took a look at TestMySpeed.com, which is USA specific but did pass me on to a UK site, Numion.com, which has a pretty nifty way of looking at how my connection to the internet is performing. We're upping the bandwidth on our connection to the internet at work so it might be an informative (and independant) way at looking how the new arrangement is performing.
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Until we meet again Kaylee...
She was never meant to be my cat but on the day she came home with us she came and slept beside me when we went to bed. I think she bonded with me in those first few hours. I taught her to fetch. I crumpled up the silver paper from Kit Kat wrappers into a little ball and from our bed I could throw the ball so that it rolled downstairs and into the hall. She would fetch the ball and drop it back on the bed three or four times in succession, until she tired of the game and then I'd have to retrieve the ball. When I had surgery on the base of my spine and was finally able to sleep when the stiches came out, she curled up on my back and people who saw her said she was protecting me. She loved chicken and would take it from my fingers very gently without biting me. When people came round to house she would put on what were referred to as "sickening" displays of affection; jumping up on to my lap, nudging me with her nose, butting me with her head, purring lovingly. When we spent the evening quietly watching TV she would curl up and give me the most adoring looks, laying the back of her head on my chest and making googoo eyes at me. When I arrived home from work she would go into her "I'm beautiful" routine, displaying herself by stretching out and rolling, waiting for me to acknowledge her with a "yes, sweetheart, you are beautiful".
Yesterday, we had to take Kaylee to be rehomed. She couldn't take the stress of not being an only cat (we have two other cats) and cats in the neighbourhood coming to the front and back doors were slowly driving her nuts. We've taken vets advice, advice from cat behaviourists and advice from the RSPCA. Nothing worked. We've been trying to solve the problem for about two years. It was one of the most heartbreaking things I've ever had to do. I'm not ashamed to say that I cried all the way home from the shelter. I just hope that what we have done will give Kaylee the chance of a life without stress.
Yes, sweetheart, you are beautiful. Until we meet again Kaylee, know that I'll think of you every day.
Yesterday, we had to take Kaylee to be rehomed. She couldn't take the stress of not being an only cat (we have two other cats) and cats in the neighbourhood coming to the front and back doors were slowly driving her nuts. We've taken vets advice, advice from cat behaviourists and advice from the RSPCA. Nothing worked. We've been trying to solve the problem for about two years. It was one of the most heartbreaking things I've ever had to do. I'm not ashamed to say that I cried all the way home from the shelter. I just hope that what we have done will give Kaylee the chance of a life without stress.
Yes, sweetheart, you are beautiful. Until we meet again Kaylee, know that I'll think of you every day.
Friday, August 19, 2005
Scoble Wins!
Have you tried FlickrTagFight ? It's a very nice use of the Flickr API to measure the relative use of two tags on Flickr. There are some predefined fights such as Man vs. Woman or Good vs. Evil. Or you can specify your own fight.
Scoble versus Orlowski....Scoble wins!
Scoble versus Orlowski....Scoble wins!
Saturday, July 23, 2005
Ok, so I've been pretty quiet lately...
As you may have noticed, [but more likely is that you haven't noticed] I've not found the time or enthusiasm to maintain my blog lately. In both writing my blog and reading others blogs it occurred to me that blogs fall into three camps; (1) those that summarise, review and filter content from other blogs with a smattering of commentary on personal experiences with software or other nerdy pursuits [in which category my blog falls], (2) specialist subject blogs and then (3) those who write original material, mainly based on observation of life around them.
Looking at my own blog reading habits and the blogs I now subscribe to, there are one or two A list "aggregator" blogs [Robert Scoble, Tom Peters etc etc], a bunch of blogs that cover specialist subjects which are of interest to me [so this covers a bunch of Project Management, Mind Mapping and Getting Things Done blogs] and then the rest of my subscriptions are to blogs with something original to say [dooce, wil wheaton, Trevor Romain, Thrusher, Susan Bernard etc etc]
I've kind of worked out in my own mind that I could not, and actually do not want, to be a Scoble or Tom Peters or Dave Winer, which is not to say that I don't respect what they do, because I do. I don't think I could write a specialist blog because I see myself as a kind of jack of all trades within my professional disciplines of IT and Project Management rather than someone with a definitive specialty [although I recognise that I might just be blocked here]; and my life just isn't interesting enough to sustain an 'original content' blog.
So I'm kind of stalled with what to do with my blog, although I do occasionally think about what to do next with it. If I ever work it out, I'll go back to posting more often.
Looking at my own blog reading habits and the blogs I now subscribe to, there are one or two A list "aggregator" blogs [Robert Scoble, Tom Peters etc etc], a bunch of blogs that cover specialist subjects which are of interest to me [so this covers a bunch of Project Management, Mind Mapping and Getting Things Done blogs] and then the rest of my subscriptions are to blogs with something original to say [dooce, wil wheaton, Trevor Romain, Thrusher, Susan Bernard etc etc]
I've kind of worked out in my own mind that I could not, and actually do not want, to be a Scoble or Tom Peters or Dave Winer, which is not to say that I don't respect what they do, because I do. I don't think I could write a specialist blog because I see myself as a kind of jack of all trades within my professional disciplines of IT and Project Management rather than someone with a definitive specialty [although I recognise that I might just be blocked here]; and my life just isn't interesting enough to sustain an 'original content' blog.
So I'm kind of stalled with what to do with my blog, although I do occasionally think about what to do next with it. If I ever work it out, I'll go back to posting more often.
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
Blog Writer Review
My trial of Blog Writer didn't last long. The image integration turned out to be a pain, you need to specify an FTP site that will host the images. I was expecting something similar to Hello [which in effect provides you with the image hosting] with added desktop publishing features.
The product linking functionality has the feel of a feature which is, or could be, used to provide click thru revenue to the software provider.
