GideonTech has the 10 worst tech portrayals in film.
Robert Scoble introduces his new video podcast.
Dwight Silverman has an interview with Apple target Russell Holliman of Podcast Ready.
Groom, brother and father fight over booze at a wedding reception. (via Obscure Store)
Tags: kents news, links
Piczo is a social networking site, geared toward young teenagers, that actually does something about online safety- unlike MySpace and others.
Piczo is a closed system- there’s no way to browse pages or to search. There are numerous ways for parents and others to report inappropriate behavior. And best of all- Piczo has full time staff reviewing all complaints and claims to take swift action to protect its members.
This sounds like the sort of site I was describing last night when I was calling MySpace out for yet another round of smoke and mirrors in the name of user safety.
I haven’t tried Piczo, and much of what I report here comes from the C|Net story, the TechCrunch story, the Piczo safety page and the Piczo parents’ page.
I really wish Piczo would require parental approval before allowing kids to register, but other than that one material omission, it seems to have a good approach to online safety.
The question then becomes a choice between a “safer” network and no network at all. I suspect that when my kids get to the networking age, I will first try to write a secure site for them and their friends to use to connect online. If that’s too nerdy or Daddy-infested for my kids, we’ll have to talk about it. I’m not naive enough to think I can keep my kids from the internet, but I’m certain I can and will exert influence over where they go and what they do there.
My buddy Tom Morris pokes some logical holes in my dark alley theory and compares MySpace to a large city, like New York, Boston or London. He says that problems like the ones at MySpace and elsewhere can’t be solved by technological means. And he says that, since MySpace has more rules than the web at large, it’s at least incrementally safer than the world wild web.
Most of what he says makes sense. I guess the difference that I keep clinging to is that my kids can’t go to New York, Boston or London without me, but they are permitted to (and will almost certainly demand to) go to MySpace, etc. all by themselves.
Sure, I can forbid them from doing it at my house, but what about at a friend’s house? I have to be watchful and involved, but I want sites like MySpace to make it easier for me to control where my kids go and what they do online- not harder.
Piczo seems to be to be a step in that direction.
Update (12/27/12):
The Pew Future of the Internet II report tells us that by 2020, we’ll be living Bladerunner-style:
Tech “refuseniks” will emerge as a cultural group characterized by their choice to live off the network. Some will do this as a benign way to limit information overload, while others will commit acts of violence and terror against technology-inspired change.
Wisdump has its Top 10 Web 2.0 losers.
Techmeme has enacted sponsored posts- an interesting advertising angle. Here’s Gabe’s announcement and here are the pricing plans. Here are notes on the first three sponsors. And here is Dwight Silverman’s take. My initial thoughts are that this is a clever alternative to traditional advertising, and as long as Gabe picks the right sort of sponsors, it ought to work well.
George Ou on proof that Antivirus software slows your computer to a crawl.
Tags: kents news, links
MySpace wants us to stand up and take notice of its new safety initiative. Is this something meaningful or just more lip service? Let’s take a look.
The big plan, it seems, is to publish a guide on safety tips, get Seventeen magazine and the National School Board Association to tag along, and put a link to these safety tips at the bottom of every MySpace page. Oh, and they plan to distribute copies of the guide to schools all over the United States.
Yep, a guide with some safety tips will stop those murderers and pedophiles dead in their tracks.
For one thing, don’t most schools ban MySpace under the so-called MySpace law? If so, are teachers going to spend time going over how to do safely what students are not permitted to do at all?
This is just more lip service, with some conscripted allies along to muddy the water a little. I’d love to know the basis on which Seventeen magazine and, particularly, the National School Board Association lent their names to this effort.
In the flurry of lip service one very funny thing happened. Seventeen magazine’s editor-in-chief opened her mouth and out came these words: “My mom was the person who told me not to walk down the dark alley by myself, not the person who created the dark alley.”
Well, aside from the fact that she just compared MySpace to a dark alley, here are a couple of differences between that dark alley and MySpace that come to mind:
(1) that dark alley doesn’t make millions or billions of dollars by enticing kids to walk down it;
(2) that dark alley isn’t owned and operated by a major media company;
(3) that dark alley is located in some outside place, likely far from home, as opposed to inside every computer in the world.
