December 2008

A Craigslist for Service?

Something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately is the need for some kind of platform to match local community projects with resources to do them. For example the project might be to build a playground, clear a lot, raise money for the school. And resources might be sources of money, people and thin...

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How come are these two swindlers also huge philanthropists?

The irony and paradox confounds: > “[…] Mr. Dreier, who grew up on Long Island, the son of a refugee from Poland who owned movie theaters, evolved into a bon vivant who belonged to the Harmonie Club and was a staple of high-wattage charity events[…].” (from NYT, “[Lawyer Seen as Bold Enough to Cheat...

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VRM and Iammoving.com

VRM is a concept that’s been floating around for a while. Evangelized (and perhaps coined) by Doc Searls, it has developed a strong following. In their words: > “VRM, or Vendor Relationship Management, is the reciprocal of CRM or [Customer Relationship Management...

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Joel on Software talks about Malcolm Gladwell and Tom Friedman

There have been a number of articles taking shots at some of Malcolm Gladwell’s latest book, “Outliers”. No doubt Mr. Gladwell is really good at getting visibility for his books and has hit upon a formula with The Tipping Point and Blink which are fascinating reads, with profound insights, that happ...

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Are magazines committing suicide?

I was traveling this weekend and as I am wont to do, spent too much time at bookstores and magazine stands. I came across the current issue of the New Yorker, where this article caught my eye: “[A reporter at Large: Anatomy of a Meltdown”](http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/12/01/081201fa_fact_...

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November 2008

It’s the cars, stupid

Robert X. Cringely’s  prescription for Detroit automakers: > “So the trick to turning around the U.S. auto industry is to make car buyers adopt the values of bicycle buyers, which implies the willingness to pay $20 per pound of final product. The way to achieve that goal is by building cars that are both affordable at $20 per pound and EXCITING TO DRIVE.” (from I Cringely, Saving Detroit)

Clean up your Amazon Wishlist!

If you are anything like me, you are constantly coming across books and other goodies that look interesting but not interesting enough to actually get. In my house, there are several shelves that contain books purchased but not yet read. It’s my queue. I love them . It’s like having a personal book...

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Very unscientific survey of online survey tools

Because of a couple of projects that I am working on, I thought I might be able to use some tool for an online survey. I have two particular requirements: - respondents can be anonymous - respondents are allowed to complete the survey in multiple sittings. In other words, they can go back to a for...

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