Andrew Codrington

Mosaika show on Parliament Hill

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Codrington) — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 12:28:00 +0000

Mosaika
Originally uploaded by acodring

What a neat show!

Every Ottawa household with a growing Canadian should check this free show out.

www.mosaika-sl.ca/mosaika.asp?lang=en

Hookah's on Sparks? [Flickr]

acodring — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 19:17:23 PDT

acodring posted a photo:

I don't smoke, but this seems cool.

Mosaika [Flickr]

acodring — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 19:16:02 PDT

acodring posted a photo:

What a neat show!
Every Ottawa household with a growing Canadian should check this free show out.

www.mosaika-sl.ca/mosaika.asp?lang=en

Links for 2010-07-29 [del.icio.us]

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 00:00:00 PDT

IDManagement.gov
IDManagement.gov provides a one-stop shop for citizens, businesses, and government entities interested in identity management activities, including topics related to Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12); Federal Public Key Infrastructure (FPKI); Identity, Credential, and Access Management (ICAM); and Acquisitions.

Twitter favouritism

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Codrington) — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 16:47:00 +0000

When should I retweet and when should I favourite? Should I expose favourites prominently? If so, where? http://twitter.com/dlq/favoritesThu Jul 15 16:09:23 via Socialite.appDarcy Quesnel
dlq

Good question. I don't have a 'Best practise' answer, but I'll jot down how I'm using Twitter Favourites (aka Favorites in 'merica).

When I started out, I thought of Twitter favourites as a quiet way of showing I liked a tweet. I didn't expect anyone to actually look at my favourites, just that some tiny bit of tweet karma would somehow flow to the original author. If I wanted to give a tweet more exposure to my massive list of followers (cough) I would retweet it.

Later I included them as a feed in my friendfeed stream, but still didn't consider them anything anyone would actually see. @TinyBuddha probably got most of my favourites.

Lately I've been using Tweetdeck on iPhone for most of my twitter reading. It's relatively quick and painless, except for following links to longer posts that don't have mobile themes enabled. My lowly 3G just can't render the pages fast enough to make it worthwhile.

To work around that slow painful experience I've effectively assumed I'm the only one that would ever look at my favourites and started using them as a quick "ReadItLater" bookmark to make sure I can find potentially interesting links when I get back to my laptop. I set up a column in Tweetdeck to pull in all my own favourites and click away when I have some reading time.

The fact that I haven't even looked at what I'm flagging as a favourite introduces some risks (e.g. RickRollingByProxy) if anyone actually is looking at my favourites, but for now I'm willing to take that chance.

Anyone know of a 'best practice' for Twitter favourites? Hopefully Darcy's tweet will garner some good responses.

Links for 2010-06-29 [del.icio.us]

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 00:00:00 PDT

Cost of swelling PS skyrockets
2007 article based on 2004 numbers.

Links for 2010-06-24 [del.icio.us]

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:00:00 PDT

Features | Open Atrium
Open Atrium is an intranet in a box that has group spaces to allow different teams to have their own conversations. It comes with six features - a blog, a wiki, a calendar, a to do list, a shoutbox, and a dashboard to manage it all.

Links for 2010-06-22 [del.icio.us]

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 00:00:00 PDT

Computer English French dictionary
Techy terms abound.

Links for 2010-05-18 [del.icio.us]

Wed, 19 May 2010 00:00:00 PDT

Drupal site security for coders and themers | DrupalCon San Francisco 2010
In this session you can learn about some of the most common problems with code in a
Drupal site so you'll recognize them and be able to protect against them. Join Drupal security team members Greg Knaddison and Peter Wolanin as they give you the tools to hack your site and the knowledge to protect it.

Links for 2010-05-16 [del.icio.us]

Mon, 17 May 2010 00:00:00 PDT

How Microsoft Secures the Cloud Infrastructure | Media | TechNet Edge
Learn about how Microsoft secures it's cloud infrastructure and take away some best practices for your own organization moving to the cloud.

