A Debate Worth Watching
Posted by goodmind on October 8th, 2008
We think it’s mighty interesting that Knol, Google’s “Wikipedia Killer,” is finally assuming some relevancy with it’s new debate format. Controversies as conversations certainly help television network ratings, so it’s little wonder that;
The aftermath of the US financial bailout bill is the first topic discussed.
Economists from the conservative Cato Institute and the liberal Economic Policy Institute (EPI) have posted differing opinions as Knols. Now readers can post comments and in theory, recommend changes to the text. (Good luck with that.) This is just the first of several debates Knols will host in the handful of weeks leading up to the US Presidential election. (via ReadWriteWeb)
Realistically, readers won’t be “participating” in debates between experts. In theory, it’s a fresh take on the whole Town Hall Meeting format, as readers will be more like speech writers, recommending changes to endorsed responses. This may be a bit optimistic on our part, but how great would it be if the electorate could shape precise answers, instead of just posing superficial questions?
Learning to Share
Posted by goodmind on August 6th, 2008
It’s amazing how often we need to be reminded of what should be obvious – collaboration works best when everyone shares. This is because it’s so hard for community and commerce to coexist happily on the web. However;
In “We Think: Mass Innovation, Not Mass Production”, British innovation and creativity guru Charles Leadbeater makes the case, based on countless well-documented examples from all over the world, that innovation in the era of the Web has become a collective, collaborative effort. “You are what you share”, he writes. Walking his talk, he shares part of the final book and the full first draft on his website. (via SwissMiss)
Maybe this logic holds true for books sales, as Leadbeater will soon find out from his with a personal experiment.
Model UN
Posted by goodmind on July 15th, 2008
Our new friend Anthony provides an excellent synopsis of the BrandHacker event we attended last night, a lively discussion of Google’s Open Social Foundation. This analogy captures Open Social (and the ethos of the attendees) perfectly;
The Open Social Foundation is like the UN of various social media properties like LinkedIn or MySpace (or, in open social speak, “containers”). It’s supposed to be a neutral entity that’s only concerned about the development of standards. They’ve built a standard language/platform that aims to be the Esperanto of social media application development.
The Big Balloon Race
Posted by goodmind on June 23rd, 2008
Orange, the UK phone company, is sponsoring an Internet Balloon Race scheduled to kick off tomorrow at noon. It’s a whole new take on website navigation, with a little adventure racing thrown in. Every page of the course has two “exits” to choose from, and each site is the equivalent of one internet mile. The point is to travel as “far” as possible, and the winner will receive a trip to Ibiza.
Unfortunately, it is too late to register at this time – as a balloonist or as part of the course as it were;
…users register their “balloon” and they can race from site to site… as for where they go? Sites like this one, can register on their page and put up little balloons, so when people are racing, they go through your sites! (and who knows, some might come back later!)… SO, free advertising for the sites, which give free advertising for Orange, and fun exploring the internet for the users. (via NOTCOT)
Obviously, the whole idea is pretty genius, because everyone (Orange, racers, websites) benefits by participating. More importantly, there’s more than one way to participate; if we’d heard about the event sooner, we’d have registered a Goodmind balloon and submitted Co-render.com to the course.
Update: We’ve actually received word that it’s not too late to join the Internet Balloon Race. Register here.
An Inconvenient Energy Bill
Posted by goodmind on June 18th, 2008
Al Gore is neither the first, nor the last unsuspecting citizen to have his inconvenient truths rendered public information. Here’s some co-rendered embarrassment for your entertainment;
The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 kWh—more than 20 times the national average.Last August alone, Gore burned through 22,619 kWh—guzzling more than twice the electricity in one month than an average American family uses in an entire year. As a result of his energy consumption, Gore’s average monthly electric bill topped $1,359. (via the Tennessee Center for Policy Research)
We all contribute to global warming every day. The carbon dioxide you produce by driving your car and leaving the lights on adds up quickly. You may be surprised by how much Co2 you are emitting each year. Calculate your personal impact and learn how you can take action to reduce or even eliminate your emissions of carbon dioxide. (emphasis ours)
Bloggers Move Up the Fast Food Chain
Posted by goodmind on June 18th, 2008
Stranger things have probably happened, but McDonald’s, of all corporate entities, has actually elevated the status of the blogger in the professional hierarchy. (In stark contrast to the AP’s best efforts to prevent bloggers from re-publishing excerpts from their articles).
