Seth Godin appears to have sparked a minor storm with his post explaining why he doesn't have comments on his blog, a post published immediately after his "how to get traffic for your blog" post.
Looking at the rules for getting traffic the following two stand out when thinking about comments:
Rule 27: Include comments so your blog becomes a virtual water cooler that feeds itself.
Rule 34: Don't include comments, people will cross post their responses.
I suspect the "how to get traffic post" is supposed to be taken as satirical, and the "no comments" post is some variant on Rule 10 - manipulate Technorati (by writing something controversial) and with the help of your readers.
I was almost tempted not to link, but hey, that was last month's route to sparking a controversy.
Tags: Seth Godin
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Use Your Head
Use Your Head is one of the many books about Mind Mapping writen by Tony Buzan.
I've gone back to that book many times, and eventually mapped the book using MindManager. The multiple maps I created can be downloaded in a zip file using this link: [Link]
The central map, and the one you should open first is, unsuprisingly, called 'Use Your Head'.
The maps can never be a substitute for the book; which I would encourage anyone with an interest in mind mapping, information visualisation, developing a better memory, or mental literacy to read. They are, in effect, my book notes. Once you have read the book the mind maps can help with review and retention.
Tags: Use Your Head, Tony Buzan, MindManager, Mindjet, Mind Mapping, information visualization
I've gone back to that book many times, and eventually mapped the book using MindManager. The multiple maps I created can be downloaded in a zip file using this link: [Link]
The central map, and the one you should open first is, unsuprisingly, called 'Use Your Head'.
The maps can never be a substitute for the book; which I would encourage anyone with an interest in mind mapping, information visualisation, developing a better memory, or mental literacy to read. They are, in effect, my book notes. Once you have read the book the mind maps can help with review and retention.
Tags: Use Your Head, Tony Buzan, MindManager, Mindjet, Mind Mapping, information visualization
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Time for television networks to go global?
I gave my predictions for American Idol several weeks ago. I think I did fairly well, I predicted Talylor Hicks would be in the final three, although I picked Chris Daughtrey out as the likely winner.
Having watched the build up for several weeks I was really ticked off to find out before the final show was broadcast in the UK that Taylor was the winner. The news landed in my aggregator from Halley Suitt, not that I blame Halley for posting on what was going on in her world.
I also keep falling over spoilers for The West Wing on Dave Winer's blog. Again, I don't blame Dave.
What I don't understand is why can't we have ABC, NBC and Fox broadcasting concurrently in the UK. I'm sure someone will fill me in with all the really clever reasons why this can't happen, but with the globalisation of information via the internet and blogs, the failure of television networks to go global is an anachronism.
I assume IPTV and ever faster broadband speeds will make my issue go away sooner rather than later, but right now sooner can't come quickly enough.
Tags: American Idol, Halley Suitt, Dave Winer
Having watched the build up for several weeks I was really ticked off to find out before the final show was broadcast in the UK that Taylor was the winner. The news landed in my aggregator from Halley Suitt, not that I blame Halley for posting on what was going on in her world.
I also keep falling over spoilers for The West Wing on Dave Winer's blog. Again, I don't blame Dave.
What I don't understand is why can't we have ABC, NBC and Fox broadcasting concurrently in the UK. I'm sure someone will fill me in with all the really clever reasons why this can't happen, but with the globalisation of information via the internet and blogs, the failure of television networks to go global is an anachronism.
I assume IPTV and ever faster broadband speeds will make my issue go away sooner rather than later, but right now sooner can't come quickly enough.
Tags: American Idol, Halley Suitt, Dave Winer
PowerPoint with a difference
This is a slide from my generic PowerPoint deck. I use it whilst I'm explaining why you won't see a bullet point during my presentations and why you will see lots of graphics. Bullet points are boring, images improve the transfer and retention of information. The panda is Tai Shan, resident of the National Zoo, Washington DC.
Tai Shan will be one year old on July 9th and you can often see him "live" on the PandaCam .
There is currently a campaign underway to make Tai Shan the official animal symbol of Washington DC. The details are over at the Pandafix Blog.
Tags: Tai Shan
Tai Shan will be one year old on July 9th and you can often see him "live" on the PandaCam .
There is currently a campaign underway to make Tai Shan the official animal symbol of Washington DC. The details are over at the Pandafix Blog.
Tags: Tai Shan
SnagIt to Flickr made easy
TechSmith have released a very powerful new (and free) extension to their world beating SnagIt screen capture tool. The extension loads new profiles to the application that, at the touch of a button, enable the familiar screen capture and editing capabilities of SnagIt but then add the capability to push the finished capture straight to Flickr. Awesome.
I picked this up on the Techsmith blog here. And here is a direct link to the screencast that demonstrates the new functonality.
I took a screenshot of one of my favourite web destinations, Pandora, which is here.
I'd love to see a similar extension for Blogger!
Tags: TechSmith, SnagIt, Flickr, Pandora
I picked this up on the Techsmith blog here. And here is a direct link to the screencast that demonstrates the new functonality.
I took a screenshot of one of my favourite web destinations, Pandora, which is here.
I'd love to see a similar extension for Blogger!
Tags: TechSmith, SnagIt, Flickr, Pandora
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Yawning
I love this picture. I think it's one of the best pictures that I've ever taken, which probably makes me not much of a photographer.
This is our cat Mulder, who looks like he's really angry in this picture. In fact this is him in mid-yawn.
This is our cat Mulder, who looks like he's really angry in this picture. In fact this is him in mid-yawn.
Development in C# and .NET
One of my geek colleagues at work, Tony Caruana, has started a blog about C# and .NET development. It's not my field of expertise at all so I probably won't understand a lot of what he writes, nevertheless, welcome to the blogosphere Tony.
Tags: C Sharp, .Net
Tags: C Sharp, .Net
Monday, May 22, 2006
The Da Vinci Code
Last night, Linda and I went to see The Da Vinci Code starring Tom Hanks and Audrey Tatou. The reviews have been pretty negative but I have to say we found it to be an excellent film and if you liked the book I'd definitely recommend it.
Tom Hanks has taken a fair amount of stick and to be fair he did look a little stilted, particularly in the early part of the story, but I think he was acting the role - of a bookish professor drawn into a murder mystery, a character a little out of his depth but doing his best to deal with the puzzles presented to him.
I think Ron Howard did a terrific job of bringing a complex plot to the big screen and I didn't walk out trying to work out what was missing from the book. This makes for a long movie but to be honest when I worked out we'd been in the cinema nearly three hours our first thought was about how fast the time had passed.
As for the controversy over the some of the ideas woven into the plot, when did we forget that fiction is a creation that does not represent actuality but has been invented?
Tags: Da Vinci Code
Tom Hanks has taken a fair amount of stick and to be fair he did look a little stilted, particularly in the early part of the story, but I think he was acting the role - of a bookish professor drawn into a murder mystery, a character a little out of his depth but doing his best to deal with the puzzles presented to him.
I think Ron Howard did a terrific job of bringing a complex plot to the big screen and I didn't walk out trying to work out what was missing from the book. This makes for a long movie but to be honest when I worked out we'd been in the cinema nearly three hours our first thought was about how fast the time had passed.
As for the controversy over the some of the ideas woven into the plot, when did we forget that fiction is a creation that does not represent actuality but has been invented?
Tags: Da Vinci Code
Thursday, May 11, 2006
SnagIt the wondertoy
I am a huge, huge fan of SnagIt, and am seriously enjoying the latest incarnation; SnagIt 8. Betsy Weber, Chief Evangelist at Techsmith (the creators of SnagIt) blogs over at the cunningly titled Techsmith Blog. She's at a conference in Vegas and making short screencasts with visitors to the Techsmith booth using another tool from the Techsmith portfolio, Camtasia. Very cool if you want to quickly see the power of what can be done with both SnagIt and Camtasia.
Tags: SnagIt, Camtasia, Techsmith
Tags: SnagIt, Camtasia, Techsmith
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Capturing a Dream
My best friend, who also just happens to be my wife, Linda has started blogging over at Capturing a Dream. She's planning to focus on her adventures with photography, Adobe Photoshop and all things digital. Welcome to the blogosphere sweetheart.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Inbox Zero and the GTD Prayer
Merlin Mann has just finished up his 43 Folders series titled Inbox Zero, which contains some really good advice on getting your email under control. Here's a link to the wrap up post which contains the pointers to all the articles in the series.
Merlin has also linked today to the GTD Prayer. If you're not a GTD person then this will be pretty meaningless. For those who have embraced GTD you should find this to be pretty hilarious....
Merlin has also linked today to the GTD Prayer. If you're not a GTD person then this will be pretty meaningless. For those who have embraced GTD you should find this to be pretty hilarious....
The GTD PrayerTags: GTD, Merlin Mann, 43 Folders, LifeHacksOur lifehacks, which art in contexts,
Inbox zero be thy aim.
Thy Kinkless done.
Thy Mind Sweep fun, in @work as it is in @honeydo.
Give us this day our next action.
And forgive us our open loops, as we forgive those who delete our email.
