Disqus - Latest Comments for badgergravling

Re: Find the most popular tweeted brands on Twitter quickly

badgergravling — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:55:55 -0000

It's certainly got the basis of something interesting - but then again, what are the odds on Twitter themselves coming up with something similar for their oft-discussed brand tools for monetising the service?

Re: FriendsReunited advert – wtf?

badgergravling — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:46:46 -0000

Hi, and thanks for the comment - you're spot on with your regulator point, as it actually appeared in my feed reader shortly after I'd published this post, and I've been trying to find time to edit the copy since!
And Brightsolid certainly would have the genealogy market pretty sewn up - I wonder if Friends Reunited will just gradually be phased out, or just kept on life support as a potential feeder for customers...

Re: What are you using Posterous for?

badgergravling — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:24:17 -0000

Learnstreaming seems quite an interesting concept and process - something which gives more than lifestreaming for more people!

Re: Marvel Comics on the iPhone (But Only in the US)

badgergravling — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:23:41 -0000

Can't wait to be able to get comics via a hand-held device (the storage problem has become more of an issue as I've got older, started a family etc). Just wish it was non-US only, and they'd also sorted DC already...
Will be interested to see the experience on one of the forthcomin tablet devices, which might be more flattering to the artwork than the iPhone, but I'm guessing they'll be compatible...

Re: Which newspaper mentions Twitter the most? (UK)

badgergravling — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:40:17 -0000

See, I knew you'd start applying more rigourous logic to the tracking! I'll definitely start looking at those pages, but the flaw will be if Twitter is mentioned in contexts other than technology - such as celebrity, or general news. Plus there's no handy number for a total of articles on those topic pages!

But there's definitely a lot of scope for improvement, as Jonathan and yourself have said - I'll be investigating better ways shortly as there seems to be some interest in the findings!

Re: Climate change and Blog Action Day

badgergravling — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 14:08:39 -0000

As I said, it's not so much about climate change for me as it is about all of the environmental effects that we have on the planet. Even if the climate stays the same, we've still made, and are making, plenty of species extinct, for example...

Re: Open Subtitles

badgergravling — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:04:32 -0000

Open Subtitles is definitely a win for the consumer - whether or not it infringes on intellectual property - and as someone who watches a lot of Swedish programming, it's a potential godsend to allow me to buy and watching Swedish TV in between stocking up on DVDs while I'm visiting or opening a Swedish bank account.

Incidentally, as an aside, I'd recommend the recent Swedish series of Wallander by Henning Mankell over the recent English-language version starring Kennth Brannagh - strangely both were shot in Sweden with Swedish props, and even Swedish language programmes showing on TV etc. The only difference appeared to be that the main characters spoke English in the UK version by the BBC...
(The Swedish version is available with full subtitles, and was even shown on the BBC in the UK following their adaption, which was fantastic.)

Re: The Nokia N97: The ultimate geek phone?

badgergravling — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 03:52:09 -0000

I do believe they're planning to overhaul the Android Marketplace, so that should be better soon - and to be honest, for all the things you want, and a reasonable battery life, the HTC Hero appears to be about the best option for you...

Re: The Nokia N97: The ultimate geek phone?

badgergravling — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 03:50:53 -0000

Hi - cheers for the comment. I'm not quite sure the firmware has sorted all the problems - but I do have hope that it can be improved immensely - and as with so many products now, if the hardware is right, the software can be sorted eventually.
The problem is the pain people have to go through in the meantime!

Re: Track Twitter followers for UK newspapers

badgergravling — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 05:19:57 -0000

Hi, thanks for commeting, as I've been a keen follower of your hard work in tracking it (And then just putting my guesses over the top!). It would be interesting to go through each of the accounts checking for engagement or not - certainly I'd put money on either engagement or individual celebrity being the key driver for followers...

Re: The Nokia N97: The ultimate geek phone?

badgergravling — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 04:40:04 -0000

True - I do really like the look of your N86, and think it makes a create content-creation phone, which is what I'm after, rather than iPhone/Hero content consumption.

But can you really go for uber-geek cred by taking the more evolved, easier option? I think realy we should just rewrite the entire user interface for the N97...

Re: The Nokia N97: The ultimate geek phone?

badgergravling — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 04:39:51 -0000

Oh no, it's still a bit sluggish... That's the point! Personally, for what I want to do with a phone, I'd be looking at an Android handset - I like the Hero, but possibly something more towards photography/video capture/upload to web...
I know @pjeedai on Twitter has been hammering and testing his Hero to the extent he could write a great review of it, and still really rates it...
And an app store is probably an easier fix than the hardware itself...

Re: An Evening With Kevin Smith (or: The Irony of 'Silent Bob')

badgergravling — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:48:28 -0000

Grrrrrr.
I'd hoped to eject early from work and finally meet the man after being a lonnnnnnnnng time fan. Instead I was home, ill, and getting in the way of my family.

Still, seeing the enjoyment everyone had, and the pic of you with Kevin makes it all the more painful.

And now I have a cold.

I will mostly spend the next hour being miserable and foraging for ice cream to cheer myself up, but in all seriousness, Kevin Smith is a superb example of how to keep engaging with people - which is why his films always turn a profit. And why I even enjoy Jersey Girl...

Re: LiveJournal Bloggers Can Now Make Money

badgergravling — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:18:56 -0000

The problem being that hardly anyone will even make their payments back....

