Month: April 2007

When Will Second Life Go Mainstream?

One question that I get asked quite a lot is, “Should I be paying attention to Second Life? Is it just a fad?”

Well I absolutely do not think that virtual immersive environments are a fad. It is possible to make compelling three dimensional simulations which you are going to want to come back to again and again. Virtual worlds are here to stay in some shape or another. I have no idea if Second Life will be the one to make it big.

According to Gartner, they think everyone is going to be hopping on the Second Life bandwagon. They reported that “80 percent of active Internet users will be in non-gaming virtual worlds like Second Life by the end of 2011 .” Wow… thats a lot of people.

But it signals something important. You do have a little bit of time before Second Life or virtual immersive worlds make it big.

I don’t think that every company under the sun needs to run out and purchase a presence in Second Life. I would recommend Second Life as a fertile ground for experimentation and research because as I said before, it will be the future.

Corecomm Web Hosting Is Dreadfully Slow On Server Updates

I’ve been using Corecomm Web Hosting, for a long long time. (since it was Voyager Web Hosting) Unfortunately, I’m not sure how much longer my patronage of their service is going to last.

I’m trying to install a new instance of the latest version of WordPress and it won’t work. Corecomm still has MySQL version 3.X loaded on their servers. The latest version of WordPress requires MySQL 4.0 or later.

So today, I called Corecomm asking if they could update the server that I’m on. They said it could be anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months before I got my update.

Some of the functionality and presentation I want to implement requires the latest version of WordPress.

The question I have is do I want to wait for the dreadfully slow Corecomm Web Hosting to update their servers or should I start the migration to someone else?

MySQL 4.0 has been out for a while hasn’t it? Isn’t it crazy that they’re just starting to update and roll out new servers now?

I think we deserve better service.

Dan Benjamin has the best Ruby On Rails Setup Instructions

Yesterday I picked up a new white Apple MacBook. My 12 inch Apple PowerBook was getting a little old. Different features were starting not to work. I figured it was time for a change.

I knew that one of the first things that I wanted to do was install Ruby on Rails and MySQL.

Dan Benjamin has the BEST instructions for how to setup Ruby on Rails and MySQL.

I’m somewhat command line phobic. All you have to do is copy and paste the instructions that Dan has written out and it just works.

Go check it out.

Blogging 101: Doesn’t blogging take a lot of time?

When I talk to people about blogging, one of the most common reactions that I get is, “I don’t have the kind of time to be able to blog. Those bloggers have way to much time on their hands.” So how much time does it actually take to have a successful blog?

It actually completely depends on the type of blog that you want to have. Some blogs I read update every day or multiple times a day, like Robert Scoble. Some other blogs I read only post updates once a week or once every couple of weeks, like Jeremy Keith or Molly Holzschlag. They’re all very successful blogs which I look forward to reading every time there is a new post.

You have to decide what’s going to work best for you and your audience. Maybe the topic that you write about is really fast paced and it would be conducive to be writing about it everyday. Maybe writing once a week would be better because you don’t have the audience nor the time nor that much good content to be writing that often.

There is no magic formula for the amount of time you put in your blog. It is just something that you get comfortable with and start to get a feel for. Over time, writing becomes easier and easier so its a matter of just finding the time and good content. The easier it is to write the faster you can compose interesting thoughts and musings.

Just have to remember that everything is beta and that you’re always learning how to do it better.

Now get out there and start blogging. You don’t have an excuse not to.

My WWW2007 Workshop Paper Posted

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it here yet but I’m going to presenting a paper, “Library of Congress Outreach to the Developing World: The World Digital Library Initiative (PDF),” at the workshop “MobEA V – Mobile Web in the Developing World,” on May 8th, 2007, which is being held in conjunction with the WWW2007 conference.

Check out the paper and let me know what you think.

Are you going to WWW2007? I’d love to meet up with some cool Web folks.

At Computers in Libraries Conference This Morning

Friends, I’m going to be at the Computers in Libraries Conference, in Arlington, VA, this morning. I’m not speaking or anything but just coming to check out the action. A friend of mine was able to score me a ticket. If you’re at the conference too, drop me a line. Maybe I’ll live blog a session or two… we shall see.

What is your personal marketing strategy? Do you have a presence?

Lately, I’ve been getting into a lot of discussions about blogging with my friends and co-workers. They’re always fascinated to learn about the new medium but most will say, “I just don’t have the time.”

The thing is… in today’s culture, I don’t think a person can afford to not blog. It has to be a priority to have a personal marketing strategy. Blogging is an effective way of marketing yourself and your ideas.

The World Wide Web is truly amazing. It allows for a global ongoing archived conversation. Any one can have a voice and develop a presence in the different communities and conversations that exist.

The thing is your voice has to have a presence.

Things will work better for you if you’re out in your community discussing the issues that are important. I don’t want to have a hermit as a business partner or as an employee.

Blogging isn’t about being overly verbose and whining a lot. It’s about learning to market yourself and your ideas within the global conversation. It’s having a presence.

You Can Make Internet TV

On Friday, I had the pleasure of hanging out with the Harvard Free Culture Group. At their meeting, Dean Jansen of the Participatory Culture Foundation (PCF) debuted the Web site Make Internet TV. The site, a project of PCF, is a resource to help people make videos. It covers everything from equipment, shooting, editing, licensing issues, publishing, and promotion. There is even an underlying wiki where users can contribute their knowledge and tips. This Web site is really a great resource. Check it out.