Data Sphere: Here is what people mean by “cookie cutter”
Take a good look at these screenshots from 2 different neighborhoods – nay cities – in the Sacramento region. Same layout? Check. But also . . . Same content. Now read this quote from Gary Cowan of Datasphere in Street Fight today: People throw out the word, “cookie cutter,” but what does that actually mean? Does it mean you have a website laid out in a... Read More
Hey Google! Time to fix Google Apps once and for all
Maybe enterprise solutions just aren’t that important inside the googleplex these days, but they ought to be. Why? Because cloud-based enterprise software is not just for big corporations, it’s for power users who like to work collaboratively. We’re all using tools like Basecamp and Posterous and Tumblr … and many of us are using Google apps. There is... Read More
Letter to the FCC
The Hon. Julius Genachowski Chairman Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20554 Dear Chairman Genachowski: October 3, 2011 The undersigned organizations are innovative local online news organizations serving communities across the country. We are new, start-up enterprises, and we are part of a growing movement of local online sites dedicated... Read More
Patch: Scared Yet?
This morning I read a dire warning for independent online local websites: Hyper Local Purists Steamrolled By Patch?. The headline is a little misleading as Mel has wider concerns than Patch. Mostly it was a criticism of the Block by Block Summit. At the summit I held an impromptu session on Patch. I won’t try to recap but here are my thoughts. Patch represents a huge ally... Read More
Reality
Not long ago I was hearing about the possibility of local advertising networks and at conferences and in the blogosphere. Many intellectuals and media experts thought this was a key institution for building a healthy media ecosystem – it was seen as almost a quick fix. At the time we had already begun work on SLOAN, The Sacramento Local Online Ad network. Geoffrey Sakala from... Read More
