Source: Forbes

A new study says that people who talk on cell phones while driving, even using "hands-free" devices, are as impaired as drunk drivers. This actually doesn't make sense to me. If you're hands-free isn't that the same thing as just talking in the car? Is talking worse than being drunk too? Either way, I'm guilty. I do talk, sometimes on my cell phone, while driving. I guess I should cut down or just sing along with the radio. But hey, I draw the line. I absolutely never program a play list on my iPod while driving.

Update 7/1/06:
Here's one of those times when I truly wish we had comments on the blog. Here's the answer I needed...very well put by reader tridoug below, who I know nothing about so I'm visualizing him. Thanks to tridoug I now know I shouldn't drive at a time like this.

"No. Here's the missing piece of the puzzle. Talking on a phone causes you to visualize who you're talking to (because they're not there). When the other person is in your proximity you don't have to imagine that they are, because they ARE :-)

Really, it's true -- human interaction has been developing and evolving for millions of years and suddenly throwing a device in the middle of it all is simply too much to ask. I know, it sounds crazy but this is really the case. Just observe people talking on the phone, whether it's at home, at the office or just walking around. You behave differently than when you're conversing with someone right next to you. Human interaction is highly optimized for proximity and we're not good at doing it remotely."

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Well, it's the Friday before the 4th of July weekend, otherwise known as gridlock.

If you're like a majority of Americans you'll stay wired to the teeth, even if you're on vacation. A new survey says that while on vacation 85 percent of us bring our cell phones, 75 percent bring digital cameras, 35 percent bringing portable CD players, and 33 percent bringing portable gaming devices along for the ride. 87 percent of us say we plan to check personal e-mail, and 36 percent will keep up on work-related e-mail. I wonder what percent of bloggers blog on vacation?

Last weekend I was back in my hometown, Rochester NY and got a few responses from readers who also hail from the home of Kodak. Jonah Davis' dad worked at U of R - you pronounce that "R"...no AHs in Rochester - and Jonah chastises me for not mentioning Don and Bob's - another great hamburger joint.

David Stephenson went to grad school at Syracuse University and still summers in Skaneateles (that's pronounced Skin-e-at-las) and he can't believe I didn't put Genny Cream Ale on my list of Western NY attractions. Most everyone I know sticks to Genny Lite because the Cream Ale has some nasty side effects.

I got more than a few votes this week from readers wishing there were comments on this blog. Until we decide to add comments, you can always check back here on Fridays when I run down all the comments and emails I get from readers here on Da Hahvest.

Lots of interest in the soda vs. pop map. Tom Fratamico writes that the South calls soda "Coke" because "Coke is king in the south with the headquarters in Hot-lanta."

Globe staffer and video blogger Emily Sweeney writes to say she's crazy about maps too. Check out this video about commuting in Boston she made using Google Earth and a handy screen capturing program.

Emily recommends Quikmaps.com and Mapbuilder.net as "great, wicked easy-to-use tools for building your own maps." Here's one she's working on that maps Boston homicides.

Lawyer Nancy Shilepsky writes in response to my Intergenerational Tech Support hell post, warns me not to assume that all folks of the "Mom, Dad or Grandma" generation lack computer savvy.

"I see that prejudice undermining the job security of older workers generally - and often without any legitimate basis. Not all older workers lack computer savvy; and not all younger workers have it. Even I, a practicing lawyer but one with a head of grey hair, have heard people express surprise at what I can do on a computer. I do, however, agree with you that computers should be more reliable. I want mine to run like a Toyota Camry - getting the job done with a minimum of flare or fuss. That is about working for a living, and not having time to deal with work equipment that is fussy - whether it be a car or a copier or a computer."

Good point! Come to think of it, I have a few non-gray haired friends that require a lot of hand-holding. I am a huge fan of simple, simple, simple. Tech companies are great at making it complicated, complicated, complicated.

Sam writes to say that Boston readers would love to know how Craig Newmark is facing some home-grown competition from The Mega Board, a Boston-based free online classified service that doesn't force people to always default set on San Francisco. Same principle as Craigslist and Sam says TheMegaBoard.com loves Boston more than Craig does.

Don Dodge writes in response to my posting about his blog post on Warren Buffet's contribution to the Bill Gates' Foundation.

"The Gates Foundation, with the addition of Buffet's money, will contribute more annually than the Red Cross, United Nations, and World Health Organization, combined. This is philanthropy on a scale never before seen. And, my guess is that the Gates Foundation will be more effective in terms of real human results. Certainly the world needs the help of all humanitarian organizations. It is all good. Gates just has his own unique way of doing it."

Bill Sullivan writes in response to The fat market that he wishes the chart would show how obesity rates trend for higher income levels. "60K isn't terribly high, especially for a high-income/high-cost of living area like Boston."

David L. writes that he also sees great potential in StyleFeeder, the new shopping site acquired this week by Halley Suitt's TopTenSources. David posted about StyleFeeder's del.icio.us-ness in his new blog called 93south.net. Great to see a new technology blog sprouting up in Boston!

When I blogged about Ann Handley's post on the biggest lies about blogging, I got a few requests about where you can buy the t-shirt in the photo.

Ann Handley herself wanted to know where to get one. So I tracked it down. You can get it at Think Geek. They even have a girl version. Yeah, I bought one.

