You can take those lines in Photoshop and then use some of the filters like Polarize or effects like the glass texture filters to make some pretty interesting patterns out of them. I like the "tiny lens" pattern which can make stuff that looks similar to this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/b... - Lindsay Donaghe
Yeah, you tell 'em. I whole heartedly agree. - Franklin Day
Most users stick w/what's officially supported and won't deviate b/c of the "unsupported" fear. How can you make IT end-of-life IE6 when it's working well enough for the vast majority of users? - Jake Kuramoto
I'm a non-deviator here. My employer hasn't approved IE7 yet, so I'm sticking to IE6 on my work computer. We haven't approved Vista either (which may be a good thing)... - Ontario Emperor
@OE: What's wrong with any of the other modern browsers, e.g. Safari, FF, Flock, Opera? Even Netscape's last version is better. - Jake Kuramoto
This is not just individuals' taste or ignorance but goes beyond. One classic example is - Corporates have not migrated over to IE 7. More over they make sure that none of the employees do so by imposing restrictions. Even company intranets are IE 6 only (FF supported very poorly). Personally I haven't used IE 6 for anything except for my Intranet needs. - pankaj
I have both IE6 and IE7 installed as there are still some clients that use IE6. Yes, they scream when a page is broken but if the code is clean it's an easy fix :) - zoblue (Zulema)
As a web designer, I can't stand the new IE7. But I really never have dealt with IE6 since I have started, because I stick to FF and Safari as my main browsers. - Randy via twhirl
If you aren't developing for Firefox 3 you are wasting massive amounts of employee cycles...It's just so much faster than IE 6 or 7 and much much much better at managing memory. - AlexScoble(Robert'sBro)
I agree. FF3 renders pages exactly as I want them. - Roberto Bonini
We see broken pages every day. In all browsers. There is no standard implementation of the standards. And when you get used to developing for non-standards, they change. I gave up on updating an app I created because I couldn't find JS that worked in all the browsers. - Stephen Pierzchala
Nice one stephen- No standard implementation of standards. Well said!! - Roberto Bonini
It's not even so much of what is "officially" supported, although that plays into it a great deal. A lot of it, gentle readers (and developers), is the attitude "across the neutral zone" is reluctance to seek out new orientation. It's digital fatigue and unless forced to, ie, it doesn't work anymore, new pain is usually what forces the switch. - Melanie Reed
this place has become the new / old digg - linkman77
I would disagree that re: about Digg. The comments I find on FF rarely degrade into the crass name calling I run into on Digg. As for group think: sadly, it's a constant in humanity. Your going to find it everywhere, and FF is no exception. - Stupid Blogger (aka Tina)
I can't process the group think mentality. I'm not sure if it's just that I'm too eccentric or that I can't stand people telling me what to do. When I first read the post, I was indignant as well. But I also know that my knee-jerk reaction is often wrong. I looked at the MOMA site. I thought about it. I read all the buried comments on Digg. I can't form an opinion until I have more facts. But I know that there is this insane witch hunt here, and I don't like it one bit. - Cyndy
@Cyndy: Groupthink is a fascinating subject, because just about everyone responds exactly as you do. It's the anathema of what we consider an independent and intelligent mind. However, it's also the basis of religion and community/social structure, not to mention the entire advertising industry. - Stupid Blogger (aka Tina)
I admit it: I got caught up in it and dugg the story when it was first submitted. I realized how insane this was when people found the guy's Facebook profile and implored everyone to harass him there, and when people charted the vacation schedules of the guy's bosses. The SFMOMA one is notable in that its groupthink now transcends Friendfeed, but have you seen some of the utter crap that becomes popular on FriendFeed nowadays? It's becoming much harder to distinguish it from Digg or Reddit. - Mark Trapp
It's all about who you follow. More importantly, who you don't - Geoff Schultz
Cyndy, great post. I really enjoy Thomas's photography, but the way he has handled this is extremely discouraging. - Jason Wehmhoener
Mark- I likey'd it as well and enjoy Thomas' work. I respect Cyndy and have gotten to know her a little. She's not only a good author but a lot more. There's basically two takeaways here. 1... The way things are right now, people will endorse stuff on social networks if their best friend does. 2... I didn't know half this stuff til I read this thread. Think some are getting way too wrapped up in SM and maybe need to take a few days off. The sad part is that (re 1) people vote in elections that way too. - Charlie Anzman
I think we all need to realize that this type of mob mentality is a symptom of a homogenous group. The more alike everyone is, the more likely the mob will kick in. Digg is, despite it's size, a fairly homogenous group of traffic seekers. When FF gets a larger user base, you'll see more 'mobs' but each one will be a smaller portion of the whole and less likely to affect the remainder of the group. - Stupid Blogger (aka Tina)
