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Robert Peterson › Likes
What five tools do you use to build 2010 websites (or would you recommend to businesses)? Answer here:
Colin Pickard, Enrique De La Torre, Darren Crawford and 68 other people liked this
Google Wave
- Sid Burgess
1. W3C Web Standards Compliant Code -- 2. Social Networking APIs / Social Media Integration (i.e. Twitter / FriendFeed / Facebook / etc) -- 3. Git / GitHub for Version Control -- 4. Open Source CMS Solutions (i.e. WordPress / Drupal / etc) -- 5. Open and Accessible Analytics systems (i.e. Google Analytics, Mint, or similar)
- Michael Owens
err, often its not the tool but how you use the tool... I'm looking at you Flash!
- Matt Searles
It would depend on each individual business
- Patricia
WordPress, Analytics, Mint (haveamint.com), Facebook Connect, BLIP.TV OR Vimeo
- Adam Jackson
Wordpress, Thesis Theme, Disqus Plugin, Friendfeed, Feedmingle...
- Arne Krueger
WordPress & Thesis theme, Twitter, FriendFeed, Disqus, some OpenId provider(s)
- Jeroen De Miranda
A knife. It's the most versatile tool there is. Allows you to cut right through the BS and cut chunks off of spit roasted meat.
- Todd Hoff
I like Todd's answer.
- Happy
Web 3.0 & cloud computing + my Leatherman multi-tool :D :D
- Ronald
Again, it does depend on the customer's needs, but I think #1 Michael Owens gave a pretty accurate answer.
- Happy
i like michael owens answer - this is it!
- Arne Krueger
Wordpress, Apture, Zemanta, FriendFeed, Woopra
- Eric Logan
Depending on the business' needs, the best recommendation is to go with a platform that gives you all the features you need and none of those that will simply distract from your strategy. Suggest folks check out social collaboration via Groupsites @ www.collectivex.com.
- Carissa Caramanis O'Brien
Add some visual computing to the mix for more engaging content like real-time avatars and animation with CrazyTalk: http://www.reallusion.com/crazyta...
- John Martin
I just got some PR email about Rackspace Cloud. Could that be it? :-)
- Todd Hoff
I would go with Wave
- Julian Hoffbauer
Maybe we should wait until 2010 to find out, and while we're waiting, build 2009 web sites.
- Andy Bakun
I use wordpress on a purchased/ hosted domain, friendfeed, google friend connect, disqus. That's just my simple blog example, unfortunately the template could use some sprucing up. I'd like all the functionality, but to look less Scoble clonish
- Mark Essel
It's still in private release, but Notable (www.notableapp.com) is becoming a real life saver for giving feedback on web sites/applications.
- hunter
Specific tools should be dependent on the tech team (e.g., size, existing skills). More important are the business's attitude to engage and delight their stakeholders.
- Bill L
Idk, I don't think its about the tools, I think its about what you want to do with your site, and then what tools you use depends on that and like.. your skill sets, and all that good stuff.. for my personal sorta business e I'm looking at C4D, After Effects, Photoshop, Flash, and final cut studio.. seems like a code editor probably goes without saying?
- Matt Searles
Depends on the business. Depends on their customers. It's all relative.
- Andy McIlwain
Drupal 7, textmate, cssedit, mamp and git
- Michael Harp
Andy: it's not... it's about a different, new way to communicate/work/live - for all the businesses! for me, it feels like we are in the middle of a revolution!
- Arne Krueger
I never felt like this before! i was running my own software company with 30 people in 2000 and was just wondering!) i have now the same feeling, like i had maybe ;-) starting doing business with computers in 1988 at the cowfarm of my father in east germany!
- Arne Krueger
Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP & Wordpress - am I answering the question correctly Robert? or is this type of setup assumed?
- Chris Heath
Robert: can't make your event tonight - Son's 8th grade graduation.. have a great event
- John Furrier
the <marquee> tag
- Jeremy Toeman
YouTube... have you seen how this agency used YouTUbe to build their site? Very Creative. http://www.youtube.com/watch...
- Chip McComb
Wordpress, Flip Mino, Vimeo, Friendfeed, RSS (it's not dead)
- Chris Pugh
1. Google Analytics/Woopra. 2. Google's Social Gadgets (or Wave integration when it's out). 3. Version control (my choice is Git w/github) 4. Pushing the browser envelope, use HTML 5 & CSS 3 whenever possible, use standards compliant code. Do cool stuff that sets you apart. 5. Open up your data (if applicable) with some kind of data feeds or apis.
- Brandon Titus
Definitely XML libraries to read/write feeds and APIs
- Raj Advani
I do both: ASP.NET with Expression and some Flash, but we also use PHP, Drupal, Wordpress, mySql, and even some Coldfusion (yuck!)
- Ric Johnson
Of course depends on the customers of the individual business. What industry are we talking about? Are their customers even on the net? I can name more businesses than not, where if I start talking about a new flashy web-site I will get thrown out of the office asap.
- Peter Efland
For #web2010 1. Social Identity (Connect) 2. PaaS design (Cloud) 3. Activity Streams (Realtime) 4. Git 5. Open Analytics
- Alberto Saavedra
I'm planning to use Windows Azure, ASP.NET MVC, Silverlight, and Visual Studio 2010.
- Jeff Weber
Pen, Paper, Photoshop, Text Editor, and a browser.
- Andrew Smith
business rules, pen, paper, brain, computer
- pk
Drupal, Wordpress, Twitter, Blip.tv, RSS
- Chris Wills
I use Wordpress, Friend Feed, Disqus, YouTube, and Google Friend Connect on the web pages and then to supplement the pages and features - I use FaceBook, Twitter, Linked-In, Digg, and Delicious. The first 5 are key to connecting the web page/blog socially; the supplements are to enhance those features.
- Robert Freeze
If your budget doesn't include an accomplished developer (send more work to those guys!), to get started effectively on the cheap: Squarespace, Twitter, Friendfeed, the Google suite (analytics, apps for your domain, connect, adwords, et al.), and probably Facebook (which seems to be working a lot better for business).
- Brian Hill
If you have a developer, or are a developer, what David Cann has done with almost.at using the cappuccino framework looks very interesting...
- Brian Hill
The mention of cappuccino reminded me: GWT (google web toolkit) for building scalable AJAX applications without cross-browser worries
- Raj Advani
I use everything Eric Logan listed plus seesmic desktop to see your brands progress in realtime. Throw in disqus plus any smart phone to provide instant feedback to comments, questions/concerns
- Anthony Farrior
Whatever tools a small company would use, it should be funded in this economy leveraging Kiva.org
- Eran Even-Kesef
A great tool everyone has is the ability to tell a story. I would suggest that rather than build just a marketing site, or online community, or social network, that you take the tool of storytelling and use it to build a 2010 website.
- Brendan Cosgrove
In no particular order: CMS: drupal (for industrial strength) or joomla (for ease of use)... sorry, but wordpress is brain-dead... round it out with some groovy core technologies: Wave/XMPP, RSS/Atom, and Ajax.
- Fred Davis
Same as Jeff Weber looking at a .NET blogging platform instead of WordPress - been using GraffitiCMS.
- Kevin Tunis
WP self-hosted, DIY Thesis Theme, FriendFeed (widget and embedded for real-time convo), Disqus w/ Facebook Connect and twitter connect, - my new blog has some of these elements now http://susanbeebe.com (so is yours Robert!) :)
- Susan Beebe
I honestly don't care what the tools are, but whatever you build, make sure you have a mobile version of it and I don't mean iPhone only. Build the site and ensure it works well on the main 4 mobile browsers iPhone, android, S60, Palm and maybe Win mobile.
- Keith Bennett
Adobe Dreamweaver, The Drupal Dream Theme Utility Suite Dreamweaver Extension, MyXoopsExtensions, Adobe Photoshop, and Flash
- Chelsea Belle Goodell
Lots of good tech suggestions. I'll add HTML Canvas. But the key to success is understanding the value you are adding for your customers. Of course social networks are the latest example of this, but remind yourself again and again WHY you are here - to understand what value you add now, and how you can improve that over time. You need to find tools and design patterns that allow you to collect as much feedback, as quickly and easily as possible.
