Dennis Jenders

I applaud the blog entry by Mary Louise Schumacher of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel concerning the disagreement between Alderman Robert G. Donovan and community organization TRUE Skool.

For a little over a week I’ve been debating my position on the state of integrity with online journalism. For the most part I believe traditional newspapers continue to publish a very professional product. But in recent years I’ve even seen the research methods of some journalists be called into question.

However, this post is squarely focusing on the professional blog community, Weblogs, Inc. to be exact. I am an avid reader of blogs like Engadget, Joystiq, Autoblog, TUAW and DownloadSquad.

Last week Erez Zukerman posted the article, Yahoo! signs Twitter real-time search deal, but why?, in which I found myself disappointed in the story. It’s not an uncommon feeling for me when I read some of these professional blogs.

In my opinion these blogs feel that the format dictates news needs to be published immediately. At times I find information is misreported and their isn’t an update or correction. In some cases the article is lifted from other sources, or not news at all. If the blog community wants to continue to grow, a level of professionalism needs to be established.

In this specific case, Zukerman asks why Yahoo would ever sign a deal with Twitter to deliver real-time search results when Microsoft already has a similar agreement in place. I’ve followed the search agreement, just finalized February 19, 2010, between Yahoo and Microsoft ever since it has been announced. Does Zukerman believe Bing was going to be plugged into Yahoo the next day?

My contacts at Yahoo have indicated it could take as much as six months before integration plans are finalized. And it could take another 12 months before Bing is integrated into Yahoo search. That being the case, it isn’t hard to understand why Yahoo has decided to enter into their own agreement with Twitter. They can not afford to lose any more market share because of the lack of features or content.

Obviously I have called out one site, one journalist and one blog post. That is not very fair without documenting similar issues of integrity. However, I stand by my opinion. According to Compete.com, DownloadSquad received over 400,000 unique visitors in the month of January. Potentially 400,000 people received poor, incorrect or incomplete information. In the age of social media and sharing, that number skyrockets even further. Blogs need to take more care in developing content for that reason alone.

PlayStation or XBox? I admit, I love my PlayStation 3. But since Microsoft announced Project Natal and Sony announced PlayStation Move I’ve watched with much curiosity and anticipation.

There is a hidden genius in Sony mimicking the Wii experience and controllers. While Sony and Nintendo are different platforms to develop for, it seems porting games from one system to the other should be much easier with a similar controller.

With Project Natal, Microsoft could break incredible new ground. If they can deliver on the immersive experience they promise I may be tempted to take an XBox for a ride. But the new interface creates a learning curve for game developers as well as the consumer. This could mean less game titles, less adoption and eventually a failure for the company.

Additionally, while EA Sports can take advantage of a similar experience on Wii and PS3 with their Tiger Woods PGA golf title, the XBox equivalent may be regulated to a standard controller interface. As a consumer, which version of the game would you choose?

The debate won’t be settled anytime soon. But Sony may have created more opportunity for it’s platform by taking an established step instead of being on the cutting edge. Bravo for what I consider a very intelligent move.

“Into the Wild” chronicles the adventures of Christopher McCandless, a young man looking to disconnect from a conventional and materialistic life.

After watching the movie I realize I will likely need to read the book to experience, and understand, his complete adventures. While I admire his search for something true, I found it quite sad that he found death in his journey of self-discovery.

While McCandless may have found some happiness in his isolation and the vast Alaskan wilderness, his tragic story should also be a cautionary tale. The life and people he was so desperate to abandon was replaced by an equally powerful need of companionship.

In the movie McCandless writes the following words in the margin of one of his books, “happiness only real when shared.” Like many human emotions, I really believe they only become really when demonstrated.

You can say you love someone, but that is only true if you actually show him or her every day. And happiness only becomes real when shared. Sadly, McCandless came to that conclusion to late.

Discovering the world, and your own self, is an attractive journey. But I’ve found any journey is lonely without the ones you love.