Links for 2010-05-15 [del.icio.us]

Sun, 16 May 2010 00:00:00 PDT

The Art of Creating a Social Media Press Release — SocialFish
A better SMR has 4 elements:

good headlines – write for 3 audiences / 3 readers (human readers first). Use subtitles (helps SEO). Short and to the point. Keywords up front if possible. Think to yourself, if it appeared on Facebook, would I click it?
body copy – 3 audiences / 3 readers – tell a story. Write like an article, not an announcement. Write for diagonal readers (lots of scanning, 10 second readers – headlines / section titles / bold / links / pictures/ graphs / summaries). Use humor.
additional content elements- related content, multimedia, links to related articles, social media sharing, easy to email/print, moderated comments.
technical considerations – search engine ready, RSS ready, sharing ready.
Hmmm. Sounds good to me, but

My conclusion here? I hope you’ve reached it too as you’re reading this. What do all of these elements remind you of?

Of course! Blog posts.

Re: Lansdowne Stadium Reno to Cost Taxpayers $284 million

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Codrington) — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 20:29:00 +0000

Clive, Mayor Larry,

Thank you for sending the information and link below Clive.

The main point of the deck as I understood it, and I agree with it wholeheartedly, is that our City is about to be saddled with a huge debt with very dubious returns.

Every explanation I've read on how wonderful the OSEG proposal is reads like a Nigerian email scam with slightly fewer typos. "Send money and you will be rewarded handsomely." The idea of paying to build a new stadium for a twice dead football team sets off all the same alarm bells for me that those emails do.

Please focus my ever increasing tax bill on projects which will create true, lasting value in our city - public transit comes to mind.

Thanks for your continued service to our city.

Andrew

On Wed, Apr 14, 2010 at 4:23 PM, Doucet, Clive <Clive.Doucet@ottawa.ca> wrote:

Dear Ottawa residents,

Last week at City Hall, I hosted a press conference with Professor Ian Lee, Sprott School of Business, Carleton University and concerned taxpayer, Jean-Marie Leduc.

A few of the highlights from the press conference include:

Taxpayers will be on the hook for $284 million over 40 years for the stadium and stadium parking.

Compare this to the $250 million needed for sewers for a clean river in the next 5 years.

The stadium subsidy is $6.4 million per game - the team is only guaranteed for 5 years.

The estimated useful life of the refurbished stadium is 40 years.

You think the Lynx is a white elephant - wait for this stadium.

For more information, Professor Lee's slide presentation is available at the following link:

http://www.clivedoucet.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Prof-Lee-Financing-of-Stadia-Slide-Presentation.pdf

It's not too late to change the outcome of this stadium "deal". Write to your councillor and the mayor.

The next Council vote on Lansdowne will take place on June 23, 2010.

Sincerely,

Clive Doucet

Councillor, Capital Ward
www.clivedoucet.com

CBC Radio 3 - Best of the 2000's

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Codrington) — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 15:39:00 +0000

These stunning collections serve as reminders that Canadian musicians have been rocking it, literally, and building a spectacular portfolio these past 10 years.

CBC Radio 3 has been a huge part of breaking these artists, and it makes me proud to be a taxpayer here in Canada.

Do yourself a favour (Canadian spelling!) and have a listen right here or on the CBCR3 site.

Best of 2000's Part 1 on CBCR3 or here.
Best of 2000's Part 2 on CBCR3 or here.

View to Manhattan from South Mountain Reservation

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Codrington) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 13:20:00 +0000

View to Manhattan
Originally uploaded by acodring

South Mountain Reservation trails (Running) | South Orange, NJ 07079, USA

Ban On Hand-Held Devices Now Ontario Law

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Codrington) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:31:00 +0000

This new law banning handheld use of mobile devices is intuitively good, but the crude data I've scraped up doesn't make it look cut and dry.

Drivers up, mobiles way way up, accidents and injuries flat or down. What am I missing?

Ban On Hand-Held Devices Now Ontario Law: "October 26, 2009 12:15 PM
McGuinty Government Makes Roads Safer By Countering Distracted Driving

It's now the law - the use of hand-held cell phones and other wireless devices while driving is prohibited in Ontario.

The new distracted driving law makes it illegal for drivers to talk, text, type, dial or email using hand-held cell phones and other hand-held communications and entertainment devices. Hands-free use of these devices will still be permitted."

If You Don't Ask, You Don't Get - Google Voice Apps Refunds

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Codrington) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:06:00 +0000

When I heard that the Google Voice app was rejected and the other two Google Voice apps were removed it didn't even occur to me that they'd pull it back from people who purchased before the removal.

