[Editor's Note: I'm hoping to make this a new feature on the site (man, how many times have I written that). Anyway, since I'm always discovering new and fun things I'll try to feature one or a two a week.]
This week's "Newly Discovered" is MetaWishlist. Essentially MetaWishlist allows you to create a wishlist across multiple sites. I know this isn't that revolutionary (Froogle has a shopping list), but this site has some cool social features. For one, you can look at what everyone else wants. But you can also keep multiple lists, use tags to organize and everything has an RSS feed (like every good piece of social software should). Here's how the site is described on the front page:
Store. Save everything you want from multiple websites all in one place.
Organize. Group your items in any number of lists, mark them with tags, or both.
Share. Send your list to family, friends, or even complete strangers.
The site even has a bookmarklet so it's easy to add stuff to your list from any shopping site (including pictures). While there are still a few things I'd like (a "bought" button for one), there are some great features (including adding up the total of all your desired items). I've decided to move all my wishlists there, since it just seems easier.
So, if you feel like buying me something (especially that 12" Powerbook), just click here.
UPDATED 3/31/05: A few hours after writing this entry I got this email from Alex, the person behind MetaWishlist. Here's what he (I assumed it was a he, although that could just be me being sexist), had to say:
Noah,
Hey, this is Alex, the creator of MetaWishlist.com. I noticed a link to your blog yesterday from Scoble’s blog. Then, I realized that you were one of my users!
Thanks for the blog post about MetaWishlist.com; maybe it will help get some more people in there for better beta testing while I’m adding new features. I just added list comments so people can tell you what they think of your wishlist… so you might want to add that to your blog post. I also just moved it to a much faster server -- getting ready for prime-time! So, you should see a significant speed increase.
Thanks!
Always nice to see when software creators really care about their users. Since the email I've been emailing back-and-forth with Alex and have made some recommendations that I think are fairly useful, including my bought button and an easier image navigation interface.
Thanks a lot for the email Alex, like I said, it's nice to get noticed and to know that there are really people behind the web apps I enjoy. Best of luck!
Noah, how do we use del.icio.us for this? either you set one up user name at del.icio.us/needsafeed so that you can moderate or just use http://del.icio.us/tag/needsafeed and let people chime in completely democratically (but open to craphounds).
I decided to take Scott's advice (the latter), and tag Barack Obama's blog with "needsafeed." You can see the "needsafeed" tag page here.
And here's a display of all the latest del.icio.us items posted with the tag "needsafeed" so you don't even need to go anywhere:
Anyhow, if enough of us start using the tag maybe some of these websites will take notice (at least that's the hope). So get tagging.
Big thanks to Scott for the idea, it's a good one.
Yesterday I got an email from a loyal reader suggesting that I make all links open in new windows. He explained:
This is because I will read something, then click the link in the middle and follow that tangent for a while and sometimes its annoying to have to click back x number of times to get back to the article.
Well, Firefox is your answer. I agree 100 percent, it is annoying to have to keep clicking back after you click through to one of my links, but that's why Firefox has tabs.
I've been meaning to write this entry for a while and I'm glad I finally have a good reason. Here is my Firefox primer and if you're not using it yet, go download it now, it's free and fantastic.
Lesson 1: Tabs
Tabs allow you to open multiple webpages in one windows. It organizes those pages with tabs along the top of your Firefox window (hence the name). All you have to do is hit CTRL + T to open a new tab or, if you're click a link, just CTRL + Click to open that link in a new tab. That way you can follow all the links you want and still have this page open in another tab.
Lesson 2: Live Bookmarks
Firefox has RSS support built right into the browser. When you're using Firefox and visit NoahBrier.com or any other site with an embedded RSS feed, you'll see a little orange button that looks just like this: . All you need to do with that is click and add it to your "Bookmarks Toolbar Folder." After that, every time the site is updated you'll just be able to click you're Live Bookmark, see the title of the entry and go read it or not. No more need to keep checking back to find updates. (If you really like my bookmarks, you can click your way over to my del.icio.us page and add a Live Bookmark from that.)
Lesson 3: Integrated Search
With Firefox there's no more need to type in search engines or install the Google Toolbar. That's because there's a search box built into the browser, it's in the upper-right hand corner and is completely customizable. You can add any number of search engines to it. And trust me, it makes life much easier. For instance, there's no more need to go to Amazon, just scroll down and search the site instantly.
Lesson 4: Security
Firefox is far more secure than Internet Explorer. It has a great built-in popup blocker and doesn't have the same holes that IE does. In fact, since installing Firefox I can honestly say that the amount of spyware has gone to almost nothing. The last time I ran Spybot, it only found two things, as opposed to the hundreds it found with IE.
Lesson 5: Easy Install
Don't worry about switching from Internet Explorer, Firefox will copy everything over for you automatically. It'll save your bookmarks and preference so you can relax and browse in your newfound comfort and style.
Lesson 6: Extensions
This is probably my favorite lesson. Firefox allows developers to write little programs that add-on to Firefox called extensions. Basically they all add functionality to Firefox in different ways. Here are some of my favorites:
1. Tabbrowser Preferences: This is a must-have for any tab users. It gives you way more options for your tabs, like automatically opening "new windows" in new tabs and opening outside links (like from email or IM) into a new tab so it doesn't overwrite the window you already have open.
2. Spellbound: This is a spellchecker for Firefox. It allows you to spellcheck any window you can type in including webmail and comments. I have way fewer spelling mistakes thanks to this extension (at least I hope I do).
3. ForecastFox: This extension sticks a little weather forecast box right into the browser so you don't have to visit Weather.com anymore. It looks like this:
4. SessionSaver: For those who open lots of tabs like I do and don't always get around to reading them all, this extension saves your tabs when you close Firefox. Now, next time you open it you can pick up right where you left off.
That ends the Firefox class for the day, hope you all found it enjoyable and informative. Now go get it!
Today I am starting a new blog that I hope will help you keep up to date on the happenings of Congress and the issues that are important to people throughout Illinois.
Check back to this site regularly for more updates.
Alright, now at least the excuse with a marketing website could possibly be (and I don't condone this) that customers aren't interested in marketing RSS feeds, but Barack and Co., what's your excuse? WHERE'S YOUR RSS?
