The Future of Finding Your Way
Robert Scoble was recently ripped to shreds again concerning his recent video. (Note, part II and part III in case you didn’t see them on the site.) I can understand why. His ideas are diametrically opposed to the current business view of finding things today.
I say Bravo. As a developer working with the intricacies, guesswork and sheer superstition surrounded the art of gaining rank with Google, Yahoo and MSN I have been dealing with many frustrations. You see, software engineers like to work in a couple of ways. First, they like to build something. In order to do that, you have to know what you are building. Trying to build pages that work with the algorithms in place today is guesswork at best. Second, we like to break things. We like to get the new gadget, tear it apart to understand it and then put it back together. Once we’ve done that, we know how to build something for it.
Today’s search paradigms do not fit within that mold. It is impossible, no matter what someone tells you, to be certain of what will affect the algorithms in what manner. Want proof? Just look at the great viewstate debate. From tests I’ve seen there is absolutely no evidence that search engines do not like it. In fact, in the test a co-worker of mine performed a page with a huge viewstate ranked highest out of other samples!
So what’s all this about? Maybe a shift in the way we think about finding credible information on the Internet. Finally entering the Circle of Trust. Scoble has some interesting points and let’s face it, this is what he does. He’s been deep into finding the new, better thing for many years now, he must know something! Is he always right? I doubt it. he’d probably admit that as well, but is it worth a listen? Absolutely.
Frankly, I hope he is right. I want to find my way easier, faster and with better success then Google lets me today. I am already starting to believe his hype about Facebook when at first I viewed it as just another “MySpace”. Now even my wife is using it! (Here’s my page if you want me to add you as a friend).
Oh, and check out Mahalo, it’s pretty nice.
Kent Couch with Jay Leno
Kent is certainly getting his 15 minutes of fame. I watched his segment on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno this morning (DVR’s are the ONLY way to go!) and I must say he handled himself very well. We was funny and appeared calm.
My coworkers Mark and Doug, good friends of Kent, flew down to Burbank to help with a special project. They constructed a lawn chair with about 80 balloons for Jay to take a tethered flight in. Mark and Doug even made it into the show holding the chair while Jay got ready to launch, way to go guys!
Still no recovery of the original chair, video camera and other equipment from Kent’s 193 mile balloon ride. Hopefully somebody will find it and claim the reward.
Lawn Chair Balloonist Update
For those of you readers that get my content through an aggregator that does not inform you of updated posts, here’s the latest on Kent Couch’s lawn chair ballooon ride.
[Update] Kent is going to appear with Jay Leno on The Tonight Show this evening. Tuesday July 7th for those of you that didn’t see the date 
[Update] His balloon and chair has been reported as seen over Michigan by two sources.
Side Note: Google Maps is just downright cool!
[Update] I just found out that the video has been posted on You Tube and can be seen here.
[Update] Looks like you can now digg this story as well.
I’ve moved!
OK, I haven’t really moved however; I have finally decided it’s time to get this thing where it belongs. Please update your links for this blog to http://blog.palehorse.net/ from whatever they were.
Any old links should still work, they should simply redirect you accordingly. Updating your links will simply save another round-trip to the server.
Ode To The Soap
Certain people are gifted with the propensity to take every-day life situations and turn them into whimsical retrospectives. Scott Adams is one of those individuals (not induhviduals) and I am an avid reader of both The Dilbert Blog and Dilbert, his often IT / corporate focused comic.
Today was one of those days where his reflections on the life of a bar of soap found a warm spot in my heart. Everyone with any modicum of hygiene has been through this cycle and found themselves at the end Scott so eloquently describes at least several times.
I don’t know if you have ever tried to pick up a tiny piece of soap after it hits the shower floor. It’s difficult, even if you aren’t in prison.
Once again Mr. Adams, you have made my day. Thank you for the wonderful peek into another of humanity that we can all share a laugh about.
Viewstate Effects on Search Engines
I’ve read and discussed the effects that the hidden ViewState variable used by most ASP.NET applications may have on page rank. To the best of my knowledge there is no definitive answer to this question. Most in the SEO industry will tell you that it “should almost never make a difference” yet those same people will want it yanked as one of their first steps in optimizing a page for Google, Yahoo or MSN.
Ugh!
As a software developer, I cannot begin to tell the frustration. First, it should not make a difference. A spider, bot, whatever you want to call it should know to ignore most hidden fields. There is an argument that some hidden fields dilute the page content. C’mon, why?
Ok, let’s say that it does. Even given that, shouldn’t the major engines be aware enough of the technologies being used to realize that a lot of sites out there use this standard field? Shouldn’t they ignore it?
The fact is, none of the search engines will come out and tell you anything about their algorithms. They will not confirm that the VIEWSTATE variable is ignored or if it, along with other hidden variables, are considered. They will not tell you that those values dilute your content. They will not tell you that their bots are “smart” enough to ignore them. What is a software engineer to do!?!?
A colleague of mine that was present in a recent debate within our company about ViewState decided to do something about it. He’s performing a test with a made-up word that currently returns no results to help decide if there are any adverse effects of having the ViewState variable in your page.
After 1-3 weeks we are hoping that the pages ge indexed via the ViewState Index page. I’ll link to the results after the test is complete.
Way to go Dave!
Early thoughts on Joost (and invites!)
I’ve been a member Joost beta program for a couple of days now and I have had the chance to browse through the early content and watch some of the offered shows. I thought it only fair that I share some of my initial impressions.