And last but never least, James Kraus comments on my Dope Tea posting that hemp tea gives "a whole new meaning to pot of tea....more like tea of pot."

Have a good weekend. You could start a blog to celebrate independence. Or you could UNPLUG and chill out.

Source: Charlene Li's blog

Google is closing the AdSense loop. By offering retailers a cheap way to hook their ads directly to a secure shopping cart transaction, they have in theory turned on the money machine. Now you and I can give our credit card data to Google and then buy anytime we see the little Google Checkout icon. Hmmm...wait. Give our credit card data to Google?

Charlene says, "But now we have Google tracking our search history with personalized search, email with Gmail, and online spending with Checkout. At what point do consumers get that squishy feeling in their gut that Google knows too much?"

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Source: Chartreuse

When Chartreuse makes his point, it’s poetic and devastatingly clear. Here is Chartreuse on Digg - but really you should read it on your own, with pictures.

Chartreuse says that if Digg is the big new media future, "we need a backup plan." "People think that sites like Digg are disruptive. They are not. They are noise. They are majority rule. And the majority is almost always wrong. The majority don’t like gays. Supported slavery for years. Would like everyone to speak English. And has made McDonalds the biggest restaurant in the world. The truth is that as power moves to the smaller it makes perspective and context that much more important. It makes the editor much more important."

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Source: Digg blog

This week Digg launched the third iteration of its site, which allows readers to select the stories that get posted. They've expanded their news coverage and made it easier for members to share news stories. And as part of their "ongoing effort to analyze digging patterns, news trends and story connections/relationships," they have created the first visual maps of actual digging activity.

To read the map, watch this movie. It's a starscape of data. The horizontal axis is all members arranged in numerical order. Red dots are first time diggs. Bright horizontal lines are items dug by a number of users. Unbroken white lines are probably bots. The vast majority of activity confirms and strengthens existing items that have been dug.

Link to more cool maps.

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Source: Rense.com via Clicked

You are here...

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Source: CNET

On Craigslist anyone can post ads for anything they want to sell, and they don't get charged a cent. The only charges? Below market rates to place some help wanted ads and fees for broker apartment listings in NYC. The Craigslist mantra? Give people a break. Classifieds are a billion-dollar business. But Craigslist is happy with the $25 million it took in last year.

Well, no act of kindness goes unpunished.

Craigslist is being sued under federal housing discrimination law for allowing the posting of allegedly discriminatory ads seeking certain types or classes of roommates and tenants. And Craig's been called a socialistic anarchist. Undaunted, this month Craig expanded into 100 new cities and now operates in 300. (Including Cape Cod and Worcester) He's still guided by his moral compass, but mild-mannered Craig is starting to take the gloves off.

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Source: PSFK

Since it appears to be beverage, soda and pop week at Da Filta, I thought I'd throw in another example of the trend in soda alternatives. PSFK reports that hemp tea will hit UK health stores this week. This ice tea contains real cannabis extract and sports the tagline 'Refreshment for the enlightened.' The company is marketing the product as a healthy drink alternative with the benefits associated with the hemp plant including vitamins, minerals and fatty acids. Duuuude, I'll have the tea.

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Source: Halley Suitt from TopTenSources

Boston-based blogging expert Halley Suitt co-founded TopTenSources, a blog that features human editors selecting their favorite 10 blogs on a wide variety of topics, from food to blogging to Second Life. After all, finding something relevant by sifting through a billion blogs is like taking a drink from a fire hydrant. Halley reports that they are now broadening their focus by acquiring Watertown-based StyleFeeder. She says it helps you keep track of cool stuff you're shopping for (whether you're buying it or not). It's tag-crazy - like del.icio.us for shopping. I'm trying it.

Here's what Marshall Kirkpatrick at TechCrunch thinks.

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Source: MarketingProfs blog

Where to buy this T-shirt.

Boston-based Ann Handly (formerly the co-founder of ClickZ), has been blogging for three months and says the learning curve has been steep. "First: there’s the fact that blogs really aren’t widely read by marketers." Yet. So you have to work to promote it. "Second, the technology isn't plug-and-play." Not if you want it to have a graphic identity and other niceties that make it professional. So she asked readers what other lies there may be about blogging, and gets a big list. Here's a taste:

David Armano, Logic + Emotion

• "The biggest lie: You can "casually blog." It’s "fun."

Armano goes on to say, "Blogging — like relationships - is a lot of work. I had no idea. It is fun (and rewarding), but once you get an audience—even a small one, responsibility creeps in."

Jeremy Wright, President of b5media and author of Blog Marketing
Wright provides a list of nearly 40 though he's not sure what the biggest ones are:

• Blogging's just a fad.
  
• You have to be an A-List blogger or there's no point.
  
• The best way to get attention is to attack, attack, attack!
  
• Blogging's too difficult; I can barely manage my email.
  
• Bloggers are good looking, funny, and are the life of any party.
  

Here's my biggest lie about blogging the Business Filter.
"It will be a part-time job."

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Source: AZ Central via Starbucks Gossip blog

Starbucks is becoming the meet-up place for all ages. Teenagers. Young parents and their children. Though Starbucks has had a longstanding policy of not marketing to children, yesterday's Wall Street Journal writes about the company giving away samples of espresso-free banana Frappuccinos at the kid-filled Phoenix Zoo. As Starbucks addresses the needs of its growing clientele, it raises concerns about the nutritional value of items on its menu, as well as the high prices.