And lead us not into web surfing.
Deliver us from IM.
For thine is the Moleskine, the Project and the Due Date
For someday/maybe,
Allen.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Second Life substituting for real life?
Halley Suitt poses a good question....
On the other hand I've always thought there's an element of addictive personality traits involved in being a geek and I'm sure there will be some who cross the line. In these cases Second Life will be a substitute for real life. Life, all life, is like that. There's the majority who tend to find a balance but at the ends of the spectrum there are people who get it all horribly wrong.
Tags: Halley Suitt, Robert Scoble, Kent Newsome, Eric Rice, Second Life
do the people who are all excited about Second Life actually have a first life, or any life at all?Given that Robert Scoble, Kent Newsome and Eric Rice are three names that spring to mind immediately as people excited about Second Life then I'd have to conclude the answer is that at least some of the excited people do have a first life.
On the other hand I've always thought there's an element of addictive personality traits involved in being a geek and I'm sure there will be some who cross the line. In these cases Second Life will be a substitute for real life. Life, all life, is like that. There's the majority who tend to find a balance but at the ends of the spectrum there are people who get it all horribly wrong.
Tags: Halley Suitt, Robert Scoble, Kent Newsome, Eric Rice, Second Life
Harry Potter
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, the latest in the JK Rowling series, has been named Book of the Year at the British Book Awards.
J.K. is quoted as saying....
I was a little suprised to find a link to a story that Gary Oldman hasn't been picked up to appear in "Order of the Phoenix". I wonder what that's all about?
Tags: Harry Potter
J.K. is quoted as saying....
"I am enjoying writing the last book in the series and it's coming along nicely."Thank heavens for that, we are all having to wait long enough as it is!
I was a little suprised to find a link to a story that Gary Oldman hasn't been picked up to appear in "Order of the Phoenix". I wonder what that's all about?
Tags: Harry Potter
Google to disrupt Web 2.0?
Newsweek covers the growth of the "new web". The article picks out MySpace, Flickr, Facebook, Craigslist and YouTube as key examples of sites that exemplify the empowerment of communities.
(1) There is a LOT of speculation that Google are into operating systems, PC's and browswers. I must admit I always thought they are more into attention, because if they can grab your attention they can serve up advertising.
(2) MySpace and the other social communities offer huge platforms through which to serve advertising but interestingly Google have let Yahoo get in first to acquire a number of the leading sites, with the obvious exception of MySpace which was picked up by Rupert Murdoch.
I keep waiting for Google to disrupt the social web arena and Eric's quote is the first evidence I've seen that they might be up to something. I wonder what Larry and Sergey have in mind.
Tags: Web 2.0, Google, disruption
"The fact that our site is almost completely self-service and community-moderated allows our tiny staff of 19 to manage the seventh largest Web site in the world," says (Craigslist) CEO Jim Buckmaster.And then I spotted this fascinating quote from Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google....
YouTube, a year-old start-up whose 25 employees work in offices above a San Mateo, Calif., pizzeria, is competing toe to toe with giant media conglomerates by having its millions of users supply it with the 35,000 videos added to the site each day; visitors to the site view 30 million videos a day.
MySpace is preparing to pass Yahoo as the No. 1 site.
...(Eric) doesn't understand why people think his company wants to be the next Microsoft. "Everybody thinks we're building operating systems, PCs and browsers. They clearly don't get it," he says. So where does Google want to go? "Look at MySpace," he says cryptically. "Very interesting."Fascinating because....
(1) There is a LOT of speculation that Google are into operating systems, PC's and browswers. I must admit I always thought they are more into attention, because if they can grab your attention they can serve up advertising.
(2) MySpace and the other social communities offer huge platforms through which to serve advertising but interestingly Google have let Yahoo get in first to acquire a number of the leading sites, with the obvious exception of MySpace which was picked up by Rupert Murdoch.
I keep waiting for Google to disrupt the social web arena and Eric's quote is the first evidence I've seen that they might be up to something. I wonder what Larry and Sergey have in mind.
Tags: Web 2.0, Google, disruption
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
The power of American Idol
Speaking of American Idol, here's a little factoid for those that think that the program isn't credible.
Kelly Clarkson just became the first artist in the history of the Adult Top 40 to score five top 10s from the same album!
Link [via the American Idol News Feed]
Tags: American Idol
Kelly Clarkson just became the first artist in the history of the Adult Top 40 to score five top 10s from the same album!
Link [via the American Idol News Feed]
Tags: American Idol
Friday, March 24, 2006
Polishing my crystal ball
In our household you have two choices. You either enjoy watching American Idol and the X Factor or you grin politely, and quietly blog in the background.
Actually that's not entirely fair, because I do usually enjoy the closing stages of these shows and I enjoy laughing at Simon Cowell's better quips. Simon was interviewed recently by Larry King. You can find a transcript of the interview here. During the interview Simon gave his prediction for the final three of this season's American Idol as....
(a) Taylor, the guy with the grey hair
(b) Chris, bald guy (rocker)
(c) Kellie Pickler, southern girl
I don't completely agree, but we aren't far apart. Here's my view of the final three (in no particular order) :
(a) Taylor
(b) Chris
(c) Mandisa, diva
If you twisted my arm for a winner right now, I'd go for Chris. However I reserve the right to update my predictions when we get a bit closer to the finishing line.
Tags: American Idol, Simon Cowell
Actually that's not entirely fair, because I do usually enjoy the closing stages of these shows and I enjoy laughing at Simon Cowell's better quips. Simon was interviewed recently by Larry King. You can find a transcript of the interview here. During the interview Simon gave his prediction for the final three of this season's American Idol as....
(a) Taylor, the guy with the grey hair
(b) Chris, bald guy (rocker)
(c) Kellie Pickler, southern girl
I don't completely agree, but we aren't far apart. Here's my view of the final three (in no particular order) :
(a) Taylor
(b) Chris
(c) Mandisa, diva
If you twisted my arm for a winner right now, I'd go for Chris. However I reserve the right to update my predictions when we get a bit closer to the finishing line.
Tags: American Idol, Simon Cowell
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Are you always on?
Working smarter, not harder has always been an aspiration, although I'm not always successful in making it a reality. I was immediately drawn, therefore, to read Anne Fisher's article "Be smarter at work, slack off"
Anne goes on to suggest that in a knowledge work culture the companies that succeed might be those that facilitate the time for workers to think strategically. Google is already ahead of the curve on this issue with it's 20% time.
The CNN article also touches on another of my favourite themes: the always on, always connected, interruption driven, culture. One of my best lifehacks of recent times was to end the tyranny of email notification.
Tags: GTD, Lifehacks, Productivity
Scientists have only recently begun to realize that people may do their best thinking when they are not concentrating on work at all... immediately resonated with me. That's one of reasons I always have my Olympus Digital Voice Recorder handy. I have a one hour commute to work by car, and that time is generally my best, and most productive, thinking time. The fruits of that thinking get recorded as they happen, and get thrown into my GTD collection process when I'm at my computer.
Anne goes on to suggest that in a knowledge work culture the companies that succeed might be those that facilitate the time for workers to think strategically. Google is already ahead of the curve on this issue with it's 20% time.
The CNN article also touches on another of my favourite themes: the always on, always connected, interruption driven, culture. One of my best lifehacks of recent times was to end the tyranny of email notification.
The "time cost" of refocusing your attention may be only a few seconds with each switch, but the researchers found that, over time, it reduced people's total efficiency by 20% to 40%.And that's one of the ways I kick ass when compared to your average crackberry addict.
Tags: GTD, Lifehacks, Productivity
Saturday, March 18, 2006
I don't want a list, I wanna know how I kick ass with Vista
In a follow up to my question: "Why is Vista better than XP?", Robert Scoble has written two comments on his blog (here and here), which form a 30 second pitch for Vista. Farhan Ahmed took a similar approach here.
The problem with these lists is that they aren't telling me a story about how I'm gonna kick ass with Vista.
I don't say that to offend Robert (who I think is a true gentleman of the blogosphere), or anyone at Microsoft. I'm suggesting that Microsoft has some time to get the story right and turn me into a customer evangelist.
Tags: Vista, Microsoft, Robert Scoble
The problem with these lists is that they aren't telling me a story about how I'm gonna kick ass with Vista.
I don't say that to offend Robert (who I think is a true gentleman of the blogosphere), or anyone at Microsoft. I'm suggesting that Microsoft has some time to get the story right and turn me into a customer evangelist.
Tags: Vista, Microsoft, Robert Scoble
Friday, March 17, 2006
I knew there was a reason I work in IT.
Apparently computer nerds have been voted Britain's most popular people.
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Are Blogs like sharks?
I'm a big fan of Garr Reynolds' Presentation Zen blog.
Garr recently published a post that contained this fab graphic:
...and it was accompanied by this sample narration:
Garr recently published a post that contained this fab graphic:
...and it was accompanied by this sample narration:
Blogs are like sharks. Sharks have to keep moving...or die. A blog has "to keep moving," keep progressing, be consistently updated...or it will die (as many blogs have)....
