Tag: Blogging

Apple Bloggers Sent Underground By Overzealous Legal Department?

2005-03-31 / spierzchala / 2 Comments

The title should give you some idea about what the post is about. And before you flame me, realize that I know there are a great number of dedicated Apple Bloggers out there. The concept driving this post is something that has been tickling the back of my brain for a week now: the lack of and silence from bloggers who work directly for Apple.

John Moore of Brand Autopsy comments on Guy Kawasaki, the Evangelists’ Evangelist, stating that he is tired of defending Apple. [here]

Apple has micromanged their branding and corporate message to such a degree that they cannot, will not, tolerate ANY deviation from the company line. By anyone. Including the hordes of excited, motivated, and deicated Apple Fanatics.
Apple, currently you have the cool factor on your side. I have become a victim of your message: I LUST for (not want, not desire, but LUST for) a Powerbook.

However, as lust is want to do, it may cool when the sun rises and all is exposed in the true light.

So Apple, how do you want your fanatics to speak of you? As the company with the cool tech who puts the chill into even the most firebrand brand evangelist? Or the company that encourages, motivates and invigorates the discussion and dissemination by their brand evangelists, no matter who they are?

If you work at Apple and you are reading this, which answer do you see coming out of the Marketing Department?

Marc Canter: Thompson was the original blogger

2005-02-21 / spierzchala / 0 Comments

All bloggers owe their heritage to the original Gonzo.
Marc Canter

Amen.

The subjectivity and raw opinion in HST’s work colours my writing to this day. it is difficult for me to write professional, technical documents without wanting to launch into a preternatural screed (two words I learned from the Good Doctor) on the topic I a writing on.

I was accused by a VP in my company last week of not being able to dumb myself down to deal with where our customers are in relation to where I am. HST had no patience with dumbing down, or pulling punches. He told people what they needed to know in as visceral a manner as he could.

May blogging honour the heritage of HST.

“Where everybody knows your name…”

2005-02-03 / spierzchala / 0 Comments

Be careful what you say and who you say it about. Thomas Mahon, the hottest new blogger, was “dressed down” by one of his former “colleagues”.

Thomas then dispatches the cad with some of the sharpest words I have heard for many a year.

Bravo Thomas…too bad I dress like mountain climber after a hard week; I might mortgage the house for a fine suit by this master of the blades.

Thomas mentions in his post that Savile Row is quite small. It is. For those who have not had the pleasure of being there, it is a tiny street, a stone’s throw from Green Park, Near Berkeley Square. I know this because I accidentally stumbled over Savile Row during a jet-lag induced walk at 2AM a few years ago.

I was stunned when I realized where I was. Someday I hope to take Samantha there. She has formal training as a pattern-maker and designer, but has been sidelined due to Visa issues, two kids, and chronic carpal tunnel in both arms. She would probably be astounded to watch a true master at work, and it would be like me getting 10 minutes with Tim Berners-Lee or (rest in peace) Richard Stevens.

Blogger servers and log analyzers

2005-02-01 / spierzchala / 0 Comments

First it was Russell Beattie Getting Hacked.

Then, Jeremy Zawodny.

Now, Dave Winer weighs in on lousy log analysis software.

I wrote my own hit-tracker a while back to handle Typepad, but now that I am using B2Evolution on my own machine, I will have to hack my log analysis PHP to use their slightly different logging table.

Just goes to show that even cool software can have issues.

Looks like it was a hole in my one of my fave log analyzers, AWStats, that allowed the breaches.

Damn! 400 Blogs were attacked!

The Schwimmer Concept: Commercial Aggregation v. Non-commercial Aggregation

2005-01-16 / spierzchala / 2 Comments

Martin Schwimmer, a trademark lawyer, has ignited a controversy over “commercial” aggregation services (here and here).

It poses an interesting argument. The gut-reaction instinct is to marginalize his comments as fringe element of the blogosphere. But Russell Beattie’s comments point out that line between public and private, personal and commercial use become extremely blurred in a new medium.

Perhaps what Martin Schwimmer should do is leap from the Trademark bubble and help DEFINE how a service such as Bloglines can use his content in a way that he agrees with. The law profession is far to reactive and non-solution oriented.

Don’t quote old broken rules; be a leader and make new, effective ones. Leadership comes from bold new initiatives and the willingness to see what is, and make what should and can be.

I issue a challenge to Martin Schwimmer: lead, don’t follow.