I was able to get a look at My Mahalo before it's preview on Wednesday during Jason Calacanis's keynote at SES NY and I liked what I saw but I had many questions for Jason (while he conducted the interview) not all which he answered.
There was so much going on this week, I'm probably not going to be able to really sit down and digest, summarize many of the interviews I did - including the one with Jason Calacanis. Fortunately, being first is not necessarily the best thing - and much of the work of describing what Jason said and what My Mahalo is has been done by others - so I don't have to do that - I can spend some time over the weekend going over what I liked or didn't, and why.
However, I did want to put something out there, at least as a marker for which I'll later take a position about - and to sum up what's been said so far - Calacanis has done that with his post onMy Mahalo preview at SES New York which he published earlier today.
I think there's an open question about how much of the Social Graph people really care to see; I have some thoughts about that.
One of the issues, questions that came up over and over is the scalability issue - can something like a human edited web really keep up with all the content that's constantly mushrooming up - it can't.
I think the approach taken in My Mahalo works, but not for everything - it works for niche subjects, and areas like medicine and natural remedies - areas of knowledge and expertise - but beyond that, I'm not sure.
I need to think about it and I'll have more to say later on this week.
Was busy all day at SES again and tonight I hung out with Bryan Eisenberg and a few others at the Hilton bar and found myself at the exclusive Microsoft Party at Slate ( a club I've been to many times for meetups over the last year or so).
It was a fun party but I kinda wish I followed my original plan and went to Dim Sum 2 with Jason Calacanis. Fortunately, Jason is really into streaming video and made a online video stream of what I missed - and it does look like it was more fun. Oh well, next time.
A kinda funny story - I went to Jason Calacanis's keynote today at SES and I thought it was pretty good and he was pretty funny and entertaining - but the story goes back to last week when Jason mentioned on his blog he was going to announce some new features of Malaho at SES NY and would give some press or bloggers an advanced look on Tuesday (yesterday).
Well… I wrote and said I was interested in having a look and then I didn't hear anything till yesterday afternoon when I got a call reminding me of an interview later on in the day.
I waited in the Press Room but really forgot who it was I was going to see - though it would be ABCSearch or some other company that kept asking me for interviews. A bald guy comes up to me at 5:30 and asks me to come into the next room.
However, I said - look, I know we had an interview but I don't remember who it is with and I'm sitting here in the Press room and if your client wants to see me have him or her come in here.
The guy went away and about 15 minutes later, just as I was preparing to leave, in come Jason Calacanis who showed me and Sebastian Wenzel a video of Malaho ahead of the announcement today.
I was grinning - so I stood up Jason Calacanis and he comes right in the press room and lets me interview him.
Of course, had I known it was Jason I was supposed to see .. I would have gotten up and gone over to him.
I'm here, in no small amount, because I heard about LeWeb3 last year from Jason Calacanis - who I missed seeing last month in New York at a Blogger meetup - but I did meet him last year (Stopping by to Jason Calacanis's party at the Magician).
Today, Jason Calacanis is on a rant about spam, search spam in particular. Jason blames part of the problem of spam on Investors who are enabling situations where bad behavior is rewarded. Jason thinks we need to build curator ship into services that are being launched, and once a service is launched, it needs to be policed. Jason Calacanis cites Seth Godin, someone he's been friends with for 10 years, as someone who had a
good idea with Squido, but it's become full of spam.
Jason Calacanis is launching the ability to create a profile on Mahalo where the links are submitted and rated by real people. Jason thinks that it's going to take a long time to build a search engine based on human ratings, but it's worth it.
A question from the audience, a startup fund, put the question back on Jason to ask how he would re-work a company; he said that an exit plan includes a way to keep the properties clean.
Still planning to go to LeWeb3 07 ( as some of my readers know, I was invited to cover LeWeb3 07 in Paris next month - actually, I thought if it was good enough for Jason Calacanis, it was good enough for me - or, to put it another way, if he can go, why can't I - I have at least as much to say about Social Media as he does - and more substance with it - but then I'm not an Internet Millionaire - like he is - I can just manage to pay my rent).
Because my finances have been tight, with less freelance work than I'd like (and less time for it too) lately - I wondered if it's really worth flying all the way to Paris for a couple of days but not even having much, if any time to view Art (which is the main reason I go to Paris - in absorb Art energies that I feel connected to - as if I lived there in the past).
But it's interesting to me what a couple of online videos could do - like this one done in September that talks about the new LeWeb 03; I watched a few videos on my iPod Touch in a cafe not far from where I live - and I thought - here I am, in the middle of it all - how can I not be part of it?
Decided I'd see what was recorded on YouTube on LeWeb3 so I could make some kind of evaluation on what I'd experience when I went or what I'd miss, if I didn't go.
Based on seeing videos like the one above, I feel much more comfortable making the decision to go.
