Web-Tones

Tim Berners-Lee reads Web-tones?

Link: BBC NEWS | Technology | Web in infancy, says Berners-Lee. Well not really, but he does agree with me that it is still early in web years. Even though what we have seen so far is amazing, even despite the fact that geeks are disposed to hyperbole, we have not seen the best of the web yet. Why? One of the reasons is that improved broadband speeds will once again redefine what is possible. Innovation rides on top of infrastructure and currently the infrastructure does not support all (or even most) of the things that we would like to do.

I predict that we are at an inflection point once again. The slow economy will not disrupt it as it did post dot.com bubble. There is now widespread consensus that the Internet represents the future in industry after industry. This round of innovation is also likely also to come from unexpected places. It will be driven as much by the creative use of existing technology as it is by the creation of more/better technology. That is the real inflection point. We are quickly moving away from  Internet domination by techno geeks to domination by the masses. As Clay Shirky says here comes everybody.

SaaS is a no brainer!

Link: Rough Type: Nicholas Carr's Blog: McKinsey surveys the new software landscape. The software as a service model is a "no brainer" and it is not surprising that McKinsey is finding growth. Just about all the trend reports I read these days are pointing in that direction and it seems obvious why. I just want to use software but I don't want to be in the business of upgrading it and supporting the hardware necessary to run it. Most small businesses will soon move in great numbers to this model, and many have already done so.

What about small law firms? Some boutiques will make the move, but the legal industry will likely lag for the most part. There are many that fear the security black hole that is the Internet. This is a legitimate concern but finding a trusted provider (read big) is a viable solution.  No one can convince me that the server room down the hall (for most small firms and many large ones) is more secure than Google Apps (paid edition).

Just ask 2/3 of the legal community in New Orleans how secure their files were? Yes, the legal industry as a whole will lag; all  the more reason why prudent risk takers should embrace it. It presents an opportunity to scale at a fraction of the costs. In these tough economic times low cost infrastructure is more than a competitive advantage, it could mean survival.

Long arm of the law?

Link: Malware gets a EULA - Boing Boing. Here even the bad guys are trying to control downstream uses of their stuff. Of course, for obvious reasons, illegal activity will not be protected under any doctrine where the subject matter itself is illegal, however it is somewhat amusing that such an attempt is made. Of course, these guys have other ways to attempt to enforce the agreement and one that should not be discounted willy nilly by prospective users--especially if they are who they say they are.

Just another indicator that when it comes to the Internet, it is the wild, wild west all over again. Except the borders have expanded and the wildness appears to be coming from all directions. Wonder if they had any legal help in preparing the EULA?

Brave New Internet(s)

Morgan Stanley’s March Internet Trends Report: Social Applications Dominating: It looks like social networking is certainly not a "fad" if these numbers are reliable. One extremely  interesting data point is the non-US growth that is occurring. It remains to be seen, outside of the "big boys," how many online entrepreneurs can tap into the growth that is occurring elsewhere. Americans have traditionally (for the most part) been culturally unaware of rest of the world. We tend not to speak any language other than English. There is something happening "out there" but we need to step outside of our comfort zone in order to leverage it.

Content Ownership Showdown!

Sports Blogging: Yeah this controversy is probably headed for the Supreme Court. Why? Well because big money is on either side of the "v" and the issue needs addressing. Professional sports organizations are concerned with the sports media using too much video in blogs and other Internet based channels. The legal issues raised are the usual suspects: fair use, the first amendment, and intellectual property rights.

Mac v. PC

Rick Georges, Futurelawyer & Godfather: I should have known this was coming. Where is Grant Griffiths when I need him? Rick has a good point and made his case (quite eloquently I might add) in a recent article in the ABA Journal. There are switching costs and they are painful. I am getting use to the Mac (slowly) but if I want to print something I go back to XP running under Parallels.

So what was the business reason for making the switch? I am now practicing law with the Digital Business Law Group and my partner has a Mac. We are running a VOIP  phone system and, for computing compatibility reasons, I decided to switch. My partner was not about to. You don't see very many people moving from the Mac to the PC.

That said, here's a point that Rick is going to love. The VOIP system did not require XP, but the "Softphone" interface was much more sophisticated than the crude version supplied for the Mac. So no, my partner did not make the switch, but he will be running Parallels for better VOIP functionality. In addition, the CTO for the firm is a Mac evangelist and I have the required support that will facilitate the transition.

