Google Blogger Button (RSS Title)
Nr. 11 - September 25, 2003 - posted by Andis Kaulins
This is a test of the Google Toolbar "Blogger Button" which can be installed on the Google Toolbar using Microsoft Internet Explorer. If it works properly, this "InstaButton" means that website pages can be commented instantly from the Google Toolbar - albeit with minimal formatting options, but this should not be overly critical to blogs, since substance should rule over form.
Thursday, September 25, 2003
Wednesday, September 24, 2003
WEBLOG SEARCH at MOREOVER (MOREOVER.COM)
Moreover Weblog Search (RSS Title)
Nr. 10 - September 24, 2003 - posted by Andis Kaulins Press Release © 2003 Moreover Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved.
[The increasing importance of weblogs ( also known as blogs, or in jargon, if related to the law, often called "blawgs" ) as a source of information is highlighted by the following press release from Moreover.com]
FIRST ENTERPRISE-GRADE WEBLOG SEARCH
PRESS RELEASE: MOREOVER TECHNOLOGIES LAUNCHES FIRST ENTERPRISE-GRADE WEBLOG SEARCH
PRESS RELEASE
MOREOVER TECHNOLOGIES LAUNCHES FIRST ENTERPRISE-GRADE WEBLOG SEARCH
World first real-time weblog search to offer enterprises access to high value information
San Francisco, CA - September 22, 2003 - Moreover Technologies, the leading provider of aggregated online business information to enterprises, today announces that it has launched the first real-time weblog search tool for the enterprise. The product harvests information from over 25,000 hand selected, business-critical weblogs in real-time and enables corporate users to gain access to the high value news, commentary and consumer opinion that resides within weblogs.
Weblogs, or "blogs", are frequently-updated, private websites with a chronologically dated 'log' format. They take the form of personal commentaries on a diverse range of topics, from the writer's own life to their observations on business, politics and world events. This highly individual content can provide businesses with invaluable insight into perceptions of their business as well as highlighting news and information that is of particular interest. Blogs are increasingly becoming a key part of the media mix, both in terms of content creation and consumption. There are over 3 million active "bloggers" in the US and, according to the Pew Internet Report, approximately 8 million Americans visited blogs to find Iraqi war coverage.
To overcome the issue of the variable quality of blog content the team of human editors at Moreover Technologies assigns each blog a ranking that corresponds to the reliability, integrity and caliber of the blog thus enabling users to instantly identify high value information. Additionally, each blog is tagged with a wide range of metadata including, but not limited to, the number of incoming and outgoing links to it as well as the blog's status in the wider blogging community.
The aggregated blog information is also available to users as pre-configured or customized topical 'feeds' that provide users with access to relevant information as it appears online. Blog content will also be made available via Moreover’s ci-metabase product - a complete and constantly updated XML feed of all information harvested by Moreover - allowing a completely customised solution for the enterprise.
Jim Pitkow, CEO, Moreover Technologies, said: "Weblogs are increasingly being recognized as an important source of business-critical information. Blogs highlight the news that matters as well as providing instantaneous commentary and opinions on a wide variety of topics and events.
The addition of blogs to the content we already harvest again demonstrates our position at the forefront of aggregated, online business information. By looking for information beyond traditional news sites, Moreover can offer businesses a truly comprehensive service ensuring that our clients receive the information that is important to them wherever it appears and as soon as it appears."
# # #
For more information contact:
Patrick Herridge
Mantra PR
+4420-7907-7809
pherridge@mantra-pr.com
About Moreover Technologies:
Moreover Technologies is a leading provider of online aggregated business information. Its technology searches more than 5,500 hand selected news, corporate or government websites and discussion boards as often as every 15 minutes for new content. This content is then categorized and fed out to users - giving them a real-time insight into the news and issues that matter to them.
Headquartered in the San Francisco and the UK, Moreover Technologies serves blue chip customers, including Hill and Knowlton, CitiGroup and Microsoft.
© 2003 Moreover Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Nr. 10 - September 24, 2003 - posted by Andis Kaulins Press Release © 2003 Moreover Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved.
[The increasing importance of weblogs ( also known as blogs, or in jargon, if related to the law, often called "blawgs" ) as a source of information is highlighted by the following press release from Moreover.com]
FIRST ENTERPRISE-GRADE WEBLOG SEARCH
PRESS RELEASE: MOREOVER TECHNOLOGIES LAUNCHES FIRST ENTERPRISE-GRADE WEBLOG SEARCH
PRESS RELEASE
MOREOVER TECHNOLOGIES LAUNCHES FIRST ENTERPRISE-GRADE WEBLOG SEARCH
World first real-time weblog search to offer enterprises access to high value information
San Francisco, CA - September 22, 2003 - Moreover Technologies, the leading provider of aggregated online business information to enterprises, today announces that it has launched the first real-time weblog search tool for the enterprise. The product harvests information from over 25,000 hand selected, business-critical weblogs in real-time and enables corporate users to gain access to the high value news, commentary and consumer opinion that resides within weblogs.
Weblogs, or "blogs", are frequently-updated, private websites with a chronologically dated 'log' format. They take the form of personal commentaries on a diverse range of topics, from the writer's own life to their observations on business, politics and world events. This highly individual content can provide businesses with invaluable insight into perceptions of their business as well as highlighting news and information that is of particular interest. Blogs are increasingly becoming a key part of the media mix, both in terms of content creation and consumption. There are over 3 million active "bloggers" in the US and, according to the Pew Internet Report, approximately 8 million Americans visited blogs to find Iraqi war coverage.
To overcome the issue of the variable quality of blog content the team of human editors at Moreover Technologies assigns each blog a ranking that corresponds to the reliability, integrity and caliber of the blog thus enabling users to instantly identify high value information. Additionally, each blog is tagged with a wide range of metadata including, but not limited to, the number of incoming and outgoing links to it as well as the blog's status in the wider blogging community.
