Is Memeorandum making us stupider? That’s the point that Bubblegeneration makes today.
I think there’s something to that. But my thing is that I notice my life is being split up into many more tiny little slices than before. First of all my email load is just going nuts. More than 200 per day that I ANSWER (and many times that that I read, but don’t require an answer). Plus, feeds. Plus Digg. Plus plus plus plus.
So, I don’t spend much time on one thing. Overall I’m getting more knowledge and breadth, but on a granular level I’m not mastering anything. That trend scares me.
But, I’m getting back at all of you. Here’s some quick hits.
Microsoft just announced financials. Here’s a Reuters’ article. I always watch the financials of the company I work for. That’s something that Jim Fawcette taught all of his employees to do (even taught us what EBITDA is). That’s one thing I always appreciated about how he ran the business.
We just put up a video about Server 2003 R2 and Longhorn Server. I learned a lot about server technology in the interview.
This morning I attended the Search Champs meeting again where Gary Flake and Microsoft announced Live Labs. Richard MacManus has the details. He says “Microsoft is entering into a fascinating Internet-driven software era and – to my eyes – they are meeting the challenges head-on.” Gary Flake rocks, though. I wanna interview him about his speech. More from Frederico Oliveira (he has links to Gary’s slides). Memeorandum is tracking conversation on the new Live Labs.
The Search Champs did a podcast last night about the privacy and grilled Microsoft search team members some more and talked about what they learned during the day. Joshua Porter of the bokardo blog has all the links and details. Hot issue. Transparency in action. More to come! There’s a lot more on the “Search Champs” page on Technorati. Even more blogs are being tracked by Memeorandum on this issue.
I LLLLLOOOOOOVVVVVVEEEEEE the new Technorati home page. Very nice!
Digg is NOT being acquired (that’s on Kevin Rose’s blog, he is the founder of Digg so is worth listening to). I’m so glad I missed on this round of blog rumors. A few of the search champs told me they were sick of hearing rumors on blogs.
Over on Memeorandum (heh) I see that Mike Nash of Microsoft’s security team is putting his neck on the line over on Slashdot and people are noticing that. I love it!
Note to Doc Searls, Rick Segal keeps showing up in my life too. He was at Naked Conversations launch party on Saturday night. His ideas ARE revolutionary. Will VC ever be the same? We’ll find out this year.
Aside: Michael Lehman told me tomorrow he’s turning off his network connection tomorrow just to get work done. That just might be what it takes. I just spent two days with the search champs.
If you have asked me to check something out in the past month, I’m sorry I haven’t gotten to it yet. Hopefully soon!
Anyway, why the post title? Cause I feel stupid after hanging out with the Search Champs and with the MSN brains this week. They have a ton of stuff coming. Suprising stuff, actually. It’s been a long time since MSN has suprised me and I’m happy that they are doing it again.
Plus, over in Chris Pirillo’s mailing list we were joking that we need an “idiotCamp” for the rest of us who are just trying to keep up with the world. Lots of fun.
As to Memeorandum. It’s my favorite site and is getting better and better every week. Lots more sources lately and more length too. If that’s stupid, I want more stupid! Bring it on Gabe!
Scobleizer 
Scoble,
I actually wrote about this same subject on my website the other day. My solution? I’m pulling my head out of the direct stream of the firehose.
http://www.larrymyers.com/essays/information_overload
I already yanked slashdot, digg, and memeorandum from my rss reader because they were just causing too many new stories and distracting me from doing real things.
LikeLike
Scoble,
I actually wrote about this same subject on my website the other day. My solution? I’m pulling my head out of the direct stream of the firehose.
http://www.larrymyers.com/essays/information_overload
I already yanked slashdot, digg, and memeorandum from my rss reader because they were just causing too many new stories and distracting me from doing real things.
