Writing on feeds, search, widgets, and the social web.

Niall Kennedy's weblog, newest first. Page 21 of 72.

Example product blog: Scooba Clean

I created a sample product blog to demonstrate how a corporation might engage a potential market in advance of a product launch. I chose iRobot Corporation and their latest product, Scooba the floor washing robot. I created a blog named Scooba Clean to show what a product blog might look like in the six months before the product is released. Corporate marketing teams are often a bit afraid to enter the world of corporate blogging. They read reports of mobs of bloggers attacking CBS or Kryptonite and fear for the lives of their brands in the wild frontier that…

Ferrari theme park in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi will have the world’s first Ferrari theme park in 2008. The project includes virtual driving simulations as well as a race track and driving circuits. How fun! Imagine going to the racetrack every year to try out the latest $500,000 car. Spending a day with Ferraris will likely be a very expensive visit to the park. Tags: ferrari…

CIA sells Google shares

In-Q-Tel, the venture capital of the CIA, recently announced a planned sale of 5,636 shares of Google stock worth over $2.2 million. The stock was most likely a result of In-Q-Tel’s investment in Keyhole, a earth visualization software company acquired by Google in October 2004. In-Q-Tel is also invested in search companies Intelliseek and piXlogic, and Verity. Tags: inqtel…

Amazon receives customer reviews patent

Amazon.com received U.S. Patent number 6,963,848 this week for “methods and system of obtaining consumer reviews.” Amazon has the full purchase data for an item and can determine when a user has enough experience to review the product. The patent covers the solicitation of a review and what metrics might be used to determine the right time to solicit a review. The patent was originally filed over five and a half years ago in March 2000 and seems to be focused on better competing with a site such as Epinions.com. Some interesting snippets: The predetermined amount of time may be…

Outlook 12 RSS support in latest beta

The latest version of Office, 12.0.3111.1010, has hit the peer-to-peer networks and developer Alexander Gorlach has posted his first impressions and detailed screenshots of the subscription and reading interface. Microsoft throttles the feed update rate and respects the TTL element. Users can override this update limit which could be pretty scary as RSS updates are currently integrated with the standard send/receive function along with e-mail and most e-mail is checked every 5 minutes or so. Outlook 12 also supports the ability to download all enclosures for a subscription, regardless of the file type. Enclosures can deliver some nasty payloads to…

Maps, Microsoft Live, and Xbox 360

I recorded a new podcast tonight with Om Malik covering the big news in the technology industry over the past week. We focused on mapping technologies, mobile phone use, and Microsoft’s new online strategy. Om and I hope to continue covering the latest technology news each week. You can subscribe to my enclosures feed to always receive the latest episode of a yet unnamed series. The audio file of our discussion lasts for 19 minutes and 39 seconds and is a 9.1 MB download. I hope you enjoy. Please leave comment or ask questions directly on this post or contact…

MSN.com testing new site

MSN has a new beta version of its homepage online with a cleaner look and easy to find links to other areas of MSN. The site does not look too great on Safari or Firefox but the site should be of interest as it will likely become the default homepage for millions of users. Tags: msn…

Full text of Microsoft executive memos about service offerings

Dave Winer just posted the full text of memos sent by Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Ray Ozzie to Microsoft executives announcing the company’s new services strategy. Both executives are very frank about Microsoft’s failure to properly capitalize on the latest online trends, including many technologies pioneered by Microsoft. Ray Ozzie encourages updates in MSN and Windows Update to “better serve a broad range of highly-influential early adopters.” The entire plan is not yet complete, but corporate executives are working towards a December 15 deadline to outline next steps and product revisions. Thanks Dave for tracking down these documents and taking…

Podcasts I listen to

A lot of people think of podcasts as uninteresting audio recordings of someone talking to themselves. Not true! I want to share with you some of my favorite podcasts I subscribe to and listen to at least semi-regularly. I manage my subscriptions and downloads through iTunes. Podcasts is time shifted audio making existing programs available when I want and where I want and enabling new content niches where radio might never go. On the Media, a New York public radio program about the media industry including newspapers, radio, television, and online media such as websites and blogs. On the Media…

