Recent Posts
One of the most popular questions I’m e-mailed with is usually along the lines of: How do I integrate a forum with my WordPress (WP) blog?
In the past, it has been taken for granted by open source supporters (myself included) that the more open the process, the more easily one could build a community, fix bugs, add features, and trample the competition. However, I'm beginning to wonder if software need not necessarily be open source to actually derive the same benefits usually associated with the open source process. I've never been sold on open source as a means to get developers to write code for free. Rather, I always chalked up open source's continued success to a couple of factors: the more open process usually wins because the bar to access is lower and the internet has driven down the price of commodity software, thus creating an environment conducive to open source proliferation
Once power users realize their power to influence the project, they often become its evangelists and actively promote the project by recruiting new members. Promoting such a project means increasing their influence, which is a stong motivating factor. If the system is truly democratic, and hard to abuse, promoting the project only decreases the influence of each individual member. This might explain why truly democratic projects remain relatively small, while projects appealing to democracy, but allowing for abuse, grow very rapidly.
Since I'm really familiar with the ideas, I can do a review for week 4 or 5, if people think it would be helpful
The social bookmarking market is in a steady state with two dominant players - del.icio.us and StumbleUpon. The rest of the pack, including Yahoo MyWeb, appears to be substantially behind. Will they catch up? In this post we attempt to answer that question.
We also take a look at how social bookmarking has evolved since del.icio.us. (even del.icio.us itself has evolved a lot!). We compare the features and approaches of the different companies, to see which has gained popularity and what has become the norm in this space.
The same is true with my study. When I knew that the computer was going to be turned off at the same time every day, my productivity soared to new heights. Now that I only had a static, limited amount of time, I had to squeeze the most out of it. I had to plan, and only work on the most important things that had to be done that day.
By working less I also found that I was more refreshed and willing to work the next day. The anticipation of the things I got to work on was much higher. AND, I was able to plan more the night before about what I was going to do the following day. With the combination of meticulous planning and anticipation of what I “got” to do the next day, work was tons more enjoyable.