That explains the traffic boost today…

I read the post on TechCrush where Lutz Winter mentioned that the site has gotten through its alleged legal hurdles and is back online. Only it didn’t occur to me until just a moment ago that he linked Nerdflood in the post.

It was a good experience after all, as quite some people expressed what they like Techcrush to be, in the meantime (read more here and here). We heard you and we’ll keep it in mind. Now we move on to the next crush.

So, thanks, TechCrush! We’ll be reading.

And welcome new readers! I talk about a wide array of nerd-related topics around here, ranging from web 2.0 to software, to blogging and video games. Feel free to grab my RSS feed and sit a spell! And while you’re at it, why not check out our small Nerdblog Network! It’s a small group of dedicated bloggers talking about all things geek and/or nerd. Enjoy!

I promise this is my last TechCrush-related post for at least a week. Or so. Maybe.

TechCrush a non-issue, move along, please, move along…

Hey, did you hear that there’s actually no legal action attempting to derail TechCrush before they have even had a chance to get some content out. It’s true! Apparently, Mike Arrington did NOT send out some vitrolic cease and desist letter. It was more like a nice, professional email suggesting that TechCrush might be infringing on a trademark or two, and hey, wouldn’t it be nice if we could just sit down and talk about our options. It looks as though an agreement was happily and amicably reached:

mid day, Sept 21: I speak with my lawyer. we discuss asking them to put a disclaimer on the site that they aren’t affiliated with techcrunch. I send an email to Lutz that says “Hey Lutz, Spoke to my lawyer at length today. How about a statement somewhere, preferably in the header area, that simply says you aren’t affiliated with TechCrunch in any way? If that doesn’t work for you, let’s keep talking…and there is no need to stop posting on the site…looking forward to more good content. Mike”

Wow. So, that’s it? No real controversy? C’mon, not even a spiteful letter? A bit of unease about how one side has handled themselves? No? All roses and daisies, huh? Well, I suppose that’s a good thing.

The best part about this whole situation is that Mike is really looking forward to the content TechCrush will be posting. Even though they won’t be working in concert with each other, it’s not like they won’t be able to use each other as resources for helping to keep this insane web 2.0 universe in check. And I for one am happy they both exist. Because honestly, what would I do all day? Seriously. Work? I think not.

Do we need an anti-Techcrunch?

Evidently some people think so.

TechCrush is a new site that takes a look at web 2.0 startups 6 months and 1 year after launch to see how the service has evolved–or devolved, as the case may be. From Stowe Boyd:

Perhaps we need a dark doppelganger to TechCrunch — a TechMunch — a blog that religiously revisits every app that debuts in TechCrunch exactly six months later, and determines if these apps are now failures or successes.

I believe the site must have been constructed in response to Mike Arrington‘s apparent willingness to green-light some startup efforts at or before launch time, and then never looking back to see if the company has been able to manage reliability and marketability over a longer period of time. Longevity is, of course, relative as far as the internet is concerned, but I like the concept of TechCrush, so I’ll be checking it out. I just wish Stowe had painted it in a bit of a brighter light. Call it whatever you want to, but it really shouldn’t be considered a “dark doppelganger” to Techcrunch. Both blogs can accompany and complement each other successfully, and I hope some sort of cooperation can exist in this regard. We can only hope everyone involved will be so enlightened as to see the potential and make it happen.

Studio 60

From this point on, Caleb will have to go to bed early every Monday evening.

My wife and I actually got the opportunity to watch an actual prime-time television show last night. Luckily, what we ended up catching in this miraculous boon was the premiere episode of Studio 60, the new NBC show written by the amazing Aaron Sorkin of West Wing fame.

I can’t even begin to tell you how absolutely fantastic Studio 60 is.

This is Sorkin creating some top-notch writing, certainly at the top of his game. His witty and charming dialogue is invested into some truly exceptional actors. Bradley Whitford and Matthew Perry are the only people I could ever envision playing the parts of Matt and Danny, the two high-profile writer/producers tapped to rejuvinate the flailing Studio 60 of NBS (the National Broadcasting Station – HA!). Amanda Peet pulls off a capable — though not inspiring — performance as Jordan, the brand-new president of the studio who has to deal with the problems before she has even found her office.

We were hooked from the first minute, as Judd Hirsch delivers a scathing impromptu speech on the evils of Hollywood as Timothy Busfield watches, allowing him 53 seconds to speil, risking his job to give Hirsch his chance to speak his mind on live television. It was mesmerizing.

We don’t get to watch television very much, but this is definitely something we will be getting into.