While internal employee social network sites to promote “ownership” are nothing new, Station M made good on the promise, and held a contest where first prize was the prestigious position of official Station M blogger. The eventual winner, Rick, has been taken off fryer-duty to focus exclusively on his new role. And of course, his promotion is a great promotional angle for the world’s largest fast food chain.
He hasn’t posted anything yet, but when he does, we hope he doesn’t try to incorporate any AP sourced insight. Maybe it’s OK to blur the line between producer and consumer when you’re working the deep-fryer, but it’s apparently legitimate cause for legal action, when intellectual property is at stake.
Rock The Vote
Posted by goodmind on June 17th, 2008
The electoral process is always contentious, and of late, so has the electoral system itself. The Open Voting Consortium hopes to put all the talk of super-delegates named Chad to rest by applying the principles of Open Source to electoral software;
Though the United States has made a wholesale switch to electronic voting machines in the last decade, the software in those machines is all proprietary and closed source…The OVC’s argument is straightforward: democracy benefits from operating in an open, transparent manner – and the best way to ensure that for voting is to make sure that the software used is open source. They’re putting their money where their mouth is, too: they’ve developed a prototype system in Python on Linux that is open source and designed for ease of use, as well as to preserve a paper trail.
Hmmm, aren’t the Russians switching to Linux too…
(via OStatic)
A Little iPhone Buzz
Posted by goodmind on June 9th, 2008
It was a newsworthy event for ambitious developers everywhere when Apple opened up the iPhone API last fall. So maybe this equally ambitious “iWish” list from Portfolio stands a chance after all – if the open source model can defy the laws of physics that is.
Our favorite fantasy feature for the iPhone is probably the iPal concept;
iPal: Most iPhone users are busy people leading hectic lives, and the least Apple can do for $499 is provide you with a friend and confidant. The iPhone’s iPal should know how to comfort you when you’re down (automatically load laughing-baby clips from Youtube?) and be your wingman when you need a drinking buddy. Have you ever seen an iPhone after a few beers? Me neither, but I’d like to.
Nothing like kicking back a few with your iPhone at the local Genius Bar, getting “brick-faced.”
Cashing in on Co-rendered Ad Revenue
Posted by goodmind on May 29th, 2008
Traditional print newspapers are basically a form of ad-supported content, suitable for lining birdcages. While many titles have tried to transition to the Web using this same model, they have done so unsuccessfully – the consensus apparently being that online advertisements aren’t worth the investment, because ads just aren’t as effective online. Whether this conclusion is valid or not, is beyond the scope of this post.
On the other hand, Knewsroom may be onto something here, by making online advertisements more valuable to the online audience. Maybe people will put up with ads if they get a cut of the revenue.
Like Digg, Knewsroom is a “community directed news publication,” only
“20% of every dollar we generate in advertising gets split with the people who make the Knews happen: writers, readers, evangelists…anyone looking to turn extra brainwidth into extra cash.”
Issues contain reader suggested topics, as well as both original and syndicated content. A sophisticated matrix algorithm is used to determine the top 5 topics and stories for each issue, based on how readers “invest” (vote) on what they think is the top story of the day.
Knewsroom is run on a currency of “watts,” which are earned by becoming an active member in the community, and can be invested in potentially Knews-worthy items of interest. If say, you were to invest heavily in Entertainment stories, and one of your investments made the top 5, you would get a cut of the ad revenue generated that day, credited to your Knewsroom MasterCard.
Plus, aside from the Superbowl, Knewsroom may be the only context where advertisements are welcome and appreciated by the audience.
(via Springwise)
Take a Byte Out of Crime
Posted by goodmind on May 23rd, 2008
SpotCrime (beta) is the most comprehensive online source of crime information. It is slightly unsettling that a glorified Google crime map is a better resource than say, the National Sex Offender Registry. By the same token, such a state of affairs does speak to the effectiveness and efficiency of co-rendered crime watching and reporting, particularly on a local level.
However, in many ways, the interactive map features of Grand Theft Auto are superior than what SpotCrime offers users. The standard bubbly Web 2.0 iconography is slightly out of place in this instance, and doesn’t quite convey the gravity of the situation (for instance, the theft icon looks like a jaywalker). Plus, there’s no way to report DUI’s, a major oversight in our opinion, especially in the Hollywood/Beverly Hills region.
