Humanist → Blog by Luke Hoersten

Unified Web Persona: Custom OpenID & G-Talk URLs

An online web persona is essentially a collection of online personal effects: web pages, profiles, and accounts. It’s important to have a well maintained web persona for a few reasons: to be easily discovered by potential employers, to build connections, and to be easily contacted. I try to saturate search results for my name with sites that I control to ensure that the online image of myself is well formed and professional. To aid in that professionalism, it’s important to unify all personal effects under one domain name (in my case, luke.hoersten.org).

The four most important units of my web persona are my personal website and unified login (luke.hoersten.org), and my email and instant message handle (luke@hoersten.org). The email address and website are trivial to set up with a custom domain name but the unified login and instant message handle can be harder. OpenID and Google Talk can aid in the customization.

Unified Login: Custom OpenID URL

OpenID is a decentralized single sign-on system. Using OpenID-enabled sites, web users do not need to remember traditional authentication tokens such as username and password.
— Wikipedia

OpenID is finally starting to get wide-spread use! For me, though, the biggest turnoff to OpenID is the horrible choice of OpenID provider domain names. If I’m going to be picking a one-size-fits-all login, I want it to look good, right? While setting up my own OpenID Provider, I realized that OpenID is intended to use any site I own as my OpenID login. That means I can get an OpenID provider anywhere, as long as the URL I’m using as my OpenID URL is linked to my OpenID provider. Here’s how it’s done:

Link a personal website to the OpenID provider. This is the URL which will be used to log in to OpenID enabled websites.

<link rel="openid.server" href="http://www.myopenid.com/server" />
<link rel="openid.delegate" href="http://youraccount.myopenid.com/" />

Now I am able to log in to OpenID enabled websites with “luke.hoersten.org” even though my OpenID Provider may be with myOpenID or some other provider. This is because “luke.hoersten.org” forwards to my real OpenID.

IM Handle: Custom Jabber

Getting a personalized instant message handle is not easy. There are many different IM networks and matching all of those to a personal brand can be tricky. Luckily Google is really pushing Google Talk.They’ve added support for the largest IM network, America Online Instant Message (AIM), so now a Google Talk handle has one of the widest exposures. Google also has something called Google Apps which allows users to bind parts of their domain name to certain functions like Jabber IM and email. This is what I use for both email and IM, and it’s free. Sign up for Google Apps and set up both email and a custom Jabber account all in one place.

The new Google Talk account can be accessed with any Jabber client. Here is the Pidgin setup:

Pidgin Basic Google Talk Setup

Pidgin Advanced Google Talk Setup

Completing a Web Persona

Of course, the above steps are only a few in creating a complete online persona. Web Worker Daily has some great posts about why someone would want an online persona and how to build a complete persona. Both Google and Yahoo! allow unrelated email addresses to be added to your respective accounts. Google has a special secret page for this and Yahoo! can be controlled right from the profile screen. Hopefully both will allow OpenIDs to be attached in the near future.

¶ Posted 13 February 2008 § Tagged: Business/Marketing, Google, Howto, Internet, OpenID ‡ Comments (0)

Single vs. Multiple Computer Setups

As the price gap between notebooks and desktops closes, two computer setup have emerged. Clearly mobility is required these days and therefore a laptop (or mobile gadget) is integral to all computer setups, but the real question is: is the user’s notebook the one and only main computer or is the notebook auxiliary to something more static, such as a desktop or server (a “base station”)? Because computers are still outside most consumers’ impulse buying ranges, here are some pros and cons to consider regarding each setup:

Single Notebook Setup

Pros

Single virtual work environment follows the user everywhere (window layout etc.) so only one desktop environment needs to be maintained.
All critical data is centralized so scp-ing projects around isn’t necessary.

Cons

External hard drive must be used for bulk storage like movies and music. I’ve yet to meet someone who had a big enough notebook hard drive to store all their data. This is quickly changing though.
Risk of carrying around sensitive data is increased because notebooks are easily stolen. Most mobile users are used to this and never let their notebooks out of their sight.
More expensive resources (memory, hard drive, etc.) and upgrading can be harder.

Multiple PC Setup

Pros

Data is “always on” so even if the user doesn’t have their notebook, torrents can still be running and files can be accessed (ssh) from some other public computer.
Desktop state can be securely maintained by leaving the computer running.

Cons

Extra cost for a notebook and desktop is incurred.
Data is distributed and must be synced. Every project must be moved to the notebook for mobile use and then synced back.

Trend Analysis

The single notebook setup seems to be gaining popularity over the past five years as wireless connectivity has spread. Desktop sales have been plummeting and Apple has made it super easy to use the obligatory external hard drive for mobile backups.

The multiple computer setup seems to be making a comeback though. Apple released some pretty awesome new iMacs and the new MacBook Air. I would argue that the stripped down Air plus the iMac release is Apple’s attempt to facilitate the vintage multi-computer setup. The Air has caused quite a backlash in the blogging community and taking a deeper look reveals that the backlash seems to be coming from current MacBook users. The same users who use their MacBook or PowerBook as their main and only computer.

Notebook-as-main-PC users apparent downsides to the Air:

No USB port

No ethernet port

No optical drive

No Audio In

No FireWire

— Jim Whimpey

A “base station” user, such as myself, would see these “downsides” in a completely different light. When having a base station, I use my notebook for one thing: access the internet. Using my notebook as a thin client doesn’t reduce my usability while mobile because I’m able to use web apps and ssh to easily stay synced with my desktop. Having to keep synced at all does at some layer of indirection but it’s minimal compared to even a few years ago, before the explosion of web apps. The popularity of web apps definitely reduces the severity of the “synchronization problem.”

