the blog revolution is only a revolution because it is changing the way people think about producing content. in fact, now they are thinking about producing content. before, we were all about webpages. oh, you want to get online - you need to create a webpage. i'm sure this only really made sense to the technically savvy. Everyone else was forced to nod their heads and follow along. but now, we're getting rid of that archaic idea - the webpage. there is no need for it. it complicates things when all we're initially concerned with is producing the content. so let's just focus on that. so we have some content to produce. what is it? what type of thing is...
alan and i had another interesting day talking together. we do manage to get some things done. we improved upon our backup system, which is surely a good thing and we made plans for better support of the mental blocks/1000camels server farm. hopefully, these ideas will grow into a better support system for the keiretsu.
here's a nice article on flickr. to be fair, i've never uploaded any pictures to flickr. i've read lots about it and have been particularly interested in it. but my interest is in the infrastructure. As the article points out, flickr is employing some good ideas like the REST style API, as well as a much more open business model. they aren't trying to lock anyone in. Instead, they are trying to make a good product, and i think it is this desire which is amazing. now they are able to develop their system according to what makes the most sense technically and even socially, rather than economically. for me, the most important aspect of flickr is that they have...
this is what i submitted to the Xtech conference Designing an open system This paper describes an open system as an approach to creating web content that is easy to produce, share and continue to develop. This method de-emphasizes the traditional website, typified as a series of documents linked together by a common organization. Instead, the focus is on producing content, independent of its context.Designing an open system is an object oriented approach, such that common types of content share the same data sources, interfaces and libraries. It has a central URI that employs a REST style API so that each object is easily accessed and can be sourced and edited from practically anywhere on the internet. Essentially, it is...
now, i'm beginning to think the best way to describe an open system is one in which the context is not part of it. it's literally an index of objects. in an open system, those objects are not really tied together. or rather, there is no requirement that they be tied together into any context. in order words, this object does not necessarily go 'next to' this object. that is determined by anyone who builds with these objects.
i've been thinking a lot about business relationships lately. i am often troubled by simple common practices in business. For example, a potential client is often fearful of saying how much money they wish to spend. The problem with this is that there is never one solution. When a client wants a system built, their description is far from detailed. i view my job as translating what the client is trying to articulate into a real working system. But that system can have many variations within it. there are too many details. lately, i've been very preoccupied with the future of the system or better yet, the data. i'm tired of building static websites which need to be completely redone...