thinks

Newsweek has decided to put Web 2.0 on its cover this week. Is it just me, or does the irrational exuberance of a few years back seem like it’s just around the corner again? I’m as keen to see a return to fun and excitement on the Web as anyone. I just worry that we’re about to see a whole bunch of folks repeat the mistakes of the past. At least this time, it seems that a number of folks are thinking through how to make money on the deal, instead of this “selling a dollar for 90 cents and make it up on volume” silliness we all dealt with the first time through. Tim Leberecht (who I’ve just started reading, thanks to Technorati), has a viewpoint on this, too, recapping the recent thoughts here about whether Web 2.0 can live up to its hype. Check it out. It’s worth the read.

Play ball!

Thank God baseball is back. White Sox-Indians tonight, and the Mets (God love ‘em), tomorrow afternoon. Now if Barry Bonds would just strain a hammy or something before he has a chance to assault Ruth and Aaron’s records this season, much as he’s assaulted the integrity of the game, I’ll be even happier. Though, to be fair, he simply took advantage of a weak leadership within the league and a union run amok.

I’m reading Jeff Pearlman’s “The Bad Guys Won” right now. Fun stuff. Brings back many, many memories of the glory days. This new group of players doesn’t seem to have as many characters (though Delgado probably would have fit in), but they look like they might finally be able to give the Braves a run. Ahh… the joys of April. As the Green Day song goes, “wake me up when September ends.”

I ran across this post on Fast Company this afternoon. Clever, actually. My favorite line is the part where they say, “In this case, advertising is trumping engineering in creating value.” That’s a bunch of hooey, though I think it’s a great example of strong advertising and marketing creating demand, at least for their tchotchke. The thing that I think is most interesting about the eBay Index, as Fast Company calls it, is its value as a metric of awareness. Clever, clever marketing idea, and an innovative way to build buzz around your product. Seth Godin would be proud (or better yet, read Trout and Ries. You’ll get more from it.)