Parents note that the drinks that kids love just happen to cost the most. A frappuccino costs about $3.50. But the way I see it, that's a little less than ice cream...which, after all, is a calorie comp for a frappuccino. A friend of mine says her toddler demands "moo juice," that cute little box of organic chocolate milk with the cow on it...right at toddler eye level in the cooler by the cash register.

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Source: ABC News via CNET Gadgets Blog

A cell phone from LG Electronics can help Mobilize Against Drunk Dialing. That's when you get drunk at a bar, take embarrassing cameraphone pictures and then start calling your ex. The phone has a built-in breathalyzer that displays a warning animation of a car crash if you're drunk. You can program the phone to block selected numbers if the breathalyzer registers a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 or higher. 200,000 of these phones have been sold in Korea and the phone will ship in the US later this year.

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Source: Wired

Spencer Reiss has a great piece in Wired's July issue on Rupert Murdoch...the billionaire who plays himself on The Simpsons, never talks like a management consultant and has a real crack at transforming media through MySpace. Undaunted by the big changes in big media, he smiles, "The Internet is media's golden age." "Everything we’ve ever done [at Newscorp] is about giving people choices." The Internet and wireless? "That’s a hell of a lot more people making choices." MySpace’s ultimate value? The power to make hits. Murdoch is betting that MySpace, whose membership has more than quadrupled since Newscorp bought it one year ago, will be the oracle that can spot micro-niches, track early breakouts, and identify hot buzzwords.

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Source: NPR

Now that all the billionaires seem to be donating their fortunes, NPR calls attention to the fact that Larry Ellison of Oracle fame and fortune, had pledged $115 million to Harvard University last year, which would have been the school's largest single contribution. But ten months later, the money hasn’t arrived. Click here to listen to the short report on NPRs Day to Day.

The net-net? It seems the money was tied up in an insider-trading lawsuit which makes Ellison bound by law to gift the money to charity. However, Ellison is now planning to donate it to his own non-profit medical association and not Harvard. It should come as no surprise that he's not donating it through the Gates Foundation.

But just look at what Gates has started - even if he's not directly responsible for this one. The scale of these donations can change the world. And as of this moment, every billionaire on the list is on notice until they donate. Big score for humanity. Kudos to the growing billionaire donors club.

Thanks to Tim Allik, who pointed out the NPR report. Tim is my former favorite producer at Boston.com who took off for another job and left me - sniff sniff.

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Source: Salon

Here's something for new Kraft CEO Irene Rosenfeld. Food companies need to profit. But they tend to profit most by making us eat more which leads to a fatter population eating foods that, often, we don't even know are bad for us. Witness this Salon interview with nutritionist Marion Nestle who starred in "Super Size Me."

Here's what's on the box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese:
"Super Mac & Cheese pasta and sauce from Kraft. Excellent source of calcium. "Helps kids build strong bones." "Whole grains. Important for good health. Provides one half serving."

Here's Nestle's interpretation:
"It's macaroni and cheese, and it's not even high-quality cheese. If you use the classic preparation, it's nearly 400 calories. It's got 4.5 grams of saturated fat, which is a quarter of your daily allowance. It's got 600 milligrams of sodium. It has 25 percent of a day's allowance of sodium. It's processed up the wazoo. It's salty. I wouldn't call it a health food. But they're selling it as a health food."

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Source: Business 2.0

There is no polite way to say this: Americans are fat, and we're getting fatter. More than 60 million Americans are obese, up from 23 million in 1980. Another 28 million are expected to join their ranks by 2013. Look at this chart. It shows that the richer we are, the fatter we're becoming - where the opposite used to be true. The fastest growing segment for obesity? Those making $60,000+ per year.

Just as baby boomers have shaped the economy during the past half century, the "plus-size" population will dictate marketing trends through much of the 21st. From wider seats in cars and planes to bigger sizes in clothes, there's money in fat.

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Source: BusinessWeek

Irene Rosenfeld has been named the new CEO at Kraft Foods, making Kraft, with a market value of $50 billion, the world's largest company led by a woman. Rosenfeld spent more than 20 years at Kraft before leaving three years ago to lead Frito-Lay, the snack division of Pepsi. As of last year, she had grown Frito-Lay's net revenues by 8 percent and increased operating profits by 5.5 percent. With Rosenfeld's expertise in growth and innovation, Kraft is hoping she'll provide the recipe they need for a healthier stock price.

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Source: The Guardian Technology blog

British and U.S. scientists are trying to get your computer to read your moods. Apparently the system in development aims a camera at you and special software analyzes the image, thereby identifying your mental state. "Imagine a computer that could pick the right emotional moment to try to sell you something, a future where mobile phones, cars and websites could read our mind and react to our moods." People miss cues all the time. Why not make it a hand-held aid for husbands, wives, bosses, etc.?

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Source: Paidcontent.org

If you've seen the parody of This Land is your Land, starring George W. and John Kerry, you aren't alone. JibJab's presidential satires have been seen over 80 million times around the world.

