An iris farm south of Portland
An iris farm south of Portland
We spent Sunday in Portland. We started and ended the day at Powell's Books. It's three stories and an entire city-block of books. I could have spent the whole day browsing there. There are other specialty Powell's stores around Portland: cooking, technical, and travel. (It's not the only game in town, though, because we saw quite a few book stores.) We spent the rest of the day walking around the city. It was a very nice time with beautiful weather. I'm looking forward to visiting Portland again. I took a bunch of pictures. I hope you like buildings.
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The painted cows in a few of the pictures are part of the CowParade project.
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The painted cows in a few of the pictures are part of the CowParade project.
skp and I went to Oregon over the holiday weekend. We had a great time, though it was a lot of time to spend in the car. I'd never been to Oregon before so I was surprised that you can't pump your own gas. You'd think that would make the gas more expensive, but compared with California's prices Oregon gas was cheap. Oh, and no sales tax was nice.
mt. shasta from highway 5
Like Jason, I was impressed by Clay Shirky's analysis of the LiveJournal community. Especially his findings about groups of 12 and how they allow people to have a satisfying experience. Since then, I've been noticing groups of twelve. Maybe it's a natural way to organize. I tried to come up with a list of famous 12's.
Now the question is, how do you build community software that accommodates groups of 12, and encourages that equilibrium point? And how can the whole community scale (another great article on the subject by Clay Shirky) without loosing their individual group identities?
Are there other famous 12s?
- 12 apostles in Christianity
- 12 causes of samsara in Buddhism
- 12 tribes of Israel in Judaism
- 12 people on a jury
- 12 months in a year
- 12 signs in the zodiac
- 12 original American colonies (ok, 13 if you count Delaware)
- 12 days of Christmas
- 12 tone musical scale
- 12-sided snow crystal
- 12 immortals in Greek Mythology
- 12 beers in a 12-pack
Now the question is, how do you build community software that accommodates groups of 12, and encourages that equilibrium point? And how can the whole community scale (another great article on the subject by Clay Shirky) without loosing their individual group identities?
Are there other famous 12s?
PR Watch: Spinning the Web: "Some PR firms have also planted ringers in online chat rooms--paid consultants who defend their clients while concealing their financial ties to the company being discussed. 'A small industry is emerging among consultants who specialize in spinning online discussions to favor the positions of companies and interest groups,' the New York Times reported in October 1999. Audrie Krause, for example, works as a consultant for AT&T but has represented herself online as a 'consumer advocate' during discussions of broadband Internet access, a subject in which AT&T has a vested interest."
I think identity literacy and skepticism without disclosure are going to be important as PR firms use the Web more and more in an attempt to manage perception about issues and companies. The balance between privacy and disclosure is difficult, and hopefully online community developers can find ways to make it easier.
Anyway, the article quoted above shows how PR firms view the Web; both as a threat and an opportunity.
I think identity literacy and skepticism without disclosure are going to be important as PR firms use the Web more and more in an attempt to manage perception about issues and companies. The balance between privacy and disclosure is difficult, and hopefully online community developers can find ways to make it easier.
Anyway, the article quoted above shows how PR firms view the Web; both as a threat and an opportunity.
From my backyard this morning:
I just realized this page has gone all text. Usually I have a few pictures up. I've been busy, though, and haven't had a chance to get out with my camera. Hopefully I'll have time this weekend. (going on a road trip.) I've been bad about email too. It's not you—it's me.
There should be a special word for that mix of anger and disappointment you feel when you loose five hours worth of development time because of a computer crash. Heads-up: Visual Basic 6 doesn't have any sort of auto-save, so if you cause an infinite loop–your program will regress to your last saved point. And you will swear. Loudly.
Silent Theft by David Bollier looks like an interesting companion to Lawrence Lessig's The Future of Ideas. It's more about the plundering of the commonwealth through absurd patent and copyright laws. David Bollier opens the book with this nursery rhyme:
They hang the man and flog the woman
That steal the goose from off the common.
But let the greater villain loose
That steals the common from the goose.
They hang the man and flog the woman
That steal the goose from off the common.
But let the greater villain loose
That steals the common from the goose.
'Copy-Proof' CDs Cracked with 99-Cent Marker Pen: "Technology buffs have cracked music publishing giant Sony Music's elaborate disc copy-protection technology with a decidedly low-tech method: scribbling around the rim of a disk with a felt-tip marker."