Don’t know how I missed Laura Creekmore’s major pub in today’s Tennessean. Besides moderating the East Nashville listserv and blogging about food, she’s head of Internetology at Hammock. From that photo on Tennessean.com, you can see she’s the one with clutter-free desk.

A little less than two years ago, I suggested that “the reason you’ve heard of podcasting is because no one first “demo’d” it at a conference and no corporate marketers were involved.” I was taking a cheap shot at the DEMO conference at which startups who pay $10,000+ can make a six minute presentation to a room full of VCs. Today, Jason Calacanis and Michael Arrington are posting of their aggitation with the notion of startups being charged $15,000+ (apparently there has been some inflation) to DEMO their ideas. And so, they have a barn and they have a stage, so they’re going to put on their own show where startups can demo for free. “A committee of expert analysts, entrepreneurs and journalists” will be choosing 20 such startups, so you can also anticipate a coming round of angry excluded startups who will want to start yet another competing conference. (See: BarCamp) Frankly, I don’t think what the world is missing is fee-free DEMO. However, I’m a big gung-ho supporter of anyone trying out a new idea — including yet another tech conference. I’m sure it will be a barn-burner of a well-attended show. I know it will be a blast and a great time will be had by all. While I doubt it will be the launching pad of any major new tech successes, connections will be made and old friendships renewed. But the real innovators will be at home somewhere, too obsessed with their ideas to attend.

Sure, with a headline like, “French embrace the power nap,” and the lede, “The French already enjoy Europe’s shortest working week. Now they being encouraged to have a nap after lunch,” it’s a challenge to restrain myself from the cliché.

The SmallBusiness.com Weblog launches tomorrow*, but since this is about all of the announcing we’ll be doing (except adding a link to the front of SmallBusiness.com), I guess it’s launching right now. This is a blog about SmallBusiness.com, not a small business blog — however, I think we’ll be pointing to lots of bloggers who track the smallbizosphere. If you’re a MyBlogLog user, be sure to join the SmallBusiness.com Weblog’s community.

Another suggestion: if you maintain a weblog for or about a small business topic, or about your small business, don’t forget to add a link to SmallBusiness.com’s Weblog Directory. It’s has grown rather large and is now divided into different categories.

*After a strange crash of a previous iteration of blog tracking the development of SmallBusiness.com, I tried a blog-like thing within the wiki, itself. However, I’m more comfortable with a blog than with a blog-like thing, so we decided to begin a new development blog rather than attempt to resurrect the old one.

Technorati Tags: business blogs, small business, smallbusiness.com, wikis

Harvard Business School’s Andrew McAfee points to a new HBS case study of Wikipedia that he and Karim Lakhani have completed and have made available free to everyone.

One of Andrew’s case discussion points is today’s quote of the day: “(Has) Wikipedia really…become a ‘post-revolutionary Bolshevik Soviet,’ with an inscrutable central power structure wielding control over a legion of workers?”

Bonus: From my Flickr set of photos from last August’s Wikimania, a photo of Andrew and Karim (and others).

(via: David Weinberger)

Technorati Tags: wikimania2006, wikipedia, wikipedians

It will be interesting to see the reactions to the Harris/WSJ rankings of the world’s best and worst corporate reputations [free feature].

Quote:

“Top-ranked Microsoft managed to beat Johnson & Johnson, whose emotionally appealing baby-products business had kept it in first place for a remarkable seven consecutive years.

The article implies that Bill Gate’s personal philanthropy efforts are what raised the company’s rank. This seems quite logical — even obvious — but I can’t see in the actual survey or explanations of methodology — except, perhaps, from the comments of survey respondents — where the theory that Gate’s personal actions are what drove up the reputation of the company. Again, I think the theory is probably correct, but it’s just a theory — it’s not something teased out in the survey but is, rather, an interpretation by the reporter.

For fun, here are my predictions for the response from various places on the blogosphere to the announcement that Microsoft is the world’s most respected company:

From PR bloggers: “It proves allowing employees to blog helps humanize a corporation and soften its reputation.”

From some tech bloggers: “It’s because of Robert Scoble.”

From other tech bloggers: “It’s because Robert Scoble no longer works there.”