I do like the interface. I like the apps the come with OS X. There is lots to like about the Mac, but the transition is not nearly as seamless as the commercials would have you believe. Do not attempt this unless you have a good business reason and support.

Looking for inspiration?

Check out the 212 Movie! This is one of the best pieces I have seen on these Internet(s) ever. I have been surfing for quite some time, before Netscape; before Mosaic. This short piece is phenomenally well done and quite moving.

It will make your day.

Switching Costs

I have made the decision to go the darkside and am switching to the Mac. I am excited about it? No. Are there legitimate business reasons for making the move? Yes. But I have to keep telling myself it will all be worth it in the end! I am quite sure that this is true but currently I am frustrated that things don't quite work the way they use to.

Parallels is making the transition easier since I can still run XP and it appears to work just fine (so far). But, even so, it is just amazing how attached we become to our devices. Now I don't really consider myself a luddite altogether; I mean, I made my living in the tech sector for quite awhile and did more than my fair share of hacking, and yet,  as we speak, I am having to use the arrow keys to go back and forth to the end of the line because I can't figure out (yet) where the frickin' "end" key is on the Mac.

I downloaded Firefox for the Mac because Safari is painfully slow and now I can't find the app. I mean how hard is that? But it is no longer on the "dock" (I guess that is what that damn thing at the bottom of the screen is called, it is not the "taskbar" as in Windows, so I have to learn some new jargon as well) and it is too late to call my buddy that convinced me that indeed this was the way to go. :) You can be damn sure I will be calling in the morning though!

Ok, but there is more to this post than some personal griping, despite the fact that I could go on and on. Most of my "stuff" is now on the "cloud" and that was another reason that I thought it was a good time to make the move. I mean, all I need is a browser right? Wrong! The access device itself is a tool that I became quite attached to. I was comfortable with it. It was my onramp to the online world. Yeah, I can still get online but I did not really expect to be this frustrated. There I go bitching again.

Here's the point (finally), while Apple and Google are going to continue to make inroads into Microsoft's monopoly, there is NOT going to be a major shift from Windows anytime soon. Can you imagine the pain that an organization with 1000 people would go through if you suddenly switched the onramp. The CIO better have his resume updated and be headed for a startup, because brother there would be a mutiny to end all mutinies. It is not like moving from the mainframe to the PC. Why? Because think about it, how many executives and marketing and sales people actually used 3270 screens? Yeah that it was I thought. Now you have all the prima donnas that will be impacted and it ain't going to happen. Not in my lifetime.

Glass half full or half empty?

Link: Strategic Legal Technology :: The Future of Law Practice: Change or More of the Same?. Some traditions, such as the practice of law, seem capable of resisting changing more than others. But the keyword here is "resisting." What is driving change in knowledge based industries is a force that is inexorable, it eventually transforms everything in its path.

Yes, the "good old boy" network is still alive and well, but it is leaking and there are signs that it is a little ragged at the edges. Marc Chandler at Cisco may appear to be the exception, but more likely he is giving voice to what others are thinking but cannot articulate as well. In other words Marc "gets it" and part of what he gets, IMHO, is the generational divide. There are those that were "born digital" and the rest of us that either simply gravitated to the digital universe because of our experiences and inclinations, or will be brought there "kicking and screaming."

When the levee finally breaks (and it will) there will be plenty of folks struggling to swim in unchartered waters.

Linking good for business?

Link: Join The Web Content Conservation Movement - Publishing 2.0. Linking also just makes good business sense because once all the megaphones of the various echo chambers begin to fade (start leaking because of the noise), readers will be drawn to where there is analysis and insight. I suppose that "conservation" is a good thing but human behavior tends to be driven more by self interest then by a need to contribute to the collective. Even when we believe that contributing to the collective is a good thing. It is not how we are wired.

Neighbors

I have a great neighbor. His name is Frank Barrett (family name is really Barrettino but the judge shortened it when his father emigrated from Italy. Maybe figured the family would fare better with a Waspy name?). He is 84 years old (more or less). Frank is a retired baker. Owned his owned bakeries since he was 22. Grew up in Pittsburgh. Served his country in WWII; definitely part of the greatest generation. Hard working. Honest. Street wise. Comes over so I can review various types of paper work he doesn't understand, but mostly comes over to shoot the breeze. If I don't see him in a couple of weeks I make it a point to give him a special invite. He waters my lawn twice a week (early bird gets up at 4:30 to walk) and keeps me informed of the neighborhood gossip.