It's called a blog, it looks like a blog and its express purpose is to keep people up to date. But then he adds the kicker line: "check back to this site regularly." Why should I? Why don't you just add a feed? It would allow your constituents to keep up with what you're doing without requiring them to keep visiting the site. This is why RSS exists. It's a match made in heaven. So where is it?
I just don't get it. Let me reiterate my rule (via Scoble's rule): "If you do a marketing blog and you don't have an RSS feed today you should be fired."
This is even more than just a marketing blog (although that's definitely part of it), it also provides relevant political information. So where's the feed?
Today Joshua Shachter, he of del.icio.us fame, announced he was quitting his day job and taking on del.icio.us full time. For all the del.icio.us fans out there, this means Joshua will be making lots more improvements to the site (imagine that?). In order to make this come true he's decided to take on some outside investment (which, for him, has probably been knocking on the door for a while now).
This is pretty huge. While he isn't selling del.icio.us, this is the first sign of things to come. It's been pretty obvious to most users that the site is something special. It's transformed my internet life. I no longer bookmark anything on my computer, it runs the bookmarks sidebar on NoahBrier.com and I find tons of links thanks to it. It's simple enough to use that I got my mom using it and just the other day a friend of mine used it as a verb (he told me about something he del.icio.us'ed). Come on folks, if it's a verb it's gotta be good.
Seriously, if you haven't tried it yet, get over to del.icio.us and start bookmarking, it's easy, free and all you need to do is drag a bookmarklet to your toolbar (which isn't even a necessity, just makes things much easier).
Before I finish, though, there was one more thing that Joshua said that really struck me:
I think what sets del.icio.us apart is the passion of the community that has organized around it, and I hope I can continue to rely on your ideas, help, and goodwill. Together we have made the site the success it is today.
It's hard not feel good about that level of appreciation.
Thanks to you, Joshua, for creating something truly useful, fun and rewarding that has caused me to examine much of how I think about the web.
In a previous entry, I wrote: "Essentially I want software that not only complements my brain, but gives me a better understanding of how it functions. I think this is what separates regular software from the revolutionary stuff."
Well, by that definition, del.icio.us is revolutionary software.
Just read Mark Cuban's newest blog entry, "Let the truth be told…MGM vs Grokster" and in it he announces that he is going to be funding the legal defense of Grokster against MGM.
So , the real reason of this blog. To let everyone know that the EFF and others came to me and asked if I would finance the legal effort against MGM. I said yes. I would provide them the money they need. So now the truth has been told. This isn't the big content companies against the technology companies. This is the big content companies, against me. Mark Cuban and my little content company. Its about our ability to use future innovations to compete vs their ability to use the courts to shut down our ability to compete. its that simple.
This seems like a pretty big deal. Maybe it's only because Mark Cuban owns a basketball and has more exposure than your average multi-millionaire, but even so, it's great to see him stepping up to the plate on this. I understand that he is at least in part doing this to protect his own interests, but he deserves to be applauded for standing up for the little guy (and in turn making the little guy much bigger).
He's right, this issue is bigger than just file sharing, it's about big companies being able to control innovation. Just take a look at the EFF list of devices that could be banned if MGM wins and you'll get an idea of the potential impact (and yes, I realize that it's not entirely serious). The list includes devices from the copy machine to silly putty.
As the EFF writes on its Grokster vs. MGM page, "the case raises a question of critical importance at the border between copyright and innovation: When should the distributor of a multi-purpose tool be held liable for the infringements that may be committed by end-users of the tool?"
Anyway, from my very limited understanding and exposure to this, I believe it could be a very big deal and I just want to applaud Mark Cuban for lending a hand (and some dollars).
The Captain of Captain Morgan's fame has started a "blog." At least that's what they're calling it. The thing is, it's got no RSS feed. I've talked about this before (check out this entry about the Family Guy blog, a problem they quickly fixed), however, it needs to be restated.
For all you companies out there, listen up:
If you're creating something, and calling it a blog, IT MUST HAVE RSS! DO YOU HEAR ME? This is not a choice, as soon as I go to something labeled as a blog that doesn't have a feed I immediately know they're FULL OF SHIT. If you're going to try to be cool and make a blog, why don't you spend 15 minutes and read up a little on what blogs are, it might serve you well.
I don't know if I'd go as far as Scoble and say, "Sorry, if you do a marketing site and you don't have an RSS feed today you should be fired." (Though I do agree in many cases.) However, I think it's safe to say if you do a marketing blog and you don't have an RSS feed today you should be fired. Seriously, what are you thinking?
[Editor's Note: The following thoughts are inspired by On Intelligence.]
I've been thinking about where hierarchies fit in a lot lately and I just had a thought about it that needed to be written down.
Maybe the problem is that hierarchies don't work well as a primary information organization model, however, they could be a great secondary organizer. In other words, there might be a place for hierarchies withing a network architecture. I haven't completely fleshed this out, but check this quote from On Intelligence:
Computer memory does not normally store sequences of patterns. It can be made to do so using various software tricks (such as when you store a song on your computer), but computer memory does not do this automatically. In contrast, the cortex does store sequences automatically. Doing so is an inherent aspect of the necortical memory system.
So what if we could use a network to store patterns (inherently hierarchical)? What kind of patterns would we store? Why would it be useful?
I'm not quite sure I know the answers to those questions quite yet, but it seems important to bring hierarchies back into the equation. The fact is, I never really thought about them as anything but top dog, however, they could definitely find a place somewhere in a network.
There are at least lessons we can take from hierarchical organizing. Look at tabs, for example, although they now seem to sit at the top of every application, tabs scream folders, which in turn, scream hierarchies.
I've been talking to the people over at Filangy a fair amount lately and I'm testing out a couple different things to see how they work. One of them is a public display of my WebMarks (which are essentially just entirely searchable, cached bookmarks). I have to admit that I don't use it much since I am a del.icio.us addict, but I have imported my del.icio.us bookmarks in there, so you can at least see what it looks like. Here it is:
UPDATE 3/27/05: I had to get rid of this because Filangy became unreachable and it was slowing down my page too much . . . not a good sign.