From tech media: “It’s because real people don’t read blogs.”

From legal bloggers (blawgers): “It’s because of the time lapsed between the antitrust settlement and now.”

From business bloggers: “Warren Buffett’s billions are driving up the reputation of Microsoft. What’s his ROI on that investment?”

From pop culture bloggers: “It’s proof that people love John Hodgman and hate Justin Long.”

From cult of Mac bloggers: “They only surveyed idiots. What about viruses?”

Technorati Tags: microsoft

• Awaiting the Day When Everyone Writes Software | New York Times
  It took me a couple of days to get around to reading this, but it explains to me why I wish I was a programmer sometimes.
  (tags: technology)
• Paul Conley says no website that embedds ad links in the edit well should be a Neal finalist | Paul Conley’s Weblog
  Paul thinks that hyperlink-linked text ads within the body of a news story is a slimy practice and is a violation of ABM’s ethics guidelines. I agree. (Fortunate sidenote: the practice sinks a site’s SEO.)
  (tags: magazines)
• Mashing up flashcards and a wiki - Memorizable.org
  Dear parents of school-aged kids. Don’t say I never sent you helpful link. [via: Ross Mayfield.]
  (tags: wiki study-hacks cool)

Hammock editor Hudge and I had to look twice at this Ft. Worth Star-Telegram story he picked up from Dave Barry’s blog. The headline, “4 towels, ashtray taken from Motel 6,” and the infographic map suggest to me a disgruntled reporter sneaked in a story he could use in his job application to The Onion, as the parody site has plenty of similar stories.

Here are two random items that have drifted by my computer monitor during the past 24 hours.

Random item 1. I imagine Kathy Sierra there in her cool converted airstream office writing book after book. Fortunate for us, every once in a while, she takes time away from that work to share some brilliance on her blog. Like this post on the importance of serendipity.

Quote:

“Unpredictability. That’s a good thing, mostly. An interface that does what you expect drops away so you can focus on whatever it is you’re using the product to do. While we assume that randomness plays a big role in games, we do our best to strip it from “serious” products and services. But there are plenty of ways to keep a user experience consistent while still supporting–even encouraging–the chance for serendipity. And serendipity is delightful, astonishing, sexy, rewarding, inspiring…”

In another context, I’ve spoken and written about one of the keys to the long-term success of a magazine is the ability of its editors and designers to manage the book with consistency and predictability, but to constantly surprise and delight readers with new ways to experience the magazine. One of the most predictable magazines I know, the New Yorker, surprises its readers constantly, but often in tiny, subtle ways that only a few keen observers may ever notice — the “hidden Mickey” approach*. (I’ve said that in other parts of our lives, the mixture of dependability and surprise is called “romance.’”)

Random item 2. Because my eclectic interests are the only glue bonding together the stuff appearing on this personal weblog, I enjoy some serendipitous results when I go off the topics of magazines and social media and do something like post a review of Michael Lewis’ great book, Blind Side. My review led to an e-mail from Russ Roberts, an economics professor at George Mason University who pointed me to his podcast, Econtalk.org, and to the interview with Michael Lewis he posted yesterday on “The Hidden Economics of Baseball and Football.” Seeing that it was over an hour long, I thought there was no way I’d last through it, but still downloaded it to sample on my short drive home last night. Call me a geek, but I couldn’t turn it off. If you’re a fan of Michael Lewis’ ability to weave fascinating stories from sports you may not even follow, or if you have any interest in how value is often hidden within arcane statistics, you’ll find this interview riveting. I did. And you don’t have to be a baseball fan, football fan or fan of statistics to enjoy it (but if you hate all those topics, you may find it a wonderful sleep aid). Thanks Professor Roberts for letting me know about your great interview.

*To end this random post, I’d like to submit the following random thought: The next time a debate erupts among Wikipedians over whether or not to delete an entry of an individual who is pivotal in the development of some technology or philosophy or industry, I think the benchmark for comparison should be: If we have the bandwidth to devote 1,000 words to obscure Disneyland marketing gimmicks, don’t we have the bandwidth to devote to individuals who play pivotal (yet perhaps obscure) roles in the development of technologies, trends and movements?