LikeLike
Wow, “Flake” is the just the right word if he’s got the gall to cull up Ray Kurzweil’s New-Agey ‘Machines as God’, Transhumanism Evolutionary Biology, “liberation of consciousness Singularity” and apply it to Search Engines. ((Rolls eyes)). Someone get him Nick Carrified CPR fast. Bloggers, Web 2.0 nuts, and New Agey Singularity freaks, the new career-path for a Microsoft Executives?
You don’t spend much time on one thing? Geee, amazing, I hadn’t noticed. 😉 But it’s just the usual Microsoft-flavored email-overload ADD techie scatter-brained blogger head, and with more than half of Redmond, it’s not a trend, it’s a lifestyle.
It’s been a long time since MSN has suprised me and I’m happy that they are doing it again.
Yeah, try nearly one year ago, when they promised tons of things then too. I bet they will surprise you again in a year, at the next dog and pony show.
LikeLike
Wow, “Flake” is the just the right word if he’s got the gall to cull up Ray Kurzweil’s New-Agey ‘Machines as God’, Transhumanism Evolutionary Biology, “liberation of consciousness Singularity” and apply it to Search Engines. ((Rolls eyes)). Someone get him Nick Carrified CPR fast. Bloggers, Web 2.0 nuts, and New Agey Singularity freaks, the new career-path for a Microsoft Executives?
You don’t spend much time on one thing? Geee, amazing, I hadn’t noticed. 😉 But it’s just the usual Microsoft-flavored email-overload ADD techie scatter-brained blogger head, and with more than half of Redmond, it’s not a trend, it’s a lifestyle.
It’s been a long time since MSN has suprised me and I’m happy that they are doing it again.
Yeah, try nearly one year ago, when they promised tons of things then too. I bet they will surprise you again in a year, at the next dog and pony show.
LikeLike
Robert that is what I keep saying…
http://journals.aol.com/cybermagellan/savedcase/entries/271
The Internet is splitting into different areas. The ones that make it and the ones that read it. Sadly one is moving faster that the other…don’t feel bad…if your not reading every thread in your aggregator then your in the second boat.
LikeLike
Robert that is what I keep saying…
http://journals.aol.com/cybermagellan/savedcase/entries/271
The Internet is splitting into different areas. The ones that make it and the ones that read it. Sadly one is moving faster that the other…don’t feel bad…if your not reading every thread in your aggregator then your in the second boat.
LikeLike
Ok, I looked at the financials.
Comparing 4th Q 2005 vs 4th Q 2004…
Client, Server and Tools, Info Worker:
2005 – Rev: $9345, Op.Inc.: $5838, Margin: 62.5%
2004 – Rev: $8560, Op.Inc.: $5540, Margin: 64.7%
Everything Else:
2005 – Rev: $2492, Op.Inc.: -$1181, Margin: -47.4%
2004 – Rev: $2258, Op.Inc.: -$ 791, Margin: -35.0%
So, looks like there’s one part of the company that makes tons of money (but its profit margins are slowly shrinking) and there’s another part of the company that loses tons of money (and its losses are accelerating).
Why should I buy this company’s stock again?
LikeLike
Ok, I looked at the financials.
Comparing 4th Q 2005 vs 4th Q 2004…
Client, Server and Tools, Info Worker:
2005 – Rev: $9345, Op.Inc.: $5838, Margin: 62.5%
2004 – Rev: $8560, Op.Inc.: $5540, Margin: 64.7%
Everything Else:
2005 – Rev: $2492, Op.Inc.: -$1181, Margin: -47.4%
2004 – Rev: $2258, Op.Inc.: -$ 791, Margin: -35.0%
So, looks like there’s one part of the company that makes tons of money (but its profit margins are slowly shrinking) and there’s another part of the company that loses tons of money (and its losses are accelerating).
Why should I buy this company’s stock again?