I loved this for two reasons:
(1) It's a great lesson in the zen of PowerPoint
(2) It speaks to one my constant internal questions about blogging. Is it worth blogging if I can't be as consistent as I'd like, for reasons which are largely outside of my control?
Update: Shel Israel over at Naked Conversations suggests consistency is not as important as posting when you have something to say.
Tags: PowerPoint, Blogging, Shel Israel, Naked Conversations
Goblet of Fire DVD release date
Anybody mind if I'm momentarily ticked off that Goblet of Fire was released on DVD in the USA before it released in the UK? I mean, for heaven's sake, the film even premiered in the UK.
Tags: Harry Potter, Goblet of Fire
Tags: Harry Potter, Goblet of Fire
30 seconds on: Quitting Blogging
David Allen is halting his personal blog (for now). Dave Winer announced earlier this week that he will quit blogging by the end of the year. I have to say I found their need to make an announcement a tad egotistical. Why not just let their respective blogs tail off naturally. And just say something when they have something to say. I can't believe Dave Winer will have nothing to say, retired or not.
Now if only the other 280,000 members of the A-List would follow suit I might get to be a gatekeeper!
Tags: 30 seconds on, David Allen, Dave Winer, Blogging, gatekeepers
Now if only the other 280,000 members of the A-List would follow suit I might get to be a gatekeeper!
Tags: 30 seconds on, David Allen, Dave Winer, Blogging, gatekeepers
30 seconds on: Why is Vista better than XP?
Reading this post on Mini-Microsoft my immediate thought was that Robert Scoble and the many Microsoft Bloggers had better get the story straight pretty quickly on why Vista is better than XP. "...more stable, safer, and faster than XP" is not gonna have me queueing up for a copy. I thinks it's safe to say that the gauntlet has been thrown down.
Tags: 30 seconds on, Vista, Robert Scoble, Mini-Microsoft
Tags: 30 seconds on, Vista, Robert Scoble, Mini-Microsoft
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Blogging for Traffic
Kent Newsome makes some compelling arguments in the ongoing debate about traffic and linking behaviour.
I've made some of the same points myself recently here, here, and here but Kent wraps the whole debate up in a way that's difficult to take issue with. It's hard, for example, to argue with the following logic:
(a) Would I blog in a vacuum where no one reads my blog or links to it? I'd have to be very sad to say yes to that.
(b) Therefore readership (aka traffic) and links to my blog are a legitimate goal.
And Kent comes up with a clever counterpoint to those who argue that we shouldn't have at least a passing interest in traffic and links:
Tags: Blogging, Blog Building, Kent Newsome
I've made some of the same points myself recently here, here, and here but Kent wraps the whole debate up in a way that's difficult to take issue with. It's hard, for example, to argue with the following logic:
(a) Would I blog in a vacuum where no one reads my blog or links to it? I'd have to be very sad to say yes to that.
(b) Therefore readership (aka traffic) and links to my blog are a legitimate goal.
And Kent comes up with a clever counterpoint to those who argue that we shouldn't have at least a passing interest in traffic and links:
To tell someone that traffic and links don't matter at all is a little like a rich guy telling a poor guy not to be so concerned about money. I don't obsess about money, but making some is certainly one of my goals when I head out the door each weekday morning.I wish I'd said that!
Tags: Blogging, Blog Building, Kent Newsome
Friday, March 03, 2006
On the M List it's a little bit about traffic
My personal bit of news is that I've picked up a link from memeorandum. I don't know how long I was on tech.memeorandum and given that I don't seem to have had any traffic as a result then it can't have been long.
Dang.
It's okay for Steve Rubel and Robert Scoble to say that it's not about traffic but down on the M List, as Brian Clark points out, it's at least a litle bit about traffic.
Tags: Memeorandum, tech.memeorandum, Steve Rubel, Robert Scoble, Brian Clark, Blogging, Blog Building
Dang.
It's okay for Steve Rubel and Robert Scoble to say that it's not about traffic but down on the M List, as Brian Clark points out, it's at least a litle bit about traffic.
Tags: Memeorandum, tech.memeorandum, Steve Rubel, Robert Scoble, Brian Clark, Blogging, Blog Building
Requiem for Technorati
I'm basically a fan of Technorati. I think Dave Sifry is one of the most responsive CEO's I've ever come across. The functionality that Technorati advertises is functionality that I want. And I can see why I'd want to use [at least some of] the new features that keep coming along.
If you're expecting me to say "but" about now you'd be quite right. As self-appointed evangelist Kent Newsome puts it, the reliability factor is hurting Technorati.
The problems that I keep experiencing are:
(1) Disapearing Links: this morning Technorati reports that I have 11 links from 8 sites. The page then lists only 4 links.
(2) Assuming my Technorati ranking is related to the number of sites that link to me, my ranking hasn't moved in weeks, despite the fact that all my still visible links are less than a week old.
(3) Search and Tag Search are frequently unavailable at peak time as demand outstrips the site's capability to supply. Tag Search is very important to me when I'm writing and tagging my posts.
I think the Technorati blog should be keeping us in the picture about what's in the pipeline to address these issues. It's not like Technorati doesn't know about the tools to keep abreast of what the blogosphere is saying about them. They can't argue that they don't have the tools to respond to what is being said. So why the silence?
I really like what Technorati have done, what they have achieved and they are an important part of my daily experience of the internet and blogosphere. To stay that way they will need to get it together soon.
Tags: Technorati, Kent Newsome, Dave Sifry.
If you're expecting me to say "but" about now you'd be quite right. As self-appointed evangelist Kent Newsome puts it, the reliability factor is hurting Technorati.
The problems that I keep experiencing are:
(1) Disapearing Links: this morning Technorati reports that I have 11 links from 8 sites. The page then lists only 4 links.
(2) Assuming my Technorati ranking is related to the number of sites that link to me, my ranking hasn't moved in weeks, despite the fact that all my still visible links are less than a week old.
(3) Search and Tag Search are frequently unavailable at peak time as demand outstrips the site's capability to supply. Tag Search is very important to me when I'm writing and tagging my posts.
I think the Technorati blog should be keeping us in the picture about what's in the pipeline to address these issues. It's not like Technorati doesn't know about the tools to keep abreast of what the blogosphere is saying about them. They can't argue that they don't have the tools to respond to what is being said. So why the silence?
I really like what Technorati have done, what they have achieved and they are an important part of my daily experience of the internet and blogosphere. To stay that way they will need to get it together soon.
Tags: Technorati, Kent Newsome, Dave Sifry.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Who watches the watchers?
Boing Boing has gone to war with censorware in general and SmartFilter in particular. At the bottom of it all is the decision to classify Boing Boing as a "nudity" site, and when the team at Boing Boing made the case for re-classification SmartFilter, unwisely in my opinion, stuck to their guns.
Not a group famed for taking it lying down, Boing Boing have struck back with a guide to defeating censorware. The issue is important because of the number of readers and potential readers who are no longer able to access Boing Boing content, and given that Boing Boing is ad supported there is a revenue implication.
The thread has been interesting to me because of my own problems at work with Websense, which was implemented at the beginning of the year. Don't get me wrong, I understand why we would use a product like Websense. I don't mind that I can't get to adult rated material at work. Keeping us away from gambling sites seems like common sense. As we should get our entertainment fix at home. That all seems kind of right.
And then something like this happens:
Kent Newsome is a blogger I've mentioned a few times in recent weeks. I enjoy his blog and in the weeks I've been reading him he's picked up links from some A-listers, including Robert Scoble.
Newsome.Org is the site that hosts his blog and in my view it's been incorrectly classified, but what can Kent do about it? Kent's blog isn't ad supported so there is no revenue implication but this will impact his readership. If you argue it won't impact his readership then my question becomes why Websense would classify it at all. The fact is that when I hit the restriction today, it affected his readership today.
The decision to classify Kent as entertainment has been made by a Websense appointed censor. And here we get to the nub of any censorship argument. What qualifies this person to act as a censor? Not everything is black or white and what happens to all the sites caught in the grey area if the censors act in a heavy-handed way.
Who watches the watchers?
Tags: Boing Boing, SmartFilter, Websense, censorship, Kent Newsome
Not a group famed for taking it lying down, Boing Boing have struck back with a guide to defeating censorware. The issue is important because of the number of readers and potential readers who are no longer able to access Boing Boing content, and given that Boing Boing is ad supported there is a revenue implication.
The thread has been interesting to me because of my own problems at work with Websense, which was implemented at the beginning of the year. Don't get me wrong, I understand why we would use a product like Websense. I don't mind that I can't get to adult rated material at work. Keeping us away from gambling sites seems like common sense. As we should get our entertainment fix at home. That all seems kind of right.
And then something like this happens:
Kent Newsome is a blogger I've mentioned a few times in recent weeks. I enjoy his blog and in the weeks I've been reading him he's picked up links from some A-listers, including Robert Scoble.
