Blogging on Topic: Creating Personal Interest?

“I Help You Blog” has an interesting conversation regarding frequency vs topic, for blog publishing.

Here at jules.ca, I try to stay focused on telecom bits and technology pieces.  That being said, there is likely a plethora of commentary that could be related to neither. Be it photography or little personal anecdotes. Why? Well, it’s illustrating a side of me that’s beyond bits an bites, I suppose.

Well, here’s my arguement, and it’s completely a personal one - there are about two dozen blogs i read religiously and they’re very focused, but the posts that seem to resonate the most are the ones that show a glimpse into their real lives. Darren Barefoot does this really well. Alec Saunders has it figured out…So does Liz Strauss. And Seth Godin.

So - i guess the question is - do you post on topic to attract an audience, and keep them by creating personal interest?

Maybe this blog is more like a mullet: Business in the front, party in the back?

That’s a shameful comparison ;-)


Technorati Tags: blogging, Alec Saunders, Darren Barefoot, Liz Strauss, Seth Godin

Waiting for the Printer

I finally broke down and did it. Bought a new printer to cover for my laziness of not having analog copies of some of the better photos I've taken in the past while.  The old HP I had (bless it's soul) needs a break, as it's spent the better part of the year stuck in contract printing hell, and has now been relegated to the *text printer*....

A note from Canada Post this morning suggests that my new, inky friend will likely show up today. Fingers crossed, as it's also traveling with friends - 2 new memory cards and a camera remote control. Nothing says geeky like getting excited over memory.

A Side Effect of the Flat World

Aside from reducing barriers, increasing reach and generally creating a bit of a level playing field, the new flattening of the world is also introducing problems that we may never have expected to be exposed to before. An increase in supply chain transparency is revealing the seedy underbelly of global “differences” in quality standards.

Finding toothpaste that isn’t intended for consumption in Canada, or toothpaste that doesn’t meet the Canadian health standards makes for nervous brushing.

The issue came to light after a consumer noticed his tube of Colgate was missing French labelling, contained spelling errors and was labelled as being manufactured in South Africa.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a nationwide alert last week after similar tubes - some of which were found to contain a cheap glycerin substitute called diethylene glycol - were discovered in four states.

Colgate has said it does not sell 100 millilitre tubes of toothpaste in the United States, nor does it import toothpaste into the U.S. from South Africa.

Funny - Colgate claims that they don’t import toothpaste into the US from South Africa. This statement could be taken a few ways - they import toothpaste (for US consumption) from other places; and that the South African toothpaste is destined for places other than the US.

All of this begs the question of differing health standards in different countries, and how the flatting of the world, at some point, needs to include the harmonization of some of the basic standards, if only to reduce the risk of illness or injury when products are erroneously imported and exported. Shouldn’t the folks in the rest of the world have the same quality of toothpaste that we enjoy in Canada? Cheap glycerine substitute? No thanks.


Technorati Tags: toothpaste recall, the flattening of the world, Colgate

CBC's Foray Into Facebook

CBC has begun an interesting experiment, using Facebook as a medium to reach hundred of thousands of Canadians. They've create the Great Canadian WishList
 - allowing folks to create wishes or vote for wishes that resonate with them. Now, politically charged with different camps canvassing for *wish support*, the Great Canadian Wishlist is now polarizing and dividing folks in traditional ways, resulting in some VERY heated discussions.

Go and take a look at what's at the top of the wish list. I think you will be un-nerved and a little surprised.


Technorati Tags: Facebook, CBC, The Great Canadian Wishlist

Walmart Canada Online Presence

I stumbled onto the Walmart Canada site through Redflag Deals,
who was listed on Maple Leaf 2.0. The first thing I check out on sites like this is if they’ve got a wee shopping cart icon. In my excitement, I confused a *shopping list* icon with a cart ;-(

My first thought was… “holy cats, don’t get too excited, there’s no way Walmart could have an online store and me not know about it”… and sure enough - it wasn’t a store, just a huge “flier” disguised as a store. I can make a *shopping list*… yippee.