JibJab just announced its first-round of funding from sole investor Polaris Venture Partners. Co-founded by brothers Gregg and Evan Spiridellis in 1999, JibJab now has distribution deals with MSN, Atom Films, Verizon V Cast and sponsorship with Anheuser-Busch. Jon Flint, Polaris founder and managing partner is based in Waltham. He joins the JibJab board and comments that the Spiridellis brothers have "the creative zaniness of the Marx Brothers with the business acumen of the Disney brothers." Should make for some fun board meetings.

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Source: PopvsSoda.com

Speaking of soda...growing up in Rochester, NY, I called it pop. Now I've been in Massachusetts so long I've crossed over and call it soda. What do you call it? Take a look at this fascinating map. Look at all the soda transplants in the Midwestern university towns. And what's with the south calling it Coke? I just love maps. Really.

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Source: Ad Age

No getting around it. Soda is unhealthy. And new Morgan Stanley research shows that people are beginning to get it. The firm predicts that overall sales volume for soda will continue to decline 1.5 percent annually for the foreseeable future. That could mean that bottled water, sports drinks, energy drinks and teas will eclipse soda within the next seven years. Teens and young adults are drinking less soda and bottled water compared to adults and more juices, sports drinks and energy drinks. Once you lose the teens, you lose the market.

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Source: Don Dodge's blog

Warren Buffet and Bill Gates have now combined their vast fortunes to create the largest philanthropic pool of money in history. While the amount of money involved is staggering, $30 billion, the way the money will be spent is also what makes it revolutionary. Gates approaches human problems like a business. He wants results - on time and on budget. By applying standard business principles to philanthropy, Gates will likely accomplish things that the U.N. and the Red Cross have never been able to crack. Which isn't to say the Red Cross, the U.N. and countless other humanitarian agencies haven't done a world of good for humanity. They have, they continue to do so, and we need them all. But Buffett knows a good business model when he sees one.

Updated 6/27/06

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Intergenerational tech support hell
Illustration: James Kraus

Chunk-and-binge work
Trendy virtual duds
7 rules for start-ups
Video shakeout?
The e-ICU
All wrapped up

This week I had a huge harvest of comments and snarky remarks. But I only have time to post a few because in a few minutes I need to drive 7 hours to Rochester, NY. That's my hometown.

A shout out to anyone who knows and loves the home of Kodak, Wegmans (the best grocery store on the planet), The House of Guitars, Abbot's Custard, Schaler's (where they grill up the best hots and hams) and Nick Tahou's…where the specialty is The Garbage Plate.

This week I put my iPod on notice and drew a lot of comments. Here's a few:

Michael Chmura writes that he bought a clunky, yellow Walkman many years ago. "New editions came to the market but I figured I’d update when it finally gave up the ghost. Well, more than a decade (or 2?) later it is still humming along and I use it as often as I use my iPod, which seems to be designed to NOT last for decades." OK Michael, but it really is time to upgrade.

Howard Cronson points out that iPodResQ has a service that is better than Apple's. "You order the battery replacement online or on the phone and they send you a padded box for your iPod. You send it back to them and they replace your battery with a new, higher capacity battery (so you get more play time). Then they send it back. All the shipping is included in the $54 price, much cheaper than Apple's service. You also get your original iPod back so you don't have to reload your music, photos, videos and such." Nice!

Speaking of rescue businesses, a Babson entrepreneur is turning his passion into a business. Rich Bottner is launching a training center that will offer CPR, first aid, and defibrillator classes not just for people...but for pets.

David Plotz over at Slate blogging the bible. His latest post is called "How Exodus Is Like The Godfather." I just love blogging.

Dan Lewis writes about a new social networking wiki site called ArmChairGM.com. It's all about sports.

Judy Haupin really impressed me with her response to my posting about using the electric wiring in your house as a broadband network.

"I've been using a powerline network at home for the past 3 years, since my mother was diagnosed with colon cancer and I started working from home on a significant basis. I couldn't find a local source for the router or adapters, but could pick them up on eBay - for about $125, I got 4 netgear xa601 USB adapters and 2 Siemens speedstream wireless-powerline 2524 routers. It took about 5 minutes to set everything up, including the firewall and encryption. I've been very happy with the signal I've been getting. This is a technology that's been working well in Europe for years. Oh, wait - cheap and easy? could that be a reason for it not to make it in the US?

Blogger David Stephenson says that "broadband over electric wires has been the next big thing since about 1823, but somehow they never pull it off. Having done consulting work for several electric companies in the past, I think it's because they don't have a shred of entrepreneurial vision."

Charles Starrett writes about UnCrate. "Uncrate is a web magazine for guys who love stuff. Our team finds the best gadgets, clothes, cars and more so you can blow your rent money easier." Check out the Fork Bottle Opener. Makes it easier to eat and drink beer at the same time.

Bryan Person writes that BarCamp was such a success, they're doing PodCamp in August. Anyone can go and learn about podcasting and network with people for free.

Beth Shelburne of NECN's WebWeek asked us to be nice when we blogged about being on the show last night. Which won't be hard. It was fun. We got to meet an Episcopal bishop in the Green Room who was really intrigued by blogging. And afterwards Adam Weiss and I got to see Ravi Jain's set up for Studio V...that would be his Volvo rigged up to videoblog DriveTime. Studio A, the Audi was parked back at home. You can see how my hair kept falling in my eye here if you scroll down and click on "The fun of blogs on the Internet."

