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So, there's this nifty list of hotels that a hotelier *doesn't* want to be on - HotelChatter's Worst WiFi Hotels 2006. Of course, if you're into the whole blogging thing, and like to blog on-the-go, then you probably need to check this list out and share your own facts, if you happen to have found caveats to HotelChatter's listings.
[via Dave Winer]
A big story on Tuesday is that Facebook is apparently shopping itself around, and is looking to take in a few more smackers than the $750 million that it was reportedly offered already. BusinessWeek Online's Steve Rosenbush suggests that Viacom, purveyors of MTV and other cable channels that reach the younger set, might be up for this type of action. I don't know about you, but I happen to be with Om Malik on this one. He suggests that perhaps that $750MM figure should have been snagged while it was on the table, because the site's traffic isn't exactly booming. So while it's still a big number, overall, traffic doesn't lie. Unless there's some other type of cat hiding in the corner there, what's the big shakes that are going to make someone pony up 267% of that offer? Let's be honest here, having a "me too" product isn't going to cut it in this space. It's either got to be better, or have some sort of different feel to it for it to resonate with people.
Check out what Om's got to say on this, I won't belabor this point any further. Oh, and a stack more over at tech.memeorandum.
When life gives you lemons, don't fret about it and start suing. Make some lemonade, and go elsewhere.
Just started running FeedDemon 2.0 on my work machine this morning, and so far, so good. Been having a good time with the pre-releases and betas, so I had a pretty good feel for now the newer features would roll, and this just firms it all up. Congrats to Nick and the whole FeedDemon / NewsGator crew on this version, and looking forward to more great work from y'all.
For all the security concerns that have come about in recent months over how social networking services such as MySpace allow for teenagers and others to get themselves in trouble - or worse - it's good to take note that the reverse is happening as well, with law enforcement people using the services to solve crimes, primarily those that evolved out of use of the tools in the first place.
Late last week, I went out to dinner with two other people to a pretty well-known restaurant chain that has locations across the U.S., and had a kind of curious experience. Now, first off, I've got to say that I go out to eat quite a bit, to a variety of places. In doing so, you come across quite a bit of various dishes being out of stock, or quirky things happening in a restaurant. That's all well and good, but this experience kind of opened my eyes to the new world we live in when it comes to potential public relations and customer service nightmares.
So, after one of our dishes was 86'd only moments before we were to receive dinner, the three of us had something to eat, with the 86'd dinner landing a free appetizer for diner #3. The staff was super super polite, and the manager was the one who came out to apologize for the vanishing dish. This is actually very important when it came to what would happen next. A few minutes later, as we're all well into our meals, a strange object was seen atop one of the plates - not mine. Looking from my seat, I wasn't sure what it was, but shiny, squared-off objects aren't usually part of a chicken-filled salad, so I had to take a closer look. As it turned out, it was a few inch long razor blade.
Thankfully, no bites of a metallic nature had been taken, and the blade was hidden underneath the sprouts. (Aren't they always!?) After retrieving the manager (she must have been happy to see us again), we were treated very well and with a lot of respect as a customer. She did everything she should have to ask us if there was anything else she could get us, assured us that we would not be paying for our meal, and pretty much offered us the run of the place. That was great. When we re-ordered the same dish (but without razor blades), it was quickly delivered within five minutes by the chef of the restaurant, who had done a little digging in the kitchen and determined just what the problem was. As it turned out, the blade was part of a device used to slice tomatoes and other vegetables into long, thin strands, and do multiple slices at once - it was one of about eight blades on the piece. One apparently dropped loose, and fell into the dish, and was unseen by those doing the preparation. Quality control aside, I can totally see how something quirky like this could happen. That doesn't mean it *should* have happened, just that it's not outside of the realm of possibilities.
While sitting there in the moments before the manager arrived, I was torn as to whether to use one of the two cameraphones I was carrying in my pockets (we had four at the table total), and what to do with it if I did. Now there was no injury here, so I wasn't as concerned about that sort of thing, but something struck me at that exact moment - that any of us can hold a lot of cards in situations like that, these days, if we're into the tools of the trade. That doesn't mean you have to be a professional blogger or photographer or anything like that. Let's just say I had shot a photo, sent it to Flickr from my phone, and then texted a few of my friends to check it out. They'd not only know where I was, but they would see the plate. Surely, someone could have blogged it or at the least sent it out to friends on instant messaging platforms, or hell, posted it to a MySpace account. It's a quick and dirty nightmare for the restaurant, a potential lawsuit coming back my way (even if it had no merit), and a bunch of ugliness as people everywhere who might have been heading to this restaurant hear about what is going on. And hey, what about the manufacturer of the kitchen tool?