LikeLike
Scoble,
Speaking of Digg, Technorati, and Memeorandum… when is Microsoft (MSN) going to do some smart acquisitions? That not only means buying well, but also handling post-acquisition well so the new properties thrive and contribute. With the newly announced internet r&d labs, it sounds like Microsoft might be favoring a NIH (not invented here) strategy. Can you provide some color on that? It seems like the last really good internet acquisition Microsoft did was hotmail and that was a while ago…
LikeLike
Scoble,
Speaking of Digg, Technorati, and Memeorandum… when is Microsoft (MSN) going to do some smart acquisitions? That not only means buying well, but also handling post-acquisition well so the new properties thrive and contribute. With the newly announced internet r&d labs, it sounds like Microsoft might be favoring a NIH (not invented here) strategy. Can you provide some color on that? It seems like the last really good internet acquisition Microsoft did was hotmail and that was a while ago…
LikeLike
On the Server thing:
Which NFS version?
What good is DFS if you can only replicate it to a single OS? AFS solved this problem, literally, decades ago. Limiting replication platforms makes DFS less usable between organizations.
Replication is NOT backup, anymore than RAID is backup. Replication doesn’t handle archiving. If you replicate a corrupted file, you’re still screwed.
If scripts aren’t server class, please to explain all the scripting guys stuff? That’s utter bullshit. Maybe Windows scripting isn’t enterprise class, but in the Unix and Mainframe world, it most certainly is.
MMM…thank GOD for the Flip4Mac deal. This is the first time I’ve seen WMV in a functional UI. God love scrubbing. If they burn the WiMP:Mac source code, film that. I’ll have a party.
Longhorn Server in 2007? Wow, halfway to the version of OS X server *after* Leopard/10.5 server. That’s pretty um…okay, it’s more de- than im-, but it’s definitely pressive.
Oh for god’s sake, Windows STORAGE SERVER? Jesus, how many damned SKUs does ANY product need. I think what little credibility WSS has just died. I know it made me throw up in my mouth a little. Here’s one you can do for the IT people of the world: Windows Server. One version. Charge by number of clients if you like, but stop with the 49894927834592345590273459283749234875293845723947234 SKUS already! It’s idiotic and pathetically greedy.
Um..okay, so DFS is cool, but are you planning on putting up the parts of the video that are NOT all about DFS? Because that could be neat too.
LikeLike
On the Server thing:
Which NFS version?
What good is DFS if you can only replicate it to a single OS? AFS solved this problem, literally, decades ago. Limiting replication platforms makes DFS less usable between organizations.
Replication is NOT backup, anymore than RAID is backup. Replication doesn’t handle archiving. If you replicate a corrupted file, you’re still screwed.
If scripts aren’t server class, please to explain all the scripting guys stuff? That’s utter bullshit. Maybe Windows scripting isn’t enterprise class, but in the Unix and Mainframe world, it most certainly is.
MMM…thank GOD for the Flip4Mac deal. This is the first time I’ve seen WMV in a functional UI. God love scrubbing. If they burn the WiMP:Mac source code, film that. I’ll have a party.
Longhorn Server in 2007? Wow, halfway to the version of OS X server *after* Leopard/10.5 server. That’s pretty um…okay, it’s more de- than im-, but it’s definitely pressive.
Oh for god’s sake, Windows STORAGE SERVER? Jesus, how many damned SKUs does ANY product need. I think what little credibility WSS has just died. I know it made me throw up in my mouth a little. Here’s one you can do for the IT people of the world: Windows Server. One version. Charge by number of clients if you like, but stop with the 49894927834592345590273459283749234875293845723947234 SKUS already! It’s idiotic and pathetically greedy.
Um..okay, so DFS is cool, but are you planning on putting up the parts of the video that are NOT all about DFS? Because that could be neat too.
LikeLike
Scobles- remember your can’t comment on every story, you can’t read everything and neither can you learn everything.
Ask yourself two question- what will I be in 20yrs and what do I want to be known for. If both these answers have even an ioto of dependency on technology then your toast !!
IT is just a vehicle that takes a person from here to here and if you are dependant on it then you are on the stupidtrain !!