Very engaging entry, Cyndy. It is people like you that are willing to approach the other less popular angle that help us to avoid group think. - Geoff Schultz
I wasn't following this but it doesn't shock me. I still appreciate Cyndy's take on it though. My take: Internet people tend to be a little hypocritical when it comes to "fairness". Generally, it is "fair" if it doesn't hurt them. - David Muir
Great post. Very provocative. I just posted a comment at your blog (Friendfeed comments are too short). - Nathan Rein
The other part of this is that Friendfeed continues to be an equalizer, unlike any other platform that I'm aware of, which is exciting and important - Charlie Anzman
Charlie, I think the great equalizer aspect of Friendfeed is its value, too. I almost think in order for FriendFeed to not become a Reddit or Digg clone with a few insignificant other features, it's got to drop the popularity metric of "Likes." It was a cool idea, but I think it's become a poor-man's "Digg it!" Then again, that's armchair architecting; maybe FriendFeed has some killer feature they've been working on for the past 2 months to solve FriendFeed's ails. - Mark Trapp
I think there's a significant difference, though, in the fact that nothing gets ranked in terms of number of likes. You can't "like up" a post the way you can on Digg. Yes, you can bump it to the top of the feed, but it will immediately be replaced by the next thing to get liked or commented, so the effect is less pronounced, I think. - Nathan Rein
Cyndy, thanks for forcibly turning my head so that I consider the other side of this campaign. I agree that the original article, much less the community response, has gone too far. - J. Phil
That's not true, nathan. Likes have a significant effect, much more so than comments, on what stories reach the top of the list on the best-of pages. They also have a big effect on the rankings on your personal statistics pages. - Mark Trapp
Also, even though the effect may be eventually diluted, the mob here is just a better class of mob overall. :-) - David Muir
hmm ... Okay, I take it back. I never use either of those Friendfeed features. Never mind. - Nathan Rein
For my part, this isn't group think, it's camaraderie. I, amateur that I am, have been harassed by numerous times while shooting in public places with my stupid little Kodak Z712is, which is point and shoot. The fact that a security guard or even a museum official doesn't understand photography doesn't excuse the fact we have a right to be at and shoot in these locations. Most reasonable people, I believe, would take "hand held cameras only" to mean "no tripods". Size of camera is a pretty poor metric. - Brian Norwood
And also, I'm sure I can get closer with my Z712's 10x zoom than some guy with a 14MM wide angle lens. So, this whole "spying" issue is silly. And I don't care about Thomas Hawk's alleged celebrity. I don't even know who he is outside of Friend Feed. I'm just tired of reading these kind of stories when allegedly by law, we have the right to shoot anywhere where a person does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy. If you expect privacy in a museum, there are bigger problems here than cameras. - Brian Norwood
Museums are not public property, and they have the right to set whatever rules they see fit. Did they handle it incorrectly? Yes, probably, but usually if you are polite and ask them to review their rules that allow photography, everything can be resolved. From the fact that Hawk had to be escorted out, it doesn't sound like he responded well to the security guard's concerns. - Jason Carreira
I "dugg" the story and would do it again. I had no idea people were staking the guy and do not agree with that. Now in what I have read about Thomas online in a relatively short time I will grant you, I do not believe that is the type of behavior he would encourage. My take away from his post is that he was pissed off, and was utilizing the platform available to him to share that frustration likely in hopes of generating dialogue and/or change by the facility. Is the employee as big a jerk has he was protrayed, maybe not. But I do not feel like Thomas is the evil egomantical jerk he is being painted as. Furthermore, no one walks on water as far as I am aware - so I don't accept the idea that a CEO can't do dumb things occassionally. I will agree if anything should be changed by Thomas it is the removal of asshole from his post. - Ruth Ferguson
Jason, did you read the original article that Thomas wrote detailing the event? - Rahsheen(isSoAwesome)
Yes there are 2 sides to every story and we only heard one, but I don't accept that it was group think - as much as it was a degree of trust based on what we feel we "know" about Thomas. I basically assumed that publicity if enough attn was gained via SM would cause SFMOMA to issue a response and their side of the story. It is a lot easier to encourage that with a click of a button vs calling their offices. Finally, how is everyone cheering and "liking" your post any less "groupthink?" - Ruth Ferguson
I don't like the "mob rule" aspects one little bit. I like Thomas a lot from my experiences here, but although I am inclined to side with him, I only have his side. Sure, I did my own research and the guy is certainly suspect, what with sending goofy letters to the editor at Entertainment Weekly magazine, but that doesn't necessarily mean the guy should be lynched. Ruth, to your point, I think Cyndy's post doesn't make me question whether she's "abusing her power". Thomas', and the ensuing reaction... - Robert Seidman
