I was quoted in an article by the Mistress of Measurement, K.D. Paine, yesterday. Katie explored measuring the impact of media coverage based on the influence of the publication. I argued — via Twitter — that influence is not measured in clicks or circulation, but decided by the value the audience places on the influencer (whether BusinessWeek, a blog, a comment in Twitter, etc.).
Month: April 2008
-
Don’t Cry for Them Argentina
According to this post by CNET’s Matt Asay, Argentina’s government is considering moving its entire information technology infrastructure to open source. There’s nothing earth-shattering in Argentina’s cost-savings rationale for considering open source. In fact, governments (and corporations, for that matter) adopting open source is rather ho-hum at this point.
Matt also points out that an underlying driver behind this is software piracy. Open source helps Argentina comply with proprietary software license compliance by…gasp!…doing away with the issue altogether. Read Matt’s post for more on the cultural issues surrounding this.
What’s happening in Argentina is an example of the problem Microsoft and other proprietary companies have gotten into. Their businesses are based on selling restrictive software and enforcing licenses through organizations like the BSA. It’s a model that open source sent to the dustbin long ago. In fact, there is little doubt that their core license policing/anti-customer business model is driving sales for open source. Rather than locking customers in, it’s driving them away.
-
Can’t Wait to Read: Schlesinger on White House Speechwriters
I’ve written my share of speeches over my career. Granted, they were for corporate executives, not for Presidents of the United States. That’s why I’m excited to get my hands on a new book by Robert Schlesinger called White House Ghosts: Presidents and Their Speechwriters. According to reviewer Robert Landers, Schlesinger interviewed 90 speechwriters and White House aides, devoting a chapter to each presidency — from FDR to GWB. Should be an interesting read.
-
Linkbait
I’m finally getting back into the swing of posting again (Twitter has dominated my social media interaction lately). A few items that recently caught my eye:
- The New York Times’ Steve Heller dissects the logo created by the Martin Agency to promote a new campaign for Al Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection.
- In the same Sunday edition of The Times, Dave Itzkoff profiles one of the funniest actors on network television today: Jack McBrayer (Kenneth the page from 30 Rock).
- While we’re at it, Charles McGrath gets down, dirty and cold with what’s on tap for this season’s Deadliest Catch.
- Tammy La Gorce highlights New Jersey’s brew pubs. The annual New Jersey Brewers’ Festival used to be a tradition for me. Maybe time for a chauffered road trip to sample the state’s barley and hops wares.
-
The House That Ruth Built
My mother is a diehard, lifelong New York Yankees fan. For Mother’s Day this year, we reserved tickets for an inside-the-park tour of Yankee Stadium. Good thing, too, as this is the last year the Bronx Bombers will play in the current stadium (a new stadium is being built alongside it). I captured some images of the day that you can view here.
