Scan vs Rip

Real Simple magazine is now using Microsoft GetTag’s for online/mobile access to some of their articles. I hadn’t heard any mention of Microsoft’s QR code competitor for a couple years now. Which means the chances of finding a reader for the Nokia N900 is… Last time I encountered the technology / (Microsoft technology * Obscure …

Qwikster is to Netflix as AWS is to Amazon

Seems to me, if you name your company ‘Netflix’ and it’s not a streaming movie service – then the company is horribly misnamed. On the flip side, Netflix has taken years to build a highly efficient distribution pipeline optimized for USPS. And they’ve trained their customers to have high expectations for and quickly report any …

Sitting in a room different from the one you are in now

Today, Patrick Rhone and I challenged each other to imagine our respective projects as rooms in our homes. What color are the walls? Is there furniture? Are you sitting? Standing? How does the room make you feel? What do you do (an not do) in this room? I found it a quite interesting and insightful …

Dear Minnesota Workers, Stop It. Thanks.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, our region has had the 6th largest year-over-year percentage increase in GDP and yet we’ve a lower employment percentage. I know you’re all anxious to show how valuable you are, but just stop. At this point your work ethic is obnoxious. Just stop being productive.

Wait, I thought there was significant business value in my “social graph”?

1. Twitter adds ‘Promoted Tweets’ to everyone’s ‘stream’ “Twitter is expanding its promoted-tweets program and is now including paid tweets from companies that people don’t already follow in their timelines.” 2. Facebook introduces the ‘Subscribe’ button “Hear from people, even if you’re not friends Let people hear from you, even if you’re not friends” What’s …

Foxfire

“‘Foxfire’ is the name of a series of books which are anthology collections of material from The Foxfire Magazine. The students’ portrayal of the previously-dismissed culture of Southern Appalachia as a proud, self-sufficient people with simple beliefs, pure joy in living, and rock-solid faith shattered most of the world-at-large’s misconceptions about these ‘hillbillies.’” The Foxfire …