Sean McDonald

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  • Sean  agree totally... there's a lot about twitter people go all or nothing about. being in or out of it, whether it's useful or not, to follow or not to follow.... i think it's best used with some progression to figure out how it fits in your life or workflow and who you should follow or be followed by.
  • • 3 months ago
    •   Why I deleted my GapingVoid account
    •   Mathew's comments
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  • Sean  you can keep your outgoing settings but mess up your incoming e-mail settings in mail.app to either an account you don't use or just mess it up for the one you use so it can't intake mail, but it can still send it. just an idea, not sure if it will let you have incorrect settings.
  • • 4 months ago
    •   iPhone maintenence time (Scripting News)
    •   Scripting News
  • • 1 point
    • 0 replies

  

  • Sean  oops - should have posted as a reply, sorry for doubling up (see below). i guess i don't see this as all that effective publicity. glad you recognize the variations within homelessness.... and you're right, the homeless need homes - that's priority number one. however, there are things people can do to help even improve quality of life or to give some assistance and this is an area where google has resources and it's something that can be useful. i recently did some research out of the university of toronto around the homeless and technology and you'd be surprised how many use e-mail and voicemail - i thought e-mail would be out of the question, but it's not.
  • • 4 months ago
    •   Homeless voicemail: Only in the Valley
    •   Mathew's comments
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  • Sean  is the marketing op really all that good for google out of this? i'm not convinced this is that effective for lasting or impactful publicity.
  • • 4 months ago
    •   Homeless voicemail: Only in the Valley
    •   Mathew's comments
  •   mathewi  Well, Sean -- I'm sure they're counting on a lot of those homeless people to start using Google to search for places to live, used clothing stores, etc. :-) On Fri, Feb 29, 2008 at 8:25 AM, Disqus
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  • Sean  I'm that guy that's going to tell you it helps the homeless. You need to move beyond the image of the Toronto homeless that are at wit's end, dealing with substance or psychological issues that you see on the street asking for change - there are the 'near homeless' or those that go back and forth between having housing and not. It is those populations that can use voicemail to get jobs, stay in touch with family, etc... Sure, google could have an 'eat for a day event' at the Googleplex or invest their money somewhere else (although you do know about their philanthropy) however... why not stick with what they know and provide a service as part of what they already have? Using San Fran as a pilot for giving the homeless access to Grand Central is a novel concept... why not? My frustration with this piece is that you didn't give it a whole lot of thought - you just said... well... the homeless must be hungry and cold, so... why not just focus on that? There's lot of research around technology and the homeless, see here: http://scholar.google.ca/scholar?q=homeless+voicemail&hl=en&lr=&btnG=Search You might keep your eye on this CHI student design contest that has challenged people to use technology to aid the homeless in some way, I'm sure it will yield some interesting results: http://www.chi2008.org/student_design_competition.html .
  • • 4 months ago
    •   Homeless voicemail: Only in the Valley
    •   Mathew's comments
  •   mathewi  Thanks, Sean. For a minute or two there, I was afraid no one was going to come along and make that argument :-) Contrary to your suggestion though, I did give this some thought. I know there are gradations of homelessness, and that technology of various kinds can be useful for some of the "near homeless." I'll give you that. Heck, there's a homeless guy with a blog. I just don't think voicemail ranks anywhere near the top of the list of things most homeless people need. And while it may be one of the things Google can give, it's also true that giving it makes for great marketing for Grand Central. On Fri, Feb 29, 2008 at 12:19 AM, Disqus
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  • Sean  that's because you are a little too flippant about the implications of beacon.... but yeah... it's a good addition (the messaging feature)
  • • 7 months ago
    •   At last, Facebook messages via email
    •   Mathew's comments
  •   mathewi  Too flippant? That's unpossible :-)
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  • Sean  that's because you are a little too flippant about the implications of beacon.... but yeah... it's a good addition (the messaging feature)
  • • 7 months ago
    •   At last, Facebook messages via email
    •   Mathew's comments
  • • 1 point
    • 0 replies

  

  • Sean McDonald  perhaps you're over simplifying just a little bit here? the average user won't understand the implications of beacon... transparency is an issue... amongst others. sure it will blow over, but that doesn't make the reaction uncalled for.
  • • 8 months ago
    •   Facebook: Beacon woes are overstated
    •   Mathew's comments
  •   mathewi  Maybe I am simplifying, Sean. But what are the implications of Beacon, when it gets right down to it? That one's friends get notified when you buy a coffee table or a movie at Blockbuster? Not exactly the end of civilization as we know it, I would argue. And if it happens enough and people get upset, then I expect that Facebook will change the way it works.
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  • Sean McDonald  yeah... but microsoft is still putting out cumbersome, less enjoyable products... so.....
  • • 10 months ago
    •   Bumming On Apple
    •   A VC
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