The Virtual Handshake Blog

Archive for July, 2004

Online social networks go to work

Friday, July 30th, 2004

This MSNBC article on Online social networks go to work reads like a summary of our book.
Travis Kalanick, Founder and CEO of Red Swoosh
Q: How do you use online social networking services?
A: Social networks are like grease — in some cases, gasoline — for our personal business networking machines. If you aren”t plugged [...]

Cartoons and Social Networks

Thursday, July 29th, 2004

This 2000 article, See you in the Funny Papers: Cartoons and Social Networks, is even more relevant (and entertaining) today than it was when first published.
The field of social network analysis seems to be in … center-stage position today. The fact that social networks is “hot” is indicated by its increasingly frequent appearance in the [...]

Conversational Cheap Shots, or How to Strategically Manage Your Conversations

Wednesday, July 28th, 2004

I recently found re-posted this old article on Conversational Cheap Shots, or How to Strategically Manage Your Conversations.
An excerpt:

It is hoped that exposing these tactics will help muzzle the growing abuse in our conversational landscape. …
First, we have the Ad Hominem Variants where you attack the person as a way to avoid truth, science, or [...]

Protected: 100 Things About Me (Scott Allen)

Wednesday, July 28th, 2004

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

Blogs: The Future of Politics?—NYC, Aug. 10

Monday, July 26th, 2004

I plan to attend this upcoming event:
Blogs: The Future of Politics?
Speakers: Jeff Jarvis, Daniel Radosh, Geraldine Sealey, and Bryan Keefer.

Once the province of lone web fanatics, blogging has gone mainstream,
becoming an indispensable source of news and commentary and a means of [...]

Angel investing opportunities in social network software

Monday, July 26th, 2004

As part of a recent article Scott Allen and I wrote for Worth magazine, we did some research on angel investing opportunities in social network software. Although some of the hype around the social network arena has (fortunately) abated, there are a number of areas in the social software industry where we still see [...]

Ryze eyes shift in networking model

Tuesday, July 20th, 2004

Today, Ryze founder/CEO Adrian Scott announced plans for significant changes intended to improve the quality and experience of business networking on Ryze. None of the plans are written in stone at this point, and he has opened it up to the Ryze membership at large for feedback.
The feedback indicates we”re doing a few things [...]

LinkedIn facts, direction, highlighted in Oakland Tribune article

Tuesday, July 20th, 2004

A recent profile of LinkedIn in the Oakland Tribune highlights some of the more interesting facts about the site, as well as their future direction.
Some of the highlights include:
- “While LinkedIn.com is a free site, and intends to keep providing a free service in the future, it plans to launch a premium service that would [...]

Tools to manage small project teams

Sunday, July 18th, 2004

All of life is one big To Do list. I personally spend most of my time managing project teams for the various projects that I am responsible for.
I have been looking for some time for a more efficient way to track the progress of my teammates. I have used Microsoft Project [...]

Finding the ideal ergonomic keyboard

Sunday, July 18th, 2004

I have been experimenting with some new options in ergonomic keyboards. Most of us spend hours per day on a keyboard. But most keyboards are built for the convenience of the manufacturer–with all the keys in a straight line– not for the way that our real, non-linear hands work. To learn about [...]