Monday, May 2, 2005
Blog Speak
Duncan Riley of the Boston Herald is writing a book on blogging, and has posted a glossary of blog-related terms on the paper's blog. Aside from providing a helpful reference, Riley requests that anyone who has any corrections or additional information contact him or post a comment.
One in Ten Small Businesses Will Be Blogging
A joint survey by Hewlett-Packard and Harris Interactive has found that 10% of small businesses plan to include blogs in their marketing plans, and 16% plan to invest in blogs over the next two to three years.
Although one can interpret this as saying that 90% of small businesses are not considering blogs, the 10% who are are early adopters, not unlike the first wave of businesses who got on the Web in the mid-'90s. Most likely these businesses are either technology- or media-related, and with a blog-savvy customer base.
However, Anita Campbell of the Small Business Trends blog notes that most conventional blog formats are ill-suited for business use. She suggests that instead of the usual diary metaphor for blogs, small businesses view them as press rooms, categorizing posts by topic rather than date, including search features, and integrating shopping-cart tools. It seems like there's an emerging business opportunity for business-oriented blog hosting services and blogging consultants...
Although one can interpret this as saying that 90% of small businesses are not considering blogs, the 10% who are are early adopters, not unlike the first wave of businesses who got on the Web in the mid-'90s. Most likely these businesses are either technology- or media-related, and with a blog-savvy customer base.
However, Anita Campbell of the Small Business Trends blog notes that most conventional blog formats are ill-suited for business use. She suggests that instead of the usual diary metaphor for blogs, small businesses view them as press rooms, categorizing posts by topic rather than date, including search features, and integrating shopping-cart tools. It seems like there's an emerging business opportunity for business-oriented blog hosting services and blogging consultants...
In Case of Emergency, Don't Rely on E-Mail
E-mail is a wonderful thing. But one thing it was never intended to be is a method of rapid emergency notification. While generally fast, e-mail messages can take their sweet time getting from sender to recipient, depending on how they're routed. They also can fall prey to firewalls and overzealous spam traps.
For some reason, America Online has been treating e-mails issued by the emergency coordinator in Indian River County, Florida, as spam. As a result, AOL customers who subscribe to e-mail notifications about hurricanes, tornadoes and other emergencies have not been getting their alerts. The county says it is working with AOL to resolve the issue; in the meantime, it advises AOL customers to whitelist the county's e-mail address.
I've noticed similar problems with the local Amber Alert e-mail I subscribe to (though not having anything to do with AOL). I have the messages, along with other notifications (weather, breaking news, sports scores), sent to a text-capable cell phone, so I can get them "anytime, anywhere." However, during the last Amber Alert issued for my area, I didn't receive a message until 24 hours after the alert was cancelled!
Again, I must stress that this is not totally the fault of the technology, which is being used for a purpose for which it was never intended. Perhaps the time has come for a new e-mail protocol to be considered, one that would be used only by appropriate authorities to issue high-priority emergency notifications. These would be expedited through Internet routing tables and granted exceptions through all firewalls and spam traps. Strict governance would control precisely who could issue messages, and under what circumstances. Devices and software that recognized the protocol could flag an incoming message, assuring that the recipient reacts to it promptly.
With more people depending on the Internet and text-capable mobile devices for emergency communications, it's an idea that deserves some exploration.
UPDATE: AOL has reportedly resolved the blockage issue with the Indian River County authorities, though AOL defends its actions by claiming that the method in which the emergency e-mails were sent made them indistinguishable from commercial spam. "You just simply cannot in this day and age put up an e-mail server and crank out thousands or tens of thousands of e-mails without doing some legwork ahead of time," said an AOL spokesman.
Source: Techdirt
For some reason, America Online has been treating e-mails issued by the emergency coordinator in Indian River County, Florida, as spam. As a result, AOL customers who subscribe to e-mail notifications about hurricanes, tornadoes and other emergencies have not been getting their alerts. The county says it is working with AOL to resolve the issue; in the meantime, it advises AOL customers to whitelist the county's e-mail address.
I've noticed similar problems with the local Amber Alert e-mail I subscribe to (though not having anything to do with AOL). I have the messages, along with other notifications (weather, breaking news, sports scores), sent to a text-capable cell phone, so I can get them "anytime, anywhere." However, during the last Amber Alert issued for my area, I didn't receive a message until 24 hours after the alert was cancelled!
Again, I must stress that this is not totally the fault of the technology, which is being used for a purpose for which it was never intended. Perhaps the time has come for a new e-mail protocol to be considered, one that would be used only by appropriate authorities to issue high-priority emergency notifications. These would be expedited through Internet routing tables and granted exceptions through all firewalls and spam traps. Strict governance would control precisely who could issue messages, and under what circumstances. Devices and software that recognized the protocol could flag an incoming message, assuring that the recipient reacts to it promptly.
With more people depending on the Internet and text-capable mobile devices for emergency communications, it's an idea that deserves some exploration.
UPDATE: AOL has reportedly resolved the blockage issue with the Indian River County authorities, though AOL defends its actions by claiming that the method in which the emergency e-mails were sent made them indistinguishable from commercial spam. "You just simply cannot in this day and age put up an e-mail server and crank out thousands or tens of thousands of e-mails without doing some legwork ahead of time," said an AOL spokesman.
