Life blog

The 'Recombinant Web'?

Having worked with recombinant DNA for 12 years, I think I like the term 'Recombinant Web' better than Web 2.0 or Web 5.5. ;-)

Link: What CEOs should know about the 'recombinant Web' | Between the Lines | ZDNet.com.

LIFEBLOG.anina.net: FASHION & BLOGGING CONFERENCE

Way to go Anina! A bunch of folks are picking it up.

Anybody willing to fly me from NY for the night?

Link: LIFEBLOG.anina.net: FASHION & BLOGGING CONFERENCE.

OK! it's official the 360fashion group will take the lead in the fashion industry sponsored by NOKIA FRANCE with a FASHION & BLOGGING CONFERENCE and EXHIBITION on OCT. 3RD DURING THIS FASHION WEEK! COME AND MEET THE FIRST WAVE OF FASHION LIFEBLOGGERS IN PARIS, FRANCE!

Here are other links:
Loïc. Marc.

ContaStick

I really don't like to review products unless I am really moved by them and feel that they serve as a great example of integrating into the mobile lifestyle.

ContaStick is one such app for Series 60 phones. It basically is a one-handed operated UI to access all your contacts to call, sms, email, or edit the contact. The app is smooth and quick, integrates without having to learn a new mode, and is easy to install. And it fits so well as another way folks can interact with their contact data.

I use it all the time now.

There were at least three gotchas for me, though.
1) I kinda had to teach myself to search using the first or last name. It's way much faster, but you kinda need to keep thinking of the letter you want to follow in the UI. This is really an extra 'good feature'.
2) It can be set up to have a quick start key press that would open the app from anywhere. Unfortunately, they chose only one combination - pencil key, joystick click. That so happens to be the way to copy text, so I had to disable it. This is an 'oops, useless feature'. They should find other key combos.
3) It seems to re-index every so often, but I haven't figured out the logic. But, sometimes it bothers me by re-indexing every time I open the app. But, hey, this is really the only thing that I can find wrong with this that mildly bugs me. And I'm picky!

Link: ContaStick.

ContaStick is a  a radical new Phone Book application which dramatically increases the ease and speed of selecting a contact from your address book.

This is done with just 3 or 4 movements of the joystick on average. And then it is just a matter of one more flick of the joystick and you are calling, texting or emailing them.

Units of participants versus interactions between participants

Don't remember where I got this from, but it's a straightforward analysis of something folks are starting to learn - it's the collaborative effect and not the number of people involved that is the power of the Web today.

Link: Bubblegeneration - Evil Corporations Only.

your utility is bounded by the number of things (transactions, etc) you can do on the network

Hossein Eslamabolchi on the future of the network

Link: Joho the Blog: Hossein Eslamabolchi on the future of the network.

State of the telecom industry: Coming out of a period of: Overcapacity, fraud, regulatory uncertainty, pricing pressure, brankruptices, competitive technologies. In late 2001, AT&T faced a "perfect storm" or "nuclear winter."

Just 17% of UK Subs Do More Than Talk and Text

I'm not surprised.

Link: MobHappy: Just 17% of UK Subs Do More Than Talk and Text.

160 Characters posts the results of a survey that found just 17% of UK mobile phone owners use their devices for anything other than texting and calling -- on a daily basis. Somehow that's not as surprising as the headline made it out to be. In any case, the company behind the survey says "although the services may be clearly explained in accompanying manuals, users often do not understand the purpose of additional services and therefore do not feel any need to learn how to use them."

Over 2 billion served

Big news of the week.

Link: GSM World News. Press Release 2005 - Worldwide cellular connections exceeds 2 billion.

The global mobile industry will reach a major landmark this weekend, when the number of subscriber connections will exceed 2 billion on September 18, according to estimates from Wireless Intelligence – the venture between Ovum and the GSM Association.

A Voice Powered Mobile Phone…

... that is really small, like a headset. And this is well thought out.

Yeah, I've seen these concepts a few times. Only thing, I think the tech and supporting software is finally getting to the point where we can actually build something like this. Hmm... what about like a Star Trek communicator badge?

Good to see the old Russ is still around and thinking (publicly). ;-)

Link: Russell Beattie Notebook � Imagine A Voice Powered Mobile Phone….

This would be a pretty cool device, no? It’d be like the iPod Shuffle of mobile phones - as simple as it gets. In fact, that’s a cool idea! Imagine if instead of sitting on just one ear, you could attach another head phone to make a pair. Now you can listen to your music from home being streamed to your phone via a system like Orb.com, or use a system like Sprint’s new Sirius or Rhapsody streaming audio.

