I cannot stand content farms...

I don't know about the rest of you out there in cyberspace, but I, for one, have come to the conclusion that Google's search results are nowhere near as useful as they used to be. My perspective is very straight forward when it comes to the "quality" of search... Do I find what I'm looking for in the top 5 results on the first try of a search. I'm not a search expert. I don't know, nor do I have any interest in really "knowing" if Google's search results are really slipping. What I do know is that for me, it feels like search has become noticably less relevant/useful over the course of the last 18 months.

Today Google released what they call the "Personal Blocklist" as a Chorme Extension (download it from here). This tool allows individuals to block specific sites from showing up in Google search results. It's unfortunate that Google did not provide a way to input a list of sites to be blocked in bulk, but I'm sure someone will augment the Extension in short order.

In the meantime, here is a handy list of sites that I will be search for and blocking ASAP.

• ehow.com
• experts-exchange.com
• naymz.com
• activehotels.com
• robtex.com
• encyclopedia.com
• fixya.com
• chacha.com
• 123people.com
• download3k.com
• petitionspot.com
• thefreedictionary.com
• networkedblogs.com
• buzzillions.com
• shopwiki.com
• wowxos.com
• answerbag.com
• allexperts.com
• freewebs.com
• copygator.com

Let me know if you find this list useful, and please help me add to the list.

Thanks.

It's not what you know, but how it's organized!

As I continue my pursuit to find a way to put my years of experience, and the expertise I have accumulated, to it's best possible use, I have been asked the following question more times than I care to admit...

"Tell me about yourself."

I am a skilled and successful sales person. I am a technologist, an inventor, a philosopher, an entrepreneur, a musician, a son, a father and a husband. I have published articles, have performed on stages to the applause of thousands. I have created businesses from nothing, and have watched them return to the nothing from which they were created. I am, clearly, a person blessed with many gifts. However, does this really tell you "about" me?

When I think about "me," I believe I am primarily defined by what I know (or think I know), and, conversely, by my internal voice that is always pushing me to know more. My "superpower," it turns out, is not all that I know, but a deep internal appreciation for that fact that I know almost nothing.

The following words from Napoleon Hill, published in his book "Think and Grow Rich" (which I am in the process of re-reading) are remarkable for many reason and, in a sort of scary way, are perhaps more relevant today than they were in 1938 when they were first published.

THERE are two kinds of knowledge. One is general, the other is specialized. General knowledge, no matter how great in quantity or variety it may be, is of but little use in the accumulation of money. The faculties of the great universities possess, in the aggregate, practically every form of general knowledge known to civilization. Most of the professors have but little or no money. They specialize on teaching knowledge, but they do not specialize on the organization, or the use of knowledge.

KNOWLEDGE will not attract money, unless it is organized, and intelligently directed, through practical PLANS OF ACTION, to the DEFINITE END of accumulation of money. Lack of understanding of this fact has been the source of confusion to millions of people who falsely believe that "knowledge is power." It is nothing of the sort! Knowledge is only potential power. It becomes power only when, and if, it is organized into definite plans of action, and directed to a definite end.

This "missing link" in all systems of education known to civilization today, may be found in the failure of educational institutions to teach their students HOW TO ORGANIZE AND USE KNOWLEDGE AFTER THEY ACQUIRE IT.

--Napoleon Hill [1938] - "Think and Grow Rich"

Can you say Google? Microsoft? Bing? WolframAlpha? iPhone? Android?

Who would have thought that Napoleon Hill, back in 1938, was writing the business plan for the current information age.

It's not what you know. It's not who you know. It's how you organize what's known.

I can't tell you I completely understand the subtleties of Hill's words, but I'm sure going to try to figure it out.

Webkit... The forest and the trees

If anyone was wondering just how important mobile Internet convergence really is, just take a look at what has happened over the course of the last 6-weeks as a result of Google I/O and the release of Android 2.2 (Froyo) and Apple's WWDC 2010 and the release of iOS 4 and the iPhone 4. It does not require a great deal of insight to see just how important mobile devices and the operating systems that power them have become. Just a few short years ago the concept of mobile operating systems could not have been farther from the consciousness of mainstream users. Sure, phones became "smartphones" when the PalmOS found it's way into a phone many years ago, and Windows, Symbian, Blackberry, etc. have been running on phones for a very long time.

