July, 2008
23
Jul 08
Google Knol: squint and it shines
So Knol has gone live, centuries after it was first announced. Hardly sock-scorching yet, but you know how it goes with all things Google – they’ll add a feature here, a widget there, and before you know it…
And ask yourself this – what cheaper way is there of building a vast social network using free material? You couldn’t make this stuff up.
22
Jul 08
How did the Roman Empire fall, exactly?
Watched Road Wars on SkyOne last night. Ten minutes in, I had a brief, well… moment. I suddenly became aware that I was sat on a sofa somewhere in Surrey, watching images on a television screen.
Those images were depicting a society that has collapsed. Civillians showed no fear of the law; they were happily spitting at and punching the police, taking a smug pleasure in knowing that the punishment will be at least four sizes from fitting the crime.
I tried to imagine what I would have felt if I had been watching those images on a sofa in 1950s Britain. I can only imagine a mix of terror and disbelief; the people I see around me every day do not behave like this. No-one does.
Of course, Road Wars is both political and sensational. The police collaborate with Sky in its production, presumeably to make a broad point that the police are in control. I also suspect that high-ups within the Force quietly sanction the references to minimal sentences: most coppers I know feel that the lunatics have taken over the asylum.
22
Jul 08
WordPress for iPhone hits the Store
The theory is that the new iPhone 3G is not a converged mobile at all, but the world’s first truly personal computer.
And here’s some evidence that this is true – my first post using the brand new WordPress App.
It took under 30 seconds to set up. And if you can see this, it works.
18
Jul 08
Ze Frank goes the Hollywood
I used to watch him every day. In fact, he pretty much defined online v-blogging – fast, amateur but with a sharp wit that Hollywood writers get paid millions to emulate. Then Ze Frank vanished.
But now… now he’s back. And (cue music) he’s heading for Hollywood.
Catch the full story in this interview with The Sound Of Young America.
Ze Frank on The Sound of Young America from Jesse Thorn on Vimeo.
15
Jul 08
When does a company stumble into being bad?
I loved the later Star Wars films. OK, so they took a pounding from critics, and in truth represented a massive victory for graphic trickery over subtle scriptwriting. But they did hammer home one message: most things stray into being bad. The Empire didn’t suddenly yank off its Smiley Face mask, revealing the grotesque evil beneath. It just kind of stumbled into nasty – a person here, a decision there.
Made me think of a very well known internet company. It has no intention to become bad. In fact, its mantra is to Be Good. But a person here, a decision there…
One example: The Company, which operates in the search market, decided to pop its own in-site search box into its results (try this). Probably saw it as a useful additional service to its users: we’re known for search, and many sites use shonky off-the-shelf search engines, so we’ll give ‘em a hand. How were we to know that many commercial sites sell adverts against those in-site searches?
Then The Company began discussing the notion of penalising sites that advertise with it for having ‘heavy’ landing pages. The aim is to improve the user experience: why should you have to wait 30 seconds for a page to load? One way of lightening those pages, of course, is to carry fewer ads. But The Company would never have made that connection in a million years.
A person here, a decision there…
15
Jul 08
A lesson in determination
You think today was a struggle. You’re glad to be home, to recover from the slings and arrows of your day at the mill. Read this, and think again.
Nabil remained on Mutanabi Street, overseeing reconstruction of the shops even as he struggled to rebuild himself. A month later, he left to undergo further surgery. “He is a believer,” said Mohammed Taha, a family friend, as workmen on scaffolding repaired the wall above the thick Grecian columns outside.
A Baghdad Bookseller, Bound to His Country – washingtonpost.com.
15
Jul 08
First five days with a 3G iPhone
Rule number one: turn off the location services. Now put your black-backed new toy on your desk, and go for lunch. Come back. See the battery bar? Hardly moved, has it? You lose GPS, sure, but be honest – how often do you navigate your office holding an iPhone to your face.
Rule number two: reset. Chances are that you started using your 3G iPhone the moment it left the cute box. You were alarmed by the rate at which the green battery bar headed leftward. So you read a few forums, and found that a simple reset made a difference. So you did, and it did.
Rule number three: picket O2′s head office. You spend your days in your company’s Teddington HQ. When you had a Blackberry running Vodafone, you never lost signal. Now, you spend two hours standing outside of your building striking jaunty poses, waiting for that little blue 3G square to light up. Only option: write a stern letter to O2.
Otherwise, life with the latest iPhone is sweeter than toffee cheesecake that’s been kept in a hive.