...do lead me to believe that power *can* be abused in this way. I'm not really sure whether it was or wasn't, but something about the way it went down didn't feel right to me. - Robert Seidman
I agree, this whole thing has become insane, especially considering that only one side of the story has become known at this point. I didn't complain when it took over FriendFeed (highly annoying as that was), but finding his Facebok profile and calling for people to harass him/his bosses isn't something I like seeing. If I wanted to see the 4chan mentality, I would go to 4chan. - Stellina
I think Cyndy is way off in her interpretation of this event. The harassment that Mark mentioned came from the digg community and it amounts to cyber-bullying not group-think. It is also a completely separate incident from what Thomas experienced at the SFMOMA. The backstory for Thomas' complaint is a growing public distrust of photographers not some bullshit about taking candy from babies. Its about companies and governments manipulating what gets into the news and public discourse. - Rafael Robayna
Its also about privacy and people wanting more of it in a world where they get their picture taken discreetly by hundreds of cctv cameras, camera phones and other devices every day. Finally its about uneducated (can't tell the difference between a wide-angle and a telephoto lens) jackasses that are supposed to be protecting the interests of the the governments and private companies they work for and do so badly. - Rafael Robayna
I too disagree about the comparison to Digg. This community is a LONG way from being anything close to Digg. I voted up the story because people who are entrusted with brand reputation (as this guy was) should be far smarter about how they deal with the press (and everyone, today, is the press) than they are. Personally the guy should be forced to take customer service classes to understand his role in dealing with the public. If I were running the museum he wouldn't have his job any longer after today. - Robert Scoble
Let's turn this around. Would this guy keep his job if he kicked a journalist from the New York Times out of the museum? No he wouldn't. Thomas Hawk is just as powerful as any journalist from the New York Times (and has, even, been in the New York Times). The guy who kicked him out should be fired, or at minimum, retrained for how to deal with the new press (ie, everyone). - Robert Scoble
And Cyndy, sometimes a mob is needed to make a point that this kind of stuff is totally unacceptable. This organization had a rule that photography was allowed. It should be enforced consistently with all patrons. Also, don't allow your employees to make it up on the spot and cause yourself and your brand embarrassment. Finally, if someone is a paying member of your organization they deserve better treatment than getting walked to the front door. - Robert Scoble
Well written Cyndy, but I respectfully disagree. There is a bigger problem here than just this one incident. There have been at least three stories in recent weeks about photographers being harassed by police and other "public servant" types. We are starting to walk that fine line between freedom and oppression and it's time that the "mob" or community (wherever it may be) starts to speak up about this. When someone is following the rules or is in a public space, no one has the right to harass him. - JMS
Perhaps Thomas Hawk could have dealt with this in a more mature manner, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt because I often say things in anger that later I would have expressed differently. I realize we only have one side of the story, but Simon Blint and SF MOMA have not responded with their side of the story. Again, I'm more concerned about the deeper issue of individual rights and am glad that Thomas brought this to light. - JMS
JMS: there's no excuse for the other side of the story. Think about what would happen if the New York Times was walked to the front door. Both this guy and the PR director would be looking for jobs right now. It wouldn't even matter if the NYT photographer was rude, or difficult to deal with. That's just how things work. People with power don't get shown the front door in our society. The mob now has power and is demanding their heads and rightfully so. - Robert Scoble
True Robert, As someone who works with the public every day, I completely agree. But I'm still interested in whatever excuse they might make. If only to hear how they are going to rectify the situation. - JMS
i read the story. yes calling names such as Thomas did is perhaps over the board but behaviour exhibited by security guy was totally uncalled for as well. As said, dealing with new media is smth all those who have to deal at one or another point of time must learn. There was this year a similar scandal where a guy, whose mother was cheated, called on LiveJournal on mob to "bring down" the producer of the drug sold to his mother for big money. That company never recovered since. - Hayk Hakobyan
Being apologetic and polite would not have cut it. Winning the mob, like in old times is what will bring about the change, although it might seem painful for some. Now this sec. guy will think again before behaving similarly. - Hayk Hakobyan
