Month: May 2005

Dave Winer is acting as a BzzzzzAgent for Gather.com. [here]
Looks interesting…they are looking for subject-matter experts to contribute content….

I am in the market for a new tech gadget/Moleskine carry bag. My Targus backpack is to small and unwieldy, and frankly a little unprofessional even for me.
I am looking for a bag that can:

• Comfortably handle 2 wide-screen laptops (don’t have two now, but that Powerbook can’t be too many eons away…)
• Can easily carry a Rhodia notebook, a couple of Moleskines, and a Hipster PDA
• Room for two books for reading
• Room for a digital music device, iPod-sized (someday I will have one…)
• Many pockets for G2 Gel Pens, business cards, wires and stuff
• Possibly enough room for a change of clothes

No leather. I want something that is as low maintenance as possible. Possibly capable af absorbing the blast of a hand gernade, or the contents of a bottle of micro-distillery tequila without noticable damage.
Let me know what you use, what you lust after.

 
David Parmet points to my dream bag in the comments: The Waterfield Cargo

Oooooo….Ahhhhhh! Michael Hyatt introduces me to a possible candidate in this process: The MegaMedia Bag.

Brian Mitchell suggests the Timbuk2 Commute XL…looks yummy!

Scott Berkun’s Art of Product Management is out. If the book is anything like his reasoned and thoughtful monthly essays, you must buy it.
Now.

Oh look! Brand managers think that the Dinosaur campaign is a clear and concise way to break through the clutter…[here]
…and insult users who have a perfectly functional piece of software (Office 97, 2000, XP) by calling them dinosaurs.
Hugh is right: Branding is Dead

Skip Angel has a great post describing the concept of a Leadership Barometer.
The Low Pressure description is a very accurate portrayal of management climates I have worked in. A number of managers I have seen in action, in a somewhat misguided attempt to keep us informed, tell the team about the battles they have lost, the projects they have been forced to do, and share their personal opinions of senior leadership.
I don’t need to know this. I need to know how things are getting better. The battles we are facing. And how a manager is going to motivate us to achieve great things.
I want straight talk; but sometimes, I don’t need all the details.

Ummm…wow. This points to a catastrophic failure in the backup power systems in this hosting facility. [here and here and here]
TDavid makes a very good point: when your systems become large enough, the power consumption alone would stun most people. One article points out that in 2001, a new Qwest facility in Sunnyvale,CA would require enough power to drive 1.2 million families. Another http://www.masselec.com/news/spring_summer_2001/News5.htm about a hosting facility in Billerica, MA talks about having six (6) 1.5 MEGAWATT backup generators.
You have to imagine what the power demands of Google’s 100,000 servers must be, even distributed worldwide.

1. The organization moved to Exchange 2003. Chaos abounds. Work e-mail should return to normal in about 3 days
2. We finally got the money out of the CRA for the sale of our house in Canada in October 2003
3. We finished preparing the house for the arrival of the grandparentals tomorrow
4. I think I have started a discussion in my organization about talking to our customers like family. I even translated some of their “buzzword” copy into plain English

Bedtime for the shift supervisor here at the NI Factory…

Get it while it’s hot! [here]
Via Gizmodo!

After pounding through a number of incredibly clearly written books in the last week, and being completely absorbed in brilliantly written blog posts, I have decided that it is time to start translating the jargon at my company.
From today on, I refuse to speak the buzzwords. I want to have genuine conversations with our customers. I will tolerate their need for buzzwords, but I will translate them into a real conversation, not into a lingusitic power game.
I will challenge my company to dissect its Web site, white papers, and other press material to see if they are spouting empty and meaningless words. I will ask how they would explain the importance of the idea to their grandmother.
I want to take everything and throw it in the trash. I want to start again.
I am starting again.

Guerilla Marketing for Consultants links to their latest newsletter where they tee up the myth of Best Practices and drive that meat-flavoured golf ball right into the crocodile water trap.
I hear this from companies and from peers and I want to slam both groups when I hear it. It is an empty, meaningless term. In my business (in most businesses), every consulting engagement is unique. There are certain core concepts that everyone should adhere to, but the solution for each company is unique.
Throw Best Practices out of your vocabulary. Now.