Not to harp on this forever, but what I wanted to make clear that these kinds of things happen every day, and have for years. The difference today is that everyone - not just the multimillion dollar companies who buy ad time - has a voice, potentially a large one, and probably one that isn't fast forwarded through, either. People listen to each other a lot more often than they do a spokesperson or talking head on the news. Let's just say I was part of a table of teenagers (hey, I was one once) - would I have thought twice about taking the photo and emailing it across the planet from my cellphone? Probably not. That's what we're all up against, all the time.
This isn't about fixing business practices at all - mistakes and errors happen - it's about knowing how to pay attention and be aware of things like this as they happen, or at least within a reasonable time afterwards. This restaurant hearing about this four or five days later (when I'm writing this blog post) wouldn't have cut it. There could have been hundreds, if not thousands, of people talking about this, forwarding it along, blogging on it, or whatever. Just as companies are prepared for crisis communications in a traditional sense, this isn't about waiting until the story is "mainstream" enough to make the evening news and get a formal press conference. Showing that you're on top of this stuff and can incorporate a response from a disaster that may not have begun because someone called the police or their local news station is what is going to separate firms from the pack. Not that we want to see these crises happen, but we know that they are out there and can come about very quickly, perhaps faster than they ever have, even in our 24-hours television news world.
Some people talking about the blogosphere being like the "Wild, Wild West." Typically I disagree, but when comparing instances like this to that concept, it fits right in. You never know where the next gunshot is going to come from.
In case you're wondering what I've been up to of late, you'll be happy to know that I've made sure and include some fun and games with all of my activities. On Sunday, I co-hosted the latest episode of the Across the Sound podcast with Joe Jaffe. We talked about Sportsline's online NCAA tournament viewing, product placement on the Sopranos, and a bit more. Head on over and check it out!
Okay, so I know it's a technicality and all and that adding it to the software's dictionary isn't a big deal, but when will my Word software come pre-loaded so that "blog" isn't questioned as being a word in spellcheck? It's funny when people you work with ask you why words like that aren't in the dictionary just yet, especially when you realize how "mainstream" it is as a proper word, and not just slang.
Jeffrey Treem is looking to have folks venture Inside the Cubicle this week with his amusing Final Four contest for the bloggerati. Okay, maybe not the bloggerati that those of you addicted to lists are thinking right now, but the rest of it. In any case, if you're interested, go drop in and share your Final Four in his comments or to him via email, and let the games begin.
In other news, big props to my alma mater, Monmouth University, for dropping the three-bomb on Hampton last night, just in time to make it to Friday's game against 'Nova. I'm optimistic, but I'm realistic. In any case, go Hawks!
Because, if there's one thing that I always wished I had on my BlackBerry, it was another IM client. I'm joking, of course. Okay, maybe a little bit I'm not joking. I made the mistake of putting an IM client on my BlackBerry a few weeks after receiving it, and I've got to say, the one thing that these devices are not necessarily made for is handling like eight conversations at once. And heck, I know what I'm doing when it comes to IMing in general, so what are folks doing who are IM newbs?
Early this a.m., I was informed (by the man himself) that Salim Ismail was leaving PubSub, the feed-based measurement / monitoring tool he's been in on since 2002 as co-founder. I wanted to wish him good luck in whatever endeavor he jumps into - after his vacation - and will be keeping an eye on what he, and PubSub, end up doing in the very near future. Cheers, Salim!
Just saw that Business Wire has added the one-click "Add to My Yahoo!" button to its RSS feeds page (you've got to be logged in to see it). While they haven't added the "MyAOL," "MSN," "Bloglines, "Rojo," or any other services just yet, it's a decent start, and the next move in the wire service attempting to meet the marketplace tango.
Now if only they'd realize that the passwords shouldn't be necessary for getting people to subscribe. PR Newswire tried to "shut out" people for a long time who didn't meet the "journalist" credentials that they had set forth, and BW made a point to let bloggers in. But BW hasn't been able to let go of this one for some odd reason.