Mark Evans

What’s Technorati?

There’s a lot of buzz today about Technorati’s new now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t Digg-like tool called WTF (Steve Rubel captured screen shots before the service was pulled down). You can get a variety of takes on WTF from folks such as Mathew Ingram and Mr. Arrington but what struck me about WTF (other than the, well, colourful name) is how yet another feature from Technorati fits into the greater strategic scheme of things.

I mean, Technorati’s raison d’etre is apparently to be the world’s leading blog search engine - and I think they’re still among the best despite competition from Google, Sphere, Feedster, etc.. But what puzzles me about Technorati’s direction is how its move into non-search services enhances the core search offering, which is struggling to keep up with the blogosphere’s growth. Sure, you don’t want to be a one-trick pony but lots of people will tell you Technorati has to do a better job at search before it branches off into other areas.

Technorati’s multi-faceted strategic direction struck a chord after reading a recent post by Mapping the Web that talked about companies trying to be “too many thing for too many people” by offering lots of features rather than one to three really good features.

“How often do you read a features set that is over a page long and you’re left wondering… “WTF does this thing actually do for me?” It’s a daunting reality. Now, isn’t it refreshing when you browse a feature set that is minimal (only in terms of size). You can paint a clear picture in your head as to what the system/site/software can accomplish for you.”

Maybe Technorati should take this advice to heart.

Technorati Tags: Technorati

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Web 2.0 Entering the Mainstream

Has Web 2.0 reached the tipping point where it’s about to stumble into the mainstream? Read/WriteWeb’s Alex Iskold believes this is about to happen based on the activities of mainstream media such as Time and the NYT that are enthusiastically embracing tools such as RSS, deli.ico.us and Digg.

“It appears that we are nearing a tipping point for the mass adoption of prominent web 2.0 services, like digg and del.icio.us,” he said. “Endorsement by mainstream media opens these services up to millions of people who otherwise would either not know about them, or not take them seriously. So these are not just links, these are literally endorsements - or recognition of additional value for mainstream media.”

McManus is definitely on to something given some of the recent conversations I’ve been having with corporate executives who realize this Web 2.0 phenomena is starting to get interesting, and perhaps it’s time to start looking at whether any of them can be adopted. One of the challenges facing the mainstream is figuring out what applications are worth exploring. Do you get into Digg and del.ici.us, or try to find tools that are better, more user-friendly, easier to install, etc. - not an easy task given the growing number of tools/services in each category. But the fact companies are started to talk about Web 2.0 tools is a fairly impressive indication that they’re catching up to the rest of us.

What I tell companies looking at Web 2.0 tools is experiment, dabble, play, and not be disappointed if something that’s rolled out fails to resonate with employees, customers, investors, etc. It’s still early in the game so there is plenty of time to figure out what works and what doesn’t. The only way they’re really to going fail is if they choose to ignore Web 2.0 tools.

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Stating the (Wireless) Obvious

According to Moody’s, Canada’s wireless market is “an oligopoly”. And, not surprisingly, prices are twice as high as the U.S., which has caused market penetration (56%) to lag behind the U.S. (76%) Stop the presses, you mean Canada’s wireless carriers aren’t aggressively battling each other for business by offering consumers attractive deals? You mean all the talk among wireless executives about “disciplined pricing” is just code for raising prices higher so ARPU can be increased.

Well, wonders never cease. And I thought there was healthy competition within Canada’s wireless market as carriers fought tooth and claw for market share. Then again, the Canadian government did shrink the competitive landscape when it approved Rogers’ $1.4-billion acquisition of Microcell. And it’s not like the MVNO market has spurred more competition, although Virgin Mobile is really trying hard to be a pain the ass to Telus, Rogers and Bell.

Who knows, maybe the de-regulation of the local telephone market will cause home phone prices to increase, which, in turn, could make wireless service more attractive. Then again, there’s no indication wireless carriers will stop chanting the “disciplined pricing” mantra any time. As long as there’s growth left in the market, why offer deals when there’s no need for them?

Technorati Tags: Canada, Wireless

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How to Generate Vista Buzz: Spend $500M on Ads

Vista is a nice upgrade from Windows XP but it’s hardly a ground-shaking product even after five years of development and 50 million lines of code. The lack of enthusiasm has been muted (highlighted by the WSJ’s Walter Mossberg who described it as “worthy, but largely unexciting product”.

So what can Microsoft do to get people talking about Vista, which has many attractive features and far better security? How about spending a whopping $500-million on advertising, which makes the $150,000 or so that Microsoft spent sending free Ferrari laptops to bloggers look like a drop in the bucket. Over the next little while, it is going to be impossible to avoid Vista. There will TV commercials, billboards, magazine, newspaper ads and public transit vehicles featuring Vista. Even Bill Gates is getting into the action by making appearances all over the place, including The Daily Show.

