Moving Walkway

Doug Kaye posted a block diagram of an iteration of a podcasting/publishing system in the works. It makes heavy use of Amazon’s infrastructure services… S3, ECC, and even SQS.

What I like about Amazon’s approach is that they are looking to offer discrete services (where computation is one). Most others you read about are thinking “grid” and simply CPU cycles. Amazon is enabling you to start with one aspect and grow into the others, as Doug has. He first thought about using S3 for podcasts, but obviously grew as Amazon grew their services. So what is missing from what Amazon offers. We have:

1. Storage
2. Messaging
3. Computation

What should be added?

The only thing I can think of is a basic structure data(base). Could look relational, could look hierarchical, or perhaps something “different” (GData like?).

[tags]amazon, cloud, doug+kaye[/tags]

Greg explores why he and the AIM team still build a “fat client” today…

Tech Trend I - Why do we still build clients?: “More often these days, I am asked, as to why we still build an instant messaging client here at AOL.  I talk to some of my friends at our competitors and apparently they are asked the same thing too.”

This is something I thing long and hard about. Not just as a technology provider, but as a user, especially every time Steve Gillmor would say everyone is dead because Google gives you everything on-line.

My conclusion is that I like desktop applications. Web applications are good also, but full clients often feel better and allow me to be more productive. In a post soon I’ll give personal examples, but I’ll leave this post with the one I think of every time I travel.

Many years ago (could it be 10 years?) United released a Windows application called United Connection. It was a full Win32 app that talked over the Internet to some servers to get data on flights, hotels, cars, and reservations. To this day, I have not found a single travel web site (and I’ve at least done the “search” part on most) that lets me be as productive in finding flights to meet my travel criteria.

It may be possible to do a web based application/site that gives me the same power, but it hasn’t arrived yet. If we have the bandwidth for Flickr and YouTube, why don’t we apply it to the massive of information around flights, aircraft, cities, and other attributes needed to return the power and productivity I had with United Connection?

Desktop apps matter. Desktop apps that use the net effectively maximize productivity. Or maybe I’m just getting old and stuck in my ways.

(Via aimInfo.)

[tags]desktop+apps, aim, united[/tags]

Last Thursday I went to the Social Media Club’s DC meeting held at Olgivy PR’s offices. I took some random notes, and here they are with some extra comments sprinkled in.

Attendees - I break these into three categories. First there were people associated with PR, and most seemed to be in a “new media” or otherwise “innovative” part of their organization. Second was “participants,” where I put bloggers and other people that “get it” because the “do it.” Third is the random mix, which is where I’d throw myself.

• What is Social Media? - I don’t actually remember the conclusion, but it was in line with my thinking.
• A brief discussion on “Social Media” vs “Social Networking”
• Blogging Policies - discussion around companies that are totally anti-blogging (people that don’t get it).
  • Belief that Google and Microsoft don’t have specific blogging policies, but trust their employees and say that the existing employee agreements cover their actions.
  • People noted how many Microsoft bloggers there were and how few Google bloggers. Some people pointed out that there are Google bloggers (like David and Justin).
  • Where I work today, BEA Systems, the blogging policy is pretty simple. It basically says “we trust you, don’t do something stupid like reveal confidential information, and the existing employee policies apply.” They said this while saying, “Hey go out and blog and help us engage with customers and the larger community.”
• Echo Chamber - there was some discussion of things getting caught in the echo chamber and if the whole social media has applicability to a large enough crowd. I put this in the “is it just for a niche crowd, or is my (grand)mom doing it?” class. I’m a firm believer that while everyone isn’t involved yet, we’ll get there. The whole world isn’t going to use a small start-up service, but the concepts and activities that happen in the good start-ups will spread to the world… through acquisition by the big guys, or by the big guy copying it. “Big guys” could be Google, Yahoo, AOL, Microsoft or the NYT, USA Today, CNN, AARP, etc. The one comment I’m still thinking about is the association of “echo chamber” to “circle jerk.” One is clearly a more negative view, so I’ll stick with the chamber
• Relationship Maintenance - some people see the value of Facebook and MySpace as a way to keep a relationship there. This is fairly easy and often passive. The downside is that when you hear about a major life event through someone’s MySpace page, do you feel less connected to them?
• Social Bookmarking - First, everyone should have the little buttons for all of these, because it is the way to easily get yourself into the flow and costs nothing. Some alternatives to del.icio.us included ma.gnolia and blinklist. I’m happy with del.icio.us.
• Indiscretion in public
  • A good bit on people putting and doing things that they might regret now, or later. The examples were often related to activity in college (bar crawls, parties, etc). The regret part was often related to getting a job.
  • Employers that are at all clued in will immediately google for an applicant and see if they have a MySpace page. There was a little debate as to whether you should look down on someone who has pictures, video, or other things that they may not want their mother to see (or at least she wouldn’t be proud of). Sometimes this material (or should I call it media) isn’t put up by the person, they just got snagged by a friend or someone else who posted it.
  • The best quote in this area was “Is it death of privacy, or return of judgement?”
• I need to check out “Hot Soup” and Conversate.
• Ben’s Chili is a historic icon. Just because you read positive reviews of an icon, doesn’t mean the food is good. But you can appreciate is all the same if you understand the heritage.
• Future meetings will be the last Thursday of the month. If we make it to Thanksgiving, it will be a good problem to have.

[tags]smcdc, social+media, blogging, policy, judgement[/tags]