On my next restore I found the app was no longer there, so I sent a note in to Apple to find out what the scoop is - where's my app or where's my refund!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: iTunes Store <iTunesStoreSupport@apple.com>
Date: Mon, Aug 24, 2009 at 10:23 AM
Subject: Re: I have another purchase or download-related question.; Follow-up:
To: andrew

Hi Andrew,

I hope you are having a great day so far. My name is Kanitra and I will be happy to assist you.I'm sorry to hear "VoiceCentral" was removed from the store shortly after you purchased it. I have reversed these charges. You will see a credit of $2.99 in three to five business days. If store credit was used for this purchase, you should see the credit post within three to five business days. If you still do not see your store credit, you will need to sign out of the iTunes Store and sign back in.

Thanks for being a valued iTunes customer.

Sincerely,

Kanitra
ITunes Customer Support
http://www.apple.com/support/itunes

Please Note: I work Sunday-Thursday, 8am- 5pm CT

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to assist you. You may receive an AppleCare survey email; any feedback you provide would be greatly appreciated

Customer First Name : Andrew
email : andrew@andrewsdomain
Web Order # : 123412341234
Support Subject : I have another purchase or download-related question.
Sub Issue : Other Question
Comments : iTunes Account Name: acodring
Platform : iTunes-iPhone/3.0 (2)
Item Name : VoiceCentral
Comments from Andrew:

You removed this application from the App Store after I purchased it.
I later had to restore my iPhone and the app will no longer install.

When will you process a refund for this? I would have thought you'd do it automatically given the wierd situation you've created with these types of apps.

Really it's a pretty deceitful way to operate that really won't encourage me to buy more apps if you can just remove them at any time and deny me access to them.

Thanks,
Andrew

Lake 24

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Codrington) — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 02:28:00 +0000

Camping this year, much like the rest of the summer, was a bit wet. Here's a shot of our campsite, affectionately called Lake 24, after one of the downpours.

Social Networking Naked - In The Shower!

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Codrington) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 01:47:00 +0000

Social Networking Naked
Originally uploaded by acodring

A while ago a special someone mentioned they had their best ideas in the shower, but couldn't write them down.

Some googling turned up the idea of using a diver's slate and I was ready for the next gift giving occasion. They're basically a rough plastic board with a pencil attached.

You can use regular eraser to wipe it clean, or if you want to be legit bring home some beach sand which is apparently what the real divers use.

We've ended up dividing up the board into areas for each family member and notes are written to each other from time to time.

I wasn't the first to think of using a divers slate in the shower, but I think I'm the first to realize it's social networking. Now I just wait for the multi-million $ valuation to roll in!

I got mine at Sharky's Scuba here in Ottawa, but they're easy to find online.

PotHead Kid's First Book - Playskool Guide To Pot

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Codrington) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 00:15:00 +0000

I never claimed this blog was going to be relevant, or informative.

The only thing I changed below is the email address and a few digits to protect the innocent.

-----Original Message-----
From: Amazon.com [mailto:ship-confirm@amazon.com]
Sent: Monday, March 16, 2009 10:49 PM
To: potheadkid@baked.com
Subject: Your Amazon.com order has shipped (#104-5268505-4320758)

Greetings from Amazon.com.

We thought you'd like to know that we shipped this portion of your order separately to give you quicker service. You won't be charged any extra shipping fees, and the remainder of your order will follow as soon as those items become available.

The following items have been shipped to you by Amazon.com:
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Qty Item Price Shipped Subtotal

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Amazon.com items (Sold by Amazon.com, LLC):

1 The Playskool Guide to Pot... $11.66 1 $11.66

Shipped via USPS

Tracking number: 6102401005297078877186

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Item Subtotal: $11.66
Shipping and handling: $1.99

Super Saver Discount: $-1.99

Total: $11.66

Paid by Visa: $11.66

War Child 'Heroes' - Amazon click-tease

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Codrington) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 03:21:00 +0000

I heard someone mention the new War Child benefit compilation was out this week and figured I'd grab it from eMusic with this month's credits last night.

I enjoyed "Help: A Day in the Life" so much I really didn't even look to see who was on Heroes, or what tracks were included. I was looking for immediate gratification, but I had no idea how elusive it would be.

eMusic claimed ignorance. Their search didn't even admit to having the Help: album I downloaded from them.