- David Sky
less is more
- Tyler Gillies
from email
WordPress, Thesis Theme, Twitter, Youtube, Google FriendConnect
- Marko Saric
Second Life, Metaplace, Typepad, Twitter
- Prokofy Neva
Video!!!
- Morgan
Only one mention of Silverlight. Too much bing-bing?
- Nick Wade
I like Alberto Saavedra's answer. It's about the building block elements rather than the branded tool. He nailed it.
- Neill Adamson
Imagination and then what ever tool gets the job done. Drupal and Wordpress allow businesses to get online quickly without the need for technical knowledge.
- Darren Rollett
Darren - that may be a little exaggeration regarding Drupal's ease.
- LPH™ and his dog P™
Agree w/ Michael Owens list.
- Jason Cronkhite
Google wave
- Amir
LPH - Agreed. Joomla is probably better for the none technical and a little easier to use. Although as Building43 shows you can acheive most things in Wordpress.
- Darren Rollett
http://www.vooices.us for using your mobile phone to seamlessly talk to to a webpage.
- Paul Kinlan
I am surprised nobody mentioned SMF (I have seen some amazing things done with it)
- April Russo (app103)
I would also bet on Google Wave.
- Martin Seibert
The Ticket lists the real top 10 Twitterers in Washington | Top of the Ticket | Los Angeles Times - http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washing...
Robert Peterson liked this
"After all, Politico writer Patrick Galvin places President Obama at No. 4 -- three spots below Karl Rove, a relic of an administration that many are trying to wipe from their memory banks. Granted, Obama had points deducted for a sudden halt in updates after being elected. But that's only because he moved to a new home on Twitter: @ObamaNews. Thanks to a Twitter stat tracking service, called Twellow, we get a list of the real top people and organizations, ranked by the number of users following their updates."
- david beckwith
from Bookmarklet
Happy Monday!
Robert Peterson, RAPatton and Daniel W. Crompton liked this
I'm at home, so it is a good Monday
- Shevonne
It is a happy monday. I'm stuck at my computer for right now, but looking forward to a swim later.
- Robert Peterson
from twhirl
I've been at home for weeks now - it's called being laid off. =) It is a Happy Monday for me because I see progress on the job front, my other ventures are going well, and I'm going on a run later!
- Nation Hahn
I'm working on a Fast Company article about Netbooks (those small $500 computers). Would love to discuss your experiences here:
jerobins, Franklin Pettit, VC Freak and 74 other people liked this
My favorite is the Samsung. How about yours? Why?
- Robert Scoble
Dell Mini 9. Very decent keyboard,all solid state,lots of usb ports, 1 gig ram.Feels like a proper machine, just ultra portable. Good value. Runs like a dream with windows 7.
- Nik
I was considering a netbook but I held back from buying it now. Looking forward to what you have got !
- Jaffer
I really enjoy the HP Mini despite the crappy trackpad the EEE Pc's look too much like toys that the problem I have. I was looking to buying one around Christmas but everyone had some flaw I just didn't want to handle. It seems there is no perfect or even close to perfect :-(
- Will Reynolds Young
I bought the Asus EEEPC 900 linux last year. For sofa surfing, and server room shennigans they are brilliant. Im annoyed at the lack of batterylife in them however I understand the MSI Wind is a better product todate
- Nik Butler
I don't have one but I think they would be great for conferences. They seem to be the right size - smaller than a laptop but bigger than a mobile phone.
- Kim Dushinski
Nik: what did you compare it to before buying the Dell? Why did that one stick out for you?
- Robert Scoble
Wondering how much of a real trend netbooks are - they are cheap, ok , but you get what u're paying for... a couple of extra bucks and u get a real productivity tool - all in all it's good for on-the-run bloggers though ;)
- ksso
HP 2133. High resolution and solid feel outweigh the concerns regarding the awkward trackpad.
- Fred Offenburger
Hey Robert. The portability and superb battery life makes it far easier to get work done on the move. Here in the UK I am starting to see them everywhere. Low price point also going to make them super-attractive right now! Windows 7 and linux fly on these pocket rockets!
- Jim Connolly
been looking at the MSI Wind u120 for a while now but haven't pulled the trigger yet. looks like a great machine that can run windows or OSX.
- The Last Epic
i agree with Nik, the Dell mini 9 is a great little netbook but then the HP mini does have the looks. I have a samsung laptop now, its not a netbook but a 17" laptop and i hate it. So samsung laptops+netbooks fail for me.
- Allan Jones
I love netbooks because of the small size. I frequently fly coach and need smaller computers because of the seat pitch. Also, sitting on the couch with friendfeed is just fine for a small computer.
- Robert Scoble
I also have a dell mini 9, love it. The keyboard does take a little getting used to, but with 1gb ram, it runs like a dream. It was a lifesaver on our road trip from Boston to Memphis. Hooked the ipod into it, used it as a in car entertainment device, was great. Love it.
- Nick
I purchased an Asus 4G (7") when they first came out, loved it, but the keyboard was way too small to be productive on it. I've recently picked up the 1000H with a whopping 160GB drive and a much more spacious keyboard. main usage is to do some offline development so battery life was important and you get plenty out of the eee units.
- Serdar
CASASSOVICI: Netbook sales exploded in 2008, CNET reports: http://crave.cnet.co.uk/laptops... (they aren't the only ones).
- Robert Scoble
I've lusted after a MacBook Air, but I saw an article suggesting OS X can run on these and so now looking for suggestions.
- Conor Ogle
I was just contemplating these the other day as a small 'utility' device. Something that I could use as a remote-control, so to speak, for all my home network devices. The low price point is what has attracted me as well. Can't wait for the article.
- Walt Ruppar
I user the Acer Aspire One 150 with Windows XP with ext battery last up to 5 hours - good keyboard - will try to install Windows 7 on it
- Michael Greth
I set one up for a client last week, my initial thought was "cheap, slow." Was a Dell Mini. I can see where if speed/performance were not so much an issue, they could be convenient for portability requirements, as mentioned by Kim and Nik.
- Christopher Dickens
As long as your covering Netbooks, I was wondering if you saw the patent filings for what looks to be a tablet or large iTouch. Do you think this is Apple's answer to the Netbook? Here's the link; http://is.gd/idvq
- Michael Fidler
Felt more robust than the eee /acer/hp, and better specs, at least at the time (November). Light and solid state means you can (literally) throw it in a bag and forget about it, which has brought a surprisingly different feel to computing. No matter how light, regular laptops always feel somewhat like a burden to carry/stow/etc.. A netbook has none of that, and if it's specced high enough, you sacrifice little in the way of your regular internet activities.
- Nik
Its a funny phenomenon. We've been tracking 8-10" netbooks as UMPCs since 2006. They we re expensive. Not popular. No-one really wanted one or could justify one. Now, price has changed a lot of peoples minds!
- Steve 'Chippy' Paine
Also, if i had some extra money i think i would get the sony notebook; http://bit.ly/sonynotbook
- Allan Jones
Once they get powerful enough, it would make sense to just have a netbook, and plug into keyboard and monitors elsewhere. Until then, they're a counterpart to your main machine that I'd find hard to give up now.
- Nik
The asus is a good one - its small - good to check email and hit the web . . .if you use web apps for most of your daily routine then a netbook would work. If you are opening documents or moving around media files . . probably not the right machine - not enough RAM.
- Steve
Allan: the Sony looks cool but for the price the Samsung delivers better performance for far less.
- Robert Scoble
My wife despised computers. Now she loves using a Netbook. Why? Size so she can drop it in her purse and carry it everywhere. Here videos on this at GottaBeMobile.com show the attraction that non-geeks have to these devices.
- Warner Crocker
I'm in China-what dyou know about Hashee netbooks?
- Betsy
Betsy: no, would love to hear more.
