Personal Blog
Posts based on my personal observations
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Google Still Gaining Market Share
Unlike most other technologies introduced in the past 20 years it seems that Google wants to defy the Diffusion of Innovations adoption curve. The What? It’s the theorem by Everett Rogers that says any idea or technology is accepted slowly at first, then takes off for a while, and finally is slowly adopted by the remaining group. For a little better explanation see the Wikipedia page here. [link still active 2021] Apparently that does not include Google since the most recent stats show an increase in usage. You would think everybody who is going to use Google is already there – but according to the firm comScore – Google’s Market…
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Americans and Their Cell Phones
Mobile phones have become a near-ubiquitous tool for information seeking and communicating–83% of American adults own some kind of cell phone–and these devices have an impact on many aspects of their owners’ daily lives. In a nationally representative telephone survey, the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project found that, during the 30 days preceding the interview: Cell phones are useful for quick information retrieval (so much so that their absence can cause problems) – Half of all adult cell owners (51%) had used their phone at least once to get information they needed right away. One quarter (27%) said that they experienced a situation in the previous month…
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Talking to Millions
I had the chance to talk to 3.75 million people last night. Really. My long time client and friend Joe Cipriano is the announcer on Wheel of Fortune this week as part of a working audition to get the permanent position. He was a guest on the Jim Bohannon Show on the Westwood One Radio Network, and that show has an estimated audience of 3.75 million. I assure you that’s not what I was thinking when I called in and was put on the air. I was nervous. The funny thing is that my background is broadcasting – I have been an announcer, newscaster, talk show host and producer among…
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A New Digg
The social news website Digg has released a major re-working called Version 4. The site was first launched as an experiment in November 2004, then re-launched the following July with Version 2.0. In that version the creators featured a “friends list” which made the site one of the pioneers in social media. The concept was to bookmark or “Digg” web pages that your friends could see if they were following you. This was still a year before Twitter came along so at the time it was quite innovative. In 2006 version 3.0 came along with changes that included being able with specific topics such as Entertainment, World & Business, and…
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Electronic Pearl Harbor
I don’t have much use for most of our politicians from Virginia – with one notable exception: Congressman Randy Forbes. He seems to share my core values, and he appears to be a “real” person. I mean anyone who rides a big bike at the head of the Rolling Thunder Ride for Freedom in Washington, D.C. on Memorial Day Weekend can’t be all bad. Perhaps even more importantly Forbes appears to “get it” when it comes to the Internet based threat we face from foreign powers. In a recent Newsletter Congressman Forbes wrote about an Electronic Pearl Harbor describing in interesting detail how cyber security attacks against the United States…
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Beam me up, Scotty!
In October 1994, the Star Trek Association of Towson, a fan club in Towson, Maryland, sponsored “The Big E Con,” a convention held aboard the carrier Enterprise while the ship was at its home port of Norfolk, Virginia. The events featured tours of the ship and appearances by Star Trek notables including James Doohan, or “Scotty” on the original series. At the time I was the production Director for WFOG radio. The week preceding the convention as part of the pre-promotion I had the opportunity to interview Mr. Doohan by phone at his home in Redmond Washington. I tried to keep the interview interesting by focusing on Jimmy Doohan, and…
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Into The Clouds
I guess it must be my ADD kicking in… A client asked my new company IMS to quote developing a couple of commerce web sites… including hosting costs. Well since I just launched the new company I have been busy… getting the banking in place, obtaining business licenses, finding and leasing office space, staffing the company. Hosting? I had not really thought about it in terms of giving a quote since developing price grids for Pinnacle Online when I was the CEO – and that was going on four years ago! One of the terms that was brand new back then but too new to act upon was Cloud Computing.…
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A Search Engine Optimization White Paper
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Gerald Ford
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iTunes U and the opposite Podcast
I have been listening to lots and lots of podcasts on iTunes. Most of them pure crap – but some very worthwhile material is available. Head and shoulders above the pack for my taste are three files I found on iTunes U featuring Author Thomas L. Friedman. First if you have not purchased the book “The World Is Flat” you are really missing the picture of how and why the world is transforming into a global economy. Do a power search for Friedman and you’ll find those files and a great talk about his new book, Green is the new Red White and Blue. This is Very worthwhile material. Second,…