I’ve created a ChipIn Widget that goes straight to the Burns‘ Paypal account, which you can donate to help them with their miscellaneous expenses over the next few days. I’ll also be adding it to the right-sidebar of this blog. Until the banks open, please feel free to donate what you can – I am sure they are very much in need of help with their miscellaneous day-to-day expenses while they are in the hospital, so they can focus on their daughter, Serenity and getting her better. You may also use this widget to promote donations on your own blog – I highly recommend you share with others! We’ll be getting a tax-deductible (hopefully) fund organized for the Burns’ family as soon as the banks open after the holidays. In the meantime, let’s see if we can raise just $500 in the next few days to help them out. Any donation is very much appreciated!
Author: jessestay
Twitter!
The first 1 word post on Techmeme. Just saying…
New Series: Social Coding
I’ve been contemplating for awhile now a good way to share what I know about Social Software Development and helping business owners, marketers, and developers learn how to set up their own social apps. Especially for developers, I know there are many out there looking for howtos and ways to learn more about starting their own App, promoting it, and getting it off the ground. As the author of FBML Essentials, I feel I am well suited for the task so in the next few days I’m going to start doing howtos and overviews on how you can get your own Apps together. If you’re “the business type”, I may get a little technical on you, but I do recommend you keep watching and forward these onto your IT personell – your CIO, CTO, and the like should read these so they can learn what’s possible to integrate into your existing environments. I’ll also try to throw in a little goodie here and there for “the business type”.
So, I’ve created a new category to the right, “Social Coding” – if you want to track just that, click on the category name and add it to your RSS. I’ve also started a new FriendFeed Room where those involved or that want to get involved in Social Coding can discuss, learn, and talk with each other. You can subscribe to that here.
Let’s start by going over the types of sites I could cover. Here are just a few – let me know if you have a particular interest in learning about how to code for any one in particular:
- OpenSocial
- Google Friend Connect
- FriendFeed
- Pligg
- Digg
- MySpace
- WordPress
- MoveableType
- Google App Engine
- Bungee Connect
Stay tuned! I’ll keep posting news and other rants as we go forward – I’ll just be adding in some good howtos at the same time. Oh, and if you’re a developer and would like to do a howto in your preferred language for us, contact me – I’d love to let you do a guest post.
My Old Partner, Phil Burns’ Daughter has Leukemia
For those unaware, my old partner and good friend, Phil Burns (aka @phil801 on Twitter) just found out today that his daughter, Serenity, has Leukemia. She has been pricked, prodded, and the stories Phil and Adria tell are heart-breaking! Phil says (much of what I have learned has been through Twitter) that Serenity just got a transfusion and is feeling relatively better, if there is such a thing. She will start chemo in the next day or two. I’m still trying to get things organized – we’re working on a website to show support for her and raise money for the family, and I’ve had numerous Web 2.0-related organizations offer to dedicate funds in their name. The support and interest in helping has been amazing so far. For now my suggestion would be to contact Phil directly to donate money in the more immediate term – I will try to set up a fund as soon as we’re able to. There are many expenses that they are unable to avoid now and I’m sure they can use all the help they can get (they are checked into the hospital now, so I’m sure things like just paying for food at the hospital restaurants is much appreciated).
In the meantime, I’ve set up a FriendFeed Room here that even if you’re not on FriendFeed, you should be able to subscribe to via rss and get updates on the situation. I’m trying to share everything I see from Phil there, including his Twitter posts, blog posts, Adria (his wife)’s blog posts, and his Flickr photo uploads. If you are a member of FriendFeed feel free to leave your comments there or on his or his wife’s blogs, where they seem to be documenting the process.
For those unaware, my Grandmother died from Cancer, my Aunt is fighting it, and seems to be surviving it, and my Uncle died from Cancer. My Grandfather is a Cancer survivor. Things like this hit home for me. Phil says Serenity has the type of Leukemia that has an 80% survival rate (the “good” kind, as he puts it) – however we need to make it easy for them to focus on her and give her 100% of that 80% to survive! Please stay tuned and I’ll post more here as we get organized. If you’d like to help out in any way please let me know and we’ll find a way to put you to good use.