Let me ask you a question – when was the last time you wrote a letter ?? Pen and paper style ??
LikeLike
Scobles- remember your can’t comment on every story, you can’t read everything and neither can you learn everything.
Ask yourself two question- what will I be in 20yrs and what do I want to be known for. If both these answers have even an ioto of dependency on technology then your toast !!
IT is just a vehicle that takes a person from here to here and if you are dependant on it then you are on the stupidtrain !!
Let me ask you a question – when was the last time you wrote a letter ?? Pen and paper style ??
LikeLike
“So, I don’t spend much time on one thing. Overall I’m getting more knowledge and breadth”
Information overload is not solved by RSS protocol, or by using news aggregators. The reality is that 1) information savviness is a drug 2) real-time news get you in a special state 3) information recouping (in order to get the truth) takes a lot of time, and being an online journalist does not pay a dime (though it’s fun once a year or even a month to find out what’s the dirty details behind a mainstream story) 4) time is your most precious assest, don’t give it away 5) video channels of late (as well as other passive medias) are making it even worse
LikeLike
“So, I don’t spend much time on one thing. Overall I’m getting more knowledge and breadth”
Information overload is not solved by RSS protocol, or by using news aggregators. The reality is that 1) information savviness is a drug 2) real-time news get you in a special state 3) information recouping (in order to get the truth) takes a lot of time, and being an online journalist does not pay a dime (though it’s fun once a year or even a month to find out what’s the dirty details behind a mainstream story) 4) time is your most precious assest, don’t give it away 5) video channels of late (as well as other passive medias) are making it even worse
LikeLike
Corporate customers (ie those using servers) don’t want frequent releases, they want quality. With a huge install base, quality takes longer because of the massive amount of scenarios and hardware to test. I’d say it is easier for OS X server to get out the door quickly because only about 7 people use it…
LikeLike
Robert: happy to hear, and great motto suggestion: “more stupid!”
LikeLike
Corporate customers (ie those using servers) don’t want frequent releases, they want quality. With a huge install base, quality takes longer because of the massive amount of scenarios and hardware to test. I’d say it is easier for OS X server to get out the door quickly because only about 7 people use it…
LikeLike
Robert: happy to hear, and great motto suggestion: “more stupid!”
LikeLike
great motto suggestion: “more stupid!”
Wow, achieving your dreams, eh? 🙂
LikeLike
great motto suggestion: “more stupid!”
Wow, achieving your dreams, eh? 🙂
LikeLike
PS – It’s still just bloggers commenting on the major media stories, already in the big-type headlines, I see, the New York Times, Forbes, 2 from Reuters, WSJ, another New York Times, 4 from CNET, eWeek, 2 from Zdnet…and then quasi-blogger Wilcox on Microsoft quarterly results, the nearest real blogger just another Guy Kawasaki post and a few people yabbering over Search Champs, and Shel, at ‘Naked Conversations’ bubble-blabbing about blog-monitoring, as an “emerging business service”.
LikeLike
PS – It’s still just bloggers commenting on the major media stories, already in the big-type headlines, I see, the New York Times, Forbes, 2 from Reuters, WSJ, another New York Times, 4 from CNET, eWeek, 2 from Zdnet…and then quasi-blogger Wilcox on Microsoft quarterly results, the nearest real blogger just another Guy Kawasaki post and a few people yabbering over Search Champs, and Shel, at ‘Naked Conversations’ bubble-blabbing about blog-monitoring, as an “emerging business service”.
LikeLike
Robert, you really must get some better critics:
“oh, look, he’s called himself stupid, let’s agree with him!”
So witty, so penetrating!
Chris, you are 100% right in wanting to take on any sensationalist hype, but let’s have a critique of the likes of Kurzweill (or at lesat give us a link to one, preferably your own) otherwise this all sounds like you doing the very thing you are attacking, you are behaving like a blogger, rah-rah in reverse (har-har).
If you want to prevent stupidity, don’t behave like a “llihs” (seeming as if you are being paid to be snarky) which I am hoping is not the case.