Designing the right customer experience

Bain & Company recently surveyed 362 firms and found that 80 percent believed they provided exceptional customer service while only 8 percent of their customers agreed with the firm’s perceptions. Their findings are summarized in “Tuning In to the Voice of Your Customer” in the October issue of Harvard Management Update. Bain found “the ultimate test of any company’s delivery lies in what customers tell others. The best companies find ways to tune in to customers’ voices every day.” I found the article very in-tune with blogging and customer engagement, promoting not only high profit customers but also high profits…

Increased ad sales through free small business web hosting

Advertising networks are becoming web hosts in an attempt to provide a fulfillment destination for click advertising. Bringing more businesses online provides a destination for online advertisements from small businesses such as plumbers and restaurants creating new destinations for local searches. Microsoft and Yahoo! already offer free hosting for businesses and other advertising dependent businesses such as Google, Amazon, or eBay are likely not far behind. What if every pizzeria in town had a website? Local searches suddenly become more interesting, with multiple pizzerias competing for your next purchase with a text advertisement on large search networks. Yahoo! offers a…

Windows Vista will require well-formed XML feeds

The Windows Vista team just announced that the next version of Windows will not process any web feeds that are not well-formed XML. I think it is a good move and saves a lot of development headaches. Feed publishers should periodically check their feeds using tools such as Feed Validator to discover any potential problems and evaluate some of problems revealed by warning messages. Errors in your feed might result in your message not being delivered to your readers. Tags: atom, RSS, windowsvista…

VoIP podcast with Om Malik

I use voice over IP applications such as Skype and Gizmo Project but I don’t follow industry developments in the same detail as Om Malik and his broadband blog. Om and I tried out the podcasting abilities of Gizmo Project tonight with a 19 minute discussion of the current state of voice over IP (VoIP). We talk about some of the industry basics, news of the week, and where the industry as a whole is headed. Click here to download the 8.7 MB MP3 file. Topics covered: Skype vs. Gizmo Project Dialing out to a phone grid Microsoft Windows Live…

Microsoft Office Live

Microsoft Office Live is a set of small business services built around a Microsoft’s Sharepoint technologies. The new site combines bCentral with Sharepoint for free web hosting, e-mail, and group sharing online. Microsoft will also offer subscription plans with less or no advertising and access to over 20 additional online business applications. Anyone can now sign up for a domain name, setup their own website, and have a professional e-mail address. You can design your site using Microsoft templates directly from their web page. You can signup for up to 5 e-mail addresses at your-domain.com with 2 GB of…

Microsoft Mojo

Microsoft has a new collaborative editing program named Mojo. Mojo is a way to connect with other people to edit a document in real-time. Microsoft demonstrated connecting to a contractor off-site to edit some financial documents. You can initiate a connection via Messenger, e-mail, or phone and talk to the other person through your PC while you both work on the document. Mojo is a better solution than remote desktops because you share only the open window and not everything on your computer. There is a button at the top of the window labeled “Take Control” that suggests two…

Windows Live Messenger and Mail

MSN has been openly centered around Hotmail and Messenger for their online services strategy. Microsoft announced major upgrades to both components today with even more Web goodness. Windows Live Messenger Windows Live Messenger is a MSN Messenger replacement with lots of new social networking features built-in. You can now store up to 600 contacts, which is very good because Messenger now shows you all of your contacts through the program regardless of if they currently have a Messenger account. Messenger users can share and annotate their friends list with others through Microsoft’s people search interface. You can add even add…

Live.com and Windows Safety Center

Windows Live is a suite of Internet powered applications and services designed to run on top of the Windows platform. Microsoft unveiled a variety of services at its technology preview event today that it plans to release next year. All components of Windows Live are currently listed on the Windows Live Ideas page. Live.com Live.com is the center of the Windows Live experience. Users will access this personalized portal page for the latest weather, news, mail messages, and whatever else catches their interest. Live.com is similar to the Google personalized start page and My Yahoo!. Users select a content…

