For New Members of the Blog Reading Universe

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This is a post I’m creating for the sole purpose of having something I can point my friends, family members and associates to when they ask about any of the "new" web based technologies and services. Basically it’s an overview of things like blogs, RSS (real simple syndication), RSS readers, podcasts, wikis and some p2p (peer-to-peer) applications.  I plan on updating this post regularly.

Blogs
Definition: A weblog (usually shortened to blog, but occasionally spelled web log) is a web-based publication
consisting primarily of periodic articles (normally in reverse chronological order). Although most early weblogs were manually
updated, tools to automate the maintenance of such sites made them accessible to a much larger population, and the use of some
sort of browser-based software is now a typical aspect of "blogging". (source: wikipedia)

RSS
Definition: RSS is an abbreviation for:

Here’s a good article to read from Business 2.0.  The author explains RSS this way:

RSS, or real simple syndication, is a way to subscribe to a website’s
regularly updated content without actually visiting that site. It
allows you to look at headlines and stories from as many blogs or news
sites as you like, all in one place. As simple as this sounds (indeed,
because of its simplicity), it is going to change the way you consume
information on the Web.

Robert Scoble, a famous blogger that works at Microsoft, provided a nice four step overview of the software you can use to subscribe to RSS feeds:

There are three basic types of RSS News Aggregators:

 

1) Server-based aggregators. Some, like Newsgator cross the lines
since Newsgator has a server-side service too. Other server-side
aggregators are Feeds.scripting.com, MyYahoo, Bloglines, and MyMSN.

 

2) Standalone client-side aggregators. RSS Bandit. FeedDemon. SharpReader. Radio UserLand. Among these, my favorites are RSS Bandit and FeedDemon (REX NOTE: FeedDemon has Nashville connections – use it).
You’ll need to download and install these. They don’t depend on any
other application being loaded, and are browser-independent too (for
the most part). On the Mac, NetNewsWire is the one most of my friends like. (REX NOTE: I use NetNewsWire.)

 

3) Built in the browser. OnFolio 2.0 adds onto IE or Firefox. Optimal Access adds onto IE. The Mozilla team offers Sage for Firefox users. Pluck adds onto any browser. My favorite here is OnFolio. Pluck is pretty good too.

 

4) Dependent on Outlook. NewsGator is my favorite here (it’s still the aggregator I use most), but there’s also IntraVnews.

Podcasts
Definition: Podcasting, a portmanteau of Apple’s "iPod" and "broadcasting", is a method of publishing files to the Internet, allowing users to subscribe to a feed and
receive new files automatically. It first became popular in late 2004, used largely for audio files.

Podcasting is distinct from other types of audio content delivery because of its subscription model, which uses the RSS 2.0 file format. This technique has enabled independent producers
to create self-published, syndicated "radio shows", and has given broadcast radio programs a new distribution channel.

Users subscribe to podcasts using "podcatching" software (also called "aggregator" software) which periodically checks for and
downloads new content. It can then sync the content to the user’s portable music player. Podcasting does not require an iPod or
iTunes; any digital audio player or computer with the appropriate software can play podcasts. The same technique can deliver
video files, and by 2005 some aggregators could play video as well as audio.
(Source: wikipedia)

Here’s a list of Podcasting directories from Loosewire (added to this post 6/25/05):

Wikis
Definition: A wiki (pronounced
[wɪkiː],
[wiːkiː] or
[viːkiː]; see Pronunciation below) is a web application that allows users to add content, as on an Internet forum, but also allows anyone to edit the content. Wiki
also refers to the collaborative software used to
create such a website (see Wiki software).

Wiki (with an upper case ‘W’) and WikiWikiWeb are both used to refer specifically to the Portland Pattern Repository, the first wiki ever
created. A lower-case ‘w’ for ‘wiki’ is generally used by savvy wiki proponents. The name was based on the Hawaiian term wiki wiki, meaning "quick" or "informal." It is used
commonly in Hawaii as part of its rich "pidgin English"— the native language of the
islands.
(Source: wikipedia)

The first wiki I’ve been a part of is for the ConvergeSouth conference planning.

P2P Applications
Definition: A peer-to-peer (or P2P) computer network is a network that relies on
computing power at the edges (ends) of a connection rather than in the network itself. P2P networks are used for sharing content
like audio, video, data or anything in digital format. P2P network can also mean grid computing.

