Displosable RSS feeds

Simon Schoeters <ul> <li>I trashed my Twitter account a few months ago but I still follow some friends via RSS.</li> <li>I follow the local news channels via RSS.</li> <li>I follow the latest traffic updates via RSS (no, I'm not but it's a good example).</li> </ul> <p>These are all traffic intensive RSS feeds with a few tens to a few hundreds of posts a day and most of these posts are only useful for a certain amount of time. Sometimes you are only interested in the most recent posts in a feed, old news is, well... old news. What my friends were doing yesterday may be irrelevant today and a the traffic situation at 9 in the morning is useless in the evening.</p> <p>I don't want to open <a href="http://reader.google.com" title="Google Reader" class="ext">my RSS reader</a> to press the “Mark all as read” button each time. Wouldn't it be great to have a ‘lifespan’ for certain RSS items? Let's say the latest traffic update is only valid news for 2 hours and my friends Twitter update could last a full day? After this timeframe the RSS reader could mark this post as ‘old’ or ‘read’.</p> <p>Meet the disposable RSS feeds!</p> <p>I could think of extending the RSS specification with a <abbr title="Time To Live">TTL</abbr> something (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_to_live" title="Time to live for data packets acticle at Wikipedia" class="ext">like TCP/IP packets</a>) where the author can suggest how long his post should ‘live’. On the other hand it could be up to the RSS reader developers to add something like this in their software as the reader may want to decide how relevant older items are for him as opposed to the author of the post. This second requirement is probably much easier to implement or maybe some RSS readers already do this?</p> <p>Does something like this exist? Would it be useful or would it only make things more complex?</p>

2008-05-29T08:59:43+02:00

disposable-rss Displosable RSS feeds

2008-06-23T17:53:46+02:00

Simon Schoeters <p>Today <a href="http://labs.mozilla.com/" title="Mozilla Labs" class="ext">Mozilla Labs</a> announced <a href="http://labs.mozilla.com/2008/10/introducing-geode/" title="Introducing Geode @ Mozilla Labs" class="ext">Geode</a>. Mozilla plans to add it in a future version of Firefox but today it's already available as an add-on. It adds the ability for a website to request your location. You can than optionally choose to send your exact location, neighborhood or city to that site.</p> <img src="/images/geode.png" alt="Geode screenshot" /> <p>I have been waiting for this to come out, especially after <span class="vcard"><span class="fn">Aza Raskin</span></span>'s <a href="http://www.azarask.in/blog/post/firefox-geolocation-js-library/" title="Geolocation Redux and a JS Library @ Aza's Thoughts" class="ext">conceptual post</a>. The interface is intuitive (although I preferred Aza's somewhat more graphical version).</p> <p>I tried the plugin on the Geode <a href="http://labs.mozilla.com/geode_welcome/" title="Geode sample page" class="ext">sample page</a> and it does what it should do. Well - that's to say - it showed my location exactly as promised, the same way my iPhone does. Geode probably uses the <a href="http://www.skyhookwireless.com/" class="ext">Skyhook</a> database (like the iPhone) to determine the location based on the <abbr title="Wireless Fidelity">Wi-Fi</abbr> access points it can ‘see’. This is a bit of a problem as the Skyhook coverage in Europe is bad and as such not very useful (yet). Skyhook is extending its coverage in Europe and Mozilla is looking for other providers as well so it may get better over time.</p> <blockquote cite="http://labs.mozilla.com/2008/10/introducing-geode/">We're still working out the specifics, but we're hoping that location will be provided by one or more user selectable service providers and methods, e.g. GPS-based, WiFi-based, manual entry, etc.</blockquote> <p>Why would you need this? Mozilla gives the same old example of finding a restaurant near your location by ‘pulling out you laptop’. I don't think people ‘pull‘ out their laptops that easily (that's up the the iPhones and BlackBerrys) but I can see the movie theatre showing the schedule for the nearest complex at the top of the list or Google giving a higher score to search results nearby. I suppose we'll even see location aware ads with the promotions of the closest supermarket.</p>