In the meantime, please blog, retweet, or share with all you can to send support and encouragement their way!
Finally! Twitter Adds an Official "Twitter" Account
Today Twitter announced the creation of an official “twitter” account on Twitter. This update has been a long time coming – other companies are doing it – why hasn’t Twitter all this time?
I brought up multiple times on the Twitter developer mailing list that Twitter needs to add an official “Tom” of Twitter that people can follow and get official Twitter updates from. Such a user would allow Twitter to let users know why there was slowness in the service and post about new blog updates (I just learned that Twitter actually has 2 blogs – a company blog and a development blog).
It’s good to see Twitter adopting this practice – this is one way Twitter will be able to better manage their reputation and keep others informed of service outages and updates to the system. I just hope they have given this user priority over other updates on the service so it can get messages out during slow times.
You can follow the “twitter” user here.
UPDATE: I’ve since learned from the comments of that post that there is a “twitter_status” user as well – the difference of the two, I’m unsure. Care to share your thoughts?
Kirk Yuhnke, Reporter for Fox News 13 Joins the Conversation – My Tips for Him as a Reporter
I was made aware via Twitter of all places today that Kirk Yuhnke, a reporter for Utah’s Fox 13 News morning show, has joined Twitter. They did a feature about Twitter, demoing it for Dan and Kerri (couldn’t find a link to the Morning Show on MyFoxUtah!) and showing live on the air how it works. You can see the post he made on the air here.
Looking at his Tweets, it looks as though Kirk has been using Twitter for at least a few days – I am curious what introduced him to Twitter. Anyway, it’s very refreshing to see more Old Media reporters and news people embracing Twitter as a tool to both receive and report the news. I think Kirk will realize very fast that Twitter’s more than just an addicting little thing to report statuses on – Twitter’s “the world’s largest conversation” (I tweeted that – wish Twitter archived Tweets for longer), and because of that, you’re able to get into everyone’s lives, receive news as it happens, and report it as it happens.
Kirk, in case you happen to read, here are some tips I’d love to give you as a reporter that I think you’ll really enjoy:
- Follow @newmediajim. Jim Long, a camera man for NBC News’s Presidential detail is one of the early users of Twitter. He has reported while on trips to Iraq, world summits, and basically anywhere the President goes. You get the news, as it happens – he’s the essence of one reason Twitter is so popular.
- Today, type “track san diego explosion” into Twitter. Soon, if you have notifications turned on in your Twitter settings, you’ll be receiving new notifications either via your cell phone or IM (depending on your user preferences) on everyone living in San Diego talking about the explosion at the downtown Hilton in San Diego.
- Use Tweetscan. Go to http://tweetscan.com and search for recent news you are tracking – do a search for “wii fit” and find a record of everyone trying out the Wii Fit. Do a search for “KirkYuhnke” and find out about all the people like me that are talking about you. As a reporter, this will be invaluable to use!
- Add 40404 to your Cell Phone. Be sure to add 40404 and set the name to “Twitter” on your cell phone. Then send a message to that address book entry. Now, imagine you’re the reporter on the scene at midnight at a local explosion and Fox 13 News has decided to go off the air and report it in the morning (true story!). You can live-report the event, all via Twitter, and those viewers all yelling at their screen asking what the explosion was can get up-to-the-minute updates on the Explosion happening. Not just that, but those outside of Utah following you can find out what’s happening! (I had about 5 people from outside of Utah trying to come to me after the south provo plant explosion a few months ago wanting the latest news about it, and I had nothing to give them!)
- Check out Twhirl. As a big news reporter, everyone will want to follow you on Twitter, and you’ll be quite a popular guy, both in and out of Utah! Here’s what I do: I follow everyone that follows me (unless they are outright spammers) – this allows them to direct message me if they need to (Twitter only allows those you are following to DM you), and shows that I have an interest in them as well. It’s courtesy, in my opinion. Now, install Twhirl on your computer, and use that to skim through the messages of all those you follow – you don’t have to read every single one, but at least you’ll have a good overview of what’s happening in the world.
