I got invited to another MSN Search Champ get-together in Seattle.  Unfortunately, I won't be there this time because I got too many things on my plate.

Looks like Michael Yang who founded mySimon a while back and sold it very timely to CNET for an impressive amount is at it again with Become.com.  At first glance, it appears to be another Froogle.  I'll have to ask him to show me the big picture.

All I have to say about the little 'techno-riot' started unintentionally by Niall Kennedy is this:

Give them time to work it out.

Niall Kennedy and David Sifry are both nice people and, given time, they'll work out the problem as well as learn from the experience.  I also don't see any problem with Niall choosing to pull his post whether he was pressured or not.  All the bitching about how he was pressured to do so amounts to pressuring him as well.  It's his blog dammit.

Niall, do what you think is right.  Frankly, I think you should care more about the people you work with everyday than uppity bloggers who sees you as no more than a dinner conversation and an excuse to strut indignantly.

Update:

Looks like David and Niall are working it out.  Bravo.

In a way, blogger/company relationship is like child/parent relationship.  Children often forget that their parents are also learning as they are.  This is why I keep reminding my son that I am at my age for the first time and am learning just as he is, like learning how to be a good father.  I told him that making mistakes is fine but making the same mistakes over and over is not because that means you are not learning.

Clear blogging guidelines help but they don't fit all situations.  Both sides also need to rise above company policies and political correctness, paying more attention to the people involved and their feelings to find the right balance that can last.

Shelly wrote:

…to a woman, a link is a way of connecting and being connected. To hearing and being heard. But not so for a guy. Guys see links as power, and therefore something precious, and to be protected. They hold on to their links as tightly, and as lovingly, as a thirsty drunk holds onto a bottle.

For instance, 'nofollow' wouldn't just be a misuse of HTML and a way for Google to solve the weblogger pest problem: it would be way of increasing the power of one’s link – literally a hypertext version of Viagra. As for Google, it becomes both the hand and the condom, enabling and protecting at the same time.

I think there is indeed a gender gap in the blogosphere but the gap works both ways, meaning girls link to other girls more often than they do to guys.  In a way, blogosphere is like a big elementary school yard.  Gender is a social force that affects social grouping as well as interactions.  So I think what she is noticing is partly due to differences in intra-group versus inter-group linking behaviors.

Steve Gillmor wonders if Sergey is listening.  A very nice, timely, and enjoyable article, Steve.  The problem is that people who see you as a rock, instead of a road, are more likely to be thinking about ways to get around the rock than listen to it.  Let them realize too late that rocks can roll.

Just got back from Tahoe.  While the weather was fantastic, snow was too slushy.  North Tahoe Hyatt was great though.  Overall, I enjoyed the trip although I prefer camping over skiing, less aches and more food.

What a fuck up in Iraq.  Obviously a breakdown in communication somewhere resulted in a dead hero.  Why weren't the checkpoints informed?  Why did the convoy speed up?  Why did they have to use guns to stop cars when they could have installed remotely controlled roadblocks?  How could something this stupid happen?

An edited copy of my comment I left at Jeff Sandquist's blog via Dave Winer's beard post:

I have a beard most of the time because I am lazy. I don't think my beard looks good at all but my beard grows a mile a minute and it's a chore to shave every day. I probably wouldn't mind shaving much if I could use a electric shaver but I have yet to see one that lasts more than a month under my thick (and deadly according to my son) hair. So I shave only when I have important business meetings or the right mood strikes me although I have yet to avoid a razor cut each time because of all the tugging and pulling I have to do to scrape the hair off my face. Totally unreal.

This post made me think of the girl who used to cut my hair long time ago.  She had a habit of leaning forward while she cut hair.  When she cut my hair, she kept saying she needed a goggle because my hair splinters attacked her everytime she cut.  Hmm.  Good material for a kung-fu movie?  Attack of the Iron Beard!