I've uninstalled the product.
The product linking functionality has the feel of a feature which is, or could be, used to provide click thru revenue to the software provider.
I've uninstalled the product.
Only in America - Part 2
A man in Utah is auctioning his middle name on eBay. So far, bidding indicates that this is not going to be as popular a sale as the lady who sold her full name (see Only in America - Part 1).
"Only in America" could turn out to be a long running series.
"Only in America" could turn out to be a long running series.
Saturday, April 02, 2005
Is Marc Orchant the busiest guy on the planet?
Marc Orchant writes one of my very favourite blogs over at The Office Weblog. He also writes a blog called Marc's Outlook on Productivity (Cool tools and tips to get more done with Office!) as part of the Office Zealot team. And he was recently announced as the editor of the forthcoming book on blogging by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel, which you can read about at the Red Couch blog.
I think what I most enjoy about Marc is that he is the A list blogger who most closely mirrors my interests. He's obviously into Getting Things Done and Mindjet's MindManager in a big way, which are two of my obsessions. As far as I can tell, he's into Gmail and Google's Desktop Search. And he's also into all the little tricks, extensions and hacks that make the life of a would be computer geek that little bit easier.
Today I picked up from him that Gmail are upping the storage limit on accounts from 1GB to 2GB for everyone (with plans to grow storage levels beyond that) AND that rich text formatting is available when you compose your Gmail. Google are definitely setting the pace in so many areas at the moment.
And I also discovered from a Google search on Marc's name that he created the Invisible PC project which aims to keep us up to date on the best ideas, practices, and free tools to help make your PC invisible to the bad guys and immune to the viruses, worms, and other vermin crawling over the Net. Which is very handy, as I've been hit with an annoying adware problem in the last 48 hours. I already use a combination of Ad-aware, PestPatrol and Spybot - Search & Destroy to protect myself from this kind of thing and based on Marc's advice I'm going to add Spyware Blaster to the mix.
The tools page on the Invisible PC site also pointed me towards the Gibson Resarch Corporation who appear to have lot of tools designed to improve pc security. I'm gonna go check it out now.
I think what I most enjoy about Marc is that he is the A list blogger who most closely mirrors my interests. He's obviously into Getting Things Done and Mindjet's MindManager in a big way, which are two of my obsessions. As far as I can tell, he's into Gmail and Google's Desktop Search. And he's also into all the little tricks, extensions and hacks that make the life of a would be computer geek that little bit easier.
Today I picked up from him that Gmail are upping the storage limit on accounts from 1GB to 2GB for everyone (with plans to grow storage levels beyond that) AND that rich text formatting is available when you compose your Gmail. Google are definitely setting the pace in so many areas at the moment.
And I also discovered from a Google search on Marc's name that he created the Invisible PC project which aims to keep us up to date on the best ideas, practices, and free tools to help make your PC invisible to the bad guys and immune to the viruses, worms, and other vermin crawling over the Net. Which is very handy, as I've been hit with an annoying adware problem in the last 48 hours. I already use a combination of Ad-aware, PestPatrol and Spybot - Search & Destroy to protect myself from this kind of thing and based on Marc's advice I'm going to add Spyware Blaster to the mix.
The tools page on the Invisible PC site also pointed me towards the Gibson Resarch Corporation who appear to have lot of tools designed to improve pc security. I'm gonna go check it out now.
Thursday, March 31, 2005
Blog Writer - WYSIWYG blogging editor
Now this sounds like an interesting product. Blog Writer mixes word processor and desktop publishing functions, making text formatting and image integration a snap. I've downloaded the latest version and will give it a spin in the next day or so. It's compatible with Blogger, and it's free.
Are you absolutely certain the Mac OS X is not susceptible?
I picked up a post on Aunty Spam's blog earlier in the week which is about a company (DVForge) that was offering a $25,000 prize to the first person to write an Mac OS X virus. I parked the post in my "Blog This" folder whilst I ruminated on whether to write something about the story or not.
The company involved cancelled the contest when they realised that there was a chance they were violating US federal law. Note they didn't cancel the contest because of the stupidity of sponsoring a contest in an area of computing life that has caused hundreds of thousands of computer users untold problems, heartache and loss. I don't much care if the logic is that the Mac OS X is not considered susceptible to virus attack and that's it's therefore really just a publicity stunt. That kind of logic is always flawed. As sure as eggs is eggs, there's always someone smarter than the people who unwisely declare with absolute certainty that they are right.
The company involved cancelled the contest when they realised that there was a chance they were violating US federal law. Note they didn't cancel the contest because of the stupidity of sponsoring a contest in an area of computing life that has caused hundreds of thousands of computer users untold problems, heartache and loss. I don't much care if the logic is that the Mac OS X is not considered susceptible to virus attack and that's it's therefore really just a publicity stunt. That kind of logic is always flawed. As sure as eggs is eggs, there's always someone smarter than the people who unwisely declare with absolute certainty that they are right.
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Only in America... Part 1
A mother of five from Tennessee has sold her name on eBay to Internet site Golden Palace Casino. She will officially be named goldenpalace-dot-com once the legal work is complete.
This could only happen in America.
This could only happen in America.
An end to tyranny
I've been a big fan of David Allen's Getting Things Done approach since I read the book last year. Over recent weeks I was conscious that I'd fallen off the GTD wagon, but over the course of this week I've made a concerted effort to get back on track. Last night before I left the office I achieved an empty Inbox for the first time in several weeks and this morning I took the following steps to take even more control of my Inbox:
A. Open Outlook
B. Tools->Options
C. Click E-mail Options…
D. Click Advanced E-mail Options…
E. Uncheck:
(1) Play a Sound
(2) Briefly change the mouse cursor
(3) Show an envelope in the notification area
(4) Display a New Mail Desktop Alert (default Inbox only)
Scary stuff!