Now, for those nearest and dearest to you that you want to follow and pay attention to, turn on notifications for those people. Leave notifications for all the others off. Now, all those that you want to pay attention to will go to either your cell phone or IM client (depending on your Twitter preferences), and you won’t miss any of the important stuff. I should also mention that with notifications turned on, both @replies and direct messages will go to either your cell phone or IM client as well. This ensures you get all the important stuff.
- Use SocialToo.com. Okay, this is a little shameless plug on my part, but it’s one of the only services of its kind out there. When you sign up at http://socialtoo.com/registration and provide your Twitter credentials, it will automatically start following those people that follow you, for you. Not just that, but you can blacklist users you don’t want it to follow, and even leave a message for new followers (that features actually slightly broken right now, but you get the point). This will allow you to use the technique I mention above.
- Check out my post on ways to change the world using Twitter. I track the term “earthquake” as one of the terms I track, and recently there was a 4.0+ earthquake in London. I started receiving an influx of Twitters from people experiencing that Earthquake before it was even reported on USGS! Robert Scoble also does this, and recently he reported about learning of the recent China Earthquake before even USGS reported. Twitter has power in this way.
So Kirk, I think I speak for all of Twitter when I say, “welcome to the conversation!” Keep talking – we’d love to see what we can do to help you out. Hey, maybe we’ll even invite you to a “Tweetup” some time.
For those that would like to follow Kirk, he goes by @kirkyuhnke on Twitter.
Google Could Revolutionize the Health Care Industry
Those that know me know that my last job before I went out on my own as an entrepreneur was with UnitedHealth Group working in their EDI Services division. While I was there I was following the interest Google had in Health Care with great curiosity. UnitedHealth Group (UHG) had many products Google could compete with, and perhaps at a better level. Google for the moment lacks a good, targeted audience in which to tap into the vast advertising money that could be provided by Pharmaceuticals and other Medical industry players. There is huge money in these areas of advertising, and I’m sure Google sees this as an opportunity (see the previous link – Google is definitely thinking about Health advertising!) they haven’t yet tapped into.
Today, Google launched the beta of their new Google Health product. Google Health competes right alongside UnitedHealth’s “Personal Health Histories” that they have provided to their customers. It allows you to easily provide your login credentials to about 20-30 HealthCare and Pharmaceutical providers, and import information from those providers into your Google Health Account. Not only that, but you can manually track health conditions and history of Doctors visits, medicine you are taking, hospital trips, and more, all through a simple login through your Google authentication credentials. All relying on the vast resources of hosting facilities and System Administrators protecting your data which Google has capability to provide.
Starting with Personal Health Histories, Google has the potential to do what UnitedHealth Group and others have been doing, but on a much larger, and unified scale. I would be willing to guess that a large majority of the internet has a Google account of some sort right now – imagine the possibilities!
For instance, what if Google were to integrate Google Calendar support into their interface? You could begin, just by importing your current medications, to receive alerts via text message and Google Calendar, reminding you to take your medication. Or perhaps your Doctor could integrate with Google Health to provide you with reminders and calendar entries of future appointments, as well as remind you when a Physical is due.
We’re just getting started though – now let’s take into account what Google is really good at – search. The project I was in charge of at UnitedHealth Group involved matching records between payers (the insurance companies) and providers (the doctors), an art that, thanks to our great government and the many rules and regulation they have already put into place but don’t follow themselves (called HIPAA), proved quite difficult. Many Insurance companies are making money off of this disunity and flaws in our Government’s system. Imagine if Google were to get into this game and start adding their own indexing algorithms to your medical records. In essence, Google themselves could become a “Clearing House” (a term in the Health Industry for basically a proxy/interpreter between payers and providers), sifting through claims and payments, matching them, and showing your bills, all through Google Health.
Imagine if your Doctor and your Health Insurance provider both join up to Google Health. All of the sudden, the two entities can understand each other and fewer errors will occur. Fraud will become less prevalent, and new standards will be established (if you call “Google” a standard). Ideally, your health care will become cheaper – I can see Doctors giving a discount if you maintain a Google Health Account because they can see more history and communicate with your provider better that way.