The aggregated blog information is also available to users as pre-configured or customized topical 'feeds' that provide users with access to relevant information as it appears online. Blog content will also be made available via Moreover’s ci-metabase product - a complete and constantly updated XML feed of all information harvested by Moreover - allowing a completely customised solution for the enterprise.
Jim Pitkow, CEO, Moreover Technologies, said: "Weblogs are increasingly being recognized as an important source of business-critical information. Blogs highlight the news that matters as well as providing instantaneous commentary and opinions on a wide variety of topics and events.
The addition of blogs to the content we already harvest again demonstrates our position at the forefront of aggregated, online business information. By looking for information beyond traditional news sites, Moreover can offer businesses a truly comprehensive service ensuring that our clients receive the information that is important to them wherever it appears and as soon as it appears."
# # #
For more information contact:
Patrick Herridge
Mantra PR
+4420-7907-7809
pherridge@mantra-pr.com
About Moreover Technologies:
Moreover Technologies is a leading provider of online aggregated business information. Its technology searches more than 5,500 hand selected news, corporate or government websites and discussion boards as often as every 15 minutes for new content. This content is then categorized and fed out to users - giving them a real-time insight into the news and issues that matter to them.
Headquartered in the San Francisco and the UK, Moreover Technologies serves blue chip customers, including Hill and Knowlton, CitiGroup and Microsoft.
© 2003 Moreover Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Sunday, September 14, 2003
More Best Blogs Blogged
More Best Blogs Blogged (RSS Title)
Nr. 9 - September 15, 2003 - posted by Andis Kaulins Copyright © 2003 by Andis Kaulins
MORE BEST BLOGS BLOGGED
The Blogging Network WEBLOG
The Blogging Network is trying the concept of "blogs for bucks". Will it work? I doubt it. Even the well-known and quite successful writer Stephen King tried to serialize a book (The Plant) online and was unsuccessful.
INSTAPUNDIT
On the other hand, let us say that a top-ranked, prolific and near-to-immediate blog such as InstaPundit went the way of "Pundit for Pay" - how many readers would stay?
NAPSTER and KAZAA
We might look to the "remains" of Napster (although iShareIt claims that "Napster lives on") and observe what happened when Napster tried to collect for file-sharing from its otherwise non-paying million membership. They were KaZaA'd by a program that has been downloaded over 200 million times worldwide and has pased ICQ as the world's number one download. Who is going to pay for something they can get just as easily elsewhere for free?
SARAH LANE'S Blog Report
Sarah's weekly series at Tech TV on "news and views from the world of bloggers" covers a broad spectrum of blogs, such as Sarah's July 2003 blog report on MoBlogs - Mobile Blogs, or her short blurb on Alternative blog-entry programs.
ROOT BLOG
Root Blog is a blog aggregator which they themselves define as
"aggregating the PoweR of Blogs! - Web Blog Directory"
BLOGCRITICS
Blogcritics describes itself as a "sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, and technology - updated continuously."
AKABLOG
Akablog is a blog by a technical writer at AOL who has a broad range of postings, many worthwhile.
CRESCAT SENTENTIA
Crescat Sententia by Will Baude has the answers to the recent 20 Questions for Tyler Cowen, which are a superb commentary on blogs in general.
DANIEL W. DREZNER
Daniel W. Drezner has a recent very useful posting on "Advice to new bloggers".
EURO PUNDITS
Euro Pundits gives a view of what the people on this side of the Atlantic are thinking.
BALTIC BLOG
The Baltic Blog focuses on a region of the World set to enter the European Union.
ALL ABOUT LATVIA
All About Latvia currently has good information on the European Union expansion.
LAUREL McMECHAN
Laurel McMechan's Physics Web Log "for 21st century physics and astronomy" cites to some of my best stuff on Stonehenge and the megaliths. Thank you, Laurel.
IAIN MURRAY
The Edge of England's Sword, "Voices from the Anglosphere", quotes the Queen of England. The Royals still are symbols for many - representing the historical vestiges of leadership of the modern civilized world.
ANTHONY WELLS
Anthony Wells' Journal is a solid bulwark in the British blogosphere.
OLIVER KAMM
Oliver Kamm defines his sphere as "politics, economics and culture" and definitely leans to the right of The Guardian, to which his latest posting gives a sound thrashing.
GROKLAW
Groklaw is an excellent legal blog by a paralegal par excellence.
VODKAPUNDIT
VodkaPundit touts itself as "Stirred, Not Shaken".
THE AGONIST
The Agonist sees itself as "thoughtful, global, timely".
TOM PAINE
Is intelligence AND passion the political answer? Tom Paine discusses punditocracy and liberal pundits while cogently faulting neo-liberalism for falsely intellectualizing passion out of the political equation - this is a great read regardless of your political persuasion.
CHRIS LAWRENCE
Chris Lawrence "Signifying Nothing - Infinite Diversity in Two Combinatons"
has some very good stuff posted on political science.
STRATEGY PAGE
The Man with the Golden Truck has to be a classic.
CROOKED TIMBER
This blog's motto is that "Out of the Crooked Timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made". Seems to be anti-Volokhite, but erudite. "Chris" posts the important truth that people tend to believe information which is congenial to their interests and disbelieve information which is not.
Hear, hear.
JACK BALKIN
Jack Balkin's Balkanization blog states punnily that "Balkanization is an unanticipated consequence of Jack M. Balkin". Balkin is Knight Professor of Constitutional Law and the First Amendment at Yale Law School and his legal analysis of legal issues shows deep insight (see particularly his posting on Thursday, August 21, 2003 on Chief Justice Moore As Administrator, Not Judge), even if one does not share his political leanings.