A pure peer-to-peer file transfer network does not have the notion of clients or servers, but only equal peer nodes that simultaneously function as both "clients" and "servers" to
the other nodes on the network. This model of network arrangement differs from the client-server model where communication is usually to and from a central server. A typical example for a non
peer-to-peer file transfer is an FTP server. One user uploads a file to the FTP server, then many others download it, with no need for the uploader and downloader to be
connected at the same time.

Some networks and channels, such as Napster, OpenNap, or IRC @find, use a
client-server structure for some tasks (e.g. searching) and a peer-to-peer structure for others. Networks such as Gnutella or Freenet, use a peer-to-peer
structure for all purposes and are sometimes referred to as true peer-to-peer networks, though Gnutella at least is greatly
facilitated by directory servers which inform peers of the network addresses of other peers.
(source: wikipedia)

The Past Comes Back to Haunt Me

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So my brother calls me to tell me that I should Google my name and see what happens.  I do as he advises and there, as result number three, I find something called "Pictures2.html."

Kegserving_firehouse_party"Oh, God," I think.  I hold my breath and click.  "HOLY CRAP," I scream to myself.  There before my eyes are pictures of me and my fraternity buddies from almost 20 years ago. Apparently Brannen "Bourbon" Taylor has created a nice little alumni site with tons of pictures. I’m posting the best one here, because quite frankly the rest call my masculinity into question.

I obviously had a propensity for pastel colored shirts, and somehow I didn’t get laughed out of college.

Actually I have to show you my nice 80’s pant selection (see below) on a spring break trip.  That’s my fraternity brother Shane Womack in the towel. From looking at all of Bourbon’s pictures I’d have to say that my fraternity brothers had a propensity to wear no shirts at all…maybe that’s why no one noticed my pastels.

Springbreak_shane_and_jonAh, to hell with it.  I’ve been married for 13 years, I’m 38 years old, a father of three, a hell of a lot fatter and with a little less hair than these pictures show.  What do I have to lose besides the last shred of dignity I’ve been saving up for an emergency.

Okay, I can’t resist posting a couple more.  I’m beginning to realize how much I regret not staying in touch with these guys.  I still consider them some of the best people I’ve met.  I guess I’ll have to pick up the phone and start dialing.

FlagfootballThrd picture is our intramural flag football team.  I’m in the back and that’s my younger brother Russ in the foreground in the white shirt.  I was a fifth-year senior and Russ a freshman that year.  I’ve always been thankful we had the chance to spend that much time together.

Last picture is from a trip we made to Wyoming for a leadership workshop.
That’s Parag Amin, me, Keven Kvasnicka (back), Francis Shafer and Scott
Swahl.  Hard to believe it’s been about 17 years since that was shot

Workshoptrip

Steve Jobs’ Commencement Speech at Stanford

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Dana Blankenhorn has a transcript (apparently not verbatim, but close) of Steve Jobs’ commencement speech at Stanford.  Dana says it’s the best commencement speech ever…and I haven’t heard enough of them to agree or disagree. I can tell you, though, that it is definitely worth reading.

He talks about dropping out of college because he was aimless and felt he was wasting his working class parents’ money.  Then he did an amazing thing: he dropped back into college.  He just started going to classes that interested him, sleeping on friends’ floors and collecting bottles to turn in for food money.  Here’s what he said:

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy
instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every
label on every drawer was beautifully hand-calligraphed. Because I had
dropped out and didn’t have to take the normal classes, I decided to
take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif
and sans-serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between  different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great.
It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science
can’t capture, and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. 

But ten years later when we were designing the first Macintosh  computer, it all came back to me, and we designed it all into the  Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had  never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have  never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts, and 
since Windows just copied the Mac, it’s likely that no personal  computer would have them.

If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on that  calligraphy class and personals computers might not have the  wonderful typography that they do.

Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when  I was in college, but it was very, very clear looking backwards 10  years later. Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward. You  can only connect them looking backwards, so you have to trust that  the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in  something–your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever–because  believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the  confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well-worn path, and that will make all the difference.

He then goes on to talk about two more major events in his life, being fired at Apple and being diagnosed with cancer.  Here is his take on death:

No one wants to die, even people who want to go to Heaven don’t want
to die to get there, and yet, death is the destination we all share. No
one has ever escaped it.