There is also an option to make webcache searchable, though I'm not quite sure how that works (or how comfortable I am in allowing that to be searchable). Although it combines your information with general information, it still rubs me the wrong way. Thoughts?
Otherwise, I've been messing with Filangy some more and I'm getting the hang of some stuff. There are definitely some improvements that could be made, but I think they're going in the right direction. I'm still waiting on that highlighter (which would be amazing). Also, I would prefer if my del.icio.us and RSS feeds were added constantly instead of just when I reload them.
Last, but not least, I have some invites. So if you're interested in giving Filangy a try, let me know. Drop me a comment or an email (nb [at] noahbrier.com).
UPDATE 3/27/05: I had to get rid of the javascript links to my Filangy WebMarks because Filangy became unresponsive and my webpage got slowed to a standstill.
Since writing my entry about getting things done, I've been thinking a lot about so-called "lifehacks." Essentially lifehacks are little things you do that make life easier. Arienna over at Blogaholics commented on my original entry, specifically focusing on blogging as a lifehack. This got me thinking a little more about some specific things I do (or have done), to simplify my life. I decided it was worth writing some of these down, as they might help someone else. So without any further ado, we present ten official NoahBrier.com lifehacks (in no specific order and with one bonus):
1. Copy all your numbers from your phone and email it to a GMail account. Now, not only are all my numbers backed up in case your phone gets lost, but they're also completely searchable from any computer.
2. Keep daily notes/thoughts in text files. I tend to split these up into three categories: notes, thoughts and quotes. Text files are easy to manage and completely searchable.
3. Use del.icio.us to keep track of your bookmarks. That way you can access them from anywhere and they're searchable (and tagable).
4. When using tags on sites like del.icio.us and Flickr, remember the tags are for your use. This means that you should tag them with whatever makes sense for your life. Tags are a tool to help you organize your thoughts. Don't worry about using multiple tags, or having too many tags. If it's going to help you organize/retrieve that information, just do it.
5. If you use iCal (which I do at work), set your mobile phone email address as one of your emails (figure out your address here). That way, if you want to send yourself a text message reminder about an activity you can. (I imagine this works with other calendar programs as well.)
6. The combination of Firefox, Bloglines and Tabbrowser Preferences extension make browsing RSS a snap. Simply go through your feeds, click on the links you want to read further and let them load in the background. That way you can go through all your feeds, find the interesting nuggets (that you don't just want to read in Bloglines) and save them for later. Makes having a lot of feeds much more manageable.
7. If you use Firefox, get yourself Spellbound, it spell checks any text box. It's much easier than using the spell checker in most web-based email services.
8. If you listen to a lot of MP3s, download the Musicbrainz tagger (or Mac equivalent). It takes a bit to figure out how to use, but once you get it going it will fix all the tags on your MP3s fairly automatically.
9. If you play a lot of Minesweeper, use both mouse buttons to clear surrounding squares once you've identified all the mines in an area. It's a simple trick, but one that a lot of people don't know about.
10. If you like to read a lot of stuff online and find yourself running out of time, try printing the extra stuff out, stapling it together and reading it other places. Just throw it in your bag and wait for some free time.
Bonus: Get yourself some velcro shoes. They're coming back in style and they save you all that wasted tie time.
I'm sure I'll come up with more, but until then how about adding your own to the list. Just add a comment.
I've got tonsillitis. I'm feeling pretty shitty. Since I really can't get myself to write a real post, here's some links for your enjoyment in the meantime:
4. Check out this picture of a Tokyo Rockabilly. I remember seeing this guys in Yoyogi (spelling?) Park when I was in Japan eight years ago, I've been trying to remember what they were called.
I had four things I thought about today that I hadn't really thought about before. I figured I'd write them down. Maybe this will become an ongoing thing . . . or maybe not.
"In order to maximize our chances of making more friends and trying to consummate everything from relationships to deals, we'd have to join as many networks as possible."
I really believe there's a correlation between how good an article is and how many tags I give it in del.icio.us. It needs more thought, but I think there's something there.
In my never ending struggle to figure out whether social networking sites are useful at all, I've run across a good quote. I read it this morning in an article from WashingtonPost.com titled "Want to Join My Click?", which is actually little more than a commentary on a Wired News article I also read, called "Are Socialites Still Networking?". Anyhow, here's the big quote from the WashingtonPost.com article:
In order to maximize our chances of making more friends and trying to consummate everything from relationships to deals, we'd have to join as many networks as possible.
It's a great point, and one I've never really considered before. But one of the big problems with the deluge of social networking sites is that there's no industry standard. I recently noticed this when I got invites from two different kinds of keep-up-with-people's-contact-information social networking sites. Within days, I had received invites from two different services that do the same thing and whose sites actually looked the same. How and why should I choose one to ask all my friends to sign up for? It's a question that will need to be answered.
I expect that Yahoo! may put an end to these questions with it's new Yahoo! 360 services. Yahoo!'s new blog/social networking site may crush it's competitors due to sheer size. Yahoo! already has so many users, it's easy to imagine everyone moving their social networking over there because it's easy. Also, now that Yahoo! has bought Flickr, it could be a really cool and innovative service. I'm looking forward to checking it out.
One last quote before I finish. This one is from the Wired article "Are Socialites Still Networking?"
Social networking sites are getting heavily involved in marketing themselves. To draw new members, they're finding it helps to present themselves as the virtual equivalent of belonging to the "in" crowd.
I was looking at my page stats tonight and noticed a huge amount of searches for "tom wolfe catchphrase 1970's" and other combinations of those words. Now this is odd because I've only written one entry that even includes the name "Tom Wolfe". I've definitely never written anything about Tom Wolfe's catchphrases. In fact, I didn't know Tom Wolfe had catchphrases. (Is that blasphemous?)
Anyway, while browsing the stats a little more, I also noticed a disproportionately high number of referrals from Yahoo!. So I clicked on over to the ugly step-sister search engine (which, as a side note, has remained my homepage for about eight years) and searched for "tom wolfe catchphrase 1970's," only to find my site listed fifth. It's a link to my December archive and includes this summary:
December 31, 2004. New Years Best Wishes ... The holiday evolved during the 1970's, when the elder Mr ... Stewart, Al Franken and Tom Wolfe reflect on the race ... to that 'lifelong learning' catchphrase to which so many school ...
