Frederic
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2 months ago
in Getting cranky on Mashable on WinExtra Comments
Congratulations Steven - definitely a breakthrough for crankiness!
I knew it was only a matter of time before somebody was going to snatch you up.
I knew it was only a matter of time before somebody was going to snatch you up.
1 reply
StevenHodson
thanks Frederic - I'm really looking forward to the experience
3 months ago
in Windows 7 Multi-Touch - pass the Windex on WinExtra Comments
Touch interfaces probably work better on small mobile devices like a phone than a laptop screen - but I share the sentiment that any innovation coming from MS these days is a good thing (just how innovative this really is, is another question). At its core, the Windows user interface hasn't really changed much since Win95 and it's about time MS put some effort into giving us something better.
1 reply
StevenHodson
On the effort to give us something new I can definitely agree with but even better would be something that isn't a humongous resource hog that constantly requires hardware upgrades. Now you can't tell me that with all the smart people that work at Microsoft that this can't be done.
4 months ago
in louisgray.com: Should Bloggers Open Up Their Statistics? on louisgray.com
I wrote about this a few weeks ago when Alexa updated its way of gathering statistics and wondered about the same thing (http://tinyurl.com/6973mh - my stats are linked from that post, btw).
But as I think Jason said on the l33t podcast, the only real stats you can trust are your actual log files - Google Analytics, Sitemeter, pmetrics etc all come up with different numbers anyway. And then, there is always the question which metric matters anyway: unique visits? RSS subscribers? Technorati ranking? Techmeme ranking? Shares on Google Reader? Number of visitors eating bananas while on your site?
But as you point out, there is a lot of interesting data in those stats besides the pure visitor numbers.
But as I think Jason said on the l33t podcast, the only real stats you can trust are your actual log files - Google Analytics, Sitemeter, pmetrics etc all come up with different numbers anyway. And then, there is always the question which metric matters anyway: unique visits? RSS subscribers? Technorati ranking? Techmeme ranking? Shares on Google Reader? Number of visitors eating bananas while on your site?
But as you point out, there is a lot of interesting data in those stats besides the pure visitor numbers.
1 reply
Matt Shaulis
lol @ bananas! (I think the developers of a metric that can measure that statistic is bound to go places!)
4 months ago
in louisgray.com: Broadband Put to Test With 410 MB of Apple Software Updates on louisgray.com
It really is quite amazing how far we have come. Storage capacity is far outpacing Moore's Law - the only real shame is that the speed of the network isn't keeping up at all.
That said, I still fondly remember my first 300 baud modem hooked up to my C64... it was one of those early acoustically couple ones where you put the handset in a cradle with a microphone and speaker...
That said, I still fondly remember my first 300 baud modem hooked up to my C64... it was one of those early acoustically couple ones where you put the handset in a cradle with a microphone and speaker...
1 reply
Louis Gray
I never had a Commodore 64, but we did suffer through the 2400 baud modem era. Upgraded to 14.4, 19.2, 28.8, 33.6 and 56k... the whole race that our kids will never know.
4 months ago
in Of course Twitter isn’t mainstream and won’t be for some time on WinExtra Comments
Thanks for the kind words Steven!
I think it would be interesting to spend some more time looking at how certain apps can go from early adopter to mainstream adoption - there must be some pattern there, but at the end of the day, I guess any app that wants to be mainstream has to first solve a mainstream problem. FriendFeed, for example, solves a problem only for the hyper-connected - and I'm not quite sure if Twitter even solves a problem for anybody. Anyway - food for thought (or another blog post)...
I think it would be interesting to spend some more time looking at how certain apps can go from early adopter to mainstream adoption - there must be some pattern there, but at the end of the day, I guess any app that wants to be mainstream has to first solve a mainstream problem. FriendFeed, for example, solves a problem only for the hyper-connected - and I'm not quite sure if Twitter even solves a problem for anybody. Anyway - food for thought (or another blog post)...