Next, I went to the Canadian warchild.ca site to see where they'd point me - Maplemusic. I really want to support Maplemusic, but I don't really want to kill any plastic CD trees and I don't want to wait or pay for shipping. They wanted about $10+ $3 or $4 shipping, plus I'd have to wait, then rip the CD. High PITA. Maplemusic, please do mp3s!

Then I went to Amazon.ca, I found Heroes but again only as a CD. $9+~$5 shipping I think.

Really hoping to find an MP3 download, I checked Amazon.com. They had it, $9US and free digital shipping! I threw the album in my shopping cart and heading for the digital door - I was in business! But first I had to login to my account (with a Canadian shipping address; this is foreshadowing...), accept a license, and download their helper software. I got it all installed and to celebrate they offered me a free track to test out the software.

Woo hoo! I gratefully clicked 'download now' and got the error dialog above. "We don't like Canadian downloaders in these parts. Vamoose!".

Did they not know that 4 or 5 steps earlier in the process? Fail.

I went back to the warchild.ca site tonight to try again, and now they're not mentioning Maplemusic, but instead iTunes and Amazon.com are featured. First, I'm not interested in buying any music from iTunes. Second, why is the Canadian War Child site pointing me to Amazon.com? Been there, couldn't do that!

Why do they make this stuff so painful? Maybe they're trying to tell me I'm supposed to grab the music from a torrent and just make a donation to War Child.

To top it off, now the War Child site is auto-playing clips. The Lily Allen remake of a fav Clash song Straight to Hell is making me want this album even more.

US Roaming Costs with a Rogers iPhone: Rogers vs AT&T GoPhone

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Codrington) — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 20:54:00 +0000

Many people know Canadians as hockey players, or people who say sorry too much, or people who pronounce 'about' funny.

Not as many people know our proud tradition of extortionate wireless plans, so I thought I'd share.

By now you may know we have the longest minimum contracts to purchase iPhones - 3yrs. Something like a $2-3k commitment.

Since I recently went to the US with my Rogers iPhone I got curious about how much it might cost me to use it while I was there. Rogers make it quite difficult to find out their international data roaming and voice rates, at least to find a consistent answer. Online I found three different data roaming rates, ranging from outrageous to highway robbery to obscene "I demand a full public inquiry" material. I couldn't actually find the lowest rate on a Rogers site, but someone posted it in a forum and claimed it came from Rogers. The other two more expensive rates came from different pages on Rogers.com.

I decided to compare the different rates I found with the comparable cost to buy an AT&T GoPhone in the US and use their Pay As You Go plans.

The table below shows some representative numbers, obviously not based on what I might have used for the week I was there had I actually used yellowsn0w to unlock my iPhone before leaving for the US, and bought a GoPhone + SIM at Fry's for $20 when I got there.

The GoPhone plan I didn't actually purchase online from AT&T after buying the phone at Fry's costs $.10/min for calls within the US plus $.29/min to Canada. They just introduced a 100MB data plan for $20 when I got there.

As you can see, the Rogers costs range from 8 to 50 times the costs of the completely theoretical 'GoPhone' approach.

Oh, sure, I probably could have phoned Rogers to ask about adding a US data roaming package to my monthly bill and got something a little less obscene, but this analysis is so much more fun, plus I didn't have to waste another half hour waiting in their call center queues.

If anyone reading this knows details of cheaper approaches that don't require getting a new phone number, the comments are open!

Photo:appollonia666

Know How to Get Out of Dodge Before You Go There - Can You Get Your Data Out of the Cloud?

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Codrington) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 19:34:00 +0000

Many years ago while still a student I got the chance to travel around Europe by train. Low budget, high fun. A lesson I soon learned was that the first thing you had to do on arrival in a new town was to figure out how you're going to get back out. Served me well when someone tried to mug me in West Berlin and I no longer wanted to be there... (This was January 1990 and the Wall was 'down' but still there.)

A similar rule of thumb applies in Cloud Computing and SaaS. Matt Asay, a machine of a blogger, today talked about the need to be able to get your data out of Cloud Computing services.

For me, guaranteeing open data is the most critical component of ensuring that cloud computing doesn't replace our desktop chains with cloud chains.

Oh so true.

I'm interested in this in the specific context of email and collaboration services. If someone chooses to go with a SaaS email provider, what avenues will they have to leave that provider with their dignity and emails intact at some point in the future?