Dr. William Schreiber, a primary care physician based in North Syracuse, N.Y., claims that the 21% reduction in Medicare payments will affect his business. Dr. Schreiber suggests that cut, slated to take affect later this month, may make treating Medicare patients a “losing proposition.”

While reading this story on CNN I felt compelled to figure the math. Dr. Schreiber notes that his business has an annual revenue of $800,000. He also notes that he sees 120 patients a week. If I assume an average work day, that means he sees each patient for 20 minutes on average.

Of those 120 patients, 30% of them are Medicare patients according to the article.
30% x $800,000 = $240,000

So the 21% adjustment will affect $240,000 of his revenue.
21% x $240,000 = $50,400

By my math, Dr. Schreiber stands to loose $50,400, or 6%, of his yearly revenue. If he does average a patient every 20 minutes, that means he needs to see 2-3 additional Mediacare patients a day to overcome the loss. He would need to see even less if they are average paying patients.

An extra 2-3 Medicare patients a day will increase revenue, by $12,000.
780 patients (3 / day) x $80 = $62,400

I know doctors likely work more than 40 hours a week, likely spend more than 20 minutes with a patient, and that many other cogs in the system are making money instead of them.

However, a 6% decrease in revenue doesn’t seem overly threatening. In fact, many businesses have seen similar losses in this economic climate.

And it’s not just businesses, it’s every average American. So tell me, why should this profession be the exception?

January Tracks, originally uploaded by Dennis Jenders.

The tracks. Are they converging or diverging? Are the waiting for a train to arrive or do they represent freedom? Freedom to hop a train and discover the waiting world? Freedom to experience adventure, unlimited sunsets and the unknown? This photo could become a metaphor for something significant in your, or my, life.

Deep thought and reflection. They are two moods that I know very well. I often find myself exposing my soul to a digital void. Where my words, thoughts and emotion disappear into an ether of binary code.

So what has caused this deep thought and reflection? On this occasion it is my thirty-fourth birthday. I feel as if this photo represents where I am in life right now. I have a variety of decisions and events in my life that could go many different ways. I don’t trust myself to make the right decisions either. I have this feeling that everything, for lack of a better word, is so heavy…

I recognize that I am still walking along these tracks. Again I find myself at a crossroads. What do I want? What do I need? What do others needs from me? I feel like waiting for the next train, jumping aboard and never coming back. I want to explore the world and the many adventures it holds. I want to continue to dream big and find the strength to rise again when I fail. I want to accomplish everything on my bucket list and share the memories with those closest to me.

So maybe I know what I want, but find myself indecisive in determining how to accomplish my dreams. Sometimes I still feel so alone, sometimes I have company. But along these tracks I still don’t know what is waiting for me or which way to go. Maybe I should be off blazing my own trail, flattening my own mountains and straightening my own curves. Sounds like a country song doesn’t it? Maybe because it is!

The tracks. They can represent freedom, adventure, the right timing or the right decision(s). Right now the photo of these tracks could just be that – train tracks…

Apple left much to our imagination with their invitation to next week’s media event, “Come see our latest creation.”

Obviously it is widely rumored that we will see an Apple Tablet (iTablet, iSlate), a new iPhone OS 4.0 and possibly other Mac lineup changes.

I am extremely excited about the possibility of a full-color hand held device and what it could do for the media industry. But in order for me to drop $800 – $1,000 on an Apple Tablet I will need the following features:

1. A More Robust Operating System
   • The iPhone OS works well for the iPhone, but the same platform could mean too many limitations for a Tablet computer. I primarily see the Apple Tablet leveraging the App Store, iTunes LP, Web access and eReader functionality. However at this price point I would like the ability to run productivity apps and that won’t be realistic on the iPhone OS.
2. USB Ports (and other Expansion Options)
   • With a full, or slightly scaled, version of Mac OS X the Apple Tablet could provide the functionality and device business travelers and home users need. While multi-touch devices make sense for something that resides in my pocket, an on screen keyboard just does not make sense for productivity apps. That means I need to be able to dock the device and use it as my screen but have the opportunity to plug in a keyboard or mouse. Bluetooth is an option, but limits the use of all the other USB peripherals on the market.
   • The device could be very interesting for the pro and prosumer photographer. Imagine tethering your Digital SLR to the device to immediately archive your photos in iPhoto or Aperture / Lightroom. What about an expansion port for media cards? We already have it on the MacBook, why not here?
3. Media Standards
   • If the Apple Tablet will primarily be used for media consumption, then I ask that we have some standards. Obviously iTunes will still remain a key cog in the Apple machine. So I imagine full functionality of a large-screen iPod that will allow me to listen to, watch, and interact with movies, music and television content.
   • iTunes LP could become very interesting here. How can the format be used on such a device to further expand your interaction with music and possibly become a social platform? Lets face it, digital media removes the tactile feel of an LP and liner notes. We need to bring that back for the music industry to survive.
   • As an eReader the device will obviously compete with the Kindle and Nook. Full color and motion graphics immediately would give the device a lead in the market. But at the very basic level all of these devices need to serve up PDFs and other basic document formats. So will it be easy to read black and white text on the screen? Will searching, bookmarking and multi-touch provide a much better experience than eInk?
   • For magazines, newspapers and any other form of journalism – this device could be the magical unicorn we are all looking for. Imagine paging through a magazine with up to the minute scores and customized content. Hell, I’d even pay for the customization. That could mean that the industry could find a way to recover the lost readership and revenue that has eroded over the past 10 years. Will this save the industry? It has the potential if a standard format is realized. I do not want to load up multiple applications or branded readers to consume my content.
4. Multi-input
   • This can become quite complicated, but in short I want the ability to leverage both an onscreen keyboard, potentially a stylus, voice commands and iSight capability. Why?
   • Well an onscreen keyboard will solve the mobility issues. As I mentioned above, the ability to plug in a USB keyboard or mouse will help as well.
   • A stylus could provide the ability for hand-written notes and the creativity that you would expect from an Apple device. Imagine the Apple Tablet becoming a new input device for Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop. What about creating a new iLife application that provides Microsoft Courier like functionality with your finger or a stylus? I think it will become an important way that consumers could realize the potential of the device.
   • iSight and Voice Recognition would be a killer combination. If I were able to dictate to the device then I would have less of a need to plug in my keyboard. Video conferencing would be a no-brainer for the business customer and it would complete the device for a consumer who wants to use the Apple Tablet (or iTablet) to complete the connection between his or her personal and digital lives.
5. Hardware Specs
   • This is pretty simple. The device needs to have a processor that can handle all of the above, full screen video, streaming video, and productivity applications.
   • I will live with an integrated battery if it means a longer battery life. However I must have the ability to expand the memory on the device. If I buy an Apple Tablet at this price point, then I want to have it for awhile.
   • I do not need a wireless provider, but I could see how Apple could benefit from a relationship like they have with AT&T. If they do consider this I hope it is an option and not required. I do not want to be tethered to a service like Verizon or AT&T for content delivery. Obviously you can leverage a wireless connection with the iPod Touch and iPhone – so I don’t expect this exclusivity.
6. Warmth & Creativity
   • I couldn’t stop at five features, so here is the bonus #6. I would like the device to be warmer and more creative than a Kindle, Nook or iPod. There are rumors of a uni-body design and I think that would be a mistake. I do not want to hold the cold aluminum in my hands and treat it as a book.
   • I mentioned it earlier, but a new iLife application where I could use the device as a diary would be very interesting. The ability to archive my daily life with video, photos and notes would revolutionize our digital lives. All of a sudden Apple could find a way to bring the foundation of Facebook and our social graph back into our own hands.
   • At the very least I’d like to see some sort of Microsoft Courier ability. Can I clip information easily with a finger gesture, or how about grabbing a song and putting it into a message to a friend, or interact with my desktop and folders in a new way to reconnect me with such an inhuman device.
   • Finally, provide us with some warmth. I want skins or covers for the device that allow me to be creative and feel like I am holding something more than a computer. The Nook is a little more friendly than the Kindle. Could the Apple Tablet find a way to be the most friendly and warm digital device we own?