Cyndy points out that 'the SF MOMA employee’s name is all over the tubes this weekend with no chance to defend himself'. While we have not heard the other side of the story yet, Simon and the SF MOMA have now had 2 days to respond and they have not. If they really cared about this issue it seems like they should have responded quickly to diffuse the viral spread of TH's side of the story. As far as blindly supporting one side of the story, I always consider the source. I have been following TH's Blog and photography for several years, and have attended photo walks with him. So in my case he in not a total unknown. I have a reasonable belief that he is telling the truth based on his past accounts of similar incidents. As far as the 'hand held camera' allowed statement on the SF MOMA web site, I take that to mean any camera that I can hand hold without a tripod. If they mean only P&S cameras then they need to say that, otherwise anything goes. - Jeff P. Henderson
I hear the objections to TH's use of the expletive and frankly they just aren't doing it for me. Yes, he's a CEO but so was Ted Turner and he wouldn't have hesitated to throw on a half-dozen more colorful qualifiers if this incident happened to him. I'm also hearing a lot about Blint's side of the story. If he has one he should have had it ready the day he chose to interpret SFMoMA's explicit rule. I'm sorry but this is what happens to people who try to hide in the shadows; the lights get turned on! I hear Brand Management being tossed around as well. Unfortunately I'm hearing that it's TH who is supposed to manage Blint's brand. Pshaw! Blint has a PR problem that he needs to rectify. The lesson learned predates FF or blogging; never pick a fight with someone who buys their ink by the barrel. - Christopher Harley
Cyndy, I appreciate your take on the controversy, and I also respectively disagree. Allegedly, TH was wronged by the MOMA, and he took to the interwebs to bitch about it. All his "mob" did was spread the word, like passing out leaflets at a concert asking passers-by to support anti-deforestation. I do agree that kind of in-your-face sensationalism can be annoying, but distribution methods don't have to please everyone. - Pete Delucchi
At the point at which the employee's name was posted, it was over the line. If SFMOMA had done the reverse and called out Hawk as a belligerent nuisance, would the reaction be the same? Also, why is SFMOMA required to respond online? The personal info angle is what is completely inappropriate. - Cyndy
I've been on Flickr for several years, and I've seen Thomas Hawk's crusades before. He truly enjoys tilting at windmills and bringing along as big a torchweilding mob as he can gather. There've been issues a lot smaller than this that he's spent weeks ranting in multi-page diatribes about. Now that he has this new forum for mob-gathering, expect to be rounded up on a semi-regular basis to rally to his defense after he's pushed someone into a confrontation. - Jason Carreira
I think the real issue stems from trumped up "security" meant to keep us "safe." All sorts of power-tripping security guards and police have become accustomed to people immediately accepting restricted rights with the magic words "post 9/11." The reason it is such a hot-button issue is that most people have not pushed back against the Patriot act and all it (theoretically) allows law enforcement to restrict. But sure, go right ahead and make this a "Diva" vs. "Employee" issue. And may thee forever lack moisturizer on thine inglorious vacations. - Richard Walker
It should be pointed out that Thomas Hawk is a pseudonym. - Jason Carreira
Jason has a point, and until we were discussing it, I'd forgotten that was a pseudonym. Now I'm sure it was over the line. He won't use his real name yet had no trouble publicizing someone else's. - Cyndy
Cyndy, I appreciate your post and criticism. A DSLR is most certainly a handheld camera. In the case regarding Jill Greenberg, yes, I feel it is abhorrent for someone to strip 30+ children naked and purposely use lollipops to get them *extremely* worked up and provoke them into anguish as an art project. Look at the photos. It's more than just a few tears. I doubt you'd subject your child to that sort of activity, I doubt most rational human beings would either, but that's a different story. - Thomas Hawk
Again, in this context I don't care if he's famous or has a fake name. "Hand held" is a technique, not a type of camera. I just browsed the Best Buy ad, and there weren't any "Hand held" cameras there. And, as I said, you are dealing with poor customer service here, and a growing trend to infringe on photographers rights whether they be shooting for fun or profit. If this had happed to ANYONE I would have reacted the same. - Brian Norwood
Robert, you are a moron. You are perpetuating the mob mentality that is described here. A NYT photographer should NOT have more rights or 'power" than Joe Schmoe off the street. They should have the same treatment as defined by SF MOMA policy. Oh and Thomas Hawk aka Andrew Petersen is culpable in inciting this lynch mob mentality. http://bit.ly/4dWLZy - Trebor Elbocs
