of note of late
A few things of note from the week, somehow all related.
First, Russell Davies’ post on 2008 being the year in peak advertising. “If the online advertising promise comes true (though I have to admit I’m skeptical about that) then increased relevance and targeting means you won’t get attacked by so many irrelevant attention seekers. So even if there isn’t actually less advertising online, it’ll feel like there is.”
Next, Mark Chu-Carroll’s piece Databases are hammers, MapReduce is a screwdriver. “Just because you’ve got the best hammer in the entire world doesn’t make everything a nail. If you’ve got a screw, even a cheap, old, rusty screwdriver is going to do a better job.”
Next, WD-50 in Manhattan. Enjoyed the popcorn soup and the Wagyu flatiron with coffee gnocchi. But the real surprise was the beer ice cream, which was delicious.
Next, Lost Maps, because I’m more than ready for the (abbreviated?) season to get started. Also, the little tidbit highlighted on the Google Maps team blog: “ It seems that whenever someone mentions Canada, they are in fact lying.” Canada == giant Mystery Box.
Finally, the game Passage. A twisty maze, all alike. “The world in Passage is infinite. As you head east, you’ll find an endless expanse of constantly-changing landscape, and you are rewarded for your exploration. However, even if you spent your entire lifetime exploring, you’d never have a chance to see everything that there is to see. If you spend your time plumbing the depths of the maze, however, you will only see a tiny fraction of the scenery.” (Emphasis mine. And I should have followed .tiff’s advice back in December.)