Technorati Tags: economics, marketing, michael lewis, statistics, wikimedia

• Amapedia, Amazon.com’s product wiki grows up
  Quote: It makes it easy for you to tag products with what they are and with their most important facts, and for others to search, discover, filter, and compare products by those tags. Must be a registered customer to use. Previous productwiki contribution
  (tags: amazon wiki collaboration community)

Brad Burnham doesn’t blog nearly as much as his partner Fred Wilson, but when he does, it’s worth taking note.

Quote:

One way to look at that question is to argue that we have arrived at the end of history. The progression to date has been up the stack in a classic architecture diagram, data is on top of that stack, and nothing sits on top of the data. I disagree. The genius of Craigslist is in its governance system. It is its lightweight governance system that allows 21 people to administer 300 sites in 35 countries. I believe that the basis of competition in web services will shift from the data to the system that manages the acquisition, and use of that data. The governance system that yields the most utility for the largest number of users with the least overhead will ultimately manage the largest communities with the most valuable data.

Let that sink in.

Technorati Tags: technology, vc

Josh Hallett points to a post by The Diva who wonders if Atlanta is becoming the “social media” mecca of the South. Josh is right. I’ll provide some push-back on that notion. Heck, everyone knows that Mothership BBQ is the social media mecca of the south. In Nashville, we don’t need no stinkin’ conferences on social media. Just have BusyMom post the word there’s going to be a “meat-up” at Mothership and at least 30-40 bloggers, podcasters, video-bloggers will show up.

Nashville does have one thing going for it. When the first major media company in Nashville decided to experiment with social media, they decided to reach out to bloggers rather than compete with them. That, and they hired a secret weapon: Brittney.

Seriously, however, I think one would be hard-pressed to declare that a “center” of social media exists anywhere — I think part of the appeal is that it is “from the edge.” Sure, the Silicon Valley is the center of all things Web 2.0ish. But Facebook was created in Cambridge, Mass., and Wikipedia was created in Tampa, Fla., and Flickr was created in Vancouver, but who cares? [Do I need to continue: MyBlogLog in Orlando, Basecamp in Chicago, FeedDemon in Nashville (no kidding -- ask Nick.)] These “social media” could have been created anywhere. Their success came because they attracted loyal users from everywhere — the users made them what they are.

Final observation: As for the true mecca of social media in the South. I think that’s anywhere Ed Cone is.

Technorati Tags: blogging, nashville, social media

Wired magazine editor Chris Anderson’s post on his Long Tail blog confirms what people at record labels (including those in Nashville where I live) already know: there’s got to be a better way to make money than by selling recorded music.

Quote from Chris:

So there’s big money in live shows (92% of the Rolling Stones’ revenues comes from performance, not recorded music). Sadly for the labels, they don’t get any of it. No wonder they’re so against free music. It only helps the bands (and consumers)!

Recently, I had lunch with someone plugged into the Nashville music industry (something I am not) who told me that five years ago, record labels would advise their new artists to set up a website, but wanted nothing to do with it. Now, record labels demand rights to and revenues from the online properties of artists they sign. Record labels are also trying to get into artist management and tour-booking, as well. As Chris points out, that’s where the money is. My friend, the music industry expert, says: “I’ve never seen a company good at everything.” He then shared his common-sense business wisdom that (in my interpretation of what he said) just because a record label can ship boxes of CDs to WalMart doesn’t mean it can create web properties and produce concert tours.”

This issue is nothing new. Not by a long-shot. Over the years, I’ve seen many well-written and convincing explanations of how one can make money by giving something away for free. The business-to-business media industry was built on a similar business model. Most B2B media companies give away the magazine to qualified readers, recoup their costs and generate a small margin from advertising and then make the “big bucks” by hosting tradeshows, awards programs, seminars, etc. In other words, in the business-to-business media world, they’ve already figured out it’s the “live shows” where you make the money.

I can’t believe it was 12 years ago, but back in 1995, in the magazine Chris today edits, the ever-prescient observer of all things digital Esther Dyson wrote something on this topic that has influenced me since the moment I read it. The July, 1995 issue of Wired magazine (3.07) included an essay by Esther called, “Intellectual Value: A radical new way of looking at compensation for owners and creators in the Net-based economy.”