- Robert Scoble
I own the Aspire One. I'd say I've gone from taking a laptop with me every once in awhile to pretty much keeping the A1 with me about 90% of the time. The portability factor is awesome.
- Shawn Farner
I have an Acer Aspire One and love it. Portability is awesome and with a 6 cell battery upgrade I get about 5 hours of usability. People comment on the small keyboard but I find the main keys (alphabet that is) perfectly fine and only miss on some of the surrounding keys (e.g. shift). Not for gaming or high end apps (e.g. CAD) but for everything else simply superb. Oh, and just because it's called a "netbook" doesn't mean you have to work completely in the cloud. 160 GB for storage. Oh, and Win XP.
- Bob Starr
Robert: im still not sure about samsung laptops. as i said, i have one and im not happy with it. was kind of a let down. i would have to think twice before buying another samsung laptop/notebook
- Allan Jones
I'm a teacher, and use an EEE701 to plan and deliver all my lessons - really useful bit of kit + runs Linux, so I can also get them used to the fact that Microsoft isn't the only way to use a computer.
- Rich
Acer Aspire One user here. Needed something small enough to fit in my purse, big enough to function as needed. Happy with it.
- SchoolPR
I predict netbooks will soon morph into "pocket" netbooks. A screen that folds in half and a keyboard that folds in half. A 9" screen netbook will fold down to a 3" X 4" pocketable device that when unfolded out 4 ways has a usable screen and keyboard. With the advances in OLED and flexible screens the arrival of the all-in-one computer/communication device is closer than many think. The "netbook" form-factor is the most important, but I think yet unrecognized, step towards that.
- Gregg H.
Well, "500$" doesn't apply to the best netbook on the market right now: the Sony P. I wish I had the money 2 buy it... :(
- Raul Pereira
@scobleizer "Netbook sales exploded in 2008" => sure they did, netbooks seem cool from an uneducated user point of view - yet apart from a couple mobile geeks all of my friends found a better use as a bookshelf for theirs (and as it's pretty light it might not even be good for that) - YET the latest netbooks with 500+USD price point are more in the ultra-portable segment imho (almost 1kg, big screen....)
- ksso
Love the Eee901 Hate Xandros, would rather have XP. Will install ubuntu at some point. Great for travel & meetings, never had a problem with battery life, wi-fi connection not always great
- Richard Grieve
Small size, small weight, battery life and usability = the magic equation of mobile devices, iPhone is pretty close, netbooks have it
- Christophe Pierret
I'm a small business owner who needed to reduce the "weight" of my laptop and opt for the basics of a netbook. I struggled between the Dell Mini and the HP Mini. Dell Mini is only sold online -- I need to touch and feel a computer first, having already had bad luck with Dell I was reluctent. The HP doesn't have VGA out, a problem for me because I do lots of presentations requiring...
more...
- Matt Carlisle
netboooks supposed to fill a niche between smartphones & laptops.But realistically if you looking for bang for the buck netbook does not provide neither the bang nor the cost savings.Id say it will be a stepping stone to something else, few geeks & dumb nincompoops ( fooled by marketing) will buy it but for most this is a wait &* see year.
- Baba
If small size isn't what you want, for $500 you can get a lightly used laptop and a new battery. That's the way I've always done it.
- Bruce Lewis
from fftogo
oh and with settings down, I can play world of warcraft on my dell :) what more do i need!
- Nick
Acer Aspire One 1GB XP 160GB 6-cell $379 Costco. The larger battery is key because you get around 5-6 hours. Windows 7 worked out of the box, no problems. I love it. I use my 17" desktop replacement for real work, my netbook for everything else. When I travel, I no longer have to ask "Do I really need my laptop?" Netbooks fill the gap between laptop and smartphone. Three huge advantages of netbooks: small, cheap, awesome battery life. Fail if 3-cell or > $400.
- andy magoon
My Asus-Aspire is the best investment I've made in tech in a long time. The netbook provides ease of use where it is needed when neither a smartphone or laptop are appropriate. Those with solid state drives will likely be able to withstand the abuse making them more desirable when the capacity increases. For a college student taking notes and logging in Facebook what else is needed.
- Paul M Done
Also it's fun to see how the market started at a 300€ price point (event 200 when with a jointed mobile data plan) to evolve towards a 500€+ price point
- ksso
I got my MSIWind U100 last week 2GB RAM, installed windows 7, installed BIOS 1.09 Overclocked 25%, More than satisfied with it...fine user support on the net MSIWind WIKI etc.....paid $527 in Denmark.
- Joseph Jahn
Check out the MSI X320 It's an ultrapotable/netbook, that was designed to compete with the Macbook Air. Her's a review from CES http://blog.laptopmag.com/hands-o... It was one of the stars of CES, but it's not available yet.
- Michael Fidler
I have an aspire one w/XP (now dual boots win 7), 1 gig, 160 g hd, It works great, wouldn't want to write a book on the keyboard but fine for email. Use it for internet, watch tv shows and movies. Wouldn't do without it now.
- Curt Kelly
got an acer aspire one i slammed xp on, the linux distro that came with it was problematic with wireless from the 10 mins testing i gave it before formatting... bluetooth or hsdpa would complete it but theres 3 usb on it, which is more than my 'big' laptop has, so i can forgive it a cable to my phone
- Matt Randles
Hi Robert - I purchased an Aspire One - 160GB Model. Installed Windows 7 (use it as sole OS) and went through the cumbersome process of upgrading the memory to 1.5GB. Overall - I love it! It's compact yet has enough horsepower and storage to necessity apps (Windows, Office, iTunes, etc.) and store my content. Only downfalls of it are - not upgrade friendly and touchpad which I believe are being address in the new 10" versions. Great investment for my needs!
- Neilesh Daji
Here's something I wrote on the matter, it might help: http://channel.hexus.net/content...
- Scott
We got the 10" HP Mini with the 16 Gig SSD and 1 Gig of Ram (which we doubled for $40). The built in webcam is horrendous with hardly any picture controls but the size is great. I took it on the road with me and almost died when I was sitting in bulkhead and was able to slide it into the small plastic magazine holder in front of me.
- Marco(aureliusmaximus)
here in austria A One gives you a NetBook called the Q10 Air on XP, 160 HDD running a 1,6 Ghz Intel Atom, you pay 29 Eur / month and have 5 G data transfer, 3, A Hutchinson Co., offered an Eee PC ( not sure exact model ) with a similar data-transfer contract at a comparable price, some business clients are opting for NetBooks instead of Laptops because they weigh less, cost about as...
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- atul abraham
from twhirl
I much prefer the $500 base model regular size laptop from dell
- Christian Burns
enjoying my HP Mini.
- MikeAmundsen
I have the Dell Mini 9 and while the size can't be beat, I am wishing I had purchased a small "regular" laptop instead - or one from another manufacturer. The placement of the quotes/apostrophe key on the Dell Mini 9 is atrocious and forces me to constantly edit. I will likely buy a portable USB keyboard to deal with this since I am not going to give up on this purchase just yet. However, I would recommend to others looking to buy a Netbook to really review the specs before buying.
- Jamie Sanford
My favorite is eee pc 900a due being one of the smallest 8.9 inchers with atom cpu. It has great big multitouch mouse pad and good durability. It's just $230 but i updated it with fast 64gig ssd, 2gigs of ram, touch screen and 3G... dual booting xp pro and windows 7.
- jkkmobile
I gotta say that I love my Apsire One (currently set up to tri boot XP, Win 7 and Ubuntu Netbook). I've mainly been using Win 7 on it as it's great on supposedly low end hardware, but on a recent road trip, I pushed the Aspire to the limit. http://www.rgbfilter.com/... is a recent post I made about my experiences using it during a road trip, watching streaming video via Orb while tracking our position using Google Earth, with data and GPS connectivity being sent to the Aspire via a smartphone.
- Doug
PS : my main workstation is an 8 G gaming rig dual-boot to WIN 7 BETA & Vista Ultimate, i also use a Sony Viao VGN FZ 21 M. Plus a back up PC ( an Austran reseller brand ).