Now, imagine this – because Google is not a Insurance provider, they have an unbiased opportunity to show you some very interesting things. For instance, what if they started showing your payment histories to your Insurance provider vs. what the Provider was paying? They could begin to show customers how much more efficient it could be if they just went with a catastrophic insurance plan over their current plan, or how they could save money by just maintaining a Health Savings Account instead of paying a premium every month that goes nowhere. I can really see the potential of the Health Insurance companies getting cut out of the picture with the moves Google is making. Forget Universal HealthCare – Google will universalize it for us!
If Google can get their privacy issues out of the way, what if Google provided an opportunity to add in OpenSocial Support, allowing you, per privacy settings you set, to show the health histories of those you are related to (I can’t think of any reason to show this to just friends, but maybe you can). What if they provided a secure API to this, allowing other vendors, like Family History sites to have access to the data? Soon you’ll be able to track the health of your ancestors, and perhaps even track genetic reasons for the health issues you are having. I really think the possibilities are endless!
I think Google is onto something here – it is obviously another play in their world domination scheme, but with the position they have, why not? Maybe it’s the Libertarian in me, but Google may just revolutionize the Health Care Industry, without a need to turn to government here.
Facebook, as a Developer, I’m Scared!
I’ve attempted to stay out of this until now because as Nick O’Neill implies, it’s pretty childish the way both the supporters and critics are handling this. I’m especially disappointed with the way Facebook is handling the Google Friend Connect issue. For those out of the loop, Facebook cancelled Google’s Friend Connect App on Facebook because, “it redistributes user information from Facebook to other developers without users’ knowledge, which doesn’t respect the privacy standards our users have come to expect and is a violation of our Terms of Service”. Facebook gave no examples of what sections of the Terms of Service Google was violating, nor did they explain why Google was wrong. This vaguely-presented move prevents Google from having a universal login and profile that includes Facebook.
Google responded today saying, “We read the Facebook numeric id, friendly name, and public photo URLs of the user and their friends. We read no other information.” Google then proceeded to show detailed examples of the data they are retrieving from Facebook, how it is presented back to them, and the fact that they only share the URL of the user’s public photo with third party applications. They also stated that they only store data for 30 minutes at a time, after which they purge any of the above data cached on their servers.
I was impressed with Google’s response, and due to the openness and (apparent) honesty of it, I’m edging towards Google’s side on this, and quite scared as a Facebook developer on what Facebook could do with my own Apps. Assuming Google is right and not leaving anything out, Facebook could potentially remove any developer’s App from Facebook, no questions asked (although they did say they contacted Google multiple times about “something”), even though, per the developer’s understanding of the Terms of Service, the developer’s App follows the rules.
Based on what Google has said, I can’t see anything they did wrong in the development of their App that violates the Terms of Service. I really wish Facebook would explain further so we as developers could ensure our Apps aren’t doing the same. It also brings up many important questions as to what Facebook means when it comes to certain parts of the Terms of Service. I’m actually quite confused now as to what I can and can’t do on Facebook.
For example, Section 2a-6 in the Terms of Service, it states:
“You may retain copies of Exportable Facebook Properties for such period of time (if any) as the Applicable Facebook User for such Exportable Facebook Properties may approve, if (and only if) such Applicable Facebook User expressly approves your doing so pursuant to an affirmative “opt-in” after receiving a prominent disclosure of (a) the uses you intend to make of such Exportable Facebook Properties, (b) the duration for which you will retain copies of such Exportable Facebook Properties and (c) any terms and conditions governing your use of such Exportable Facebook Properties (a “Full Disclosure Opt-In”);”
Yet, in the section before that, it says I can only store indefinitely the uid, nid, eid, gid, pid, aid, notes_count, and profile_update_time. Does this mean I can or can’t get a user’s permission to store data on my servers? What about permanent session keys? I don’t see them in that list, yet the documentation seems to imply you need one to auto-authenticate a user. Am I breaking the developer ToS by storing a permanent session key?
Google is passing the public photo URL to third parties. Technically, because this is public information, it doesn’t even take a developer key to retrieve that URL. I could simply pull up the user’s profile page via their profile ID, and scrape the photo from the public profile. Is this really what’s causing Google to have their App removed? If so, I’m really scared as a Facebook App developer.