COLLEGE / UNIVERSITY APPLICATIONS
Not a blog but great reading for all parents with college-going kids, one should read
How to get your child into the right university - you may not like it, but it apparently works.
STRATFOR
STRATFOR (Strategic Forecasting, Inc.) uses the motto "Predictive, Insightful Global Intelligence" and we agree. Compare what the "war blogs" write with what you read here.
TAILORED BLOG
The Tailored Blog by Brendon Sinclair (also SitePoint Tribune author)
has a simple, basic, sometimes innovative and thus excellent blog on marketing.
THE BLOGGS
Along the same lines, Sinclair also a different kind of "blogg" (not "blog") for client hunters, employers looking for new staff, prospective employees, resume writers, college applicants, job seekers and just plain marketing folks,
at Joe/Julia "Bloggs".
LYING IN PONDS
Lying in Ponds tries to show the "absurdity of partisanship" by drawing a line between party preference and excessive partisanship.
PunditMania ® Mentions
ONE FATHER FOR DEAN
One Father for Dean describes itself as "A father and his politics" and as "A minor political odyssey for all the right reasons...and Howard Dean in 2004".
One Father for Dean picked PunditMania ® as a "Blog to Watch" - thank you - so I thought I better look at this blog and this man Howard Dean a bit closer. Dean is not only the first Presidential candidate to recognize and use the power of blogs effectively, but he has also profited from so-called "Meetups", so look for the internet concept found at Meetup.com ("Meetup is a free service that organizes local gatherings about anything, anywhere") to become a solid part of the social fabric in coming years.
THE TRUTH LAID BEAR
The Truth Laid Bear has the motto "A bear, the world, and the strong urge to hibernate". The Truth Laid Bear pointed its bear claw at PunditMania ® when we started the blog up. Thank you.
Nr. 9 - September 15, 2003 - posted by Andis Kaulins Copyright © 2003 by Andis Kaulins
MORE BEST BLOGS BLOGGED
The Blogging Network WEBLOG
The Blogging Network is trying the concept of "blogs for bucks". Will it work? I doubt it. Even the well-known and quite successful writer Stephen King tried to serialize a book (The Plant) online and was unsuccessful.
INSTAPUNDIT
On the other hand, let us say that a top-ranked, prolific and near-to-immediate blog such as InstaPundit went the way of "Pundit for Pay" - how many readers would stay?
NAPSTER and KAZAA
We might look to the "remains" of Napster (although iShareIt claims that "Napster lives on") and observe what happened when Napster tried to collect for file-sharing from its otherwise non-paying million membership. They were KaZaA'd by a program that has been downloaded over 200 million times worldwide and has pased ICQ as the world's number one download. Who is going to pay for something they can get just as easily elsewhere for free?
SARAH LANE'S Blog Report
Sarah's weekly series at Tech TV on "news and views from the world of bloggers" covers a broad spectrum of blogs, such as Sarah's July 2003 blog report on MoBlogs - Mobile Blogs, or her short blurb on Alternative blog-entry programs.
ROOT BLOG
Root Blog is a blog aggregator which they themselves define as
"aggregating the PoweR of Blogs! - Web Blog Directory"
BLOGCRITICS
Blogcritics describes itself as a "sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, and technology - updated continuously."
AKABLOG
Akablog is a blog by a technical writer at AOL who has a broad range of postings, many worthwhile.
CRESCAT SENTENTIA
Crescat Sententia by Will Baude has the answers to the recent 20 Questions for Tyler Cowen, which are a superb commentary on blogs in general.
DANIEL W. DREZNER
Daniel W. Drezner has a recent very useful posting on "Advice to new bloggers".
EURO PUNDITS
Euro Pundits gives a view of what the people on this side of the Atlantic are thinking.
BALTIC BLOG
The Baltic Blog focuses on a region of the World set to enter the European Union.
ALL ABOUT LATVIA
All About Latvia currently has good information on the European Union expansion.
LAUREL McMECHAN
Laurel McMechan's Physics Web Log "for 21st century physics and astronomy" cites to some of my best stuff on Stonehenge and the megaliths. Thank you, Laurel.
IAIN MURRAY
The Edge of England's Sword, "Voices from the Anglosphere", quotes the Queen of England. The Royals still are symbols for many - representing the historical vestiges of leadership of the modern civilized world.
ANTHONY WELLS
Anthony Wells' Journal is a solid bulwark in the British blogosphere.
OLIVER KAMM
Oliver Kamm defines his sphere as "politics, economics and culture" and definitely leans to the right of The Guardian, to which his latest posting gives a sound thrashing.
GROKLAW
Groklaw is an excellent legal blog by a paralegal par excellence.
VODKAPUNDIT
VodkaPundit touts itself as "Stirred, Not Shaken".
THE AGONIST
The Agonist sees itself as "thoughtful, global, timely".
TOM PAINE
Is intelligence AND passion the political answer? Tom Paine discusses punditocracy and liberal pundits while cogently faulting neo-liberalism for falsely intellectualizing passion out of the political equation - this is a great read regardless of your political persuasion.
CHRIS LAWRENCE
Chris Lawrence "Signifying Nothing - Infinite Diversity in Two Combinatons"
has some very good stuff posted on political science.
STRATEGY PAGE
The Man with the Golden Truck has to be a classic.
CROOKED TIMBER
This blog's motto is that "Out of the Crooked Timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made". Seems to be anti-Volokhite, but erudite. "Chris" posts the important truth that people tend to believe information which is congenial to their interests and disbelieve information which is not.
Hear, hear.
