On the Nightstand
Googled: The End of the World as We Know It - Ken Auletta
Sun, 01/03/2010 - 15:12 — Michael Ridley
GoogledMuch has been written about Google and its influence on virtually all aspects of our lives. Could another piece be useful? Yes.
Ken Auletta's "Googled: The End of the World as We Know It" is part history of Google (as an organization) and part analysis of the philosophy that drives the founders and continues to inspire the company.
The "Don't be Evil" credo takes a beating; Auletta doesn't let Brin or Page off lightly. As Google changed and grew it is not clear this core value remained untarnished. Having said that, the creativity, drive, and imagination which fuel all involved is inspirational.
As Google expands its influence and presence in increasingly new and diverse areas and applications, we see through Auletta's narrative the way those industries or sectors reacted to the new competition. "Frenemy" (Friend/Enemy) is the most common response.
Is Google the new evil empire? Will it become the $100 billion media company that the leadership predict it can? Will it even survive the new challenges from Facebook or Twitter? We have seen other major players disappear quickly and unexpectedly. Auletta doesn't think Google is unassailable.
A very entertaining and insightful read. As you ponder the seeming chaos of Google as an organization you might also want to read Paul Glen's Leading Geeks - Google is in many ways a software startup that grew and grew but never really left the garage.
Birds of America - Lorrie Moore
Sat, 12/26/2009 - 13:42 — Michael Ridley
Birds of AmericaStarting reading Birds of America today, Lorrie Moore's 1998 collection of short stories that has received consistently high praise. So far (3 stories in), it meets all expectations.
The short story seems to be going through a resurgance recently (although for Canadians, because of Alice Munro and Mavis Gallant, it never really left town).
It may be unfair but Moore reminds me of Raymond Carver, also a brillant American short story writer. Same quirky plots, beautiful language, dark but funny vision, and unexpected use of images and words.
Reading Moore's story, Willing, the main character Sidra makes an awkward comment to her would be lover. Moore writes about the unfortunate, ill timed phrase "it came out wrong, like a lizard with a little hat on." How good is that?
Sunday New York Times
Sun, 12/13/2009 - 11:31 — Michael RidleyIt is so retro I know but I love newpapers printed on paper. I read lots of news on the web (I'm not a closet luddite) but there is something about a print newspaper. And at the top of the heap is the Sunday edition of the New York Times.
I could read it online (I read almost all my other favourite newspapers that way). I think I don't because the Sunday NYT is part of a ritual that I like too much: Sunday morning, fresh coffee, PJs, no urgent issues, quiet, reflective.
Here's my preferred pathway through the sections:
- Book Review
- Arts
- Business (two excellent tech columns)
- Week in Review
- Magazine (esp the one page interview)
- All the other sections
Free: the Future of a Radical Price by Chris Anderson
Sun, 12/06/2009 - 14:38 — Michael Ridley
Free by Chris Anderson: FreeChris Anderson, the editor of Wired and the author of The Long Tail, has written this very provocative book about all things free. Free: the Future of a Radical Price explores the idea that in an age ubiquitous digital products, the marketplace tends to drive the price of digital objects towards (and to) free.
While there are lots of models of how this can be done, it tends to boil down to "give stuff away so that people will buy other stuff." Give away music, make money on concerts and merchandise.
In my line of work the "information wants to be free" mantra has both challenged publishers and liberated scholarly content (e.g. the Open Access movement).
BTW Interesting review of Free by Malcolm Gladwell in The New Yorker.
