According to this San Francisco Chronicle article, Davis sent an email to all state agencies reminding them to use his photograph on their Web sites. Some of Davis' critics are claiming this is a campaign related move, but the head of Gray Davis' e-government initiative explains "the photograph provides an easy-to-identify link to the governor's page for site visitors who want to send their opinion to Davis". Not sure which side I agree with, but Davis is a very experienced politician.
Saturday, March 09, 2002
Davis Demands All State Web Sites Display His Picture
According to this San Francisco Chronicle article, Davis sent an email to all state agencies reminding them to use his photograph on their Web sites. Some of Davis' critics are claiming this is a campaign related move, but the head of Gray Davis' e-government initiative explains "the photograph provides an easy-to-identify link to the governor's page for site visitors who want to send their opinion to Davis". Not sure which side I agree with, but Davis is a very experienced politician.
Friday, March 08, 2002
Thursday, March 07, 2002
Pentagon May Limit Tech Jobs to U.S. Citizens
Pentagon may limit tech jobs to U.S. citizens / Plan restricts access to sensitive projects. "The planned policy...could also create new job opportunities for U.S. citizens who lost technology jobs in last year's industrywide layoffs.
60,000 Prudential Employee Identities Stolen
A database Manager at Prudential Insurance was charged with attempting to sell the name and personal information of 60,000 Prudential employees over the internet.
The scary thing here, is that the potential victim's identity was at risk not because they used the Internet, but because they were employees of a company with an unscrupulous I.T. worker.
The scary thing here, is that the potential victim's identity was at risk not because they used the Internet, but because they were employees of a company with an unscrupulous I.T. worker.
Wednesday, March 06, 2002
AIIM Conference 2002 San Francisco - Disaster Recovery
I attended the AIIM 2002 convention today in San Francisco. AIIM was originally a document imaging association but now calls itself an "Enterprise Content Management" association. The highlight of the conference for me today was the keynote address on Disaster Recovery. It was a panel presentation that included managers from three companies, each of these companies lost significant operations on 9/11.
The most poignant advice was from Richard Dominelli—Vice President, Image Development, Guy Carpenter & Company: "Don't assume that your staff will be available to recover after a disaster - we lost 292 employees [in the attack on the World Trade Center]". You can download the PowerPoint presentation of this keynote here (3.34MB).
The most poignant advice was from Richard Dominelli—Vice President, Image Development, Guy Carpenter & Company: "Don't assume that your staff will be available to recover after a disaster - we lost 292 employees [in the attack on the World Trade Center]". You can download the PowerPoint presentation of this keynote here (3.34MB).
InformationWeek Study Says IT Workforce Shrunk Almost 10% Last Year
According to this article in the February 15, 2002 issue of InformationWeek, "[a]bout 270,000 workers—9.1% of the IT workforce—vanished in the last year, and no one is sure where they all went, or why".
Tuesday, March 05, 2002
Online NewsHour: Cable News Wars -- March 2002
The Newshour on PBS today had a segment on the cable new channels, CNN, FOX and MSNBC. The Newshour commissioned a study to analyze "the primetime content of the three 24-hour cable news channels".
Results:
"CNN was primarily a newsgathering network. It:
Relied on its corps of correspondents in the field
Concentrated more on the top stories of the day
Adhered to an objective and restrained interviewing style"
"FNC was primarily an opinion network. It:
Staged most interviews in a confrontational format
Asked questions in an opinionated and combative style
Selected interview guests with partisan, forensic and military backgrounds"
The study also concluded that Fox occupied a position to the right of CNN on the ideological spectrum.
Results:
"CNN was primarily a newsgathering network. It:
Relied on its corps of correspondents in the field
Concentrated more on the top stories of the day
Adhered to an objective and restrained interviewing style"
"FNC was primarily an opinion network. It:
Staged most interviews in a confrontational format
Asked questions in an opinionated and combative style
Selected interview guests with partisan, forensic and military backgrounds"
The study also concluded that Fox occupied a position to the right of CNN on the ideological spectrum.
Wal-Mart Trumps Moore's Law or "Everyday Low Prices" Don't Come Cheap
From the article Wal-Mart Trumps Moore's Law in techreview.com:
A recent McKinsey Global Institute report analyzing the spurt in U.S. productivity growth from 1995 to 2000 proffers provocative statistics that should give champions of “supply-side” innovation pause. “By far the most important factor in that is Wal-Mart,” reports Robert Solow, the MIT Nobel Prize-winning economics professor emeritus who chaired the report’s advisory committee. “That was not expected. The technology that went into what Wal-Mart did was not brand new and not especially at the technological frontiers, but when it was combined with the firm’s managerial and organizational innovations, the impact was huge.”