Cyndy... "If SFMOMA had done the reverse and called out Hawk as a belligerent nuisance" Lets be clear on something, SFMOMA had nothing to do with this. The employee in question acted outside the rules set by MOMA and took it apon himself to have a person ejected DESPITE other people in the gallery performing the same actions. And as "Director of Visitor Relations", you are not some type of low level employee, you are a person who is the public face of an organisation. - John Worthington
Jason... Crusades? How about issues that need dealing with. How about the right to attend a public space without hassel? How about the right to enter a property and while following the guidelines of that organisation not be ejected. As a person who got questioned more than 6 times on Saturday at our state fair here in Australia when I was taking photos of MY daughter. Grab me a torch - John Worthington
Cyndy, Jason, you are just figuring out that TH is a pseudonym? This is common knowledge and has been for about 7 years. What does that have to do with this issue or anything else for that matter? - Jeff P. Henderson
We all must occasionally vent steam. Social networks enable our venting to more efficiently affect a large group of people, giving them the chance to also vent steam where previously they may not have had reason or opportunity to do so. I'll leave my pitchfork aside for now. - Slippy Lane
The new 'likey' is for the dialog.... which (while perhaps a little out of control) has been the most important part of the story. Food for thought for everyone. Mark T - Agree Friendfeed needs a few new features, especially for those of us that keep it open to a lot of people, but think about how many people right now are sitting back and considering their own stuff ... possible including my own Facebook rant earlier this week, which was very much off the top and could have been much better. - Charlie Anzman
To those who would say behaviour like that stated in the article isn't group think I have to disagree. We voice our opinions here on popular entries because we think it will be the right thing to say. We want to affirm the sentiments of the post (for the most part). I have yet to see a social network that can combat against this phenomenon. When we reward opinions with popularity or regard we inevitably create this phenomenon. That of why I appreciate small voices in the crowd who are willing to go against popular opinions. Now we should ask ourselves how we can build that into a social structure if we ever intend ok bringing credible interesting stories to our community. - Derick Valadao
I said FOR ME it wasn't group think. And while for some it might have been, I think there are quite a few free thinkers here. People who are neither "red" nor "blue." And maybe this was the last straw in a long list of stories about authorities harassing photographers of all statures. I always find it interesting when people think something is automatically wrong just because it's popular. - Brian Norwood
All very good reasons. I can't live without my Freemind maps. Whether its planning code or even just problem solving. Its a lot more intuitive than trying to use Planner (or MS Project) to plan something, and can then be easily translated across to Project software if you need it to. Its especially good for defining your own workflow and strategies as well. - Stephen Cropp
I've been trying out mind maps every now and then but still haven't been convinced. What exactly is it about mind maps that make you more productive or efficient? - Benedikt Koehler
I've started to doodle mind maps instead of notes for meetings and it certainly makes more sense to me when I return to the notes - Andy Britcliffe via twhirl
What are the best programs to Mind map? - Toby Graham
I use FreeMind. Open source and multiplatform. - The Doctor via twhirl
They need to get smarter first. MindMeister gets close with the nodes you can click on to search for pages related to the node. I want to create a mindmap and have it suck in my bookmarks related to each node on the map via tags. That way I can just build the map, have the research I have done before come to me and then move on from there. - Stephan Miller via twhirl
Anyone remember "The Brain"? So much promise - but it didn't quite work. Mindjet is a really good but doesn't integrate well enough into my todo / project managment solution. - Soulhuntre
Mindmapping is a useful construct. We used it with the major scenarios of our last software release and -- with MMPro and a TFS Plugin -- exported them directly into Microsoft Team System. Cool. - Robert W. Anderson via twhirl
it is still not as good as the mind itself, only an approximation - gregory lent
Any good web-based Mind Mapping solutions? Ultimately I'd like an Evernote for Mind Mapping which would run everywhere. - Al Degutis via twhirl
I would lose my mind without mindjet mindmanager - adolfo foronda
As I mentioned early --I'm a mindmapper junkie...and doing it collaboratively via mindmeister in real time has been great with clients. - Leif Hansen
Al: www.mindmeister.com :) (multiple user updating real time, one touch Skype, jottable notes via 1. “My Geistesblitzes” = widget (Windows and Mac compatible) 2. SMS (Twitter) or 3. e-mail plus moticons, smilies, and tons of visuals galore. Once complied, the map can be exported and shared in various ways; which for a free service is phenomenal, plus the data can be exported in multiple ways.. I blogged about it here -> http://bit.ly/1EdpIG) - Mona N.