Browsing, transcoding and intelligent proxies

Link: the mobile experience � Blog Archive � Browsing, transcoding and intelligent proxies.

What to optimize?

Now, I haven’t give this a lot of though, but here’s my list off content types that can be optimized, and operations that can be performed on them (in order of difficulty)

Web 2.0 and mobility

Precisely what I want to be solving.

Link: the mobile experience � Blog Archive � Web 2.0 and mobility.

It is this convergence that will be the ultimate trial for the business plans of todays carriers and mobile content&service providers.

360 Fashion - check it out on 03 October in Paris

Anina's 360 Fashion is getting hotter.

Link: 360 Fashion.

Check out some comments from Marc Canter. He also has the annoucement of the event on 03 October in Paris (I can't find my copy). Unfortuntely, I have to miss it. To be involved for so long and then miss one of her big events. Dang!

One billionth?

Freaky.

Link: Nokia - Press Nokia - Press Release 20.9.2005 - Press.

Earlier this summer, Nokia sold our one billionth mobile phone - a Nokia 1100 sold in Nigeria," says Kai �ist�m�, Senior Vice President, Mobile Phones, Nokia.

Gmail on the move? Almost.

Here's one convoluted (but from the People!) solution to Gmail's lack of a mobile version. Alas, I don't have a PHP server I can install this on.

Link: SourceForge.net: Project Info - Gmail Mobile - Gmail on the move.

A PHP app to access Gmail (Google email) accounts on WAP/WML devices. A convenient alternative access method to your email account while on the move, Gmail Mobile incorporates as many Gmail features as possible within the limitations of a mobile phone.

Hmmm, might this evolve into a simple service someone can start up until Google wakes up and uses the code themselves. ;-)

In NYC and Boston 28Sep-10Oct

I'll be swinging by our fair city of Boston (Bean Town) from 28-30 September, and New York City (The Big Apple) around 10 October.

Let me know if you will be around and I will try to acommodate. I already have a few folks I'll be meeting. More later.

In case you're wondering, from 03-07 October I'll be in a workshop somewhere, and won't be able to get away.

Transcoding sites for a mobile can be tricky

I've been talking with folks about transcoding for a long time, and it's slipped into and out of my thoughtstream many times, mainly because I thought transcoding to be leading our thinking down the wrong path.

Transcoding is the re-rendering (through some proxy server) of a Web page into something that looks good and works well on a mobile. One fine example of transcoding is Google.

If you do a Google search from your phone, Google recognizes that it's a phone searching and gives you a results page that is slightly different from what you would see on your PC browser. Then, when you click the link, Google serves you a text-only page that works on a mobile browser.

I guess that's Transcoding 101 for you.

But, the simplicity is misleading. If you try to save the bookmark of the page Google served up to you, it will have a Google proxy address, not the direct address to that page. Also, some simple items like text boxes, say, for a site search, do not show up (this is actually the problem that set off this nano-rant). And finally, to add to (my) frustration, there is no way to view the page natively - while there are some helpful links that Google puts at the bottom of the pages they served, there is no way for me to get out of the Google transcoding.

So, while Google transcoding of all sites that you Google search for with your mobile can be very helpful, it highlights the pitfalls of transcoding - proxy issues, level of lost info, etc. - I am still not won over by the transcoding believers.

If you want to explore this topic further, search for 'Google' 'transcoding' 'mobile'.

The Mobile Device Detection Problem

This is a good first list of options for all of you who don't have mobile-readable sites (including service providers, such as Six Apart).

Link: The Mobile Device Detection Problem | Mobile Design.

Publishing a mobile version of your content is harder then is should be. One significant technical leap must be made in order to give users a seamless experience… device detection, the relatively simple concept of routing different devices to the most appropriate content for that device.

How to handle feature requests

Here's a great tip for those of you who are in the process of building something and are getting feature request overload.

The key thing is that you should read all the requests, and the ones that stick in your head either by repetition or appropriateness will be the ones that you should work on. With the experience I have in product creation, this great tip can be squashed very easily if the recipient of the feature request has no interest in feature requests, even if they are memorable and appropriate. Hence, this only works if you have an open mind to developing your product.

Link: Getting Real: Forget feature requests - Signal vs. Noise (by 37signals).

Those are the important ones. You don’t need to track or remember everything — let your customers be your memory. They’ll remind you.

Carlo on the hackability of mobile phones

Link via Erik: Airtime - Gizmodo.

As mobile phones become more powerful and pervasive, it was inevitable that they’d spawn the same kind of homebrew hacking culture as computers and the Internet. While the locked-down nature of cell phones and the closemindedness of wireless carriers has stunted that culture’s growth, a few developments are afoot that promise to give a big boost to DIY mobile programming. Whereas programmers must typically pick up platform-specific skills to develop for mobile, a number of ways for independent and casual developers and even enthusiasts to use skills they’ve already got—or can relatively easily learn—to build applications.