- atul abraham
from twhirl
My MSI Wind has been a boon to me as an IT Pro - I can sit in bed at night, remote into my servers and do work on them quickly and then get back to my netflix movie. Win7 runs great and it flies through whatever I throw at it. Plus having it quad boot impresses the girls (the nerd ones anyway...)
- david
have you seen this $10 laptop from india http://www.guardian.co.uk/world... (Probably vaporware)
- anand
Digging the Aspire One VERY much. Made it dual boot with XP and Ubuntu, not having any problems yet. I love discrete size. I'm fine with the 8.9 size--if I wanted bigger I'd go with a full laptop. Great screen. Runs everything I want and the keyboard works for me. Not a fan of the touchpad either, but I am very pleased for the money.
- Tracey Patterson
Oh yeah, like others said, unlike a 'real' laptop, netbooks are much more portable, meaning you're more likely to bring it to places where you MIGHT need a computer, and you don't have to worry about packing an annoying laptop bag.
- Doug
Picked up an Aspire One yesterday - WinXP (spec, spec, spec). Installed Skype, Trillian, Photoshop CS2, Office 2007, Twhirl, Firefox, CCCP, all w/o a problem. I was replacing the need for a PDA (x50v Axim). I have an XPS m1710 - too large for random bolting from the office to work in a coffee shop. I'm stoked.
- Enrique Gutierrez
from twhirl
I believe the netbooks we have seen till now are the first generation of the netbooks. With the second generation, we'll be much more amazed. As @cpierret said "Small size, small weight, battery life and usability" are the key factors. I believe they'll get less heavy, have better battery and their usability will boost in 2009. My personal choice: Asus EeePC 1000H
- Goktug Gedik
I'm using an Asus 4G right this very second. Great battery life, fair O/S, keyboard is too small for me, decent screen, very compact and lightweight... Overall it has been a great experience. With the advent of 'cloud' storage and web-based mail, photo editing and document creation it makes a good case to carry this instead of a big laptop when travelling.
- MVB (Grinch of FF)
I live on mine when I am traveling, the battery life on the plane is great about 8 hours, I use it for podcasts, I use it to write blog entries, I use it to upload pictures to smug mug, but I really use it when I am traveling, lighter, longer battery life, does what I need it to do for a "on the go blogger/program director" if you want a quote. :-) I really love my netbook.
- Dan Morrill AKA Techwag
really want to get a netbook, love the portability and price, ideal for conferences.
- Kipp Bodnar
My Eee PC 1000H experiences: http://friendfeed.com/search...
- Erhan Erdogan
I got my 10" MSI Wind with the 6-cell battery when it first came out and for my purposes (web-surfing while watching tv), it's golden. No way in hell it'd work as a primary machine though. For me anyway.
- ronin
I'm still waiting for a solid netbook OS to come out and deliver on the idea of these things serving as a Portal to our documents in the sky. I'm more than happy with 4GBs of solid state hard drive if I can safely and securely access my home/work networks and computers. If Windows 7 can facilitate this then I think they could very well corner the market.
- Tyler Brownfield
I love my MSI Wind U100. I pretty much use it at home as my primary laptop. When I do use a normal-sized laptop it just seems huge to me as compared to the Wind. I'm over 40 and use reading glasses, but the smaller screen is not a problem for me.
- J.D. Deutschendorf
Lenovo S10, 1Gb RAM, XP - love this thing. Light, portable, cheap (I paid <$300). Am able to get it to choke, though, with FireFox with 20 tabs open + Outlook + Excel + TweetDeck running. I can live with it, though - haven't turned on my desktop since the day I bought this thing.
- Tom Halle
Who needs a netbook? My iPhone *is* my netbook. I have decent web browsing, real e-mail and media playback. Something that needs more than an iPhone to do the job probably needs more than a netbook, too.
- Jonathan Fingas
Netbooks with Intel Ion Technology is coming, NVidia GeForce 9400M and intel atom processor together, for gaming !! http://tinyurl.com/67pkfm
- Rocky
Recently bought a netbook for my boss. I went with the hp mini. I find its made better than the asus. It also has a built in Verizon card. I did run into a problem when I had orginally bought the same machine from Circuit City and it stated on the website that it had the "built-in" wireless card. But after hours of technical support the fast talking asian man state that the laptop that I bought would not work. I had to buy it directly from HP.
- ryan
Seems like kind of a lazy way to do a story.
- Carol Vinzant
The plan to make 13" notebooks based on Intel's Atom platform indicates that some people don't care too much about computing power anymore. It's all about having lightweight access to the web, and web applications.
- Meryn Stol
Carol: Couldn't disagree more. Today the only excuse for not beginning a story this way is ignorance or misguided notions of how a reporter/journalist is supposed to traditionally research and background something. There's a billion people with ideas and information itching to share it. Can't think of one good reason not to tap that.
- Gregg H.
This is how cutting-edge journalism is done nowadays, and it's the smart (not the lazy) way to do it.
- Sean McBride
LOL @ Carol - he is ASKING for your EXPERIENCEs with a Netbook. thats GOOD journalism. and Sean this is how good journos have ALWYS worked. shee, you want him to make stuff about netbook users up ?
- atul abraham
from twhirl
I bought an Eee PC (901, I believe). Very portable. Keyboard took some getting used to. Used mainly for browsing. Chrome or Firefox (in minimalist mode) and full screen were great for it. Potential as a notetaking device with One Note or Evernote. Watched Transformers on it and it played well enough.
- Arlan Koizumi
Carol: I have been studying netbooks for a long time. Went to CES in Las Vegas. Went to IFA in Berlin. Went to computer malls in Shenzhen, China. And now I'm asking your opinions. Personally I agree with Gregg. You are totally in the wrong here. Good journalists learn to listen to the real experiences of people on forums and online.
- Robert Scoble
I keep wanting to pull their trigger, but I'm hearing the XP drivers they had to create are buggy ie. scroll bars. Anyone having that problem?
- Dave Gambrill
Hey Robert - Brian from Seagate here. I'm interested in the percentage of flash based netbooks to HDD based. My sense is that netbooks are moving up in capacity dramatically.
- Brian Ziel
Brian: One of the problems I've read about with Netbooks using SSD's is that their performance degrades whenever lots of writes have to be made. For instance, when writing to cache webpages. This was a problem with the Asus EEE 900A, granted it did have a slower than usual SSD. Are writes getting better with newer SSD's?
- Gregg H.
I don't think netbooks are replacements but rather secondary machines. Good for travel or sitting on the couch watching TV. Won't replace a high-end laptop or desktop.
- Michael Sheehan
from twhirl
Michael: For a lot of people, yes they will be replacements. Intel knows this, and they hate that they have to even make an Atom. That's why every time you hear an Intel exec talking about netbooks and even their Atom processor they trip all over themselves to tell you just how bad they really are. AMD is even worse, they are just in denial, and have no plans to even get in the game with a sub 15 Watt processor.
- Gregg H.
Yep, default SSDs on most netbooks are slow.. thats why one should buy either hdd version or minimum capacity ssd version and then upgrade to fast one... there are pretty fast and cheap ssd allready available so if you dont need tons of storage but like ssd speed and durability go for it!
- jkkmobile
I am still waiting for my HP to be delivered, but a few years back, when they were called subnotebooks (and were way more expensive) I had a sub-tablet (10") from fujitsu, the p1310. Having this tiny computer really blew my mind, it was easy to have a computer with you at all times when it weighed only 1kg and was smaller than a hardcover book. I used it for note taking, presentations,...
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- Joelle Nebbe (iphigenie)
My ten year old just purchased one with his own allowance money, and xmas gift cards. He loves it. He sits on his bed watching TV and writing in his journal. He carries it around the house like his mom and dad do with there big expensive laptops. My next computer will be a netbook I've already decided.