I like the product at Walmart.
I can NEVER go to Walmart. Hence - no spend from Jules.
The crowds, the incessant wait in line because they’ve only got 2 cash registers going, the silly people in the store stopping in the middle of the aisles. It’s an exercise in frustration. I am happy to pay more at other stores, simply to not have to deal with the pain and the wait.

I bet I’m not the only one who avoids Walmart like the plague, just for those reasons alone.

With the uber-sophisticated supply chain, warehousing and impressive IT groups, you would think that opening a true online store would be the next logical step for Walmart - and they could capture the potential customers who can’t/won’t go into their brick and mortar stores. Alas. Not yet. Here’s to hoping.


Technorati Tags: Walmart Canada

Salon.com Does Advertising Right

I slid into salon.com this morning to check out the reviews of Michael Moore’s new film, Sicko. It premiered at Cannes this week. As an aside, I am a full-on, card carrying Michael Moore fan.  Sicko is about the insanity that is the American Health Care System.

Back to the story… salon.com gave me the first few paragraphs of the review, and if I wanted to read more, I just had to watch a quick snippet of video from their advertisers.  Normally, with newspaper/journal/magazine type stories, you can read a few paragraphs, and if you want more, you’ve got to subscribe/pay/donate offspring to get to the goods of the story.  Not so with salon.com. It was awesome.  I actually watched the ad - it was Robert Redford talking about environmental bits.

Why don’t more content based sites do this?  Holy cow - captive audience, easy to do, and certainly easy for the audience.  Too  many times I’ve been turned away in frustration over having to jump through 7 hoops to get to the article I wanted to read. One of the worst offenders? ITWorldCanada. No kidding.


Technorati Tags: Salon.com, Sicko, Michael Moore, Web Advertising

Webkinz - Crack for Kids

After all the hooplah around Webkinz, I broke down and gave it a go. I am the proud parent of Jeremiah the Bullfrog. I wanted to see what the uber-cool kids web 2.0 application was like. I signed up, I entered my secret Webkinz activation code that came with Jeremiah, I was up and running.

With Webkinz, in theory, it’s all about learning and playing games.  Skills improvements, hand-eye co-ordination, and trivia. Aha. Not so fast. It’s about buying virtual crap for your pet. It’s about making enough Kinz Cash to get a waterbed, a bowl of Swamp stew, and an addition for your house. Play games and get cash, find stuff and get cash. Answer questions correctly, or win a contest and get more cash.  It’s a race to make 2500 “kinzcash” bucks a week to support your virtual pet and your very real shopping fetish.

And get this - the more webkinz you adopt (at $12 a pop), the more things you can buy, and the more “perks” you get. But don’t forget - your activation code is only good for 12 months, after which, if you still want to play, you’ve got to “renew” your adoption. 

To add further to the addiction, if you don’t play every day, you pet becomes depressed, starves and (likely) will end up dying.  I have yet to test this theory, it seems a tad excessive.  Kids are finding it easier to coerce their parents into taking care of their “kinz” while on vacation or camp. (I shudder at the Tamagotchi death tolls of 2005).  No parent wants to be responsible for the death of a pet, virtual or otherwise.

Webkinz is a vicious circle. Kids with a dozen or more adopted pets.  Purchased only so they can get more virtual goods on-line. I say again, it’s a vicious circle. Webkins encourages multiple pet adoptions by creating an “exclusive” area for those kids with a basketful of pets.  On your 10th adoption, the keys to the kingdom open, and you become one if the Webkins upper-crust with fancier virtual “accessories”, and improved options for shopping. I’ve got my heart set on a few of the “exclusive” items, but I’ll be damned if I buy 9 more webkinz for the “privilege” of having a circus themed room.
Parents: don’t be fooled. Don’t fall for it.  Go ahead and get your kid ONE of the damned, evil plushies, but don’t you dare fall for the “I need more Webkinz” pleading.  It will likely lead you on the path to ruin.
Buyer beware.