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Source: Guy Kawasaki's blog

If you have never seen Guy Kawasaki speak, it's your loss. So why wait? Take the time to watch this video of his speech at TiECon in May. It's based loosely on his book The Art of the Start. Watch this video if you're trying to start a company, write a business plan, or create a mission statement. Guy calls this speech one of his "on days." It results in a standing ovation. Go on...watch it.

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Source: WitList

File this under perfect irony. I was tipped off to this by Jonathan Bailey. I interviewed Jonathan for a story I wrote for The Boston Globe on blog plagiarism...when personal blog entries are swiped and re-used and a person adopts your life as their own...or claims your work as their own. So what could be more perfect than having my story on plagiarism, plagiarized?

Here's what I wrote
Here's what Alex Bard, a staff writer for Webpronews.com wrote.

I snagged a screen grab of Bard's story before it was removed from the site. The article was taken down shortly after Dan Tynan at Wit List posted this story about the incident. Dan has had an article he wrote for PC World stolen, almost word for word, by Bard and he also uncovered several other cases of apparent plagiarism, or shall we say "re-reporting."

Bard's got guts to plagiarize on plagiarism. That's kind of like an arsonist showing up at the scene of the crime to watch it burn.

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Source: BoingBoing

Prolific Boston inventor Ray Kurzweil has shipped a handheld device for blind people that converts text to speech. Aim it at any text and it reads the text aloud. Cory Doctorow says he saw a demo of the device last month and it worked "mindblowingly well." The K-NFB gives the user an initial "situation report," describing what it can see. The user then makes a decision about whether to take a picture. After a few seconds to process the image, the contents of the document are read aloud. The device is now available in the UK for £2,625.

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I'll be doing a roundtable about blogging live on NECN (that would be TV) tomorrow at 6:30pm along with Ravi Jain and Adam Weiss. I look forward to meeting Ravi and Adam in person, as I only know them through their (great) blogging.

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Source: Wired

OK now that we've covered "chicken," let's cover "meat." What if the next burger you ate was created in a warm, nutrient-enriched soup swirling within a bioreactor? Henk Haagsman, a professor of meat sciences (I, for one, did not know that was a field of study until just now.) at Utrecht University is growing artificial pork meat out of pig stem cells. Edible, lab-grown meat that smells and tastes just like the real thing might just be on supermarket shelves in just a few years. Weirded out? Consider this. Researchers respond that in vitro meat may not be natural, but neither is most of the meat we eat.

Jason Matheny, of the University of Maryland: "Cramming 10,000 chickens in a metal shed and dosing them full of antibiotics isn't natural. I view cultured meat like hydroponic vegetables. The end product is the same, but the process used to make it is different. Consumers accept hydroponic vegetables. Would they accept hydroponic meat?"

One big benefit? No slaughterhouses.

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Source: Fast Company

Fast Company asks "Would you like that chicken breast cooked in our restaurant, or in a factory in Arkansas?" Subway's slogan may be Eat Fresh - but order something with Grilled Chicken and you'll get defrosted, precooked chicken strips that have been mechanically branded at a factory to look like they're hot off the grill. And just in case you still think it's OK to order it in a pinch...at the factory the heretofore "chicken" is submerged in hearty brew of salt, oil, sugar, chemicals, and fat before they pound them uniform size and brand them with "char." The factory provides "chicken" to 9 of the top 10 fast "food" joints dumping 2 billion pounds of cooked "chicken" per year. Run away. Run very far away.

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Source: Ad Age

A new Harris Interactive survey of 25,666 consumers has ranked the top brands in the minds of everyday US consumers. Forget iPod, Starbucks, Coke or Pepsi. The strongest brand in America? Reynolds Wrap. Hey, we all use it.

Here's the top 10:

1. Reynolds Wrap
   
2. Ziploc food bags
   
3. Hershey's
   
4. Kleenex
   
5. Clorox
   
6. WD-40
   
7. Heinz ketchup
   
8. Ziploc containers
   
9. Windex
   
10. Campbell's soup

I bet we all have these things in our cupboards. And if you haven't tried Reynolds Wrap non-stick, you just haven't experienced superior brand extension.

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Source: TechCrunch

Michael Arrington wields a lot of power. When your startup is covered by his blog TechCrunch, you're either in luck or you're in trouble. Boston startup Swaptree started out in trouble when Arrington wrote a fairly negative post a few weeks ago. Today though, they're in luck. Arrington posted that he was wrong and that after seeing an "eye-popping demo," he is eagerly participating in their private beta. Entrepreneurs have to never, ever say die...especially in the face of negativity. Sounds like Swaptree founder and CEO Greg Boesel gets that. And Arrington? Admitting he was wrong makes him an even better blogger.

Swaptree will be a place to swap media - books, CDs, DVDs and video games - without using cash. Waiving a transaction fee (which is how sites like Lala.com make money) Swaptree will instead rely on contextual ads for revenue. Arrington is intrigued by how the site will entice users to swap and even goes so far to say that he wishes eBay would use some of their ideas. Sign up for the Swaptree private beta. They plan to launch later this summer.