- Russ Jackson
To me the killer features for a netbook are keyboard size, touch screen, wifi and battery life (which implies using SSD and no CD drive). I wish there were netbooks without those really annoying touchpads - give me a "nipple" and/or a touchscreen and more keyboard space. My subnotebook would have been a lot less usable without virtualCD technology (which meant i could take software or...
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- Joelle Nebbe (iphigenie)
I can see netbooks being main machines for some (okay, a lot of) people. However, I think 10-12 inch screens (and thus, hopefully, larger keyboards) will need to become the base for it to truly take off. Both of my parents have high-end dual core, DVD burner/reader, 15-inch laptops. Yet, only my father makes use of it all. My mother just uses hers for email and web browsing. A netbook would be right up her alley, as long as it's bigger than the usual 8.9-inch fare. And @Brian Ziel, my Eee PC has a SSD.
- Arlan Koizumi
Arlan: VGA out
- Gregg H.
My 23 yo sister and I have Acer Aspire Ones. She takes hers everywhere (fits in her purse) and I've noticed her using it in the kitchen (to cook from internet recipes) as well. I've tended to use mine to websurf while watching sports on TV.
- Charles Fenwick
My Ubuntu-preloaded Dell Mini-9 is on its way back to FedEx since I'm a 9 to 5'r. I'll let ya know what I think after I pick it up tonight. W/my employee discount it dressed out at around $320!
- Eric Rost
Win7 + Acer Aspire One = Awesome!
- Shafiq Jetha
from twhirl
@Gregg H. Yes, at the desk. But what about at the couch? Or using it for reference when working on a car (did this with my MBP; too big)? 10-12-inch is, to me, a nice middle ground between large screen and portability without additional hardware. Of course, being younger and with good-ish eyesight, 8.9 isn't bad and works just well. But compound screen size with keyboard size and it's not so comfy during extended use. For me anyway.
- Arlan Koizumi
Set one up for my cousine. I don't like the keyboard, way to small. But surely it's just a matter of practice ...
- Dennis R.
Got my 901 EEE with Windows 7 on it. Its a 20Gb linux version, but had to install windows 7 on the second partition due to space. Works really well.
- Uncle CW™
Robert, I have a Netbook in the UK. A Dell 9. Blogged about experience here: http://digitalagency.typepad.com/digital...
- Mike Coulter
Question to you... do you think that netbooks distribution will be primarily through carriers, like handsets, or via big box channel partners, like notebooks?
- Aimee
I've rolled my Netbook(Asus Eee 701) down a flight of carpeted steps and dropped it above waist height twice. The SSD Drive has to be the best tech of the century.
- Anthony Farrior
it might be off topic but for 500$ I prefer to buy used normal laptop with decent performance and avoid the sluggish, low resolution netbooks ...
- Nir Dremer
Nir, on that point, there are *new* non-netbooks for <$500.
- Wade Dorrell
count me in
- pestwave
I'm a product developer and I use an Asus 1000H with 160GB HDD and 2GB of RAM. I have a full install of Solidworks solid modeling software and it runs without a hitch for simpler parts and assemblies. The 10" screen is adequate for most tasks and the trackpad even has some basic multitouch features. I picked it up during the Live Search cashback promotion in December for $300, delivered. Not bad.
- Luke Westra
My wife reviews b-grade movies at QueenOfCheese.com on her Asus EEE and she loves it. She never takes her full laptop anywhere now that she has net netbook.
- MarkCarras
The new ASUS Eee PC 1000HE is my new lust. It just became available for pre-order at $399. Revamped keyboard so the Right-Shift key is in the right spot. 160GB hard drive plus 10GB of online storage through ASUS included. 802.11n and up to 9.5 hours of battery life with a battery that sits flush in the chassis.
- Kevin C. Tofel
At the moment though, I'm using an MSI Wind with a 2GB RAM upgrade. Great keyboard and nearly 6 hours of battery life. Been running Windows 7 on it since October and the OS rocks on it.
- Kevin C. Tofel
Picked up an Aspire One at Best Buy by impulse and have been using the thing for class notes and when traveling for the last 6 months and have had nothing but good experiences with the thing. Typing is quite easy once you adjust to the keyboard, and multitasking isn't much different than on a standard sized laptop.
- BCK
I've been using an HP Mini 1033 and quite pleased with it. What wins me over? The diminutive size and weight. It's become the one computer I grab to take with me on the go. I've also been using it a lot when sitting on the back porch using Remote Desktop to my bigger (indoor) dev machine when needed. Yeah, it's a little cramped to program with the Mini's small display, but I like being outdoors more.
- Loren Heiny
@Loren HP Mini display is OK in the sun? Man, I wish I could compute outside more... but laptop displays just never work.
- Wade Dorrell
I don't actually have one, but the netbook phenomenon inspired me to take an old Dell laptop I had sitting around, and reformat to just run Firefox and web apps. Small computers have been around for years, but the maturity of the cloud and improvements in power consumption have helped the market for netbooks take off. I look forward to the next generation of these devices.
- Ryan
@kevin This is huge news! =) http://www.engadget.com/2009...
- Goktug Gedik
india is working on $10 laptop http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Infotec...
- varun
What a thread! Anyway, I am underwhelmed by the Dell netbook. Check out my review: http://raddevon.com/review-...
- Devon Campbell
I have just installed OSX on a Dell Mini 9 that I picked up for $250. It's pretty unbelievable.
- Ben Metcalfe
@Robert - I don't have any experience with these, but my dad got one a bit ago. I'm not sure what kind of experiences you are looking for, but if you'd be interested, but he might be able to provide an interesting view from a non techie perspective. Get in touch if you'd like to chat with him.
- Justin Korn
Dell Inspiron Mini Running OSX - http://tinyurl.com/bghzas, has Apple been ripping us off on hardware ?
- atul abraham
from twhirl
Is it straightforward to install OSX?or does this require extensive hacking?
- Lyndon
I think I can´t live without my eee 901 (with xp) anymore. perfect balance of size/weight/features for me. I needed some time to get comfortable with the the keyword and I use a mouse with it. and - it is kind of cute and lovely. never had such a relationship to some techthing, really.
- esther ♥ ♫
I'm also in love with my EEE 901 with Linux. I can get actual work done (I'm a software developer) even when I'm far away from my work or home computer. Makes me feel like I'm living a more "online" life.
- Panagiotis Astithas
Waiting for my Lenovo S10E Black - http://larsen82.wordpress.com/2009...
- Qbat
Robert, I'm starting to think, netbooks and phones, may be more ideal for consuming video media, than desktops/laptops. I'm gonna try to get a video feed in friendfeed going, to further explore this paradigm shift. Watching video at a desktop can actually be quite time consuming, and static.
- David Lynch
Ok, so we've agreed this is a great way to research an article, but where is the finished product. I am hoping for some recommendations as I have done zero research of my own and would like to be a lazy, but not misguided, consumer.
- Conor Ogle
Going past that, Louis Gray, an influencer, just had twins. I remember Scoble complained about no brands sought him when he had Milan.
Rodrigo Jaroszewski, Louis Gray, Yuvi and Robert Peterson liked this
It's impossible that no brands sought Scoble after having a baby. We still get diaper samples every couple months as "baby" should be reaching a new size. We get formula, even though my wife nurses. XX% off coupons from all the kid's stores. Etc.
- Robert Peterson
Isn't Milan a/the new Johnson and Johnson baby? Seems like at least one brand made contact?
- Brian Sullivan
I told my wife that if she wanted sponsors, we need triplets or better. We definitely fell short.
- Louis Gray
Next time Louis, next time ;)
- Jeremiah Owyang
Brian: that was a joke. But Maryam did get invited to Johnson and Johnson's "BabyCamp." The trouble is, after you have a baby you probably have already set in on a brand of diapers and formula and all that.
- Robert Scoble
My kids will still be the schwag magnets: http://www.louisgray.com/live...
- Louis Gray
Who's your guess for Democratic VP?
ha3rvey (Ho)^3, Sabrina, Brooklyn Art Project and 3 other people liked this
Robert Mugabe?