The strange and ironic part about spending $500-million (which is higher than the GDP of 17 countries) is, at the end of the day, most people will end up buying Vista anyway. At some point, you’ll have no choice but to trade in your Pentium III, 1GB machine for someone even more powerful, which, of course, will be powered by Vista. It’s like that old Fram oil filter ad where the garage mechanic says “You can pay me now, or you can pay me later”. Well, you get Vista now or get Vista later but either way you’re going to get it - unless you’re a Mac-ite.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting Vista is a bad or unworthy product. I’m just saying there’s no reason to be rushing out the door to upgrade if your computer is doing most of what you want it to do now. My sense is Vista is just phase one of a multi-part plan to introduce a far better OS than XP. Rather than delay Vista’s launch, Microsoft finally got it/rushed it out the door, which likely explains why people see it as alright but not earth-shattering.

For more, check out this video by the NYT’s David Pogue, who looks at how much Microsoft borrowed by the Mac. Engagdet’s Peter Rojas blogged live from the official Windows Vista launch event in NYC, while CrunchGear offers up six good reasons not to upgrade to Vista.

Technorati Tags: Advertising, Microsoft, Vista

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Plagarism is Alive and, Sadly, Well

Wordpress boss Matt Mullenweg believes spam is one of the blogosphere’s biggest threats but another increasingly troubling issue is plagiarism. We’re not talking about people taking the ideas of other bloggers but outright theft of entire posts or passages. A recent example is The Client Side, which had its posts ripped off without attribution or even a hat tip by Scott Kress, an experienced blogger who should know better. Over the weekend, several b5 bloggers noticed a blog called All Women Talk is using other people’s content without permission.

Within the media, plagiarists are treated like vermin and quickly ostracized. In the blogopshere, it seems many people are still trying to get their heads around plagiarism. On one hand, it can be somewhat flattering to have your content “borrowed” by someone else because it suggests what you’re writing is interesting. Many blogs using your content will try to get around it by linking back to your blog or giving you credit.

After awhile, however, you begin to realize you’re doing all the work while someone else is reaping the benefits (readership, traffic, advertising revenue) by scraping your content. I mean, why should someone ever visit your blog if they can read it somewhere else? And pretty soon you realize the linkbacks are insincere tokens of thanks. Rather than giving you some props/credit, they’re a cheap and inadequate way of quasi-asking for permission.

So what can you do if another blogger is ripping off your work? You can start with a friendly comment or e-mail, suggesting that while you’re flattered by the attention, it would be better if they put together their own thoughts on a particular topic while citing the blog where they got the idea through a hat tip or link. If that doesn’t work, a harsher e-mail or a post on your blog outing the plagiarist may be the next move. In extreme cases, you can considering using Digital Millennium Copyright Act, (DMCA) to compel people to take down material seen as infringing on copyrighted content.

For more information on plagiarism, check out Plagiarism Today, a blog that looks at plagiarism, content theft and copyright issues.

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LinkedIn Cashing In

LinkedIn is one of those rare Web 2.0 companies - it has a business model (sponsorships, subscriptions, advertising) and it’s profitable, it’s become a highly useful tool for more than nine million users, and built a loyal following given all the LinkedIn requests that hit my in-box. So, it’s no surprise the company has raised $11.8 million of venture capital. As much these VC deals are interesting, I’m waiting for the first tranche of Web 2.0 IPOs to hit the market to see if anyone has the chutzpah to actually do an offering. Then again, why go through all the effort if someone’s going to make the liquidation a snap by making a lucrative acquisition offer.

Technorati Tags: Venture Capital

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Plagarism is Alive and Well

Wordpress boss Matt Mullenweg believes spam is one of the blogosphere’s biggest threats but another increasingly troubling issue is plagiarism. We’re not talking about people taking the ideas of other bloggers but outright theft of entire posts or passages. A recent example is The Client Side, which had its posts ripped off without attribution or even a hat tip by Scott Kress, an experienced blogger who should know better. Over the weekend, several b5 bloggers noticed a blog called All Women Talk is using other people’s content without permission.

Within the media, plagiarists are treated like vermin and quickly ostracized. In the blogopshere, it seems many people are still trying to get their heads around plagiarism. On one hand, it can be somewhat flattering to have your content “borrowed” by someone else because it suggests what you’re writing is interesting. Many blogs using your content will try to get around it by linking back to your blog or giving you credit.

After awhile, you begin to realize you’re doing all the work while someone else is reaping the benefits (readership, traffic, advertising revenue) by scraping your content. Why should someone ever visit your blog if they can read it somewhere else? You soon realize the linkbacks are insincere tokens of thanks. Rather than giving you some props/credit, they’re a cheap and inadequate way of asking for permission.

