Wednesday, December 3, 2008

My dearest Furious,

My recent release from employment has allowed me ample opportunity to
ponder life's little puzzles. I turn my fury to one such problem this
morning: crowdsourcing.

Last I heard, Crowdsourcing was a cool "2.0"-style name for a work
pattern with which we're all familiar, namely cooperation. I think the
pundits would be quick to quip that the novelty lies in _where_ the
work is done: at the core of a business's or individuals's product. In
other words, Crowsourcing allows one to amass volumes of input with
variable value and focus that firehose of product on the fire du jour.
This is innovative. This is new. And this is a fad.

Those who espouse the 'new economy' graduated along with those who
proffered Credit Default Swaps, DotCom 1.0, and Social Networking.
Good things are born in the worst of situations, to be sure, but I am
not sure that anyone should outsource the design of a core product or
process. Those who believe in design by committee should take another
look at the sprawling planned communities in the south and mid-west;
the samey, bland tracts of shoddy abodes the stretch from shore-to-
shore embody the spirit of 2-3 architects, 10-20 HOA members, 1-2
developers, countless City and County interests, and no single,
unifying philosophy. Unless you think that better, faster, cheaper is
the only innovation that will matter in the _next_ 200 years.

Be well. Be strong.
Be Furious.


Sent from my iPhone

Monday, November 3, 2008

Microsoft's Blue Period: Codename "Azure"


I read a handful of blogs on a daily basis - my "Daily News" is not an amalgam of CNN, BBC, NYTimes, or similar; my daily reading is chosen based on my daily hunger for inspiration, design, creativity, and excellence in the field of technology.

And so I was IM'ing with a friend who was at PDC. We talked a bit about Microsoft's cloud strategy (link to ProgrammableWeb - a fantastic all-around dev/MashUp/API resource). Or rather _he_ talked about it and I listened in the kind of silence that belies my unusually tenacious skepticism in all things "new" or "innovative". This is an EVOlution, not a REVOlution. Which brings me to the point of this entry:

Microsoft is innovating in areas most people are ignoring. The XBox is an incredible media center with few security issues, a (relatively) reliable hardware and software platform (their responsive support went a long way toward addressing the RRoD issues). Where is that kind of innovation with Cloud Services?

Where is the layman's ability to join data streams, or create small applications?

Where is Hal?

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

When Online Bullying of Bureaucrats Becomes A Constitution-Bashing Bonanza


Check this out:
Kentucky Lawmaker Wants to Make Anonymous Internet Posting Illegal - Video - WTVQ 36 - Lexington, Kentucky


Okay, I know...I can't ask you to read this post and proceed to push another publication down your throat.  Here's the skinny: some thin-skinned politician (a playfully ironic paradox in itself), Kentucky Representative Tim Couch, decided that anonymous comments should be made illegal.  Because, apparently, some people didn't like him.  And posted just that.  And it hurt his "feelings."  Now, while I'd like to lounge in my Lair of Fury and laugh at the reckless wielding of legislative leverage, I must be honest:
Be vigilant, my Furious followers.  Like many before you, the foothold of your freedom is infirm; fight the forces of  fearful affect on the digital domain we call the Internets.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Exchanging Privacy for a Purpose-Driven Page of Providers


According to PageOnce, you can have "your internet, your way"
PageOnce to Put All Your Online Accounts in One Place

Image derived from: http://www.illuminati-news.com/2007/0814a.htm

The last time I looked, "my internet" was a loosely-knitted myriad of mangled, multilateral matrices masquerading under the misleading moniker of "Social Networking". Promising a productivity pick-me-up in the mold of a "mash-up" in these latter-Web-2-Point-Oh days of merriment and DOT-COM-esque mismanagement of venture capital is bound to capture the rapt attention of someone willing to trade privacy of one's personal profile and financial information for a few extra minutes' porn-surfing.

So, what is the service like? I refuse to sign up. "But you are The Fury!" you say. Well, let's take a look at PageOnce's privacy policy-for-dummies.

Information below is copied directly from PageOnce's public policy. Copyrights are the property of their respective owners.

"PageOnce keeps you secure

PageOnce adheres to the highest standards in security in order to keep your data private and secure. We work to bring you a great service, with the peace of mind that your information will be protected.

We recognize that security is an important issue for you.