Newsome.Org is the site that hosts his blog and in my view it's been incorrectly classified, but what can Kent do about it? Kent's blog isn't ad supported so there is no revenue implication but this will impact his readership. If you argue it won't impact his readership then my question becomes why Websense would classify it at all. The fact is that when I hit the restriction today, it affected his readership today.
The decision to classify Kent as entertainment has been made by a Websense appointed censor. And here we get to the nub of any censorship argument. What qualifies this person to act as a censor? Not everything is black or white and what happens to all the sites caught in the grey area if the censors act in a heavy-handed way.
Who watches the watchers?
Tags: Boing Boing, SmartFilter, Websense, censorship, Kent Newsome
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Would I want to be dooce?
So Krisco and I are having a cosy chat about the state of blogosphere and then she asks would I want to be dooce? While I was crossing my legs at the mere thought of all the surgery that would involve, Krisco clarified the question as: would I want that level of popularity?
The upside: It would absolutely change my life. That level of popularity and, let's be honest, the level of income that it brings would enable me to approach the old hierarchy of needs in a different way. I'd get to be my own boss and stay home a lot more. Sidenote: I haven't the first clue as to what that income is, but by their own admission it is sufficient that neither dooce or her husband currently need to work what you might call a "normal" job.
The downside: It's a huge risk. It's alright if you have a handle on what it is that makes your blog successful and are able to sustain the formula, but what if you can't. How about a couple of months of writers block. Let's face it, no one would notice if I didn't post for a couple of months, but it would wipe dooce off the map. Whilst there are no consequences for me if I fall out of the Top 350,000 blogs on Technorati, the same cannot be true for dooce if she falls out of the Top 100. Tristan Louis recently posted a clinical analysis of the Technorati Top 100 which proves just how dynamic the list is, and by extension how tenuous anyone's grip is on a position within it (unless, it would seem, your blog is named Boing Boing) .
The other thing that comes with a successful blog appears to be the detractors. I've seen a little of that side of things from reading the comments on Scoble's blog and I've seen dooce refer several times to what I'd label as hate mail. I wouldn't underestimate how difficult it might be to handle that on a daily basis.
On balance, no I wouldn't want that level of popularity. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't want my blog to have higher traffic levels than it does today. An interesting question is: where is the happy medium?
Tags: Crib Ceiling, Blogging, dooce, Technorati, Robert Scoble
The upside: It would absolutely change my life. That level of popularity and, let's be honest, the level of income that it brings would enable me to approach the old hierarchy of needs in a different way. I'd get to be my own boss and stay home a lot more. Sidenote: I haven't the first clue as to what that income is, but by their own admission it is sufficient that neither dooce or her husband currently need to work what you might call a "normal" job.
The downside: It's a huge risk. It's alright if you have a handle on what it is that makes your blog successful and are able to sustain the formula, but what if you can't. How about a couple of months of writers block. Let's face it, no one would notice if I didn't post for a couple of months, but it would wipe dooce off the map. Whilst there are no consequences for me if I fall out of the Top 350,000 blogs on Technorati, the same cannot be true for dooce if she falls out of the Top 100. Tristan Louis recently posted a clinical analysis of the Technorati Top 100 which proves just how dynamic the list is, and by extension how tenuous anyone's grip is on a position within it (unless, it would seem, your blog is named Boing Boing) .
The other thing that comes with a successful blog appears to be the detractors. I've seen a little of that side of things from reading the comments on Scoble's blog and I've seen dooce refer several times to what I'd label as hate mail. I wouldn't underestimate how difficult it might be to handle that on a daily basis.
On balance, no I wouldn't want that level of popularity. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't want my blog to have higher traffic levels than it does today. An interesting question is: where is the happy medium?
Tags: Crib Ceiling, Blogging, dooce, Technorati, Robert Scoble
Blogging peaks?
The esteemed Washington Post appears to have bought into some of the recent twaddle that somehow blogging has peaked. Personally, I don't think we've even reached breakfast in the blogging timeline.
The article quotes a Gallup pole titled "Blog Readership Bogged Down" that reports that only 9 percent of those polled said they regularly read blogs. I wonder how many people have read a blog in it's online form and never realised. The poll goes on to claim that 66 percent never read them. I wonder how that will change when Vista and the next generation of Office with embedded RSS brings the technology front and centre.
Update: Kent makes a more reasoned argument as to why the blogosphere is still a growth area.
Tags: Washington Post, Gallup, Blogging, Kent Newsome
The article quotes a Gallup pole titled "Blog Readership Bogged Down" that reports that only 9 percent of those polled said they regularly read blogs. I wonder how many people have read a blog in it's online form and never realised. The poll goes on to claim that 66 percent never read them. I wonder how that will change when Vista and the next generation of Office with embedded RSS brings the technology front and centre.
Update: Kent makes a more reasoned argument as to why the blogosphere is still a growth area.
Tags: Washington Post, Gallup, Blogging, Kent Newsome
Blogging Psychology
Crib Ceiling pointed me today in the direction of an article titled "Blogs to Riches" from the New York Magazine. The article immediately brought to mind something Kent Newsome wrote at the start of the year on "Why It's Impossible to Build a New Blog in 2006" and my response to Kent which was "I choose to believe the glass is half full"
Kent's thesis was that successful blogs have one of three things going for them:
1) they got there first and filled an empty space
2) the blog represents a large company which has a ready made audience
3) they get help from established bloggers
Kent went on to make this statement:
So if all this is true what advice does the article have for the aspiring blogger:
Having spent a lot of time reading the blogosphere in the last few months I can see more clearly what Kent was saying back at the start of the year and the article backs up what Kent was saying with a splash of psychology.
So what does all this mean for me:
1) Would I like to write a popular blog? Hell, who wouldn't.
2) Do I think my blog will ever be A List? Not if I keep doing what I'm doing. I'm certainly not regular or relentless enough, and my stuff isn't generally what you'd call witty. I'm not about to crank out dozens of blogs, I have enough trouble keeping one blog going.
3) Does it matter if my blog never makes the A List? Nope. I'd like to think that more people are interested in what I have to say than the few visitors I do get, but I don't do this to join the A List. By the way visitors - thanks for stopping by and reading what I have to say!
4) Why do I do this? I do this to take part and because I think I have things to say. I do it because I've met some interesting people and because I've come across interesting insights and I'd like to keep meeting people and continue to be stimulated by what others think. I've discovered lots of software and ideas that I'd never have found otherwise. Some of the things I've found changed my life, some of it made me more productive, some things made me laugh, other things made me sad. Some of it has been uplifting, sometimes it makes me fume. The internet truly is an amazing place.
Tags: Crib Ceiling, Kent Newsome, Blogging, power law, A List
Kent's thesis was that successful blogs have one of three things going for them:
1) they got there first and filled an empty space
2) the blog represents a large company which has a ready made audience
3) they get help from established bloggers
Kent went on to make this statement:
I no longer believe you can have a successful blog without a ready made audience. Why? Because, unfortunately, the blogosphere is a closed system. There are too many people who believe they are going to get rich by writing a blog. Once you add the element of money into the equation, the element of competition soon follows. So you get the haves linking to one another (and largely only to one another) and ignoring (or at best tolerating) the have nots, in an effort to boost their status and, perhaps more importantly, protect their shares of the readership pie. Anyone who argues this isn't true hasn't spent much time surfing around the blogosphere.The article adds some weight to Kent's contention that there is disparity in the blogospere and suggests an explantion for it. The article relies heavily on research by Clay Shirky, an instructor at New York University, who looked at linking behaviour on a sample of blogs.
When Shirky sorted the blogs from most linked to least linked and lined them up on a chart, the curve began up high, with the lucky few. But then it quickly fell into a steep dive, flattening off into the distance, where the vast majority of ignored blogs reside. The A-list is teensy, the B-list is bigger, and the C-list is simply massive.
Economists and network scientists have a name for Shirky’s curve: a “power-law distribution.” Power laws are not limited to the Web; in fact, they’re common to many social systems. If you chart the world’s wealth, it forms a power-law curve: A tiny number of rich people possess most of the world’s capital, while almost everyone else has little or none.
The power law is dominant because of a quirk of human behavior: When we are asked to decide among a dizzying array of options, we do not act like dispassionate decision-makers, weighing each option on its own merits. Popularity breeds popularity.
“It’s not about moral failings or any sort of psychological thing. People aren’t lazy—they just base their decisions on what other people are doing,” Shirky says. “It’s just social physics. It’s like gravity, one of those forces.”Kent and I agreed that there is an advantage to being an early adopter and the article supports this with the statement that first-movers get a crucial leg up in this kind of power-law system.
The article describes three business models for blogging success:
1) The accidental tourist: A lone writer who starts a blog as a mere hobby but then wakes up one day to realize his audience is now as big as a small city newspaper.
2) The record-label approach: Crank out dozens and dozens of sites and hope that one or two will become hits. [The Jason Calcanis model]
3) The boutique approach: a publisher who crafts individual blogs the way Condé Nast crafts magazines—each one carefully aimed at some ineffable, deluxe readership. [The Nick Denton model]
So if all this is true what advice does the article have for the aspiring blogger:
1)Regularity and relentlessness,” says Arianna Huffington. “That’s how you break through the static of the 5,000-channel universe.” What’s more, a blog is like a shark: If it stops moving, it dies. Without fresh postings every day—hell, every few minutes—even the most well-linked blog will quickly lose its audience. The A-listers cannot rest on their laurels.