So what can you do if another blogger is ripping off your work? You can start with a friendly comment or e-mail, suggesting that while you’re flattered by the attention, it would be better if they put together their own thoughts on a particular topic while citing the blog where they got the idea. If that doesn’t work, a harsher e-mail or a post on your blog outing the plagiarist may be the next move. In extreme cases, you can use the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, (DMCA) to compel people to take down seen to be infringing on copyrighted content.

For more information on plagiarism, check out Plagiarism Today, a blog that looks at plagiarism, content theft and copyright issues.

Technorati Tags: Plagiarism

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Porn for Mobile Warrior

Featuring one of the best headlines I’ve seen in a long time - “Is that your cellphone in your pocket…?”, the National Post had a story a couple days ago about wireless carrier Telus quietly offering downloads of pornographic photos and videos for about $3 or $4 a shot You’ve got to love the explanation from Telus spokesman Jim Johannson, who said since porn is already widely available on mobile browsers, the carrier has “introduced — in a very responsible way — adult content that’s in behind proper age verification and that’s compliant with provincial standards and regulations.”

Ha! I guess that makes it alright. What Johannson should have said is: “Like any ARPU-hungry carrier, we’re looking for new ways to enhance wireless data revenue. Clearly, porn is a lucrative online business so it’s a no-brainer to serve consumers who want a mobile fix”. According to the Post, the North American mobile phone users spent $400-million on adult photos and video last year. No one should overlook the fact the porn industry is always on the bleeding edge of technology - be it VCRs, e-commerce, streaming video, DVDs and, now, wireless.

Technorati Tags: Pornography, Telus

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The Monetization of User-Generated Content

So, YouTube’s going to start sharing the wealth, eh? I guess it’s easy to feel generous after you’ve pocked $1.65-billion from Google, and never have to work again. There’s lot of chatter about why YouTube is doing it (check out Scott Karp and Nick Carr for a small taste) but the bigger and far more interesting development is how the user-generated content industry is starting to become a business as opposed to a hobby/brand building/ranting/ego massaging exercise.

As Scott Karp makes clear, more people want to get paid for the content they produce (and we’re not talking about link love, trackbacks, RSS subscriptions and traffic). We’re talking dollars and cents (but mostly dollars given people are tired of getting cents from AdSense). Does this mark the beginning of the end of the user-generated content revolution that has seen millions of people offer their insight, knowledge and skills for free or next to nothing. Probably not but it does indicate the USG market is already starting to evolve as content producers are saying “show me the money”, while distributors (YouTube, Revver, etc.) look to embrace different ways to monetize their traffic to turn a cool, popular service into a business.

In theory, the concept of getting paid could be a could thing for USG because it could encourage people to create better content - if you believe in the concept this work will be more popular and, as a result, more lucrative. It’s content capitalism at work. Perhaps an ancillary benefit will be a consolidation of the USG industry as people who want to be paid but get nothing or little for their efforts decide to move on to other things.
Update: As much as money is coming into the user-generated content world, ego still plays a huge role in why people blog. Exhibit one is Robert Scoble, who detonated a flurry of discussion within the blogosphere after having a digital temper tantrum because after Engadget declined to link to a video story he did on new technology from Intel. Scoble’s not into blogging to make money (although it has jump-started his career in a major way) but his disappointment over the lack of links shows he’s got a healthy ego and his blog is part of that equation.

Technorati Tags: User Generated Content, Video, YouTube

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I was Hacked!

Computer hackers, viruses and phishing scams attack other people, right? It doesn’t affect the tech savvy, right? Well, I discovered the hard way that anyone is vulnerable to bad people online. It started about a week ago when someone tried to move a large amount of money out of my bank account. Fortunately, our tenant had bounced a rent check so there was actually no money in the account to be transferred out.

A few days later, the bank was able to tell me that the transfer request was made by Paypal, which was strange because I hadn’t made a major transaction involving Paypal. So, I called Paypal to see what was up. To make a long story short, some people in England and Indonesia had somehow broken into my Paypal account, changed the e-mail information and the password, and taken the money out, which prompted Paypal to demand additional funds from my bank account.

The story has a relatively happy ending (at least for me). After an hour on the phone with a terrific customer service person from Paypal (I wish I had taken down her name so I could have pass along my compliments to her boss), everything was sorted out and my Paypal account will be restored.

Aside from making me feel extremely vulnerable and giving my Luddite-like wife yet another reason to scorn the Internet, this incident has really caused me to reconsider how much information I provide online, where it’s stored, who has it and what I can do to be smarter. Given I’ve been actively online for 10 years, it may be late in the game for me to “clean the slate” entirely, but I’m definitely going to be more cautious about who gets my information in the future.

Note: Speaking of viruses, there’s an interesting post from the person who wrote the first computer virus 25 years ago, while Web Worker Daily has a post looking at people should be careful about giving personal information to Web 2.0 services. Mathew Ingram writes about Microsoft looking to get into the micro-payments business so it could compete against Paypal and Google Checkout.

Technorati Tags: Mark Evans, Paypal

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