There are lots more differences, but you get my drift.
I’m all about educating kids. And I’m all about monitoring what your kids do online.
You can’t expect MySpace, even if it is making millions and billions of dollars, to guarantee a safe environment. Parents have to monitor and stay actively involved in their kids’ online activities.
But for some company that makes millions or billions of dollars by providing the so-called dark alley to take the position that it’s up to mom to protect the kids from said dark alley…well, that’s just about the most absurd thing I have ever heard.
MySpace should take a few of those millions or billions of dollars and hire hordes of people whose job consists of nothing other than surfing around MySpace all day and night, looking for both potential troublemakers as well as inappropriate content and personal information.
Or maybe require parental approval for people under 18 to sign up.
The dirty little secret, of course, is that if MySpace did all of that, its coveted user base, many of whom think they want a place away from mom and dad where the rules are looser, would cry foul and, perhaps, spend less time clicking those lucrative ads.
The fact remains, however, that parents expect MySpace to do a lot more than it seems willing to do in this regard. Eventually, the smoke and mirrors will fail and congress and/or lawyers will press the issue.
In sum, you can do a lot more than MySpace seems to be willing to do and still rely on parents to be vigilant. So far, unfortunately, MySpace seems to want to do as little as possible while giving lip service to the problem.
Tags: myspace
Hugh has a funny drawing and an interesting post about the work vs leisure schism.
The real question in my mind is whether, taken as a whole, technology has been used to create more work time or more leisure time- or maybe both.
I have thought a lot (don’t ask me why this keeps popping into my head, but it does) about how much easier it is to get things done at night now than it was 125 years ago. Back then, most of the work around these parts was done outside. After the sun went down, it was pretty hard to work the fields, manage livestock, build fences, etc.
Then comes the engine and electricity, and all of the sudden lighting things up- houses, cars, tractors, etc. became much easier. The efficient work day was expanded by hours. At the same time, however, technology was making the work easier and faster.
Other technological advancements- typewriters, telephones, airplanes, computers, word processing, fax machines and the internet added to this effect.
So you had a longer period of time to do what took less time to do.
And leisure time was born.
Some took advantage of this extra time to work less, and some used it to work more. Over a hundred or so years, different philosophies about work and leisure (which includes not only playing golf and goofing off, but also family related activities) evolved.
Some believe that devoting much of this extra time to work will have a proportionate effect on their income and place on the corporate ladder. That’s probably true to a point- I have certainly devoted a good chunk of my technology-created extra time to work.
But where’s the sweet spot? At what point does the return from another hour at the office diminish to the point it is no longer efficient? At what point does an extra dollar become less important than an extra hour with your kids- who grow up so fast?
This is a hard equation for people like me – and I suspect Hugh also- who have a hard time really relaxing. I know that if I don’t have a project at home to work on, I get very fidgety.
But sometimes, you simply have to- or at least need to- slow down a little.
I don’t like new age semantics any more than Hugh does, but I think balance is the right word for this.
I’m not sure where the fulcrum lies, but I know it’s very hard in this technological world to hold up both ends of life all the time.
Men’s Health has 18 Tricks to Teach Your Body.
An amazing photograph. (via Dave Rogers)
Recommendation list for Science Fiction books. My favorite science fiction book is one I read when I was around 12- Andre Norton’s Star Man’s Son.
Top 10 coolest things spotted on Google Earth.
SportsLizard has 5 reasons why video downloading won’t catch on. I agree with all of them, but the only one that really matters is reason number 5.
Tags: kents news, links
I hadn’t logged onto AOL in about 1000 years, but now that I’ve been sitting by my computer for about 60 straight hours waiting for Mike to answer my question, I’m pretty much down to the dregs of my internet destinations.
So, I fired up AOL tonight while I waited for Mike to get finished drawing impossible sledding courses for Dave Winer (that is a cool game, by the way- especially when you realize that guy really is Dave).
