Thinking Analytically » Blogs

Future of Blogging [Mind Map]

John — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 02:43:35 +0000

Interesting perspective on the future of blogging over at Mashable. Steve Rubel, SVP-Director of Insights for Edelman Digital says:

From my point of view, blogging’s future will likely flow down one of two paths: either it will evolve and grow into something else (like many species have) or it will succumb to Darwinism and become extinct (like the Dodo). Let’s take a closer look at each.

The key points are represented by my favorite mind mapping tools: MindMeister. Take a look at the map below and comment on what pops out at you. Click the map to visit MindMeister to view and interact with the map.

No need to join but if you are interested, find information on MindMeister here.

Thanks to Mashable.

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The Numerati – Automating Management at IBM

John — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 11:52:02 +0000

The week’s BusinessWeek coverstory is right up our alley. Stephen Baker, a writer for BW, published an interesting cover story with accompanying podcast, blog article and book excerpt. The last link includes a video interview with the author. How’s that for hitting the subject from all media angles. (Good for you BW!)

The book excerpt discusses a move at IBM to “automate management”.

One of the most promising laboratories for the Numerati is the workplace, where every keystroke, click, and e-mail can be studied. In a chapter called “The Worker,” Baker travels to IBM where mathematicians are building predictive models of their own colleagues.

The book, The Numerati, is due out this month. Certainly on my too read list.

Sounds a little like Big Blue trying to be like Big Brother. Sounds a little scary but if used to match skills to the best jobs it makes total sense. What do you think?

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Probability Analysis of Putting

John — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 02:36:50 +0000

Ian Ayres, author of Super Crunchers: Why Thinking-by-Numbers Is the New Way to Be Smart has an interesting post at the Freakonomics blog. In response to Tiger’s dramatic win at the U.S. Open, Ayres wonders why we don’t see more probability analysis of sinking a put from certain distances by certain players. We seem to be obsessed with statistical minutia in other sports but golf is relatively untouched. Granted there may be a few more variables in putting such as the cut of the green, location of the ball, direction of role, etc. but it would be fun to make some predictions. Better yet, how about a hypothesis or two?

For instance and for my own game…

Do I have a better shot at sinking a mid-range put than a short put because I feel I have less at stake so I relax more on the longer put?
Does the number of stokes taken to get to the green have a bearing on the probability of making certains puts? Do I relax more when I’ve already blown the hole versus when I have a shot at an eagle?
What’s the relationship between warm up time on the practice green to puts made on the real greens?

What do you think?

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Give One Laptop – Get One

John — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 04:38:45 +0000

Here’s a great opportunity to help others less fortunate than yourself. If you are reading this, it is probably safe to assume that you have access to a decent computer. I have several computers laying around the house (tough to toss when I upgrade) and I guess I take the opportunity for granted. That’s not the case in many parts of the world. The Give One – Get One program allows you to buy two revolutionary XO laptop computers for $400 for the pair. One is shipped to you and the other to a child in a developing nation. Plus, a $200 tax contribution is sent your way. From what I’ve read, the computer is very unique and is designed to work in adverse conditions. It is spill proof, runs six hours on battery, runs Linux and automatically networks with other similar computers. This laptop is not designed to run Photoshop, or World of Warcraft. Instead, the focus is to provide educational opportunities in developing nations.

Thanks to Tushar Mehta for bringing this to my attention in the Daily Dose of Excel blog. In his post he referenced an excellent article in the NY Times which includes a realistic review of the laptop. Be sure to read it before buying one. Offer ends November 26, 2007.

Cross posted at Random Thoughts.

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The Cost of Spam – A Long Tail Perspective

John — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 12:44:28 +0000

Chris Anderson, author of The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More, recently addressed the connection between global warming, public relations spam and magazines in his blog. I got a kick out of his comments since he included as spam the “blow-in” magazine subscription cards that drop out of magazines on to your floor. He says…

Our circulation department wants to put in as many as possible, because five cards have a slightly higher chance of one being sent back than four, and six is slightly higher yet. As long as those cards earn more in subscriptions than the cost of paper and print, they’re consider a good thing from the circulation department perspective.

He goes on to say that editors hate them because of the grief they create for readers. AMEN!

It just so happens that a few weeks ago I ordered a subscription to Wired which he edits. The cost of the one year subscription is only $10 bucks. But what’s the cost to my back for bending over and trying to pick those slippery cards up off the ground?

I’ll count the number of cards in my first issue and report back!

(Cross posted at Random Thoughts.)

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Visualization of Wikipedia

John — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 03:26:27 +0000

The folks at A Beautiful WWW have created a couple of very interesting visualizations to explain or represent activity on Wikipedia. The first article – Visualizing the ‘Power Struggle’ in Wikipedia – includes a description of the technique. They even have a zoomable and scrollable graphic. This is a good place to start. The follow-up shows science and technology activity. I find this fascinating. It reminds me of some of the visualizations in Edward Tufte‘s books such as is The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. (Graphic from www.abeautifuwww.com)

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