Cloud computing is one thing. But it doesn't leverage the client. Client-side processing is a big step towards scaling and involving the users deeper inside the apps. - MySites
User developed SaaS is going to be interesting. The basis is simple, graphical BPM tools that allow users to create applications as needed or desired. The concept of Web 3.0 can be another step toward inefficiency and waste. The irony is the concept will be heartily embraced by people who would ban bottled water to save the planet, yet will tolerate inefficiency and waste in the backend, because they don't see it. - Greer Trice
OMG this guy totally fell for the loser salesguy ...how sad! - Susan Beebe
hiring decisions can kill your firm - Bill Sodeman
Really enjoyed this, though felt bad of course for the author. Really shows that doing as much legwork/homework/digging up front as possible is a good thing and well worth the time put in - Eric Berlin
While reading this, I kept thinking about your job titles "senior executive vice director of VP coordination & vision".... funny - but sad article. - Erin
Similar experience: My employer hired a supposed "expert" from a BIG 5 consulting firm. This person was a Global Manager and was going to come to our 30 person IT shop and do us right! Boy, that hiring manager was sooo excited! I about died when I learned that person was coming on board to be my new boss. Long story short: She left 90 days later with her tail between her legs when it was abundantly clear that she completely lacked requisite skills for her position. Couldn't even use PPT or email! - Susan Beebe
we need a salesperson for our business and this is exactly why we haven't hired anyone over the past 4 years. we're terror-frozen. - faboo mama
Interesting story. Thanks for sharing Paul. The hardest thing for an entrepreneur is to ask the hard questions. - Edwin Khodabakchian
Lesson 5: A turkey was chatting with a bull. 'I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree' sighed the turkey, 'but I haven't got the energy.' 'Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?' replied the bull. They're packed with nutrients.' The turkey pecked at a lump of dung, and found it actually gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fourth night, the turkey was proudly perched at the top of the tree. He was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot him out of the tree. Moral of the story: Bull Shit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there.. - Alan Cheslow
This is why I'm not usually impressed by resumes/titles. I want to see real work. Then I'm impressed. It can be a catch-22 though hiring people (for a guy, like getting a date with a beautiful lady - how do you have conversations, until you've had some). "Consultant" can be for real...or mean that someone is "out of work". - Mitchell Tsai
As a 19-yr-old college grad, how did we get clients that $500 million companies couldn't get? Well, the experienced CEOs know that McKinsey and other consultants just hire sharp (but inexperienced) people from Harvard, Stanford, etc..., and it's a total crap-shoot who you get (for $500-1,000/hr). If we did a good job for CEO of X company, he told VP friend at Y company, and we got the work. There are so many fly-by-nights in this world. Experience isn't worth much if it's "bad experience". - Mitchell Tsai
Another example of how people with great charisma but no skills can be promoted far beyond where they should be. Another great example is a guy who will be leaving his current job on Jan. 20th. - Robert Felty
This is really sad isn't it. So difficult to get it right, yet it is the most important success/fail factor for any company. It starts with great people. - Alexander van Elsas
Dang, that story was rough. I mean did you even proof read it? (LOL) - Drew Lucas
man, this could've been taken straight out of the E-myth revisited. Definitely a book that guy should read. - Vincent van Wylick
i just wish i couldn't tell so many similar stories of hiring senior execs w/ great looking experience, resumes, and references who turned out to be completely incompetent - Deva Hazarika
Actually he was lucky that the guy was so obviously lame and came clean in the end, and that his business wasn't destroyed. What's far worse is a somewhat competent person with great political skills. Much harder to detect and so they have time to do a lot more subtle and potentially fatal damage to the fabric of an company. - Robin Barooah
"$25K in stuff he said we absolutely needed -- slick brochures, sponsor some conference, ads in the trade journal, coffee mugs, pens with our logo -- I readily paid for." This entrepreneur should have been tipped off right then. Mugs? Brochures? Everyone knows you close the most business with T-shirts. - Ginger Makela