2) “The good news is that it’s still possible to create a top-ranked blog,” says Shirky. “The bad news is, the way to get into the top ten now seems to be public relations.” Just posting witty entries and hoping for traffic won’t do it. You have to actively seek out attention from the press. “That’s how they’re jump-starting the links structure. It’s not organic.”
Having spent a lot of time reading the blogosphere in the last few months I can see more clearly what Kent was saying back at the start of the year and the article backs up what Kent was saying with a splash of psychology.
So what does all this mean for me:
1) Would I like to write a popular blog? Hell, who wouldn't.
2) Do I think my blog will ever be A List? Not if I keep doing what I'm doing. I'm certainly not regular or relentless enough, and my stuff isn't generally what you'd call witty. I'm not about to crank out dozens of blogs, I have enough trouble keeping one blog going.
3) Does it matter if my blog never makes the A List? Nope. I'd like to think that more people are interested in what I have to say than the few visitors I do get, but I don't do this to join the A List. By the way visitors - thanks for stopping by and reading what I have to say!
4) Why do I do this? I do this to take part and because I think I have things to say. I do it because I've met some interesting people and because I've come across interesting insights and I'd like to keep meeting people and continue to be stimulated by what others think. I've discovered lots of software and ideas that I'd never have found otherwise. Some of the things I've found changed my life, some of it made me more productive, some things made me laugh, other things made me sad. Some of it has been uplifting, sometimes it makes me fume. The internet truly is an amazing place.
Tags: Crib Ceiling, Kent Newsome, Blogging, power law, A List
Friday, February 24, 2006
Tilting at windmills
Dave Winer has written a contribution today entitled "Hate in the Blogosphere". In it he notes that the level of venom being directed at him on a personal level has crossed the line. I've watched this in my aggregator for days without really having a handle on what exactly is the issue, but understanding that their are some deep feelings on both sides. What I've mainly seen until today though has been passion.
Sidenote: Although Dave's post turned up in my aggregator and I've used the link within the post that arrived in my aggregator, the link isn't working. It will take you to today's Scripting News but the essay on Hate isn't there.
I noticed the other day Robert Scoble was being subjected to a level of personal attack in the comments on his blog that I found offensive. Over the past few days I've been pretty sick with a cold and chest infection and given that I had some time on my hands whilst being laid up in bed I tilted at windmills.
In other words I engaged with a few of the more unpleasant commenters and I engaged them on Scoble's blog in the comments. I was pleased to see a few people jump in and support my view but I was also mildly suprised by the level of apathy.
I fear that we will lose good and important conversationalists and contributors who will be drowned out by those who make it their mission to shout louder or whose aim is merely to be offensive. It's a form of mob rule. It's anarchy. I agree we shouldn't tolerate it, but I'm not sure what we do about it?
Technorati Tags: Dave Winer, Robert Scoble, Blogging
Sidenote: Although Dave's post turned up in my aggregator and I've used the link within the post that arrived in my aggregator, the link isn't working. It will take you to today's Scripting News but the essay on Hate isn't there.
I noticed the other day Robert Scoble was being subjected to a level of personal attack in the comments on his blog that I found offensive. Over the past few days I've been pretty sick with a cold and chest infection and given that I had some time on my hands whilst being laid up in bed I tilted at windmills.
In other words I engaged with a few of the more unpleasant commenters and I engaged them on Scoble's blog in the comments. I was pleased to see a few people jump in and support my view but I was also mildly suprised by the level of apathy.
I fear that we will lose good and important conversationalists and contributors who will be drowned out by those who make it their mission to shout louder or whose aim is merely to be offensive. It's a form of mob rule. It's anarchy. I agree we shouldn't tolerate it, but I'm not sure what we do about it?
Technorati Tags: Dave Winer, Robert Scoble, Blogging
Rex Hammock: Blog because....
Dave Winer points this morning at an interesting article by Rex Hammock:
Rex Hammock: "It's a mistake when anyone attempts to place mass-media business metrics to defining success or failure of a weblog."
The quote that rang bells for me though, was this one:
"If you run a business, blog because one day, I promise, you will be glad you have a place to respond when the conversation is about you."
Tags: Dave Winer, Rex Hammock, Blogging
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Are YouTube just another bunch of pirates?
I continue to enjoy Newsome.Org. Kent pointed me today in the direction of a contribution by Jason Calcanis on why YouTube is not a real business.
Jason makes his main point that the file sharing capabilities of YouTube makes it a business that relies on piracy to generate it's ranking. Unfortunately he extended the thought to call it a silly little business that anyone could start in a week and for that he's taken some heat. Counter arguments have pointed out that Flickr is similarly an FTP site with Tags, that technically what has been achieved by YouTube in terms of scalability isn't easy, and that the communities that sites like Flickr and YouTube have built are not easily replicated. Good points.
Let's back up a second to Jason's main point. People want facilities that allow them to share photos, videos, files and content. The problem is that if these facilities are delivered as free services then those companies are also delivering the capability to support piracy. Blogging is not immune, witness the rise of the piracy of blog entries being re-packaged by ad-supported delivery mechanisms.
Isn't one of the issues what YouTube are doing to deal with the issue of piracy? Are they doing nothing or even worse are they relying on the piracy and therefore encouraging it to an extent, without crossing the legal line, in order to build their community? And given their business model, scale = revenue. Flickr, by contrast, appear to be more interested in copyright infringement and self-policing. It's possible that if YouTube fail to police themselves adequately that eventually someone else (e.g. the courts) will do it for them.
Technorati Tags: Kent Newsome, Jason Calcanis, YouTube, Flickr
Jason makes his main point that the file sharing capabilities of YouTube makes it a business that relies on piracy to generate it's ranking. Unfortunately he extended the thought to call it a silly little business that anyone could start in a week and for that he's taken some heat. Counter arguments have pointed out that Flickr is similarly an FTP site with Tags, that technically what has been achieved by YouTube in terms of scalability isn't easy, and that the communities that sites like Flickr and YouTube have built are not easily replicated. Good points.
Let's back up a second to Jason's main point. People want facilities that allow them to share photos, videos, files and content. The problem is that if these facilities are delivered as free services then those companies are also delivering the capability to support piracy. Blogging is not immune, witness the rise of the piracy of blog entries being re-packaged by ad-supported delivery mechanisms.
Isn't one of the issues what YouTube are doing to deal with the issue of piracy? Are they doing nothing or even worse are they relying on the piracy and therefore encouraging it to an extent, without crossing the legal line, in order to build their community? And given their business model, scale = revenue. Flickr, by contrast, appear to be more interested in copyright infringement and self-policing. It's possible that if YouTube fail to police themselves adequately that eventually someone else (e.g. the courts) will do it for them.
Technorati Tags: Kent Newsome, Jason Calcanis, YouTube, Flickr
Saturday, February 18, 2006
In the end today's gatekeepers get trampled on too...
In the beginning DARPA created the internet. And the geeks saw that this was good.
And Tim Berners-Lee said, "Let there be HTML," and there was web pages. The geeks saw that html was good, but it separated the geeks from the masses.
And then Dave Winer said, "Let there be RSS," and there was blogs and aggregators. The geeks saw that RSS was good, and more of the masses got involved and the line between the geeks and the masses was blurred.
And then Bill Gates said, "Build RSS into Vista," and the great disruption began. The line between the geeks and the masses disappeared. The word of mouth network trampled on institutional communication tactics. The cluetrain ran over the institutions who didn't get it. And Hugh Macleod thought this was bloody funny and drew a cartoon.
Oh, and by the way Kent, I think "the gatekeepers" get run over too.
Technorati Tags: Kent Newsome, Dave Winer, Hugh Macleod, gatekeepers
And Tim Berners-Lee said, "Let there be HTML," and there was web pages. The geeks saw that html was good, but it separated the geeks from the masses.
And then Dave Winer said, "Let there be RSS," and there was blogs and aggregators. The geeks saw that RSS was good, and more of the masses got involved and the line between the geeks and the masses was blurred.
And then Bill Gates said, "Build RSS into Vista," and the great disruption began. The line between the geeks and the masses disappeared. The word of mouth network trampled on institutional communication tactics. The cluetrain ran over the institutions who didn't get it. And Hugh Macleod thought this was bloody funny and drew a cartoon.
Oh, and by the way Kent, I think "the gatekeepers" get run over too.
Technorati Tags: Kent Newsome, Dave Winer, Hugh Macleod, gatekeepers
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Why Pandora Rocks
Kent Newsome got me thinking that I ought to write a post about my own Pandora experience. I've been using Pandora for a couple of months now and given the spate of recent posts about the comparison between Pandora and Last.fm I guess now is as good a time as any to say why I think Pandora rocks.