Having the same software available from the SaaS provider and as on-premise software will go a long way.

Standard protocols like IMAP, LDAP, and calDAV will also be useful tools for data extraction. Gmail uses this approach to some extent now. As an example, they'll gladly import and export entire mail accounts via IMAP.

What considerations for 'data freedom' in a SaaS world are you worrying about in email, calendaring, and collaboration?

Photo credit: Lynn

Google Password Assistance email - training phishing targets?

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Codrington) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 20:21:00 +0000

At first I assumed the email below was a phishing attempt, but after spending a few more seconds thinking about it, it looks legit.

Legit, but bad practice. I had not initiated a password reset, so something is wrong with the way Google are crafting the email below.

If someone else is trying to reset my password, they should let me know in this email somewhere.

I haven't logged into this account directly in a while, so even if the reset email is a preemptive one to help me get back in they shouldn't be putting an active link for me to click. That's just training me to be phished. Instead tell me to type their site name into my address bar manually.

Let me know if I've got it wrong! Comments are wide open.

PS: Yes, I've changed some links from their original state to protect the innocent (me!).

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <accounts-noreply@google.com>
Date: Thu, Feb 5, 2009 at 9:24 PM
Subject: Google Password Assistance
To: Andrew's Other Email Account

To initiate the process for resetting the password for your
andrewspersonalgmailaccount@gmail.com Google Account, visit the link below

http://www.google.com/accounts/RP?c=bunCHoGoobleDeGook&hl=en

If clicking the link above does not work, copy and paste the URL in a
new browser window instead.

Thank you for using Google.

For questions or concerns regarding your account, please visit the
Google Accounts FAQ at
http://www.google.com/support/accounts/.

This is a post-only mailing. Replies to this message are not monitored
or answered.

The Collateral Free Google Booth

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Codrington) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 20:10:00 +0000

The Google Booth
Originally uploaded by theWHIR.com

I met yesterday with a colleague and got chatting about the need for collateral to succeed. I couldn't remember ever seeing Google collateral and neither could he.

Today while searching for something else I happened across this photo of a Google booth at a hosting event last year. I don't see any collateral, do you?

There are Lava Lamps though. Just the right amount.

Air Canada: Never a better time? Really?

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Codrington) — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 17:18:00 +0000

On hold with Air Canada, enjoying the helpful messages:

"There's never been a better time to fly. Now there are no fuel
surcharges within North America and you can check a second bag free!"

I think I can remember a time like that actually. Not that long ago.

Busing by wire(less)

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Codrington) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 23:09:00 +0000

Gotta love new bus route feature in iPhone 2.2 Maps.

It gives real time guesses for when the next bus should have arrived.

And when you miss your stop it maps your trudging progress back to
where you need to be through construction zones and snow banks.

All it needs now is a screen heater so your fingers don't freeze while
you compose a blog post about it all.

P.S. If you're at the bus stop at Moodie and the Queensway and waiting for an eastbound Queensway ride like the 101 make sure you press the button that looks like a cross walk button. Otherwise the secret light a kilometre away on the Queensway doesn't light up and no bus will exit to pick you up. Much hilarity ensues as you decompose by the side of the road over the next few days.

Shine on Unknown Soldier

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Codrington) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:00:00 +0000

Unknown Soldier
Originally uploaded by acodring

Right about now the sunlight should be shining on the headstone in Memorial Hall.

Inspiring writing for you - Obama's speech

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Codrington) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 00:45:00 +0000

I sent this to my kids today and copied their teachers.
One of their teachers got it at lunch and replayed the video for the class in the afternoon, as well as some Martin Luther King.
Way cool kids, way cool teachers, way cool times.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Andrew Codrington
Subject: Inspiring writing for you - Obama's speech
To: Kid 1 <kid1@kidsemail.com>, Kid 2 <kid2@kidsemail.com>
Cc: Teacher 1 <teacher1@school.ca>, Teacher 2 <teacher2@school.ca>

Hi Kids!

Here's a link to the words from Obama's acceptance speech last night (a 'transcript').
You are both interested in writing so I thought you might like to read it - it's very well written and extremely inspiring.
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/04/obama.transcript/

There's even a link there to watch the video of him delivering the speech - there's lots to learn from his oratory skills as well. It's not just the words, but how you say them!