Microsoft Live Platform

Microsoft announced today its new strategy around live services to integrate products and services across a variety of devices to 87 journalists and analysts at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. Microsoft software already powers a variety of systems including servers, desktops, mobile phones, and the Xbox. The Microsoft Live architecture connects these devices through to allow end users to share preferences, presence data, and a digital identity whenever they access a compatible device. Microsoft has embraced the Internet as part of the desktop experience and invested in technologies to connect individuals and groups with their data and contacts….

Windows Live

Windows Live beta is up and running at Live.com. This page will be the default start page for Windows in the near future with Internet Explorer 7 and Windows Vista. Note that Microsoft has built feed search into the default home page on the top right under the “Add Content” header. Microsoft also now has a “Feeds” tab on its Windows Live search page, part of the MSN Search “Skylight” project it appears. You can also add podcasts direct to your home page by subscribing to the feed and the latest entry will appear with Windows Media Player loading the…

Microsoft Technology Preview

I am covering the Microsoft Technology Preview this morning in San Francisco. Microsoft is launching their “Live” software initiatives that include software as a service, synchronization, and even peer to peer. The biggest news to me so far is Bill Gates announcing that Microsoft will build advertising as a service for software development. Developers can call a web service and receive Microsoft advertising content targeted to their users directly in their applications. As the application grows in popularity it can provide different monetization options, but advertising is a good bootstrap model. Microsoft is announcing Windows Live and Office Live…

Web 2.0 wedding proposal

Dave Garr, a Silicon Valley marketing geek, decided to create a special website to propose to his girlfriend Elizabeth last week. The site parodies eHarmony and uses Web 2.0 engagement synergy technologies such as embedded video and a guide to dating milestones using Google Maps. The couple created a TypePad blog to allow friends and family to follow their wedding and honeymoon planning. I like the use of Google Maps to illustrate date locations and points of personal interest. The engagement process was heavily documented for friends and family who can follow along step-by-step and see pictures and video of…

Sony superball commercial

A few months ago Sony closed down part of San Francisco’s Russian Hill neighborhood to film a commercial with over 250,000 superballs bouncing down the hill. Sony wants to emphasize the richness of color in its televisions, and director Nicolai Fuglsig’s use of bright bouncy balls definitely illustrated that point. The high resolution version of the 60 second commercial is about 18 MB and the crispness is worth the wait. You may also watch the smaller 5 MB video below. I have watched the video at least 5 times already. I recommend downloading the zipped archive of the high…

Denny Hastert blogs

Speaker of the House Denny Hastert is now blogging. Hastert is the #3 politician in Washington D.C., second only to Vice President Dick Cheney in the Presidential line of succession. He hopes to provide “some inside access to the Republican playbook.” The internet is changing the way we share information. My office has been talking a lot about some of the conversations going on in blogosphere. So I thought, hey, I should start one and give you unfiltered updates on Capitol Hill. The journal has no comments, not even a list to a congressional e-mail address. The journal does not…

AdAge: Workers spend 40 minutes per day reading blogs

A recent survey by Advertising Age found about 35 million workers in the United States visit blogs and spend an average of 40 minutes a day reading blogs. 25% of blog visits could be considered job-related. Work time spent reading and posting to blogs will consume 2.2% of all labor force hours this year according to Advertising Age. You need an Advertising Age account to view the article. Try BugMeNot for nag-free access. Tags: advertising, adage…

Movable Type developers event tonight

Six Apart is hosting the San Francisco Perl Users Group tonight at 8 p.m. for a behind-the-scenes look at Movable Type. Byrne Reese will discuss the underpinning of Movable Type’s architecture and design decisions. The meeting is free and open to all attendees. Topics Template tags Text fliters Callbacks Alternate templates MT::Plugin MT::Object MT:App Tags: movabletype, perl…