Scripting News for 4/23/2006

Tom Morris on comments in the OPML Editor. 

Gizmodo: Iomega 1TB Network Attached Storage. 

LaCie has a 1.2TB drive for a bit less. 

Irina Slutsky interviews Mitch Kapor, Danny O’Brien and Esther Dyson about the future of email. 

BetterBadNews asks what happened to Building 7 at the WTC. Did it commit suicide? 

Media == middlemen 

Scott Karp: “But what happens if big company brands realize that they no longer need a media middleman to connect with consumers?”

Bing! bing! bing! bing! bing! bing! bing! bing! bing! bing! bing! bing! bing! bing! bing! bing! bing! bing! bing! bing! bing! bing! bing! bing! bing! bing! bing! bing! bing! bing! bing! bing! bing! bing! bing! bing! bing! bing!!!

Why do you think they call it media?

They’re middlemen.

In the future we won’t need middlemen.

Why?

Because the Internet disintermediates.

Which is a fancy word for “gets rid of the middlemen.”

Or, if you prefer, “gets rid of the media.”

All that’s left when we go through 2.0 and 3.0 and 4.0 is nothing but information and people and lots of more efficient ways of connecting them.

Now that said, I think the MySpace guys are onto something when they think of adding products to their network, so people can befriend them. As the guy who plays James T. Kirk and does the Priceline commercials says about “shop and compare before you buy” — Brilliant!

Scripting News for 4/22/2006

My Mozes keyword is scripting. Find out more here. 

Buy.com has extended RSS with a namespace. An example of a buy.com feed. 

Upcoming conference activity. I’m going to be at Seattle MindCamp 2.0 at the end of the week. Coming back on Saturday night, and then down to Mountain View for the Internet Identity Workshop. Thinking maybe I should host a dinner in Palo Alto on Tuesday considering that it is my 51st birthday. Getting old! Onward. Later in May I’m participating in the Future In Review conference in San Diego. In June, we’re definitely having a Super Unconference of some sort, the week of June 19 (toward the end of the week for sure). We’ve gotten a huge number of offers of space in downtown San Francisco, I’m working with Marc and Sylvia to sort it all out, and then we’re going to make invitations to discussion leaders. There’s a lot of energy around it, and it is preceded by Vloggercon (I’m going to find some way to participate in that) and postceded by BarCamp SF (ditto) and then Gnomedex (I am a DL there). We’re going to look for a big umbrella to put over all the events on the west coast in June, maybe the Summer Olympics of Unconferences? And then, after all that, I’m going to try to sneak away for a trip somewhere relaxing, and believe it or not I’ve signed up for BlogHer, at the very end of July. At that conference I’ll do a lot of listening and notetaking, and look for ways I can help the Hers.  

Almost 9 years ago: “Anger is a very powerful force. If it’s allowed to release naturally, it can be a thing of beauty. It can be safe. A source of movement. It makes things happen.” We so misunderstand the emotion, it’s considered negative, but it doesn’t have to be aimed at anything, it can just be. And when it’s expressed, things change. “When a friend changes you can find the bond that’s connecting you at a deeper level.” The great 20th century writer W Somerset Maugham had something to say about this. “We are not the same persons this year as last; nor are those we love. It is a happy chance if we, changing, continue to love a changed person.” 

Maugham also said: “There are three rules for writing the novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” :-) 

Scott Karp notes changes in the Technorati 100.  

I almost wrote exactly what Cringely wrote in his newest piece. No sane user wants to restart the computer just to run a Windows app. Windows apps should run alongside Mac apps as if there were no difference. Why should a user know or care which API an app uses? Think about it this way — you can run a standard transmission car on the same road that automatic transmissions run on. You can use a Atom 0.3 feed in the same aggregator that reads RSS 2.0 feeds. So why exactly do you have to reboot your computer to run a Windows app? And thanks for the nice plug. My ego is pretty strong, I like to think with good cause. :-) 

Scaling, again 

Amyloo spotted a feature announcement at Pito’s blog, he says that polling of OPML Reading Lists won’t scale, but it will, and imho it’s the only way to go.

