Ted Nelson's Xanadu project has a vision for hypertext where you can quote a document without copying it. The goal is to have something like a pointer to the the selected portion of the original.
I was reading some of Ted's archives and noticed his use of an open source eprints publishing software. By counting the number of characters a selection is offset from the start of the document, Eprints allows people to construct links to specific selections. Linked selections can then be shown in context or excerpted in raw text.
Seeing how easily sections could be quoted got me excited about performing similar quotations on my website, but I soon realized that it would be more difficult than using simple html links.
All I want to do is a "remote include", but html and javascript don't allow me to do this directly, so I constructed an intermediary script that acts as a proxy.
The author performing the quotation instructs the reader's browser to ask the proxy to serve it a remote web page:
<script LANGUAGE="JavaScript1.2" TYPE='text/javascript' src="http://www.openpolitics.com/transquote/?url= http://tprints.ecs.soton.ac.uk/11/01/zifty-d9.txtquote;xuversion=1.0amp; locspec=charrange:2721/381"> </script>
The proxy script connects to the remote web site on behalf of the reader:
//open a connection with a timeout of 30 seconds
$fp = fsockopen($host, $port, $errno, $errstr, 30);
fwrite($fp, $out);
$body = false;
while (!feof($fp)) {
$s = fgets($fp, 1024);
if ( $body )
$in .= $s;
if ( $s == "\r\n")
$body = true;
}
fclose($fp); (Full Source)
It retreives the contents of the page and outputs it back to the reader in Javascript output format.
document.write("The usual story about Xerox PARC,
that they were trying to make the computer
understandable to the average man, was a crock.
They imitated paper and familiar office machines
because that was what the Xerox executives
could understand. Xerox was a paper-walloping company,
and all other concepts had to be ironed onto paper,
like toner, to be even visible in their paper paradigm.");
This javascript output method is the same technique Google uses to deliver its advertisements.
It is only because Ted's eprint server allows offsetted quoting that I am so easily able to fetch an excerpt.
For other sites, it may make sense to implement the eprints functionality at the proxy level. This would allow selections to be specified and a greater context shown -- all without requiring the quotee to implement any addition server-side features.
For performance and realiabilty reasons, it may make sense for the proxy to cache a copy of the quotation. For compatiblity, it would be nice if all quotations used a standard syntax to specify a quotation. That way the functionality could be added to the browser and quotation meta could be aggregated by search engines.
If this were to become common, operators of proxies would probably need to only allow registered quotations, otherwise they would be overwhelmed by requests.
I've wanted GIS-camera integration for over a year, but now I've found the perfect marketing strategy to accelerate its adoption. It's an opportunity for Google to introduce its brand even deeper into people's lives, while integrating two of Google's recent acquisitions:
Google will develop a trademark to signify that a Camera :
For my example, I'll coin the term "PhotoLink."
Google would approach various camera makers about including a GIS unit and Google's software with their cameras. I hear that GIS sensors are now only about $10, so Google should be willing to subsidize their cost if the camera maker agrees to include a Google logo on the camera body.
The Logo would serve a similar purpose to the Intel's Centrino brand, which signifies mobility through wifi and longer battery life.
PictureLink would signify the ability to connect a picture to:
And of course with the Google brand, everyone will know that it will be easy to find the photo they're looking for
Customers will take pictures as normal, but when they load the photos onto their computer, Picasa will extract GIS metadata stored in EXIF fields.
In addition to the Timeline, Picasa users will have a Keyhole-like way to Enjoy their Photos:
In the "Share your photos" section, Picasa users will have the option of "Sharing with the Public".
Regardless of their own decision to share, Picasa users will have the option of viewing public pictures from the same or a nearby Location.
Suppose I take pictures of hurricane damage in Florida. I may only get a few good ones, and I wonder if other people are willing to share their photos. With PhotoLink, I am able to see all other PhotoLink-enabled public photos.
Some professionals may want to participate as well. They could have a publicly indexable thumbnail, but charge a fee for a high quality version.
I've read several articles that talk about "open source marketing" as an emerging trend and defined it as:
I prefer the first definition because it signals the beginning of a conversation that will improve product quality.
If the term does become common this coming year, I expect many companies will try to benefit from the "buzz", but without making any real changes in how they do business.
Open source marketing demands:
BzzAgent, which describes itself as an "open source marketing" company, was profiled in a NYTimes article and shown to engage in deceptive practices. Their agents:
To be fair, Bzzagent doesn't entirely control their agents, and has recently taken some steps to open up. If the "open" in "open source marketing" means anything, it's being transparent and honest.
Robert Scoble did a good job of outlining a process of interaction:
This fits with Dave Winer's suggestion (link?) that companies could get better publicity if they sent product samples out to bloggers and then let the bloggers write whatever they want.
I agree, but I think it will be a tough step for many of them to take.
My guidelines for this would be:
Since real people might mix their praises with criticism, there will always be the temptation to astroturf, or manufacture a perfectly green "grass-roots" movement.
This may fool a few people initially, but it won't be long until sites spring up debunking the tactic. Authenticity can't be easily faked. If a company wants better press, they'll do better by listening to customers and investing in product improvements.
Most products really aren't all that good, or at least they aren't as good as we pretend them to be.
Dave Winer says the it's hard to choose songs on an iPod while you walk. That may sound bad, but the iPod is still a decent device -- better than the competition.
What Apple should do is read what the the web reviewers are saying and use it to design a better version.
To take it a step further and fulfill Doc Searl's vision, companies have to establish a relationship.
"And that relationship isn't just with a "brand." To have real value, the relationsihp needs to be with the people behind that brand."
That means that people know employees names and personalities.
I felt like I could get a sense of some of the Microsoft SQL Server Team's personalities when I listened to their last webcast. Compare that with Apple. The only person I know there is Steve Jobs.