Face to face meetings still important in this connected age

Is it my impression, or are there more meetups now than before? Or is it just that meetups are so much easier to organize (think-post-meet)?

What is particularly interesting is that, not only do I see meetup topics mirroring the conversations on the Web, but that these meetups are essential to the conversations on the Web. There's a different, more interactive conversation that is possible only when chatting over a beer that can't be achieved through the asynchrony of the blog or email or even the synchrony of the IM chat or phone call.

Meetups have been happening since humans have had something to share - there is extensive archeological data that there were inter-community gatherings in deep pre-historical times. With thousands of years of craving that face to face interaction, we use the Web (and mobile phones) as a complementary tool for our offline conversations. We need to keep that in mind when we design our fancy apps.

Link: Idea Day!.

Today I get to launch one of my many projects in the making for several months… Idea Day.

Idea Day is a free monthly meeting of creative minds here in Seattle. The first one being October 11th. Each month we will address a topic relevant to the creative and marketing community.

But what really bugs me is that there's always some reason why I miss them - out of town, arriving a day later, schedule change, or what not!

Skype is the Nokia of Estonia

Being around a successful company that strikes it big internationally is helpful as Ross points out.

Link: Ross Mayfield's Weblog: Skype is the Nokia of Estonia.

In Nokia's case, many of them started companies that were later brought back into the fold, benefiting the company and the country.  A unique capability cluster is being developed here in VoIP, P2P, Security and Social Software that will give rise to new startups.

I will NOT be giving a talk in London on the 11 October

Alas, the date for the conference changed to 06 October, so now I can no longer make it. I will be elsewhere (update to follow ticket purchase).

Link: Lifeblog: I'll be giving a talk in London on the 11 October.

I've been invited to relate my experiences in the non-traditional ways we marketed Lifeblog

Guess that means I miss the All About Symbian Pub Meet, too. Dang.

Wanna know where folks thing the Internet will be in 2010 - read this report

I've started reading the report mentioned in the post below. It's chock-full of great thinking. Read it to get your wheels spinning. I don't remember where I heard of it first, but these guys have a nice summary and a link to download.

Of course, the stuff in the report fits in well with a lot I've been talking about.

Link: Boing Boing: Clueful Aussie report on the Internet circa 2010.

Clueful Aussie report on the Internet circa 2010 Smart Internet 2010 is an ambitious, 170-page report on the future of the Internet commissioned by the Australian government. It covers a lot of ground (much of it likely familiar to you if you're a regular BB reader), aimed at a general audience (e.g., net-clueless regulators). It basically tries to sum up all the stuff going on with P2P, copyright, games, VoIP, and all. The authors spoke to a lot of non-usual-suspects, people from outside policyland, and came up with something that's a lot closer to a couple months' worth of blog-reading than a couple months' talking to academics and regulators.

Now only if I could have a bound copy. Hmmm, Printfu?

MPREO: Mobile Publishing is Easy

Very clever design solution. I've added Brian to my list of interesting people. ;-)

And I see the great David Harper (also on my list) has not only made a good comment, but kindly offered to help out Brian. What good guys!

Link: MPREO: Mobile Publishing is Easy! | Mobile Design.

The Solution

How MPREO works is pretty simple, it grabs RSS content from a variety of websites and reformats it to create XHTML-MP pages.

eBay to Acquire Skype

Communication is improtant to eBay to grease its business. Skype is fixed communications. Will the mobile lifestyle ever figure into this?*

In any case, feels like 1999 all over again. Though I think we are wiser now.

Link: eBay to Acquire Skype.

eBay Inc. has agreed to acquire Luxembourg-based Skype Technologies SA, the global Internet communications company, for approximately $2.6 billion in up-front cash and eBay stock, plus potential performance-based consideration.

*Yes, I have heard of good mobile apps for eBay.

Community as product lock-in?

Om Malik posts some thoughts from Robert Young reagrding community in product creation and the impact on company philosophy. One interesting point is how a cummunity in the end becomes its own lock-in to a product.

Hmm. Am I locked in to the products I participate in? Loyal, yes? But locked in? Perhaps, willingly.

Link: Om Malik’s Broadband Blog - Inherent Truths and Value of Community.

At the end, the lesson is one of a paradox. As the power shifts increasingly towards community, the corporation loses its grip on the traditional means of control. Yet, by letting go of control, the corporation creates an environment where the community willingly creates its own switching costs.

Read it for thoughts on what community means to product creation and product longevity. Good discussions.