*** Edit – I thought I’d reorganize this a little so the people just looking for invites could get to that quicker. ***
Invites
I almost forgot. If you need an invite, please feel free to leave a comment. Make sure to enter your email address, it will not show up in the comments and I wil not give it to anyone other than Joost when I send your invite to you.
*** /Edit – On to the review ***
Getting Joost
The sign up and installation was a snap. The client is a fairly small download in install, it’s nice when that is the case. The invite itself had a serialized link that let me get to the download page. The sign up itself was in the software, not on the web page so I could have downloaded it and waited for a while had I been so inclined.
Next was the initial experience. Loading it up I now had to create my account. It only required basic information, again easy and simple. At this point my thoughts on the interface were that it was very “Flash” like in its operation. So far it was clean and simple, good job!
Joost Interface
Once I was logged in I was able to look through the offered channels, available programs, recommendations and more. I must say that the interface continued to impress me. It is quite simple and intuitive. Objects fade in or out rapidly, but with enough delay to make it look smooth. The same goes for objects that slide in or out from the side. Nice!
There are some customization features that allow you to keep widgets active while you’re viewing a program if you like. The clock of course is my favorite one, however the inclusion of embedded Google Talk is nice.
Joost Content
The early programming is nice. There is a decent variety from documentaries (The National Geographic Channel) to music videos (Warner Bros. channel), comedy (Comedy Central), sports and more. I hope that more become available as this gets closer to a production service.
At this point I had to start remembering that this is still in beta. Some of the programs I tried to access simply did not seem to work. I would get the message that it was “Coming up next”, however it would just sit there with no indication of what was going on.
Other programs did work and they were nice. For the most part the video was smooth, the controls were once again nice and easy to use. In my opinion the quality was better that other streaming video content I’ve interacted with.
It also seems as the content is in constant change. That is nice and a huge plus for a service such as this!
The Hiccups
As I mentioned, this is a beta phase and as such one should expect small anomalies. So far that’s all I’ve had, is small ones. First, it did not remember my personal information the first 3 times I went in. It was a minor annoyance since all I had to do was type my name and email address, but still it was an annoyance. Now it seems to have that information tucked away just fine.
Next, as I mentioned before, is the phenomena of some of the shows just sitting there is a bit annoying. It would be nice to have a little more information about what’s going on. It’s crashed on me twice so far. that’s not too bad for beta. Once was during one of those moments of “Coming Up Next” episodes.
Summary
It seems that Joost is trying to become a serious TV content provider / alternative to satellite and cable. I am not certain that the general population is ready for that, I think there will be a subset that will embrace it. If Joost is able to keep the content fresh and expand the offering they should succeed in that niche. If they really want to go after the average television market, they will need to get their hands on “Prime Time” content.
It is a beta product and there are minor issues as expected. I think that they are easily worked around. The interface is inviting, people will like it. They do include commercial content, which I assume is how they are paying for it. The ads are not bad however. No worse than what is currently on broadcast television. For the ability to watch what you want when you want it, that’s not bad.
How does this play into the DVR market? My current TV watching habits include recording some shows each week, then sitting down and watching them on a couple of nights with my wife, skipping through any advertisements to maximize the viewing experience. It is nice and it is almost an on-demand type of lifestyle. The one thing I cannot do is record a show that ‘s already started to get the beginning that I may have missed, or record more than 2 things at once. Granted, the last scenario rarely occurs, but it does happen on occasion. Add to that the fact that DVR’s are about as complex as the old VCR was. It’s not difficult to operate, and the ability to schedule a recording is much easier than the old VCR days, however there is a large population that simply does not want to mess with it. The ease of the Joost interface and the on-demand and search-ability may make it a nice alternative.
Overall, I am excited about Joost and I hope they live up to their goals. It could change the way I watch television again, the same way the DVR did when it was introduced. Bravo!
Get Joost!
So a friend just gave me the skinny on Joost. It looks sweet! The catch? You need an invite! Unfortunately my friend is in search of one as well.
So, if you have one to spare, I’d love it! I will of course post blogs about my experience so those of you that have not seen it will get my impressions.
*** Update ***
I’ve received my invite! Actually, I received a few offers and I want to say thank you to all!
I’ll be posting a review in the next day or two 
When will the world be free?
I know that is a grandiose and generally ambiguous statement, I am simply unable to come up with a better title at the moment.
You may be aware of the recent events leading to the firing of radio icon Don Imus. It was not a good situation. It was a testament to the fact that we, as a society, still have issues to face around the racial forum. Unfortunately only one side tends to get examined for it’s wrong-doings, the side of the majority.
Please, do not get me wrong. I agree that what Imus said was 100% wrong and the thought process that produced his comments is the root of the problem, however the minority side has just as many thought processes that need adjusted.
An recent example that exemplifies this was the move Beauty Shop. It was funny and I enjoyed it, however there was a point in the movie where it was made plain that a Caucasian girl (played by Alicia Sylverstone) could not say the”N” word while it was O.K. for the rest of the ladies in the shop (all African American) to use it freely. It is the other side of the same coin and it saddens me. If the word has as many negative connotations as it does, none should use it. Let’s get real. It’s just another form of of the same problem, but since it is coming from the minority it becomes acceptable.
Another example is pointed out, at least from my point of view, by Scott Adams’ post about the Imus event which is where this post started. It was a bad situation that was in the end handled very well, yet one thing is still missing. I’ll let you read his post if you are interested.
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