Source: Techdirt
Innovation Book Available for Free Download
Democratizing Innovation, a new book by Eric von Hippel, is available for free download in PDF format via a Creative Commons license. The book can be downloaded in a single file or by chapter.
Von Hippel heads the Innovations and Enterpreneurship Group at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Among the key themes of the book is that innovative organizations must work directly with "lead users," customers who are prone to customizing and hacking their products. In this way, organizations can learn what their customers really want rather than merely assuming and guessing what they want.
One caveat: Democratizing Innovation is dense, academic reading. However, it's not a long book, so if you're accustomed to this style of writing, you can polish it off in short order.
Source: Innovation Weblog
Von Hippel heads the Innovations and Enterpreneurship Group at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Among the key themes of the book is that innovative organizations must work directly with "lead users," customers who are prone to customizing and hacking their products. In this way, organizations can learn what their customers really want rather than merely assuming and guessing what they want.
One caveat: Democratizing Innovation is dense, academic reading. However, it's not a long book, so if you're accustomed to this style of writing, you can polish it off in short order.
Source: Innovation Weblog
Fighting Cancer with Smart "Nanocarriers"
The big problem with many cancer treatments -- namely chemotherapy -- is that they take a "scorched earth" approach by attacking healthy as well as cancerous cells. Hence, the fatigue, nausea, hair loss and other unpleasant side effects. And hence, the drive toward developing more precise forms of cancer treatment.
One promising approach being pioneered by Singapore's Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) is the use of "nanocarriers" -- tiny capsules (200 nanometers) designed to react with specific cancer tissues. The nanocarriers are pH-sensitive, so they react with, and only with, tumors that exhibit a specific pH balance. As a result, they don't release their medicine payload until they reach the appropriate point in the body, thereby sparing healthy cells. So far, the IBN team has demonstrated the effectiveness of the nanoparticles with cancerous tumors in mice.
The clear benefit of nanoparticles is to make cancer treatments more effective, more rapid and less traumatic to the patient. And, because it would presumably reduce waste and risk, nanocarriers could also lower costs.
Source: PhysOrg
One promising approach being pioneered by Singapore's Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) is the use of "nanocarriers" -- tiny capsules (200 nanometers) designed to react with specific cancer tissues. The nanocarriers are pH-sensitive, so they react with, and only with, tumors that exhibit a specific pH balance. As a result, they don't release their medicine payload until they reach the appropriate point in the body, thereby sparing healthy cells. So far, the IBN team has demonstrated the effectiveness of the nanoparticles with cancerous tumors in mice.
The clear benefit of nanoparticles is to make cancer treatments more effective, more rapid and less traumatic to the patient. And, because it would presumably reduce waste and risk, nanocarriers could also lower costs.
Source: PhysOrg
Simulating Groups
Computer simulation is nothing new, but Future Feeder profiles several experimental software programs that graphically simulate group behavior. Programmer/artist Jared Bell has developed war.paint, a graphic interpretation of soldiers on a battlefield. Crogai depicts crowd behaviors and evolutions over multiple generations. Flight 404 simulates fluid and swarm behaviors.
What's striking about all these tools is how relatively lightweight they are; all can be run easily on an ordinary PC. These tools may one day allow ordinary computer users to model and understand group behavior, helping them predict the outcome of a variety of complex, chaotic events. Tools such as these could be used to help plan one's investment portfolio, forecast local weather (will a cloudburst occur over my backyard this afternoon?), or predict the likelihood of traffic congestion.
What's striking about all these tools is how relatively lightweight they are; all can be run easily on an ordinary PC. These tools may one day allow ordinary computer users to model and understand group behavior, helping them predict the outcome of a variety of complex, chaotic events. Tools such as these could be used to help plan one's investment portfolio, forecast local weather (will a cloudburst occur over my backyard this afternoon?), or predict the likelihood of traffic congestion.
Will XBRL Keep Businesses on the Up-and-Up?
Governments looking to root out the next Enron have an ally in extensible business reporting language (XBRL), a markup language developed by accountants that tags financial data, making it easier for computer systems to understand and integrate. The idea is to help number-crunching machines sort out massive amounts of data, catch inconsistencies and reduce paperwork.
Businesses, however, haven't exactly been jumping on the XBRL bandwagon. The US Securities and Exchange Commission and the IRS maintain voluntary XBRL programs. However, the FDIC will begin requiring banks to implement XBRL by this fall. Some suggest that businesses are wary of the increased scrutiny that XBRL will provide, while others point out that the standard is still in its early stages, without out-of-the-box tools that businesses could easily implement.
Aside from catching white-collar crooks, XBRL has other creative applications in business metrics. Canada's environmental agency, for instance, plans to use XBRL to measure the business cost of pollution.
Source: Reuters, Techdirt
Businesses, however, haven't exactly been jumping on the XBRL bandwagon. The US Securities and Exchange Commission and the IRS maintain voluntary XBRL programs. However, the FDIC will begin requiring banks to implement XBRL by this fall. Some suggest that businesses are wary of the increased scrutiny that XBRL will provide, while others point out that the standard is still in its early stages, without out-of-the-box tools that businesses could easily implement.
Aside from catching white-collar crooks, XBRL has other creative applications in business metrics. Canada's environmental agency, for instance, plans to use XBRL to measure the business cost of pollution.
Source: Reuters, Techdirt
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