From the daily archives:

Monday, September 17, 2007

The difference between a “job” and honest work…

by Frank Paynter on September 17, 2007

Paul Krugman’s column today ends on the following note…

In retrospect, Mr. Greenspanâ€™s moral collapse in 2001 was a portent. It foreshadowed the way many people in the foreign policy community would put their critical faculties on hold and support the invasion of Iraq, despite ample evidence that it was a really bad idea.

And like enthusiastic war supporters who have started describing themselves as war critics now that the Iraq venture has gone wrong, Mr. Greenspan has started portraying himself as a critic of administration fiscal irresponsibility now that President Bush has become deeply unpopular and Democrats control Congress.

For Greenspan and the foreign policy wonks to have held the course during the transition from Clinton to Bush would have meant that they valued their integrity and the value of their work over that other very tangible thing: keeping their jobs.

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Defrag

by Frank Paynter on September 17, 2007

Eric Norlin and Robert Scoble exchanged views this morning on the cost of “demo shows,” and Dave Winer also weighed in. I have an interest and it isn’t academic.

While the TechCrunch40 + 100 mud wrestling and chasing of greased pigs for the delight of VCs isn’t quite up my alley, Sandhill Technologies finally does have a product that I’d like to talk about in the right circumstances. It’s more of a category creator than a Web 2.0 gadget. It rests on a number of computing technology and programming and networking foundation stones. I did something like this before when I led the team that built the prototype of Wang Office at Bank of America in the early eighties. I’m sure it will sell itself, there will quickly be lots of competition, and I probably won’t realize much of a profit, but — like with Wang Office — I’m sure I’ll find compensation for my work.

Now over the last five years since Eric helped pull together the first Digital ID World conference, I’ve paid for my own ticket to a lot of industry events. It’s worth it because it helps me stay current and meet new people and make a few friends. I chalk up most of my conference expenses as continuing education. If I show up at Defrag, I’ll probably have to carry a thin folder of NDAs because the product isn’t ready for prime time yet. It works on my laptop though, and if I’m prepared by Winer standards, I’ll probably be willing to show it to you. More important to me will be what I have to learn from the other people who are there. Where do the industry’s most creative lights now shine on knowledge management, â€œsocialâ€ networking, collaboration and business intelligence?Â What do they reveal in the dark spaces between?

I wonder about the technology oriented people who might read this. Where would you rather spend your conference budget this fall and why? (Would you rather attend the Berlin Web 2.0 Expo in November or the Denver Defrag that’s happening at the same time?)