Agile software development: The good and the bad...

A software developer from Google writes about good and bad agile software development methodologies. Based on Google's track record, I'd say his thoughts are worth a read...

Financial Times: Business Book of the Year Shortlist...

Here are the nominees....

convergence culture

here is a website: The Source for Ohio's IKEA News!

what is noteworthy about the site is not necessarily the content - which is good, but that it is created by an IKEA fan, not IKEA itself.

i stumbled across this site while i was reading convergence culture by henry jenkins of mit's convergent culture consortium

the book's premise is to consider the culture changes that are resulting now that technological advances have allowed consumers of culture to actively participate. while the book focuses on the entertainment world by discussing topics such as harry potten fan fiction, survivor spoiler bulletin boards, star wars fan videos, etc...

while the entertainment world provides many of the best examples of early adopters, the ikea site shows that this phenomenom will begin moving into other areas of business.

jenkins point is that no ne out there quite has everything sorted out regarding what the relationship between businesses and fans out to be. should businesses encourage it? hey, free advertising sounds good, huh... should they discourage it? what if the "fan" turns on the company, or misrepresents the product? do fans help companies stay true to their corporate ideals? will social networking sites like mySpace or user created video sites such as youTube lose their appeal to folks when they are co-opted by businesses...and what about buzz or viral marketing? effective tools, or will consumers perceive it as manipulation and resent it...

jenkins points out that organizations take conflicting views on these issues over time, and even sometimes between divisions... his focus is on the cultural impact as opposed to the technology. participatory culture truly is exciting for many reasons - marketing is just one of them. i strongly suspect that those organizations that do figure out how to effectively use it as a marketing tool will have a competitive advantage.

visit the convergence culture consortium blog for news/updates

What's Really Propping Up The Economy?

Interesting BusinessWeek article that sees the healthcare industry as being the only viable creator of new jobs in the U.S. economy. Are there implications here for what we teach in the Business Division?

Lorain County Red Cross...

...has a new website, done by an LCCC web development student. Outstanding job!!!

simplicity, simplicity, simplicity

i have always wondered why thoreau repeated "simplicity" three times in his famous quote - uh - wouldn't it have been simpler to say it once? well, perhaps the answer has been found by john maeda
whose 5th law is "Simplicity and complexity need each other." i've always liked the quote, attributed to einstein, i think, "things should be as simple as they can be, but no more..."

simplicity is a concept people seem ambivalent about. a person can be derided as "too simple" - just as a work of art can be. yet, say, the improvisations of thelonious monk or miles davis are, at least on one level, far simpler than many yet few are as beautiful or profound. i think the world is becoming less impressed with technical complexity for its own sake and more impressed with stuff that gets the job done and is easy to use effectively...at least i am... we still want technology to do spectacular things; yet we want it easy to use. when a technology seems to do both - say, like the iPod, or google, the world falls in love with it...and no wonder. we've seen too many vcr's with a blinking clock cause no one can figure out how to set it.

the laws of simplicity is a fascinating book, equal parts technology book, a business book, a design book, cognitve psychology, art and a philosophy book... given i am interested in nearly all the above topics - and perhaps more importantly where these things meet - i found it fascinating...the book this most reminded me of is zen mind, beginner's mind maybe cause they are of similar dimensions - maybe because it's approach seems a bit zen-like...

entertaining, fun - yet very profound - and, in the spirit of simplicity, short! i guarantee i'll be reading this one over and over...part of a series...looking fwd to the next one...

the turf explored here is much of which i am interested in, these days... whether in the context of web development or education - both, i feel, could benefit from the old "less is more" approach...

i don't know if i have adequately described the book - well, i am quite sure i haven't - it must be read to be understood - so check out the website, then read the book...and think how to apply the principles to your work...

any thoughts?