  • We never require information that connects you to your accounts. All PageOnce needs is your e-mail. You can be as anonymous as you want.
  • We adhere to industry standards and are certified by TRUSTe, HackerSafe and VeriSign
  • Your data is yours. We never share it with anyone"
First thing's first: the Furious must forego the falacy of willful, recalcitrant ignorance of current US wiretapping policies. Your e-mail address, your website registration, your IP address, all internet traffic, and your Social Security Number are all tied together. In fact, Comcast is happy to charge your US Goverment to wiretapp all Internet activity for which you are paying monthly. Call it an additional revenue opportunity.

Second: TRUSTe, HackerSafe, and VeriSign have been granted unlimited freedom from liability in their ratings. VeriSign is the ONLY recognized root security certificate provider...in perpetuity. Globally. HackerSafe sells security services while it decides how, when, and to what extent vulnerabilities are assessed and disseminated. Oh, and they partner with Microsoft. Microsoft, as we all know, protects the public's privacy from our Government...and then gives in. Google does not. But I digress.

Regardless of where you stand, screw your Fury to the sticking place. Think again - is convenience the new Con when it comes to corporate collusion with Congress?

Be Well. Be Strong.

Be Furious.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Hunting and Gathering 2.0 - Fear and Social Networking


To the Furious:

After spending a fair few hours foraging on the World Wide Interwebs, I have found a fearful fad, a treacherous trend intent on threatening the thoughtful interactions that have helped our "2.0" of the Web - something I'm going to call "Hunting and Gathering 2.0."  The rest of the technorati gabble-on with great gusto about "Social Aggregation," so let's dive deep into the disturbing topic:


According to a January 2008 article in Complete, social networking users are members of more than one meaningless mangle of social sites with painfully punctilious and precise purposes:
"The Compete article provides some interesting data points (January 2008):
-64% of Facebook members also belong to MySpace (MySpace has nearly three times the unique visitors of -Facebook and a few years head start);
-Bebo, Hi5 and Friendster all share more than 49% of their members with MySpace;
-LinkedIn shares 42% of its members with Facebook and 32% with MySpace."

So let's take a tired moment to tarry in the tenement of the most magnanimous movements; let's list the largest social networking sites (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_networking_websites).  But first, consider the far-reaching ramifications that regular use of these insidious sites might have on this fleeting, fast-paced fantasy we call "Life."

I am going to go out on a limb and say: "Monetization of private, personal information has been limited to various Viagra-related advertisement.  The real value of social networking to trends among the "hoi polloi" is obvious to the Cool Hunters and trend-setters - find the bell curve of cool and move toward the edges that show a growing, organic gathering with an exponential regression and exploit it."

Add to the list below "Lifestrea.ms", "Jaiku", and social browsers such as "Flock", and you can see Web 3.0's infancy - the emergence of social intelligence through a careless caterwal of contagious behaviours known as LifeStreams, Social Aggregation, and social sharing.

Does anyone want to explore adding oneself to ALL of the below sites?  What would happen to your personal privacy and pervasive persona, its public visibility all but a thing of the past?  Who's with me?

As always, my Furious:
Be well.  Be Strong.

Be Furious.

