Recently in ob·ser·va·tion Category

I used to describe twitter to non-users as “Facebook status, but just that and nothing else”. But that description is not that good and doesn’t impart the real value of Twitter.

Twitter is much more than just status, as it seems to connect people emotionally. I know much more about friends of mine on Twitter than friends on Facebook. Or in real life for that matter. I know who’s having a shitty day and who’s not. Who’s in a playful mood and who’s drinking and who’s working. I don’t know who’s getting laid, but give it time.

My real life friends I have no idea what’s going on with them at all. Unless they/we call or email and everyone is too busy to do that, so I only find out when I see them, when we have plans. Which these days (wedding, beddings (kids) and buidlings (house moves)) is greatly reduced.

On the other hand shooting a few 140 character updates doesn’t take time out of the day, and once you start using twitter actually enhances the day. It enhances it because of the interaction between twitters.

It’s just this tiny little thread that shifts it from being a flat medium like facebook status to a social medium. It’s that difference that connects you to people rather than positions you as mere observer. And whilst the observation thread is nice, by itself it starts to die as it isn’t self sustaining. Where as the observation with interactivity grows and gets stronger. |t means I become a participant in my friends lives occasionally even if that participation is just Stuart getting coffee

I guess Twitter is more a small version of Facebook wall than a version of Facebook status. Of course where it really kicks Facebooks arse is where Facebook is trying to be a walled garden (come to our site come to our site come to our site) Twitter is just a node to be accessed.

I can consume and publish via the web, via IM, via text, via applications (I ♥ Twitterific), via via via via via. Which means it’s both very easy to publish, to observe and to interact with my friends on Twitter. And because it’s non time consuming (I can wack out 140 chars in a few seconds) and I can use it anywhere and any time it’s a running constant in my life.

Compare that to Facebook, which only offers an RSS feed. So when someone has something about me in their Facebook status don’t even see it. Plus because twitter has no other shit it does I only follow people I want to. Where Facebook is kinda of a storage system for people I know, people I sort of know and people who I want to sleep with.

I know lots of people bored with Facebook. Twitter on the other hand is part of my daily life.

I just wish more real friends would use it. As it really does connect people (especially busy people) socially and emotively.

Collection of adverts Facebook has hit me with over last week.

Think they’re hinting at something?

As a side note, I’ve recently thought it’s curious how most techies/geeks and the like seem to be against DRM, yet it’s something we’ve accepted and been happy with for years. We just called it shareware.

When I redesigned my site I need a graphics program. I’ve have no real design skills, but I still need to manipulate some images. I used to use ACDSee Photo Editor which came with ACDSee Photomanager. This was perfect till about version 8 or 9 when they have it too much functionality and turned it to shit and I went to mac.

I wanted something the same level for my Mac, but couldn’t find anything till recently. Photoshop/Ilustrator are too expensive, GIMP is like photoshop, but eye pokingly horrible too use and not very mac like. Please don’t comment on how great GIMP is I’d rather eat butter coated turds than use it. I can’t stand open office either. Don’t bother.

Anyway recently a raft of image/photo editing software just came out for the mac that was (potentially) just what I was looking for.

Acron, DrawIT, Pixelmator, Iris and LiveQuartz.

I’m not actually going to review any of these (I might do it later but this isn’t the purpose of this post).

What I am going to do is talk about evaluating these.

I have no problem with the concept of shareware. I have no problems with paying for software. In fact I’ll pay for just about anything under $20, and be pretty easy going up to $50. One might say I’m largely an ideal candidate for shareware.

However, like iTunes Video Rentals I think the terms of the shareware not conducive to adoption. Most shareware has most of if not all the following conditions

1. 15-30 day trial period (then mostly or totally stops working)
2. Annoyance (30s nag window)
3. Limited functionality (can’t print or save)

Now I fully understand this. We’re having the same debate at work and the need to generate revenue has to be balanced against getting users to use your products.

The problem with the above limitations is they don’t get users to use the products. And sometimes they get users to stop using the products. But mostly they just get users to evaluate the products.

What’s that I hear you say? “But we want users to evaluate our products”. Um … no you don’t. I remember reading a good article a few years ago, where someone was saying the problem with software reviews is that they are by reviews evaluating the software. So they install it, play it for a bit, write the evaluation and stop using it. Which is not the same as using it. I mean really really using it.

See the problem with a 15-30 day trial, is I normally download something, open it up. Have a look see and then shut it down. 10 days later when I open it up again, half my trial has gone and I have barely used it.

And well annoyances are annoyances, and I either get used to blindly ignoring them, or I de-install.

Take for example my blog. When the time came to use a graphics tool, DrawITs of trials was up and Acorn would put an annoyance watermark up after 15 mins, so I had to try working in 10 min goes. Eventually I paid up to discover it was half baked and so I now resent them

I think shareware developers need to look at what it takes to get passed the learning curve on their software and really be a user. On a saturday when redoing my blog I might have used Acorn for 3 hours over a 9 hour period. So instead of a 30 day evaluation, give me 30 hours. But 30 hours of actual use. Not since opening it, not sitting in the background. But actually using the tool. And hell while you are at it, double that number. Give me 60 hours.

