J-Walk Blog: June 05, 2003 Archives

5 June, 2003

Analyzing a Blogosphere Story

Elwyn Jenkins writes Microdoc News, an interesting "weblog magazine" that deals with a variety of technology topics -- including blogging. Today he provides an in-depth article called How a Blogosphere Story Starts.

This item is particularly interesting to me, because the story Elwyn chose to analyze is my Nigerian Email Conference spoof, which I posted on 29 May. During the past week, I've been amazed at the amount of attention this joke piece has attracted. In the eight-day period beginning on 29 May, that document has been served 105,540 times. The peak was on Tuesday of this week, with 27,919 requests.

Here's a chart that depicts the popularity of this page, by day. On Sunday, the page was cited at Slashdot -- which is largely responsible for its subsequent popularity.

Elwyn write:

The pattern we have noted so far in studying blogosphere stories is that there is a definite beginning, several immediate blogs and then a gap of time until the avalanche or viral nature of a blogosphere story gets underway.

He concludes by saying that better analysis tools are required. Absolutely. I've been tracking referrals using my referrer logs, and I've also been checking Popdex, Daypop, Blogdex, Technorati, and Google. All are fairly good tools, but relying on just one can give you a very distorted view of what's really happening.

Posted on 5 June, 2003

The Exploratorium

The Exploratorium, in San Francisco, calls itself "the museum of science, art and human perception." And they also have a very entertaining web site. Try these interactive online exhibits.

Posted on 5 June, 2003

Poor Man's Watches

Reto Castellazzi is into watches -- especially "poor man's" watches.

The provocative name of my watch site has of course a deeper meaning. First: my personal interest are '"Poor Man's" Watches, watches that cost typically less then USD 1,000, most of my favorite watches are actually in the USD 200 range.

His personal collection of watches is mind-boggling.

Posted on 5 June, 2003

Ed Foster on "Pro-Spam" Laws

You've probably heard lots of buzz about potential anti-spam laws in the pipeline. Ed Foster takes a look, and concludes that many of these state-level laws are really pro-spam laws. See The Ghost of Murk: States Enact Pro-Spam Laws.

These laws all take the Murk approach of basically saying it's OK for spammers to send you unsolicited commercial e-mail, and that you have to try to opt out in order to get them to stop. And, of course, they won't stop, since none of these states are funding a multi-billion dollar anti-spam police force to actually enforce their new laws. Only the foolish will even try to opt out, since that's at best a futile exercise and often results in more spam. (Incredibly, the Illinois bill even lets the spammer make you call a toll-free phone number to opt out. So some sleazy scam artist with Caller ID gets to associate my e-mail address with my phone number? Good thinking, guys.) Sure, the laws say you can sue the spammers for not letting you opt out. Good luck. Very few spammers have been brought to justice under existing laws in states like California and Washington, and those laws are stronger and far better-crafted than these Murk clones.

So what's the driving force behind these laws? Ed thinks it may be the big ISPs.

Sources say that Microsoft and AOL lobbyists have indeed been working in the state legislatures in support of these bills. And that's really discouraging, particularly given all the things those companies have been saying recently about their anti-spam initiatives.

Posted on 5 June, 2003

History For Sale

The History For Sale we site specializes in the sale of historical autographs and documents. Even if you have no interest in buying this stuff, you may find the photos interesting.

For example, here's a check to the gas company signed by Lenny Bruce in 1962. The amount of the check was $49.65. You can purchase this check for $1,299.

Posted on 5 June, 2003

Rate a Logo

View and rate corporate logos.

This site is dedicated to the artform of the logo and its accompanied corporate identity. We hope to serve you here with the finest selection of logos, selected and submitted by everyone from all over the world. With our voting and rating system and our classification in categories we would like to give you a multidimensional view on the best logos for different purposes.

The logo shown here is currently the highest rated. It's from a clothing company called Stussy.

(via Geisha asobi blog)

Posted on 5 June, 2003

Toilet Paper Fashion

Toilet Paper Fashion photos, from the always excellent ze's page -- a site that can keep you entertained for days.

Posted on 5 June, 2003

The Top 148 Most Annoying Songs

Not just annoying songs, but songs that get stuck in your head.

WARNING: Simply reading these song titles may be sufficient to get a song stuck in your head. Unfortunately, my head is now reverberating with "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"

Posted on 5 June, 2003

X-Ray Photography

View some very cool x-ray photos by Hugh Turvey.

Posted on 5 June, 2003

Oh Well

I haven't gotten much done these days. I've just been letting everything pass me by recently. Maybe tomorrow. My life's been basically dull. Not much on my mind to speak of.

(This blog entry courtesy of the Apathetic Online Journal Entry Generator)

Posted on 5 June, 2003

All Natural Stuff

See a guy eat some all natural items.

While visiting my local health food store, I noticed how many non-food products are labeled "All-Natural." Toothpaste. Dog biscuits. Deodorants. Some of them, like those Carrot-Honey-Ginger soaps, sound good enough to eat. Is it a soap, I found myself asking, or a salad? Recently, I decided to find out, by eating a wide variety of "All-Natural" products, and reporting on their delicate flavors and aromas.

Shown here is a tasty bottle of Naturade Aloe Vera 80 Shampoo. His verdict?

"The delicately floral nose was not presumptuous, and I believe this shampoo would be a welcome addition to any condiment bar."

(Thanks Hippy Dofus)

Posted on 5 June, 2003

Copyright Controls

Bill Thompson, writing for BBC News, states the obvious: Copyright controls 'out of tune'

The DMCA was written to give massive power to copyright owners, and it is working. There is also little chance of any changes to the law getting through a US political system where many elected representatives rely on campaign funding from the entertainment industry.

Things are a bit better in the UK, but they have the European Union Copyright Directive:

But UK practice does at least involve the police and the courts: a record company cannot just walk into an office, ask an official for a stamp on a form and send it off to an ISP.

Welcome to the 21st Century, where big business controls the law-makers.

Posted on 5 June, 2003

Business Card Art

Ned Batchelder describes how to make a cube out of six business cards. This sounds like a great way to kill time while sitting in a boring meeting.

But wait! This isn't a new art form. Jennifer Campbell seems to have mastered the art of recycling business cards. She made a very nice business card mobile.

(via Boing Boing)

Posted on 5 June, 2003

West Virginia's Lying Contest Winner

According to this CNN article, Justin Wood, 17, won the annual Liars Contest in West Virginia. His ambition, appropriately enough, is a career in politics.

Posted on 5 June, 2003