So my big question is what are all you Tom Wolfe fans looking for? Please do me a favor and clue me in using the comments. Maybe I can even help.
Thanks and best of luck finding that catchphrase you were looking for.
UPDATE: Turns out it was a New York Times crossword clue from March 18, 2005 (thanks Trubright!). So now for the big question: does anyone know the "Tome Wolfe catchphrase popularized in the 1970's?"
If you know the answer, please leave it in the comments. I will do my part and search for the answer. Also, if anyone knows how many letters it is, that would be helpful too. Thanks!
UPDATE 2: Thanks to Irene, we've gotten to the bottom of this problem. The answer is Radical Chic. Hope that helps!
I'm not sure I completely get this, but it's a visualization of the structure of NoahBrier.com and outgoing links (I think . . .). It's from a Java applet called tree by texone. Here's the description from the website:
tree accesses the source code of a webdomain through it's url and transforms the syntactic structure of the website into a tree structure represented by an image. this image illustrates a tree with trunk, branches and ramifications. first each tree is initialized, than all html links are detected, chronologically saved and finally displayed.
It's not secret that I'm a big fan of visualizations and even thought I'm not quite sure what I can learn from tree, it definitely looks cool.
For about two weeks now I've been using Filangy. I've been thinking about writing about it for a while, but I wasn't quite sure how. Problem is that I can't really describe it well. It's kind of like a desktop search tool for your browser. It caches all the pages you look at and makes them searchable. It also allows you to add your own bookmarks and import RSS feeds and del.icio.us bookmarks. In the FAQ, it's explained like this:
Filangy is an intelligent search tool integrated with a search engine to make searching productive. We offer features that allow users to personalize their search experience. Two of the features that we have launched in our beta products are WebMarks and WebCache. Over the coming months we will be integrating numerous other helpful features. To get more information about our products and services please see the keep me posted section.
Anyhow, today I got an email from them thanking me for using it (it's still in beta) and telling me they had some exciting features coming up. The end of the email asked people to submit any thoughts they had. Of course, when I get an invitation like that I can't refuse, so I mentioned the one big thing I had thought of: a web highlighter. You see, the Filangy toolbar already has this highlighter icon, but it only highlights terms on a page you're looking at. I want something that allows me to highlight and save specific words from a page.
About five minutes after sending my email I got a response . . . from a real person. Imagine that! She agreed that would be a great feature and we emailed back and forth a few times. In an email she mentioned that I should blog that I had spoken to a real person (which I am right now, I guess). In response to that email I wrote her this (keep in mind I'm still kind of reeling from today's big entry):
Hi,
You know, to be completely honest I've been thinking about writing
about Filangy on my blog for a while but I'm having trouble defining
just what it is. I know that it caches everything I look at (right?)
and allows me to bookmark things and then stores it all in a
web-accessible database. But what really makes it different than other
tools out there? Essentially you're creating your individual search
engine, right? It's kind of like an online version of Google Desktop.
But why doesn't it have some of the tools that make sites like
del.icio.us and Flickr so powerful, specifically tags? I love the idea
of Filangy, but I feel as though del.icio.us is a superior system for
bookmarking things at the moment. It allows me to annotate my
bookmarks (with the "summary" section) and then tag it appropriately.
While the highlighter tool would be a huge advantage, there's still
something missing in my mind (although I'm not sure what).
Essentially I want software that not only complements my brain, but
gives me a better understanding of how it functions. I think this is
what separates regular software from the revolutionary stuff.
Can you guys help?
Thanks a bunch and sorry for burdening you with all my thoughts,
Noah
PS - This will be going on my blog
About five minutes later I got another response telling me she had forwarded my email on to the CEO and thanking me for sharing my thoughts. "And thanks for taking the time to send us your thought. It's appreciated and welcomed," was exactly what she wrote.
You know what? When a company has customer service like Filangy, it makes me believe they'll be revolutionary. They've earned a customer.
About ten years ago I remember having a conversation with my mom about the way my brain worked. Windows 95 had recently been released and I was telling her that I liked to compartmentalize things like Windows Explorer. I explained to her that I put information and thoughts into folders and subfolders within my brain and when I needed to access that information it was only a matter of finding the right folder, which was clearly marked in its proper hierarchical structure.
Now it's ten years later and we're on the verge of integrated desktop search (check out this preview for "Spotlight" in OS X "Tiger"). Like good software, I have adapted my thinking to address these technological advances. No longer do I bother putting everything into folders. What's the point? After all, our brains have a fantastic search function. Just think of the name of your first grade teacher. That wasn't right at the top of your mind was it? If you had to figure out what the hierarchical structure that information was stored in could you?
Now that was a serious hassle. Your brain would never waste its time digging through all that junk just to get the information it needed. Imagine the time it would take when you were looking for something really tough.
It's all about connections. That's why things like smells and music can elicit such intense memories. For instance, right now I'm listening to the song "El Salvador" by the band Athlete which, for me, will forever be linked to walking the streets of London. It happens to all of us and it's all about connections. In this case, Athlete immediately brings me back to a different city, country and culture. I can see Marble Arch, taste the ale at The Crown and feel the bumpy bus ride down Oxford Street.
But how does my brain find all that information? It's definitely not in folders, so why was I so sure that it worked like Windows Explorer?
Ten years ago I was explaining my thinking in terms of the dominant technology. Today, however, I have a much stronger analogy to use. When I hear "El Salvador" and make all those connections it's not because it's stored in the same folder as London. After all, folders aren't a very effective way to store things in more than one place. (Last night I explained this to someone as the difference between Outlook and GMail. Outlook forces you to choose what folder your message goes into, while GMail allows you to apply any number of appropriate labels to your message. ) It's stored in the giant network that makes up my brain.
I can say that today, because instead of being forced to use hierarchical analogies, I can use the non-linear model of the internet to help me explain and understand how I think. For instance, I can say that when I read my 200-plus RSS feeds I throw all the information into a big pool and as I'm speaking to people or reading something I'm constantly searching that giant pool for appropriate connections. I don't remember every word, just some basic ones, tags or labels, if you will.