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Source: Business 2.0

Hitwise says visits to the 10 leading online video sites increased by 164 percent between February and May 2006. But does that mean investing in a staggering 173 online video companies is a good idea? Om Malik writes that in April alone, three online video companies got $30 million in funding. Investors see a shakeout on the horizon. YouTube could be spending $5 million a year on bandwidth and hardware alone. In theory they could sell ads. But advertisers will be wary of the widespread copyright infringement in user-created videos. Video firms better find the revenue or they risk getting dumped.

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Source: News.com Media Blog

Profit from the misfortunes of others at PropertyRoom.com. It's an online auction site founded by former police officers that lets you bid on the loot seized from thieves and convicted and alleged criminals. Elinor Mills blogs that "there are plenty of car stereos, bikes, cell phones, TVs, even Paris Hilton brand perfume for $5. And also real estate. You can get a 7,500-square-foot plot of land near Alamo Beach, Texas, just blocks from the water for $4,340. Outside of a four-piece Fantasy Knife Set that looks mildly menacing, there appear to be no weapons listed."

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Source: The Economist (free day pass today)

Are you a "binge worker" who works 24/7 for a few years and then chills out for a while? Do you "chunk" your life into committed times of work, parenting, traveling and trying something completely different? Companies are finding new ways to attract and retain the rising number of skilled workers - men and women - who seek greater work-life balance. Flex time is key. IBM has spent $50m over five years on dependent care. It's money well spent. Corning estimates that it costs 1.5 times a worker's salary and benefits to replace them. Retain just 20 workers a year who would otherwise have left, and save $2.6 million per year.

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Source: BusinessWeek

Visicu Inc. has created a technology that combines software, video feeds, and real-time patient information to let intensive-care specialists at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in Virginia cover 11 ICUs at six hospitals, spread 60 miles apart, around the clock. With the system, a single physician and nurse can support bedside caregivers for more than 100 patients at once. In its first year using the system, two Sentara ICUs saw death rates drop 27 percent. Sentara estimates that its eICU has saved 460 patients who would have died in traditional care. And the cost per ICU case also fell, by nearly $3,000, or 25 percent. Analysts call it transformational. Telemedicine has arrived.

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You've heard me say here before how much I love my iPod. We don't just have one iPod at our house. We have three.

But I'm getting more clear about the problem David Berlind calls C.R.A.P. (Content, Restriction, Annulment, and Protection) or DRM (digital rights management) and how it wreaks havoc with your music collection.

If you buy a CD, in theory you can copy that music to any digital audio player, including your iPod. But if you buy music from iTunes, it’s got a layer of DRM - or C.R.A.P. - built in and it won't play on anything but an iPod.

People are starting to protest in the streets.

Check out iDon't.com. They call iPod fans like me, sheep. Baaaa.

OK so up until now I didn't think it was a big deal. So I'd have to keep my iPod. I love my iPod. But then I watched this scary video called iPod's Dirty Little Secret.

Apparently the battery in your iPod only has a life of about 18 months. So once you make an investment in your iPod, you need to reinvest every 18 months and throw it away? Huh?

That's a pretty dangerous thing to do, Apple. Especially now that better competing devices are coming out all the time.

So I double-checked the Apple site. Apple does not recommend that you buy a new iPod anymore. They have a battery replacement program that costs $59.95 + shipping and they actually replace your whole iPod. But not the songs you've stored on it. So you better have a full backup.

But, um...shouldn't we be able to just replace our own batteries, like you can on most other devices?

At the rate new and improved iPods come out, I guess Apple assumes that we sheep will want to buy a new iPod every 18 months anyway. That dead battery is just a little nudge...a little Apple incentive.

Hey, I know nothing is perfect. And iPod, I still love you. I know who actually created the iDont.com site...SanDisk the maker of a competing device. They just want to dis iPod to get me to drop it.

But I have to say it. For the first time. iPod, you're on notice.

But, knowing me, Apple will tweak their strategy and I'll take it baaaaa-ck.

Source: News.com Gaming Blog

American Apparel is a retailer with 80 locations nationwide. One is on Newbury Street and another is coming soon to Brattle Street in Cambridge. And they're about to open another one...on Second Life. That would be the virtual world you've read about here before. Over 200,000 people will soon be able to clothe their virtual selves in hip and sexy American Apparel virtual duds. First step? Hire popular Second Life architect Aimee Weber to design the store.

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Source: Slate

I'm guessing most of you have experienced the Inter-generational Tech Support Conundrum. Those interminable confusing phone calls from Mom, Dad or Grandma who just can't figure out their computer and also don't know how to tell you what's happening. First...they're right…computers are ridiculously hard to use. But second? It's a nightmare. To the rescue? Paul Boutin who provides some painless how-to's for helping the clueless. Hint - wrest the controls away from Mom. Mine used to call it a bunny. "It's a mouse, Mom." Use remote-desktop software.

My favorite quote from the article:

"At first, watching her work her computer in silence from 30 miles away was creepy. I realized I could snoop on her anytime I wanted to, except that would be really boring."

Join the discussion.

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Source: Beyond the Beyond blog

A SmartMob of sorts descends on BestBuy dressed like BestBuy employees just for fun and improv and gets everyone riled up. Reality. Hacked.

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Source: Don Dodge on The Next Big Thing

At the Future of Software panel at the Boston TiECon East conference, Ajit Nazare of leading VC firm Kleiner Perkins listed...