JACK BALKIN
Jack Balkin's Balkanization blog states punnily that "Balkanization is an unanticipated consequence of Jack M. Balkin". Balkin is Knight Professor of Constitutional Law and the First Amendment at Yale Law School and his legal analysis of legal issues shows deep insight (see particularly his posting on Thursday, August 21, 2003 on Chief Justice Moore As Administrator, Not Judge), even if one does not share his political leanings.
COLLEGE / UNIVERSITY APPLICATIONS
Not a blog but great reading for all parents with college-going kids, one should read
How to get your child into the right university - you may not like it, but it apparently works.
STRATFOR
STRATFOR (Strategic Forecasting, Inc.) uses the motto "Predictive, Insightful Global Intelligence" and we agree. Compare what the "war blogs" write with what you read here.
TAILORED BLOG
The Tailored Blog by Brendon Sinclair (also SitePoint Tribune author)
has a simple, basic, sometimes innovative and thus excellent blog on marketing.
THE BLOGGS
Along the same lines, Sinclair also a different kind of "blogg" (not "blog") for client hunters, employers looking for new staff, prospective employees, resume writers, college applicants, job seekers and just plain marketing folks,
at Joe/Julia "Bloggs".
LYING IN PONDS
Lying in Ponds tries to show the "absurdity of partisanship" by drawing a line between party preference and excessive partisanship.
PunditMania ® Mentions
ONE FATHER FOR DEAN
One Father for Dean describes itself as "A father and his politics" and as "A minor political odyssey for all the right reasons...and Howard Dean in 2004".
One Father for Dean picked PunditMania ® as a "Blog to Watch" - thank you - so I thought I better look at this blog and this man Howard Dean a bit closer. Dean is not only the first Presidential candidate to recognize and use the power of blogs effectively, but he has also profited from so-called "Meetups", so look for the internet concept found at Meetup.com ("Meetup is a free service that organizes local gatherings about anything, anywhere") to become a solid part of the social fabric in coming years.
THE TRUTH LAID BEAR
The Truth Laid Bear has the motto "A bear, the world, and the strong urge to hibernate". The Truth Laid Bear pointed its bear claw at PunditMania ® when we started the blog up. Thank you.
Saturday, September 13, 2003
THE VALUE OF BLOGS
The Value of Blogs (RSS Title)
Nr. 8 - September 13, 2003 - posted by Andis Kaulins Copyright © 2003 by Andis Kaulins
THE VALUE OF BLOGS
ETHAN ZUCKERMANN'S WEBLOG
Guilted by Google: "Ethan Zuckerman has a weblog with the motto "...dragged kicking and screaming into the world of user-created media"
He finds that blogs make the rankings at Google.... how right he is.
ARE BLOGS REVOLUTIONARY ?
Yet, I understand but disagree about Zuckermann's wondering
"whether blogs [are not] just personal homepages that get very well indexed by search engines"
or his not being convinced
"that blogs are any more than an evolutionary, not revolutionary, change from personal publishing".
Ethan, from my point of view, I find that blogs are truly revolutionary - and rightly ranked highly by Google - because they represent a development at the forefront of "ultimate" democracy, sort of an instant online "Hyde Park" soapbox from "any man" to "any other man".
The future impact of blogs over time should not be underestimated. The impact will be enormous.
Through blogs, this is the first time in history that we can actually "look inside so many people's heads in such detail" at the same time and almost instantaneously and see what is going on inside in that gray matter, something which most web pages do not do, being a more static medium. Education, business, politics, advertising, marketing, personal relationships, etc. will all change due to the absolutely unique insight into the workings of the human mind that blogs are providing for us. That is also why blogs are so popular - it is communication at its best, reflective but quick.
BLOGS AND FREE SPEECH
When we studied 1st Amendment "free speech" at Stanford Law School, I was known to wryly proclaim that for most Americans, free speech was an illusion, because it gave citizens the clear right to speak what they thought they wanted to say, but not the equally necessary right that what they said would be heard by anyone ... anywhere.
Blogs provide a forum which opens up a new world that what we say might also be heard - and, due to keyword indexing and the like - we can find the people who are commenting on subjects that interest us. Thus, the right speakers find the right audiences, mind you, for better or worse. In this manner, minds come into swift contact that would otherwise never "find each other". This phenomenon will lead to the formation of "mental alliances" of a sort never before seen in human interaction and will change the way we do things in many areas of human interchange.
THE VALUE OF BLOGS
VERY EFFICIENT FILTERING SYSTEM FOR INFORMATION
Arnold Kling at Corante "tech news, filtered daily" in his article "Is Blooging a Fad?", on the THE BOTTOM LINE, after sophisticated analysis of the issue, has determined that blogs are here to stay, especially when they serve the function of being a a very efficient filtering system for information.
USEFUL AS A PUBLIC INFORMATION TOOL
Rory Perry's weblog on "Law, technology and the courts" touts blogs as being of value for the judiciary "as a public information tool".
ABILITY TO CONNECT OTHERWISE DISPARATE PIECES OF KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION
Brendan O'Neill in his Gone to the Blogs states that the value of blogs to him is that it gives him the ability to "connect otherwise disparate pieces of knowledge and information".