Re: Why newspapers will need 1000 true fans…

badgergravling — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 05:57:10 -0000

The niche of radio is definitely a good comparison - and certainly there's nothing to stop big companies hoovering up any niche content providers. The only difference is that as one gets hoovered up and diluted, 2 more will spring up in it's place, so the acquisition and dilution cycle damages both brands involved, but doesn't change the overall effect to the same degree as taking away limited frequencies and broadcast towers etc.

Convenience is nice - look at the success of Spotify - but there has to be substance behind it. A convenient pile of rubbish won't make me part with my cash, but choosing between two options, convenience plays a huge part. And mobile epublishing and applications are definitely a route towards that, although to be successful, they need to ensure more is being offered than a simple RSS feed with a hand out begging for change. I know Mindy McAdams and Adam Westbrook, amongst others, have listed some of the great data visualisations that some newspapers have produced digitally - that's the kind of thing that provides utility I'd pay for. It's why the likes of the Financial Times or the Middle East Economic Digest have an inherent advantage for the moment, if they can provide that data in a convenient and useful way.
The Racing Post (UK horse racing paper) is profitable for exactly that reason - new stuff is free but the archives that gambling addicts will need are paid...

Re: Why newspapers will need 1000 true fans…

badgergravling — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 05:51:35 -0000

Hi Graham, thanks for the comment - it's originally a Kevin Kelly phrase (linked in the post), and the '1000' is an ever-changing figure which is different for everyone. For some people and sites it might be 1000, for some sites it might be 10,000 or 100,000.

And it's about finding the best ways to minimise costs whilst investing in quality content production - so looking at technology to allow cost-effective publishing, audio and video etc, and using a CMS which doesn't cost the earth. I've seen sites receive 6 or 7 figure investments which didn't result in the functionality needed, just for the sake of going with a big name etc. That money could have been better spent on the editorial resource etc which would have driven the site.

Re: Why newspapers will need 1000 true fans…

badgergravling — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 05:48:13 -0000

Hey Gus - I think the freemium model you describe is workable, and seperates the valuable niche content of a site from the freely available quick-fire stuff for people to choose between.

One problem with hiding everything will be that Google can't see it - newspapers won't have to worry about Google stealing everything from them as they won't get indexed for all of that lovely content!

Totally agree that Which? is a nice example, and that it's completely about retentions rather than the instant hit of big ad deals without any sustainable business model.

Re: Why newspapers will need 1000 true fans…

badgergravling — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 05:45:23 -0000

Cheers Dave - the sweet spot is somewhere between the Gawker blog type set-up, and the teams that news organisations currently have - but I don't think many people have experimented to find it and it's not a one-size fits all.

The big mistake for me was not cutting a few people loose a few years ago to start their own projects and see what would build up to generate profits - and then seeing which ones could be expanded, and which ones were merely profitable...

Re: http://blog.louisgray.com/2009/09/increased-uk-demand-for-powerpoint.html

badgergravling — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:57:50 -0000

Well, I hope you enjoy the trip and get at least a little time to enjoy London after a day of Powerpointing.

Given the weather right now, I'd recommend taking advantage of some of the fine drinking establishments, food, museums or galleries. The outside is a little on the wet side...

And if you're in the Soho area with time to kill (or lost) feel free to get in touch!

Re: Snow Leopard – The Breakdown

badgergravling — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 10:26:18 -0000

Need I mention Ubuntu, Chrome O/S and the fact that my choice of laptop doesn't automatically make me any more creative when I take up an entire table on the train to watch a DVD, despite 3 other people trying to find any space for their human-size laptops and netbooks?

Sadly the Mac is the computing equivalent of the BMW/Audi. Not saying they're not all great products, but their image has been irrevocably linked to the worst of their owners.

Re: 48 Steps

badgergravling — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 10:24:41 -0000

What on earth were you doing on stage to dislocate your knee? I do have sympathy, but not sure it beats having to play an instrumental set because our lead singer had drilled through an electricity cable at home about an hour before the gig, and ended up sat on the other site of the room, still smoking slightly...

I have to admit, when I started having to spend more time on the Tube I finally noticed how few stations have any disabled access - essentially if you're disabled the Tube seems to be out of bounds for most of London.

When I broke my leg a few years ago I was able to keep working as an online journalist from my living room but doing anything more than a short hop to the fridge was a mighty struggle...

Re: Rules of the Pool

badgergravling — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 19:29:28 -0000

Funnily enough this reminds me of a post I made back in January, when I had already started to get bored of endless guies to 'Twitter Etiquette'

One rule: Try to make other people's lives suck a little bit less!
http://www.140char.com/2009/01/the-one-essentia...

Re: LUNCHTIME POLL: What Web Services Are Worth Paying For?

badgergravling — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 17:24:29 -0000

In all honesty, about the only service I currently pay for as a normal consumer is a Pro Flickr account for the increased storage and uploads (whichs adly I don't use as much as I'd like!)

Other than that, it's hosting and other services for my blogs. The only two consumer web services I keep considering would be either Spotify or Last.fm for music, and possibly a Pro LinkedIn account.

Re: I am Simon. We are social

badgergravling — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 07:36:45 -0000

Congratulations Mr Collister, and it'll be great to share the commute with you more often...

Re: Interesting list of who ReadWriteWeb readers follow on Twitter

badgergravling — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 04:06:08 -0000

To be fair, Sockington has got the looks advantage over me, as well as 8 extra lives....