So what would cause a notebook-as-main-PC user to switch to the vintage base station setup?:

I love the permanent feel of a desktop computer, the way it’s never moved, the ability to leave peripherals like hard drives plugged in, move the keyboard without moving the screen, the lack of a crude drive noise when waking from sleep, the durable feel, there’s a lot to like. As well as just getting more computer for your money.
— Jim Whimpey

What setup do you use and why? What keeps you from using another setup?

¶ Posted 10 February 2008 § Tagged: Hardware, Lifestyle, Productivity ‡ Comments (18)

Paid Blogging

I write blog articles because it’s enjoyable. I spend weeks finding the perfect sources, wording, images, and tone for each article. Blogging is how I unwind after long hours of programming but it’s also a pretty big investment. I have to pay for hosting and the domain name out of my pocket, not to mention the time I spend doing technical work on the server and web applications as well as writing the blog articles.

Ads allow me to barely break even and make my blogging free, fun, and self-sufficient. Ads generally have a pretty negative connotation. They conjure thoughts of obtrusive flashing banner ads and flash games. There is, however, an alternative which strikes a perfect balance between the site owner, readers, and advertisers. Text Link Ads¹ aims to be the nice guy in the “targeted traffic and link popularity” sector. Targeted traffic ad firms help align site owners with advertisers.

Ad Models

There are a few different types of advertising models. The most popular, by far is Google’s pay-per-click model. Just like it sounds, the site owner makes a small amount per each ad click. This doesn’t work for sites like mine where visitors are web-savvy and use adblocking. Text Link Ads works using a different model. Advertisers look through a catalog of pages and chose which sites they’d like to advertise on. Advertisers pay based on the amount of time their ad is displayed on the site owner’s site. The ads are also simple links which are completely unobtrusive and directly related to the site’s content. Not losing money is important for blogging and Text Link Ads helps facilitate this.

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¶ Posted 09 February 2008 § Tagged: Blogging, Footnoted, Internet, Media/Culture, Web Development ‡ Comments (4)

“Purdue Emergency Notification” Loophole

Today I received an email from Purdue News:

Purdue students, faculty and staff should assume that the university will operate as usual on Friday (Feb. 1). However, a winter storm warning is in effect for Tippecanoe and surrounding counties. Information about conditions on campus and any changes in university operations will be posted online at www.purdue.edu and with the university’s Emergency Notification group on Facebook. Please monitor these sites, as well as local news media for updates.

Note the email does not have a link to the said Purdue Facebook group and, as far as I know, Purdue has never supplied a link. In fact, Purdue has not even supplied the full name of the Facebook group. Someone could set up a Facebook group with a similar name as a phishing group, such as “Official Purdue Emergency Notification” or “Purdue University Emergency Notification.” This is a horrible way for Purdue to be delivering critical information. Essentially, anyone could cancel class.

I’m extremely impressed! Ms. Shelby, the creator of the Purdue Facebook group, has (kind of) rectified the situation. A little more than an hour after this post was made at 10pm, she replied with the official Purdue Emergency Notification Facebook group link. Incredible diligence!

¶ Posted 31 January 2008 § Tagged: Facebook, Purdue, Security, Updated ‡ Comments (4)

War on Music

Internet Business Models

Companies have been so accustom to their business models that when the Internet really exploded, people were forced to decide which way to go. Companies either jumped on the band wagon and tried to radically change their business models to accommodate the Internet or, they tried to completely pass on the “fad.” Companies that took the initial leap were susceptible to the dot-com boom and burst so holding out was a legitimate move.

Failing Business Model Evolution

Now that Internet business models have stabilized and it’s rather common knowledge which work and which do not, it’s business suicide not to make an attempt at the Internet market. This is what happened to record distribution (what we call record companies) and film companies. Business models must be agreed on by both consumer and producer and are not just whatever companies chooses to do. Clearly, few agree that record companies should be making 99% of the profit from record sales when the artists make fractions per album (most artist profit comes from touring).

Film companies, on the other hand, aren’t at fault for poor business models as the record companies are. Instead, rental companies, such as Block Buster and Movie Gallery, were using the “late fee” model. Movie rental consumers hated this model and Netflix is stealing the industry. Record companies should have moved to an Internet model for music sales. Instead, Apple with iTunes and Amazon took over the market way after the market should have been occupied. Record companies are wasting their resources trying to force people to use their deprecated business model while new players take over.

Successful Business Model Evolution

Newspapers and periodicals could have easily been gobbled up by blogging and Internet news, just as record companies are, but publishing companies were already used to the ad driven revenue model. The New York Times and Wired, for example, both have excellent and highly successful websites that compliment and facilitate their periodical sales.

Television companies are also catching on with their on-demand sites. CBS just announced the acquisition of Last.FM (I’m a huge fan by the way) and plans to monetize music as well. With so many non-record distribution companies saturating the online music distribution market, record companies really have nowhere else to go but down.

Full Circle

Other industries have been torn apart and rebuilt by the Internet. Customers hated going to travel agencies and having people be completely condescending towards them and now people plan all their trips online. Sites like Travelocity, Orbitz, and Priceline have completely commoditized and revolutionized travel.

The recording industry seems to be the biggest (and perhaps the only) industry stuck in limbo. This war on music will likely last for a long time with so much record industry money to burn and so many people to burn (people who are “stealing” music).

¶ Posted 23 January 2008 § Tagged: Amazon, Apple, Business/Marketing, Film, Internet, Music ‡ Comments (2)

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