As of June 2008 Apple has made a version of Safari for PCs. It seems to have the same quirks as the Mac version. Should prove useful for testing. Thanks Apple.

Learn grasshopper.

Hey shutterbugs. Corbis has these cool ReadyMech pinhole cameras on their site. Neat.

Twitter was the darling app of SXSW07.

I don't use Twitter and when I found out about I thought it was utterly unnecessary.

However, this video does a great job of explaining it. Perhaps you can be become enlightened and your life better.

Information is disseminated at amazing speeds across the web and here is a prime example.

I was watching a keynote by Mark Zuckerberg at SXSW. The crowd took exception to the line of questioning by the interviewer and began to complain. Within seconds the whole Internet was a buzz of what was happening. Notified by Twitter and RSS feeds, curious people, attending other panels, started coming into the room to see what was going on.

Attendees at SXSW constantly blogged and tweeted during panel discussions. Information was posted online in almost real-time: faster than a thousand phones calls could possibly be made, or a news announcements could be created. Pretty powerful stuff.

1. Content is most important
2. Content is most important
3. Content is most important
4. User/Customer experience = marketing
5. E-commerce business is built on repeat customers
6. Share knowledge
7. Plan for now
8. Be kind, mindful and honest in everything you do
9. It’s easy to talk things to death
10. Social Networks are real and apply to business too
11. Buying is highly social
12. 60 Million+ users are worth $15 billion or ~ $250 per user (to Microsoft)
13. Keep users by helping them live better
14. Some of the most important things that affect the quality of a deliverable are momentum, motivation, movement. Delays kill!
15. Internet geeks really like Twitter

Guy Kawasaki just launched a new blog index site, Alltop.com

In this site are his picks of folks most influencing the web. He titles it egos. Nice group.

Often when analyzing a client's needs, I try to find ways to use the Web to impact all aspects of their business, whether it's old-school web content, rich media or social apps.

This article, Harnessing the Power of Social Applications, on MIT's Sloan Review site does a great job of describing how to use "groundswell" to benefit business and has several prime examples.

Ted.com

Inspired talks by the world's greatest thinkers and doers

Library of Congress

Browse some of the digital collections. Awesome.

Did you know many historical photos are part of the public domain and may be usable for commercial purposes? Just make sure to check usage rights first.

I'm excited about attending this year's SXSW conferrence; my first.

Hope to meet you there.

Glassbooth.org is an interesting political web site for several reasons. I found it extremely educational, rich with links to information. But more importantly, the way it first asks about what issues interest you most, then presents a short survey based on your weighted responses is a brilliant way to compare issues on what matters most to you.

This technique really simplifies what could easily be a longer form with less effective results and a poor user experience. Kudos to the folks that created this site. A fine example of how to use the Internet intelligently and effectively.

1. Not Understanding Client Needs

a. You have listened, but have you heard?
b. Have you asked the right questions?
c. Are you merely doing what the client asks, or are you truly addressing their needs?

2. Over Promising

a. Are the client’s requests reasonable?
b. Does your new business guy know your capabilities?
c. Is it worth it?

3. Bad Process

a. Poor planning
b. Poor project management
c. Wrong priorities
d. Poorly defined roles and responsibilities

4. Poor Execution

a. Poor talent
b. Bad direction
c. Insufficient quality control
d. Inexperience

5. Under Pricing

a. Ignorance
b. Competition
c. Fear

6. Not Controlling Change (Scope Creep)

a. Who says yes (no)?
b. What were the client’s expectations
c. Implications of saying yes
d. What is your protocol for a change or additional work order?

7. No Contingencies

a. What ifs
b. Unknowns
c. Good, better, best
d. Wiggle room
e. Plan B

8. Poor Communication

a. Paper, e-mail or phone call?
b. Does the right person know
c. Timing
d. Beg for forgiveness or ask for permission?
e. Not enough information given

9. Not Getting Approvals at Key Milestones

a. Defining key milestone
b. Someone has to sign off
c. Ramifications

10. Bad Client Relationship

a. Lack of trust
b. Dictator syndrome