It raises an important question... how long do you need to wait for your hire to deliver. This guy had to wait for an year, since most startup founders dont have time to baby-sit their employees... how long do they wait before concluding, that they have a bad-hire. Is it 1 month, 3 months, 6 months ( sounds too much for a startup ) - Krishna Gade
I see XMPP becoming VERY important in the coming years. We have only touched the surface of what's possible. I think it will have the importance of HTTP. - Meryn Stol
Instead of experimenting with custom solutions, it might be better if the community revisits the proposed PubSub XMPP extension in the form of XEP-0060, cleaning the specification from the needles details and adding more advanced content filtering. - Vlado Handziski
I suspect that one of the reason SixApart don't complain about being polled is because they have: http://updates.sixapart.com/ It's an Atom based solution to the problem of pushing out updates. - Adewale Oshineye
As for the idea of Twitter being selective in the updates they send out I suspect that it's easier for them (in terms of the amount of coding needed) to send out all updates as they happen than to query their DB or perform message matching before selectively sending out updates. - Adewale Oshineye
The way we read is changing. The way we process what we read is changing. The Net seems to be chipping away our capacity for concentration and contemplation. - Tapio Kulmala
he made a huge impression on me when I met him and that was before he knew he was going to die. There are sadder stories happening under our noses, by the way. A 32-year-old founding developer at iLike needs a bone-marrow transplant. - Robert Scoble
I've been following Randy's story and his bravery. I hadn't heard the news. My dad died of pancreatic cancer when I was 6. Because Randy was so gifted in his words and so passionate in his presence, he raised awareness on how little has been done, how little has been spent on this most ravaging of cancers. Thank you Randy. I'm so sad. - jeneane is in the house
it's very unfortunate. But the last lecture is worth the 1 hour and 16 minutes. - Imran Hussain via twhirl
wasn't Jobs treated for this same form of cancer? - Imran Hussain via twhirl
Try not to be sad for Randy Pausch. He was more enlightened than most of us. As the Buddha said, death is not feared by one who lived wisely. I think Randy himself definitely was anguished at times about the 'why' of it but what he did different from the most of us was to strive to let it go and instead be 'aware' and awake in the present and for the present. I'm definitely going to try to do the same - my inspiration from him is my tribute to him. - Kamath
I don't think one person's ill health is any more sad than another's, Scoble. - Shawn Farner
I'd want to rephrase that Shawn, as no person's ill health can be more sad then someone's death - Imran Hussain
He was lucky in that he thought to do this before he died. Most of us leave the world without thinking about what we'd like to say to others much less actually saying it. One day, we're just gone. I lost so many friends from AIDS that I planned out my own funeral service a long time ago (I probably need to update it) but I really need to write out some letters to family & friends. I'd hate for my loved ones last thought of me to be whatever I last happen to say to them. - Liz
That's what I meant to say, Imran. Thanks :) - Shawn Farner
John Piper, facing surgery for prostate cancer, wrote that "[t]he aim of God in your cancer (among a thousand other good things) is to knock props out from under our hearts so that we rely utterly on him." This is from his article "Don't Waste Your Cancer" (http://is.gd/14PW). Randy Pausch didn't waste his. - Larry Huffman
You're welcome Shawn. BTW I really can't imagine to be delivering a lectue like that and be that fit like Randy in his last lecture video. - Imran Hussain via feedalizr
Saw that video for the first time earlier today too, and was inspired by his courage and humility. His message was that we could all make more of our lives if we so wished. - Sally Church
wonderful raconteur. we all need to act more like Randy. I'm inspired, are you? - Sam Levin
@jeneane's Sorry for your dad's premature passing at such a young age, seriously. I think it's important to understand that pancreatic cancer (PCA) is not neglected. In surgical residencies, a quotable dictum shows the respect instilled for it: "Eat when you can, sleep when you can, and don't f*ck with the pancreas." Awareness is absolutely needed, but please don't think Randy or anyone else passed because "so little is being done." Some things even today are still too far out of reach. - Enrico C.