September is shaping up to be BUSY

Busy at work, busy at home, just no time to do much more than constantly refresh Flock to catch more Nintendo Wii announcements. But beyond that, well, much, much more.

For instance, did you know that we’re celebrating Caleb’s fourth birthday this Saturday? Of course you didn’t. But we are! And we also have the fortune of having to deal with family members more interested in the Iowa/Iowa State game than in some kid’s lame birthday party. But we deal. In the meantime, I’m tasked with figuring out how to turn eight refrigerator boxes into a castle. Fun! The wife is assembling shields as we speak. Guess the theme! It’s a real puzzler.

It will be a great party, though, I’m certain of that. My wife’s family and my family mesh together surprisingly well, as sardonically and hideously sarcastic as we all tend to be. Since Amanda’s family is centered around Iowa City, we don’t get to see them all that often, which truly is a shame. I’m blessed with a mother-in-law that I actually enjoy being around. Is that rare? The common stereotype is that every married man hates his mother-in-law. Is that a misconception these days? I just don’t hear it quite as often as I used to. I suppose that stereotype goes hand-in-hand with the lazy, shiftless husband who does nothing in the house and just sits around watching sports and drinking beer, playing poker with his buddies. And that’s not me, either. Not the guy who does laundry, cleans, vacuums, and (occasionally) cooks. But I’ve always hated stereotypes anyways.

In addition to the stuff going on, we’re all battling colds, and the problem is that there’s a million other things happening all at once. We’re going to need a few days to recoup, but I don’t think we’re going to get that. We just hunker down and wait for snow. Because, as we all know, fall in Iowa only lasts approximately three to four days. Then, we get a blizzard, and march right into winter.

Don’t laugh, it happens every year, without fail.

New header graphic today, a few days later than usual. The wife snapped Alex as he was crawling into her lap wearing a foam crown. He looked so incredibly adorable, I couldn’t NOT post the image to the site. It’s my constant reminder during those moments when he’s screaming his head off because he just doesn’t want to sleep, that there are indeed times when he is still cute. I’m still a firm believer in the fact that cuteness keeps some kids alive.

Back to the grind!

Using Listal as a media catalogue

A question I asked on Evil Avatar regarding a quality online game collection/wishlist database led to a comment that sparked a mass exodus of forum-goers to Listal for storing online listings of media collections and wishlists. It was at once strange and exhilarating to witness so many users immediately and unapologetically flock to a web 2.0 service. It made my heart sing.

The Listal interface is slick and clean, very user-friendly. In no time at all I was able to create a listing of my video game collection, accompanied by my gaming wishlist. I have a few minor grievances, which I outlined to Tom, the Listal developer, since he so graciously honored us with his presence in our thread, which we all found just a tad bit creepy.

The tagging leaves something to be desired. For instance, on my games landing page, all the tags and platforms displayed apply only to my owned games, and not my wanted or played games. Is it technically impossible for tags to cross these divisions within a specific grouping? I should hope not. Though, the same is true for all the groupings (music, dvds, books, etc.). The only way to display items that cross the divisions is to create a custom list. While the custom list functionality is cool, it doesn’t replace the ability to simply select a tag and see everything on your list corresponding to that tag. This is my biggest complaint.

Other than that, the site is sleek and silky. By far my absolute favorite collections site. I have a fairly sparse media collection as it is, so tracking my media really isn’t too terribly difficult. But I was previously using four different websites to do it, when now, it has all been merged into one effortless interface.

See, this is what I was talking about. I see the potential here. In a few years, this is simply how it will be done. And our kids will be just sitting there, jacked into their terminals, wondering how the hell their parents got through those depressing early 2000’s. And we’ll just snicker. And go back to our digging.

Sex offender registry with point and laugh conviction

Don’t know what gift to get for that special person in your life this Christmas? How about adding them to the sex offender registration in Ohio? It’s easy!

A recently enacted law allows county prosecutors, the state attorney general, or, as a last resort, alleged victims to ask judges to civilly declare someone to be a sex offender even when there has been no criminal verdict or successful lawsuit.

The rules spell out how the untried process would work. It would largely treat a person placed on the civil registry the same way a convicted sex offender is treated under Ohio’s so-called Megan’s Law.

Emphasis mine.

Please tell me that I am not the only person enraged and/or sickened by this possibility. Just point at a person and add them to the sex offender registry? It’s laughable to think it would be THAT easy, but it should be equally laughable to think this level of legislation has been passed at all. And it has! So now little miss Judy who hates big tough Brody for dissing her at the prom and running off with that no-good tramp Debra can ruin his life forever by claming he touched her inappropriately, and–without the need of those pesky TRIALS that are always getting in the way of TRUE justice–have the young man added to the sex offender registry. For the love of god, please tell me it won’t be THAT easy.