I look forward to the announcement next week. The Apple Tablet could turn out to be just a rumor. I doubt it, but it is possible. But I do know that I will likely be disappointed regardless. The Apple and tech communities have so much hope for this device that it will be hard to meet all of our needs and expectations.

So whatever comes next week, it will likely be ground-breaking but limited.

The Facebook Brand Permissions page, which I’ve just illegally linked to, exists to “provide guidelines on how to make correct references in text to Facebook when offering your own products or services.”

Such resources are always valuable in helping writers and developers properly reference a brand or collect media kit information. However, their second guideline is a head scratcher.

“Never hyperlink a textual reference to Facebook.”

Seriously? The point of the Web is to make it easy for people to traverse content and link off to pages and sites of interest. This in not only counter-intuitive but borders on insanity. Especially since the guidelines go on to describe how you can reference you Vanity URL with Facebook.

You are only allowed to refer to your Facebook Vanity URL so long as you “Never hyperlink a textual reference to Facebook.”

Does that mean that as a marketer, and member of Facebook, that I can never link off to my Facebook Page? Or that I can link to the page as long as it doesn’t say “Please visit the Client Name Facebook Page?”

The majority of the guidelines make sense from a brand perspective, but to encourage people to never hyperlink a textual reference to Facebook is something that will be difficult to police and makes little sense.

Facebook should be encouraged when we properly link to their site and continue to drive traffic to one of the largest Social Media venues in the world. Am I missing something here or is this just ridiculous?

It amazes me that the $7 billion dollar commercial and recreational industry of Lake Michigan could be permanently harmed because Chicago and the United States Supreme Court will not do more to stop the possibility of Asian carp invading the world’s largest fresh water system.

“The two species of Asian carp detected in the area are bighead and the leaping silver carp. The fish can grow to 50 pounds and consume up to 20% of their weight in plankton per day – food upon which every other species in a water system either directly or indirectly depends.”

Their presence could potentially devastate the ecology and potentially change the way we recreationally enjoy the lake(s). Silver carp can jump up to 10 feet out of the water when disturbed by boats. The carp have been known to injure boaters as they jumped out of the water.

Yet the Supreme Court announced today that they have rejected Michigan’s preliminary injunction. Michigan, backed by Wisconsin, New York, Ohio and Minnesota was seeking an emergency injunction force the gate locks shut on an emergency basis, but was also seeking a number of other measures.

And today the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Asian carp DNA has been detected in Lake Michigan. This madness needs to stop immediately. Why are we willing to forgo the long-term ecology of our fresh water system?

Everyone should be concerned with this issue. Temporarily closing the two lakeside locks will disrupt business but it could preserve both our economy and natural resources. The locks represent the last ditch effort to save our lakes until we can implement additional safety measures and act on the real issue – the invasive carp.

Until then, we need to do whatever it takes to save the Great Lakes. And unfortunately our nations leaders are too short-sighted to make the right decision.

A palindrome is a word, phrase, number or other sequence of units that can be read the same way in either direction.

Today in the United States we can celebrate a palindrome date, 01/02/2010, which reads the same forward as it does backward. Unfortunately it doesn’t work everywhere because most of the world uses a day/month/year format, whereas we stick to the month/day/year format.

Still pretty cool. Here in the U.S. it is just the second occurrence of 36 such dates this millennium. The last occurrence was on 10/02/2001, before that you would have to go back to 1380 to find one.

So Happy Palindrome Day!