TechFold - Bold tech & web commentary

TechWatching vs. MacWorld: MacWord 1, TechWatching 0

TechWatching is now serving more relevant results and better links, and is doing so more frequently, thanks to a new & improved algorithm behind the scenes, prompted mainly by the MacWorld disaster.

I say “disaster” because the volume of stories related to MacWorld was the perfect storm of relevancy overabundance - the prior version of TechWatching could not scale to sort the volume, and the site quickly devolved to a huge mish-mash of barely organized, repetitious, muddled posts.

The new ranking & relevancy algorithm is actually a lot simpler than the old one: I ended up cutting code length by about 30% to get better results, and more efficient db use means that I can pump up the update frequency without melting down the server - all good.

If you stop by the site, you’ll see better “topical roundup tags” at the top, and more complete story clusters down below.

As always, your feedback on the site and the recent changes would be very appreciated.

techwatching

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The Big Digg Disappointment

I long appreciated digg; if not for its content, then for its algorithm’s ability to dynamically sift through the huge volume of submissions and deliver that content. Today we find out digg’s algorithm relies at least in part on human moderation.

What’s the significance (to me)?

1. Digg isn’t an agnostic platform, its as editorial and mod-driven as FARK.
2. Any non-zero amount of moderator activity complete invalidates the democratic elements of the platform.
3. That’s not a bad thing, or wouldn’t be if Digg hadn’t been positioned as agnostic/democratic/algorithmic.
4. Misrepresenting the technology behind one’s site is weak and doesn’t speak well for the digg team’s ability to deliver or for their respect for users.
5. The value of digg’s underlying technology has plummeted.
6. The FARK model works well, and digg has value as a FARK competitor focused on geek news.
7. As TC points out, it makes digg competitors like Reddit a lot more welcoming.

Lord knows I’ve had enough digg-meta news to last a lifetime. Maybe this issue will kick digg off the stage.

digg reddit

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Workblogging

One post ago, I used the word “workblogging.” I’m not sure if its widely in use or not (google evidence is inconclusive), or if it is, what its widely accepted meaning is. But for myself, I’m using it to refer to blogging in a work setting, specifically as an internal communication tool, complementing email and the phone.

I’m trying hard to promote workblogging at my office, as an ideal means of cross-pollination, knowledge capture, transparent/accountable decision-making, and so on (more on this later). But to communicate the concept, I needed a simple catchphrase that can communicate the notion of “blogging at work” and provide a conceptual rally-point for people - workblogging is it!

workblogging

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Workblogging is not “more” work, just different

At work right now, one thing I’ve been working on is shifting my division to using blogs as an internal communication mechanism (vs. email, phone, etc.). I’ll write another post on the why later, but for right now I wanted to share a simple graphic that I’ve been using to refute a common “push back” on adding blogs to one’s communication toolbox. The objection is that blogs just provide “another thing” that employees need to be on top of - an addition to phone, email, voicemail, etc.

My refutation is that blogs don’t add to one’s workload (either writing them or reading) - they just change the venue in which that work takes place. The width of the column below represents 100% of your communications.

1. Prior to email it was 100% phone-based (ignoring face to face, physical mail, etc. for simplicity’s sake).
2. Sometime in the nineties, email will have spread through your workplace, shifting the venue of some portion of your communications away from the phone. That portion has likely grown over time, and for many people, the transition is not yet complete.
3. Now blogs will be carving out a slice of your communications too.
4. Note: the width of the column doesn’t change - just how its divided up.

This is, of course, a gross simplification (the width of the column has changed over time, for example), but I think it communicates the basic point regardless: that adding blogs to an internal communication mix does not have to be looked at as an onerous addition to one’s existing workload - instead its a complimentary communication channel.

workblogging

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Sun buys MySQL: all upside for coporate markets

Wow - Sun bagged MySQL (more, more, more , more, full wrapup). As painful as it is to see a fave get snapped up, assuming that Sun allows the sbu some level of autonomy, this is all upside. I know my blue chip soon-to-be-former employer wouldn’t touch MySQL for a production system (say what you will about that policy), but certainly would touch a low cost DB off of Sun’s product shelf.