INTERACTIVELY BRING NEWS AND EXPERTISE TO THE FOREFRONT
THAT WOULD OTHERWISE BE IGNORED OR UNKNOWN - plus ENTERTAINMENT VALUE
Outside the Beltway (OTB) finds that blogs have a value because they:
1) "highlight stories that aren't widely covered elsewhere, bringing them to the attention of people who are interested in them"
2) "bring expert analysis to the forefront that would otherwise be ignored"
3) "are more interactive than other media, including even talk radio"
UNFILTERED, GRITTY, AUTHENTIC - and INFLUENTIAL ENOUGH TO BE BANNED
see USC Annenberg Online Journalism Review ®
A NEWS SOURCE and a NEW SYSTEM OF CHECKS AND BALANCES
see SlashDot
FACILITATE COLLABORATION
see Lead and Gold
HOBBY, FUN, SELF-PROMOTION
see Berlin Blog
INTERESTING PEOPLE SEND YOU INTERESTING STUFF
see Body and Soul
MEDIA AND MARKETING TOOLS
see WebmasterWorld
LEARNING AND EDUCATIONAL MEDIUM
see Blogging Fantastic
PUBLIC RELATIONS (PR), INFORMATION AGGREGATION, POWER MEDIUM
see A Networked World
USEFUL FOR KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE (K-BLOGS)
see Emergic.Org
EFFICIENT FOR INTERNAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS
see Gadgetguy
and the article of reference at the N.Y. Times
which indicates clearly that
GOOGLE uses blogs for internal communication among its workers.
That would seem to settle the issue.
Are blogs here to stay? No doubt about it.
Nr. 8 - September 13, 2003 - posted by Andis Kaulins Copyright © 2003 by Andis Kaulins
THE VALUE OF BLOGS
ETHAN ZUCKERMANN'S WEBLOG
Guilted by Google: "Ethan Zuckerman has a weblog with the motto "...dragged kicking and screaming into the world of user-created media"
He finds that blogs make the rankings at Google.... how right he is.
ARE BLOGS REVOLUTIONARY ?
Yet, I understand but disagree about Zuckermann's wondering
"whether blogs [are not] just personal homepages that get very well indexed by search engines"
or his not being convinced
"that blogs are any more than an evolutionary, not revolutionary, change from personal publishing".
Ethan, from my point of view, I find that blogs are truly revolutionary - and rightly ranked highly by Google - because they represent a development at the forefront of "ultimate" democracy, sort of an instant online "Hyde Park" soapbox from "any man" to "any other man".
The future impact of blogs over time should not be underestimated. The impact will be enormous.
Through blogs, this is the first time in history that we can actually "look inside so many people's heads in such detail" at the same time and almost instantaneously and see what is going on inside in that gray matter, something which most web pages do not do, being a more static medium. Education, business, politics, advertising, marketing, personal relationships, etc. will all change due to the absolutely unique insight into the workings of the human mind that blogs are providing for us. That is also why blogs are so popular - it is communication at its best, reflective but quick.
BLOGS AND FREE SPEECH
When we studied 1st Amendment "free speech" at Stanford Law School, I was known to wryly proclaim that for most Americans, free speech was an illusion, because it gave citizens the clear right to speak what they thought they wanted to say, but not the equally necessary right that what they said would be heard by anyone ... anywhere.
Blogs provide a forum which opens up a new world that what we say might also be heard - and, due to keyword indexing and the like - we can find the people who are commenting on subjects that interest us. Thus, the right speakers find the right audiences, mind you, for better or worse. In this manner, minds come into swift contact that would otherwise never "find each other". This phenomenon will lead to the formation of "mental alliances" of a sort never before seen in human interaction and will change the way we do things in many areas of human interchange.
THE VALUE OF BLOGS
VERY EFFICIENT FILTERING SYSTEM FOR INFORMATION
Arnold Kling at Corante "tech news, filtered daily" in his article "Is Blooging a Fad?", on the THE BOTTOM LINE, after sophisticated analysis of the issue, has determined that blogs are here to stay, especially when they serve the function of being a a very efficient filtering system for information.
USEFUL AS A PUBLIC INFORMATION TOOL
Rory Perry's weblog on "Law, technology and the courts" touts blogs as being of value for the judiciary "as a public information tool".
ABILITY TO CONNECT OTHERWISE DISPARATE PIECES OF KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION
Brendan O'Neill in his Gone to the Blogs states that the value of blogs to him is that it gives him the ability to "connect otherwise disparate pieces of knowledge and information".
INTERACTIVELY BRING NEWS AND EXPERTISE TO THE FOREFRONT
THAT WOULD OTHERWISE BE IGNORED OR UNKNOWN - plus ENTERTAINMENT VALUE
Outside the Beltway (OTB) finds that blogs have a value because they:
1) "highlight stories that aren't widely covered elsewhere, bringing them to the attention of people who are interested in them"
2) "bring expert analysis to the forefront that would otherwise be ignored"
3) "are more interactive than other media, including even talk radio"
UNFILTERED, GRITTY, AUTHENTIC - and INFLUENTIAL ENOUGH TO BE BANNED
see USC Annenberg Online Journalism Review ®
A NEWS SOURCE and a NEW SYSTEM OF CHECKS AND BALANCES
see SlashDot
FACILITATE COLLABORATION
see Lead and Gold
HOBBY, FUN, SELF-PROMOTION
see Berlin Blog
INTERESTING PEOPLE SEND YOU INTERESTING STUFF
see Body and Soul
MEDIA AND MARKETING TOOLS
see WebmasterWorld
LEARNING AND EDUCATIONAL MEDIUM
see Blogging Fantastic
PUBLIC RELATIONS (PR), INFORMATION AGGREGATION, POWER MEDIUM
see A Networked World
USEFUL FOR KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE (K-BLOGS)
see Emergic.Org
EFFICIENT FOR INTERNAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS
see Gadgetguy
and the article of reference at the N.Y. Times
which indicates clearly that
GOOGLE uses blogs for internal communication among its workers.
That would seem to settle the issue.
Are blogs here to stay? No doubt about it.
Friday, September 12, 2003
Stopping Google Redirection in Foreign Countries
Stopping Google Redirection (RSS Title)
Nr. 7 - September 12, 2003 - posted by Andis Kaulins Copyright © 2003 by Andis Kaulins
Google Redirection in Foreign Countries - Solutions
Living in Germany I have gotten quite angry about Google's recent redirection from Google.com (in English) to Google.de (in German), so I sent them a "legal" e-mail about it, suggesting that any practice of redirecting a URL to a different web page with different content in a different language is probably prima facie illegal. Plus, it is a considerable source of a waste of time if you are, for example, in France and do not read French.