List of Social Networking Sites

NameDescription/FocusRegistered usersRegistration
AdvogatoFree and open source software developers&&&&&&&&&&011000.&&&&&011,000Open
ANobiiBooks&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1000000 UnknownOpen
aSmallWorldEuropean jet set and social elite&&&&&&&&&0150000.&&&&&0150,000Invite-only
BadooGeneral, Popular in Europe&&&&&&&012500000.&&&&&012,500,000Open to people 18 and over
BeboGeneral, Popular in UK, Ireland, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands&&&&&&&040000000.&&&&&040,000,000Open to people 13 and over
BlackPlanetAfrican-Americans&&&&&&&016000000.&&&&&016,000,000Open
Broadcaster.comVideo sharing and webcam chat&&&&&&&026000000.&&&&&026,000,000Open
BuzznetMusic and pop-culture&&&&&&&&&0550000.&&&&&0550,000Open
Cake FinancialInvesting&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1000000 UnknownOpen
CapazooGeneral (blogs, photos, music, videos)&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1000000 UnknownOpen
CarDomainCar enthusiasts&&&&&&&&01600000.&&&&&01,600,000Open
Care2Green living and social activism&&&&&&&&08123058.&&&&&08,123,058Open
Classmates.comSchool, college, work and the military&&&&&&&040000000.&&&&&040,000,000Open
Consumating"Consumeetings"&&&&&&&&&&021000.&&&&&021,000Open
CouchSurfingHospitality&&&&&&&&&0402000.&&&&&0402,000Open
CyworldYoung South Koreans&&&&&&&021200000.&&&&&021,200,000Open
DandelifeCollective narratives or "shared biographies"&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1000000 UnknownOpen
DodgeballMobile location-based service. Owned by Google.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1000000 UnknownOpen
DontStayInClubbing (primarily UK)&&&&&&&&&0333000.&&&&&0333,000Open
Experience ProjectLife experiences&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1000000 UnknownOpen
FacebookGeneral. Popular in Canada, UK, USA and New Zealand.&&&&&&&062000000.&&&&&062,000,000Open to people 13 and older.
FacepartyGeneral. Popular UK.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1000000 UnknownOpen to people 16 and older.
FlickrPhoto sharing&&&&&&&&04000000.&&&&&04,000,000Open (Yahoo! login)
FlixsterMovies&&&&&&&036000000.&&&&&036,000,000Open
FotologPhotoblogging&&&&&&&012695007.&&&&&012,695,007Open
Friends ReunitedSchool, college, work, sport and streets&&&&&&&019000000.&&&&&019,000,000Open
FriendsterGeneral&&&&&&&050000000.&&&&&050,000,000Open
FrühstückstreffGeneral&&&&&&&&&&011600.&&&&&011,600Open
Gaia OnlineAnime and games&&&&&&&&09300000.&&&&&09,300,000Open
GatherArticle, picture, and video sharing, as well as group discussions&&&&&&&&&0450000.&&&&&0450,000Open
Geni.comFamilies, genealogy&&&&&&&&&0750000.&&&&&0750,000Open
Grono.netPoland&&&&&&&&01350000.&&&&&01,350,000Invite-only
GuildCafeOnline games&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1000000 UnknownOpen
hi5General. Latin American and Asian teens.&&&&&&&098000000.&&&&&098,000,000Open
HabboGeneral. Over 31 communities worldwide. Chat Room and user profiles.&&&&&&&086000000.&&&&&086,000,000Open to people 13 and older
Hospitality ClubHospitality&&&&&&&&&0328629.&&&&&0328,629Open
HyvesMost popular Dutch social network, especially for students&&&&&&&&05000000.&&&&&05,000,000Open
imeemMusic, Video, Photos, Blogs&&&&&&&016000000.&&&&&016,000,000Open
IRC-GalleriaFinland&&&&&&&&&0465000.&&&&&0465,000Open
iWiWHungary&&&&&&&&03100000.&&&&&03,100,000Invite-only
JaikuGeneral. Owned by Google.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1000000 UnknownOpen
Joga BonitoFootball (soccer). Owned by Google.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1000000 UnknownOpen
LibraryThingBook lovers&&&&&&&&&0214425.&&&&&0214,425Open
LinkedInBusiness&&&&&&&017000000.&&&&&017,000,000Open
LiveJournalBlogging&&&&&&&012900000.&&&&&012,900,000Open (OpenID)
LunarStormSweden&&&&&&&&01200000.&&&&&01,200,000Open
MEETinGeneral&&&&&&&&&&072000.&&&&&072,000Open
Meetup.comGeneral&&&&&&&&02000000.&&&&&02,000,000Open
MiGente.comLatinos&&&&&&&&03600000.&&&&&03,600,000Open
MixiJapan&&&&&&&&09830000.&&&&&09,830,000Invite-only
MOGMusic&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1000000 UnknownOpen
Multiply"Real world" relationships&&&&&&&&07500000.&&&&&07,500,000Open
MyChurchChristian Churches&&&&&&&&&&070306.&&&&&070,306Open
MyHeritagefamily-oriented social network service&&&&&&&020000000.&&&&&020,000,000Open
My Opera CommunityGeneral (blogs, photo albums, forums, groups, etc.)&&&&&&&&01001798.&&&&&01,001,798Open
myYearbookGeneral&&&&&&&&&0950000.&&&&&0950,000Open
MySpaceGeneral. Popular in the USA, UK and Australia.&&&&&&0217000000.&&&&&0217,000,000Open
