I finally got around to reading the weekend papers, and came across a column by the Globe & Mail's Leah McLaren on how she's giving up the blogosphere. At least, I think she's giving up the blogosphere but it's difficult to tell. On one hand, she complains about how many blogs are nasty, they're “spectacularly boring” and there's too much “unedited noise”. Then, she goes on to talk about how some blogs are readable, including one by a friend. So, I'm confused, Leah. Sounds like you're torn but I can understand your dilemma. Yes, the blogosphere is full of noise and lots of crappy, unedited, self-indulgent writing, which makes it difficult to find the “good stuff” (however you want to define that). But there is also plenty of wonderfully insightful writing that would otherwise never find itself into the mainstream. It's this mix that makes the blogosphere so exciting, frustrating, interesting and, even, boring. While some people are already talking about the blogosphere reaching its zenith, I – and folks like Newsome.org – would argue that things are just getting started. Over time, I believe it will become easier for people to easily discover whatever they consider to be worth reading. But to dismiss the blogosphere or walk away from it is premature. So, Leah, stick around for awhile. With a little patience, I'll sure you find it an interesting place to be. Who knows, you may even feel the urge to write your own blog.
For more thoughts on the blogosphere and who gets to blog, check out Mathew Ingram's spirited post today, which includes a nice comment “war” with Scott Karp. Meanwhile, the Wall St. Journal steps into the fray with a story on the need for a more pragmatic, less “obsessive” approach to the blogosphere.
Why Carriers Love the Blackberry. Why Alec Saunders is Crying
As the Blackberry teeters on the verge of extinction in the U.S. after yet another legal loss, Alec Saunders has revealed a dirty, little secret about why ARPU-crazed wireless carriers love the Blackberry so they that they're willing to give it away. Saunders just received his monthly bill with a overage charge of $72. Puzzled, he discovered the “unlimited” plan offered to him by Rogers meant unlimited speed, not unlimited data. Sure he should have read the fine print but his experience illustrates a key reason why the love affair between the Blackberry and wireless carriers is so hot and heavy. First, the Blackberry is a cash-cow, and it will become even more lucrative with the launch of new high-speed networks and new Blackberries that finally have a half-decent Web browser. Combining bigger pipes and a better browser gets you more data usage. Now, here's the best part: most Blackberry users – unlike Poor Alec – don't care about much they pay for the service because they their companies pay their wireless bills because it's a business “tool”. If the Blackberry bill is $100 or $150 or $200 a month, so be it because it's not coming out of the user's pocket. But if you're a carrier, the Blackberry is the killer tool to jump-start data usage and ARPU because the Blackberry has become such a must-have corporate tool, everyone seems to have stopped looking at their bills. Maybe corporate bean-counters will start seeking cheaper alternatives (Good, Visto?) when the economy slows down and cost-cutting becomes a strategic necessity. Maybe then, they will realize how expensive using a Blackberry can be. While Alec may get little sympathy from Rogers, he make get some measure of satisfaction by signing an online petition against the company and its sneaky 25MB per month data plan.
Anyone Using Mollyguard for Online Registration?
In organizing a Web 2.0/blogging conference in early-May in Toronto, we're looking for an inexpensive way to handle online registration and payment. We stumbled across Mollyguard, which appears to fit the bill given we don't need a lot of bells and whistles. Anyone used/using Mollyguard? Any feedback on how well the service works and whether the fees are as good as they appear would be great. If you have other suggestions, that would also be welcome.
Stop Fooling Around…Time for the GBrowser
What a week for Google: the launch of the quickly-dissed Google Page Creator, rumours of a new voice-mail serivce and new e-commerce features
on Google Base. Come on, Google, let's stop fooling around. If you're
truly serious about making a splash in the Web-based applications
world, it's time to unveil the Google browser. With more being done
online, the browser has become the most important tool for a
growing number of Web users. It's the new “OS” for Web 2.0 so it is
puzzling why Google has embraced Mozilla and unleashed a few hundred
PhDs on the GBrowser. Sure, Google supports Firefox
with a few dedicated employees and a financial relationship that gives
Mozilla millions of dollars of revenue but it's peanuts for Google. By
launching a GBrowser could would have a centerpiece to feature and
promote its growing portfolio of services – imagine a toolbar featuring
tabs for Blogger, Picasa, Froogle, desktop, blog and regular search,
GMail, Google Base, Google Pages, News and Google Earth. Consider this
to be the ultimate Web Suite – a one-stop destination for doing pretty
much anything you want to do online (it would be even more interesting
with the launch of an online Office suite). The puzzling part is why
Google has jumped into the browser market yet. If Flock
can try to develop the Web 2.0 browser with a couple million dollars of
VC and a few employees, Google should be working on the IE-killer
rather than launching disappointing, slow-to-market services that offer
little in the way of innovation and seem to be abandoned as soon as
they unveiled.
iTunes' Golden Ticket
In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Willie Wonka sends out five Golden Tickets inside candy bars. The winners get
an invitation to the mysterious chocolate factory. Alex Ostrovsky received a Golden Ticket of sorts this week from Apple after he downloaded the one-billionth song on iTunes. His reward? Apple gave him a 20-inch-screen iMac, 10 iPods and a $10,000 iTunes gift card. Apple will also create a scholarship in Ostrovsky's name at the Juilliard School of Music.
i-Day for RIM/NTP…is – wait for it – Anti-Climatic
You have to love the RIM-NTP soap opera. Every day brings a new, fascinating twist, including a strange public negotiating foray by RIM co-CEO Jim Balsille (left) yesterday at a RBC conference in which he expressed a willingness to pay NTP a royalty of 5.7% of all Blackberry sales in the U.S. over the next seven years – a far cry from the 0.5% "offer" he made in a Wall St. Journal editorial last December. If the latest offer jump-starts a settlement, then today's court hearing starring Judge James Spencer may be a mute point. That said, it's still important to understand what Judge Spencer could do today. His options include:
1. Enforce an injunction that would stop Blackberry service in the U.S., even though the U.S. government has deemed it to be an essential service
2. Take into consideration the U.S. Patent Office's recent rejections of NTP's patents and dismiss NTP's lawsuit (extremely unlikely), or
3. Not make a decision from the bench today so he can give himself a few more weeks to determine the facts (a move that would disappoint the 100s of journalists camping out at his court room in Richmond, Va.
Another crucial point is despite the media frenzy hyping the fact Blackberry service in the U.S. will not stopping working today. At the very least, it will take to implement an injuction, as RIM has an opportunity to appeal the decision.
If you want to get deeper into this corporate soap opera, CNet has a selection of stories breaking out each part of the dispute, Russell Shaw interviews eight Blackberry "experts" about the injunction, while Blackberry Cool advises Blackberry users to stay calm.
Update: According to VentureWire, Good Technology Inc., which makes mobile e-mail software, has raised $20-million in a Series E round – perhaps taking advantage of the interest in Blackberry alternatives.
Update II: As expected – except by the media outlets such as MSNBC, which spent all morning warning about a Blackberry Doom scenario – Judge Spencer did not make a decision today. It appears he is encouraging the two sides to settle – otherwise he will impose an "imperfect" injunction. This strikes me as a pragmatic approach. Rather than doing something rash, he is hoping RIM and NTP comes to their senses before it's too late.