When I think of the word iPod, for example, I immediately think of an article I read earlier this evening that was about Apple's chances to gain personal computer market-share thanks to the halo effect of it's super-popular digital music player. As memories continue bouncing all around my brain, I think back to an entry I wrote about a similar topic about eight months ago. These things are all stored with the tag "ipod." They could also be labeled with any number of other appropriate tags, including "music," "apple," "business," "computers" or even "microsoft." By using this tagging system I'm only storing very basic information that I am very familiar with. I am also cross-referencing. After all, what good is a filing system that doesn't let you cross-reference? (Windows Explorer are you listening?)
But how was I supposed to figure that out way back in 1995? After all, Google was hardly a glimmer, sites like del.icio.us and Flickr were years away from existing and no one knew what a blog was. I was a 14-year-old who needed a way to explain understand an incredibly complex organ (the one above the waistline) and I used the technology I understood best to do so. I believed what I was saying wholeheartedly and I really tried to file things away in the style I discussed with my mom that day. I tried to keep my brain tidy and organized, always putting thoughts away where they belonged.
But now, thanks to this non-linear, networked model that I play with every day, I've got an incredible metaphor at my fingertips. My brain is a network. It's a living, breathing network that's constantly evolving and shooting off new links and finding new connections.
In a September 1966 Scientific American article, "Information Storage and Retrieval," Ben Ami Lipetz described how the most advanced information technologies of the day could handle only routine or clerical tasks. He then concluded perceptively that breakthroughs in information retrieval would come when researchers gained a deeper understanding of how humans process information and then endowed machines with analogous capabilities.
In response to that quote, Jakob writes:
Well, Ben was right, as you'll soon see for yourself. By looking at how we tag photos on Flickr, we can understand how humans process information. Once we understand that, we can understand how to model it with computers, thereby creating better information retrieval systems.
Jakob goes on to write about the idea of tagging tags and being able to extract data in that way. If you start to tags lots of tags, patterns begin to emerge that explain how things are defined and understood. (Read the whole article, I can't, and don't plan to, do it justice right now.)
What's I think is really important about Jakob's article is that he understands that the technology we use helps us understand ourselves. This is a concept McLuhan understood quite clearly. But even he had a great deal of trouble getting people to believe him in his day.
Technology is getting more complicated. With every new medium we have gotten closer to understanding ourselves because we are essentially an incredibly complex piece of technology. As technology evolves, our ability to understand ourselves also evolves. In Understanding Media, Mcluhan writes, "the restructuring of human work and association was shaped by the technique of fragmentation that is the essence of machine technology." Automation changed more than the price of goods, it changed the way people lived their lives. It gave them a new way to understand their world using the metaphor that is the machine.
McLuhan goes on to explain that this is because "the 'message' of any medium or technology is the change of scale or pace or pattern that it introduces into human affairs." Computers and the internet put the world at our fingertips, speed up all information, allow us to store important data and generally help us open up our brains to understand different and new things.
Our ability to understand the way we think enables us to think better. Furthermore, our ability to understand this is greatly enhanced by the increasing complexity (or simplicity) of information architecture.
But how was I supposed to understand that when all I had to work with were the stupid little folders in Windows Explorer?
UPDATE (3/24/05): I'm currently reading On Intelligence by Jeff Hawkins which may force me to rethink some of the things I've written in this entry. If that happens I'll make sure to provide a link from here to my new thoughts.
A few days ago I wrote about some questionable language in the AOL Terms of Service. Well, it appears as though AOL has decided to address these issues (which they call rumors). As they write in the press release: "A number of online media outlets and blogs have recently written about rumors that AOL has changed the AIM Terms of Service (TOS) to weaken the privacy of AIM users. We want to assure you that those rumors are totally false." They have added this language to the new "Content You Post" section of the new TOS:
As explained in detail in the AIM Privacy Policy, AOL does not read your private online communications when you use any of the communication tools on AIM Products. If, however, you use these tools to post Content or other information to public areas on AIM Products (for example, in chat rooms or online message boards), other online users will have access to this information and Content.
Certainly clears up a lot of questions. In the press release they make it seem like it was so obvious in the original TOS that they were referring to content you post to public spaces, but nowhere in the original section did it even mention the word "public." A little misleading to say the least.
They also replaced this fairly inflammatory language:
Content that you post to any AIM Product, AOL owns all right, title and interest in any compilation, collective work or other derivative work created by AOL using or incorporating this Content. In addition, by posting Content on an AIM Product, you grant AOL, its parent, affiliates, subsidiaries, assigns, agents and licensees the irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide right to reproduce, display, perform, distribute, adapt and promote this Content in any medium. You waive any right to privacy. You waive any right to inspect or approve uses of the Content or to be compensated for any such uses.
With this:
However, by submitting or posting Content to public areas of AIM Products (for example, posting a message on a message board or submitting your picture for the "Rate-A-Buddy" feature), you grant AOL, its parent, affiliates, subsidiaries, assigns, agents and licensees the irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide right to reproduce, display, perform, distribute, adapt and promote this Content in any medium. Once you submit or post Content to any public area on an AIM Product, AOL does not need to give you any further right to inspect or approve uses of such Content or to compensate you for any such uses. AOL owns all right, title and interest in any compilation, collective work or other derivative work created by AOL using or incorporating Content posted to public areas of AIM Products.
While I certainly appreciate that they made these changes, wouldn't it be nice to make users feel as though they weren't crazy for thinking that AOL was spying on them. I like AIM quite a bit and have been using it for years, I have nothing against AOL, so why should they make me feel like I was stupid for believing that by using their product I was waiving my rights?
How about AOL starts speaking to customers like people? What do you think AOL? Are you listening? Maybe there's a reason that you guys aren't doing so hot. Maybe the PR speak just isn't gonna cut it anymore.
Lifehacker is probably my new favorite blog in Denton's empire (dethroning Gizmodo which I just have some trouble keeping up with sometimes.) Lifehacker is all about ways to make your online life a little easier. As they say:
Computers make us more productive. Yeah, right. Lifehacker recommends the downloads, web sites and shortcuts that actually save time. Don't live to geek; geek to live.
