When the songbird sings

Check out Wordle, which creates a–tag cloud–or jumble words–from RSS links or delicious accounts. You can also paste or type a bunch of words in the text box and click Go. While Wordle results may not look like they have any use, wordles are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0, so you can create screen caps and make money out of printing them on T-shirts, posters, or book covers. Java applet is required.

Here is a wordle of this blog…

…and one of my Del.icio.us page.

(I should add more tags and new links to reduce the prominence of web 2.0 in my del.icio.us account. The Kool-Aid pitcher isn’t full anymore, but by any measure, the wave isn’t over yet. )

I have been dealing with Microsoft Sharepoint a lot lately, so the latest team collaboration tool that Google recently released, aptly named Google Sites, is somewhat interesting, if only I would be able to use it in managing any project with a group of like-minded/geek-inclined people. Not that most of those I need to work with are not uber-techie, of course.

Similar to Sharepoint, a Sites admin can manage users and provide various levels of access to the project space. Another way by which it is similar to SP is its integration with Google Docs, Calendar, and Gmail; therefore, users who are already familiar with these applications or services should not have a hard time working with Sites as an extension of the said productivity and communication tools. Oh and one more thing, a Sites space is highly customizable.

Groups can develop their own intranet sites or publish webpages easily with Google Pages, which is integrated in the application and provides a WYSIWYG interface. A 10-gigabyte standard team package is free. Sweet! Actually, if you are familiar with the way Sharepoint works, then it should be easy for you to use Sites.

Now if only I could remember my domain account info….

It is a new word that just got added to my vocabulary. Futzing refers to the way by which people gather useless information as they aimlessly wander through social connections and interactions while avoiding tasks and duties.

According to Horsepigcow, futzing happens to be the future of work as those who spend most of their waking/working hours futzing about bridge the communication gap among various disciplines. Moreover, futzers have the ability to build their own professional networks and build credibility that prove useful when the need for other people or groups need new connections.

One caveat: you have to have an enormous amount of information to futz about. Things build upon themselves, and as you futz through your connections, you should be able to get and give various sorts of knowledge, useful or not. You can’t be a considered a good futzer–ergo, not credible–unless you have siphoned a nearly inexhaustible amount of knowledge in your aimless wandering through networks and connections. Your potential to earn more is directly proportional to your futzing ability.

I am looking for bloggers and business feature writers for an online publication. The topics that will be covered include Web trends, business processes, project management, people management, and tech. reviews.

This part-time or freelance gig pays above industry levels. You can also work from home or anywhere with an internet connection. If you are interested, send your CV and samples of your work to karla_dot_inigo_(AT)_gmail_dot_com.

Bedimpled illustrator Patrick Moberg fell in love while riding in a train from Union Square to Bowling Green in New York so he came up with this sweet illustration and set up the site, NY Girl of My Dreams, to find her.

Click the image for the larger version. Help Patrick Moberg find the rosy-cheeked brunette who caught his fancy.

This is too saccharine to miss. I am not into this kind of mush, but the world just might learn a lesson or two from the L-train story of this (hopefully not) emo dude…well, he almost is emo…such as taking chances, not letting your nerves get the best of you or being brave enough to approach her and if she thinks you’re a freak, then at least you tried. I hope he finds her and that this story doesn’t launch a thousand copycats. Whether blue gym shorts over blue tights will be the fashion staple for the next season is too early to say, but some people believe that this is a stuff worthy of a romantic comedy movie script or a contemporary dude lit.

Mr. Moberg works for Vimeo, so his boss asked him to be in this video to discuss the NY chick of his fantasies. This is so very Finding Love 2.0.

UPDATE:

He has found her.

Social network site, Facebook.com, unveiled its ad platform yesterday called “Facebook Ads” (what else?). The advertising initiative of the fast-growing company valued by Microsoft last month at $15 billion focuses on “trusted referrals”. I might sign up to a product that I believe in, but the problem lies with the fact that the advert program does not have an opt-out feature in place…yet(?). I think that this might cause a problem eventually, unless Facebook allows members to opt out of an advertiser’s fan base.

This calls to mind what James Surowiecki mentioned in his book, The Wisdom of Crowds. It isn’t so much that people will only do things that they are being “forced” to do. It is that they will do anything more willingly–and effectively–when it is up to them. This happens when they have several options, and that includes not performing a task or opting out.

Leveraging its open platform for various web apps, the program’s targeted ads allow advertisers to customize their own pages:

“‘Through the branded pages program, advertisers can design custom pages with information, content, and custom applications–”any application that was written for users on the Facebook Platform,” Zuckerberg explained.” (via News.com)

Here, Forrester Research’s Jeremiah Owyang analyzes the recently launched ad platforms of MySpace and Facebook with Robert Scoble:

• It Was “Like A Huge Asshole Nest”
  This story offers a good lesson on how to deal with assholes and problem clients (not often one and the same), and how to wade through office politics. Project managers, rank and file, and consultants of all stripes should learn from the story.
  (tags: assholes consulting officepolitics books)
• Microsoft Excel Fails Math Test
  According to the NY Times report, MS Excel 2007 incorrectly multiplies “…six numbers from 65,534.99999999995 to 65,535, and six numbers from 65,535.99999999995 to 65,536.” Better get your good ol’ calculator handy.
  (tags: excel math bugs)
• A Visual Guide to Version Control
  Getting acquainted with version control applications probably was one of the toughest parts of my technical writing training simply because it was easy to foul up versions or copies. But the drill got easier eventually. The open-source version control application, Subversion, is still a favorite.
• Microsoft extends Windows XP’s stay
  I’m sooo installing XP on my laptop. Vista sux, as far as I’m concerned, as it eats up too much resources and asks too many questions even for the minorest operations. And yeah, XP is more user-friendly. Like, totally.
  (tags: WindowsXP vista)
• Say ‘Whaaaat?!?!’ North enforces DRM by executing K-drama fans
  “There have been two or three reports of public executions of North Koreans…as punishment for having illegally copied and distributed South Korean visual material,” said Kang Chul Hwan of Committee for the Democratization of North Korea. Good grief, to think that I enjoyed Lovers in Paris in a friend’s 21-disk bootleg VCD…
  (tags: kdrama northkorea entertainment)

I’m developing articles about social networking, marketing and CRM. There is so much to explore about the impact of Web 2.0 on business, and more so about how social networking can bring together customers and businesses. On the other hand, the marketing potential of social networks is never without its dark side. Here, Fortune Magazine’s Steve Bing explains why he’d rather avoid social networking sites and gives a reason why, after sometime, members move from one network to another.

“Is that why social networks were created? To market more people more effectively? I don’t think so. In fact, I think the things exploded into life when young people called out for a digital space where their every thought, movement and taste would not be exploited by the big boomer sales machine, where they could talk to each other in a virtually mercantile-free zone. Now here come all the boomers to ruin it all.”