Disqus - Friends of qamanager

Re: BlueOrganizer 3.4.2 Released: Supports Firefox 3 Beta 5

Steffan Antonas — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 12:57:40 -0000

Kudos gents. I don't know how you guys do it. You managed to release support for beta 5 even before StumbleUpon and del.icio.us. Your release schedule is ridiculous. Is Alex coding at dinner on his iPhone? :)

Re: Open Source Product Management: Which Call To Action Is Clearer

Steffan Antonas — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 19:49:23 -0000

My vote is definitely for the "widget menu" version. If there's only one option, people will always go to the "menu" to see what the options are first if they want it. It's a good idea to just design-in a single point of interaction. If there were multiple options, then "grab this" would make sense (like with the myblog log widget).

If you decide to go with multiple options, leave the menu on the top and include a "grab this" type option at the bottom. That's where most people expect a "get this on my blog" option to be. Best of breed, IMO, is the shelfari "get your own shelf" button - Simple, obvious design and language. "Grab this" might be a little ambiguous for some users.

Re: Open Source Product Management: Which Call To Action Is Clearer

Steffan Antonas — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 13:55:50 -0000

I agree with Memo.You've got to assume that the majority of people out there are less tech savvy, and want to find out how to get the widget on their own blog - The phrase "Grab this" just isn't clear enough for the non blog-speak world, and you want the tech to be obvious for most people. "Get your own" isn't catchy, but the message is more clear. Can anyone think of a better catch phrase than "Grab this?". That might be the answer.

Re: AdaptiveBlue Comes to Facebook

Steffan Antonas — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:50:42 -0000

Hey Guys,

Playing rough with some interesting results -

1. You've got to manually format the widget to 180 pix if you want it in the side bar. Anything else overlaps into the main bar.
2. The widgets don't consistently pull the info from the blue organizer. Sometimes you end up with an empty widget on your profile (even though you can click though the widget menu and see that all the books, albums etc are being picked up)

Anyone got any quick fixes for these issues?

Re: Thinking About Context

Steffan Antonas — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:14:33 -0000

What about putting web wide popularity in the context of time? I'm talking about social context and recommendations based "hot/not" stats - I'm interested to know what books/albums/dvds have gained the most links in a short period of time.

Dreaming too big? ;-)

Re: Thinking About Context

Steffan Antonas — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:53:25 -0000

Now you're talkin....

Something akin to a simple presentation accompanying the popularity that shows trend information would be awesome and totally useful. Even a basic up or down arrow or a simple set of descriptive icons like "jalepeno" or "ice" would be great. Books and movies usually take some time to grow their popularity stats, so a new book that was being linked to a lot, for example, might not show up on a web-wide popularity comparison until after it's already mainstream. If a new book was getting a lot of buzz and links, I'd love to know that in real time so I could read it while the discussion is still hot and on-going. I'm sure people who blog about music and art (Am I right, Pat??) would find trending contexts useful too. Not to mention that it would increase my use of the smartlink buttons exponentially - gimme some more of that real-time dynamic contextual content!! That's the sweet buttah.

Re: Thinking About Context

Steffan Antonas — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:49:56 -0000

@Fraser - I agree that HypeM is out of context. I'd like to get that information at the point I consume that content.

@Pat - Don't know of ANY service that provides trending for books/audiobooks/movies. Do you?

Re: Thinking About Context

Steffan Antonas — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 14:48:50 -0000

@Fraser + Pat - I've tried Googling for any services like HypeM for books and media other than music and can't come up with anything valuable. It seems like there's definitely an opportunity here.

@Pat - As far as the "vs HypeM" discussion - although a lot of people know about HypeM, I'd guess that the majority of people out there surfing the web don't. Maybe I'm wrong, I know it's popular, but as to HOW popular - dunno. I only say that because I just discovered it recently and I'm super active on the web. When you say that adaptiveblue would "have to do what they're doing better"...is that really true for most people do you think, or just for you? HypeM has such a comprehensive service, where you're getting links etc, it seems that you'd only go to the site if you're looking specifically FOR that kind of depth of information. Naturally, you'd hit HypeM before looking for smartlinks. That said, I think smartlinks are most useful when you're not engaging in that type of activity (i.e. digging and mining as an activity) - rather, they are most useful when you encounter an object that is unfamiliar for the very first time that sparks your curiosity.