Here’s the deal. HTTP has a very efficient mechanism for software to determine if a resource has changed, it actually has more than one, but the one everyone seems to have settled on is known as eTags. You can basically ask a server if something has changed since the last time you looked, without having to get the whole thing, just getting the “head” of the thing, which is a small fixed size (as if reading lists were very large, they’re not).

If you have a pinging protocol, unless you’re going to send a ping to every subscriber (which isn’t practical because of firewalls and NATs), you’re going to have to ask some central authority whether something has changed, and nothing is more efficient at that than eTags, nor as widely implemented, nor as utterly optimized.

So this is not quite a mathematical proof that you’re chasing your tail by implementing a notification system for changes to reading lists, but such a proof is possible.

We went through this with RSS, there were doomsayers who said it would never scale, but those worries have gone away, as RSS clearly has scaled.

Mutual non-breeding 

WSJ: “I don’t think the blogosphere is breeding cannibals.”

I don’t think the WSJ is breeding idiotic Republican idiots.

Scripting News for 4/21/2006

Business 2.0 on the evolution of the Netflix envelope. 

Dowbrigade will think he made it when Fortune calls him either notorious or a curmudgeon. 

Mark Glaser moderates a conversation between Jimmy Wales and Robert Cox on various issues related to Wikipedia. 

Jeff Jarvis: “Can someone explain to me what’s going on with Google’s syndication protocol?” 

Mike Arrington notes that Microsoft is going to offer “Live Drive,” a virtual disk drive.  

Two years ago today: “The problem with most conferences is that the intelligence is sitting in the dark with its hands folded, falling asleep while a bunch of idiots on stage with PowerPoints talking nonsense because they are so scared they need crutches to keep from having a nervous breakdown.” 

The Rocketboom interview was a long rambly talk which they picked out the best bits of. It was a great editing job. As you might imagine there’s a lot to Rocketboom that you don’t see on-camera. I got the smallest glimpse into that, at lunch with Amanda and Andrew.  

An example of a bit they picked up is already beginning a discussion in the world of academic journalism. Bob Stepno, who was an early contributor in the Berkman Thursdays group, who is a journalism prof in Knoxville, TN, picks up on the 50 or so words in the RB interview where we talk about making an introductory course in journalism a requirement for college students. I feel strongly about this. Journalism is the new practice for Everyman, it’s what we all will be doing all the time in this new century. As the professional media pulls back, the citizens, you and me, need to fill in and replace every pro with 100 of us, to cover every school board meeting, every planning commission, defense contractor, civic organization. It’s like the Second Amendment for information and ideas. We need a well-informed electorate to make the tough decisions n our future.  

Two things NY has that they can’t touch anywhere else: 1. Matzo Ball Soup. Even the Greek diner on Northern Boulevard in Bayside has better MBS than Saul’s Deli in Berkeley. And Katz’s MBS is to die for. 2. Pastrami. I ordered a Reuben at Katz’s, and knew I was in for a treat when the guy behind the counter sliced me a few bits of meat to eat with my fingers while I waited. It’s so incredibly delicious, and they stack the meat so high. The memories from one sandwich is enough to last years. 

Scripting News for 4/21/2006

The Rocketboom interview was a long rambly talk which they picked out the best bits of. It was a great editing job. As you might imagine there’s a lot to Rocketboom that you don’t see on-camera. I got the smallest glimpse into that, at lunch with Amanda and Andrew.  

An example of a bit they picked up is already beginning a discussion in the world of academic journalism. Bob Stepno, who was an early contributor in the Berkman Thursdays group, who is a journalism prof in Knoxville, TN, picks up on the 50 or so words in the RB interview where we talk about making an introductory course in journalism a requirement for college students. I feel strongly about this. Journalism is the new practice for Everyman, it’s what we all will be doing all the time in this new century. As the professional media pulls back, the citizens, you and me, need to fill in and replace every pro with 100 of us, to cover every school board meeting, every planning commission, defense contractor, civic organization. It’s like the Second Amendment for information and ideas. We need a well-informed electorate to make the tough decisions that are in our future.  

Scripting News for 4/21/2006

The Rocketboom interview was a long rambly talk which they picked out the best bits of. It was a great editing job. As you might imagine there’s a lot to Rocketboom that you don’t see on-camera. I got the smallest glimpse into that, at lunch with Amanda and Andrew.  

