Category: General

It’s almost as though you have every single voice in the world shouting out at the top of their lungs trying to be heard. The only problem is if everyone is doing this then it just forms one big discordant sound that eventually blends into white noise with no one really being heard. The trick is to have your own distinct and unique sound but still work in harmony with those around you so that eventually in unity you become like a symphony achieving something wondrous. For this to be achieved though, both diversity and unity need to be in balance as both are integral to the overall harmony.

David Weinberger points out an excellent article from Fortune.com that talks about Ray Ozzie’s current involvement with Microsoft. Excellent read to say the least.

Ozzie can do what Gates no longer can – not only formulate strategy but also help implement it by working with the troops. People tell stories of the approachable Ozzie having long conversations with low-level programmers by the coffee machine about security strategies or other arcana.

Sounds like Ray’s helping to foster a different kind of culture in the company or…helping to rediscover what was once there a long time ago. This has hints of my post a while back on the culture of startups. Interestingly enough, the subject of trust, which seems to be David Weinberger’s primary concern today, also came up back then as well. As I mentioned back then, if the trust isn’t there (and I’m definitely not talking technology here) then more often than not the relationship will never last that long.

Actually it’s kind of hilarious when you think about it. That being people not wanting to use a “trusted” system because they don’t trust it. 🙂

Ted Nelson on what he’d like to create in the future.

I want to create, however, a new breed, a new kind of computer system that is much simpler that allows kids to programme once again.

If I’m perceiving what he’s saying correctly here, I have a funny feeling he’s not talking about kids programming “computer programs” that exist just on a computer. I believe he’s talk about small programs that can exist anywhere, on the computer or on the Web. Even more so I think these programs will intentionally be small and simple to create because they’ll focus on a specific purpose. What will make them so powerful though will be that they will be able to interconnect and interoperate with one another like laying down two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and snapping them together. They’ll also be freely available for anyone to use because where the power of these “small” programs will come into play is when you have many of them all interconnected together and working in tandem. In effect, you achieve the idea behind David Weinberger’s book entitled Small Pieces Loosely Joined.

Dave Winer writes the following about Ted Nelson.

The reporter said that Nelson was really weird and kind of rude. I took exception to this. Nelson is a visionary, and a teacher, in many ways it’s his passion that’s the fabric of the web.

Later, I thought, how strange, we want visionaries, we need them, but we want them to fit some impossible concept of humanity. Someone should have passion without being too passionate. I wonder if people have really thought this through. I’m willing to cut a guy like Nelson almost infinite slack, because I so totally appreciate what he has done for us, and for me.

Of course he seemed somewhat rude because he’s probably frustrated like any visionary or pioneer. They are blazing trails that we can’t even see or understand yet. They try to explain them to us but we look at them like they’re on another planet. They aren’t though. They’re right here with you and me but they are looking through eyes that perceive things differently because they’ve made that leap in thinking whereas we haven’t. Once we’ve been repeatedly bashed in the head enough times with their message though, it finally sinks in and the light finally turns on. At that point, we’ve made the paradigm shift as well.

Oh and yes pioneers probably seem “weird”. They are living on the edge of what is known and pushing into the unknown. But as usual, the edge is where you usually find the best stuff.

Dave Winer in his post entitled The Internet as “idea processor”.

You need a village to raise a child, and you need an Internet to fully develop an idea.

This is a great comparison and as soon I saw it, it reminded me of something else. Imagine a bunch of families all spread out along a valley, all working on their own to build their homes and raise crops to help them survive and sustain themselves. Yet with each season they realize that it is becoming more and more difficult to sustain themselves. Then one day a few families bump into each by the river and start talking. They realize that if they work together instead of each working alone, they’ll be able to sustain themselves as a group much more efficiently. So they gather together and create a village by the river. Over time, with each family now focused on helping the community as a whole instead of just themselves, the entire group of people prosper and sustainability is easily achieved.

Now can you see how this idea or approach can be carried over to the Web as well?

In the comments area of an entry by David Weinberger entitled How do you sort your books?, it’s interesting to note that people don’t just categorize their books on their book shelves but they categorize them by the rooms they are in as well. Again this relates to the concept I mentioned before about using different areas or spaces of your site to auto-categorize your content. And actually blogging platforms that allow you to add content via the front-end of the site (like Squarespace) are perfect for this type of auto-categorization system (if the system is programmed this way) because all you need to do is view (or enter) the section of the site where you want to add the new content and the act of doing that automatically categorizes any content you add to it.