- john conroy
HRC
- Steve Rubel
Lot of people would like Clinton. But I would say she should stick to being senator.VP is a lame duck position and she with her abilities will be very restricted and cant do much
- Arjun
Edwards, but I'm Canadian and don't know squat about such things. :)
- Mark Dykeman
Hillary doesn't deserve to be vice president after what she has done.
- Kyle Weller
Someone most of us have never heard of.
- Ontario Emperor
from fftogo
HRC
- Peter Dawson
Anybody but Hillary
- Sally Church
from Alert Thingy
HRC to lock in a win for the party, found her speech a bit petty though...
- Brooklyn Art Project
I dream of an Obama/Edwards ticket
- Liz Polay-Wettengel
If he's smart: Edwards or Biden. If he's desperate: HRC
- Shey, Jamaican of FF
desperate?...you mean flippin retarded
- Anthony
I'm guessing not the Reverend Jeramiah?
- Steven Di Pietro
Ha pietro, maybe hell go with pastor ed hagey, or scooter libby
- Anthony
I think that Reverend Wright would be his first choice.
- Paula Hawk
Huh? :P
- Yuvi
Liz, interesting, Obama and John Edwards?
- Jeremiah Owyang
If McCain goes Huckabee, then Edwards. If he goes Crist, then one of the Virginians.
- Robert Peterson
Edwards. Or Biden if he wants to have fun.
- Mike Keliher
Definitely. I want change for the better, it is a long time coming. I think the Obama/Edwards ticket could bring us back to being a nation actually for the people. We need leaders who would actually rally behind us, support us, and make us proud of what we can accomplish again. Perhaps I'm being blinded by the concept that ANY change that could make things better, but a girl can dream.
- Liz Polay-Wettengel
Edwards: do not want. Let him be AG. I"m guessing Richardson, but I WANT Wesley Clark.
- Cyndy
No guess, but I don't think McCain will be a contingent factor; I think McCain will wait to name his VP till after Obama does.
- Phil Crissman
Donna Brazile, she would turn some heads
- Richie Escovedo
Edwards is a loser, nowhere near strong enough for the job.
- dkb
from Alert Thingy
i'm going for HRC, purely on the basis of the old maxim: keep your friends close, and your enemies even closer
- Iain Baker
I've heard Tom Ridge's name tossed out-- that might be a good choice.
- Heather Nasca Dulin
I agree with Iain Baker, then at least Obama will know where her fingers are...
- Sabrina
Bill Richardson
- Jason Runyan
I think Edwards has said no already. Bill Richardson, maybe?
- ha3rvey (Ho)^3
Rev. Wright ?!?
- John (ColderICE)
From CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2008...
- ha3rvey (Ho)^3
Clinton doesn't deserve it especially after the assassination comment.
- Akiva Moskovitz
Sam Nunn
- Jeff Beckham
@Jeff My husand wants Nunn for SoD. He said the VP doesn't do enough to waste Nunn there.
- Cyndy
Bill Richardson, New Mexico Governor
- Clinton Schaff
When Will McCain Return Pastor Hagee's $1,000 Contribution? - http://www.politicalbase.com/profile...
Robert Peterson liked this
Looks like he has bigger problems, another lobbyist in his hen house.
- Robert Peterson
Scoble has a productivity problem - http://scobleizer.com/2008...
siavash, Gaurav Patel, Ro (Lilyhill) and 48 other people liked this
I'd love to know how you think I should answer Bob Bly's letter in this post.
- Robert Scoble
there is productivity and then there is productivity. It depends on where you are standing, and how you define it. I always had a bad conscience when checking out Twitter, Flickr or Facebook. But not anymore. I have gathered so much knowledge about social networks. I thought I was being procrastinating, but I was being productive all the time. Now when considering something I say, to scoble or not to scoble :-)
- Baard @ Pixum
i don't get this discussion. Scoble does all the stuff he does cause it's his job. It's like asking a dude who reviews books if all that book reading is a time waster.
- Stan Schroeder
from twhirl
Stan: I was doing it long before it was my job. I've been playing with new things ever since I helped unbox an Apple II in my Jr. High in 1977.
- Robert Scoble
we are doing all of these stuff because we like to do.
- ahmet bulent
.
- Stan Schroeder
from twhirl
damn twhirl. Anyway, @Scoble: then it was your hobby. Same thing. A guy who's not interested in all this stuff should simply pick and choose what he likes and forget about the rest
- Stan Schroeder
from twhirl
Totally agree to the meaning of goals and motivation. That's why people are different and everyone is unique.
- Carsten R
from Alert Thingy
Stan: I think it goes deeper than that. People who aren't looking to learn new things bug me for some reason. It's like they are celebrating their ignorance and their willingness to stay ignorant. I had a father-in-law who loved telling me he never touched a computer and never would. I found that fascinating.
- Robert Scoble
Its not his (scobles) job unless he wants it to be his job. I think in Bobs case he might be unproductive if he was engaging in all those activities that Scoble spends his time on. It all depends on what you want to get out of your day/life? It all depends on who you are and what you do. I thin what bob is asking might apply to him or people who are not directly ingrained in creating technology.
- Akshay Dodeja
I'll give you a simple analogy. Let's imagine that you're a car fanatic. You tweak your car every day, and it goes faster. You get to work at least 10 minutes faster each day, however, all the tweaking you do takes many hours of your time. A regular guy just sits in his car and drives, and goes to the mechanic when something goes wrong. Who's right and who's wrong here? No one, I say.
- Stan Schroeder
from twhirl
I've been answering this question a lot lately. Why is twitter better than my message board? Why not just use email? Who has time for that stuff? In my opinion, the fact that they are asking is just another sign that it is becoming more accepted. When my 85 year old grandmother knows what Facebook is, and why my 65 year old mom living in BFE knows what MySpace is, that is the definition of mainstream.
- Robert Peterson
Btw, the nickname i sometimes use, "frantic" comes from my frantic desire to learn everything there is to know about a topic (i get this 2 times per week at least). So I get where you're coming from. But, not everyone is like that.
- Stan Schroeder
from twhirl
Stan: I understand that, but that's not what I'm talking about. I drive a car and don't care about tinkering with it, taking it apart, and all that, but I'm not going to celebrate my ignorance of it. If someone says "hey, here's a way to get more enjoyment out of your car" I'll at least listen and see if it interests me. Even if it doesn't, I'm not going to celebrate the fact that I'm ignorant. Like "I'll never see why we need Hybrid cars, my Hummer works just fine."
- Robert Scoble
Good analogy, Stan. Although if you are tweaking your car, most likely you enjoy doing that. Even though you are loosing "productivity time" while tweaking you are expanding your knowledge. That knowledge has a worth to you as a car tweaker and would be worth nothing to another person. As you said tho no one is right or wrong. Just depends on how you look at it :)
- Akshay Dodeja
Stan, you're analogy is great.
- Timothy Neilen
@Scoble: Well, some people just go through life without knowing anything about anything. Don't think you can change that, either (;.
- Stan Schroeder
from twhirl
This is very normal for those who did not discover the potential of social networks, or whether the same technology. I live here and in Latin America is very common that everyone do the same question as Bob, but you have to have a lot of patience to explain the possibilities that the experience provides. The examples you gave were very good to try to explain to Bob and the list can continue.
- Cesar Sanchez
Stan: a more accurate analogy is I come over with my new car that has GPS and a navigation system and you run on and on about how you'll never own a car with a GPS or a navigation system. I just don't like hanging around people like that. I guess we have Amish who still drive around in horse and carriage for a reason, though, but I won't choose to hang around with them, sorry if that makes me a jerk. I just don't like people who celebrate remaining in the past.
- Robert Scoble
@Scoble: those same people who run on and on about not trying new things will buy those same things when they read it in the newspapers. Capitalism: replacing innovative thinking since 19th century.
- Stan Schroeder
from twhirl
I don't think I can improve on the original post (at all) but I follow these things to pursue my ambitions. It's that simple. And my ambitions (video game design) require that I stay current with the times. I just happen to have a blast doing it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to find out what Flickr is.