No more e-mails interrupting my chain of thought or the task on which I am currently focused.
I picked this advice up from the "What's the next action" blog, which is a weblog totally devoted to Getting Things Done, but it originally came from Microsoft blogger Omar Shahine. Omar recommended reading an article called "The Tyranny of Email" which I intend to do when I get some time later this week. For now, having created my list of next actions, it's time to get focused on them.
A. Open Outlook
B. Tools->Options
C. Click E-mail Options…
D. Click Advanced E-mail Options…
E. Uncheck:
(1) Play a Sound
(2) Briefly change the mouse cursor
(3) Show an envelope in the notification area
(4) Display a New Mail Desktop Alert (default Inbox only)
Scary stuff!
No more e-mails interrupting my chain of thought or the task on which I am currently focused.
I picked this advice up from the "What's the next action" blog, which is a weblog totally devoted to Getting Things Done, but it originally came from Microsoft blogger Omar Shahine. Omar recommended reading an article called "The Tyranny of Email" which I intend to do when I get some time later this week. For now, having created my list of next actions, it's time to get focused on them.
How very sad...
Wil Wheaton writes an excellent blog at WIL WHEATON dot NET. He's posted a very moving tribute to "The Bear", a family pet who is about to be put to sleep.
Monday, March 28, 2005
A difference of opinion about desktop searching
Yesterday, Marc Orchant pointed at an article in The Washington Post about the state of desktop searching. When I read the article I must admit to being pleased that I'd chosen Google as my desktop search tool as the article pretty much validated Google as, currently, the best of the options.
Today, Chris Pirillo, has entered the fray in defence of Copernic. Chris made some thoughful points about Copernic and I might have another look at their product as a result, at some point in the future. Chris goes on to argue that the line between local and network data should not be blurred.
I'm not so sure. I like that a Google web search reminds me that I have data locally about the topic I'm interested in. I have over 175,000 files on my laptop. If an issue comes up at work I'd like to be reminded that I have several documents on the subject I've used before and filed away, ready to be brought out and used again, whilst I'm searching the internet for topical information on the subject at hand. I'm not sure if he meant it or not, but Chris makes a veiled suggestion that in using Google as your Desktop tool you may end up with your chat logs (or some other locally held personal information) on the internet by mistake. Or perhaps Chris was only suggesting that less geek like users just might not get that some results are being returned from local sources.
I think that users will view the issue in terms of the criteria they might have for selecting the tool in the first place: Does the tool make searching ALL sources of data easier? Are the searches accurate? Are the searches fast? The criteria will not include: "does this blur the line between local and network data?" I guess this is fine whilst you trust that the providers of desktop searching will not trespass onto your local data and load it onto their servers. I trust that Google, Yahoo and MSN won't do that today. But will it always be that way?
Today, Chris Pirillo, has entered the fray in defence of Copernic. Chris made some thoughful points about Copernic and I might have another look at their product as a result, at some point in the future. Chris goes on to argue that the line between local and network data should not be blurred.
I'm not so sure. I like that a Google web search reminds me that I have data locally about the topic I'm interested in. I have over 175,000 files on my laptop. If an issue comes up at work I'd like to be reminded that I have several documents on the subject I've used before and filed away, ready to be brought out and used again, whilst I'm searching the internet for topical information on the subject at hand. I'm not sure if he meant it or not, but Chris makes a veiled suggestion that in using Google as your Desktop tool you may end up with your chat logs (or some other locally held personal information) on the internet by mistake. Or perhaps Chris was only suggesting that less geek like users just might not get that some results are being returned from local sources.
I think that users will view the issue in terms of the criteria they might have for selecting the tool in the first place: Does the tool make searching ALL sources of data easier? Are the searches accurate? Are the searches fast? The criteria will not include: "does this blur the line between local and network data?" I guess this is fine whilst you trust that the providers of desktop searching will not trespass onto your local data and load it onto their servers. I trust that Google, Yahoo and MSN won't do that today. But will it always be that way?
Sunday, March 27, 2005
And they said it couldn't be done....
Yesterday, Linda and I celebrated eight years of marriage. I just wanted to take a moment to recognise that none of what I do would be possible without the love and support given so generously by Linda.
We celebrated with dinner and a movie - Miss Congeniality 2 - which was not as good as the original but nevertheless an entertaining diversion.
We celebrated with dinner and a movie - Miss Congeniality 2 - which was not as good as the original but nevertheless an entertaining diversion.
Saturday, March 26, 2005
Blogger's solo bid to climb Everest starts this week
Would you trust the hospital that buys your pacemaker off eBay?
The Tuscon Citizen is running a story about the purchase of a pacemaker on eBay. And I quote:
"A stolen pacemaker bought off eBay and implanted in the chest of an Arizona heart patient is raising questions about the burgeoning online market for medical devices and the regulations designed to keep patients safe."
This is raising questions? I should hope so. I thought of a question of my own: would you trust your hospital if it bought your pacemaker off eBay?
Lawyers acting for the medical group hospital who bought the device are quoted as saying: "There was nothing unethical about this purchase". I tell you what guys. From now on all the bloodsucking lawyers get the used pacemakers off eBay and the rest of us will have new ones, if that's all right with you.
"A stolen pacemaker bought off eBay and implanted in the chest of an Arizona heart patient is raising questions about the burgeoning online market for medical devices and the regulations designed to keep patients safe."
This is raising questions? I should hope so. I thought of a question of my own: would you trust your hospital if it bought your pacemaker off eBay?
Lawyers acting for the medical group hospital who bought the device are quoted as saying: "There was nothing unethical about this purchase". I tell you what guys. From now on all the bloodsucking lawyers get the used pacemakers off eBay and the rest of us will have new ones, if that's all right with you.