Smart comments and reasons with background. Good luck! - Louis Gray
Thanks Louis. There's no way I'll be able to do it cold-turkey (my wife's on Twitter, for one reason), but I'd much rather be here if people will just join me - Jesse Stay via twhirl
I added you to indenti.ca I still use twitter more but i'm trying to build up a network first before really using it. Most of my close friends are on twitter so it's very hard to let go. - Michael Narciso
Michael thanks for the add - that's kind of what I was getting at. It has to be a gradual process since it's a social service, but we certainly have to do our part to not participate when it's not necessary if the service is bad - Jesse Stay via twhirl
I'm not crazy about how twhirl handles FF. I like FF a lot but find it difficult to keep up with. Twitter just flows and I catch it when I can with notifications for who I want through IM (if they ever turn it back on!). I'm on identi.ca also, but I'm not wanting more anymore -- if that makes sense. - Rob Williams
Left a comment on your post Jesse- great article! As I said on your blog, it's nice to see someone actually give reasonsbehind the decision rather than just spouting "twitter teh suck, friendfeed ftw!!" and leaving it at that! - Daniel Smith
The comments on FriendFeed are much smarter than those I'm seeing on Twitter and Disqus. You guys are being much more constructive, rather than name-calling, etc. I think this goes as a tribute to the type of community FriendFeed is building here. Thanks for your great comments! - Jesse Stay via twhirl
I commented on Dare's blog on this: http://www.25hoursaday.com/web.... Between the blog, Reddit and FF, I'm not sure where to put a comment. Welcome to Web 2.0. - Joe Beda
What's cool (IMHO) is how passionate employees are about defending their respective companies. I have no doubt that the resulting conversation and its impact are among the healthiest ways to grow as a company. - Dimitri Glazkov
I'm still seeing a ton of brain drain out of Microsoft. Had some more smart people I used to know when I worked there telling me they have had enough and are going to leave soon. - Robert Scoble
Robert, anecdotes (like statistics) can be used to justify any argument. :) - Dare Obasanjo
Well -- anecdotes are all we have here. Outside of the various HR departments (and they aren't talking) there is no real hard data here. "Recently I’ve been bumping into more and more people..." All I can talk about is my experiences as I've worked at both companies. - Joe Beda
Dare blames terminal "startup-itis" for the devaluation of experience and process at Google. But it looks like an over-attention to consumer products may also play a part. Helps explain their slow progress with enterprise penetration. - Sprague D
Sprague: oh, please. Enterprises just don't change directions very fast. Heck, go look at a counter at Hertz Rental Car. They are still using a DOS app. Microsoft's #1 problem isn't Google: it's getting Enterprises to adopt its new stuff. - Robert Scoble
Dare: well, I wish you'd focus on making my wife's blog faster. She's always complaining about how slow it is, and just now it forced me to enter a Passport password just to get in and see her blog. Damn, I wish she'd change to Wordpress. - Robert Scoble
Robert, I work in an enterprise (a big one) and Microsoft has little problem getting the ear of IT and Ops managers to pitch new solutions. They have a track record. On the other hand, we met last week with an account manager from Google to discuss their solutions to some of our challenges and their solution to every problem was... search (the enterprise search appliance). Not credible. - Sprague D
Sprague: yeah, that would get me to kick that guy from Google out of my office too. Amazingly lame. - Robert Scoble
Robert, I'm sure there are people working on improving the performance of Spaces in their next major release. SinceI don't work on our Web properties I can't help you there. However I'll be sure to mention that Robert Scoble keeps nagging me about Spaces perf everytime he encounters me in comments across the internet to the Spaces devs when I'm in the office on Monday. I'm sure this will push it to the top of their priority lists. ;) - Dare Obasanjo
Funny. this seems to be a frequent topic these days. I had similar conversations with folks last night at the @garyvee drinkup. Still deep divide between Orange and Blue badges at MSFT. My bro in-law works in the Office group. Horror stories. Political BS, people being forced out of orgs. That was reason I left back in 1999. - Brian Daniel Eisenberg via NoiseRiver
Dare: Wrt you not working on web properties -- I think this is the source of some of the disconnect. Developing services is *very* different from developing client apps and platforms. Those difference permeate every part of the company and imply various strengths and weaknesses. (Enterprise is a great example) When working on web properties, thinking in terms of "next big release" is very rare. Most often, the changes are much more incremental. - Joe Beda
Joe, I haven't worked on client apps or platforms in three years. I work on Web platforms that support Web and client apps. So my perspective is primarily from a Web perspective. I have no idea what goes on in Office, Windows, DevDiv, etc these days. - Dare Obasanjo
I liked Dion's polite reply post about getting back to tech discussions. For example, earlier this week Google rolled out OAuth support for all of its Google Data APIs, which is a good thing for OAuth and for people that want to make mashups in a secure way. - Matt Cutts
Dare, are you working on internal platforms or stuff that needs to be installed on customer's machines? That is probably the biggest difference. When you are talking about code for an internally hosted service vs. code that is shipped and supported. My mistake: client apps/platforms is probably too narrow. I think that many people underestimate the difference in software and process between running a service and shipping code. - Joe Beda
Joe, I don't work on customer facing stuff. I work on Web-based platform services which are used by Web apps (like Spaces and Hotmail) and client apps (like Messenger). - Dare Obasanjo
