Wow, Obama chooses judge who knows stuff

This Wired article about new Spreme Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor is interesting, as it runs through her experience with cyberlaw. Looks like she knows more than this judge.

Our website, MelbinNoir, is coming along. I figured out how to utilise the Headline and Feature section, and the category browsing, so that's good. I'm a bit nervous about the pitch this afternoon, but it should be ok I suppose.

Looking at the other groups' sites, Chocrocks and UpUrAlley, and I'm pretty impressed. Its looking really good. I like the Chocrock graphic, and how the site seems to be all things chocolate, not just a directory. And I like how UpUrAlley have the 'new to the site' thing, which we've not figured out yet. I'm looking at some 'login-log out' plugins at the moment for Noir.

I was talking to my friend who is a jazz muso, and he didn't like the name of our site, he didn't get the MelbIN thing. I'm worried this might be a problem. Still getting the hang of the categories too, at this stage the front page menu is not discrete enough yet, there needs to be a better way of filtering the categories.

Linky goodness

I quite liked this article at the Inquisitr responding to Nick Cohen saying the BBC is more trustworthy than bloggers. Haha, good one Cohen. And one I should probably use: Wired's Eliot Van Buskirk reported on a new Mac OS App called 'SelfControl' that blocks your access to "time wasing" computer activities like checking emails, Twitter and Facebook. There's probably a whole post in there somewhere about snobbery and social networking, what constitutes 'real' behaviour and what is just 'silly online stuff', but I'm sure you've heard enough out of me.

Links - RedBubble

You find out about the Internet not just on the Internet but in 'real life' too. On Saturday I was at the pub having drinks with a friend for her birthday, and I started talking to one of her friends about what I did and what she did. Turns out she's a graphic designer, working on colour and materials at a major car company, but also produces her own art. When she found out I was into the Internet, she started talking about RedBubble - an online space designed as a community for artist and a wider galley space and business. Often it is the case that ebusinesses are able to promote products that perhaps are aimed outside the traditional typical consumer groups. The products sold can often be described as 'niche' pr perhaps even 'alternative.' Sites like Etsy.com for handmade crafts and Threadless.com (as mentioned in class) for custom t-shirts are good examples of this. RedBubble has that same idea of promoting emerging artists who perhaps have not yet broken into the more typical areas of exposure.

Taking a look at RedBubble and it becomes clear that its business is focused on a sense of community of both artists and art appreciators or customers. This is another big feature of many online retail stores, perhaps the most famous examples is the user reviews at Amazon.com or the buyer/seller peer reviews on eBay.com. I guess customers feel a bigger sense of autonomy and power as compared to a traditional store where interacting with like-minded customers is more difficult.

RedBubble was started in my home town, Melbourne, and now it has offices in San Fransisco and I think also now London. Perhaps its key to success is its focus on community, and also the fairly unique pitch of being an 'online gallery' where art lovers can browse and perhaps the works of artists from their homes. Social photo sites such as Flickr.com already serves the same sort of purpose, but RedBubble has the hook of having 'real artists' (whatever that means in this world of participatory media) uploading their work.

The day before tomorrow

Tomorrow I'm bringing home my first ever Apple product (apart from downloading iTunes) - a 24" 2.66Ghz 4GB 640GB iMac! (Yes, I waited for the upgrade) To be honest, I've never really been a big fan of Macs, they never seemed so much better than a PC to warrant the price difference. To me they didn't seem to work 'better', just 'differently.' I also resent the way Apple has turned electronics and computers into fetish items. But I digress.

I'm getting an iMac for really one reason - to learn a new skill. I'm pretty comfortable navigating the Windows OS by now and I figure if I'm going to be taken seriously as someone who can work a computer slightly better than your average Josephine, I'm going to need to work a Mac. Not that anyone really works a Mac, the Mac works them and lets them think they're working it. But I digress again, as you can see I've got some Mac issues I'm going to have to work on if I'm going to avoid tears.

It should be interesting to see the way my blog changes when I get a Mac, whether I find it easier or harder. I might even buy a domain name and download WordPress, so I can have greater control over the aesthetics of it. Macs are good at aesthetics, right? That's what Justin Long told me anyway. 

I'll keep you posted on how I travel along the road to coolness.

 [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLbJ8YPHwXM]

Kids these days.