Mindjet Blog
Marc Orchant at The Office Weblog has picked up on the launch of a Mindjet Blog. Mindjet are the people who make MindManager, one of my favourite desktop tools. It's a shame that only Mindjet personnel appear able to comment. And if anyone at Mindjet picks this comment up, it would be great if you could make the full posts available in your XML feed rather than just the headlines so that I can read the blog in my aggregator.
Friday, March 25, 2005
Type A personality
I stumbled over a blog this morning written by a mother who self-deprecatingly describes herself as someone "who used to have an exciting job". Her most recent post contained the phrase "getting things done" which is my Technorati watchlist for all things David Allen related.
The post also referred to "type A personality". Ok, so I'm [mostly] a type A personality too.
Answers.Com defines type A personality as: "A temperament marked by excessive competitiveness and ambition, an obsession with accomplishing tasks quickly, little time for self-reflection, and a strong need to control situations."
Type A behaviour is: "A behavior pattern characterized by tenseness, impatience, and aggressiveness, often resulting in stress-related symptoms such as insomnia and indigestion and possibly increasing the risk of heart disease."
Now what do I do?
The post also referred to "type A personality". Ok, so I'm [mostly] a type A personality too.
Answers.Com defines type A personality as: "A temperament marked by excessive competitiveness and ambition, an obsession with accomplishing tasks quickly, little time for self-reflection, and a strong need to control situations."
Type A behaviour is: "A behavior pattern characterized by tenseness, impatience, and aggressiveness, often resulting in stress-related symptoms such as insomnia and indigestion and possibly increasing the risk of heart disease."
Now what do I do?
Embarrasing facts about me, number one
I hope I don't have to write too many post in the series entitled "Embarrasing facts about me..."
So I'm a fan of American Idol. There I said it. Actually my wife, Linda, is the really big fan but I can't help getting wrapped up in the shows as well. At least I'm not one of those sad muppets who get caught up in Big Brother!
We both really enjoyed The X-Factor as well. I got caught up so much I was very aggrieved that G4 didn't win the first series. We bought the album the other week when it was released and we are going to see them in concert at The Royal Albert Hall in June.
Anyway, my Technorati feeds this morning found me a really well done blog called "American Idol Rantz". Given that in the UK we don't get the shows [on ITV 2] until the end of the week, sites like this one are a good way of keeping up with what's going on without all the PR fluff from the "official" site.
So I'm a fan of American Idol. There I said it. Actually my wife, Linda, is the really big fan but I can't help getting wrapped up in the shows as well. At least I'm not one of those sad muppets who get caught up in Big Brother!
We both really enjoyed The X-Factor as well. I got caught up so much I was very aggrieved that G4 didn't win the first series. We bought the album the other week when it was released and we are going to see them in concert at The Royal Albert Hall in June.
Anyway, my Technorati feeds this morning found me a really well done blog called "American Idol Rantz". Given that in the UK we don't get the shows [on ITV 2] until the end of the week, sites like this one are a good way of keeping up with what's going on without all the PR fluff from the "official" site.
StatCounter
I just keep finding things I can do with my blog that:
(a) sort of make me look like a liar or a fool
(b) are incredibly cool in the nerdy sense of the word.
Was it only the day before yesterday that I wrote:
Interestingly, being semi-Scobleized does not appear to have brought any traffic to my blog, based on the only measure I have on Blogger which is whether anyone leaves comments.
So this moring I find StatCounter. Check out the sidebar on my blog. I have stats!
The process of setting up an account, configuring options and modifying my blog template was all very straighforward. I think the whole process took less than 20 minutes. The stats provided are comprehensive and easy to interpret. And it's free, up to a point.
The only "catch" is if you start to get over 9,000 pageloads each day you are outside what they can sustain as a free business model and they we will then ask you to either remove the code or upgrade.
Of course there's not a lot of point in getting hung up on stats on a blog with an rss feed. If anyone did decide to subscribe to my feed, then I will get the traffic count from the visit they make where they subscribe, but the website may never see them again.
So now I'm going to say that whilst my blog is hosted by Blogger there is no way to get statistics on my subscribers or readership. Let's see how long it is before I find out that isn't true either.
(a) sort of make me look like a liar or a fool
(b) are incredibly cool in the nerdy sense of the word.
Was it only the day before yesterday that I wrote:
Interestingly, being semi-Scobleized does not appear to have brought any traffic to my blog, based on the only measure I have on Blogger which is whether anyone leaves comments.
So this moring I find StatCounter. Check out the sidebar on my blog. I have stats!
The process of setting up an account, configuring options and modifying my blog template was all very straighforward. I think the whole process took less than 20 minutes. The stats provided are comprehensive and easy to interpret. And it's free, up to a point.
The only "catch" is if you start to get over 9,000 pageloads each day you are outside what they can sustain as a free business model and they we will then ask you to either remove the code or upgrade.
Of course there's not a lot of point in getting hung up on stats on a blog with an rss feed. If anyone did decide to subscribe to my feed, then I will get the traffic count from the visit they make where they subscribe, but the website may never see them again.
So now I'm going to say that whilst my blog is hosted by Blogger there is no way to get statistics on my subscribers or readership. Let's see how long it is before I find out that isn't true either.
Thursday, March 24, 2005
NASA is going back to the moon.
NASA has a new Vision for Space Exploration: in the decades ahead, humans will land on Mars and explore the red planet. Brief visits will lead to longer stays and, maybe one day, to colonies. First, though, we're returning to the Moon.
In my other life I'm a project manager. I'd love to be a project manager at NASA. Not because I don't like my current job. It's because I want to be a part of something that changes the world. And these are the people who put a man on the moon. Not only did they change the world but they changed the profession of project management, and they still do so today. There are few project endeavours of the size and complexity of launching people into space strapped to rockets. Well, not if you want to bring them back, that is.