NetlogFormerly known as Facebox.&&&&&&&028000000.&&&&&028,000,000Open
NexopiaCanada&&&&&&&&01158531.&&&&&01,158,531Open
Odnoklassniki.ruGeneral. Popular in Russia&&&&&&&&08000000.&&&&&08,000,000Open
OkCupidSocial networking and dating&&&&&&&&&0800000.&&&&&0800,000Open
orkutOwned by Google. Popular in Brazil and India.&&&&&&&067000000.&&&&&067,000,000Open (Google login)
OUTeverywhereGay&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1000000 UnknownOpen
PassadoGeneral&&&&&&&&04700000.&&&&&04,700,000Open
PassportstampTravel&&&&&&&&&&012000.&&&&&012,000Open
PhanfareFamily photo and video sharing&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1000000 UnknownOpen
PlaxoBusiness&&&&&&&015000000.&&&&&015,000,000Open
PlayaheadSwedish teenagers&&&&&&&&&0530000.&&&&&0530,000Open
PownceWebsites, files, and short updates&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1000000 UnknownOpen
ProfileHeavenBritish teens&&&&&&&&&0100000.&&&&&0100,000Open
RateItAllGeneral (consumer ratings)&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1000000 UnknownOpen
Reunion.comLocating friends and family, keeping in touch&&&&&&&028000000.&&&&&028,000,000Open
RyzeBusiness&&&&&&&&&0250000.&&&&&0250,000Open
SearchlesSocial search and networking&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1000000 UnknownOpen
SconexAmerican high schools&&&&&&&&&0500000.&&&&&0500,000Open
SermoPhysicians&&&&&&&&&&040000.&&&&&040,000Open only to registered D.O.s and M.D.s in the U.S.A.
ShelfariBooks&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1000000 UnknownOpen
SoundpediaMusic&&&&&&&&03500000.&&&&&03,500,000Open
SportsviteRecreational sports&&&&&&&&&&018000.&&&&&018,000Open
StickamLive video streaming and chat.&&&&&&&&01305051.&&&&&01,305,051Open
Student.comInternational teens and colleges&&&&&&&&&0850000.&&&&&0850,000Open
StudiVZUniversity students, mostly in the German-speaking countries&&&&&&&&04000000.&&&&&04,000,000Open
Tagged.comGeneral&&&&&&&030000000.&&&&&030,000,000Open
TakingITGlobalSocial action&&&&&&&&&0145000.&&&&&0145,000Open
TravBuddy.comTravel&&&&&&&&&0760000.&&&&&0760,000Open
TravellerspointTravel&&&&&&&&&0105000.&&&&&0105,000Open
tribe.netGeneral&&&&&&&&&0602876.&&&&&0602,876Open
TwitterMicro-blogging, RSS, updates&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1000000 UnknownOpen
UtterzMicro-blogging, RSS, Audio updates via mobile device. Reads text messages over the phone.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1000000 UnknownOpen
VoxBlogging&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1000000 UnknownOpen
WAYNTravel and lifestyle&&&&&&&&08000000.&&&&&08,000,000Open to people 18 and older
WebBiographiesGenealogy and biography&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1000000 UnknownOpen
Windows Live SpacesBlogging (formerly MSN Spaces)&&&&&&&040000000.&&&&&040,000,000Open
Wis.dmQuestions and answers about anything and everything&&&&&&&&&&020000.&&&&&020,000Open
Woophytravel & photography, photo sharing website&&&&&&&&&&023000.&&&&&023,000Open
XangaBlogs and "metro" areas&&&&&&&040000000.&&&&&040,000,000Open
XINGBusiness&&&&&&&&04000000.&&&&&04,000,000Open
Yahoo! 360°Linked to Yahoo! IDs&&&&&&&&04700000.&&&&&04,700,000Open to people 18 and older, (Yahoo! login)
Yahoo! MashYahoo's new SNS - Still in beta&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1000000 UnknownInvite-only while in beta
ZooomrUniversal photo sharing&&&&&&&&&&&&&&-1.1000000 UnknownOpen (OpenID)

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Looking for Legba - A dangerous crosswalk


To the Furious:
Be cautious out there; these, our crowded, crazy corridors of Ye Olde Neue York contain a great, godless gaggle of fattened geese - our neighbors in spirit and in fact - ready for an untimely demise at the death-dealing end of a darting, dodging taxicab.  I serendipitously stumbled upon this striking sapphire-and-silver siren for the sighted.  Behold, Legba has betrayed his beloved and given this crosswalk over to obfuscating oblivion.
If you find yourself fated to forge across this duplicitous and deceitful dead-end, take heed!

Be well.  Be strong.

Be Furious.  

Saturday, January 19, 2008

I am The Fury...


...who the hell are you?

My friend gave me a new nickname, a new mission, and a new blog idea - The Fury.  I am tech support and IT guidance.  I unleash my knowledge in carefully-coordinated cacophonies of creative commitment to my corporation's cooperative conquest.  I'm a pro-am photographer and part-time musician.  And full-time lover.

This is the beginning, not the end.  To all of my Furious Fans: Be well.  Be Strong.

Be Furious.