Anyway, I'm a big fan of the site, but I especially like their "How I get stuff done" survey. It asks regular people what tools they use and tips they have for being more effective. You can see all the entires in the "Reader Surveys" section of the site.
43 Folders will be my new parking lot for some of the ideas that excite me. Nerdy stuff like OSX tricks, productivity hints, and the rapidly growing field of mental overclocking that Danny O’Brien has called “Lifehacks.â€? You’re also going to have to endure frequent references to David Allen’s Getting Things Done systemâ€â€and, believe me, if you keep finding that the water of your life has somehow run onto the floor, GTD may be just the drinking glass you need to get things back together.
Hope you finds some worthwhile tips, and if you do, let me know. I'm always down for some increased productivity.
I've been working on my presentation and I got to the section of blogging. The first thing I had to do when I got there was define it. I struggled for a minute and came up with this definition:
A website that’s updated fairly constantly. Entries appear in chronological order with newest entries at the top. Can (and most often does) include comments, trackbacks and RSS.
But then I started thinking, why should it be so hard to define blogging? Can you have a website that fits those requirements that isn't a blog? I think you can, but I'm not sure.
Anyhow, after some more thought, it dawned on me, that's it's not how a blog is set up, but what's behind it that's so important. It's all about the software and the design. Blogging brings two important pieces to the net.
1. Blogs bring web-publishing to the masses. But the technology behind them is more important than what's written on them. Blog software allows users to easily publish to the web without any knowledge of HTML or other code. It’s content management software that makes the internet user friendly.
2. What blogging software does for the webpages is make them about ideas, not design.
This is a truly democratic concept. Not only does blogging software take out the need for HTML knowledge, it also takes out the need for design knowledge. Blogs are about ideas. Of course, well-designed blogs are nice, but it's the writing that sits at the core.
Things like comments only take these ideas a step further, opening up a webpage for people other than the publisher.
To me this was a huge revelation. Maybe I'm stupid and everyone knows this, but it seems like such an important distinction. Everyone talking about bloggers vs. journalists are missing the point. It doesn't matter, it's all about ideas.
This is a classic case of looking at the medium, not the message. I got so caught up in what bloggers were saying and the way they were saying it, that I missed what was going on behind the scenes.
AOL Instant Messenger's new Terms of Service includes a rather disturbing addition that gives AOL a right to do anything they want with your conversations (if I understand it correctly). Here's what it says:
Content You Post You may only post Content that you created or which the owner of the Content has given you. You may not post or distribute Content that is illegal or that violates these Terms of Service. By posting or submitting Content on any AIM Product, you represent and warrant that (i) you own all the rights to this Content or are authorized to use and distribute this Content on the AIM Product and (ii) this Content does not and will not infringe any copyright or any other third-party right nor violate any applicable law or regulation.
Although you or the owner of the Content retain ownership of all right, title and interest in Content that you post to any AIM Product, AOL owns all right, title and interest in any compilation, collective work or other derivative work created by AOL using or incorporating this Content. In addition, by posting Content on an AIM Product, you grant AOL, its parent, affiliates, subsidiaries, assigns, agents and licensees the irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide right to reproduce, display, perform, distribute, adapt and promote this Content in any medium. You waive any right to privacy. You waive any right to inspect or approve uses of the Content or to be compensated for any such uses.
Those last two lines are what really disturb me. "You waive any right to privacy. You waive any right to inspect or approve uses of the Content or to be compensated for any such uses."
I'm not quite sure what to say about it, but I'm going to seriously consider moving to another program. Are there other options that allow you to chat with your AIM buddies? I have to admit, I'm not very down on this stuff, since I've been using AIM for as long as I can remember.
It's that time again. When I write about a whole bunch of random stuff because I don't have enough to compose one big entry. So here it is:
1. I was reading My Blog Is Poop, as I have a tendency to do, and there were two entries that caught my eye. First there was "things I can afford to forget," where Bob mentions The Contra Code. Is there any male between the ages of roughly 20 and 30 who doesn't know the Contra code? (Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, A, B, A, B, select, start . . . I hope I'm right on that one.) The other entry was all about things that he learned to like. There were two in there that struck a chord. First was coffee. I hated the taste of coffee as a kid. Loved the smell though. My mom always told me that meant I'd learn to like. Don't know if that was what did it, but I certainly love it now. In fact, I drink it black. The other drink he (and I) learned to like was beer. It just happened and now I love it. I'm not quite sure I get it. As a side note, though, I have taught myself to like olives. I hated them as a kid but made a conscious decision to start liking them about three years ago. So I'd eat an olive every four or five months. Three years later I've developed a taste for them. It's not quite where I'll eat them all the time, but in the next two years I should be there.
2. You should really read My Blog Is Poop, it's funny. Much funnier than I am.
3. If you use Firefox, check out SpellBound. It's a spell checker for web-forms and stuff. It's pretty handy.
4. If you haven't read The New York Times article about Guns N' Roses and the never-made album, "Chinese democracy," go read it.
I am officially lined up for my first speaking engagement. It will be at Interact Communication's "Convergent Marketing Strategies Seminar" and my topic is "Technology for Millennials."
Needless to say I'm pretty excited about this opportunity. A little nervous, but excited more than anything else.
Check out my bio from the program (I look a little goofy, but that's my own fault):
Noah Rubin Brier
Noah is particularly well-qualified to speak to the Millennial Generation. Not only is he a member himself, but he writes extensively about this generation, their characteristics and affinity with technology. He currently lives and works in New York City.
For those that haven't heard of it, ALLOFMP3 is a russian music downloading site. It allows you to download music for around 2 cents per megabyte. That basically translates to 8 or 10 cents for your average four or five minute song. Not too shabby. Supposedly the site was using a loophole in Russian copyright law, but it recently came under investigation by the Russian police. According to a CNET article:
The Russian site claimed it had licenses to do so from a local clearing house, but record labels have maintained that the licenses weren't valid. After long-standing complaints, the Moscow City Police Computer Crimes division completed an investigation earlier this month and recommended that prosecutors charge the site's operators with criminal copyright infringement.