I think that thinking like this is my mid-life crisis. It's the nagging thought about the legacy I might leave. I'd like it to be more than I made it through. I want to matter. Is that heroic aspiration or a selfish thought?
In my other life I'm a project manager. I'd love to be a project manager at NASA. Not because I don't like my current job. It's because I want to be a part of something that changes the world. And these are the people who put a man on the moon. Not only did they change the world but they changed the profession of project management, and they still do so today. There are few project endeavours of the size and complexity of launching people into space strapped to rockets. Well, not if you want to bring them back, that is.
I think that thinking like this is my mid-life crisis. It's the nagging thought about the legacy I might leave. I'd like it to be more than I made it through. I want to matter. Is that heroic aspiration or a selfish thought?
News at Ten. Semi-Scobleization to end!
So I get semi-scobleized (see my post where I think I invent the term for appearing in Robert Scoble's link blog) and within hours Robert announces the link blog is to be no more. It is ceasing to be. It is an ex-blog.
Whilst I will miss it as a resource we should not overly mourn it's passing. Personally I pay more attention to the Scobleizer than the link blog and as Robert himself points out there are many more ways to find things of interest to you in the blogosphere than when he started up the link blog. I've written about two of them myself in the last week: PubSub and Technorati. Learning about Technorati Watch Lists and PubSub Subscriptions is one way that we can all fill the void for ourselves.
And to be fair what I really like about Robert Scoble isn't his link blog. It's what he writes. And the way that he writes it. It's the passion and the humour with which he writes. And the basic humanity of the man. Long may the Scobleizer continue.
Robert could always export his list of newsgator subscriptions to an OPML file and make the file available to any masochist who wants to take up the challenge of reading 1000 blogs a day.
Whilst I will miss it as a resource we should not overly mourn it's passing. Personally I pay more attention to the Scobleizer than the link blog and as Robert himself points out there are many more ways to find things of interest to you in the blogosphere than when he started up the link blog. I've written about two of them myself in the last week: PubSub and Technorati. Learning about Technorati Watch Lists and PubSub Subscriptions is one way that we can all fill the void for ourselves.
And to be fair what I really like about Robert Scoble isn't his link blog. It's what he writes. And the way that he writes it. It's the passion and the humour with which he writes. And the basic humanity of the man. Long may the Scobleizer continue.
Robert could always export his list of newsgator subscriptions to an OPML file and make the file available to any masochist who wants to take up the challenge of reading 1000 blogs a day.
Tecnorati Rocks, Doh!
When I wrote earlier in the week about Technorati I said:
The only aggravating thing I found about Technorati was that if I set up a watchlist for 'Steve Newson' it finds posts containing 'Steve' and 'Newson' rather than 'Steve Newson'.
Doh!
If you use double quotes, as in "Steve Newson" it works as I wanted it to in the first place. I think what threw me is the graphic on the members page where you "Add a Watchlist". If you look carefully at the examples they appear to use single quote marks.
I'm glad I cleared that one up... it was bugging me.
The only aggravating thing I found about Technorati was that if I set up a watchlist for 'Steve Newson' it finds posts containing 'Steve' and 'Newson' rather than 'Steve Newson'.
Doh!
If you use double quotes, as in "Steve Newson" it works as I wanted it to in the first place. I think what threw me is the graphic on the members page where you "Add a Watchlist". If you look carefully at the examples they appear to use single quote marks.
I'm glad I cleared that one up... it was bugging me.
FeedMap
I played this morning with an interesting blog application from Chandu Thota called FeedMap that uses MapPoint to display blog locations. I created my own BlogMap and it's now integrated into my Steve Newson DOT NET blog as a sidebar item.
There are nine bloggers on my BlogMap considered nearby. There is a local hotbed of blogging not far from Nuneaton which I have worked out is probably an educational establishment as four of the nine bloggers are co-located at the same spot and they mostly profile as students. They have a common geo-code of 52.5271531704437 but I can't find a way to do a reverse lookup of geo-code to get an address.
There are a total of 134 bloggers mapped in the UK, but surprisingly given the reported number of bloggers in the USA only 1517 have created a FeedMap. The UK is second to the USA, Canada comes in third with 127 bloggers, with the Netherlands fourth with 104 bloggers.
There are nine bloggers on my BlogMap considered nearby. There is a local hotbed of blogging not far from Nuneaton which I have worked out is probably an educational establishment as four of the nine bloggers are co-located at the same spot and they mostly profile as students. They have a common geo-code of 52.5271531704437 but I can't find a way to do a reverse lookup of geo-code to get an address.
There are a total of 134 bloggers mapped in the UK, but surprisingly given the reported number of bloggers in the USA only 1517 have created a FeedMap. The UK is second to the USA, Canada comes in third with 127 bloggers, with the Netherlands fourth with 104 bloggers.
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Da Vinci Code Sequel
Interesting article about Dan Brown in the New York Times. Fame, apparently, is not all it's cracked up to be.
It looks like being quite a wait for the sequel to The Da Vinci Code, current speculation suggests publication no earlier than mid-2006.
I wonder how the film is coming along. I heard on the grapevine that Tom Hanks is going to play the Robert Langdon role. I hope that means it will be as least as good as Apollo 13 - one of my top ten films of all time.
It looks like being quite a wait for the sequel to The Da Vinci Code, current speculation suggests publication no earlier than mid-2006.
I wonder how the film is coming along. I heard on the grapevine that Tom Hanks is going to play the Robert Langdon role. I hope that means it will be as least as good as Apollo 13 - one of my top ten films of all time.