As you can see, the Facebook developer Terms of Service are simply too vague and too confusing for any developer to feel secure about keeping their App on the network. With actions like the one Facebook took against Google, I now have to question if my Apps too could be a target for Facebook to remove. If Google, who has hundreds of Lawyers on hand to look over such terms can’t figure out what they can and can’t do on the service, how can I, as a developer know what I can and can’t do on the service? Right now it’s a complete guessing game, with just the hope that Facebook will be decent enough to give you a warning before canceling your App. Is this really how we as developers should be developing our Apps?
I really hope Facebook can clarify this matter. I think after this move by Facebook, Facebook needs to clarify their Terms of Service for Developers and first, explain according to what violation in the Terms of Service Google’s App was removed, and second, break down in plain English what we as developers can and can’t do.
Facebook, Google laid out all their cards, at least as far as we can tell (and even if not they certainly laid out way more than Facebook did). How about not leaving us developers hanging and clarify all this once and for all? As a developer, I’m absolutely confused and scared at the moment of the very Walled Garden I make a living off of.
Photo courtesy CommonSpace.org
Google Bullies Blogger to Surrender "GoogleAppsEngine.com"
A friend of mine, Ali Akbar (@aliakbar), has made me aware of an interesting development going on with the domain he bought, googleappsengine.com (note the “s”). When he bought it, he approached me asking if I would be a blogger for the site, with intent to blog about Google App Engine news and announcements on the domain. He seemed quite excited about it, and, as a fan of Google App Engine, saw this as the perfect domain to write under since Google didn’t seem to be using it.
On Friday, without even time to set up the blog he was intending to create, Ali received the following very generic letter from Google (which he shared with me), asking him, in a very bullied fashion, without any offer to even make it right, to surrender the domain or face legal consequences:
Dear Sir/Madam:
Google is the owner of the well-known trademark and trade name GOOGLE, as well as the domain name GOOGLE.COM. As you are no doubt aware, GOOGLE is the trademark used to identify our award-winning search engine, located at www.google.com. Since its inception in 1997, the GOOGLE search engine has become one of the most highly recognized and widely used Internet search engines in the world. Google owns numerous trademark registrations and applications for its GOOGLE mark in countries around the world.
Google has used and actively promoted its GOOGLE mark for a number of years, and has invested considerable time and money establishing exclusive proprietary rights in the GOOGLE mark for a wide range of goods and services. As a result of its efforts, the GOOGLE mark has become a famous mark and a property right of incalculable value.
You have registered, without Google’s permission or authorization, the domain name googleappsengine.com (the ‘Domain Name’). The Domain Name is either confusingly similar to or incorporates the famous GOOGLE mark in its entirety, and, by its very composition, suggests Google’s sponsorship or endorsement of your website and correspondingly, your activities.
Your use of the Domain Name constitutes trademark infringement and dilution of Google’s trademark rights and unfair competition. Your use of the Domain Name is diluting use because it weakens the ability of the GOOGLE mark and domain name to identify a single source, namely Google. Further, your registration and use of the Domain Name misleads consumers into believing that some association exists between Google and you, which tarnishes the goodwill and reputation of Google’s services and trademarks. Moreover, your registration and use of the Domain Name is also actionable under the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (‘UDRP’). Under similar circumstances, Google has prevailed in numerous UDRP actions. These decisions are located online at www.icann.org/udrp/udrpdec.htm.
In view of your infringement of our rights, we must demand that you provide written assurances within 7 days that you will:
1. Immediately discontinue any and all use of the Domain Name;
2. Take immediate steps to transfer the Domain Name to Google;
3. Identify and agree to transfer to Google any other domain names registered by you that contain GOOGLE or are confusingly similar to the GOOGLE mark;
4. Immediately and permanently refrain from any use of the term GOOGLE or any variation thereof that is likely to cause confusion or dilution.Sincerely,
The Google Trademark Team
What???!! “You have registered, without Google’s permission or authorization, the domain name googleappsengine.com (the ‘Domain Name’).” So wait – now I have to get Google’s permission before I get any name that even resembles the Google trademark?