An example of a bit they picked up is already beginning a discussion in the world of academic journalism. Bob Stepno, who was an early contributor in the Berkman Thursdays group, who is a journalism prof in Knoxville, TN, picks up on the 50 or so words in the RB interview where we talk about making an introductory course in journalism a requirement for college students. I feel strongly about this. Journalism is the new practice for Everyman, it’s what we all will be doing all the time in this new century. As the professional media pulls back, the citizens, you and me, need to fill in and replace every pro with 100 of us, to cover every school board meeting, every planning commission, defense contractor, civic organization. It’s like the Second Amendment for information and ideas. We need a well-informed electorate to make the tough decisions that are in our future.  

Scripting News for 4/20/2006

The Rocketboom interview is up. Nice job. Thanks! 

BTW, the interview was in Tompkins Square Park. 

Salon: “If the U.S. attacked Iran, the consequences would be catastrophic.” 

Esther Dyson debates Danny O’Brien on whether email should be free, in SF tonight. Mitch Kapor moderates.  

Mike thought the name of the new AOL service is going to be Head On, but I was actually quoting the rumorer who said they were going straight at MySpace. But then Head On would be a great name for an online service, not for people who’s heads are off, due to drugs, or something worse. 

Rex Hammock: “AOL’s MySpace killer will kill MySpace the same way AOL Journals killed TypePad and Blogger and WordPress.” 

Blair Fannin: “I found blogging, RSS and podcasting to bring out mental strength and creativity I never knew I had.” 

TV Guide has launched a blogging community. 

Scripting News for 4/19/2006

When I was interviewed by Amanda Congdon, sitting on a park bench in lower Manhattan on Monday, she asked me to peer into the future. I said I had no clue what was coming next. Silly me. Then of course I thought of all the things I had queued up for that question that I didn’t think to say at that moment. Here’s an example. When I go to Yahoo Movies to look for something to see, it should be ready with some recommendations. I’ve been rating movies for them for a couple of years now (btw, I want that data in XML, please) and they already have an opinion on whether I’d like this movie or that. So why not present me with a list of movies that are playing now, near me, that I would probably like? That’s not a feature for the future, it seems ridiculous that they don’t offer it now. Maybe I should say that nicer. Please, Yahoo, save me the hunting and pecking. You already know what I like. How about just telling me? :-) 

Speaking of features for the near-future. I have become a devotee of the new HBO series Big Love. I’ve watched the first three episodes, and by this time tomorrow, I should be caught up. Okay, three guesses how I’m getting the episodes. Never mind. Now why should it be so much work? I already pay Comcast a premium so I get HBO. I just haven’t been ready to commit to the show until enough word-of-mouth confirmed that it was worth a look. (It is!) If I can prove I’ve paid, why won’t HBO send me a DVD with the first six episodes? Come on, I’m honest. Make it easy to become an addict and I’ll sing your praises far and wide. (I’ll do it anyway, it’s a great show, a fantastic successor to both Six Feet Under and The Sorpranos. Evil and weirdness all in one story line. What could be better!) 

One of the wives has a blog, and a feed.  

NY Times article on BloggerCon II. 

I just heard a rumor that AOL is going to challenge MySpace, “head on,” to be announced in approximately two weeks.  

Fortune called me a “notorious curmudgeon” today. Since they didn’t link to me, no link for them. Did you know they only say nice things about big advertisers, like Bill Gates, who happens to be a notorious curmudgeon himself. Probably even more notorious than moi. :-) 

When these guys debate about blogs making money, they’re answering a different question: If you try to do a magazine using the same software people use to write blogs, can you get enough advertising revenue to pay your writers and also make a profit. It’s natural for people who come from the magazine and newspaper business to cast the question this way, but it’s skewed thinking, and will look anachronistic a few years from now. It’s as if they asked how many miles per gallon of oats a car gets, a few years after horseless carriages came along. The question doesn’t even make sense. A person with a blog is analogous to a source in the old publishing world. Sources don’t get paid directly, but we do get paid indirectly. 

