More evidence of executive blogging - Sun #2 Jonathan Schwartz has started a blog with the following:

Why shouldn’t an officer of a public company start a blog? Hey, life is short. At some point, take RegFD to its logical extreme, and this is how we’re all going to be communicating anyways. Think about it.

via Sun’s Jim G.

Bill Gates’ demeanor was almost dismissive when it came to Google. During a press Q&A here this morning, Gates responded to a question about the company’s search strategy by commenting: “We were in search before Google was founded.”

As quoted by Computerworld in this overview, Gates is determined to respond to Google by widening the scope of how we define “search.”

Naturally enough, if you look at search in the forthcoming “Longwait” (Longhorn) OS, Microsoft is chasing the notion of context. We want to search documents on our PC, across the company network, Intranet and Internet. We might (and should) want to include blogs in that search. It’s not a question of simply finding a document, but understanding how different documents and pieces of information relate to one another. That’s a very strategic, and interesting proposition that will reshape how we view information – and how computers map relationships between different pieces of data for us to analyze.

Another quick aside from today’s PR cameo. Gates said with the exception of media businesses like MSNBC, Slate and Expedia, Microsoft is completely focused on developing software. Wondering out loud here in the context of those spin-off businesses – will Microsoft become one of the first vendors to exploit ideas like Jeremy Wright’s Bloggist Magazine and set itself up as the blog portal and take out Google’s Blogger.com?

UPDATE: Here’s Computerworld’s report on Microsoft’s $40M charity drive, backed by the Aussie PM.

UPDATE #2: If you’re really keen, you can read this transcript of Gates’ speech today (supplied by Microsoft PR): Download speech_by_bill_gates.doc

UPDATE #3: The Australian notes that Microsoft’s search site will get a refresh in July. Here’s Gates talking about Microsoft search (from MS transcript):

In July the format of the site will change and so the quality of what you get and the way it’ll look is dramatically improved. It’ll be later this year that we actually roll out what’s entirely our own back end driving the search. So starting in July there’s significant improvements all the way through to the end of the year, and then, of course, you know, we’ll keep investing in it after that.

Comment spam is a vile practise where some person decides they need to use a blog like mine to use the comment feature to create a link to their wooden blinds or popup killer business - or even worse. I’ve noticed over the last month or so that it’s becoming an escalating problem for bloggers. Well, now it’s my turn. The comment spam has started filtering in, so I’m filtering it out. No more comments, sorry.

However, I will keep the trackback system live going. This is the most positive course of action I can take. Essentially it means if you want to participate in a conversation, you either need to comment on your own blog and link to mine (go on, I promise to reciprocate.. or you can email me directly. Until Typepad can produce a service where I get to approve the comments before they go live, I’ll have to suspend the service indefinitely.

Did I mention how much I hate spammers?

Video conferencing at 35,000 feet, Apple style.

Congratulations to my friends at Salesforce.com for a successful IPO.

Microsoft’s chairman will also meet the Federal Opposition Leader Mark Latham during his visit next Monday, according to this Computerworld report. Until recently, he was only expected to meet the PM.

CW’s Julian Bajkowski, a man with plenty of Australian Government sources, is evidently enjoying playing up the secrecy surrounding Gates’ visit.

Microsoft Australia’s manager of corporate communications Samantha Herron managed to elevate the secretive cult of Gates’ personality to Maoist proportions, stating no discussion of any “private” aspects of the visit of “the chairman” would be entered into. Herron then refused to confirm, deny or elaborate about why the meeting with Latham was taking place.

MarketingProfs.com has nailed why blogs still don’t enjoy the same popular status among marketers as other communications tools like email newsletters.

1. The term blogging is associated with online journals; personal, unedited writing; and, er… needless bloviating.

2. Most folks don’t know what a newsreader is and why you need one to subscribe to a blog or any other RSS feed.

Yes, they are clarifying what bloggers already know, but both marketers and your average Joe Schmoe still doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about. Particularly in Australia.

Here’s my quick analysis and reasoning:

The world of blogging is packed full of subtleties, rules, social expectations, codes of conduct, geek-speak, and little secrets such as how to get more hits. In short, it’s an entire social and business ecosystem. And all this comes despite the simplicity of setting up and running a blog using a service like Typepad (which very competently hosts filtered, btw).

It all boils down to the fact that a successful blogger (particularly in the business & IT space) must simultaneously perform many roles that we typically encounter in newspapers and magazine publishing: reporter, columnist, editor, copy editor, web designer, hosting manager, online publisher, evangelist, and marketing manager.