And you know where this is headed, don’t you? Yeah. I thought you did.

Cory Doctorow on Sony’s proprietary formats

Cory Doctorow understands proprietary technology. He’s been on the front lines in the fight against strict copyright laws for several years, and he has been openly critical of corporations continuing to introduce and control their own closed standards and push them onto unwary consumers.

Sony’s recent confirmation that the PS3 will not come packaged with expensive HDMI cables has earned Doctorow’s ire and sparked a vicious rant against their attempts to control the industry and corral users into their own technology.

No community gives more to vendors than gamers. They go back to the store to buy the latest and greatest hardware, they buy games, they buy t-shirts, they see terrible movie tie-ins, perform game-music with their school orchestras, make additional fan-levels for their favorite games, dress up as game characters, buy the comics and the toys. They evangelize games, form guilds and hold tournaments, read, live, watch, talk and breathe games.

But the console people have a hard time coming to grips with this. Practically any other industry would lop off an arm for this kind of devotion, but when it’s someone tweaking their Sony consoles, Sony is so blinded by its fear of losing control of the ability to restrict games-publishing for its platform that it pushes these fans away.

Cory has it right on the money. The game console industry as a whole–not just Sony–tends to treat its audience as a bunch of snot-nosed children, giving us all a collective “father knows best” patronizing pat on the head as it goes about its business of fashioning separate silos of gaming experiences that cannot be intertwined in any conceivable way. Each corporation defines its own standards and forces consumers to accept them.

Have you ever heard of a DVD player fanboy? One who solidly and religiously supports his preferred DVD player manufacturer on message boards and internet chat rooms? No. They don’t exist. Why? Because I can purchase any DVD player from any manufacturer and play any DVD in it. There are standards in place, and corporations don’t have the ability to partition their content onto consumers using a proprietary format of their own. At least, not until the next generation of media formats comes along.

It’s time for change. Console manufacturers need to come together and decide on a standard and allow global electronics manufacturers the ability create their own gaming system based on that standard. Only then can we truly move forward on creating valuable content, as opposed to simply attempting to convince the consumer of the ideal user experience through superior marketing.

I know. I laughed as I was typing that.

Social software: the Obi-Wan Kenobi of the web

There’s a conversation going on right now regarding social software and its usefulness and, to some extent, its perceived longevity. Ryan Carson really started the discussion by detailing why he doesn’t use any web-based social software, and why he doesn’t expect the concept to truly take off and transform into more viable public-use services. But I found the comments of Mathew Ingram to be instilled with the most vision:

My response would be that worlds change in small ways as well as largeo nes, and I think the social aspect of apps like Flickr and Digg means a lot more than any one of those software services does on its own. Do they take a lot of work? In some cases yes, although my use of del.icio.us is so ingrained into the way I browse that I don’t even notice it anymore, thanks to a Firefox extension, and I couldn’t browse for long — or do my job as quickly or as effectively — if I didn’t have something like it. It’s debatable whether Digg or social bookmarking or any ofthe other social apps are standalone businesses (I would argue in most cases they are not), but what they represent is no less real.

The quality that makes social software so appealing isn’t necessarily how it is being used today, it’s the vision for how it can be used in the future. I use services like Flickr, del.icio.us, blogging software, and digg. I use those services in my Flock browser, which makes the first three on the list completely effortless. My favorites are automagically added to my del.icio.us account, blogging is done through a marvelous built-in interface, and subscribing to a friends’ photostream is a right-click away. This is seamless and integrated functionality, and will only become moreso as time marches on and the software and standards evolve with increased usability and acceptance.

And this is how it works. While the web may be in version 2.0, social software is still version 1. Hell, maybe it’s all still in beta. Or alpha. Or alfalpha. In any case, it’s still in the process of being defined and refined for mass public consumption. Digg is a trial run for a first ever public news aggregation and user-generated news service, where millions of people–not just thousands–will participate in the conversation. It will be controlled by a mass internet media organization such as AOL or Google, and it will be huge. But it won’t happen for a few more years. Give it time, these things need to simmer for a while before boiling over into the mass marketplace. Revolutions tend to eventually become establishments given enough time.

And it won’t just be digg. All social software services we use today–and which we are starting to take for granted as “revolutions becoming establishments“–will evolve into more general public-use services. The stuff we think of as “nifty features” will become standard functionality.

Strike it down if you want, but social software will eventually become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.