Frank Barrett (Largo, FL) is one of many reasons that I love this country. His story is an American story. Smart, but undereducated, he managed to live the American dream. But this is not the end of the story. Frank continues to live the dream. Besides walking 40 minutes a day, he does daily aerobic exercise for another twenty. He loves to watch baseball and play the lotto. Goes out every day for 2-3 hours to have lunch, buy his lotto tickets and drink a few beers. Hasn't missed a day out in the four years that I have known him. Now Frank, as you might imagine, doesn't have a blog; I am sure he has never touched a computer in his entire life, but he is now on the Internet(s).

I was listening to Don Henley's CD "Inside Job" and specifically to "My Thanksgiving" when I thought of Frank. A couple of verses follow:

Now the trouble with you and me, my friend
Is the trouble with this nation
Too many blessings, too little appreciation
And I know that kind of notion well, it just ain't cool
So send me back to Sunday school
Because I'm tired of waiting for reason to arrive Its too long we've been living
These unexamined lives

Ive got great expectations
Ive got family and friends
Ive got satisfying work
Ive got a back that bends
For every breath, for every day of living This is my thanksgiving

Yeah it has been too long that we have been living these "unexamined lives." I don't have many friends like Frank Barrett, but I have a few. Some are not close enough to invite over for coffee, but because of the Internet they are not as far away as they use to be. I can email them. I can see them on live video. I  can talk to them for next to nothing using VOIP. I can go online and hangout where they hangout. I can do all of these things, but I don't do them enough. But that will change. Why? Because the wife and I have been blessed with grandchildren and these kids were born digital. They don't live close but we can still be part of their lives. So I think that my grandchildren are inspiring me to become more connected just like Frank Barrett inspires me to be more connected.

For every breath, for every day of living This is my thanksgiving

Like Walt, I too hear America singing, our best days lie ahead. The dream remains alive in the 21 Century. The Internet will play a role. Sure it is great for commerce, but I am confident it will drive the American Renaissance. I wrote about that in What Comes After What Comes Next? many moon ago.

You heard it hear first.

Roll your own "A" List

From time to time you hear someone complaining about how “A” list bloggers are gatekeepers and other similar whining. I wrote about that here. Sure there is an “A” list. So what? The “A” list built the “A” list. It is their thing. How did they build it? By being interested in the same things, writing about the same things, and cross-linking like madmen (and madwomen). In other words, they staked out a piece of Internet real estate and took possession of it. Good for them.

The reality is that there are many “A” lists. It depends on the space. Usually when people refer the “A” list they mean “tech bloggers.” There is a huge tech “echo chamber” out there and for some that defines the universe. That is a small piece of the Internet universe and probably becoming smaller. I mean, how many new FriendFeeds can the world support? I happen to like FriendFeed, but you get my drift.

What is most often missed is that anyone can roll his or her own “A” list. Start writing about something you are passionate about and linking to others that do the same. Any topic imaginable can be looked at from a new angle. Pick an angle that sheds some light, and link, link, link. The six degrees of separation thing works; Chris wrote about it here and I did here.

It is early in web years.

SEO Underground?

Probably the "best and the brightest" in the SEO space have always been underground. Any information shared with the masses at conferences and SEO Blogs (e.g. 10 best tips, techniques, etc.) is almost always link bait for the particular site/conference. In the other words, if the masses know about it, then by definition it is no longer insider info. This is constant theme of Michael Martinez, author of the popular SEO-Theory blog. Link Moses himself Eric Ward recently wrote about going completely underground as well.

There is nothing wrong with SEO conferences and SEO blogs. If you are trying to get started in this space then by all means jump in and become immersed. But a word of caution; after the initial swim in these waters be careful not to get sucked in by the undertow of the SEO echo chamber. Take a step back and reflect. Use your business sense to filter the BS. There is a lot of "snake oil" being sold and it tends to attract more snakes. Don't get bit.

There is an obsession in SEO circles with gaming Google. One of the older memes of the early Net was "content is king." There is still much more than a kernel of truth in this trite expression. What is the point (for an online entrepreneur) of driving traffic to a destination that provides little value? Whatever traffic you get: 1) will leave and won't convert; 2) may in fact get irked that their time was wasted (i.e. you are worse off than if they had never arrived). While it is true that "building it" is not enough (you have to get the word out), the initial focus needs to be on having a worthwhile destination.