On March 4th prosecutor’s office of Moscow’s Southwestern region refused to charge AllofMP3.com in a criminal lawsuit. What’s interesting is that AllofMP3.com did not win the case due to the compulsory licensing legislated in Russia. The prosecutor’s office affirmed that the Russian music site was distributing copyrighted music from its site, and in many cases did not have a proper license to distribute them. Russian criminal law severely punishes attempts to distribute copyrighted music without proper licensing procured first. However, Russian law is quite specific about distribution of material goods, as the law usually applies to CD and DVD pirating.
Moscow prosecutor’s office noted that Russian music site does not distribute material goods, and since is not subject to prosecution under the criminal law. AllofMP3.com distributed digital goods via Internet, of which Russian criminal law says nothing. Moreover, prosecutors arrived at the conclusion that since no physical copies of the goods are delivered to the customer, AllofMP3.com can be treated as a service where site visitors can listen to the music. (The fact that it’s more than possible to burn an MP3 to an audio CD apparently escaped law enforcement).
Because the music was made of digital code, it did not fall under Russian law as a material good. This goes back to the devaluation of information because of digital technology. Digital levels the playing field, because now, all information is essentially made up of the same DNA. It's all just computer code, written up in countless different ways. They have no material existence or real value. In a way, the ability to endlessly copy something causes it to lose it's value. (Walter Benjamin speaks to this in "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction."). Just think of what happens in a place when money is easily copied and counterfeited.
Anyway, I don't have a real conclusion on this, I just think it's quite fascinating and I'm curious to see what happens next.
One note, though, I think charging by MB instead of by song is a more appropriate way to distribute music online. At least I think I think that.
I really like visual interfaces that help you interact with lots of information. The other day I was trying to make a list and came up with these. It's far from exhaustive, and I'd love to hear some visualizations other people have found.
Since I don't actually make any money on this page, here's some shoutouts to the people who make my online world a little brighter:
Firefox
If you're not using it yet, it's time to start. It's not only more secure than Internet Explorer, but it's also got some great features including tabbed browsing (which allows you to view multiple pages within one window) and easy to use RSS (simply click the LiveBookmarks button in the lower left hand corner). Go download it!
Flickr
It's an amazing social photo sharing site. It's easy to add titles or comments to your (or anyone else's) photos. It's also got a great photo organizing tool called (appropriately enough) Organizr. You can have keep track of friends' pictures and everyone has an RSS feed. The whole thing is free and they're not trying to sell you stupid prints (although they are trying to sell you a pro account which allows you to upload 1 gig of pictures a month . . . well worth it). Go use it!
It's the social bookmarking site I'm obsessed with. It runs the bookmarks on the right side of my page. It allows you keep public bookmarks with your own tags to make them easy to find later. I keep everything there and bookmark nothing in my actual browser anymore. Go bookmark it!
Gmail
If you haven't heard of this one, you must be living under a rock. It's Google's fantastic new (kinda) email service. I've been using it since June or so and I'm still amazed at how well it works. It's got search built in. It uses labels instead of hierarchical folders. It's smart enough to find your most emailed contact when you type in a name. Only problem is it's still in beta, but if you want an address I've got a couple of invites, so just email me: nb[at]noahbrier.com. Go start Gmailing!
FeedBurner
It's what I run my RSS feed through. FeedBurner let's me keep up with how many people are reading my feed and what they're reading. It also lets me splice in my del.icio.us links. If you aren't using my FeedBurner feed at the moment and wouldn't mind switching, I would greatly appreciate it. The address is: http://feeds.feedburner.com/Noahbriercom. Go burn it!
There's a new controversy brewing on the web. It's actually been going for a few days now, I'm jumping in a bit late. It's over the latest Google Toolbar which includes a function called AutoLink. Google explains AutoLink like this:
The AutoLink feature adds links to the page you're viewing if it recognizes certain types of information on the page. For example, AutoLink will link a U.S. street address to a map of that address or the tracking number of a package to a status page for your package. AutoLink also recognizes car VIN numbers and book ISBN numbers.
When AutoLink finds information for which it can provide a link, the icon on the 'AutoLink' button of your Toolbar will change to reflect the information AutoLink has found. For example, if AutoLink finds a book's ISBN, the icon will change to a book icon. Click on the 'AutoLink' button to create a link on the page, or click on the arrow to the right of the 'AutoLink' button and choose a link from the drop-down menu.
This new feature bears a striking resemblance to a Microsoft idea called Smart Tags, which was apparently struck down by The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg. According to a May Wired article titled "The Kingmaker", "Mossberg . . . forced Microsoft to scrap Smart Tags, which would have hijacked millions of Web sites by inserting unwanted links to advertisers' sites." So why in the world would Google and their "don't be evil" motto, include a feature like this? When Microsoft considered it people screamed that it changed the web fundamentally and gave Microsoft an unfair advantage. It's not that big a surprise, then, that lots of people are screaming at Google about their similar feature a few years later. But what's the real issue here? It seems to me that there's a fundamental difference between including a feature like this in a browser that ships with millions of computers and including it in a toolbar that can be downloaded by those who are interested. What is more, the feature is only enabled on pages when you click the "AutoLink" button. That means that every time you want to use it, you've got to make a conscious choice. So what's the problem?
I think Steve Rubel sums it up well when he says, "the question at heart is what right does a user have to change the content of a non-editable Web page they didn't create?" You know what? I think they do. I think as a user I have a right to do anything I want to your webpage as long as all changes happen on my side of the web. I'm not changing your content for anyone else, just for myself. Cory Doctorow of BoingBoing says it well: "it's my screen, and I should be able to control it; companies like Google and individuals should be able to provide tools and services to let me control it."
Boy did that comment upset Scoble over at Microsoft. He asks, "if Microsoft were building the proxies you are asking about would you feel the same way?" Scoble continues, "where is the line? Be very careful about what you ask for. You just might get it." He finally ends with this word of warning:
This is such a slippery slope. Do you really want to go down this slope? If you allow Google to do this, you are opening a pandora's box that you'll never close.
Do you really want to open it?