I wandered over to AOL Radio and rooted around a bit. AOL has some XM channels, which is redundant for me- since my car, my computer and my DirecTV already have it (I wish I could get Sirius free somewhere so I could listen to Channel 14- Classic Vinyl).
But I was surprised to find some stations on AOL Radio that I really liked. Under the Rock channels there is a great psychedelic rock channel (Spirit’s New Dope in Town is playing right now), a southern rock channel, one with only rock covers, a Rolling Stones channel, and a one-hit wonders channel that is hit and miss, but worth a listen.
Under the Alternative channels there a pretty good 80s alternative channel.
Under Country, there is a good alternative country channel and an outlaw country channel that I liked.
I heard a few ads, but they seemed short and well spaced.
I don’t know if I’ll become a regular listener or not, but I might. AOL Radio is definitely something to like about AOL at a time when AOL probably needs a little love.
Tags: aol, internet radio, music
Esther Dyson on Google and Yahoo and click fraud:
[T]his thing won’t get cleaned up until the advertisers – the ones who inject the money into the system in the first place – start requiring more accountability from their partners, starting with Google and Yahoo! and ending where the money ends. As a collection agent, Google and Yahoo! may not really care…until they are told to care.
If I were the CEO of one of the big online ad buyers, I’d call my marketing director into my office and make him or her explain this to me. I’d want to know exactly what my company was doing to demand that Google and Yahoo become part of the solution and not part of the problem.
I’d make sure my marketing department wasn’t asleep at the switch in the name of budget allocation protection.
Tags: click fraud
Seth has a post about the 8 free things that every site should do. Let’s take a look.
1. Register with Technorati.
I agree with this. Technorati is the best way to see who is talking to you, so you can talk back to them. It’s also the best way to see what other sites are making you an involuntary correspondent by hijacking all of your content in the name of a little click fraud. I haven’t been to New York in a decade, but I’m a regular correspondent for one site based there. I wonder when my paycheck will arrive?
Technorati is also good for your ego, because every time your linkcount starts to get too high, it will magically get cut in half.
It’s not perfect, but I still like and use Technorati daily.
2. Become a Digger.
I’ve been on record for a long time as not terribly excited about Digg. But when I read that post the other day about Digg and Netscape, I dipped my toe back into the waters a little, visiting Digg and registering for Netscape. I added Digg and Netscape submission buttons to the bottom of my posts- so readers, please submit away.
I’m not sold, but at the moment I am willing to consider that Digg and Netscape may be good places to find news for my Morning Reading series, and possibly to attract some traffic.
We’ll see.
3. Build a Squidoo Lens
I haven’t got the slightest idea what this is. Let me go investigate….
OK, I’m back. I’m still not really sure what Squidoo is, but by golly I have a lens. The only thing I know for sure is that as soon as I have earned $1 million, Squidoo will send my earnings to Rabbit Rescue. I bet Shelley will send her earnings to Squirrel Rescue.
4. Get Your Team to Spread the Word
Well, first I have to have a team. Anybody want to be on my team? Lucky Dog would be happy to be on the Newsome.Org team, but he can’t type or spread the word. Unless the word is “Woof,” and I don’t think that’s the word.
But, he can chase small mammals. Like squirrels.
I’m going to have to put this one on hold for a bit until I can gather a team.
5. Issue a Press Release
OK, here’s mine.
“Newsome.Org, a blog written by developer, lawyer, musician, father, and all around cool guy Kent Newsome is a great blog that everyone in the world should read. The web address is www.newsome.org. For more information, please contact Newsome.Org’s public relations officer, Lucky Dog at luckydog@newsome.org.”
Paging Lee Gomes: Hey Lee, can you do me a favor and pass this along to whoever is doing the front page story for tomorrow? Thanks.
6. Get a Sister Site for Testing
Well, my sister is still on dial-up and hasn’t even agreed to sign up for Flickr, so I’m thinking this one might be tough. Hang on while I call her….
Well, she couldn’t get the internet to come up in Outlook Express, which is the only internet application she ever uses. So I took things into my own hands.
Here’s my sister site (well, post anyway). So check that one off the list.