LikeLike
Robert, you really must get some better critics:
“oh, look, he’s called himself stupid, let’s agree with him!”
So witty, so penetrating!
Chris, you are 100% right in wanting to take on any sensationalist hype, but let’s have a critique of the likes of Kurzweill (or at lesat give us a link to one, preferably your own) otherwise this all sounds like you doing the very thing you are attacking, you are behaving like a blogger, rah-rah in reverse (har-har).
If you want to prevent stupidity, don’t behave like a “llihs” (seeming as if you are being paid to be snarky) which I am hoping is not the case.
LikeLike
Alexander Pope wrote that ‘a little learning is a dangerous thing’ and, as one who also fears the trend towards breadth of knowledge over depth, it concerns me too! Many people (and I’m as guilty as the next one) are basing firm opinions and positions on a very superficial level of understanding. OK, that’s always happened – but it’s never been easier to gain a shallow understanding of so many different topics. I was with two friends recently who argued about how good a movie (the new) King Kong was…of course, neither of them had actually seen it.
LikeLike
Alexander Pope wrote that ‘a little learning is a dangerous thing’ and, as one who also fears the trend towards breadth of knowledge over depth, it concerns me too! Many people (and I’m as guilty as the next one) are basing firm opinions and positions on a very superficial level of understanding. OK, that’s always happened – but it’s never been easier to gain a shallow understanding of so many different topics. I was with two friends recently who argued about how good a movie (the new) King Kong was…of course, neither of them had actually seen it.
LikeLike
King Kong – long and a bomb, and the 360 video game sucks toads, too dark. (Yes, I saw it, and I want that time and money back). The Lord of the Rings charm wore off, in making a dream pic, it was a movie to please himself, not the audience.
But you don’t need to see it always, which is why there be critics. I didn’t need to see Grandma’s Boy to know it’s a USA Network styled flop, tho I actually did see it in the end. I see everything tho. With the media coverage given Hollywood, you can argue on very good grounds, for or against said pic and be right, even without seeing it. Not that it is logical, but knowledge obtained indirectly can be accurate too.
Drudge half killed Kong too, in just reporting on it. Hollywood, if it was wise, would thunk Drudge into a Miami theater for a preview. I know I would, if I ever get Developement Exec as a title.
But the point being, just cause you never experienced such personally, doesn’t totally follow that your understanding is shallow, no quid pro quo there. Word of mouth is a powerful thing.
LikeLike
King Kong – long and a bomb, and the 360 video game sucks toads, too dark. (Yes, I saw it, and I want that time and money back). The Lord of the Rings charm wore off, in making a dream pic, it was a movie to please himself, not the audience.
But you don’t need to see it always, which is why there be critics. I didn’t need to see Grandma’s Boy to know it’s a USA Network styled flop, tho I actually did see it in the end. I see everything tho. With the media coverage given Hollywood, you can argue on very good grounds, for or against said pic and be right, even without seeing it. Not that it is logical, but knowledge obtained indirectly can be accurate too.
Drudge half killed Kong too, in just reporting on it. Hollywood, if it was wise, would thunk Drudge into a Miami theater for a preview. I know I would, if I ever get Developement Exec as a title.
But the point being, just cause you never experienced such personally, doesn’t totally follow that your understanding is shallow, no quid pro quo there. Word of mouth is a powerful thing.
LikeLike
Take your point Christopher and totally agree, word of mouth is powerful. But it’s just as powerful at spreading falsehoods as truths, which is where it can be dangerous. I have no problem in people basing their own views on someone else’s, without having the experience personally, but they’ve just gotta be sure their source is credible.
LikeLike
Take your point Christopher and totally agree, word of mouth is powerful. But it’s just as powerful at spreading falsehoods as truths, which is where it can be dangerous. I have no problem in people basing their own views on someone else’s, without having the experience personally, but they’ve just gotta be sure their source is credible.
LikeLike