2008-10-08T00:23:59+02:00

welcome-geode Welcome Geode

2008-10-08T00:25:53+02:00

Simon Schoeters <p><a href="/blog/momo8-amsterdam" title="Mobile Monday Amsterdam review">MoMo Amsterdam</a> on monday, TechCrunch meetup in Gent on Thursday and November just started, me likes! <span class="vcard"><span class="fn">Robin Wauters</span></span> and <span class="vcard"><span class="fn">Mike Butcher</span> from <span class="org">TechCrunch</span></span> already started by the time we got there. The concept: 15 sales pitches, 5 minutes each. Not much time to ask questions but it keeps you focused. I will not repeat everything I saw: some concepts I did not understand, some weren't that interesting and others sliped out of my memory after the long weekend.</p> <h3>Casius</h3> <p><span class="vcard"><span class="fn">Toon Vanagt</span> (wearing the typical yellow helmet) presented <a href="http://www.casius.be/" class="org url ext" title="Online marketplace for contruction workers">Casius</a></span>, a website that connects builders to professional construction workers online. Apparently it's hard to find a good craftsman in Belgium so there may be a real need for this. The website doesn't look very professional at the moment, let's hope they update that soon.</p> <h3>City Live</h3> <p><span class="vcard"><span class="fn">Koen Delvaux</span> from <a href="http://www.citylive.be/" class="org url ext">City Live</a></span> presented their concept to sell free data subscriptions to students for their mobiles (disclosure: I know Koen personally). This would allow universities and colleges to build their own ‘mobile intranet’ based on the <a href="http://glowe.org/" title="GLOWE: an XML based file format for creating mobile widgets" class="ext">Glowe</a> widget system. I would have loved to check my schedule on my phone when I was a student. I hope he can pull this off. Wouldn't it be better to include a data plan for their laptops as well (or are there still students without laptops these days)?</p> <h3>ContactOffice</h3> <p><span class="vcard"><span class="fn n"><span class="given-name">Patrick</span> <span class="family-name">De Schutter</span></span> showed <a href="http://www.contactoffice.com/" class="org url ext" title="ContactOffice: an all-in-one online office solution">ContactOffice</a></span>, an office solution in the cloud. I still don't see why companies want their data in the cloud - it's stupid - but it seems most companies don't agree with me. So there may be a need for this kind of webapp but why do you want to compete with Google Apps, Zimbra (now aquired by Yahoo!) or MobileMe?</span> <h3>IntroNiche</h3> <p><span class="vcard"><span class="fn">Sam Desimpel</span> presented <a href="http://www.introniche.com" class="org url ext" title="IntroNiche: an eBay for businesses">IntroNiche</a></span>, an eBay like service for businesses. For example: you need visitors and are willing to give away x free subscriptions for your service. Another site has tons of visitors but is looking for a price for a small competition on their website. IntroNiche could be the platform for those two to meet. Your site gives away a few subscriptions and gets traffic from the other site. As with lots of these ideas it will need a ‘critical mass’ to take off but I like the idea.</p> <h3>Mollom</h3> <p>If someone like <span class="vcard"><span class="fn">Dries Buytaert</span> steps on stage you know it has potential. He showed <a href="http://www.mollom.com" class="org url ext" title="Mollom: a comment spam filter">Mollom</a></span>: a spam filtering system for comments. Mollem shows a captcha when it's not sure if the comment is spam or ham. Why didn't Akismet think about this? He explained only 4% of the commenters should see the captcha. Mollem is free up to a certain daily volume.</p> <h3>Oxynade</h3> <p><span class="vcard"><span class="fn">Niko Nelissen</span> presented <a href="http://www.oxynade.com/" class="org url ext" title=" Oxynade: a European event database">Oxynade</a></span> which aggregates event information from all over Europe. They have an iPhone app which can show events close to your current location. Nice but I don't think they are the only ones doing this and I didn't really understand what differenciates them from the others like Upcoming. Mobile webapps like this one are especially usefull when abroad and that's exactly where things are going wrong in my opinion. I keep my phone in my pocket as long as telecom operators charge these rediculous prices for data roaming. What we really need for these kind of services is a reasonably priced Europe wide data subscription (like AT&T is doing in the <abbr title="United States of America">USA</abbr>?).</p> <h3>tikitag</h3> <p><span class="vcard"><span class="fn">Anthony Belpaire</span> demoed <a href="http://www.tikitag.com/" class="org url ext" title="tikitag: sells RFID readers and tags">tikitag</a></span>, an Alcatel-Lucent venture that aims to build the Internet of Things with <abbr title="Radio-Frequency IDentification">RFID</abbr> technology. They sell an <abbr title="Radio-Frequency IDentification">RFID</abbr> reader and a few <abbr title="Radio-Frequency IDentification">RFID</abbr> tags that link to online applications. Fun to play with as a geek (not sure if they have an <abbr title="Application Programming Interface">API</abbr>) but not ready for meanstream yet. It will be more useful when most mobile phones have <abbr title="Radio-Frequency IDentification">RFID</abbr> readers built in. Violet is doing something similar with their Mir:ror, nice to see some pioneers developing in this market segment.</p> <p>Overall it was nice to see the enthousiasm of startups in Belgium, even in this difficult economical climate.</p> <p><strong>Update <abbr title="20081124">2008-11-24</abbr>:</strong> <span class="vcard"><span class="fn">Mike Butcher</span> wrote his impressions down in a <a href="http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/11/21/techcrunch-euro-tour-08-yes-even-belgium-has-startups/" class="ext">TechCrunch article</a>.</p>

