Day: April 28, 2004

Several weeks ago, my team started using a Wiki (collaboratively edited website… more. While it took longer than I expected to get going, the results have been more than I expected: it really is (slowly) changing the way we communicate with each other.

This morning, I introduced the Wiki to a large group internally. I wondered if the benefits and the attraction would be clear. Short answer: they were, and I think several folks are going to jump in. It won’t change the world, but I do think Wikis will help us work better together.

There are many flavors of Wiki software. I don’t know the scoop on most of them, but we’re finding TWiki to be a compelling package.

I went to an alumni event for my high-school this evening, and Chris Gallagher was playing some of his new music. I haven’t seen or heard from Chris in 15 years (literally), but I remember him singing “California Dreaming” a cappella in morning chapel back in 1987. Seems he did several things along the way since then (check out his website), but recently returned to music. A bit mellow for my tastes, but still interesting stuff.

If you were baby Trixie, do you think you’d be touched by your website, or embarrassed? Since Trixie is less than a year old, she has no say in the matter. I’ve been delinquent in keeping my kids’ websites updated, but I certainly have tried to make sure I embarrass my children even before we get to the adolescent stage, where I’m sure even my way of breathing will have them hanging their heads in shame. Speaking as a wannaba-geek, I admire the quantative approach (and the visual representation) of the sleep periods and bottle logs, although the diaper log is a step too far. [via Widgetopia]

There’s no price like free. Killjoys tell us that nothing is free, you just don’t know what you’re paying since it’s not cash (they’re right, but let’s skip over that inconvenient fact). But watching the buzz about music.download.com start to build, it’s obvious that the appeal of free isn’t dead. What’s on offer? Free music.

Of course, since this is 2004, not 1999, and the RIAA killed off Napster (the original), free music doesn’t mean any music you want, from every artist you’ve heard of. It means the concerted availability of lots of independents who want to give away a few promotional tracks. Not bad, just not everything. But it’s early in the game.