I am astounded at the bullyish nature of this letter, and to assume that anyone that buys any name even resembling the Google trademark to be a violation against their trademark name. Google clearly hasn’t been very good at defending this in the past – just searching with their own search engine, I’m finding tons of examples of sites using the Google name in their own domain name (yes, I “Google’d” it):
googlefight.com
googlesystem.blogspot.com
googleguide.com
googlealert.com
googlerankings.com
The list just gets started from there…
Now, let me preface this with the fact that I am not a Lawyer, but I did learn this in Law class in college. The “Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy” which Google references can be found here, and in the document, it states:
c. How to Demonstrate Your Rights to and Legitimate Interests in the Domain Name in Responding to a Complaint. When you receive a complaint, you should refer to Paragraph 5 of the Rules of Procedure in determining how your response should be prepared. Any of the following circumstances, in particular but without limitation, if found by the Panel to be proved based on its evaluation of all evidence presented, shall demonstrate your rights or legitimate interests to the domain name for purposes of Paragraph 4(a)(ii):
(i) before any notice to you of the dispute, your use of, or demonstrable preparations to use, the domain name or a name corresponding to the domain name in connection with a bona fide offering of goods or services; or
(ii) you (as an individual, business, or other organization) have been commonly known by the domain name, even if you have acquired no trademark or service mark rights; or
(iii) you are making a legitimate noncommercial or fair use of the domain name, without intent for commercial gain to misleadingly divert consumers or to tarnish the trademark or service mark at issue.
Based on Ali’s approaches to me, there was no intention for commercial gain, nor to tarnish the trademark or service mark at issue. I also have e-mail to prove his demonstrable preparations to use the domain in connection with a bona fide offering. Let me also add that my intention to blog for him was simply in my own support of the Google App Engine. I personally had nothing huge to gain from it other than possibly a little exposure from what could possibly be a good blog.
Let me also add that Trademark issue is a very different issue than the Copyright issue I mentioned before with the Mormon Church and Wikileaks. That issue was about Wikileaks knowingly stealing the content owned by the Mormon Church and using it for unintended purposes. This issue is simply about using the Google domain to further promote Google and its properties. Ali had intent to do such, and with my limited knowledge he should have every right to do so.
What if Facebook were to go after my other blog, FacebookAdvice, or even the book I co-wrote, “I’m on Facebook — Now What???“? What about my friend Nick O’Neill’s AllFacebook, or my other friend, Justin Smith’s InsideFacebook. What about my other blog, OpensocialNow? Does this mean I’m the next target to be bullied by Google?
Of course, GoogleAppsEngine.com isn’t my domain, and I don’t know what would make Ali feel better, but my suggestion to Google is to apologize to Ali for such a rude and inappropriate letter to what may be one of their biggest fans, and make right with him. How about, instead of threatening to take it away from him, offering him at least some swag and a little money for the domain? Come on Google – let’s not be evil here. I know you’re better than that.
As for Ali, last I heard he is not backing down. It’s a David vs. Goliath battle, but let’s hope Google can be a little better than Goliath in this case and just back down a little.
What do you think? Am I wrong on this issue? Is this just the same as the copyright issue I mentioned earlier? I’m very interested to hear your thoughts – this seems very unfair to me.
Photo courtesy http://mathmath-ecomm.blogspot.com/2007/11/google-is-useful-but-worried.html
Facebook Adds Small Features to Chat
I just noticed today a few new features in the Facebook chat window. When a new chat message comes through you may now hear a small, “pop”. It appears as though Facebook has begun adding sounds to their messaging, a much needed addition for those trying to know when people are trying to chat with them on Facebook. I have Facebook open most of the time in a separate tab, and often don’t realize until it’s too late that someone has been trying to chat with me in another tab. Now, assuming I hear the “pop”, that seems to be resolved. You can turn this feature on or off by clicking on “Settings” under the chat box in the chat bar, then checking or unchecking the box labeled, “Play Sounds for New Messages”.
The other addition, which I believe may be new (or I just barely noticed it), is Facebook seems to have added picture emoticons to the chat window. Now if I type, : – ) (without the spaces), it appears as a smiley face like this: 🙂 I’d love to get a list of these.
Anyone know of any other new features added since the “pop”?