And that is as it should be, because death is very likely the  single best invention of life. It’s life’s change agent; it clears  out the old to make way for the new. right now, the new is you. But  someday, not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and  be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it’s quite true. Your  time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t  be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other  people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out  your own inner voice, heart and intuition. They somehow already know 
what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

Why I’ve Always Respected Engineering Students

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There’s an engineering student somewhere who’s created a do-it-yourself air conditioner using a trash can, a fan, some tubing and ice water.  You can see it here.

This is another in a growing list of reasons why I’ve always respected engineering students.  Actually the list is for all non-English majors.  We EMs are basically a worthless lot unless you’re in desperate need for a font of worthless knowledge…then we’re it!

Winner’s of Best (Business) Blog Competition Announced

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MarketingSherpa announced the winners of their best business blog competition, and you can find the list (with links) here.

I had the pleasure of working with Anne Holland when she was getting MarketingSherpa up and running.  I’m continually amazed with her foresight and innovation as she continues to grow the company.  If you have any interest in online media, marketing (b-to-b or b-to-c), or PR you should definitely check out her stuff. You won’t be disappointed.

Epitomy of the Hard Sell

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I’d heard that military recruiters were having a hard time meeting quote, but this story from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer is unbelievable.  Here’s just a taste:

Next thing Axel knew, the same sergeant and another recruiter showed
up at the LaConner Brewing Co., the restaurant where Axel works. And
before Axel, an older cousin and other co-workers knew or understood
what was happening, Axel was whisked away in a car.

"They said we were going somewhere but I didn’t know we were going all the way to Seattle," Axel said.

Just a few tests. And so many free opportunities, the recruiters told him.

He could pursue his love of chemistry. He could serve anywhere he
chose and leave any time he wanted on an "apathy discharge" if he
didn’t like it. And he wouldn’t have to go to Iraq if he didn’t want to.

At about 3:30 in the morning, Alex was awakened in the motel and fed
a little something. Twelve hours later, without further sleep or food,
he had taken a battery of tests and signed a lot of papers he hadn’t
gotten a chance to read. "Just formalities," he was told. "Sign here.
And here. Nothing to worry about."

The kid’s mom freaked out when she can’t find her boy (the recruiter confiscated his cell phone so he wouldn’t be distracted while taking tests).  She got her grown daughter to help her track him down at the recruiting station and re-kidnap him.  Then she got a lawyer and the Marines returned the paperwork and his cell phone.

It gets better in a follow up piece in which the author summarizes the responses she got from veterans to her story.  Let’s just say that some of the Marine veterans who chimed in found the kid to be a mama’s boy.  There’s also some advice from an ex-recruiter on how to handle an overly aggressive recruiter, including failing the tests on purpose and claiming to use drugs.

I think I smell a draft coming.

What Politicians Spend

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I’m sure many of you have heard of this site before, but it was new to me.  OpenSecrets.org is a site that allows you to see what the President, members of Congress and political groups spent on their campaigns.  You can search by candidate, party, state, etc. 

Here are some numbers from the 2004 election overview:

Amount raised for House candidates: $696,293,352
Amount raised for Senate candidates: $488,899,357
Amount raised for Presidential candidates: $867,856,427
Total raised: $2,053,049,136

It’s just mind boggling.

A Cool Application for Blogs – Kid Tracking

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I’ve been reading the Kenya Blog being hosted by the Winston-Salem Journal, and I’ve noticed that most of the comments are from parents of the kids who made the trip to Kenya and are the blogs contributors.

It never occured to me that one of the great applications for blogging could be staying connected with your kids.  As a parent who will be seeing his kids off to summer camp for the first time next week I can tell you that I would love for them to have the chance to post pictures and write a paragraph or two about their day so that Celeste and I could share their experience without getting in their way.

Please do visit the Kenya Blog as I think you’ll agree that these kids are getting the experience of a lifetime, and their parents (not to mention the rest of us) get to share it with them in a way that would have been inconceivable a couple of years ago.

Now where’s that number for the summer camp…we have to talking to do!

W-S Journal Launches First Blog

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The Winston-Salem Journal has launched its first blog, The Kenya Connection, which is a group weblog done by 16 students and five adults who have traveled to Kenya to help fight AIDS.

My personal opinion is that this is a great way for the Journal to dip its toes into the blogging water.  A community-focused weblog that actually helps the paper cover a far-flung story about local kids venturing out to another community that could not be more different from their own. In other words the paper is sticking to its traditional knitting: content with a community focus and also a window to the larger world.

Thanks to Joe for the link and the update.