2008-11-12T18:08:16+01:00

techcrunch-belgium-meetup TechCrunch Belgium meetup

2008-11-24T19:26:19+01:00

Simon Schoeters <p>Yesterday we went to <a href="http://www.mobilemonday.be/" title="The Mobile Monday Brussels wiki" class="ext">Mobile Monday Brussels</a>. Mobile Mondays are community events for:</p> <blockquote cite="http://www.mobilemonday.be/">[...] mobile industry visionaries, developers and influential individuals. The Mobile Monday spirit is one of open innovation and is seen as a catalyst for mobile innovations.</blockquote> <p>All around a central theme: “When marketing meets mobile”. The organizers in Belgium would like to keep it small and informal for now to let it grow organically. In September this year around 20 participants showed up, this time 46 people subscribed. It's growing already.</p> <h3>Presentations</h3> <ul> <li> <p><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/schoeters/3038845989/in/set-72157609292347956/" rel="me" title="See a larger version on Flickr" style="float: right; margin: 5px 0 5px 10px"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3054/3038845989_a2f35d14c6_s.jpg" height="75" width="75" alt="" /></a></p> <p><span class="vcard"><span class="fn">Fabian Tilmant</span> from <a href="http://www.cleverwood.be/" class="url org ext">Cleverwoods</a></span> spoke about “<a href="http://www.slideshare.net/fabiantilmant/mobile-monday-key-role-of-platforms-presentation" title="Check out Fabian's presentation on SlideShare" class="ext">Mobile Advertising: what can we expect in Belgium</a>”. He explained why mobile internet needs more ‘mobile platforms’ to see its breakthrough. Platforms are needed as a basic layer for advertising and he explained that a mobile model can't succeed without advertising.</p> <p>Although I do agree that advertising is an important factor, I don't think you always need advertisements. The <a href="http://m.standaard.be/" title="Mobile version of De Standaard, a Belgian newspaper (Dutch)" class="ext">mobile</a> De Standaard site (a Belgian newspaper) doesn't inlcude adds and still everyone keeps mentioning them (or is this free advertising I'm promoting here?).</p> <p>Especially with the limited screen real estate and a low user attention level we'll need a different kind of advertising, banners just won't do it. I think you'll need to give the user something back for the time he invests in your ad: sponsored content maybe or a sponsored mobile game? The free version of Twitterific includes non-obstructive ads, is this the way to go?</p> </li> <li><span class="vcard"><span class="fn n"><span class="given-name">Jean-Paul</span> <span class="family-name">de Ville</span></span> was supposed to demo <a href="http://www.pumbby.com/" class="url org ext">Pumbby</a></span>, a service that pays you to receive ads on your mobile phone. I was looking forward to this one but Jean-Paul was ill. Now I still don't know why this happy sounding name needs two B's. Oh well...</li> </ul> <h3>Networking</h3> <p>After the presentations everyone introduced himself briefly. This wouldn't have been possible in a larger event but here it worked out perfectly. In my opinion it lowered the barrier for the networking later on and showed what companies are interested in mobile platforms today. It seems most participants have a media/advertisement background but it was nice to see De Lijn (public bus and tram service in Flanders) was there as well as I like to complain about the lack of mobile support on their site.</p> <p>The <abbr title="Nationale Maatschappij der Belgische Spoorwegen">NMBS</abbr> (Belgian national railway operator) and De Lijn are really important companies to promote mobile internet in Belgium. If they could provide their mobile platform (with an <abbr title="Application Programming Interface ">API</abbr> if possible) with the bus and train schedules it could be a huge boost for mobile internet if you ask me. I'm pretty sure the developer community could take over from than on and create mobile widgets or mashups that find the next bus home (delays included) when your train arrives.</p> <p>I had a great discussion with the guys from Microsoft as well, about the need for a company to embrace mobile platforms or not. Even though our views differ I liked to exchange thoughts.</p> <p>Still interested? Have a look at the <a href="/blog/momo8-amsterdam" title="My blog post on Mobile Monday Amsterdam a few weeks earlier">Mobile Monday Amsterdam</a> post I wrote earlier this month.</p>