1 reply
StevenHodson
Besides problem solving I think any app, widget or service also has to make
it pass the cool factor and attract the negative mainstream press. The cool
factor being things like it was once cool to have a MySpace page which then
to a certain extent transitioned to it was cool the have a Facebook page. In
some cases MySpace still rules in the real world but if it can hold off
Facebook among the tweens and high schoolers remains to be seen.
The other thing that has always been indicative of making it to the
mainstream is the degree of negative press it gets. And if you think I'm
full of shit take a second and look at it realistically. MySpace became *
Mainsteam* on the heels of Dateline and 20/20 and Primetime stories of all
the adultry, pedophilia and other related evil crimes. YouTube became *
Mainsteam* on the heels of stories by Big Media about all the ways it was
being used to brag about crimes that have been commited.
Will Twitter or FriendFeed ever reach those levels .. I don't know but I
doubt it.
it pass the cool factor and attract the negative mainstream press. The cool
factor being things like it was once cool to have a MySpace page which then
to a certain extent transitioned to it was cool the have a Facebook page. In
some cases MySpace still rules in the real world but if it can hold off
Facebook among the tweens and high schoolers remains to be seen.
The other thing that has always been indicative of making it to the
mainstream is the degree of negative press it gets. And if you think I'm
full of shit take a second and look at it realistically. MySpace became *
Mainsteam* on the heels of Dateline and 20/20 and Primetime stories of all
the adultry, pedophilia and other related evil crimes. YouTube became *
Mainsteam* on the heels of stories by Big Media about all the ways it was
being used to brag about crimes that have been commited.
Will Twitter or FriendFeed ever reach those levels .. I don't know but I
doubt it.
4 months ago
in Are bloggers becoming your new news anchors? on WinExtra Comments
Steven - fully agree with you - except for the 'gatekeeper' part. Aggregators are simply part of our repertoire of tools - they help us to manage large chunks of information. From there, we pass the best stuff on to our own readers or comment on it on our own blogs.
1 reply
StevenHodson
as I said in the post the term gatekeeper isn't really one that I like at
all but if looked as in a different connetation it does work.
all but if looked as in a different connetation it does work.
4 months ago
in Why today’s solo bloggers may not see Scoble-like fame… on WinExtra Comments
Totally agree - FF has introduced me to more new writers (at least new to me) than anything else lately.
As for somebody hiring me: I wouldn't be surprised if somebody hired Steven long before me :)
As for somebody hiring me: I wouldn't be surprised if somebody hired Steven long before me :)
1 reply
StevenHodson
ROFL I severely doubt anyone would want to hire a cranky old fart who can't spell worth a damn :)
4 months ago
in Why bother saying anything on WinExtra Comments
Steven - I hope you will get back to talking about this, no matter the personalities involved. It's an important topic and I don't think the discussion is over yet. I for one would like to hear what you have to say about it.
1 reply
StevenHodson
I will be Frederic as I do think it is far more important than being relegated to a weekend slapfest but it will probably be Monday or Tuesday at the earliest as I have other things on the go at the same time.
5 months ago
in Techmeme: A Flawed System on SheGeeks
The way I understand Techmeme, based on my own observations, is that it is based on a reputation system based on links, somewhat like PageRank.
It is also somewhat elitist in that respect, as a blog will only appear on it after it has received links from a few bloggers with high reputations and blogs with high reputations are more likely to become headlines. The mix of who links to whom and when is what decides where a story falls.
The elitism does keep the spam down - but sure it is frustrating when you break a story, but somebody ranked higher gets the headline. For what it's worth, I think it's still the best of the memetrackers out there.
It is also somewhat elitist in that respect, as a blog will only appear on it after it has received links from a few bloggers with high reputations and blogs with high reputations are more likely to become headlines. The mix of who links to whom and when is what decides where a story falls.
The elitism does keep the spam down - but sure it is frustrating when you break a story, but somebody ranked higher gets the headline. For what it's worth, I think it's still the best of the memetrackers out there.
1 reply
sarahintampa
Makes sense...nothing's perfect....but SheGeeks made it on Techmeme today! :)
5 months ago
in Welcome New Bloggers, to Grand Effect! on sarahintampa
Thanks Sarah - it's going to be a fun ride!
1 reply
StevenHodson
congrats Frederic