They sent me a nice reply which I include below in full for other Google users suffering from the same problem, especially while on private or business trips overseas.
From : toolbar-support@google.com
To : kaulinsandis@msn.com
Subject : Re: [#3808823] Why automatic switch from .com to .de in Germany
Date : Thu, 11 Sep 2003 16:20:16 -0700
Hi Andis,
Thank you for your note. Google normally redirects users in certain
countries from www.google.com to one of our local destination sites (for
example, www.google.fr for Google France). We use the Internet address
assigned to your computer, which is frequently the Internet address of
your Internet service provider (ISP), to determine which Google site
corresponds to your geographic location. We also offer you the option of
avoiding this redirect and using www.google.com instead.
If you've been redirected incorrectly or aren't being taken to the Google
site you prefer, follow the instructions below to direct your browser back
to www.google.com. As long as you have cookies enabled in your browser,
you'll only have to do this once; after that, your browser will connect
directly to www.google.com each time you visit Google. For more
information on cookies, go to http://www.google.com/cookies.html
and http://www.google.com/privacy.html.
On the bottom right-hand side of the page is a link that says
"Google.com." When you click on this link, you'll be taken to
www.google.com on all future visits.
It's very important to note that your browser will only "remember" that
you are opting out of Internet address detection if you have cookies
enabled. If cookies are disabled, you'll experience the same redirect each
time you visit Google. You can solve this either by enabling cookies in
your browser or by setting a new bookmark for http://www.google.com/webhp.
In the latter case, you'll be taken to http://www.google.com/webhp (this
is exactly the same as www.google.com) each time you select the bookmark.
We apologize for any inconvenience this process may cause you. If you need
further assistance, please let us know.
Regards,
The Google Team
Nr. 7 - September 12, 2003 - posted by Andis Kaulins Copyright © 2003 by Andis Kaulins
Google Redirection in Foreign Countries - Solutions
Living in Germany I have gotten quite angry about Google's recent redirection from Google.com (in English) to Google.de (in German), so I sent them a "legal" e-mail about it, suggesting that any practice of redirecting a URL to a different web page with different content in a different language is probably prima facie illegal. Plus, it is a considerable source of a waste of time if you are, for example, in France and do not read French.
They sent me a nice reply which I include below in full for other Google users suffering from the same problem, especially while on private or business trips overseas.
From : toolbar-support@google.com
To : kaulinsandis@msn.com
Subject : Re: [#3808823] Why automatic switch from .com to .de in Germany
Date : Thu, 11 Sep 2003 16:20:16 -0700
Hi Andis,
Thank you for your note. Google normally redirects users in certain
countries from www.google.com to one of our local destination sites (for
example, www.google.fr for Google France). We use the Internet address
assigned to your computer, which is frequently the Internet address of
your Internet service provider (ISP), to determine which Google site
corresponds to your geographic location. We also offer you the option of
avoiding this redirect and using www.google.com instead.
If you've been redirected incorrectly or aren't being taken to the Google
site you prefer, follow the instructions below to direct your browser back
to www.google.com. As long as you have cookies enabled in your browser,
you'll only have to do this once; after that, your browser will connect
directly to www.google.com each time you visit Google. For more
information on cookies, go to http://www.google.com/cookies.html
and http://www.google.com/privacy.html.
On the bottom right-hand side of the page is a link that says
"Google.com." When you click on this link, you'll be taken to
www.google.com on all future visits.
It's very important to note that your browser will only "remember" that
you are opting out of Internet address detection if you have cookies
enabled. If cookies are disabled, you'll experience the same redirect each
time you visit Google. You can solve this either by enabling cookies in
your browser or by setting a new bookmark for http://www.google.com/webhp.
In the latter case, you'll be taken to http://www.google.com/webhp (this
is exactly the same as www.google.com) each time you select the bookmark.
We apologize for any inconvenience this process may cause you. If you need
further assistance, please let us know.
Regards,
The Google Team
Wednesday, September 10, 2003
The Robb Report presents the Best of the Best
Robb Report Best of the Best (RSS Title)
Nr. 6 - September 10, 2003 - posted by Andis Kaulins Copyright © 2003 by Andis Kaulins
The Robb Report, Magazine for the Luxury Lifestyle
If you are looking for the "best of the best" in terms of luxury products and a luxury life style, you should look at the Robb Report online, where one can subscribe to the Magazine and/or the eNews. The Robb Report will keep you up on what you could do, buy and consume if you could afford it. If you are among the best of the best - a status which of course is not necessarily a function of income or net worth - maybe you CAN afford it. Whatever the case may be, The Robb Report is a consumer's ultimate delight.
The magazine this year has / had the following editorial schedule:
January Private Travel
February Car of the Year
March Spring Style plus the Special Yachting Section
April The Ultimate Home Tour
May Adventure and Travel plus the Special Motorcycling Section
June Best of the Best
July Wealth Management and Family
August Exotic Cars
September Fall Fashion
October Private Preview 2004
November Watches and Jewelry plus The Host Guide
December The Ultimate Gift Guide
I subscribe to the Robb Report because it gives me perspective on life in general.
Human Work and Skills and the Value of Luxury Items
We live in a world where money, fame, success, achievement, wealth etc. are held in high esteem. This is not simply the so-called "materialistic" side of the world, as detractors of material wealth might be apt to proclaim. The best of the best luxury consumer goods are also a stunning panorama of HUMAN SKILLS as well - and this is something that we too soon forget in passing judgment on "material goods".