7. Google Analytics
I have this one already, thereby proving once again that Seth is getting all of his good ideas from me.
Maybe Mike Arrington’s trademark lawyers can write Seth a letter on my behalf. I’ll settle for half the proceeds from the sale of his next book.
8. Don’t Be Boring
Uh Oh. This one might be tough.
Here, to prove that I am not boring, is a random passage from Wuthering Heights:
I refused staunchly. At length her suspense was ended: the travelling carriage rolled in sight. Miss Cathy shrieked and stretched out her arms as soon as she caught her father’s face looking from the window. He descended, nearly as eager as herself; and a considerable interval elapsed ere they had a thought to spare for any but themselves. While they exchanged caresses I took a peep in to see after Linton. He was asleep in a corner, wrapped in a warm, fur-lined cloak, as if it had been winter. A pale, delicate, effeminate boy, who might have been taken for my master’s younger brother, so strong was the resemblance: but there was a sickly peevishness in his aspect that Edgar Linton never had. The latter saw me looking; and having shaken hands, advised me to close the door, and leave him undisturbed; for the journey had fatigued him. Cathy would fain have taken one glance, but her father told her to come, and they walked together up the park, while I hastened before to prepare the servants.
Tags: blogging, blog building, humor
I’ve really enjoyed Mike Miller’s Be a Good Dad blog. It keeps me thinking about my most important job- being a good dad to my kids.
One of my great joys is playing games with my kids. Here are a few of the games we play.
The Game
This car game is a Newsome family original, though I bet many families have made up similar games. Luke is too little to play, so we divide up into two teams. One parent and one kid on each. Each team counts the following things (only the first team to point it out gets to count it): Volkswagon Beetles, police cars, school buses, taxis, planes, helicopters, water towers, cats, dogs, mommy cars and daddy cars (being the same make, model and color, but not necessarily the same year).
This is our most long-standing game, and is simply called “The Game.”
The Alphabet Game
This car game is the same one played by generations of families. In our version, it’s each player for himself (no teams). Only one letter per sign can be counted, so if one person gets a letter from a big sign first, the other players can’t get any letters from that sign. Pylon signs, even those with multiple panels, are considered a single sign. The kids can use license plate letters (very helpful for the X’s and Z’s), but the grown-ups can’t.
Before Delaney could identify letters, we played a derivative of this game called the sign game, similar to “I Spy,” in which we took turns pointing out a sign (“I see a Wendy’s sign”). If someone sees it before it’s out of view, it becomes that person’s turn.
I Spy
“I spy with my little eye…a lizard.”
This classic game is a restaurant favorite of ours. Players can ask for the following hints: high, low or medium; in this room (since you can often see outside or into other rooms at restaurants); statue or not (since many of the restaurants we go to have little ceramic, concrete or plastic animals, etc. scattered about).
Who’s Missing
This is our current favorite. I like it because it teaches concentration and memory. One of the kids will assemble 10-15 of their little plastic animals. Most of them are dogs, cats or other small mammals and they are 1 to 2 inches tall. My kids name all their toy animals, and so most of them have permanent names. The kids will teach me the names of the animals, and then remove one or two of them while I close my eyes. I have to figure out which ones are missing and tell them by name. Then I do the same to them. It’s a lot more fun than it sounds, and the kids really get into it.
The secret is to move some of the ones you don’t remove around to mess up the pattern.
Family Soccer
I’ve talked about this family staple before. We have a small soccer field in the yard. Either I play one of the kids one on one, or we have two teams, with one kid and one grown-up on each. There are trees at roughly the 40 yard line that grown-ups cannot go beyond. In other words, an adult can’t get too close to the other team’s goal, so their kicks have to be from pretty far away. The kids can go anywhere thay want, including right to the opponent’s goal.
These rules make it surprisingly fun and competitive, though the rules will have to be adjusted soon to give me a chance, since my kids are getting bigger, faster and better at soccer.
We have lots of other games we play, including board games like Sorry, Trouble and Clue.
What are some of your favorite family games we should try?
Tags: games, family fun
Newsome.Org 