Yeah content is king. But content is hard to get right and there are no quick fixes that can be bought for $49.95 a month and a couple of ginseng knives. That is the reason that SEO will become more and more of a vertical specialty, because content is a key part and to get the content "right" you must have knowledge of the context (i.e. the specific industry). SEO is not online marketing. SEO is not information architecture. SEO is simply a small piece of the puzzle.

Law firms leveraging the Internet?

If you want proof that in fact most law firms are not leveraging the Internet go here and review how many inbound links some of the top firms in Florida have to their websites. Sure inbound links are not the sole factor (perhaps not even the most important factor) to a site's popularity, but it is a factor nonetheless.

I suspect that many leading legal bloggers have hundreds of inbound links? Why is this important? Because many of these same bloggers, in addition to providing useful information on their blogs, are indirectly (and sometimes directly) promoting their practice sites as well. In other words, they "get" the web.

Sure the big boys have other ways to market, but what they are mostly unaware of is how much potential market share they may be leaking because they are ineffectively leveraging the medium. If IBM (a few years back) slowly nearly bled to death, does anybody really still believe that "bigness" is enough to prevent the "new kids on the block" from advancing their agendas?

Six Degrees of Separation

Some of my earliest telephony recollections were of sitcoms like "The Real McCoy" or "The Andy Griffith Show" where someone is cranking a phone, talking to an operator, and asking to speak to "Mabel". Or even closer to home, my grandmother, wanting to call home to the "old country", and having to call an ATT International operator, give them the name and number of the relative she was trying to contact, and  then sitting anxiously next to the phone for 30 minutes waiting for the call back and the connection to go through. Half of you will have no idea what I am even talking about and the other half (the half that believes Kennedy was a president, not a space center) will think you are having flash backs to a past life.

Now, of course, you are only 10 - 14 digits (depending on if you are calling international) from virtually any person on the planet. Third worlders who may sometimes not have access to running water or electricity on a daily basis, will have a cell number and a Yahoo account. Did you miss that?  Let me say it again slowly. My son knows people in Uganda that only have electricity every other day, may or may not have running water, but have cell phones and can log into a Yahoo account at an Internet cafe.

These kind of reflections usually lead to a nostalgic "we've come a long way baby" or even too an Alvin Toffleresque shock. But where it should lead you is this: To what extent is the information I govern esoteric or public, brokered or distributed? How easy is it for people to connect to my cloud?

In 1909, Guglielmo Marconi calculated that it would take 5.83 radio relay stations to cover the globe. I contend that (the day is soon coming if not already here) if the information someone needs is more than six mouse clicks away, your technology is as antiquated as Mayberry's phone system. – Chris Saah

It is early in web years!

I have been doing more than my usual share of hardcore surfing in preparation for the launch of a new “digital venture.” Much of this has been related to SEO and online marketing in general. This post has been “brewing” for more than a week now and I finally found some bandwidth to get it out.

Some posts are obviously “routine” and others require much more thought/editing, and hence the delay. I have great admiration for those bloggers that apparently can consistently write long “stream of consciousness” posts while at the same time making them eminently readable and coherent (either they have more talent or they don’t sleep much—likely both). I admit that for me these kinds of posts are a bit more painful to write.

I had the opportunity to listen to Chris Matthews speak a few months back and wanted to borrow his five key points with respect to “why it is early in web years?” I am neither a big fan (though I admit to watching “Hardball” in a past life when I watched more TV than I do now) nor a Matthews’ basher, but he was quite interesting and entertaining. His talk had nothing to do with the web. I am just using his five key points (I’ll call them rules) as a metaphor (while giving Chris his “props” at the same time).

Note to self.

Rule #1: Get in the game

It has often been said, but bears repeating, to “get” the web you have to “live” the web. You don’t live the web simply because you use Google and read the web. You have to join the conversation. You have to make some mistakes. If you want to leverage enabling technologies, whether it is blogging, social media, twitter or the next new thing, you need to start experimenting with them. If you want to learn about SEO you have to do some SEO. The same holds true for PPC. No, you don’t need to press all the buttons, but you are not going to “get it” if everything is delegated either. Why? Because you won’t understand what it is you asking someone else to do, since you don’t have the first clue. In short, if you want to play the game you have to get in the game and get off the sidelines.