For big enterprise stuff, behemoth status carries a lot of decision-making weight, and Sun certainly has that. From a legal liability perspective (someone to sue), a business continuity perspective (Sun will be around), and a support and stability perspective, putting MySQL inside a Sun wrapper makes it an option for the first time.

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Whoops: MacBook Air is the Apple Foleo

Whoops, looks like Apple’s had one of its famous beautiful misses (see G4 cube for precedent). You can’t replace the battery. Is that completely insane? Is Apple expecting an $1800 - $3200 device to be disposable (or require an expensive battery replacement procedure) on a two year basis?

Thin in stature and in features, seems ideally suited to lightweight business computing on-the-go for short bursts (hence the built in battery), connecting via WiFi or cellphone/bluetooth - which, correct me if I’m wrong, was the use-case described for the ill-fated Palm Foleo.

UPDATE: The more I read, the more appalling this exercise in fashionista-baiting becomes.

air, apple, foleo macbook

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A quick followup on “no more metrics…”

One other reason to remove metrics-indicators (feedburner count, technorati authority, etc.) from your blog is that user’s tend to form an impression of credibility based on readership volume as much as the actual quality of what they’re reading. i.e.: if you stumble across a blog that’s new to you, on some level you’ll read its content different if it has 15,000 RSS subscribers compared to 15. i.e.: If all of these people appreciate & read this blog, I should too.

Which in and of itself isn’t necessarily a bad inference; but, FWIW, I think it perpetuates the hive mentality hold that the a-listers have over the blogosphere. Not that I have that problem here - my inconsistent posting ensures low readership. That being said, I’m content to have my content stand on its own without any “reputation aid” from compelling site metrics.

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Google’s Doing It Again: Jaiku dying on the vine?

Google has an annoying habit of making acquisitions, and then letting those acquisitions die on the vine as (presumably) the talent behind them is employed elsewhere in the Googleplex. The seminal example is DodgeBall,,
who’s founder’s public departure from Google lead many to question Google’s ability to successfully integrate their purchases into their core proposition.

More recently, it looks like Google’s doing the same to Jaiku. “Jaiku users flee to Twitter,” “Jaiku woes plague Google,” and “What is Google’s plan for Jaiku?” are not the kind of headlines one wants to see three months after a purchase.

So what then is Google’s deal? Does anyone there really know how something like Jaiku or DodgeBall should be integrated into the Google-mission to index all information? It would seem not. Google has been roundly criticized for going off in too many directions, and it would seem that purchases like Jaiku are symptomatic of “executive pet projects” - i.e.: purchases made on a whim when a powerful exec mentions that they’d be good to have under their corporate umbrella, but without any real thought behind it.

While a cash-rich company like Google may enjoy the luxury of making poorly planned purchases, they’re not doing themselves, their customers (us), or entrepreneurs any favors. Internally, Google is building teams of disgruntled, neglected staff that have come in the door with acquisitions but found that their new working environment more or less doesn’t care about their aspirations. Further, once dynamic, growing products become static and neglected, to the detriment of that product’s customers (witness the Jaiku flight). Finally, the bright light of an entrepreneur is covered or otherwise extinguished as its subsumed by the Googleplex.

All told, it seems like a sad state of affairs that should be some senior Google’s priority to rectify.

dodgeball, google jaiku

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How-to Dismantle Your Life, Lesson One: Credit Cards

My wife and I are taking a very extended trip to south-east Asia to travel and volunteer for a year (or more…) - long enough that I consider the move “indefinite.” That means you’ve got “shut down” activities to contend with - i.e.: arranging a sibling to come over and water your plants is not going to cover you. Instead you need to tackle everything from selling or renting your house, getting rid of your car, quitting your job, getting your investments and retirement assets sorted, and everything in between.

I’ve been working through a tonne of this stuff over the last few months (which accounts in part for my low post volume here). In the spirit of helpfulness I’d like to share some of my learnings for anyone else that makes a similarly exciting and challenging choice.

