Scoble’s Link Blog

http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2005/03/20/Women Here’s the problem: in some places, there aren’t enough women around. For example, high-traction blogs, newspaper op-ed pages, and the computer business. It’s obvious and it’s been obvious for a long time, but has provoked a flurry of pretty interesting conversation this last couple of weeks. This is provoked not only by the recent traffic but by a trip to the bathroom on a recent evening at the opera… Related…

http://www.nevon.net/nevon/2005/03/new_gm_podcast_.html GM posted a new podcast to the GM FastLane Blog yesterday - and hits the right spot with content, production and presentation that validates the concept of this rapidly-emerging medium as a business communication tool.In the style of talk radio - the show is described as ‘FastLane Radio’ - the 12-minute podcast is a telephone interview/conversation between host Deb Ochs and Clay Dean, GM’s Director of Design for Small and Mid-Size Vehicles, about the development of the new Pontiac Solstice car including discussion on its features, why it might appeal to people and how the car will further develop in future.With a music intro, here’s how the show starts:You’re about to merge into the GM fast lane and head straight …

http://www.micropersuasion.com/2005/03/size_matters_sl.html This morning I listened to a raging debate between Robert Scoble and Cory Doctorow that you can find here on IT Conversations.During the 46-minute program Doctorow, Scoble, trademark lawyer/blawgerMarty Schwimmer debate the ethics and legality of Google’s new ToolbarAutolink feature. Regular readers know I feel that Autolink violatesthe rights of content providers by inserting links they never intendedto create.As I listened to the podcast, two phrases kept repeating in my head:1) "size matters" and 2) "slippery slope." These two issues underscorewhy Autolink is such a critical issue that could determine the futuredirection of online content. Let’s take a closer look at each of these.First, the reason that Google Autolink is important is because "sizematters." This isn’t just any company changing …

http://www.micropersuasion.com/2005/03/warner_brothers.html Congrats to Eric Rice. He secured Warner Brothers as a podvertiser for his podcast. Related…

http://feeds.feedburner.com/JohnBattellesSearchblog?m=370 Starting next month, Yahoo Mail will go to one gig. Platform wars, Ho! Release in extended, I don’t have a link for the news, save the mail site, which does not mention it yet. One thing to note: According to figures I’ve seen lately, mail is about 40% of all Yahoo page views, it’s the silent driver of profits at that company. And that’s why Google is pushing Gmail so hard lately - those pageviews drive profits. Related…

http://weblogs.jupiterresearch.com/analysts/gartenberg/archives/007099.html Bad sources of information lead to bad reporting. This is pretty amazing since MSFT’s DRM remains un-hacked (at least for the moment) and shows a total lack of understanding how PyMusique works. Kimberly, next time you’re working on a story, give us a call and we’ll make sure you get the facts. I understand this stuff is murky and I know my colleagues and I spend a lot of time with the press to make sure they understand everything that’s going on. Speaking of PyMusique, Kimberly Hill over at Yahoo News/NewsFactor completely fumbles a story about DVD Jon’s latest bit of hackery, writing that what he’s done is “nothing new”. Her source? Nitin Gupta, a grossly misinformed analyst with …

http://www.zeldman.com/daily/0305d.shtml If your web content attracts people like you, you might be able to create something they want. Related…

http://jeremy.linuxquestions.org/blog/_archives/2005/3/21/461121.html A great article from Danese Cooper, who was an Open Source evangelist at Sun and will soon be going to Intel. This article is a good look inside Sun and it shows that some people there really truly do get it. The article touches on Open Sourcing Java and also states that Sun contacted Linus before the whole OpenSolaris thing, which I didn’t know. As always, Linus answers in a way that you’ve come to expect (and that I really respect and appreciate).-jeremy Related…

http://www.markme.com/jd/archives/007304.cfm Who’s “news”? Jeff Jarvis brings together some links from people offended by various sources listed within Google News. (A bit later he asks for both “who’s in who shouldn’t be” and “who’s not in who should be”.) Lots of people… Related…

http://seems2shel.typepad.com/itseemstome/2005/03/at_the_soul_of_.html I just posted the second half of my interview with Blake Ross, the extraordinary 19-year-old Firefox pioneer, over at the book site.  This follows closely a lunch with his partner Joe Hewitt and a talk on the formation of ICQ with Yossi Vardi. I’ve been high as a kite from these.  This happens to me when I get around people with entrepreneurial souls.  It has happened like that through a life of working with them.It dawned on me tonight, that start ups I’ve known divide into tellers of two stories:(1) We saw a sustainable economic opportunity, drew up a business plan and raised some capital;(2) We developed this because we had to.  We wanted something that we could use ourselves …