The Kleiner Perkins 7 rules for startups

• Instant Value to customers - solve a problem or create value with the first use
  
• Viral adoption - Pull, not push. No direct sales force required
  
• Minimum IT footprint, preferably none. Hosted SaaS is best.
  
• Simple, intuitive user experience - no training required.
  
• Personalized user experience - customizable
  
• Easy configuration based on application or usage templates
  
• Context aware - adjust to location, groups, preferences, devices, etc.
  

Nazare says that most start-ups will not align with all 7 rules. But, if you don't follow at least 5 of them...rethink your plan and business model. See how many of these rules push startups to think simple. If it's not easy to use and easy to understand, forget it.

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Source: Debbie Weil

The Corporate Blogging Book is a new book due out soon by Debbie Weil who writes BlogWrite for CEOs. She's offering a free preview chapter called Top 20 Questions About Corporate Blogging which includes her answers to tough questions like "How long does it take to blog?" and "How do I convince my boss that our company should blog?" Debbie has promised me a review copy of her book in mid-July. Early reviews are strong.

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Every Monday I gather up some Business Filter posts and they run as a column in the Business & Innovation section of the Boston Globe with a nifty illustration from Art Guy. So if you found this by reading the paper - welcome to the blog.

Blog rats
Illustration by James Kraus

Picasa-nator
Go hybrid to Logan
Just plug in
Where the teens are
The new power plants
The gas buffet

Source: Fast Company

When the first Starbucks opened up in Dublin it was such a radical improvement in coffee access, it instantly put six coffee shops out of business. The Starbucks effect is the hallmark of our global economy - the continuous emergence of new competitors with superior business models that force us to reconsider the viability of what we've always done. But a former McKinsey consultant Douglas K. Smith contends that "We're at war with ourselves." Starbucks may be good for us as customers, but it's not so great as employees and family members who are forced to work 24/7 to keep up. What to do? Well, Smith says we can opt out of the more, faster, cheaper race - and instead choose to compete on quality, or service, or relationships. But giving up that morning trip to Starbucks? That's a lot harder.

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Last Friday I didn't run the old Link Harvester so I've got a bit of catching up to do.

Kevin Roche writes in response to my post on Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad, who is reported to be worth some $28 billion. Roche says "Kamprad and his family have set up charitable trusts which support various causes, including UNICEF and advances in architecture." And he wonders if the 79-year-old founder is motivated by reducing estate taxes. Either way, if it benefits these causes - it's all good.

Michael Chmura writes in response to my post on Independence Technology wheelchairs:

"The chair is cool. I saw someone using it (or a similar product) at the Star Wars exhibit at the Museum of Science. It allowed the person to view the exhibit as if he was at our eyeball level, which is so much a part of the viewing experience. Cooler still was the fact that this person was nearly as popular as any specific exhibit display – he was surrounded by tech heads who were attending the exhibit and asking him about the vehicle."

Lisa Stone of BlogHer reminds me of FilmLoop - it's a company that Guy Kawasaki is involved with that allows you to share groups of photos like a film loop.

And speaking of Guy Kawasaki, another of the BlogHer founders, Jory Des Jardins wrote a great post called The Accessible Leader. It's a top 10 list of reasons why she loves Guy Kawasaki's blog. I couldn't agree more. Guy is on my top 10 list of blogs I always read.

Bill Ross writes that Mark Withington posted a podcast of the May Web Innovator's Group meeting. In it, Bill gave Business Filter a nice plug. Thanks Bill! Bill has now taken the dive and launched his own blog. Good luck and don't become too much of a Blog Rat.

Noah Davis, the producer of NECN's New England Business Day turned me on to the blog called Boston Behind the Scenes. The blogger goes around to various Boston institutions, like the Duck Tours and Mike's Pastry, and podcasts about the experience.

QUACK. QUACK.

Source: Microsoft Press Conference

If you need more proof that Microsoft's acquisition of Groove Networks was all about acquiring Ray Ozzie...I'm listening live to the Microsoft press conference where Bill Gates is announcing that he is stepping back at Microsoft to spend more time on his work at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates will continue as the company’s chairman and as an advisor on key development projects. But he's handing over the reins to Ozzie who will now assume the role of chief software architect. Gates will continue to work with Ozzie on technical architecture and product oversight as well as with Craig Mundie who will now become chief research and strategy officer and lead the company’s research and incubation efforts.

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Source: Boston Business Journal

The next time you need car service to Logan, give Seth Riney a call. He's the founder of Cambridge-based PlanetTran, the nation's first all-hybrid car service. As gas prices continue to soar, PlanetTran provides business travelers a fuel-efficient alternative. With a fleet of 12 Toyota Priuses and two Lexuses and plans to add 10 more by years' end, PlanetTran is on track to hit $2 million in revenue this year. Riney's strategy for growth? A laser focus on environmentally-conscious individuals and corporations.

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Source: Chartreuse

Chartreuse blogs that email is as good as dead. He points to a recent Mercury News piece where kids compare email to snail mail, and in inimitable Chartreuse style bluntly says "Just think about how many businesses they just killed. And all the ones they just created." He notes that Korean email use is already in decline and in the US email among teens and young adults is down 8 percent. While the teen in my house IMs and has never wanted an email address, I think the comments following Chartreuse's post are telling. When the content of your message is more in-depth than an IM (like at work), email is a given. It's just that when you're a teen, you're all, like, totally brief and instant.