- Avery Tingle
Bob is sadly very typical in my limited experience. It's like some people are proud of being and remaining ignorant. They have no curiousity and are stuck in their old ways. I'm a scientist; I love finding new things and simply cannot fathom why other people aren't equally fascinated.
- Sally Church
Robert, i think you are being untypically nasty to good old BOB BLY. by the end of your long blog post you might of well called him a beer drinking TV watching ignorant slob. he says: -------"Can you help an old guy from the old school understand what he’s missing? - P.S. Your column is well written and there are obviously a legion of people who get all this stuff. I’d like to see if I could become one of them or at least understand what all the fuss is about."------- i don't think you answered him...
- djp
Your post says it all. Thanks. My experience as someone coming from the non-tech world is that I need to defend the amount of time I spend in social networking on a daily basis. As an artist, I see this is THE new medium, not sure how it will manifest new work but very sure this is it. And that excites me and keeps me listening, talking when I think I have something to contribute, but present most days. Some of my friends don't get it and most don't participate. Oh well. More will be revealed. ;-)
- Mary Anne Davis
djp72: fair enough. So, put yourself into my shoes. How would you answer it?
- Robert Scoble
i think you took it too personally when BOB BLY says "I don’t have any of it — for that matter, I don’t own a Blackberry, iPod, wireless laptop, or even a cell phone — and I get along fine without them."------- your rant doesn't actually prove your point, if i put myself in Bob's beer stained shoes for a second, i'm sure he's sitting there going "i was right.... this is all about nothing...."
- djp
djp72: again. One more time. Answer the damn question then. How would you answer it? Stop attacking me and answer the question!
- Robert Scoble
one last point Robert, imagine if Bob was your uncle, or old high school mate, or someone you knew, i'm sure you wouldn't end up being all sarcastic and calling him ignorant. i'm sure you'd take your time and explain and answer his questions... sorry for the long comment out of the blue, it just struck me as a tad sooky.....
- djp
djp72: again with the attack. Actually, when people get all Luddite on me I usually just walk away because I've learned long ago that you'll never convince someone to join you by fighting with them. They usually come around and if they don't, well, there's that photo on my blog to remind you what happens eventually. I really wish you'd answer the question yourself.
- Robert Scoble
Mary Ann: Well said, that sums up my experience with my biotech peers too - they just don't get it and I spend a lot of time explaining it to them, to little avail. You have to wait for them to get it and the penny to drop.
- Sally Church
The letter was a bit weird coming from a guy who has as a url www.bly.com. A 3 letter .com url? sounds as though he is extremely wealthy or way ahead of the game to me!
- Geoff
Mr. Bob points are perfectly valid, but the question is if Robert is the right person he should address them to. ;-)
- Peter
It's not all about quantifiably productive experiences for everyone, in fact personal progress seems to come when people just do their thing, find their groove..... and if Bob prefers to find his groove without engaging with the Twitters and Flickrs of the world then I say - good luck, enjoy your free time (probably alot of it spent waiting for the post)....if on the otherhand like me...
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- Mia Walczak
Scoble, you write a blog that is read by thousands. You answered your own question! How would WE respond to Bob? HA! That is the very thing: that you can engage hundreds into a conversation about this topic. The idea that anyone has access to this discussion is revolutionary. If you wrote out your blog posts and sent it by mail... where would be the fun in that? Who would be able to read it? Who would be able to comment?
- Alana Taylor
You get excited about the internet because you understand it's potential for COMMUNICATION. Phones, cameras, pictures, blogs, micro-blogs... these are all means for bringing people together. The World Wide Talk Show is what I recall you telling me. A man who doesn't use these tools must not be very interested in communication at all. The irony lies in the fact that he used the internet to ask you why the internet is special. I think he also answered HIS own question: COMMUNICATION.
- Alana Taylor
Really good post Robert, and really interesting question originally from Bob. I get excited about the things that I write about because through some of them, we see glimpses of the future - and, it's fair to say, in some of them I see glimpses of future failures too. The thing is that without playing with this stuff, it's much harder to understand its implications.
- Ian Betteridge
Geoff - Maybe Bob is ahead of the game. Maybe this was his tactic to get his name out and to be talked about. ;) heh.
- Alana Taylor
Robert Scoble is a scout and explorer and he likes telling people what he finds. You need that kind of person in order to introduct and create change. Some people have a natural inclination to do that.
- Mark Dykeman
I think you missed Bob's point here, Robert. He's not attacking your choices, but rather wanting to find out what could be in it for him. The alternative to not engaging in all the social stuff does not have to be getting a beer in front of the TV, it could just as well be writing a book. When I read the question I immediately thought of Don Knuth who is rarely (if ever) online, yet manages to write books and software that will have a long lasting impact.
- Niklas Morberg
Niklas: no, sorry, you aren't a very careful reader. When someone says "It seems to me that all these things — Twitter, Facebook, iPhone, Flickr — are a thundering bore and an utter waste of time" that does NOT mean that the writer is wanting to find out what could be in it for him. It means he's already considered whether or not these things could be useful for him and has decided no. And, further, he's decided to denigrate those people who chose to use their time that way.
- Robert Scoble
Robert Pirsig wrote a book about this wormhole called "Zen in the Art of Motorcycle Maintainence"... changed my life
- Peter
if you do it for a living and it puts food on the table and you enjoy it who cares, it's about finding balance to enjoy your personal life too
- Jason
A little historical context here: In late 2004 Bob Bly famously wrote a newsletter dissing the potential of blogging as a marketing & communications tool, mocking it, some would say. Great link bait and blog fodder. He then, surprise surprise, started a blog himself. Talk about built-in attention & controversy. Funny thing, he maintains that blog pretty actively to this day. I'd say he's planning to get on Facebook, Twitter etc. in about 2 weeks & just wants to make sure people are paying attention ;)
- Elisa Camahort Page
Scoble: Did you know the Amish are way ahead-of-the-loop on solar panels. Almost every Amish house has a solar panel. It helps that they are frugal with power.
- Mitchell Tsai
Geez, Robert, what a long winded way to answer a simple question! :-) The short answer is, "It's simply human to want to 1) know more, and 2) be known more." AWARENESS is the key. Without it, there would be no UNDERSTANDING. First comes self-awareness, which is what makes us human. Then comes awareness of others, which is what the web and social software enable in a very efficient way...
more...
- Lawrence Liu
I'd say: "Bob, 5 billion years have working to make this neat little box. Wanna peak inside?"
- phil baumann
Thanks for the great article. Already added the MarsPhoenix Twitter feed and other related RSS feeds.
- Bill Bittner
Not everyone wants to keep in touch with the latest technology. Some folks just want to sit on a stoop and watch traffic. I don't understand that but I respect their choice.
- Morton Fox
I posted my comment to your blog, but here's a snippet: It all boils down to this: We must *master* our productivity tools (technology included) in order to maximize production of our quality work in a time manner. So how do you use technology to accomplish this? Are you an advanced user that has figured out how to organize, sort, filter and glean the best data from all your tools? The person who is best capable of using each tool with mastery, will achieve the highest productivity ratio.
- Susan Beebe
Great post Robert whether Bly is real or not - people often miss that this is NOT about technology but about connections and learning and PEOPLE. Alas, the problem today for folks like you and I who just freakin love learning new stufff is that well -we have SO many opportunities from so many people thanks to the tech! Well said Lawrence!!
- deb schultz
http://bly.com/blog/?p=333 that's the link to Bob's blog post about this very letter he sent you Robert.
- James Dasher
Great post Scoble...keep going after the interesting conversations!
- Mack D. Male
I *just* had a chance to read the actual article. I don't know Bly, but I couldn't disagree with him more. Your response was dead on. I think Bly has missed the point that these are just tools. I also think his response is like writing in to Car & Driver and telling them they have too many articles about automobiles.