Trying to understand PubSub - Update
The two posts I wrote on Tuesday containing the term "Scoble" (Google Juice and Trying to understand PubSub) appeared in my "PubSub:Scoble" feed late onTuesday night although I didn't notice that fact until this morning (Wednesday). I'm guessing they both appeared in Robert Scoble's "PubSub:Scoble" feed as well. I know at least one of them did because Robert picked up on my Trying to understand PubSub post and re-posted it to his link blog.
So I was semi-Scobleized! I have invented (at least I think I have invented) the term "semi-Scobleized" to refer to being re-posted in the link blog rather than getting a full post in the Scobleizer (his main blog).
So what is the impact of being semi-Scobleized? Well the first noticeable impact was that I appear to have joined the top 75% of link ranked blogs as far as PubSub is concerned because the PubSub feed for my own name started to work - with the first post it sent me being the entry in Robert's link blog. It's not possible to know that for sure as PubSub's linkranks are offline at present.
What I do know for sure is that my Technorati ranking has gone from 1,099,837 to 654,693 in just 24 hours. For that, and before I forget to say it, thank you Robert Scoble. I appreciate it.
Interestingly, being semi-Scobleized does not appear to have brought any traffic to my blog, based on the only measure I have on Blogger which is whether anyone leaves comments. Having breifly tried MSN Spaces before settling for now on Blogger, one feature I really did like on Spaces was the statistics feature. There's just no way to get a handle on my readership on Blogger.
I must admit I'm enjoying the learning process. I feel like a geek again.
So I was semi-Scobleized! I have invented (at least I think I have invented) the term "semi-Scobleized" to refer to being re-posted in the link blog rather than getting a full post in the Scobleizer (his main blog).
So what is the impact of being semi-Scobleized? Well the first noticeable impact was that I appear to have joined the top 75% of link ranked blogs as far as PubSub is concerned because the PubSub feed for my own name started to work - with the first post it sent me being the entry in Robert's link blog. It's not possible to know that for sure as PubSub's linkranks are offline at present.
What I do know for sure is that my Technorati ranking has gone from 1,099,837 to 654,693 in just 24 hours. For that, and before I forget to say it, thank you Robert Scoble. I appreciate it.
Interestingly, being semi-Scobleized does not appear to have brought any traffic to my blog, based on the only measure I have on Blogger which is whether anyone leaves comments. Having breifly tried MSN Spaces before settling for now on Blogger, one feature I really did like on Spaces was the statistics feature. There's just no way to get a handle on my readership on Blogger.
I must admit I'm enjoying the learning process. I feel like a geek again.
Team Smarts
Kathy Sierra writes one of my very favourite blogs, called Creating Passionate Users. It's one of my favourites because she writes about topics in a way that always makes me think. It's like having your own devils advocate writing to you every day or so.
I was particularly struck by her recent post "One of us is smarter than all". I happen to think that teams often snatch at consensus because it makes the majority feel good rather than listening to the lone voice with a different point of view who makes everyone feel uncomfortable.
Slightly re-writing a quote that Kathy used (which I think comes from the book The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki)... the power of a team comes NOT from consensus decision making, but from the aggregation of the ideas and thoughts of each member of the team.
That just makes a huge amount of sense to me.
I was particularly struck by her recent post "One of us is smarter than all". I happen to think that teams often snatch at consensus because it makes the majority feel good rather than listening to the lone voice with a different point of view who makes everyone feel uncomfortable.
Slightly re-writing a quote that Kathy used (which I think comes from the book The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki)... the power of a team comes NOT from consensus decision making, but from the aggregation of the ideas and thoughts of each member of the team.
That just makes a huge amount of sense to me.
Technorati Rocks
Okay... so this morning I've learnt a lot more about Technorati. And I've had a lot more success understanding how it works compared with PubSub. And it's definitely indexing my site because I can search for posts I've written and it finds them. Kewl.
I can also set-up watchlists on Technorati which operate in a similar manner to subscriptions on Pubsub and I can subscribe to the watchlist as an RSS feed. Way Kewl.
The only aggravating thing I found about Technorati was that if I set up a watchlist for 'Steve Newson' it finds posts containing 'Steve' and 'Newson' rather than 'Steve Newson'. It turns out that Paris Hilton had a 'Newson' (called Gavin) and a 'Steve' on her contacts list that was recently hacked and sprayed around the internet.
One really nice feature of Technorati that I also implemented was Searchlet (which is still Beta), so if you view this blog on the net, in the sidebar, I have a search tool for my blog. Technorati rocks!
UPDATE: I found my Technorati ranking. It's 1,099,837. I shall monitor that over the coming weeks and see if I can make it move at all.
I can also set-up watchlists on Technorati which operate in a similar manner to subscriptions on Pubsub and I can subscribe to the watchlist as an RSS feed. Way Kewl.
The only aggravating thing I found about Technorati was that if I set up a watchlist for 'Steve Newson' it finds posts containing 'Steve' and 'Newson' rather than 'Steve Newson'. It turns out that Paris Hilton had a 'Newson' (called Gavin) and a 'Steve' on her contacts list that was recently hacked and sprayed around the internet.
One really nice feature of Technorati that I also implemented was Searchlet (which is still Beta), so if you view this blog on the net, in the sidebar, I have a search tool for my blog. Technorati rocks!
UPDATE: I found my Technorati ranking. It's 1,099,837. I shall monitor that over the coming weeks and see if I can make it move at all.
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Trying to understand PubSub
I'm running a few subscriptions on PubSub for things like my name, the name of the company I work for, Scoble and some other things I'm interested in. I had all these running before I even started my blog. Having started my blog I went along to PubSub and added my feed.
On the add a feed page it says:
Get the word out with PubSub! After you've listed your blog/RSS feed with PubSub, all your new entries will be instantly matched against all the subscriptions in our user base and we'll notify them within seconds that you've got something relevant to say.