Reason 1 - Through Pandora I discovered Howie Day. Both Pandora and Last.fm help you discover talented artists that you haven't heard before taking an artist you choose as the starting point of the discovery process. That's really where the similarity ends. Pandora is built on an approach in which music tracks are decomposed into over 400 attributes which include things like melody, harmony, instrumentation, rhythm, vocals, lyrics and then plays songs with interesting musical similarities to your chosen artist. Last.fm is based on social recommendations. It works on the principle that the people who share an interest in one artist probably share an interest in other artists. Steve Krause has written a much more insightful article on the differences between the two approaches which is well worth a read.
I created a station on Pandora with a starting point of James Blunt. Within minutes the station played a track called "She Says" by Howie Day. I've been a little obsessed ever since. I've bought the album, I play the album in the car to and from work, I've ripped it to my laptop to play to myself at work, I've moved tracks onto my phone to use as my ringtone and my alarm. It's likely I would never have discovered Howie without Pandora, so in my world Pandora rocks.
Reason 2 - Pandora has a very clean and simple interface. Getting started is simple. For me Pandora wins hands down on usability.
Reason 3 - Last.fm wouldn't let me start from James Blunt as my favourite artist. It only says "Artist not streamable".
Technorati Tags: pandora, last.fm, Kent Newsome, Steve Krause, Howie Day, James Blunt
Reason 1 - Through Pandora I discovered Howie Day. Both Pandora and Last.fm help you discover talented artists that you haven't heard before taking an artist you choose as the starting point of the discovery process. That's really where the similarity ends. Pandora is built on an approach in which music tracks are decomposed into over 400 attributes which include things like melody, harmony, instrumentation, rhythm, vocals, lyrics and then plays songs with interesting musical similarities to your chosen artist. Last.fm is based on social recommendations. It works on the principle that the people who share an interest in one artist probably share an interest in other artists. Steve Krause has written a much more insightful article on the differences between the two approaches which is well worth a read.
I created a station on Pandora with a starting point of James Blunt. Within minutes the station played a track called "She Says" by Howie Day. I've been a little obsessed ever since. I've bought the album, I play the album in the car to and from work, I've ripped it to my laptop to play to myself at work, I've moved tracks onto my phone to use as my ringtone and my alarm. It's likely I would never have discovered Howie without Pandora, so in my world Pandora rocks.
Reason 2 - Pandora has a very clean and simple interface. Getting started is simple. For me Pandora wins hands down on usability.
Reason 3 - Last.fm wouldn't let me start from James Blunt as my favourite artist. It only says "Artist not streamable".
Technorati Tags: pandora, last.fm, Kent Newsome, Steve Krause, Howie Day, James Blunt
Hugh, there's something wrong with this picture....
I notice that Hugh Macleod and Robert Scoble are at an interesting looking conference in Switzerland this week. Hugh is one of the most influential bloggers in the UK, Robert is referred to on the conference website as Microsoft's Uberblogger.
I did a quick search around the globe for blogging conferences. The list I've come up with isn't intended to be a complete or comprehensive. I didn't for example include Gnomedex, which I'd love to attend, but doesn't to the best of my knowledge, have a primary focus on the blogosphere. I'm sure I've missed a load of others but check this out:
USA
The RSS Summit
BlogHer
MeshForum
Blog Business Summit
BloggerCon
Syndicate Conference
BlogOn
Canada
Northern Voice
Paris, France
Les Blogs
Geneva, Switzerland
LIFT (Life, Ideas, Futures, Together)
Copenhagen, Denmark
Reboot
Vienna, Austria
BlogTalk Reloaded
Hugh, there's something wrong with this picture. I don't want to upset the folks who ran Global Voices which is a conference with a blogging theme but, correct me if I'm wrong, it has a very specific focus and isn't what you might call a general conference about blogging.
So I'm wondering what the problem is. Is it that we're not getting it? Is it that we're getting it slower than the rest of the world? Have we not reached the tipping point in the UK yet?
Most importantly are we, as a country, in serious danger of missing the cluetrain / hughtrain?
Technorati Tags: Blogs, Blogging, Robert Scoble, Hugh Macleod, cluetrain, hughtrain
I did a quick search around the globe for blogging conferences. The list I've come up with isn't intended to be a complete or comprehensive. I didn't for example include Gnomedex, which I'd love to attend, but doesn't to the best of my knowledge, have a primary focus on the blogosphere. I'm sure I've missed a load of others but check this out:
USA
The RSS Summit
BlogHer
MeshForum
Blog Business Summit
BloggerCon
Syndicate Conference
BlogOn
Canada
Northern Voice
Paris, France
Les Blogs
Geneva, Switzerland
LIFT (Life, Ideas, Futures, Together)
Copenhagen, Denmark
Reboot
Vienna, Austria
BlogTalk Reloaded
Hugh, there's something wrong with this picture. I don't want to upset the folks who ran Global Voices which is a conference with a blogging theme but, correct me if I'm wrong, it has a very specific focus and isn't what you might call a general conference about blogging.
So I'm wondering what the problem is. Is it that we're not getting it? Is it that we're getting it slower than the rest of the world? Have we not reached the tipping point in the UK yet?
Most importantly are we, as a country, in serious danger of missing the cluetrain / hughtrain?
Technorati Tags: Blogs, Blogging, Robert Scoble, Hugh Macleod, cluetrain, hughtrain
Monday, January 16, 2006
The ROI for Blogging
Whenever I get into the topic of blogging with friends or colleagues one of the standard questions I get asked is "What's the Return on Investment?". I usually mention the significant contribution Robert Scoble has made to the way that Microsoft is perceived by important influencers. I talk about Hugh MacLeod, English Cut and Stormhoek as examples of the positive impact of blogging. I talk about Kryptonite and how the global conversation can negatively impact.
I can almost hear the unspoken question that plays in their heads as my friends and colleagues say to themselves "Ok I understand all that, but it doesn't scale to my little world / my little company / my little problem / my little issue".
So here (courtesy of Hugh) is a real world example of (1) how blogging scales (2) why blogging is so damn important. Read the post, and then, and this is important, read the comments. Look at that for a conversation. You can almost feel the wow response from the customer end. You can almost hear the customer's thoughts: "they care about me and my problem", "they care enough to come and talk to me" and "if they sort this out they've got me for life". I'm projecting a little but I'm pretty sure I'm not majorly wide of the mark.
Technorati Tags: Robert Scoble, Hugh MacLeod, Blogging
I can almost hear the unspoken question that plays in their heads as my friends and colleagues say to themselves "Ok I understand all that, but it doesn't scale to my little world / my little company / my little problem / my little issue".
So here (courtesy of Hugh) is a real world example of (1) how blogging scales (2) why blogging is so damn important. Read the post, and then, and this is important, read the comments. Look at that for a conversation. You can almost feel the wow response from the customer end. You can almost hear the customer's thoughts: "they care about me and my problem", "they care enough to come and talk to me" and "if they sort this out they've got me for life". I'm projecting a little but I'm pretty sure I'm not majorly wide of the mark.
Technorati Tags: Robert Scoble, Hugh MacLeod, Blogging
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Boing Boing vanquished in a week?
I was looking at the Technorati Top 100 this morning and my jaw dropped on noticing that not only was Boing Boing no longer the most popular blog, having been overtaken by a japanese site, but what is extraordinary is the margin by which this new site has drawn into the lead and how quickly this has been done.
The Technorati Top 100 is measured by the number of sites that have linked to a blog in the last six months. Boing Boing has over 18,000 links in the period. Robert Scoble, has two blogs in the Top 100, which is splitting his ranking, but these blogs have 2600 and 2200 links in the same period. Dave Winer's Scripting News in 99th place looks like it might fall out of the Top 100 soon, with 2100 links.
The new leader of the Top 100 has over 50000 links and appears to have achieved this in less than a week from what I can see going back through the links.
Technorati Tags: Technorati, Robert Scoble, Dave Winer, Boing Boing
UPDATE 14th Jan - I noticed today that Boing Boing was back in it's number one spot. I wrote to Dave Sifry to ask if the the Top 100 was being gamed or had the Japenese site been removed for another reason. Dave was kind enough to write back and let me know that Hatena, the Japanese site involved, is a hosting site and that each blog links back to the homepage of the tool. Dave tells me that these tools are removed from the Technorati Top 100 as they notice them. Thanks for clearing that up for me Dave!
The Technorati Top 100 is measured by the number of sites that have linked to a blog in the last six months. Boing Boing has over 18,000 links in the period. Robert Scoble, has two blogs in the Top 100, which is splitting his ranking, but these blogs have 2600 and 2200 links in the same period. Dave Winer's Scripting News in 99th place looks like it might fall out of the Top 100 soon, with 2100 links.
The new leader of the Top 100 has over 50000 links and appears to have achieved this in less than a week from what I can see going back through the links.
