Mind Architecture Happenings

By now, most people have heard of AJAX. It seems to be at the heart of all the Web 2.0 talk. Most people can’t define what web 2.0 is, but will tell you that it is a revolution that is changing not only the web and how we do business. Phooey I say. Just like the new PC technology 30 years ago was supposed to change and did change the world, it really wasn’t until it was used (due to Macs and later Windows) in certain ways that it really started changing things. The technolgy itself did not change things.

The web is the current focus though. Many sites are claiming to be Web 2.0 and many developers will develop a Web 2.0 site for you. The focus is on the technology and creating a site using it. The problem is, the site may not be needed or may not have much to do with your business. If that is the case, who cares. It doesn’t make your site better to use Web 2.0 technologies if they are used just to use them. There are plenty of static web sites out there that are more relevant than most web 2.0 sites.

The phenomenon is the sites that use the web as their main business in confounding ways. Myspace and youtube are great examples. Just about everyone I know has used both of these sites. These types of sites have helped cause almost a gold rush of similar sites clamoring to get a piece of the pie. Even these aren’t really the revolution changing aspect that I am approaching.

For most businesses, creating a YouTube or MySpace type site doesn’t fit their business and business goals. These types of sites aren’t useful to them. But, the next step in site evolution may be. So what am I hinting at? Bingo.

We recently did a portal website that allows Ohio users to find a bingo hall close to them. This site was created and then used for a commercial for a new game show on ABC - National Bingo Night. The actual game show had it’s own website that allowed people to download bingo cards to play, and win, from home. The show itself didn’t do great and got cancelled fairly quickly. The website on the other hand did absolutely wonderful. The number of unique visitors to the abc.com web site more than doubled in May from the same month a year earlier. According to MediaMetrix and Nielsen NetRatings, the site finished as the number one entertainment TV site for May.

Those types of number would make any business happy. That isn’t even the part that I believe is a complete shift in thinking. The interesting part is that they are bringing the TV show back on the air, mostly because of the web traffic. So they are doing a TV show to support their website! That is huge. Essentially, the brick and mortar focus of the business is actually taking a supporting role for the website. The website has now become the main focus of this business and is being used to get visititors and ultimately use that for revenue.

This is such a big concept that it is hard to really appreciate the scope of it. Let’s put it another way by using history. In the early part of the 20th century people could buy a car. They didn’t have many choices and they were expensive. There were no good roads, so it wasn’t the best way to travel. Most people still walked, rode bikes or horses. Then, Ford created the assembly line and suddenly anyone could get a car. That was so significant that we now have major roadways covering our country and most people own at least 1 car. This is the kind of shift that this type of business change can mean.

There are sites already using this type of thinking. Webkinz and Bella Sara cards are the ones I’ve seen. Webkinz are cute stuffed animals and Bella Sara have trading cards with horse pictures on them. Neither of these are outstanding or extremely different products. For each though, there is a website that kids can log onto and enter a code that came with their product. Now they can use their product online playing games and interacting with others. Ah, using the myspace idea but now they have a business (selling some product) that is meant to get you online. By itself, neither the products or the online sites would be spectactular. Together, they are overwhelming. Care to try to find a webkinz or a bella sara card pack on sale? Good luck. They are so extremely popular that stores cannot keep them in stock. It’s all so that the kids can get their card or animal registered on the web. How much in advertising or other products can the millions that are on these sites be worth?

So the shift I see is getting a business to create a web site that is more the focus of business and their current business is the support. Definitely a radical shift in thinking, but this appears to be the next step in the evolution of business and the web and their synergy. Almost every business can open their minds to these types of new ideas and create a truly viable and unique website that can not only enhance their business, but possibly become more of their business than originally thought possible.

These are the types of sites we are currently working on and encouraging clients to pursue. If interested in discussing how your business can take advantage of this new thinking and web climate, contact us.

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Verisign
It would seem that not only are hackers having auctions that allow anyone to purchase found exploits, but other companies are offering money for finding exploits. I would hope that Verising is doing this for more altruistic means than that hackers.

Is this a bad thing? Hey, if someone wants to pay others to find security holes that can then be patched thereby saving us all from a lot of grief, great.

Should you upgrade to Vista? That is currently a big question on quite a few minds.

If you are buying a new pc, the question is moot. Almost all new pc’s now come with some version of Vista.

The real question, then, is whether you should upgrade to Vista if you are keeping your current computer. In the short term, the answer will be no for most people.

A good general rule of thumb with upgrading an OS is to wait a couple months for the first bugs to shake out. Once that happens, then you can make the move.

Vista adds a few other things to consider though. For one, the hardware requirements are quite hefty. If you want to use all the special features and whiz-bangs of Vista, you are going to need a fairly new and hefty machine with a really great video card. Forget about on board video. The new Aero Glass eats up a ton of video resources. You will need a system with a new graphics card that has at least 128MB video ram, but I would recommend even more. You will also need a card with pixel shader 2.0 built in.

You may be able to run Vista without the hefty video card, but you will lose out on certain of the ‘cool’ features. For some people that is ok, just make sure they are aware of what they are losing (like Aero Glass).

Microsoft also recommends a 1GHZ processor, but again we would recommend something bigger than that. Without a faster processor and without a high end graphics, Windows may run very slowly. Especially once you add all the other programs that people usually have on their system.

Generally, we haven’t been recommending most people to run out and buy Vista right now. There are some great things and nice things but for most people there isn’t a real driving need to upgrade at the moment. For most people, the best time to upgrade would be within the next year when they buy a new PC. If they just bought a PC, ok, great, go ahead and upgrade. If not, it may be best to wait.

A couple articles that are about this:
http://www.mindarch.com/b2/2006/10/06/windows-vista-2/
http://www.mindarch.com/b2/2006/11/10/directx-10-the-xp-killer/

NPR did a story on how today’s teens view their privacy online. Mostly, teens aren’t concerned about their privacy online. They feel that most of what they put online isn’t something secret and private. They’ve gone the last couple years, almost growing up with YouTube and MySpace. To them it’s not a big deal to tell the world about themselves and have everyone look at it.

They do feel that monitoring their phone calls would be a big invasion of privacy. It will be interesting in another 10 years to see how those teens view these issues.

As a web developer, privacy can be a big deal. We have worked with companies that have a lot of very private information for websites. Members lists and information, records of business, etc. Privacy can definitely be something a company has to highly consider before finishing a database web app. Just a couple years ago the most pressing privacy concern on the web was making sure you had a posted privacy policy to tell people you wouldn’t sell their email address. That seems like a minor concern now.

There area many aspects to consider, including laws and company policy. Basically, if you have to have some personal information on the web, you need to do what you can to ensure it stays private and secure. At Mind Architecture, we’ve been building many web sites that need security and privacy addressed. Large companies that allow PO orders. We may need the ordering companies account and billing information online. We need to ensure not only is the website password protected and secure, but all adjoining factors. The server needs to be secured. The web server application needs to be secured. The database with all the actual information definitely needs secured. It doesn’t do any good to have a web application where only one piece is secured as that won’t uphold privacy very well.

The bottom line is, when you are creating an internet application, you need to consider the information and data to go on the website and how that could impact someone and their privacy. Most companies don’t want to be involved with the courts because they put up some info that shouldn’t have been on the web.

January 16th is a big day for Mind Architecture. That is our 6th anniversary. Statistics show that most small businesses fail in the first 5 years. We’ve gone beyond that. And we are continuing to grow. That all adds up to more stability, more experience, and more reliability. All items that clients like to see.

So, if you get a chance, stop by our new office and help us celebrate this momentous occassion.