Rule #2 Listen

Listening is painful because there is a lot of “snake oil” being sold and sometimes from corners that you least suspect. You can waste a lot of money and time (wasting the latter may have even more negative implications) if you don’t learn to listen. But, with the noise to information ratio so high, the first problem is figuring out whom you should listen to. There are more “experts” than “Carter has pills” (who the hell is Carter?) and you must sift through and triangulate the BS before you arrive at any sense of clarity. This is not a trivial exercise and it can’t be accomplished from the sidelines (see rule #1).

But lets just limit the conversation to online marketing. Sure SEO is important, but that is only a piece of the puzzle. If you are going to completely turn your online marketing over to Google and the SEO rabble (unless of course you find the needle in the haystack) then by all means plow ahead. But your business judgment should guide you online as it does off line. Online marketing is mostly about having a strategy and building key relationships (same as off line). If you think that all you need are links then it is clear that you haven’t been online long enough to realize that that particular game has been over for quite some time. What you really need is an interesting story to tell. You tell a story with content. Content is hard. That is the dirty little secret.

Rule #3 Ask

Sure you may eventually have to drop some coin on the problem. But you just might be amazed at what people are willing to tell you for free (often precisely because they believe you will drop some coin). Get engaged. Listen. Ask for some advice. Here’s some free advice, yeah you didn’t ask but I am giving it to you anyway. There are no solutions to the online marketing problem. There are processes that you need to develop and maintain over time. If you want a quick fix go to Starbucks and buy some espresso. Hey, I would like to press the PFM key and get results just like everybody else, but we all know (or should) that is not the way it works. Yeah asking might be humbling but there is simply too much complexity in the world. Get over it.

Rule #4 Get along with your competitors (practice civility)

The distance between two points on the network is zero. The circles are small. Be careful. How many reputations have imploded due to an organization’s own actions? Sure, there are powerful ways to leverage the network, but the network can also punish with devastating ferocity if you don’t understand its ethos. There are acceptable and unacceptable modes of behavior. You can run but you can’t hide. The network will find you. You can disagree. It is important to disagree. You can have controversial opinions. It is important to have controversial opinions. All of that is fair game if you practice civility. There are no reasons to create acrimony where civil conversation works just as well.

Rule #5 Wherever you go that is where you are (huh?)

Ok, I have no idea what Chris meant by this one but it is a “five rule post” so I have to give it a shot. This is how I think this one works for the web. The web is a journey. It takes us to places both near and far (i.e. to our understanding of the evolving “digital universe”). We must travel often and travel well. There are lots of opportunities for exploration. This journey that we are on is in its infancy. You are not too late. The journey has barely gotten started. It will continue to surprise us. That is, if we let it. It is still early in web years. If this were a book we don’t as yet have a table of contents. Yeah the ship has set sail but we have no earthly idea where it is headed.

Find a good story and tell it. Get in the game (find a boat). Listen. Ask. Practice civility. Wherever you go that is where you are.

Lawyers Blaming IT? The song remains the same.

Link: Strategic Legal Technology :: Blaming IT. Ron has an interesting take on the results of the survey, and no doubt there is probably enough "blame" to go around, but the problem is more deeply rooted. Many knowledge workers are struggling with information overload and Ron's point about "hygiene" is well taken, but hygiene has to start from a strategic perspective at a firm vis-a-vis how information should be managed. Without the necessary vision in place, the lone knowledge worker will continue to "burn out."

The quantity (and velocity) of the information that we need to deal with is only going to increase. The problem lies somewhat in the mis-use of email (other collaborative technologies are better suited for many business conversations), but a much greater emphasis needs to be placed on organizational culture. The legal industry (and many others) are lagging in their understanding, and their people, productivity, and ultimately the bottom line will continue to suffer because of the deficit.

Anatomy of a ‘Blogging will kill you’ story?

Link: Anatomy of a ‘Blogging will kill you’ story: Why I didn’t make the cut | Between the Lines | ZDNet.com. This is too absurd a premise for it not to be link bait, an indication that in some perverse way that MSM is starting to get it. As Larry points out, there are stresses in all kinds of jobs, and I don't think that a reasonable person would believe that blogging would make it into the top 10, probably not even the top 50.

Project Virgle

Link: Official Google Blog: Announcing Project Virgle. You may have to volunteer  but I in fact was recruited for project Virgle (mission to Mars). In my case, I think it is a conspiracy to try and remove me from this planet before my time.

As Jimi once said: "See ya in the next world, don't be late."