For example, if you click on one of your categories in your journal, you’ll see a filtered listing of entries related to that category. Therefore in that view, if you click to add a new entry, the system could auto-tag your new content with the exact same category filter since you want it placed in that same area or space.

I really dislike when I hear how “blogs get you noticed”. Uh, no they don’t. You get yourself noticed.

What I mean is that if you setup a blog and start publishing stuff on it, it isn’t going to get you noticed unless you do something else. Why? Because you have to make people aware of it first and thus build up a readership or community around it. If no one knows it exists though then how can it get you noticed?

Now here’s my point. The only way to get yourself noticed is to get out there and mingle with people (just like you do in real life). In effect, you are your own best advertisement for your site. Your words on other sites (participating in conversations) is what gets you noticed (as usually people will find it interesting and want to read more). Your content on your site though is what makes these people stick around.

Therefore, if you never step foot “outside” of your home, instead spending time just “talking to yourself”, don’t expect to “get noticed”.

Update: Actually I just want to emphasize something here. I honestly believe that a person can get noticed without having his own blog. If that person is a part of a community on another blog and comments there frequently, he’ll get noticed there just as much. In other words, it’s not so much the act of having your own blog that gets you noticed but instead committing to a relationship or community where people can get to know you.

Bill: Hey everyone, I’d like to welcome Steve. He’s going to be our new Priest for the group.
Everyone at the table greets Steve enthusiastically.
Steve: Great to be playing with you guys! I heard you’re all 10th level and ready to set off on an adventure to storm a wizard’s stronghold. Sounds awesome!
Bill: That’s right, they are. As the Game Master, I’ve got a few surprises in store for them though, so they better be on their toes.
Everyone laughs at the table.
Steve: Great! So when do we start!
Bill: Well we’ll be playing now but which day did you want start our private sessions?
Steve: Private sessions? What do you mean? I thought I was playing with everyone tonight?
Bill: Oh no, we don’t allow that Steve! Haha! That’s funny!
Steve raises his eyebrow with a quizzical look on his face.
Steve: Did I say something funny?
Bill: Well you can’t just start up a new character at 10th level and your 1st level Priest wouldn’t survive very long with us now would he? No, we’ll set some private sessions aside just for you and me so that we can work your 1st level character up to 10th level quickly though. You don’t mind playing four or five nights a week for the next few weeks do you? Be better if we get it all done quickly in one swoop so you can finally start playing with the others here. Sound good?
Steve: Huh? You’re kidding right?

I keep hearing people talking about seamless integration. They keep saying that they don’t mind using a third party service to add something to their site but only if it can be integrated seamlessly within their site. In other words, whatever service they use, you shouldn’t be able to tell it’s a third party service. Now ask yourself, how many so called Web 2.0 services today can tout this? Why is this happening? Is it really a limitation of the technology or more a case of these services placing a higher importance on their brand over their customer’s needs?

Got the opportunity to get out last night and see some local talent at the Roxy downtown. Not knowing anything about the bands other than a friend of ours knew the keyboardist in one of the them, I thought they’d probably be “ok” and it was a good chance to let loose for the evening. However after seeing and listening to each of the bands perform, I was pretty much blown away. I had no idea the local talent in Vancouver was this good, as I’d describe them both as extremely talented performers.

Tom Howie and his band were up first and they could have headlined as a local act easily in my opinion. Sincere would be the single word I’d describe Tom with. He just seemed really genuine and didn’t appear to be putting on an “act” in anyway. Kind of a “take me as I am” kind of guy and performance. Overall, I loved what I saw and purchased his EP immediately with a very strong interest in getting a hold of more of his music in the future.

Brandon Paris and his band were up after Tom and again there were amazing. Diversity would be the word I would use to describe the band and what makes them so appealing, as their music seems like it has a little bit of everything in it (a “fusion” if you will). The lead men of the band, Brandon Paris and his exuberant sidekick Dagriff, are an incredible combination together onstage. Brandon’s words cut into you with his sincerity, while Dagriff’s reggae vocals fill you up with endless energy making it hard not to get up and hit the dance floor. Again, I immediately grabbed their CD, as these guys are definitely going places as well.

Update: Apparently both bands will be playing again on April 23rd at The Blarney Stone downtown in Gastown at 216 Carrall Street. It supposed to be a benefit concert and tickets are only $10. Definitely going to see if I can make to this one again, as these guys are awesome. I’ve been playing their CD’s repeatedly since Thursday and with each playing, I like them even more.