links for 2005-12-27

Posted by Mike Tue, 27 Dec 2005 00:25:00 GMT

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links for 2005-12-23

Posted by Mike Fri, 23 Dec 2005 00:26:00 GMT

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links for 2005-12-22

Posted by Mike Thu, 22 Dec 2005 00:29:00 GMT

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iPod video

Posted by Mike Thu, 13 Oct 2005 15:04:00 GMT

The worst kept secret is now public.

Will the video iPod move mainstream video off of cable? Maybe not. But it may be the trigger for mainstream video blogs and pod casts, downloadable TV shows, live video. Something big is going to happen. It will also be interesting to see if/how Sony reacts with their PSP.

There may be an opportunity for a bloglines-like app for notification of new video content -- an RSS based TV guide. Or maybe a Flickr for home video?

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Web 2.0

Posted by Mike Mon, 03 Oct 2005 19:24:00 GMT

As Tim O'Reilly and Tim Bray say: 'there's still a huge amount of disagreement about just what Web 2.0 means'. Herewith, my summary of O'Reilly's piece What Is Web 2.0.

O'Reilly describes priciples shared by successful 'Web 1.0' successes and interesting recent applications. See the meme map that came out of a brainstorming session of a FOO Camp conference.

  1. The Web As Platform

    Web as platform is an old idea but it's implementation has been refined. See Netscape vs. Google, DoubleClick vs. Ad Sense, Akamai vs. BitTorrent.

  2. Harnessing Collective Intelligence

    Open Source software, open content, collaborative categorization, viral marketing, all rely on a collective intelligence. Site attributes such as extensive (permanent) hyperlinks, low barriers to participation, organized content and meta data facilitate or enhance the affect of collective intelligence. Blogs are a special case of collective intelligence (and RSS a special attribute) in that the collective intelligence only emerges from a critical mass of blogs/articles.

  3. Data is the Next Intel Inside

    Based on the way they approached their databases, MapQuest is a Web 1.0 story and Amazon is a Web 2.0 story. MapQuest licensed map data from Tele Atlas, but did not enhance (e.g. user annotations) or control the data. Amazon licensed ISBN data from R.R. Bowker and enhanced the data with data from publishers and customers. MapQuest was soon joined in the marketplace by competing services (Yahoo, Google, MSN) and Amazon is the standard source for bibliographic data.

  4. End of the Software Release Cycle

    In Web 2.0 software is delivered as a service not a product.

    O'Reilly suggests a number of fundamental changes to the business model of software companies.

    • Operations must become a core competency. Google has become experts at managing the servers that deliver their web services. And the expertise is closely guarded.
    • Users must be treated as co-developers. Release early and often (daily, hourly) and/or a perpetual beta. Real time monitoring of user behaviour.

  5. Lightweight Programming Models

    Simple, lightweight service interfaces appear to be successful with the masses (i.e. the intelligent collective). (One assumes that housingmaps.com enhances the value of Google maps?)

    Three lessons identified:

    • Support lightweight programming models that allow for loosely coupled systems
    • Think syndication, not coordination
    • Design for 'hackability' and remixability

  6. Software Above the Level of a Single Device

    ITunes, Tivo, blackberry...

  7. Rich User Experiences

    Google/Flickr/Basecamp are at the forefront, but Yahoo and others have made AJAX the basis for major product releases.

O'Reilly finishes with a summary of the core compentencies of a Web 2.0 company:

  • Services, not packaged software, with cost-effective scalability
  • Control over unique, hard-to-recreate data sources that get richer as more people use them
  • Trusting users as co-developers
  • Harnessing collective intelligence
  • Leveraging the long tail through customer self-service
  • Software above the level of a single device
  • Lightweight user interfaces, development models, AND business models

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Back to work

Posted by Mike Thu, 29 Sep 2005 19:11:00 GMT

After a lengthy hiatus, my tech blog is back online. You'll notice that I've switched from pyBloxsom to Typo, which represents an upgrade in the feature set, especially reader comments and Atom RSS.

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BlogPulse.com

Posted by mop Tue, 19 Apr 2005 16:29:00 GMT

BlogPulse.com attempts to measure the ’pulse’ of the blogosphere by searching for popular subjects, phrases, and trends.

They provide an interesting way to measure the relative buzz associated with a given subject. See this example chart of the buzz surrounding three In-Touch topics-of-interest.

I expect they will have some success selling marketing data to private companies. Their service appears to be 100% free at this point.

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McGrath on Documentation

Posted by mop Tue, 12 Apr 2005 15:30:00 GMT

Go read this short article by Sean McGrath on the subject of test driven documentation. Unit tests as documentation is not what Knuth had in mind when he coined the phrase Literate Programming, but it’s a step in the right direction.

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