So I expected that after a day or so (to give the site a chance to add me to the database) if I wrote "Scoble" in a post it would appear in my PubSub subscription for "Scoble". After 3 days though I'm wondering if something else is going on. Then I noticed this on the subscriptions page:
PubSub subscriptions search press releases, airport feeds and the top 75% of link ranked blogs in order to discover and deliver information that matches your subscription keywords.
Does that mean I have to add my feed AND get into the top 75% of link ranked blogs in order to see what I write appear in a PubSub subscription (where the subscription is made from the home page of the Pubsub site)?
Going into my Pubsub account I see an option to create a subscription to "Weblogs". Here the text says:
Monitor over over 8 million blog postings and news feeds in real time.
So I'm thinking that a subscription here might not restrict me only to the top 75% of link ranked blogs. As an experiment I've set up another subscription to "Scoble" (with a title Scoble - Weblogs Only) and if this all works the way I think it does I'll see this post in my new feed.
I guess the real solution is to get my blog into the top 75% of link ranked blogs.
On the add a feed page it says:
Get the word out with PubSub! After you've listed your blog/RSS feed with PubSub, all your new entries will be instantly matched against all the subscriptions in our user base and we'll notify them within seconds that you've got something relevant to say.
So I expected that after a day or so (to give the site a chance to add me to the database) if I wrote "Scoble" in a post it would appear in my PubSub subscription for "Scoble". After 3 days though I'm wondering if something else is going on. Then I noticed this on the subscriptions page:
PubSub subscriptions search press releases, airport feeds and the top 75% of link ranked blogs in order to discover and deliver information that matches your subscription keywords.
Does that mean I have to add my feed AND get into the top 75% of link ranked blogs in order to see what I write appear in a PubSub subscription (where the subscription is made from the home page of the Pubsub site)?
Going into my Pubsub account I see an option to create a subscription to "Weblogs". Here the text says:
Monitor over over 8 million blog postings and news feeds in real time.
So I'm thinking that a subscription here might not restrict me only to the top 75% of link ranked blogs. As an experiment I've set up another subscription to "Scoble" (with a title Scoble - Weblogs Only) and if this all works the way I think it does I'll see this post in my new feed.
I guess the real solution is to get my blog into the top 75% of link ranked blogs.
Google Juice
I've seen Robert Scoble refer to the term "Google Juice" a few times without really understanding it. I read a post about it this morning at the Church of the Customer blog that made me want to find out more.
I grabbed the following from the article:
The more inbound links to you, the higher your Google ranking. Frequent and interesting blog posts encourage inbound links. Write more posts, get more links. While it's not quite that easy, it beats paying big bucks for search engine optimation services.
and then the post itself contained a link to a wiki with this defintion:
Google uses the term PageRank in-house to mean the score that they give to each web page. When it was google.stanford.edu, Google search results included a small graphic indicating how much PageRank each page has. Now that search results no longer include PageRank (unless you have the google toolbar), people use the term Google Juice to mean "the mysterious quality that causes pages to come up high in a Google search."
To Robert Scoble and Chris Pirillo it means they are the number one Robert and Chris respectively in a Google Search. In a business sense this means a blog (providing people link to it) can move you up the search engine rankings for whatever term or terms you blog about.
This got me thinking about how you put a value on coming first in a Google Search? If you can put a value on it, and if that value is large enough, then you can persuade companies of the virtue of blogging (and to be fair, the virtue of search engine optimisation). From there it should be a simple step to view blogging as a marketable skill - the skill being judged by capability to change the ranking of defined terms. It doesn't, however, appear to me that such a marketplace is evolving. Or am i missing something? I'm guessing that lots of companies are not yet clued into the value of blogging. Is it also true that they are not clued into search engine optimisation? If that is true then it's a small leap to say that many companies still don't understand the internet and that there's still a large marketplace in educating corporates on the fundamentals of the connected universe.
UPDATE: I forgot the first thought that made me write this post, which was, I can't quite picture what would be involved in getting to be the first "Steve" on a Google Search. Searching for "Steve Newson", the best I can manage is page three. I don't exactly have a common last name, but I share "Steve Newson" with an Electromagnetic Interference Consultant and a baseball player.
I grabbed the following from the article:
The more inbound links to you, the higher your Google ranking. Frequent and interesting blog posts encourage inbound links. Write more posts, get more links. While it's not quite that easy, it beats paying big bucks for search engine optimation services.
and then the post itself contained a link to a wiki with this defintion:
Google uses the term PageRank in-house to mean the score that they give to each web page. When it was google.stanford.edu, Google search results included a small graphic indicating how much PageRank each page has. Now that search results no longer include PageRank (unless you have the google toolbar), people use the term Google Juice to mean "the mysterious quality that causes pages to come up high in a Google search."
To Robert Scoble and Chris Pirillo it means they are the number one Robert and Chris respectively in a Google Search. In a business sense this means a blog (providing people link to it) can move you up the search engine rankings for whatever term or terms you blog about.
This got me thinking about how you put a value on coming first in a Google Search? If you can put a value on it, and if that value is large enough, then you can persuade companies of the virtue of blogging (and to be fair, the virtue of search engine optimisation). From there it should be a simple step to view blogging as a marketable skill - the skill being judged by capability to change the ranking of defined terms. It doesn't, however, appear to me that such a marketplace is evolving. Or am i missing something? I'm guessing that lots of companies are not yet clued into the value of blogging. Is it also true that they are not clued into search engine optimisation? If that is true then it's a small leap to say that many companies still don't understand the internet and that there's still a large marketplace in educating corporates on the fundamentals of the connected universe.