PS - Even Webinz recommends only 20 minutes a day of usage. Hmmm…. responsible of them ;-)


Technorati Tags: Webkinz

Why I Buy Pizza from PizzaPizza

No - it’s not because it’s good. On a good day, it’s mediocre.  On a bad day, it’s delivered overcooked and even the dog has a hard time choking down the crusts.
No, I buy Pizza Pizza because they have a reasonable online order application.


I would LOVE to buy pizza from It Was a Rainy Day in Pizzaville.
Alas - their online order tool sucks crusts when it comes to being able to pair up an address with the nearest store.  It worked ok downtown, but it can’t figure out that I am 8 minutes from a franchise, now that I live north of the city.

I would LOVE to buy pizza from Dominos.
But they don’t even have an on-line ordering option! Aie! Wakey wakey….

I’d even go out on a limb and buy pizza from Pizza Hut…. I quite liked the cheese in the crust deal they used to offer. Again - no service for my area. Again - I can almost see the Pizza Hut. Pfft. No pizza from YOU!.

So - Pizza Pizza it is. Not because it’s good, but because they seem to be the only pizza chain who has their act together when it comes to on-line ordering. I’ll be damned if I’m going to support a pizza place who hasn’t got their web 2.0 game going on.

To the good pizza places….. hurry up and get your digital sh&t together. I’m getting hungry again!!


Technorati Tags: pizza pizza, dominos, pizza hut, pizza ville

Fireworks, Bylaws and Guaranteed Identity Authentication

So - it was a busy long weekend :-)
3 days of amateur fireworks in the neighbourhood.
The desire to create a bylaw that would ban fireworks in subdivision neighbourhoods has taken over my sense of being. I can't have a chiminea or a closed fire in my backyard, but how come some nutbar with no proven life skills whatsoever can set off fireworks 20 feet from my house; at ANY hour of the day?

Grrrr.
It would have been neat to be able to log a complaint at 11:30 pm with the City of Richmond Hill, with my name, credentials and location, as well as the location of the offending fireworks fool. Calling and leaving a message on an answering machine is not effective.  Speaking with someone live may not be effective either, depending on their skill and experience level.  I'd rather log into a site, provide identity credetials, and log the complaint.

People could become accountable, responsible, and verifiable. No more hiding on the internet, not if you wanted to participate in certain arenas.

Imagine the neatness of being able to have identity credentials on the internet. Yes, I realize there are a few neat authentication keys available, but they aren't really easy enough for the average Joe or Josephine, and they haven't really taken off. is it a fingerprint scan on your keyboard? Maybe. Is it an authentication server that confirms you are who you say you are? Maybe.  Likely it's a combo of the 2, yet in a format that would be easy for novice computer folks to implement and feel secure about.

Hmmm... I'd love to serve someone with a digital noise bylaw ticket.
:-)


Technorati Tags: fireworks bylaws, identity authentication

New and Creepy Linked-In Feature

For various reasons, Facebook promises not to tell you who is looking at your profile, and conversely, who's profile *you* are looking at.
I can see the pros and cons of that, and the protective bubble around you if you are *stalking* someone ;-)

Yesterday I logged into my LinkedIn account to accept a few invitiations, and on the right hand side of the screen - POW! "Who has viewed my profile?Your profile has been viewed by 13 people in the last 1 month. See who's reviewed your LinkedIn Profile".

Aiee!!!!! And so I did what everyone would do - I clicked the link. I could only see the most recent 5 folks (if you upgrade, you can see all of them). I could see their job title and the company they worked for. It's funny - in 4 of the 5 visitors, I could tell who they were, simply by their title and the company they worked for.  And incase you wanted to narrow it down a little, you could do a quick search on title and company, and get the actual names of the likely candidates.

I can see the value of this cyber sleuthing - but geeze, it's a little odd.

Thoughts?  Am I being paranoid?


Technorati Tags: Facebook, LinkedIn, Privacy