- ha3rvey (Ho)^3
Defining a choice not to use (or more properly) _venerate_ networking tools as "ignorant" is part of the problem. You assume that everything happening in the world is happening in these environments. It is not. And if you really are sitting on a couch watching TV when you're not on Twitter, you ARE missing out. When I was off Twitter yesterday, I was eating ice cream with 5-year-old nieces reading them a story. and being wrestled to the ground by them. I hope your son can look forward to such memories.
- Shelly Brisbin
It's the same old story over and over again. Some will fight against new technology (tools), kicking and screaming all the way. Others will adopt and improve. At some point the tools that make it will have been subsumed into mainstream and we'll laugh about the early resistance. Telephone, yes, and railroad... come to mind. Is social networkiing here to stay? Who knows? But why condemn it without trying it out?
- Alex von Halem
Two things that have really stuck with me from this article over the past couple of days: "Whenever I am faced with a productivity problem I ask myself “what do I want to get out of life?”" which is damned good advice. It might seem selfish but I now think that you can't ask yourself this enough. Too many people go through life doing things they don't want to do just because they ask themselves the wrong questions. Start asking this one.
- william douglas watson
The second thing which I find infinitely for powerful than the first: "The real thing I’ve been doing for more than eight years now is to try to arrange my life so that I have an interesting conversation every day with someone interesting." What an awesome life you have made Scoble. The fact that you have come to a point in your life that this is a feasible goal is just awesome. Wow. Thanks for the inspiration.
- william douglas watson
I think my answer to Bob Bly would be this: 'I was a copywriter. Then, while following Robert Scoble's Microsoft blog, I found out about tablet pcs. And have since become a visual facilitator, earning approximately twenty times more per gig than I ever did as a copywriter. Social media is the most powerful learning tool I've ever dealt with.' (Thanks for turning me onto tablet pcs, Robert.)
- Roy Blumenthal
To me it seems that Bob Bly just wants to hold on to the wistful memory of how things were...freeze time, so to speak. And no matter what you tell him and how you do it, it's not going to make an iota of a difference. What for him is waste of time, is for you a dive into worlds unknown. What for you is old school and ignorance, is for him blissful existence in a world as tangible as the cup of coffee (or tea) he holds. And never the twain shall meet.
- Mansi Bhatia
Great discussion. I started to comment, but it got too long, so it wound up here: http://philcrissman.com/2008...
- Phil Crissman
Superchunk (Carrboro, 05.02.08) - "Detroit has a Skyline" - http://www.youtube.com/watch...
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Robert Peterson and Dave Johnson liked this
I just posted why FriendFeed will go mainstream: http://scobleizer.com/2008...
Chris Myles, Tony C., mark dekruyter and 33 other people liked this
Do you use Alert Thingy or any of the desktop apps for Friendfeed, or just keep the site open?
- Patrick Jordan
I agree, FriendFeed will go mainstream if people start using more of these online services
- Justin Yost
I just keep the site open and refresh a lot.
- Robert Scoble
That was an awesome and relevant post! Thanks Rob!
- Drew Lucas
I use twhirl, but it keeps moving the screen while I'm typing if there is an update. Hence these random bits of comment you get sometimes...
- Rahsheen ™, Coach Rah
from twhirl
Using twhirl also. Just not enough screen space there, and things to roll off. Web page is easier.
- Todd Jordan
Well said Robert, good article on why FriendFeed will go mainstream.
- Mike Reynolds
FF is definitely gonna need a better interface if it IS going to be useable by non-geeks
- Rahsheen ™, Coach Rah
I was thinking the same thing, Jason. I don't think my mom would ever be able to handle FF, but I'm sure most geeks/social media addicts will love it and it will be a success
- Rahsheen ™, Coach Rah
my mom is not a good design test case i doubt anyone's mom is- the person who wants to be highly digitally connected, is.
- Nathan Eckenrode
Robert, I know you didn't intend it, but your two part piece is a great friendfeed newbie tutorial. Thanks. Also, again don't know if it was intentional, but you forgot to include this friendfeed user: http://friendfeed.com/hillary ;-)
- Robert Stevens
Robert Stevens that user needs to engage people with the tools as adults who vote not speakat them like children who must be contained.
- Nathan Eckenrode
Well, my mom is a programmer and uses online communications to coordinate her team, so I guess she is not the most common "mom" example :)
- Rahsheen ™, Coach Rah
from twhirl
Nathan Eckenrode absolutely right about that user needing to engage. Check her friendfeed page. Not a single subscription.
- Robert Stevens
and not everyone's mom is theprototypical bumbler that frequently gets assigned t that architypical user group
- Nathan Eckenrode
it does make a good friendfeed tutorial, but I don't think it's going mainstream without a serious interface improvement. Its ass ugly!
- Justin Flood @justinflood
from twhirl
It's not even that it's ugly, it's that it's not really useable. I think it was created to provide as much as possible, but with the understanding that someone would create decent filters/clients for it for regular consumption.
- Rahsheen ™, Coach Rah
I this that whether FF goes mainstream depends mostly on us.
- funkyboy
My thoughts - http://www.toddrjordan.com/thebroa...
- Todd Jordan
@PatrickJordan - using Twhirl client.
- Todd Jordan
Well said. Not entirely certain I agree or disagree with your thoughts, but either way you do present a compelling argument for FF. I think the number one reason that will hold back adoption of a mainstream FF is the benefit to the average user. Unless that is articulated so the *average user* can understand, they will not see the desire to attach themselves to another service. The question at this point is what can, or should, FF do to attract average users?
- Scott Jarkoff
@ScottJarkoff - well, partnerships would help. When you sign up for a service, if that service had a check box to add that feed to Friendfeed, it'd be a done deal.
- Todd Jordan
@Todd: Agreed. But that begs the question, how would such a partnership benefit the service you're signing up for? There has to be some mutual benefit to a partnership like that. The obvious benefit is for FF, but what does everyone else gain through such an arrangement?
- Scott Jarkoff
Scott: I'm not so sure that FriendFeed should worry TOO much about that right now. Instead, make the system of great utility to advanced users like me and you. If they make it easy for me to get rid of the noise and present it to everyone else, then it'll take off.
- Robert Scoble
Why FriendFeed WON'T Go Mainstream: 1.) in the mainstream, people don't want to be THIS informed. That's probably equally good for them, and good for those of us who do want to be this informed! 2.) Steve Case subscribed, friended some people and then...didn't engage at all. He's my go-to guy for what the mainstream will eat up like ice cream.
- Robert Seidman
Robert: But how does such usage translate over to the average user? Just because us mega-geeks can use FF, and more importantly we can understand it, does not mean that the average user will comprehend why it is useful to them. _Something_ needs to bridge that gap, no?
- Scott Jarkoff
Last night I tried to explain FriendFeed and even Twitter to my friend the cop. While he has a Facebook profile, He Just. Didn't. Get It. The harder I tried to explain, the more he just looked at me like I just landed from Venus.
- Capn' One Eye - adrift
FF can't go mainstream and I said as much in my comment on your blog post, which is awaiting moderation I guess :(. Main point - I could never explain FF to any of my non techy friends...never
- Jennifer Van Grove
from twhirl
Alert Thingy helps with the interface 'issues'. I think it has really helped with adoption / holding onto users
- John Duff
from Alert Thingy
@Geoff Longman - we are from Venus! ;-) welcome to my planet!
- Susan Beebe
No doubt FF will go mainstream. It must over come the too many sites back lash, but over time this is a winner.
- Russellreno
@patrick I just keep it open, until Firefox crashes!
- Prolific Programmer
@jimlunsford FriendFeed does integrate into my blog. I don't want Tweets on my main feed, or anything like that.
Robert Peterson and Nikpay liked this
I archive my tweets onto my personal blog, one post a day. Nice plug in for that.
- Soulhuntre
from twhirl
I'd like a plugin that did that, but also threaded the replies.
- Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
Would like to know what you use for the integration, as what I tried didn't work
- David Orban
You can use the official widget http://www.friendfeed.com/embed.... Mine is http://www.friendfeed.com/embed...
- Bwana ☠
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