First Lesson: CREDIT CARDS

Well managed credit, as anyone knows, is a tremendous asset. When you’re on the road, dealing with lots of different currencies, banking systems, and so on, credit cards become an even more important asset, giving you flexibility and access to resources where debit cards and US dollars fear to tread. [image credit: wikipedia]

Here’s some of the key reasons to hold onto those cards and take them with you:

1. They may work: They’ll work in places your debit cards won’t, and the more options you have to try at a recalcitrant Bangkok bank machine, they happier you’ll be.
2. Emergency resources: Credit cards also usually have emergency numbers: my Mastercard, for instance, had an international collect-call number to help get you sorted if you can’t get your card working somewhere. This becomes really important if your bag gets stolen - that 1-800 number can help you get back on your feet after a catastrophic wallet-loss.
3. Insurance: Many cards can come with additional insurance - on cars that you may rent, major purchases you may make, trip cancellation insurance, life & health insurance, and so on. Of course, YMMV depending on your bank and card options, so be sure and compare. That being said, I’m taking one “platinum” card that’s no-fee, and carries car insurance.

Those are the primary reasons I’m taking my cards. Now, here’s what I’m doing to get them ready:

1. PIN numbers: You can attach a PIN number to any credit card. Beyond the advantage of increased security, PINning your card will let you use it at bank machines to withdraw cash in local currencies. Good for where debit cards may work less consistently, or if you (shudder) run out of cash entirely.
2. Share your travel plans: Call your credit card issuer and tell them your travel plans. Otherwise, most credit issuer’s anti-fraud policies will swoop into action and lock your account when they see purchase activity shift suddenly from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Tell them your departure date, return date, and the countries you’ll be visiting while away.
3. Cancel non-essential cards, take the basics: I killed all of my department store / gas station / promotional / etc. credit cards. I’m taking with me a Visa, a Mastercard, and an American Express. The thinking is that a Sears Card won’t do me much good in Bangladesh, and leaving it locked up at home somewhere leaves open a window (however small) that it will be abused in some way (identity theft, data breach, etc.) - which is difficult to handle if you’re in touch only intermittently and trying to fix it from the other side of the world. Cancel non-essentials to minimize your exposure.
4. Carry cards from different issuers: Each of my three cards is from a different issuer, the hope being that if the transaction system used by one doesn’t work, a different one will. Spread your bets around the table a bit.
5. Figure out how to get statements online: If you’re using your card, you’ll want to pay it off periodically. This means accessing statement balances online - so make sure that you’re familiar with your card’s online account management tools and can get that statement balance. Note: there’s an element of risk here in that you’ll likely be using sketchy internet cafes to deal with your sensitive financial details; I’m not sure what the work around might be.
6. Discipline! Create a payment schedule for yourself: Its easy to forget to actually pay your card balance if you’re not getting a paper statement in the mail to prompt you to do so. Pick a day of the month to be the day that get the aforementioned statement balance and then log into your online banking account and pay it. Make sure you stick to that schedule, availability of internet access permitting. The last thing you want to do is have your account locked up or run into other problems because you’ve forgotten to pay a balance for several months.
7. Leave a copy behind: If you run into trouble with your cards, it can be very helpful to have someone in your home country that can go to bat for you with the card issuer without incurring long-distance phone bills (and during normal office hours). To that end, I photocopied the front and back of each card and am leaving a copy (along with a recent statement) with family here.

So there you go - those are the steps I’m taking. If you’ve got any others I’d love to hear them. No doubt as my travels commence I’ll have updates and additions, so take each of these with a grain of salt.

credit travel

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No More Metrics

If you read this blog on its physical website (as opposed to via RSS), you’ll have noticed three things that are now gone - the Technorati authority counter, the Whos.amung.us widget, and the feedburner subscriber-counter.

At the core of their removal is a response to the new years meme that’s been swirling about: that writing for traffic or links (from other bloggers, techmeme, etc.) is a bad thing. I tend to agree. Its easy to get sucked into the habit of seeing what’s on techmeme and writing about it: it provides a quick, gratifying traffic fix, followed by an equally gratifying spike in RSS subscribers. Its addictive and habit forming, and as many have remarked, leads to “me-too” posts that ultimately do more to drive traffic than to further conversation.

So - I’ve removed all of my traffic indicators. The hope is that it will help focus my attention on writing about the things that I really care about, as opposed to what the meme-of-the-day is - and traffic be damned. If traffic drops, I’d rather find out that I’m uninteresting sooner vs. extending some degree of artificial popularity.

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