Technorati Tags: Technorati, Robert Scoble, Dave Winer, Boing Boing
UPDATE 14th Jan - I noticed today that Boing Boing was back in it's number one spot. I wrote to Dave Sifry to ask if the the Top 100 was being gamed or had the Japenese site been removed for another reason. Dave was kind enough to write back and let me know that Hatena, the Japanese site involved, is a hosting site and that each blog links back to the homepage of the tool. Dave tells me that these tools are removed from the Technorati Top 100 as they notice them. Thanks for clearing that up for me Dave!
I can wish.
Yesterday I watched the webcast of Bill Gates keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). There is a lesson for Google here; I'm definitely interested to hear what Google had to say and it seems strange that you can't watch all of Larry Page's keynote on Google Video.
As always, Bill Gates keynote was full of things to think about in terms of where the future of gadgets and software in the home and office might be going. I captured a snap of what Bill thinks the office of the future might look like. I guess I can wish that one day my office will look like this!
Technorati Tags: Bill Gates, CES, Larry Page
Update Jan 13th - I've picked up that the Larry Page CES keynote has, finally, been made available on Google Video.
As always, Bill Gates keynote was full of things to think about in terms of where the future of gadgets and software in the home and office might be going. I captured a snap of what Bill thinks the office of the future might look like. I guess I can wish that one day my office will look like this!
Technorati Tags: Bill Gates, CES, Larry Page
Update Jan 13th - I've picked up that the Larry Page CES keynote has, finally, been made available on Google Video.
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Redneck Palm Pilot
I couldn't resist, not having just written a post on the need for a "never miss" collection process. Here's the redneck version.
From: The Beachcomber
Technorati Tags: GTD, getting things done, lifehacks, productivity
My Flickr photostream
I've had a lot of fun learning more about Flickr over the holiday. You can view my photos and subscribe to my photostream (RSS).
I just got my new smartphone, the Nokia N70, and I'm having a ball with it. It has a 2 megapixel camera with 20X digital zoom, so I can see myself taking a lot more pictures than I have in the past. That led me to look at Flickr and how easy it would be to share my pictures with my family and friends. Flickr is currently the most popular choice with the photo-sharing community and therefore seems to be the obvious choice. The phone can also take short video clips so I'm looking this morning at options for sharing video.
Technorati Tags: Flickr, Nokia N70, smartphone
I just got my new smartphone, the Nokia N70, and I'm having a ball with it. It has a 2 megapixel camera with 20X digital zoom, so I can see myself taking a lot more pictures than I have in the past. That led me to look at Flickr and how easy it would be to share my pictures with my family and friends. Flickr is currently the most popular choice with the photo-sharing community and therefore seems to be the obvious choice. The phone can also take short video clips so I'm looking this morning at options for sharing video.
Technorati Tags: Flickr, Nokia N70, smartphone
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Collect Stuff and Process It
I'm paraphrasing and simplying quite a lot to make my point but you could sum up the first steps in the Getting Things Done (GTD) process as Collect Stuff and Process It. If you are going to enjoy the benefits of the stress free nature of GTD you need to trust your approach to collection so that it has a "never miss" feel to it.
The goal is to process all the stuff that's coming at you from all angles: the conversations, the telephone calls, the e-mails, the snail mail, the post-it notes and the thoughts & ideas and process them until you have a trusted list of the next actions that need to be undertaken to achieve high productivity. The "thoughts & ideas" is an important concept for me. Most of the day, when I'm on the go, my mind isn't quiet and processing. It's active and doing. There are times however; in the car, in the shower, just as I'm drifting off before sleeping when I have that thought; the answer to a problem I'm dealing with, the nagging thought, have I done X, did I remember to tell Y. That's where my Olympus digital voice recorder comes in. It's my mobile memory, and I find it incredibly useful now that I'm reaching an age when I'm just beginning to sense that my short term memory isn't quite what it used to be. I keep the recorder by my side all the time. When I have the thought I capture it. And then I process the recorder daily to make sure the thoughts are transferred to my trusted list of next actions.
My other tool of choice for thinking and capturing (collecting) is mind mapping. I'm trying to eliminate linear note taking from my work life as much as possible. With mind mapping, as I capture and visualise the information I'm capturing, I'm much more likely to think laterally and comprehensively. When I've mind mapped and derived the outputs, they go to my trusted list as next actions. My tool of choice for mind mapping is MindManager from MindJet.
In my mind I visualise all this capture activity as a funnel. Everything is thrown in, and out the bottom pops my list of next actions. My trusted list is kept in Outlook, but not in my inbox. The inbox is the kiss of death. I still see people at work with hundreds of items in their inbox and shudder. Every day when they open Outlook they have to process that list; what's important, what do I have to do today, what shall I keep ignoring. I use Outlook tasks. A much underused Outlook component. I must admit that I've supercharged mine with the GTD Outlook plugin from Netcentrics. I know, I know; I'm a geek.
Technorati Tags: GTD, Getting Things Done, Lifehacks, Productivity, David Allen, mind mapping, Mindjet, MindManager, information visualization, outlook
The goal is to process all the stuff that's coming at you from all angles: the conversations, the telephone calls, the e-mails, the snail mail, the post-it notes and the thoughts & ideas and process them until you have a trusted list of the next actions that need to be undertaken to achieve high productivity. The "thoughts & ideas" is an important concept for me. Most of the day, when I'm on the go, my mind isn't quiet and processing. It's active and doing. There are times however; in the car, in the shower, just as I'm drifting off before sleeping when I have that thought; the answer to a problem I'm dealing with, the nagging thought, have I done X, did I remember to tell Y. That's where my Olympus digital voice recorder comes in. It's my mobile memory, and I find it incredibly useful now that I'm reaching an age when I'm just beginning to sense that my short term memory isn't quite what it used to be. I keep the recorder by my side all the time. When I have the thought I capture it. And then I process the recorder daily to make sure the thoughts are transferred to my trusted list of next actions.
My other tool of choice for thinking and capturing (collecting) is mind mapping. I'm trying to eliminate linear note taking from my work life as much as possible. With mind mapping, as I capture and visualise the information I'm capturing, I'm much more likely to think laterally and comprehensively. When I've mind mapped and derived the outputs, they go to my trusted list as next actions. My tool of choice for mind mapping is MindManager from MindJet.
In my mind I visualise all this capture activity as a funnel. Everything is thrown in, and out the bottom pops my list of next actions. My trusted list is kept in Outlook, but not in my inbox. The inbox is the kiss of death. I still see people at work with hundreds of items in their inbox and shudder. Every day when they open Outlook they have to process that list; what's important, what do I have to do today, what shall I keep ignoring. I use Outlook tasks. A much underused Outlook component. I must admit that I've supercharged mine with the GTD Outlook plugin from Netcentrics. I know, I know; I'm a geek.
Technorati Tags: GTD, Getting Things Done, Lifehacks, Productivity, David Allen, mind mapping, Mindjet, MindManager, information visualization, outlook
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Tagging
I've gotten into tagging, as evidenced by my posts over the last few days. Co-incidentally, Jeff Jarvis, columnist for Media Guardian, has written a piece on tagging, what it is and why it's important. Here's the link. Here's the "how to" from the Technorati help pages.
Technorati Tags: tags, tagging, jeff jarvis, technorati
Technorati Tags: tags, tagging, jeff jarvis, technorati
Monday, January 02, 2006
I have a goal: to attend a Blogger Dinner in 2006
I just read Shel Israel over at Naked Conversations talking about Geek Dinners versus Blogger Dinners. I think Shel's main point is that the term "Blogger Dinner" is probably a more accurate label in terms of who turns up to these events, and it's certainly a more inclusive term.
Maryam Scoble recently wrote "The non-geeks survival guide for geek dinners". Maryam makes the point that attendees at "Geek" Dinners do have more to talk about that just geek stuff, but has some good strategies for what happens when the conversation just gets too geeky.
I left a comment on Maryam's blog to the effect that she'd kind of convinced me to maybe come to the next "geek" dinner in London. I read Scobleizer, gapingvoid and the blogs of a number of others who attend the "geek" dinners but I'm not a real tech geek. I do share a number of interests with them: GTD, Mind Mapping, Blogging, technology & it's impact on culture and as Maryam rightly points out there's always ways to have a conversation.
Having read Shel's post I'm even more convinced. I've started mind mapping my personal "Goals for 2006". I've added an objective to attend a Blogger Dinner before the end of the year.
Bonus Link: Here's my recent post about Naked Conversations.
Technorati Tags: shel israel, naked conversations, maryam scoble, mind mapping, robert scoble, gapingvoid
Maryam Scoble recently wrote "The non-geeks survival guide for geek dinners". Maryam makes the point that attendees at "Geek" Dinners do have more to talk about that just geek stuff, but has some good strategies for what happens when the conversation just gets too geeky.
I left a comment on Maryam's blog to the effect that she'd kind of convinced me to maybe come to the next "geek" dinner in London. I read Scobleizer, gapingvoid and the blogs of a number of others who attend the "geek" dinners but I'm not a real tech geek. I do share a number of interests with them: GTD, Mind Mapping, Blogging, technology & it's impact on culture and as Maryam rightly points out there's always ways to have a conversation.