A recent McKinsey Global Institute report analyzing the spurt in U.S. productivity growth from 1995 to 2000 proffers provocative statistics that should give champions of “supply-side” innovation pause. “By far the most important factor in that is Wal-Mart,” reports Robert Solow, the MIT Nobel Prize-winning economics professor emeritus who chaired the report’s advisory committee. “That was not expected. The technology that went into what Wal-Mart did was not brand new and not especially at the technological frontiers, but when it was combined with the firm’s managerial and organizational innovations, the impact was huge.”
'O Brother' CD Puts Lost Highway Records on Map
Lost Highway Records (flash with music on homepage) has been getting a lot of press lately - since "O Brother" won the Grammy for best record of the year. They are more than an "old-time" country music label, they are also an alternative country label, with artists like Lucinda Williams (one of my favorite singer/songwriters) and Ryan Adams. This article "'O Brother' CD Puts Lost Highway Records on Map", in the L.A. Times explains how with little airplay, they have been successful.
This BusinessWeek article (only available if you have a BusinessWeek subscription), argues that Lost Highway Records could be a model for saving the recording industry from its current downturn, by eschewing bloated marketing budgets in favor of the music.
Quoting from the article:
... let's face it, many of the [recording] industry's ills are self-inflicted. Costs, from outsize superstar contracts to grandiose promotions, are seriously bloated and tend to reward mediocrity. Lost Highway, by contrast, expects to break even in its first year, with $109 million in sales. Its modest goals and surprising success send a message that bigger and pricier ain't necessarily better.
...
So let's hope Lost Highway walks away with some prizes [which they did], if only to drive home the message to those big-spending moguls that it's the music that counts, not the marketing.
"Commentary: A Little Niche Music", March 4th, 2002, Business Week
This BusinessWeek article (only available if you have a BusinessWeek subscription), argues that Lost Highway Records could be a model for saving the recording industry from its current downturn, by eschewing bloated marketing budgets in favor of the music.
Quoting from the article:
...
So let's hope Lost Highway walks away with some prizes [which they did], if only to drive home the message to those big-spending moguls that it's the music that counts, not the marketing.
Monday, March 04, 2002
Career Trends 2002
Some interesting predictions in the article "Career Trends 2002" from CareerBuilder, about trends in the job market, such as:
"Thirtysomethings will finally get their shot at the brass ring" and "Older workers will also make a comeback".
"Thirtysomethings will finally get their shot at the brass ring" and "Older workers will also make a comeback".
Quote of the Day
Great quote from Dave Pell in today's NextDraft, an award winning daily email newsletter of current events.
Newsweek on Enron:
"Enron's Dirty Laundry: How a vicious, 10-year
rivalry between two top executives helped create
the sex-drenched, out-of-control corporate culture
that ultimately wrecked the company." {We recently
implemented a sex-drenched corporate culture here
at NextDraft but have been able to avoid some of
the pitfalls because there's only one of us...}
http://www.msnbc.com/news/718437.asp
Newsweek on Enron:
"Enron's Dirty Laundry: How a vicious, 10-year
rivalry between two top executives helped create
the sex-drenched, out-of-control corporate culture
that ultimately wrecked the company." {We recently
implemented a sex-drenched corporate culture here
at NextDraft but have been able to avoid some of
the pitfalls because there's only one of us...}
http://www.msnbc.com/news/718437.asp
Friday, March 01, 2002
More Praise for Google
Mike's List: ISSUE 33 * MARCH 1, 2002, has added five additional things to Google's own list of 10 things (which I mentioned in an earlier post) that makes it a great company.
"Mike's List is a free e-mail newsletter that's based entirely on a single proposition: technology is funny", although he also has serious articles about technology, as well as popular culture. It is ad and spam free.
"Mike's List is a free e-mail newsletter that's based entirely on a single proposition: technology is funny", although he also has serious articles about technology, as well as popular culture. It is ad and spam free.
Thursday, February 28, 2002
Tom Wolfe on Jefferson and Labor Saving Devices
Tom Wolfe, while he was in Baltimore recently, was quoted as saying (from Tulips and Bears):
"One reason that Jefferson, or for that matter Zola or Balzac or any of these great figures of the 18th and 19th centuries got so much done, so much more done than people today, is that they didn't have any time-saving or labor-saving devices...If Jefferson were alive today....he'd never finish answering the email."
"One reason that Jefferson, or for that matter Zola or Balzac or any of these great figures of the 18th and 19th centuries got so much done, so much more done than people today, is that they didn't have any time-saving or labor-saving devices...If Jefferson were alive today....he'd never finish answering the email."
The Laundromat Comes Home - Never Buy Washing Machine Again
Just read in article in Smart Business about a washing machine from AristonDigital that you don't purchase, instead it bills you one Euro per wash over the Internet. I wonder if this concept will catch on in the U.S.?
Finding a Job in the Current Tech Market
Here are two interesting discussion threads about the current tech job market at MetaFilter and Slashdot. Also, an article in ComputerWorld, "Surveys: IT Jobs Found via Networking, not Internet".
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