The Taste Blog

Starting Findory: Acqusition talks

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:39:48 -0400

[I wrote a draft of this post nearly two years ago as part of my Starting Findory series, but did not publish it at the time; it seemed inappropriate given my position at Microsoft and the…

Googley philanthropy

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:43:48 -0400

Googley philanthropy:

I’m getting ready for a talk this week at Philanthropy New York about giving and What Would Google Do? So I’d like your help on brainstorming what Googley philanthropy looks like. How would a…

Small c: The lab report

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:43:47 -0400

Small c: The lab report:

My surgeon called with the results of the pathology report on my prostate cancer. “It’s all good news,” he said. The cancer was contained to the prostate and had not spread to the lymph nodes. “As…

The X Prizes for news (and media)

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:28:29 -0400

The X Prizes for news (and media):

A conversation with our Knight Foundation friends at Aspen inspired me to think through what an X Prize for news could accomplish. Then this week’s report in the New York Times about the awarding…

Sidewiki: What Google should do

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:28:29 -0400

Sidewiki: What Google should do:

I spent yesterday marking the dangers around Sidewiki. Today, I’ll say what I think Google should do with it: close the toolbar app, open it up to the entire conversation, and turn it purely into an…

The most important Theoretical Computer Science problem is inconsequential

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:06:20 -0400

The most important Theoretical Computer Science problem is inconsequential:

Some consider the P = NP problem to be the most important Theoretical Computer Science problem. It asks whether all problems whose solution can be verified quickly, can also be solved…

Small c update: The hosectomy

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:22:38 -0400

Small c update: The hosectomy:

It has been a week and a half since my prostate surgery and I’m doing great. I’m walking a couple miles a day (can’t run for a few weeks but even when I do run it’s not running), eating normally,…

Google Sidewiki: Danger

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:22:37 -0400

Google Sidewiki: Danger:

Google just introduced Sidewiki, which enables anyone to comment on a page using Google’s toolbar.

I see danger.

Google is trying to take interactivity away from the source and centralize it….

Tinkering with the news

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:01:38 -0400

Tinkering with the news:

This morning, Glam.com – the model of the new network model of media – extended its Twitter aggregator, Tinker.com, into news at Tinker.com/news. It’s very simple and that’s what makes it…

Links for 2009 09 22

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 03:30:24 -0400

Links for 2009 09 22:

Social Media Policies from 80+ Organizations
(tags: sonet, web2.0, social, media, twit)

Suspicion XKCD

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:26:40 -0400

Suspicion XKCD:

One of my biggest fear in electronic communication (email mainly and not for dating, eh) is “Am i not interacting electronically with a bot, am I?”. Creating bots able to appear human (…

Links for 2009 09 21

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:26:37 -0400

Links for 2009 09 21:

Dell Says It Has Earned $3 Million From Twitter - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com
Wondering if this is true, if this is the entire story and, if yes, why Dell is giving up this info to its…

Wave and news

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 10:56:16 -0400

Wave and news:

When Google Wave was announced, I got all jittery-happy about the possibilities it presented for news. Now, from a Belgian site, via a German site, I find a video interview with Wave’s project…

Did we ever pay for content?

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 10:56:15 -0400

Did we ever pay for content?:

In an essay that, on first blush, ranks near to Clay Shirky’s seminal thinking-the-unthinkable think piece, Paul Graham argues that we never paid for content:

In fact consumers never really…

Researchers’ Night at Fondazione Bruno Kessler

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 07:22:23 -0400

Researchers’ Night at Fondazione Bruno Kessler:

Experiments, demonstrations, performances, meetings, exhibitions, guided tours, open workshops and a party to learn all about the world of science.
On September 25, 2009 Trento will be…

Is journalism an industry?

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 04:45:25 -0400

Is journalism an industry?:

Journalism is a business – that is how it is going to sustain itself; that is a key precept of the New Business Models for News Project. But is it still an industry dominated by companies and…

Book review: Search User Interfaces

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 03:52:35 -0400

Book review: Search User Interfaces:

UC Berkeley Professor Marti Hearst has a great new book out, “Search User Interfaces”.

The book is a survey of recent work in search, but with an unusual focus on the importance of interface…

Links for 2009 09 16

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:58:19 -0400

Links for 2009 09 16:

MySpace Has Built Its Own Recommendation Engine, And They’re Open-Sourcing It
(tags: sonet, recommender, recommendations, myspace, opensource, twit)

The small c and the big robot

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 21:57:19 -0400

The small c and the big robot:

Few of you should care but for those who do, here’s a chronicle of my experience in robotic surgery for prostate cancer. I post it here mainly for the ongoing Google value to those who follow me…

Relational databases: are they obsolete?

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 02:27:01 -0400

Relational databases: are they obsolete?:

Michael Stonebraker is predicting that the dominance of the generic relational database is coming to an end. Having recently founded several database companies, he has a vested interested in…