Last week basically swallowed me whole, but luckily there were a ton of comments on the Facebook post to keep things going. It's nice to know I can admit I don't know where I fall on something and get lots of smart people to give their opinions. I plan to go through everything and pull out some nuggets to continue the conversation. Until then, though, here are some random thoughts/links for your enjoyment.
- On the Facebook tip, I've been thinking that the size of a network is no longer an effect, but rather a cause. I haven't found a particularly good way to articulate what I'm trying to say yet, but basically it's that the size of a network and the fact most of your friends are on it is a selling point, not necessarily something caused by your other selling points. I understand there are major issues with that idea (like how can you get a large network without attracting people), and that's why I say I'm having trouble articulating what I'm trying to say. Anyway, does that make any sense?
- I wrote about this over at the Naked blog last week and I figured I'd mention it here as well. I've been thinking that the decline of newspapers can at least in part be attributed to the decline in leisure time. Specifically the fact that people don't sit down for breakfast/coffee anymore. Rather, they drink their coffee in front of their computer while checking email/reading blogs, etc.
- Brian Norgard articulates something I've been thinking for a while: "What Om, Mike and Paul are doing [with job boards] is effectively creating lightweight professional publishing outlets; complete with all the offering a newspaper/magazine has, with the added benefit of less overhead and easier (if not frictionless) distribution. I think we are going to see more of these type of monetization opportunities spawn in the next 2-3 years." Go read the whole thing.
- On the Official Google Blog they have poo-pooed Blackle (the Google page with a black background that claims to save much energy).
- design|snips is a site I wish I made. It's wholly devoted to little design elements that are awesome.
- likemind was pretty amazing last week. We had roughly 60 people show up in New York and it was in 32 other cities around the world. If you haven't been yet, it's worth checking out.
I think that's about it. Not much of interest in here, but then again I haven't had a lot of time to think in the last few weeks. Anyone have anything more worthy of discussion/thought?