And the sounds like I can't really miss the party - the LeWeb3 07 party - I guess the French know how to really "entertain". Hmm…..well, this is the kind of parties I like to go - we have wild parties in New York - but usually, not at conferences (well, maybe after the conferences…).
Ok, now I know why Jason Calacanis wanted to go to LeWeb 3. On the other hand, I've wondered what I'll promote at LeWeb 3. I certainly could connect with a lot of Europeans, mostly, but to what end? Perhaps just to have a good time, though if anyone has ideas why it's important for be at LeWeb3, or what they'd like me to communicate, let me know.
So, let's hope I do manage to make it (and perhaps, Sebastian Wenzel at Webanalyticsbook.com will come along, as he's been invited as well); I, for one, don't want to miss this conference all the parties, especially the parties.
Well…. this year, next month, Jason Calacanis (who I just missed seeing again at a Blogger dinner that happened last Thursday in NYC that I should have known about had I been on Facebook more closely) said he's going to LeWeb3 next month (I guess he decided that while he missed it last year - he was not going to miss it again and is attending).
Well ….. I thought about it, and, on the spur of the moment, using my inner vision, was invited to attend LeWeb3 in Paris next month (I could speak about Virtual World Analytics were I were asked to though I'm attending as a blogger) - now I just have to figure out how to pay for the travel part - not exactly easy for me. I could use up my remaining vacation time, so that part is OK.
Recently, I was telling my friend Christine Boulet, who lives in Aix-en-Provence, that I envision myself being in France sometime soon, again - but I can not predict when - usually anything I can imagine (the Artist in me) can come to pass.
It's an ability I've had all my life, and from time to time, I'd notice how I could see myself doing something (ie: being in a certain job) and the path to it was opened up to me soon after (but I usually don't control the timing or circumstances surrounding my wishes) - all I had to do was imagine it.
But it wasn't till later in my life that I learned how to harness my imagination - before - it happened, usually involuntary.
I toured Cezanne's studio twice - often sensing his spirit as I roamed in the gardens surrounding his estate (see my large painting of Cezanne’s Back Yard below)
Gary Angel suggested the new Social Media Committee of the Web Analytics Association, that I am the Director of, define Social Media Standards - and now we are in the midst of that - with large committee made up of 46 members - perhaps the largest committee at the WAA - and it all started with ideation - with me "dreaming it up".
Last month, while meeting with Jim Sterne at the Emetrics Summit - sitting at the Hotel Bar with others on the Board of Directors of the Web Analytics Association, I told Jim I first got into Web Analytics due to him - his book on Web Analytics, written in 2001 was the means to bring out our sitting and talking last month.
In fact, six years ago, after 9/11, I was out of work in New York City, broke, and living off of FEMA money (to pay the rent) - my life was miserable, as was my family - it was touch and go. I used to make six figure income the years before as a Systems Admin, but that door closed. I didn't know what would come next and then one day I sat down at a Barnes and Noble in Chelsea, and happened to pick up Jim Sterne's book on Web Analytics.
I read the whole book in a week or so and found it interesting - and somehow, a voice in me, the Artist, said - I can do this.
And here I am, today, six years later, sitting on the Board of Directors of the WAA. How it happens - I don't exactly know - but I do know that I create my web analytics and my art using the same abilities. I'm probably the most "Right Brained" Web Analyst out there - but I do use my Left Brain as well - method, sequential thinking, discipline, limits, are needed as well - it's in finding the right balance.
Many other things happened after I first "dreamed them up
" - I dreamed up another trip to France - and now … the path to it's happening manifested through LeWeb3 Conference next month, which I wanted to attend for the last year, after I heard about it from Calacanis (now I need to dream up the money to get to Paris and pay for the hotel …..hmm…maybe it's time for bed so I can work on dreaming the means to get to Paris and stay there too). Working on it.
With that in mind - here is a recent portrait (which didn't turn out exactly as I envisioned - but perhaps, helped me get to this point) of me, back in France, in front of Mount St. Victoire.
"..A blogger asks why Seth isn't talking about Squidoo's massive SEO and porn problems. They also speculate that I might be attacking Squidoo because they are competition for Mahalo."
"…Frankly, I think Seth has fallen to the dark side and has become a Sith Lord of SEO, deceptive affiliate links, and page view gaming. I've known Seth for over 10 years and I respect some of the stuff he's done, but frankly Squidoo is so horrible it makes me wonder. Also, the fact that he won't address the problems is just, well, sad. Does he not care or does he not want to stop the SEO/affiliate gravy train? "
My feeling - I have "kinda" moved away from SEO (but still provide that service for my clients - while pushing them more in the direction of Web Analytics, Social Networks, Branding and Improving their sites over SEO); never did much of anything with Squidoo but play with it for a half hour or so - I don't do affiliate links and page view gaming - or anything.