Nearly everything that we buy or consume is made by human work and expertise - albeit using the materials of nature - which I call the spiritual side of materialism. You can not make a product which does not in some way use the natural resources which our planet provides - so, for those of you out there who are "God-fearing" - you need not deny yourself luxury goods for religious reasons. In the last analysis, these material goods also derive ultimately from the hand of the Almighty. Man can only use what is THERE to begin with and nothing else.
Still, it is what Man does with natural resources which often sets the value of what we call "luxury items". After all, even diamonds have to be skillfully polished to shine, and most things "worth having" involve the application of the best technological or craftsmen skills that mankind has to offer.
The Word "Luxury"
The word "luxury" is thus really in part a misnomer and the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (4th edition) gives three definitions for "luxury", all of which in my opinion do not necessarily hit the nail on the head:
1) something inessential but conducive to pleasure and comfort
my comment: so what is "non-essential"? and is a heavy diamond around your neck really "comforting"? or, is having a castle in Scotland a luxury? - perhaps only after you put in the lacking central heating.
2) something expensive or hard to obtain
my comment: many forbidden drugs are expensive and thankfully hard to obtain - I would not call them luxuries
3) sumptuous living or surroundings
my comment: anyone can sit on a beautiful beach and watch the sunset drinking a glass of pure water - that is sumptuous living and surroundings too.
So, "luxury" must have yet another - missing - element.
Having what your Neighbor does NOT have
To my mind, luxurious goods are generally those which can in fact sometimes be easily obtained (IF you have the money) but which the rest of humanity does not have - the scarcity of which goods, due to the laws of supply and demand, makes them exorbitantly expensive and in our eyes "valuable". For example, in the formative years of the automotive revolution, it was a luxury to have an automobile. Today, nearly everyone in the Western world has "a car". So, to have a true "luxury car", you drive a Daimler-Benz (Mercedes), or some similar brand, which the masses either can not afford or which they do not purchase due to other priorities.
In other words, the dictionary definitions of "luxury" above miss the essential point of "luxury" items, which is their relative scarcity among our fellow humans. We often want what the other guy has and we do not have it. This grass is greener view of the world is not always accurate.
Be this as it may, as the famous saying goes, "You can tell the size of the boys by the size of their toys", and, indeed, a certain degree of one-upmanship is at the root of all "luxury" thinking. Especially men are competitive among each other and constantly jockeying for position somewhere - even if it is only something as simple as winning a round of golf at the local country club.
I will not comment on the competitiveness of the ladies here, because, as a man, I can not look inside their heads, but THEY are the ones who WEAR the diamonds. The question remains, who is paying for it. For many men, women too, are a luxury - and, I think, in fairness, vice versa in many cases.
What Makes Luxury Items Expensive?
One major reason that products are luxurious and cost a fortune to buy is the amount of human work and skill involved in making them.
The name Ferrari is not synonymous with luxury just because it is expensive. Rather, everyone knows that a Ferrari represents the absolute apex in the state of the art of making the fastest consumer automobiles, often incorporating modern new knowledge gained from professional auto racing. There was a day when only race cars had disk brakes. Now we find disk brakes on normal consumer vehicles.
Similarly, the most expensive watches are masterpieces of state-of-the-art technology and design - and, interestingly, most of the websites of the world's leading watchmakers reflect these best-of-the-best design elements. Take a look at some of these mostly unique websites:
Rolex
Patek Philippe
Cartier
Breitling
Tag Heuer
Ebel
Audemars Piguet
Chopard
Chaumet
Blancpain
Breguet
Vacheron Constantin
IWC
Omega
Jaeger LeCoultre
Girard-Perregaux Ferrari Watch
Ulysse-Nardin
Baume & Mercier
A. Lange & Soehne
Bulgari
Piaget
Rado
Tissot
De Grisogono
Alain Silberstein
Wempe - Overview
but then again DavidGagne.net - a prolific blogger ! - has a link to what David Gagne calls the World's Best Watches at far less cost.... It just depends on what you need.
Just as in the making of time-pieces, where years of experience are at the heart of the watchmaking art, the most fabulous houses incorporate thousands of years of experience in architecture and building, using the best construction materials available, and applying the newest technologies: see
Microsoft Encarta ® a history of architecture and building
The "spiritual" lesson perhaps to be learned here about "material" goods is that some things may have an "intrinsic" value - independent of advertising and similar variables - an intrinsic value based on their content in natural resources and based on the amount of human work and skill that has gone into making them. In my view, these are generally the products which later become "classics", i.e. products which retain their value. We might put art and music into this category particularly.
The "theory of intrinsic value" is a branch of philosophy which can be found explained online in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Much of our life depends on our decisions with respect to the "value" of things.
So, the next time you "buy" anything "luxurious", ponder what makes it so.
You may be buying a "luxury" item which is not such at all - it might just all be hype, or you may be deluded.
On the other hand, if the product has a legitimate intrinsic value, you might be purchasing a masterpiece of human workmanship which you will enjoy for a long time. So, caveat emptor (Latin for "buyer beware").
Nr. 6 - September 10, 2003 - posted by Andis Kaulins Copyright © 2003 by Andis Kaulins
The Robb Report, Magazine for the Luxury Lifestyle
If you are looking for the "best of the best" in terms of luxury products and a luxury life style, you should look at the Robb Report online, where one can subscribe to the Magazine and/or the eNews. The Robb Report will keep you up on what you could do, buy and consume if you could afford it. If you are among the best of the best - a status which of course is not necessarily a function of income or net worth - maybe you CAN afford it. Whatever the case may be, The Robb Report is a consumer's ultimate delight.