UPDATE: I forgot the first thought that made me write this post, which was, I can't quite picture what would be involved in getting to be the first "Steve" on a Google Search. Searching for "Steve Newson", the best I can manage is page three. I don't exactly have a common last name, but I share "Steve Newson" with an Electromagnetic Interference Consultant and a baseball player.
Sunday, March 20, 2005
A fate worse than death?
I'm guessing "gapingvoid" is must read for A list bloggers: Scoble, Dave Winer, Chris Pirillo etc.
But please god, save me from this fate:
http://www.gapingvoid.com/Moveable_Type/archives/001438.html
But please god, save me from this fate:
http://www.gapingvoid.com/Moveable_Type/archives/001438.html
Speaking of angst...
Bob Reselman, the "Coding Slave" guy, is another of my favourite bloggers. I just read his post from today about problems he's having with Visual Studio.NET. Whilst I don't necessarily understand the nuances of the specific problem he's experiencing I can empathise with the angst he's feeling.
I still think I have the kind of a personality that suits development and wonder if it's something I'll ever go back to in any full-time sense. I write a few SQL SELECT statements these days and occasionally play around with a bit of HTML (like trying to get my blogger template to behave exactly the way I want) but that's it.
And if I did go back could I live with the angst?
I still think I have the kind of a personality that suits development and wonder if it's something I'll ever go back to in any full-time sense. I write a few SQL SELECT statements these days and occasionally play around with a bit of HTML (like trying to get my blogger template to behave exactly the way I want) but that's it.
And if I did go back could I live with the angst?
Desperately seeking inspiration?
Trevor Romain writes a truly inspirational blog.
I just read a post he wrote yesterday.
He wrote a paragraph that made me stop and think:
I could have taken Mr. Red Coat’s anger with me and passed it on to other people, but I decided not to. It was a conscious decision. I did not permit him to ruin my day. If he wants to treat people the way he does, that’s his decision and only he can decide to change it. But one thing is for certain. I was not about to let him decide how I was going to spend the rest of my trip.
I kind of understand the sentiment and I wish I could be more like this more often. I'm the kind of person who wears their heart on their sleeve and I find that others can easily ruin my day. I consider myself a logical personality type but the trouble with my emotional side is that it's not logical enough to get me to the point where it does not permit the influence of others. I sometimes wish I could achieve a "mind like water" state and be a bit more Zen in my approach to life.
I think, on balance, I'm fated to continue to be my usual angst ridden, neurotic self.
I just read a post he wrote yesterday.
He wrote a paragraph that made me stop and think:
I could have taken Mr. Red Coat’s anger with me and passed it on to other people, but I decided not to. It was a conscious decision. I did not permit him to ruin my day. If he wants to treat people the way he does, that’s his decision and only he can decide to change it. But one thing is for certain. I was not about to let him decide how I was going to spend the rest of my trip.
I kind of understand the sentiment and I wish I could be more like this more often. I'm the kind of person who wears their heart on their sleeve and I find that others can easily ruin my day. I consider myself a logical personality type but the trouble with my emotional side is that it's not logical enough to get me to the point where it does not permit the influence of others. I sometimes wish I could achieve a "mind like water" state and be a bit more Zen in my approach to life.
I think, on balance, I'm fated to continue to be my usual angst ridden, neurotic self.
Worrying demographics
I'm a fan of Tom Peter's weblog. Catching up with his feed today I read that....
Males: If we retire at 60, we live to 80. If we retire at 65, we live to 70.
I chew on these unfathomables every now and then. I know that it's likely, short of winning the lottery or finding "the next big thing" that it's likely that I'll end up working until I'm at least 65. And by the time I get there, knowing my luck, they will have raised the bar to 70.
My wife, Linda, who is a very spiritual person reminds me every now and again to make sure I live in the moment. I think I need to work on that more.
Males: If we retire at 60, we live to 80. If we retire at 65, we live to 70.
I chew on these unfathomables every now and then. I know that it's likely, short of winning the lottery or finding "the next big thing" that it's likely that I'll end up working until I'm at least 65. And by the time I get there, knowing my luck, they will have raised the bar to 70.
My wife, Linda, who is a very spiritual person reminds me every now and again to make sure I live in the moment. I think I need to work on that more.
These are the voyages of...
Hello world. One Two. One Two. Receiving?
It was during the Christmas break when I found myself with time to spare, for once, that I finally learnt about the blogosphere. Boy, have I been missing a trend or what?
I don't think in my own mind that I've decided what it may ultimately mean to me, but I do know I've learnt a lot in a short time. Geting to grips with RSS was relatively straightforward and I've pretty much settled on the Newsgator Outlook Edition as my aggregator.
Like Robert Scoble, as he mentioned in the podcast of his talk at the Northern Voice Canadian Blogging conference, I pretty much live in Outlook and it makes sense to me to be able to read my feeds offline. Scoble's talk was titled "How I read 1000 weblogs a day". I don't think Robert has anything to fear from me though, I'm only up to a paltry 70 feeds. I really enjoy listening to that podcast, so much so, I even burned a copy on CD so I can listen to it in the car.
It was during the Christmas break when I found myself with time to spare, for once, that I finally learnt about the blogosphere. Boy, have I been missing a trend or what?
I don't think in my own mind that I've decided what it may ultimately mean to me, but I do know I've learnt a lot in a short time. Geting to grips with RSS was relatively straightforward and I've pretty much settled on the Newsgator Outlook Edition as my aggregator.
Like Robert Scoble, as he mentioned in the podcast of his talk at the Northern Voice Canadian Blogging conference, I pretty much live in Outlook and it makes sense to me to be able to read my feeds offline. Scoble's talk was titled "How I read 1000 weblogs a day". I don't think Robert has anything to fear from me though, I'm only up to a paltry 70 feeds. I really enjoy listening to that podcast, so much so, I even burned a copy on CD so I can listen to it in the car.
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