There must be high level stats that you'd be interested in when you encounter an object for the very first time, no? What type of high level information would be useful to you when you encounter an album that you've never heard of and want to find out more about it? I think you've made some great points, I'd like to hear your thoughts on this.

Re: What We Can Learn From Beckett Baseball Card Monthly

Steffan Antonas — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:15:22 -0000

Fraser,

I'm so glad you posted this. It's a perfect way to illustrate what I was trying to suggest in a concrete, tangible way. I was huge into trading cards when I was 10-12 and this post brought back some great memories of huddling around Beckett with my friends in the school yard trying to figure out how our collection's relative value was fluctuating. That little arrow really was everything.

Re: What We Can Learn From Beckett Baseball Card Monthly

Steffan Antonas — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:30:39 -0000

@Alex + Adam - I agree with Adam, but only in the case that the item or object in question is new or novel. A high upward velocity of a new item that is not yet popular can signal us towards a new trend, one that might "tip" and become massively popular. However, if we're talking about vetting the quality of an item, then Alex is right, overall popularity is the best metric. What do you guys think? I believe that these are subtle, but important distinctions.

Re: What We Can Learn From Beckett Baseball Card Monthly

Steffan Antonas — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:34:37 -0000

@Adam - I completely agree that showing momentum in a way that provokes interaction with the smartlink would point people towards quality. I would use it that way too. Ultimately people want to be able to decide for themselves anyway, so maybe velocity is the most important.

Re: What We Can Learn From Beckett Baseball Card Monthly

Steffan Antonas — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:37:59 -0000

@Fraser + Adam - Definitely. With how much we get hammered with "most popular/ Top 100 etc stats" isn't fastest risers and discovering something new way more interesting?

Re: Thinking About Context

Steffan Antonas — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:56:14 -0000

@Pat - There's your answer right there> Now how do we target those bloggers and give them clear incentives to use id3?

@Fraser - I'd be really interested to hear your thoughts on how to design and communicate incentives that get bloggers to use a new format. I'm sure it can be done, but it would require old-hats to change their habits a little, which is never easy.

Re: AdaptiveBlue Is Named One Of Always On Top Global 250 Companies!

Steffan Antonas — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:48:59 -0000

Congratulations, Guys! Just heard the news.

Re: Alpha Testers

Steffan Antonas — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 22:18:25 -0000

I'll bite. You know which one I am. ;-)

Re: Alpha Testers

Steffan Antonas — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 22:49:53 -0000

Hahahaha. What's a BlueOrganizer? Is that for IE? pffff. Bring it on. Let's do this.

Re: BlueBlog:

Steffan Antonas — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:54:56 -0000

@Fraser - I'm as tech happy as anyone, but I'm a big believer in the simplicity principal when it comes to answering this question. Unless technology adds clear value to the bottom line (or measurable value for future initiatives - i.e. scalability, adaptability etc), the investment isn't worth it. Of course, every organization is different, landscapes are constantly changing, and everyone's got to remain agile...so, doesn't the answer to "what is the right amount" depend on (at least) the factors below, that when addressed in the most optimal way, create some unique in-house/outsourced mix.

#1 (and most important): What does our organization's current inventory of human capital/talent look like?
#2 What is the org trying to accomplish?
#3 Where does that talent pool get us in relation to those goals?
#4 What's the delta between where we can get with the current team and where we need to be?
#5 What is the current team's core competency?
#6 What's the opportunity cost associated with plugging the people we've got into new/extra responsibilities?
#7 What (if any) intangible or ancillary benefits is the team going to get from the people you bring in-house to support new efforts (potential cross-functionality of roles and "mixing" of talent can be more than a 1:1 gain in a team environment)
#8 How critical are the time lines for our goals and how much would a deviation from the time line impact the business? (bringing in new people/adding new processes/training existing people takes time)
#9 How would outsourcing to a specialist individual/firm help meet those time goals?, and
#10 Is outsourcing going to affect the reputation/image we're trying to build? (brand image, for tech firms is an intangible cost.)

Woah...well, you can see why everyone's mix is unique and why different organizations tackle this problem differently. Anything to add to this long list? That starting point is really key though, and the ability to tap existing talent is huge. What say you?