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Source: Boston Globe

Well, common sense prevailed and the Back Bay Architectural Commission gave Apple a conditional blessing on plans to demolish the building at 815 Boylston Street in order to build a three-story swanky Apple Store with a glass facade. There's been speculation on this blog about whether the Commission would "pull a Boston" and ban it, since back in March the Commission gave Apple the cold New England shoulder. Now...will there be a 24-hour iPod bar?

Join in the discussion about the Boston Apple Store.

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Source: News.com Google blog

Shakespeare's entire works, Googled.

"The search, sir, was profitable, and much fool may you find in you, even to the world's pleasure and the increase in laughter."
- All's Well That Ends Well

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Source: TechCrunch

Today AOL launches a transformed Netscape, now led by Jason Calacanis, who sold his company Weblogs, Inc. to AOL in October 2005 for a reported $25 million. Like Digg, stories are ranked by votes from readers. In addition there is an editorial layer. The top spots are determined by an "anchor" who chooses stories to highlight and writes commentary. While most people have never heard of Digg, many have heard of Netscape, the property still gets about 811 million page views per month.

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Source: BusinessWeek Blogspotting

Stephen Baker blogs about BusinessPundit's post on how bloggers behave like rats in a Skinner box. Even if blogs are wildly unpredictable, if they occasionally produce something of value, readers will keep checking in, just like rats that keep hitting a bar which might deliver a food pellet or an electronic caress of their limbic core. Sometimes those rats keep pressing the bar until their little paws bleed. That's called addiction. Instead, Baker suggests, bloggers should try posting less frequently. Turn off the computer. Go outside.

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Source: Google blog

I've been using Picasa for so long, I think everyone knows about it. But recently I ran into some people who'd never heard of it. So in case you haven't downloaded it yet, do. It's free software from Google and it's a great, easy to use tool to manage and edit photos you take with your digital camera and other digital images. Google just announced that they're testing a way to post and share your photos online right from Picasa, which will save a step. Now I go to Yahoo! Photos or Snapfish. This will definitely change my behavior. Good for Google. Not so good for the competition.

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Source: New York Times Video

As you may know, I'm really into maps. Really. With the vast amount of data we're now generating, we need new ways to look at it.

Take a look at this video about a project called Science on a Sphere at the Goddard Space Center. The map contains lots of satellite images projected all at once and displayed in the round and floating in midair like a planet in space. It's like looking out the window of a space station. Scientists say it helps them display enormous amounts of numerical data in a way that's instantly easy to understand.

By the way, the new New York Times site is great. I like the videos they offer on the home page. But I do wish they would distribute them like YouTube so I could drop the video in right here, so you could watch it without clicking off of this blog. They bundle the video with an ad...so the New York Times would still get the ad revenue, but their content would be colonized all over the place.

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Source: BBC

Your house has a data network already built into the walls. It's the electric wiring. There's no reason why it couldn't carry electric plus TV, music and computer data. While more testing needs to be done, some companies are claiming to be able to get 200Mbps out of power lines, which is phenomenally fast - much faster than wi-fi. The downside? There may be interference with some radio signals. Ah well, there's always Internet radio.

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Source: Rough Type

Nick Carr blogs that there's a shift in IT capital investment – away from individual users toward central utilities. Carr points to a New York Times report on the huge new "powerplant" Google is constructing on the Oregon-Washington border. The complex includes "a computing center as big as two football fields, with twin cooling plants protruding four stories into the sky." Not to be outdone, Microsoft and Yahoo are building new computing powerplants nearby, drawn by the area's cheap electricity and good network connections. As these new utilities expand their capacity, it will reshape the IT business.

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Source: Publishing 2.0 blog

Pointing to Robert Weisman's Boston Globe piece on NameMedia, a Waltham-based startup that has amassed 650,000 domain names in order to monetize them through AdSense, Scott Karp blogs that Google AdSense is destroying the economics of content. Google makes it more profitable to create entire sites with nothing but ads. Witness Photography.com. The site appears to be real...but it's what NameMedia's CEO calls "content-light," as in, hall of mirrors – or rather, a hall of clicks.

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Source: Ad Age

The teenager in my house often has a running IM dialog during and about TV shows. So I'm not too surprised by a new survey that says 37.4 percent of teens spend at least four hours online every day, not counting school. The survey says only 19.6 percent say they're spending less than an hour online. So that means that 80.4 percent spend one or more hours online every day. And while online they're also watching TV or movies, doing homework, text messaging, talking on the phone, and not picking up after themselves.

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Source: CNN

The Pearson Ford Fuel Depot in San Diego sells regular gas as well as a full range of alternative fuels from ethanol to propane to BioWillie, Willie Nelson's soybean-derived biodiesel. While the station isn't profitable yet, co-owner Mike Lewis said "If you could make it profitable, you could do a whole lot more to preserve the environment than all the mandates in the world." To attract the customers of the future, the EcoCenter for Alternative Fuel Education, also located at the dealership, offers tours explaining the benefits of alt-fuels over gasoline. Ironically, the EcoCenter is funded largely by The Ford Motor Company.

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Source: A VC

There's been a blog debate about the top U.S. cities for tech startups. Everyone agrees that San Francisco (b