The magazine this year has / had the following editorial schedule:
January Private Travel
February Car of the Year
March Spring Style plus the Special Yachting Section
April The Ultimate Home Tour
May Adventure and Travel plus the Special Motorcycling Section
June Best of the Best
July Wealth Management and Family
August Exotic Cars
September Fall Fashion
October Private Preview 2004
November Watches and Jewelry plus The Host Guide
December The Ultimate Gift Guide
I subscribe to the Robb Report because it gives me perspective on life in general.
Human Work and Skills and the Value of Luxury Items
We live in a world where money, fame, success, achievement, wealth etc. are held in high esteem. This is not simply the so-called "materialistic" side of the world, as detractors of material wealth might be apt to proclaim. The best of the best luxury consumer goods are also a stunning panorama of HUMAN SKILLS as well - and this is something that we too soon forget in passing judgment on "material goods".
Nearly everything that we buy or consume is made by human work and expertise - albeit using the materials of nature - which I call the spiritual side of materialism. You can not make a product which does not in some way use the natural resources which our planet provides - so, for those of you out there who are "God-fearing" - you need not deny yourself luxury goods for religious reasons. In the last analysis, these material goods also derive ultimately from the hand of the Almighty. Man can only use what is THERE to begin with and nothing else.
Still, it is what Man does with natural resources which often sets the value of what we call "luxury items". After all, even diamonds have to be skillfully polished to shine, and most things "worth having" involve the application of the best technological or craftsmen skills that mankind has to offer.
The Word "Luxury"
The word "luxury" is thus really in part a misnomer and the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (4th edition) gives three definitions for "luxury", all of which in my opinion do not necessarily hit the nail on the head:
1) something inessential but conducive to pleasure and comfort
my comment: so what is "non-essential"? and is a heavy diamond around your neck really "comforting"? or, is having a castle in Scotland a luxury? - perhaps only after you put in the lacking central heating.
2) something expensive or hard to obtain
my comment: many forbidden drugs are expensive and thankfully hard to obtain - I would not call them luxuries
3) sumptuous living or surroundings
my comment: anyone can sit on a beautiful beach and watch the sunset drinking a glass of pure water - that is sumptuous living and surroundings too.
So, "luxury" must have yet another - missing - element.
Having what your Neighbor does NOT have
To my mind, luxurious goods are generally those which can in fact sometimes be easily obtained (IF you have the money) but which the rest of humanity does not have - the scarcity of which goods, due to the laws of supply and demand, makes them exorbitantly expensive and in our eyes "valuable". For example, in the formative years of the automotive revolution, it was a luxury to have an automobile. Today, nearly everyone in the Western world has "a car". So, to have a true "luxury car", you drive a Daimler-Benz (Mercedes), or some similar brand, which the masses either can not afford or which they do not purchase due to other priorities.
In other words, the dictionary definitions of "luxury" above miss the essential point of "luxury" items, which is their relative scarcity among our fellow humans. We often want what the other guy has and we do not have it. This grass is greener view of the world is not always accurate.
Be this as it may, as the famous saying goes, "You can tell the size of the boys by the size of their toys", and, indeed, a certain degree of one-upmanship is at the root of all "luxury" thinking. Especially men are competitive among each other and constantly jockeying for position somewhere - even if it is only something as simple as winning a round of golf at the local country club.
I will not comment on the competitiveness of the ladies here, because, as a man, I can not look inside their heads, but THEY are the ones who WEAR the diamonds. The question remains, who is paying for it. For many men, women too, are a luxury - and, I think, in fairness, vice versa in many cases.
What Makes Luxury Items Expensive?
One major reason that products are luxurious and cost a fortune to buy is the amount of human work and skill involved in making them.
The name Ferrari is not synonymous with luxury just because it is expensive. Rather, everyone knows that a Ferrari represents the absolute apex in the state of the art of making the fastest consumer automobiles, often incorporating modern new knowledge gained from professional auto racing. There was a day when only race cars had disk brakes. Now we find disk brakes on normal consumer vehicles.
Similarly, the most expensive watches are masterpieces of state-of-the-art technology and design - and, interestingly, most of the websites of the world's leading watchmakers reflect these best-of-the-best design elements. Take a look at some of these mostly unique websites:
Rolex
Patek Philippe
Cartier
Breitling
Tag Heuer
Ebel
Audemars Piguet
Chopard
Chaumet
Blancpain
Breguet
Vacheron Constantin
IWC
Omega
Jaeger LeCoultre
Girard-Perregaux Ferrari Watch
Ulysse-Nardin
Baume & Mercier
A. Lange & Soehne
Bulgari
Piaget
Rado
Tissot
De Grisogono
Alain Silberstein
Wempe - Overview
but then again DavidGagne.net - a prolific blogger ! - has a link to what David Gagne calls the World's Best Watches at far less cost.... It just depends on what you need.
Just as in the making of time-pieces, where years of experience are at the heart of the watchmaking art, the most fabulous houses incorporate thousands of years of experience in architecture and building, using the best construction materials available, and applying the newest technologies: see
Microsoft Encarta ® a history of architecture and building
The "spiritual" lesson perhaps to be learned here about "material" goods is that some things may have an "intrinsic" value - independent of advertising and similar variables - an intrinsic value based on their content in natural resources and based on the amount of human work and skill that has gone into making them. In my view, these are generally the products which later become "classics", i.e. products which retain their value. We might put art and music into this category particularly.
The "theory of intrinsic value" is a branch of philosophy which can be found explained online in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Much of our life depends on our decisions with respect to the "value" of things.
So, the next time you "buy" anything "luxurious", ponder what makes it so.
You may be buying a "luxury" item which is not such at all - it might just all be hype, or you may be deluded.
On the other hand, if the product has a legitimate intrinsic value, you might be purchasing a masterpiece of human workmanship which you will enjoy for a long time. So, caveat emptor (Latin for "buyer beware").
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