Bloggers ultimately hope that people (particularly marketers if you’re chasing revenue through AdWords or BlogAds) will firstly understand this blog ecosystem, and secondly appreciate why you offer a different perspective that’s attractive to readers. There are many bloggers out there who go to great lengths to explain what they are doing, and why. Many others simply get on with blogging and hope people will just “get it.”

There’s no right or wrong with either approach. My point is that it will probably take longer for both marketers and the non-blogging internet population to “get” blogs than we expect. The good news, to steal a line from a shampoo commercial, is that while it won’t happen overnight, it will happen.

First we had Australia’s spam act. Now the Democrats are attempting to tackle spyware with a bill that they admit will be difficult to police on the Internet, but creates a law where prosecution is possible.

I agree with this quote:

No program or cookie or any other form of tracking device is to be installed on any computer without the user of that computer being given clear information as to the purpose of the program or tracking device.

While there is some connection, the apparent confusion between spam and spyware has me worried:

Virus writers need to be brought to justice. The Australian government doesn’t appreciate the damage done [and should] stop treating [cybercrime] as some naughty child’s activity.

Tracking devices such as cookies are an important part of of the Internet publishing model. Advertisers pay to know who visits what sites, how often, and from what geographic locations. Throwing spyware or cookies, which are typically not malicious, into the spam basket is too simplistic and will inevitably cause more confusion among marketers.

Update: CNet reports an adware company has blocked Utah’s spyware legislation, which apparently unlike Australia, excludes cookies from the anti-adware law.

Call me a geek, but ever since returning to Australia I keep noticing lots of cool little inventions. Here’s the latest story about an Australian invention being launched across the pond in NZ where power supply is a real concern:

The Centameter, a portable monitor that allows users to manage their power use in real-time, will made available for the first time in New Zealand this week.

~snip~

The Centameter combines a simple clip-on sensor/transmitter, which can be installed in any household or office meter-box, and a portable, in-home monitor. The monitor displays real-time power use in cents per hour and is sensitive enough to register the savings made by switching off a single 25-watt light.

Brad Howarth has come out swinging against the rise of social networking sites like LinkedIn, Ryze, and Friendster in a ZDNet article.

Despite strong initial interest from Internet users in services such as Ryze, Linked-In, Spokeand Friendster, they are yet to prove themselves to be more than just a fad. Likewise, there is little evidence these companies will generate sufficient revenue from users to be profitable.

He also attacks the local market:

If social networking is another bubble, it is one that will most likely float right over Australia. A poll of Australian investors found none were aware of any social networking services having started up here, and most were sceptical of the model as demonstrated in the US.

Also check out this great rebuttal that questions the article’s facts.

Some context: Brad’s a friend and industry contact. In fact, we’re connected via LinkedIn. And so is Walter Adamson, one of the people quoted in the story – found this story via a post on his blog, in fact.

I’m curious to know why Brad is attacking a service that he’s so clearly using to do his job? Just because we don’t understand something doesn’t mean it won’t work. That’s the natural cycle of new technology implementation.

Interestingly enough, I caught up with our mutual contact Walter Adamson last week after connecting thru LinkedIn and being aware of each other’s blogs. I’ve just filed the next edition of my CIO diary based on my use of LinkedIn (watch this space). Walter emailed me his thoughts on the subject, but space didn’t permit inclusion in the column.

I’ll post a slightly edited down version of those comments here because space isn’t a problem, and I happen to think he’s right (bold emphasis mine).

Does LinkedIn generate lasting value? In my experience yes but this is related to the initial effort in setting up a professional profile and treating the exercise as a marketing investment. I am getting a steady flow of enquiries that has been consistent since I focused on LinkedIn as a part of my marketing toolset, along with my website and blog. For the 4 months prior to beginning that effort of investing in LinkedIn I was a member but received no enquiries.

Of the enquiries one has led to a potential partnership with an Israeli firm, which is in process, and another with an Australian-based global venture in digital imaging, and another with a substantial Japanese provider of content for imode, whom I visited last week.

Another advantage comes from actually using the network to locate potential sources of information and partnership, such as when I went to Shanghai recently and used Linkedin to set up meetings with local mobile entrepreneurs.

Just like any other marketing tool you need an objective, and then a plan to invest resources, and then monitoring and modification (or continuous improvement) according to what works.

So as a static tool I think that the expectation of success is low. As a dynamic marketing tool it has proven effective for me, proportional to the effort I have invested in its content and method of working.

UPDATE: Brad Howarth responds to one reader’s rebuttal of the article. And to clarify my comment above, Brad rightly observes that just because he uses a product, it doesn’t mean he necessarily approves of that product. Based on my experience thus far, I simply believe we should not be too quick to write off social networking services.