Scripting News for 4/18/2006

4PM Pacific, arrived safely back in Berkeley, in a manner of speaking. On the flight back I read Seymour Hersh’s article in the New Yorker about the US plan to attack Iran. I was only peripherally aware of this. Is it possible that we’re really going to bomb Iran, and even crazier, that we’re going to use nuclear weapons. How many Americans are aware of this? Why did Andrew Card resign as Chief of Staff? Why are they reorganizing the White House now? Perhaps people are resigning because they don’t support this absolutely insane idea.  

Doc Searls notes that the great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 happened 100 years ago this morning.  

Sitting in the lounge at Gate 8, Terminal 8 at JFK, with excellent wifi that cost me $6.95, thre’s a guy talking on his cellphone, yelling at some poor clerical person at American Airlines about how they left his luggage sitting in front of the counter for 20 minutes after he checked in. His wife is making eye contact with everyone, sort of shrugging as if there’s nothing she can do about her companion. It would be a breach of protocol for me to talk to him, but if I could, I would tell him that there is no security at US airports. The routine we go through would never catch a terrorist device, they do it just to keep us traveling, to provide the users with some small comfort. He’s been ranting about this for at least a half hour. Hope he’s having fun. Me, I’m carrying on my luggage. I want to have lunch in SF at the other end of this flight and don’t want to wait at baggage claim. BTW, the weather in NYC is great. This is the best time of year on the east coast. Everything is in bloom. It’s as pretty as California is all summer long.  

Paolo: “Who is reading all these weblogs?” 

Rex Hammock on the Pulitzer for the Times-Picayune. It’s the first time a blog has been so-honored. (In the weeks following Katrina the T-P operated as a weblog.) 

Scripting News for 4/17/2006

Let’s do BloggerCon IV in San Francisco, the week of June 19. If you have office space we can use in San Francisco’s business district or South of Market, please post a comment, or send an email. I’m thinking about a distributed multi-track conference over two days (Friday and Saturday?), covering a very wide range of interests to bloggers, podcasters, journalists, broadcasters, academics, librarians, programmers, business people, entrepreneurs, investors, retirees and students, and everyone else. An all-inclusive, no invitation required, $0, everyone welcome, free-for-all unconference of idea sharing and whoopee-making! 

I did an interview with Amanda Congdon of Rocketboom today and had lunch with Andrew Baron and Amanda, at the world-famous Katz’s Deli in NYC. Unfortunately the pictures of me with Amanda came out all blurry, but the picture of Andrew and Amanda came out great. They are very nice people, we talked about a lot of interesting stuff, both on and off camera. Left me all talked-out, and that doesn’t happen very often! Big take-away, gotta get BitTorrent support into NewsRiver. 

Five years ago: “Writers who work for others have less integrity to offer than those who do it for love.” 

Matt Mullenweg says the feed validator is “dead to me.” 

The power of Betsy 

NY Times: “Bloggers are fascinated by what they see as eerie parallels between Watergate and a phone-jamming scandal in New Hampshire. It has low-level Republican operatives involved in dirty campaign tricks. It has checks from donors with murky backgrounds. It has telephone calls to the White House. What is unclear is whether it is the work of a few rogue actors, or something larger.”

The blogger responsible for this story is Betsy Devine. She camped out in the New Hampshire courthouse, and kept driving the story until today, when it appeared on the op-ed page of the NY Times. Way to go Betsy!!

Scripting News for 4/16/2006

I got another blue wedge on Google when searching for a Stephen King movie. Here’s the collapsed view, and here’s the expanded view. 

Two years ago today: “What happened to people who use typewriters?” 

For my last two days in NYC, I checked into the Millenium Hilton in downtown Manhattan. It’s across the street from where the World Trade Center used to be, in fact, the subway stop across the street from the hotel is underneath the WTC site. I have a nice room on one of the top floors, with a great view uptown and to the east. No view of ground zero. Tomorrow I’m meeting with Jeff Jarvis, and Amanda Congdon and Andrew Baron from RocketBoom. It’s going to be a NYC new media day. I fly back to California on Tuesday morning.  

Movie: Gorilla at the Bronx Zoo today. 

New Flickr set from the Bronx Zoo. 

Vanguard supports RSS.  

Vloggercon, June 10-11, San Francisco.