Having read Shel's post I'm even more convinced. I've started mind mapping my personal "Goals for 2006". I've added an objective to attend a Blogger Dinner before the end of the year.
Bonus Link: Here's my recent post about Naked Conversations.
Technorati Tags: shel israel, naked conversations, maryam scoble, mind mapping, robert scoble, gapingvoid
Sunday, January 01, 2006
I choose to believe the glass is half full
I've been reading the blog of Kent Newsome since I found him in Robert Scoble's blogroll. I think the similarity of surname made me zero straight in on him, but I've stayed subscribed because I've enjoyed reading his thoughts, and his ongoing review of Scoble's blogroll.
Today, Kent has published a rather down in the dumps post that talks about the difficulty of building a succesful blog. All of Kent's points about the difficulties are valid but I'd like to devil's advocate his position. Let me make a few counter arguments:
(1) Funnily enough Robert Scoble has just written a post that suggests only 4% of users are using RSS. True or not I believe the RSS opportunity that exists is still huge. Wherever you stand on the Microsoft versus Google versus Yahoo debate I believe that Vista, the next version of Internet Explorer and Office 12 all with RSS built into the framework will be the engineroom that brings the biggest growth in RSS usage.
(2) A look at the Technorati Top 100 has blogs on it that were launched less than 12 months ago. PostSecret is the one that sticks out in my mind - a great viral idea that just exploded in a few short months. I believe that in 12 months time the current Top 100 on Technorati will be a radically different landscape.
(3) I agree with Kent that there probably isn't much room for new blogs about blogging. The innovators rightly have that ground, and good for them. There is an advantage to being an early adopter that exists in any marketplace. Let me add one caveat to that - unless a new kid on the block does something amazing. I believe there is still plenty of room for the new kids on the block to do something pretty amazing.
Today of all days, I choose to believe the glass is half full. I choose to believe that it is possible to set off and achieve something great. I make one prediction today for 2006. That by the end of the year the Technorati Top 10 will contain a blog that today is not even on the Top 100. It may not be Kent Newsome or Steve Newson that owns that blog, but I believe in the possibility.
Technorati tags: Kent Newsome, Robert Scoble, Technorati, Vista, Office 12, predictions
Today, Kent has published a rather down in the dumps post that talks about the difficulty of building a succesful blog. All of Kent's points about the difficulties are valid but I'd like to devil's advocate his position. Let me make a few counter arguments:
(1) Funnily enough Robert Scoble has just written a post that suggests only 4% of users are using RSS. True or not I believe the RSS opportunity that exists is still huge. Wherever you stand on the Microsoft versus Google versus Yahoo debate I believe that Vista, the next version of Internet Explorer and Office 12 all with RSS built into the framework will be the engineroom that brings the biggest growth in RSS usage.
(2) A look at the Technorati Top 100 has blogs on it that were launched less than 12 months ago. PostSecret is the one that sticks out in my mind - a great viral idea that just exploded in a few short months. I believe that in 12 months time the current Top 100 on Technorati will be a radically different landscape.
(3) I agree with Kent that there probably isn't much room for new blogs about blogging. The innovators rightly have that ground, and good for them. There is an advantage to being an early adopter that exists in any marketplace. Let me add one caveat to that - unless a new kid on the block does something amazing. I believe there is still plenty of room for the new kids on the block to do something pretty amazing.
Today of all days, I choose to believe the glass is half full. I choose to believe that it is possible to set off and achieve something great. I make one prediction today for 2006. That by the end of the year the Technorati Top 10 will contain a blog that today is not even on the Top 100. It may not be Kent Newsome or Steve Newson that owns that blog, but I believe in the possibility.
Technorati tags: Kent Newsome, Robert Scoble, Technorati, Vista, Office 12, predictions
Microsofties and Googlers - How's Them Apples?
I set the bar and Dave Sifry rose to the challenge. Within seven hours of posting about my Technorati tagging problems, Dave responded and left me a comment. On a day when you'd expect most people to be spending time with their families, Dave took the time to respond to my issue. Kudos to Dave. To the Microsofties & Googlers having a minor spat about who works the longest hours - how's them apples?
Technorati Tags: Dave Sifry, Robert Scoble, Mark Lucovsky, Technorati
Technorati Tags: Dave Sifry, Robert Scoble, Mark Lucovsky, Technorati
GTD and good procrastination
I just read an essay on procrastination that struck some chords with me and given where the link came from I immediately starting relating the essay to GTD. Some key points:
(1) There is a form of procrastination that's good. It's where you're not working on something because you're working on something more important.
(2) I might be getting things done but are they the right things?
(3) "Any advice about procrastination that concentrates on crossing things off your to-do list is not only incomplete, but positively misleading, if it doesn't consider the possibility that the to-do list is itself a form of .... procrastination. In fact, possibility is too weak a word. Nearly everyone's is. Unless you're working on the biggest things you could be working on, you're .... procrastinating, no matter how much you're getting done."
(4) What is your most important issue / problem? Are you working on it? Why not?
These are points I definitely need to try and incorporate into my weekly review.
Via: [David Allen]
Technorati Tags: GTD, getting-things-done, Lifehacks, procrastination
(1) There is a form of procrastination that's good. It's where you're not working on something because you're working on something more important.
(2) I might be getting things done but are they the right things?
(3) "Any advice about procrastination that concentrates on crossing things off your to-do list is not only incomplete, but positively misleading, if it doesn't consider the possibility that the to-do list is itself a form of .... procrastination. In fact, possibility is too weak a word. Nearly everyone's is. Unless you're working on the biggest things you could be working on, you're .... procrastinating, no matter how much you're getting done."
(4) What is your most important issue / problem? Are you working on it? Why not?
These are points I definitely need to try and incorporate into my weekly review.
Via: [David Allen]
Technorati Tags: GTD, getting-things-done, Lifehacks, procrastination
Why doesn't Technorati tagging just work?
I've been trying out tagging on my blog, figuring it's one of the tech trends I ought to take up but my experimenting is not going well.
I read a couple of blog posts on the basics of tagging, and then the Technorati help pages. I use the tag search page on Technorati to see if the tags I am going to use exist and take the html code straight from the helpful "this code" function on the results page. I paste that straight into my post (using the Edit Html screen on Blogger).
I've even manually pinged Technorati even though the guide on pinging says that Blogger automatically pings Technorati if your Blogger blog is configured correctly. I've checked and I'm configured as described in the Technorati help page on pinging.
A few hours later and my posts are not appearing on the Technorati search pages for the tags I've used. Hmmmm. It shouldn't be this hard. Stuff like this should just work, especially when you follow all the help.
I wonder if Dave Sifry or one of the Technorati team is around on New Years Day and can point out where I'm going wrong? I know that Robert Scoble and some of the Google guys have been playing ping pong with a meme on working long hours. Let's see if Technorati can take the crown?
Technorati Tags: technorati, tags, tagging, Dave Sifry, Robert Scoble, scoble
[UPDATE:] Well, nobody left a comment or emailed me, but everything now appears to be working fine. Even a slighly older post (from 12 days ago) has appeared correctly on the tag search page. If someone at Technorati did fix this, thank you, I appreciate it and thanks for doing it on a holiday!
I read a couple of blog posts on the basics of tagging, and then the Technorati help pages. I use the tag search page on Technorati to see if the tags I am going to use exist and take the html code straight from the helpful "this code" function on the results page. I paste that straight into my post (using the Edit Html screen on Blogger).
I've even manually pinged Technorati even though the guide on pinging says that Blogger automatically pings Technorati if your Blogger blog is configured correctly. I've checked and I'm configured as described in the Technorati help page on pinging.
A few hours later and my posts are not appearing on the Technorati search pages for the tags I've used. Hmmmm. It shouldn't be this hard. Stuff like this should just work, especially when you follow all the help.
I wonder if Dave Sifry or one of the Technorati team is around on New Years Day and can point out where I'm going wrong? I know that Robert Scoble and some of the Google guys have been playing ping pong with a meme on working long hours. Let's see if Technorati can take the crown?
Technorati Tags: technorati, tags, tagging, Dave Sifry, Robert Scoble, scoble
[UPDATE:] Well, nobody left a comment or emailed me, but everything now appears to be working fine. Even a slighly older post (from 12 days ago) has appeared correctly on the tag search page. If someone at Technorati did fix this, thank you, I appreciate it and thanks for doing it on a holiday!
Terribly Cute
I snagged a link to Cute Overload from my friend Kimberley this morning. Subscribed! So I'm a big softy! Sue me!
To add to the general pool of cuteness here are a couple of my favourite terribly cute places to visit:
(1) Stuff on my Cat
(2) The Cat's Meow
Anyone got any other unbearably cute blogs they would recommend?
Technorati Tags: cute, cuteness, Kitties
To add to the general pool of cuteness here are a couple of my favourite terribly cute places to visit:
(1) Stuff on my Cat
(2) The Cat's Meow
Anyone got any other unbearably cute blogs they would recommend?
Technorati Tags: cute, cuteness, Kitties
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
It's a small, but uplifting, world
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.
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.
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.
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