2008-11-18T13:04:44+01:00

momo2-brussels Mobile Monday Brussels

2008-11-19T14:24:21+01:00

Simon Schoeters <p>The last few months mobile initiatives seems to boost in Belgium. In April there was the first <a href="http://mobilewebcamp.wikispaces.com/" title="Mobile WebCamp Hasselt wiki" class="ext">Mobile WebCamp</a> in Hasselt and the next one will be in February. In September Belgium had its first Mobile Monday in Brussels, followed by the <a href="/blog/momo2-brussels" title="My blog post on Mobile Monday Brussels">second one</a> this week, a third one is planned around February. The iPhone is on sale in Europe and Android is on its way. Is it time for a mobile revolution?</p> <p>The short version? Not yet. As much as I would like to see it happen something tells me it's still too early. Wanna know why?</p> <h3>Devices</h3> <p>First of all you need a capable device. Although most mobile phones on the market have a browser built in, it doesn't seem to be enough. In my opinion the browser is not the most important internet application on a phone: it's too clumsy to use and most webpages aren't optimalized for a mobile experience. So what do we need? Widgets, applications, gadgets or any other name will do. These are all small applications optimized for a limited task: the weather forecast, the nearest Chinese restaurant, a city map, my train schedule, etc.</p> <p>While that's true for the low-end phones we have iPhones, G1's and BlackBerries these days. Sure, that's the way to go but does everyone want to pay €525 (current price for an iPhone in Belgium) for a phone? A lot of us do and the popularity of these phones my be one the most important triggers for mobile internet but I think prices are still too high for the masses. This problem will solve itself over time.</p> <h3>Data roaming</h3> <p>Europe is not the US and Belgium is tiny. If you drive one hour chances are good you are in a different country, on a different mobile network, with different fees. Roaming fees vary form operator to operator but are way too expensive. When do I need my data connection the most? Exactly, when I'm abroad. I know the restaurants in my own city, which events are scheduled and how to get from A to B. I need this information when I'm on a city trip, looking for a place to eat or something to do on a rainy day. Today I don't use mobile internet even though it would do the task the best because it's too expensive. We need a European operator or a data plan with fixed rates in Europe, no matter which country you are in. I'm willing to pay a little extra but not too much, I still live here, not abroad.</p> <h3>Applications and stores</h3> <p>Java <abbr title="Micro Edition">ME</abbr> (the ‘mobile Java’) has been around for a while and allows developers to create these small internet widgets. This is great but it's hard to find a popular application that is not the Gmail mobile app. Why is that? Quite simple, it's too difficult to use. A phone is not a small desktop computer, you don't Google for an app, go to the website and download it. The App Store and Android Market are a great answers for this problem and look... it sells. Let's hope Windows Mobile will include this in one of the next releases.</p> <h3>Platforms</h3> <p>As <span class="vcard"><span class="fn">Fabian Tilmant</span> explained on Mobile Monday we need more mobile platforms. If we want to get more users on mobile internet we'll need something to offer them. Some platforms are ready: Twitter, Facebook, De Standaard, etc. can attract a great deal of people but that's not enough. Others platforms are not ready yet: the <abbr title="Nationale Maatschappij der Belgische Spoorwegen">NMBS</abbr> (the Belgian Railways), De Lijn (public tram and bus service in Flanders), banks, etc. As I wrote before I'm waiting for the Belgian Railways (and others) to come up with a mobile platform. Mobile internet will get some added value when I can check if my next train is delayed or if I still have enough money on my bank account while queuing in the supermarket. This is possible today using their websites but this includes using websites designed for desktops, not for mobile phones (look for your next bus using your iPhone if you need an example).</p>

2008-11-19T15:57:47+01:00

mobile-momentum Mobile Momentum?