Anil Dash: Web Development Trends for 2006

'Just' a link. Anil is a great guy, very kind, and knows his stuff. Listen to him.

I take it, this is the way Six Apart is going too? I'm sure some of this has trickled into  future products.

He is also a New Yorker who moved to SFO to work with Six Apart. I have pestered him with countless questions about what it is like to be a Nor'eaterner in SFO.* Interesting insights there, too. ;-)

Link: Anil Dash: Web Development Trends for 2006.

Curious about what technologies and techniques are going to be popular in the coming months and into the next year? Well, our crack team of editors here at dashes.com (that is to say, me) have assembled a list of up-and-coming trends that you should keep an eye on. Call it vocational education for people building Web 2.0.

I have also pestered other New Yorkers I know who moved to SFO in the past years, since there's a high (ugh!) possibility I might end up as one there too.

Where to mobile and fixed Web? Will they ever merge?

What I like about MoMo Mike is that he serves as a bridge for me between Web and mobile technologies - not only does he know both very well, but he thinks of them from the same perspective of mobility that I have. When he speaks of the things he does in the link below, he teaches me something in a way I can understand.

Link: This is Mobility - Blog Archive - Mobile Web.

What we need to be doing is figuring out how we can get mobile devices to interact with the same services that the desktop systems interact with.

For sure, I'd sign him up as one of the clever folk to 'get the both of them to evolve in the same direction so that at some point there is no difference'.

Coming soon: Getting Real, the book - Signal vs. Noise (by 37signals)

The great product designers at 37signals are coming out with a book. Check out the table of contents. Some really good stuff there.

Link: Coming soon: Getting Real, the book - Signal vs. Noise (by 37signals).

We’re putting the finishing touches on our next book. We’re not sure what we’re going to call it yet, but here’s a peak at the latest version of the table of contents. The book will also include thoughts from folks like Mark Hurst of Creative Good, Seth Godin, and Jim Coudal, among others.

Here are the chapter titles:

• Introduction
• The Starting Line
• Stay Lean
• Priorities
• Feature Selection
• Process
• The Organization
• Staffing
• Design
• Code
• Words
• Pricing & Signup
• Promotion
• Support
• Post-Launch

Here are some really good sub-chapter headings:

• It Shouldn’t Be a Chore: Your passion - or lack of - for your product will shine through
• Embrace Constraints: Let limitations guide you to creative solutions
• Develop Mantras: Explicitly define the philosophy of your app
• Stripped Down: The importance of simplicity and clarity
• Sum It Up, Fast: If you can’t explain it on one page, don’t do it
• Human Solutions: Make flexible software that encourages people to create their own solutions
• Rinse and Repeat: Expect multiple iterations
• Meetings Suck: Don’t have meetings that last longer than 30 minutes
• Wordsmiths: Hire good writers
• Interface First: Design the UI before you start programming
• Copywriting is Interface Design: Words are a crucial component of your UI
• Less Software: Keep your code as simple as possible
• Open Up the Doors: Use APIs to encourage third-party applications
• Be a Storyteller: Write stories, not details
• Spec Off: Don’t write a functional specifications document
• Easy On, Easy Off: Make signup (and exit) a painless, no-brainer process
• Promote Through Education: Share your knowledge with the world
• Publicize Your Screwups: Get bad news out there and out of the way

Mobility vs. laptops, once again - Janne's blog

Janne has been drinking the thinking juice.

Here's a good one. Emphasis, mine.

Link: ButtUgly: Main_blogentry_090905_1.

There are nearly two billion cell phone users out there. And a huge number of people in Japan (well, maybe not Japan), China, Korea, India, Brazil, Indonesia and Africa are growing with cell phones. Once they get their bearings together, they will be viewing the internet as a nail to bang with the mobile hammer. They'll be wanting things on their computers that work like their mobile phones...

If you're now thinking about your cell phone as an inferior laptop - try looking it another way: maybe your laptop is an inferior, bulky version of your cell phone. It might be interesting for a while, especially if you're planning to develop for the fabled Web 2.0 ;-)

Now that's the mobile tail wagging the Web dog!

More on mobility and Web 2.0 from Janne

This and more from Janne. Janne has been even more insightful than usual, lately.

Link: ButtUgly: Main_blogentry_070905_2.

So... How to design mobile applications for Web 2.0? Design for participation. Make sure everyone can contribute. Trust your users. Let them contribute, because they do have something to say. You might not like it, but it is important to them. And try to understand what mobility, the background quality, the connectedness, and the fact that you don't have to consciously use a service for it to be useful, might mean. Make services that make the mobile phone users first-class citizens, and not just guys with crummy browsers and bad connectivity.