My problem with this argument is very similar to my argument against the people who got all pissy about the idea of Bloglines adding advertising. Scoble and Rubel are arguing for the producers, not the users. This is actually something Scoble addresses in his response to Doctorow, saying, "as a user I'd love all sorts of things. But don't you see that the rights of the end-user are in conflict with the rights of the content producer? Will you ALWAYS settle the argument in favor of the user?"
Before I continue, let me say that I do get it. I understand his point completely. It's a dangerous situation, without a doubt. As soon as you start allowing companies to alter or add content without the publishers knowledge all sorts of issues arise.
So here's the bit that worries me. We're talking about plugins at the moment, right? Places where there is no reason why anyone should feel forced to use the device concerned. Now move back to the browser market and lets posit a world where browser market share for Internet Explorer has fallen back to some semi-reasonable level - let's say 40%. Now in Cory's model, I can see no reason why Microsoft shouldn't decide one day to replace every single Google Adword (or similar advertising structure) with its own advertising on each and every web page that you visit. I mean - this could be the way that you finance a new browser, you remove advertising from the page and replace it with advertising that makes you money instead of the content creator.
The eventual danger of this is that sites that rely on advertising won't be able to afford to exist anymore.
Now, here's my real issue. All of this is assuming that the only way to make money on the web is with advertising. After all, that's how media works right? But what if there's another way? People are using lots of old-media analogies to describe the dangers of AutoLink, like imagine if Tivo allowed CBS to advertise on Fox programs as you fastforwarded.
But I'd like to remind everyone of something: the web is different. It's not TV. It's not radio. It's not even a digital newspaper (no matter what The New York Times and the rest of them think). It's not even Tivo. It's different. Jason Kottke understands this, that's why he's asking for micropatons to support him (which I urge you to do). He's trying to find a new way. Jason explains:
With decreasingly few exceptions, media is supported by advertising. Content on the web in particular is heavily ad supported. I'm interested in exploring other avenues with a special interest in discovering sustainable ways for other folks to do things like this as well.
He doesn't want to write a book. He doesn't want to have advertising. He just wants to blog and he wants to figure out how to make enough money to support himself doing it. You know what? There's got to be a way. We just have to put our brains into this new medium. We need to remember it's different. The old analogies just don't work anymore.
In a recent paper by Terry Heaton titled "The Devaluation of Information", he discusses the disintegrating value of information in a digital society. Because the web offers us near complete access to any information, how can publishers justify charging? Heaton explains:
The Internet with its Postmodern, deconstructionist architechture makes it seem that all knowledge is "public" knowledge and all information is "public" information. It was built without a centralized command and control mechanism, and, therefore, the ability to tap unlimited databases is available to everybody. This is what makes Google so powerful. Absent any top-down structure, Google (anybody) is able to search and retrieve from those databases at any level, which, among other things, renders the portal Website concept irrelevant. It also makes attempts to block it appear odd and out-of-place.
Later in the article Heaton discusses the rise and fall of Britannica online, which boomed during the bubble days and declined when it the bubble popped. Now, Wikipedia poses a whole new threat to Britannica. Heaton writes:
The Britannica has weathered many storms in the last 15 years, as technology has rewritten their business. Even now, the online "Wikipedia"  which is written and edited by the public  poses a new threat, but the company has faith in its model. "This stuff is constantly changing," Panelas admits, "and the way customers understand this is changing all the time."
He's quick to add, however, that "we live in a society that's too sophisticated to completely abandon empirical and rational thinking."
Whoa! Is that true? Or was it true? I think that's a fairly dangerous statement to make in an increasingly digital society. And so does Heaton, who responds:
In a Postmodern world, such assumptions can be dangerous, and this is what's at the heart of the free-versus-paid argument. The rational Modernist world is the one with the institutional doorways and permission gates, but that world is fading, and our culture is rapidly moving in a different direction. It's a "new wine" thing, and it requires new wineskins.
Advertising is an old wineskin that has been used in our "new wine" because there wasn't anything better to use. It doesn't mean it's the only one out there, though. We just need some more time to find it.
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Mostly random thought (from Twitter): Wow, I am now getting Ground Zero Mosque comment spam ... I don't know whether to be impressed or disturbed. (31 August 2010, 11:54 am)
Q: What is this site all about?
A: I think Michael Bierut explained it nicely a few years ago in response to people asking him why he didn't write more about design on Design Observer: "But the great thing about graphic design is that it is almost always about something else. Corporate law. Professional football. Art. Politics. Robert Wilson. And if I can't get excited about whatever that something else is, I really have trouble doing good work as a designer. To me, the conclusion is inescapable: the more things you're interested in, the better your work will be." Replace "graphic design" with "media/marketing/technology" (or whatever you'd like to call my field) and you've got my deal.
Q: Where else do you live?
A: Good question. All over the place as a matter of fact. On Tumblr for more randomness, Twitter for short bursts, Dopplr for places I'm going, Delicious for things I'm reading, last.fm for music I'm listening to, Flickr for photos I'm taking and Facebook because I don't really have a choice. (Oh, and Amazon for stuff I want people to buy me.)
Q: I meant that literally. Where do you live?
A: Oh, sorry, Brooklyn, New York is where I call home at the moment.
Q: Any other side projects you'd like to tell us about?
A: As a matter of fact, yes. There's How Much Does it Buy?, a calculator for the rest of us. Holy Crap! Facts (and accompanying Twitter feed) which is pretty much exactly what you'd expect. Da' Bears Blog is, in my opinion, the best Chicago Bears blog on the web (I don't write it, I just helped it get off the ground) and Tweemail is a little PHP script I wrote for getting Twitter updates by email. I'm also always working on a few other things and will let you know when they're ready for public consumption.
Q: Um okay.
A: Yeah, that's a fake question mostly so I can throw in this one other quote I like that I think sums up some of what I try to do here. This one comes from Albert Einstein (or at least the internet says so) and goes something like, "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough." Words to live by.
. All you need to do with that is click and add it to your "Bookmarks Toolbar Folder." After that, every time the site is updated you'll just be able to click you're Live Bookmark, see the title of the entry and go read it or not. No more need to keep checking back to find updates. (If you really like my bookmarks, you can click your way over to 
del.icio.us
Hi, I'm 