2008-11-19T16:12:15+01:00

Simon Schoeters <p>Last week a friend ordered a <a href="http://www.doyoupoken.com/" title="A Poken is a token used to exchange contact information" class="ext">Poken</a> for me as a present. This triggered a discussion over business cards and why we still use plain old paper cards in this digital age.</p> <p>The problem is an old one: how do you keep in touch with people you recently met? You need some way to exchange personal information in an easy, unobtrusive way. Business cards are a great answer to that problem: it's fast to exchange, cheap enough to hand out, universally accepted and portable. That's great but isn't it a waste of resources to print something digital on a piece of paper and have someone on the other side input the data in a system... again? Not to mention the errors this process generates: how do I interpret a Japanese address, is it his first- or last name, I would like a photo as well, have I met this person before?</p> <h3>Pokens and E</h3> <p>Filip argued that Pokens or <a href="http://mynameise.com/" title="E is a service that integrates all your existing social services into an E-ID" class="ext">E</a> could be the answer. Pokens are small plastic <abbr title="Radio-frequency identification">RFID</abbr> readers. High five your Poken against another one to exchange your details and the next time you log on to your social network sites your profiles will be linked. E uses the same idea but focuses on the software side: you can create multiple profiles and exchange details via an internet-enabled mobile phone. They have an RFID device - called ‘Conntector’ - in the pipeline.</p> <p>While these services look promising I don't think it will be the answer. Sure, these things are focused on social networking profiles and may be just fine for their target audience but that won't cut it. Why not? </p> <ol> <li>The other person needs the same service. Do you have a Poken? Or maybe you use E? It's too much of a hassle and you will look stupid in non geeky situations... so you'll just hand out your plain old business card.</li> <li>The device. I suppose a Blackberry could easily exchange a vCard over Bluetooth with all you contact details, yet, no one uses it. Is it too technical? Handing out a business card needs to be as simple as possible. With E you need an ‘internet-enabled’ device, how does that hold when you are abroad?</li> <li>Backward compatibility. I still need my printed business cards as failsafe measure. Why do I need 2 systems? Right, I'll only take the cards, it's just the safer option.</li> <li>Personalization. A business card is something unique, it's a way to express yourself (or your company). A plumber's business card looks different than the card from a graphic designer. Does it look professional, clean or playful?</li> </ol> <h3>Disposable RFID business cards</h3> <p>My shot for a possible solution: the disposable RFID business card. It still needs a flashy name and ditto logo but here is the idea: combine the old business card with RFID. What if we would embed an RFID chip in a plain old business card?</p> <ol> <li>Service independent. The RFID could link to a universally accepted standard (e.g. a vCard on your website). You could even think of a subscription system that automatically updates your contact's details when they change.</li> <li>Device independent. If my phone has an RFID reader I could scan the card to add it to my phone's address book immediately, if not, I keep the card and scan it later.</li> <li>Backward compatible. If you don't have an RFID reader you can use the card as you would today. This would be useful starting from day one. With a Poken you need a “critical mass” first.</li> <li>Personalization. You can still design the card as you see fit.</li> <li>Digital format. Even a Japanese address would be entered correctly as I don't need to guess which information is where, we moved this to the software now.</li> </ol> <p>What do we need? I'm not sure but maybe RFID tags are still too expensive to throw away? With prices around <a href="http://www.barcoding.com/faq/rfid-tag-cost.shtml" title="How much does an RFID tag cost?" class="ext">$0.50</a> it's still a little too expensive if you add the price of the business card. RFID chips are designed to be thrown away (look at packaging) so I suppose prices will drop. People also need an RFID reader but that's just a matter of time. More and more companies start providing RFID readers: <a href="http://www.violet.net/_mirror-give-powers-to-your-objects.html" title="The Violet mir:ror, a RFID reader" class="ext">Violet</a> and <a href="http://www.tikitag.com/" title="Alcatel-Lucent backed tikitag sells RFID tags and readers" class="ext">tikitag</a> amongst them.</p> <p>What do you think? Will we replace business cards in the near future and if so, how will it successor look like?</p> <h3>Read more</h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://artofmanliness.com/2008/09/07/the-gentlemans-guide-to-the-calling-card" title="The Gentleman's Guide to the Calling Card" class="ext">The Gentleman's Guide to the Calling Card</a> explains the origin of the first business cards.</li> </ul>

2009-01-19T11:38:09+01:00

future-of-business-cards The future of business cards

2009-01-19T11:38:41+01:00