So much of politics is boring because it's not inspiring, but Obama has been showing us how to be an inspiring leader.
He's got a tough job to deliver on all the expectations his country and the world have for him, but he's off to a great start.

Love,
Daddy

The Canadian Dream

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Codrington) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 17:56:00 +0000

Great unreleased tune from Andrew Vincent and the Pirates on CBCR3 Podcast #179 got me thinking about what the Canadian Dream really is on my run today.

I soon realized that it is to see your children playing better hockey than you were ever able to.

For me, achieving that dream is closer than for most...

Don't worry, I've Got Your Back

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Codrington) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 17:54:00 +0000

This morning I needed a knife and two other product managers quickly offered their's from their back pockets.

Is there something I don't know about the next resource allocation meeting?

Drawback of technology

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Codrington) — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 20:52:00 +0000

It makes it harder to ignore the harsh reality that I'm slower than I think.

Around the Beaver Pond (Trail Running)

This post intentionally left blank

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Codrington) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 20:29:00 +0000

Polaris Prize PEI Road Trip Mixtape Special!

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Codrington) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 02:38:00 +0000

CBC Radio 3 is on another tear with their summer lineup of podcasts.

The Polaris Prize shortlist edition is a keeper. I've got 4 of the albums on it already, and will likely have more of them soon. For me so far its Stars or Kathleen Edwards. For my youngest it's Caribou all the way.

The Polaris Prize is awarded to a Canadian album released in the last year, and selection is based on artistic merit, not sales. Selection is by music industry pundits. Full disclosure: I am not a pundit.

Polaris Prize Shortlist MP3

Then the summer roadtrip mixtape special tradition continues with another spectacular mix. Almost no talking, just a quick interruption in the middle to change sides and hear a road trip disaster story from Grant involving flip flops the footwear, flip flops of a gastric nature, a cop, and a breathalyzer.

2008 Mix Tape MP3

We'll be putting it on continuous loop along with the 2007 and 2006 editions on our trip to PEI.

2007 Mix Tape MP3

2006 Mix Tape

Go on, give them a listen. They sound pretty good even when you're not in the car.

Enjoy!

Desperate Housewives was the gin of our times - Web 2.0 Expo

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Codrington) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:03:00 +0000

Years ago I subscribed to an email newsletter called The Wave Report, by John Latta.
It's become one of the few I don't automatically filter off into the 'For a Rainy Day Reading' folder.

John suffers through endless technology industry shows and conventions and summarizes them succinctly, without wasting time on fluffy things like graphics or editing. It's raw reporting, commentary, and insight and it's great if you fear flying or have a CFO who fears travel expenses.

In WAVE0807 (online version not yet posted at time of writing, but that link should work when it is) he covers the Web 2.0 Expo and I'm compelled to share some tasty snippets.

On Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff, both from Forrester Research:

Groundswell is a social trend in which people use technologies to get the things they need from each other, rather than from traditional institutions like corporations.

A Groundswell example that comes to mind is Bookmooch, a neat little service that connects book traders in a global book swapping network. My youngest has become a rabid moocher, unloading her "Flat Stanley" collection as fast as she can and getting all sorts of new books in return.

On Clay Shirky's talk:

The issue is that TV has masked for 50 years the great surplus of human time.

In the transition from the agrarian society to the industrial society one of the most important components was gin. The pace of change was so radical that gin became the means for society to cope. It took 30 years before the institutions of industrial
revolution we recognize came into being. This happened only after society was able to cope with and assimilate the changes which happened.
In the 20th Century the social lubricant was the sitcom. This occurred with the rise of the 5 day work week and creation of the middle class. As a society we had too much free time. This was filled with TV. Desperate Housewives was gin of our times.
Only now are we starting to see cognitive excess as a plus Where do we now find time which can be used creatively by society? Now it is being placed in TV. We should ask the questions what should be done with this time? The issue is that TV has masked for 50 years the great surplus of human time. For example, Wikipedia has taken 100 million hours of human thought. TV is consuming 200 billion hours every year. This equates to 2000 Wikipedia projects a year if television watch was turned to more creative uses.

If the reference to gin as a societal pacifier during the transition through the industrial revolution intrigues you I'd recommend Craze: Gin and Debauchery in an Age of Reason

John also summarizes talks by Jonathan Schwartz, Tim O'Reilly, Art Balogh, and David Recordon on different aspects of Web 2.0.