I have no real position on any of this.
As far as Search and SEO goes, I think "keyword search" was interesting and relevant 5 or 10 years ago; but today, I find people to be much more sophisticated in how they search and find things - and the SEO model is way too "simplistic" for me. But a lot of people still buy into it - and if that's what they want to do - they don't need to be attacked for it.
"..Such was the end of Girondism. They arose to regenerate France, these men; and have accomplished this. Alas, whatever quarrel we had with them, has not their cruel fate abolished it? Pity only survives. So many excellent souls of heroes sent down to Hades; they themselves given as a prey of dogs and all manner of birds! But, here too, the will of the Supreme Power was accomplished. As Vergniaud said: 'The Revolution, like Saturn, is devouring its own children."
Maybe I'm reading too much into this - but just imagine if well known people in Search Marketing or Web Analytics, many whom I know, some personally, started attacking each other on some point or another just because they disagreed.
Up till now, most of the people I'm talking about, those I see and meet at Search and Web Analytics conferences - don't attack each other (even if they disagree - and I'm sure there are lots of disagreements).
Seth hasn't responded, which I'm told, is the smart thing to do; I guess, if Calacanis keeps it up Seth Godin will have to respond.
As far as the Squidoo Spam Problem - there's so much spam being created, all over the place - but it does not start or end with Squidoo - and if they don't do it at Squidoo, they'll probably find somewhere else, or some way else to do it.
Jason Calacanis is all over the Blogosphere today because he wrote a post about Link Bait that is being considered one of his best blog posts ever. In the spirit of reciprocation, I'll throw my link in with the rest. By the way, I did meet Jason and wrote about it in Friday night with Jason Calacanis's party at the Magician; it happened about six months ago - so I have a real story to tell.
I think it had something to do with a bunch of Pizzas he ordered that did not show up (many were starving and ready to eat anything in sight), we had about 20+ people, it was raining hard and a guy shows up with 2 mini pizzas with anchovies on them. I said I did not want any …. Jason pulls out money from his own pocket (Gawker Media was going to pay for the Pizzas but only a couple of bloggers showed up) and I think, about half an hour later - the Six Pizza Pies arrived - say guy delivering - all wet (but the Pizzas were dry). OK, that's my story. No big deal - I was just there listening and saying hello.
Getting back to all the buzz about Calacanis - I first saw Danny Sullivan's post on Daggle which asks Is Jason Calacanis Great Or The Greatest? At the end of his long post, that praises Jason Calacanis (according to Jason's rules on Link Bait), he says:
"…Nah, Jason, I don't want the link. Dude — what, Search Engine Land isn't on your daily read list? C'mon, shove it up there and call it Danny. I want that link, baby! "
Then Michael Gray gets in the act and follows the LINK BAIT rules and writes a homage to the guy - I'm assuming Jason Calacanis will definitely link back to Michael Gray after reading his post.
"…In addition to having nerves of steal he’s not afraid to be brazen and go where no man has gone before. Did you know that almost exactly 2 years ago Jason was the first person to do a live webcam videocast from inside of an airplane to Judith who was responsible for day to day operations at weblogs inc. Sadly Judith has now left weblogs inc since they were absorbed by AOL (see I really do read)."
My only question…..Jason's still alive right? Michael Gray's reminds me of the kind of stuff you write for someone after they have passed over and you want to remember their exploits (together). Sure… Michael Gray will get a link back.
"..You just gotta give it to the guy. Genius isn’t in it. Jason Calacanis has just written not only the funniest post I’ve read in a while, but also the smartest traffic-hoovering machine in years. I’d call it the industrialization of backlink aggregation. Google watch out — Professor Moriarty is on the case. "
John Evans is the editor responsible for my own Art Blog - ArtNewYorkCity and John earned a link back from Jason Calacanis too.
But what about me … I read Jason's blog regularly and think he's ahead of the curve on a lot of things (not sure that will get me the link or not) but I said those things before he mentioned Link-Baiting - so they're genuine.
And what Jason says about SEO is fine with me - I'm don't think Search is all that's it's crapped cracked out to be and opt more towards Branding and Usability and have been saying that here for some time.
"……Fight the real enemy Robert: the New York Times and Yahoo. Whens the last time they linked out on the top level of their site!?!?!? "
I just want to point out (and I'm not taking sides) that a newspaper is not yet a blog (it will eventually morph into that - but for now - it's not) - newspapers just link to their stories from the homepage - that's all they do - because that's what newspapers do. Any link on the homepage (mostly snippets of the stories that appear in the rest of the paper/site - are just links to stories written by reporters).
A blog is different the article is the story - is the front page - and a blog can and should link liberally - to whatever sites make sense based on the post.
I'm not sure you can compare a newspaper to a blog (even a web newspaper - like the New York Times Website) YET. Wait a year or two.
\
Current Subscribers