Re: BlueBlog:

Steffan Antonas — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:04:13 -0000

@Fraser - Some really good questions in this response that got me thinking. First, you're right to highlight that firms that outsource all their tech ultimately shortchange their major stakeholders because they don't address long term capacity issues (both from a systems and human capital perspective). Totally agree with you on that. So (good call by you) why NOT limit outsourcing to the most "portable/generic/traditional" areas and focus on investing in-house in that portion of your tech where you're really innovating, adding value, and building scalability/capacity, right? That way you're retaining and controlling the core driving tech, while achieving flexibility/adaptability with your physical (more traditional) operations. Maybe this is a lame attempt at a metaphor, but could a strategy like this be seen as outsourcing the org's arms and legs, but not the brains or spinal column? That would allow the org to treat the arms and legs like generic interchangeable components that can be upgraded and swapped in and out at will to suit operational needs....One of the major risks in outsourcing ALL your IT to support future capacity seems like the potential cost of being cut off at the head. Any thoughts?

Re: BlueBlog:

Steffan Antonas — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:55:59 -0000

Just a quick addendum to this...and some more questions...

#1. Under what conditions (generally) is it a BAD idea to outsource, even when there's a good financial argument to do so?

#2. Under what conditions (generally) is it a GOOD idea to outsource, even though the long term benefits of investing in house are clear, but are not as easily as justifiable financially. (i.e. what are the reasons an org would take on a short term budget strain to do it internally for the sake of the future?)

#3 Is there an argument to be made against outsourcing innovating activities given the potential opportunity cost the organization incurs by investing in the education of free agent developers/specialists?

#4 Can successfully going through lean/tough times internally be seen as training that increases long term viability and resilience? (again trying to consider the human element of teams that support digital).

Re: Interfaces and Microwaves: A Lesson In Commercializing Web Services

Steffan Antonas — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 12:37:40 -0000

Recommendation engines that provide the backbone for services like Pandora are a good example. Complicated math on the back end serving up personalized streams of content to each user, all driven by a simple user interface - thumb up, or thumb down. Most people don't appreciate how difficult it is to get software to "learn" because they don't get to look behind the curtain. Good post - love the microwave analogy!

Re: Appealing to the Next Generation of Tech Users – Thoughts on Maslow, Apple, and Identity

Steffan Antonas — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:54:09 -0000

That's hilarious. It's the same deal in La Jolla. I can't believe the amount of money people will shell out for a "custom grunge hoodie". You never know who's well off and who's not. It's expensive to blend in these days.

Re: 100+ Killer WordPress Resources

Steffan Antonas — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 21:10:42 -0000

My pleasure, Sunny. Btw, love the new design of Headsetoptions. Very slick.

Re: Loving San Diego’s La Jolla Shores

Steffan Antonas — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 18:07:10 -0000

I hope you had a chance to get in for a few waves.It's perfect weather right
now.

Re: The Simple Math Behind The Power Of The Swing Vote

Steffan Antonas — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:26:37 -0000

A little more on swing voting - Penn actually goes on in the chapter to make some interesting inferences about why the division of America into “two camps” is a myth…

"It’s the growth in mass media and communications that has fueled [independent thinking], and that gives voters more ability to judge the competence of their leaders and their policies. Though the Internet has seemed to spawn more fragmented movements, the vital center remains the decisive sliver of voters."

No matter what you’re political views, I think the recognition of a trend toward independent thinking is positive news for the US and democracy in general. It does however have some negative implications though. On a macro level, this raises a few questions:

1) If populations of independent thinkers are truly growing, can we expect the political strategies that focus on capturing the attention of swing voters to intensify in this and in future elections? and, if so...

2) Will candidates seek innovative ways of using technologies to closely target smaller and smaller niches of voters? Think long-tail politics using services like Youtube, Twitter, Facebook etc.

3) Can we expect the politics between candidates to get increasingly personal (and nasty) as candidates fight for the votes of independent thinkers at the center? Politics between presidential candidates always gets nasty because, well...election after election proves that sniping at your opponent WORKS, especially for grabbing those voters who are on the fence (sad but true).

I'd be interested if anyone's got any thoughts (or links to articles) on this.

Anyone have ideas on this?

Re: 100+ Killer WordPress Resources

Steffan Antonas — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 09:48:11 -0000

Thanks for the addition, Jon.