If I’ve used your tool for 60 hours and am still using it, odds are I’ll buy it. And if I only use it for 60 hours in a year, give it to me for free. Or for $5, or $10% of the price. Because if I’m barely using your program throughout a year, even if I use it intensely for a weekend every now and then, I’m not going to pay. There are plenty of shareware apps, I would pay $5 or $10 for. But for something I ‘m going to use once I month, I’m not going to pay $50 for.

So you could be getting $5 from me. Which is not the same as losing $45, as you never were going to get it anyway.

I understand what a balance this is. We’re trying to get this right at work, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we got it wrong a few more times before we got it right. But I do know we want people using our solution over other solutions. And the best way to do this is to get people using it. Not to get people blocking it.

Do you think it’s by accident that Apple laptops and computers are all unlocked in their stores and online. Because unlike their competitors (who make less revenue per square foot of retail) they’re know that what needed to get people to buy machines is for them to play with them. Not for them to look at them. Even if people are sitting on them facebooking and hotmailling. They are using them. And thet’s what counts.

I had a friend who called indicators “tick-tocks”. Used to drive me batty, as it just sounded childish and … well dumb to me. For the same reasons I steam slightly at the ears when people write “u” or “wot” instead writing like an educated adult. ¹

So it does amuse me that whilst the Brits are quick to jump on, an beat Americans with the smug stick, they specialise in some of the most annoying dumbing down that grates against my language sensibilities ²

The three that easily jump to mind and hit it with a “it’s so wrong” bat are

1. Eggy Bread
2. Joined up Writing
3. Pancake Day

I look at those and I shudder. It’s like spiders with big nails walking up a black board.

For the record the real names are

1. French Toast.
2. Cursive Writing
3. Shrove Tuesday

What’s next, present-day (Christmas), arty-writing (calligraphy), square bread (loaf) and stick bread (baguette), porn box (computer), wordy paper (books), etc etc.

It’s all shudder worthy. And I hear these terms from smart, normal serious people who suddenly sound like children to me. Although I don’t think language should be dumped down for children either.

How anyone can think “joined-up-writing” sounds like something you would say beyond the age of 5 I don’t know. And what’s wrong with cursive?

Or how anyone can take lent seriously but then call it pancake day is beyond me. I’m not being picky here, I really don’t understand how you can keep 40 days of a religious discipline but then remove the hysterical or religious significance from the event by removing all the meaning of the day by trivialising it into it’s most mundane element. It’s strikes me as very odd.

I’m sure their are other examples of this, and it may not be a purely British trait, but for a country that gave us such a wealth of poetry and great writing, it strikes me as very odd.

But then wot do I know³?

¹ Yes I know my grammer and spelling are not always in line with what one might view as an educated adult. However I will say these two things (1) They are not intentional, “u” and “wot” are, and (2) bite me.

² Yes I have some. You have eats shoot and peas. I have my own.

³ I fully expect to be be yelled at for this blog post. But really … eggy bread? I mean come on.

So I haven't blogged in a while, I know. I'm going though some sort of life entropy at the moment.

And I know most of you readers don't care about football.

But I'm going to talk about England's (frankly unsurprising) exit from the Euro 2008 Championship. Those not interested can surf for porn instead. (or if that's why you came here, I'll be removing my shirt shortly and going to bed)

So it appears that the British economy is due a £2bn loss due to not making it to the Euro championship. Which economically I'm inclined to agree with.

Of course it's no big deal if the powers that be who ran football watched a bit of rugby. I don't expect them too given the snails pace they adopted other smart moves from the superior oval ball or the harder faster small red one (seriously we can't "go upstairs" to check if a ball crossed a line yet? you're kidding).

See, being a rugby man, I never quite got why there were no real "tests" in football and ever year when I went to watch the Autumn Internationals I got asked by football fans, what tournament was on. In football there seems to be, The World Cup, Euro-Tournament, Qualifications for The World Cup and Euro, and stupid pointless friendlies that have different (read stupid) rules. If you're not qualifying and you're not playing in a cup there is nothing to do. Not to mention the scheduling that at best is dotted around like a random topping on a pizza.

So to avoid this £2bn loss, and perhaps have some interesting football next year it doesn't take a genius to see what to do. Since none of the home nations managed to qualify for Euro2008, why not have a 5 Nations with England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and Northern Ireland.

The players should be free. The stadium are there. There would be massive interest because of the long running passion/rively/nationlism/hatred/stupid between the nations that make up the British Isles and Ireland. There would be plenty of money and feel good factors.

Show it at the same time as Euro2008 (which would probably go down like a ton of bricks) or before or after. Or as curtain raisers. It would keep the players sharp, give the new Managers and Coaches some real games to play in, and the fans would love it.

Call it the "Sevitz Cup"