Molecularist

Link via Erik: Airtime – Gizmodo.

As mobile phones become more powerful and pervasive, it was inevitable that they’d spawn the same kind of homebrew hacking culture as computers and the Internet. While the locked-down nature of cell phones and the closemindedness of wireless carriers has stunted that culture’s growth, a few developments are afoot that promise to give a big boost to DIY mobile programming. Whereas programmers must typically pick up platform-specific skills to develop for mobile, a number of ways for independent and casual developers and even enthusiasts to use skills they’ve already got—or can relatively easily learn—to build applications.

I’ve started reading the report mentioned in the post below. It’s chock-full of great thinking. Read it to get your wheels spinning. I don’t remember where I heard of it first, but these guys have a nice summary and a link to download.

Of course, the stuff in the report fits in well with a lot I’ve been talking about.

Link: Boing Boing: Clueful Aussie report on the Internet circa 2010.

Clueful Aussie report on the Internet circa 2010
Smart Internet 2010 is an ambitious, 170-page report on the future of the Internet commissioned by the Australian government. It covers a lot of ground (much of it likely familiar to you if you’re a regular BB reader), aimed at a general audience (e.g., net-clueless regulators). It basically tries to sum up all the stuff going on with P2P, copyright, games, VoIP, and all. The authors spoke to a lot of non-usual-suspects, people from outside policyland, and came up with something that’s a lot closer to a couple months’ worth of blog-reading than a couple months’ talking to academics and regulators.

Now only if I could have a bound copy. Hmmm, Printfu?

Very clever design solution. I’ve added Brian to my list of interesting people. 😉

And I see the great David Harper (also on my list) has not only made a good comment, but kindly offered to help out Brian. What good guys!

Link: MPREO: Mobile Publishing is Easy! | Mobile Design.

The Solution

How MPREO works is pretty simple, it grabs RSS content from a variety of websites and reformats it to create XHTML-MP pages.

Om Malik posts some thoughts from Robert Young reagrding community in product creation and the impact on company philosophy. One interesting point is how a cummunity in the end becomes its own lock-in to a product.

Hmm. Am I locked in to the products I participate in? Loyal, yes? But locked in? Perhaps, willingly.

Link: Om Malik’s Broadband Blog – Inherent Truths and Value of Community.

At the end, the lesson is one of a paradox. As the power shifts increasingly towards community, the corporation loses its grip on the traditional means of control. Yet, by letting go of control, the corporation creates an environment where the community willingly creates its own switching costs.

Read it for thoughts on what community means to product creation and product longevity. Good discussions.

‘Just’ a link. Anil is a great guy, very kind, and knows his stuff. Listen to
him.

I take it, this is the way Six Apart is going too? I’m sure some of this has trickled into  future products.

He is also a New Yorker who moved to SFO to work
with Six Apart. I have pestered him with countless questions about what it is like to
be a Nor’eaterner in SFO.* Interesting insights there, too. 😉

Link: Anil Dash: Web Development Trends for 2006.

Curious about what technologies and techniques are going to be popular in the coming months and into the next year? Well, our crack team of editors here at dashes.com (that is to say, me) have assembled a list of up-and-coming trends that you should keep an eye on. Call it vocational education for people building Web 2.0.

I have also pestered other New Yorkers I know who moved to SFO in the past years, since there’s a high (ugh!) possibility I might end up as one there too.