But look what's happened in the last 3-years since Apple launched the original iPhone:

1. Blackberry, once the undisputed leader and trendsetting "smartphone" maker is quickly become irrelevant.
2. Microsoft, once the undisputed leader of all-things-digital appears to have become completely irrelevant in the mobile space.
3. Google, not even a teenager, has created the Android mobile operating system which is demonstrating a level of adoption that is unprecedented in history.
4. Apple has become the world's most valuable technology company (from a market capitalization perspective) and, in conjunction with Google, has completely changed the entire landscape with respect to mobile computing.

While this is all great trivia, I think most people are currently missing the really important story. Sure, great devices (hardware) are essential for the Internet to truly become mobile, and great operating systems are required to power these clever new devices. However, upon closer inspection I have concluded the single most important component of the current mobility revolution is not iOS (iPhone OS) or Android, but is Webkit.

Webkit is the underlying engine that powers the web browsers from BOTH Google (Chrome) and Apple (Safari), and not just on the desktop, but specifically on their respective mobile platforms. Based on this fact, it seems clear to me that developing native iOS or Android applications should not be the goal/objective for the vast majority of organizations. Of course there are some classes of applications, specifically graphic intensive games, that require "native" power. However, most great applications and utilities are not games, but are productivity enhancers. In almost all cases, organizations would be much better served focusing the majority of their attention on the function of the application(s) and implement using HTML5 tools. Thanks to the power of HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript it is now possible to create "web" applications that are easily 90% as fast, powerful, functional, and attractive as their native counterparts. This approach, going web vs. native, facilitates platform independence as opposed to platform dependence (lock-in).

Forgive me iOS (Apple) and Android (Google), but it's Webkit that's really the key to everyone's success.

When hell freezes over? Maybe it has...

Rumor: Microsoft cameo at WWDC keynote

Wouldn't it be absolutely amazing if Apple/Microsoft came together to compete against Google/Adobe?

1. Bing becomes the default search engine on the iPhone.
2. Bing maps becomes the default mapping engine.
3. Silverlight becomes "native" to the iPhone.

Stranger things have happened. Stay tuned. These are amazing times.

Google Voice + Gizmo5 + Fring + iPhone/Android

I am sure I'm not alone in my never ending quest to find the perfect telecommunications balance between convenience, cost, and functionality. It seems clear to me that we are very close to a point where simple phone calls are essentially free. Now, before I get into the details to explain the title of this post, please keep in mind that I am 100% on-board with the fact that Internet access, be it at your office, your house, or on your mobile device, costs money. This is why I wrote "essentially free." ;)

To make this work, you are going to need to have a Google Voice account, a Gizmo5 account (recently purchased by Google), and a Fring account. (You are also going to need an iPhone or an Android capable device.) 

Step 1: Login to Google Voice and add your Gizmo5 number. It is critical that you choose "Gizmo" when you set-up your number with Google Voice. On your Gizmo5 account, make sure you DO NOT have any forwarding set-up. This caused me endless headache.

Step 2: Verify your Gizmo5 number.

Step 3: Go to Fring and install their software for your mobile device. I've got this working on my iPhone. While I cannot confirm, I'm sure it will also work on your Android device.

Step 4: Fire-up the Fring application on your mobile device and click the "More..." option.

Step 5: Go to "Add-ons" and choose SIP

Step 6: You will need your Gizmo5 username/password. I used my actual username, but I think your full 10-digit SIP number will work as well. In the "Proxy" field, enter proxy01.sippphone.com.

Now, make sure you keep the application running on your mobile device and try initiating a call through Google Voice, targeting your "Gizmo" number. If all goes well the Fring application will ask you to answer and, like magic, you are making a call, on your mobile device, using NO cell minutes!

I'd love it if someone with an Android device would give this a try and let me know if it works as easily as it did on my iPhone.