TechFold - Bold tech & web commentary

nyc.digg.com

After doing some further reading and thinking about the EveryBlock launch today, I had a thought - why not a localized digg? I initially posted this on Mathew’s EveryBlock thread, but wanted to capture it here too. So - why not nyc.digg.com, boston.digg.com, or sf.digg.com?

There’s not a lot of thought behind the idea, this just popped into my head. So tell me why it won’t work below.

digg, everyblock, hyperlocal localization

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Unlimited EDGE Data: $17

Sounds awesome? That’s the price… IN BANGLADESH. I’m not there yet, so I can’t attest to it personally, but word is 1150TK/month (Bangladesh Taka) gets you a SIM card set up for unlimited data access. Its prepaid, so no paper bills, no hassle. Of course, I’m imagining the bitrate may be slow and inconsistent, so no Apple HD movies for me. But whatever - its still cool.

bangladesh

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Digg growth flat for 2007? Is their a place for social curation outside of geekdom?

Anyone else notice that Compete shows digg essentially flat in (three quarters of) ‘07? And, that’s with a lot of feature launches too - topical areas, pictures, video, etc. Say what you will about the validity of Compete stats, but evidently digg is struggling to grow beyond its core 20something-geek demographic.

The continued bleeding of Netscape/Propeller in fact suggests that concept of socially moderated news may not resonate with demographic segments other than digg’s core audience:

So - here’s the question: do Jane and Joe Sixpack want to participate in their news and content? Or just consume?

bleeding, digg, netscape, propeller traffic

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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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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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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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How-to: Break into the Technorati 100

Sure, Technorati’s relevance has waned as the service has devolved over the years to the current mishmash of conflicting agendas that comprises its homepage today. But - leaderboards are still cool. And Skelliewag is a great blogger that I wanted to introduce you too if you’re not reading him/her (?) already (skelliewag was new to me).

So, here’s skellie’s route to Technorati fame, which given that it centers around generating links from blogs back to you, really applies to any exercise in increasing your traffic. In a nutshell: Write lots (#3) of valuable posts (#4) about cool things (#2) that add meaning (#5) to the original content and inspire passion (#7) and encourage del.icio.us postings (#1) in your readers, and hope that you’re pithy remarks become an internet catchphrase (#6).

technorati

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