JonLowder.com

Book Me

I've always thought that you could tell a lot about someone by what they read.  Well, if you want to know exactly how strange I really am all you need to do is look at my wish list for books this holiday season (in no particular order):

• Thunderstruck
• Why Do Men Have Nipples?
• The Big Ripoff: How Big Business and Big Government Steal Your Money
• The World's Worst
• On Bullshit
• The Wonga Coup
• The Intellectual Devotional
• Nature Girl
• Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
• Letter to a Christian Nation

Bibliophile's El Dorado

If you're into books and you like free things then here are some sites just for you.  And if you're like my wife Celeste and like nothing more than a good audio book then you'll really love some of these:

• Project Gutenberg - This granddaddy of online public domain book repositories now brags over 19,000 titles and all downloads are free.
• Librivox.org - This site offers public domain audio books, but even better they've embraced "Web 2.0" technologies so you can sign up for podcasts.  That's cool, but even better is that they also offer short fiction, poetry and children's literature.  They're looking for volunteer readers so if you'd like to read aloud to a wider audience than your children, or yourself, give 'em a go.
• TellTaleWeekly.org - Not all the titles on this site are free, but the reason is understandable: they hire professionals to do the readings and emphasize quality.  Once the books have been out a while they are moved to the Spoken Alexandria Project  and are available for free.  Both are housed at Alex Wilson Studios LLC in the great state of NC.
• University of Pennsylvania's Free Book Library - Claims to have over 25,000 titles.  Good indexing and updated very regularly.
• UVa's E-Text Center - Wow!  Just check it out as there's too much there for me to describe.  Here's a link to a page listing bestsellers from 1900-1930.

That ought to keep you busy a while.

Reading List October 25, 2005

• You're Pre-Approved = A Real Family Application (The Post Money Value) - Rick Segal points out something I've been saying for a long time: while there are services out there that people can use for sharing family information (shared blog, shared photo, etc.) there isn't one that is really non-techie, geared to people who have just gotten used to email.  He smells opportunity and so do I.
• What Did Cheney Know? And When? (Taegan Goddard's Political Wire) - Did the VP lie when he said he went on Meet the Press two years ago and said "I don’t know Joe Wilson. I’ve never met Joe Wilson.... And Joe Wilson -- I don’t know who sent Joe Wilson. He never submitted a report that I ever saw when he came back." Three months earlier his chief-of-staff had documented a conversation with the VP about Mr. Wilson and his wife.  Hmmm.
• The Earthquakes Changed Kashmiri Politics (StrategyPage.com) - The US has the opportunity to make strong inroads into Pakistan and the region in general via its relief efforts in response to the earthquakes in the Kashmir region.
• Innovation is Bursting Out Again (Don Dodge) - Microsoft's emerging tech guy looks at some of the areas that are seeing a burst of innovation, and highlights some of the companies providing said innovation.
• White House Insisting on Torture (Bayosphere) - Links to a piece in the New York Times about the Bush administration's stance on a pending bill before congress, and an amendment proposed by John McCain in particular.  "Stepping up a confrontation with the Senate over the handling of detainees, the White House is insisting that the Central Intelligence Agency be exempted from a proposed ban on abusive treatment of suspected Qaeda militants and other terrorists."  Make sure you read the comments.
• Dickless: W Without Cheney (Davenetics) - Not a particularly revealing post, but I kind of like the headline.

Reading List October 24, 2005

• The Entrepreneurial Mind Set (Moore's Lore) - Dana Blankenhorn is entering the entrepreneurial realm himself and it has caused him to take that position that countries like China and India are developing more entrepreneurs, the US education system stinks and the Baby Boomers have killed the golden goose (the last are my words, not his).  It's an interesting take on our society right now.
• The Fall of the Warrior King (New York Times Magazine) - The story of Col. Nick Sassaman, his role in Iraq and how it led to his fall from grace.
• Good News: People are Social Animals (Fractals of Change) - Tom Evslin talks about why peer-driven services on line have developed, and how/if they will continue to work.

Reading List October 20, 2005

• The Lady Doth Protest Too Much (A VC) - Don't always believe it when people tell you they would never use a company or service.
• Management Case, Base Case and Worst Case (Union Square Ventures) - "Three case analysis" is explained.  Good read for anyone interested in scenario analysis for startup companies, or for analyzing potential angel or venture investments.
• If I Were Rupert Murdoch...My Roadmap (Mark Pincus) - An internet business dude (tribe.net) tells you what he'd do if he were Rupert Murdoch and just bought myspace.com and owned a boatload of media properties around the world.
• Rupert's Web Rules: Look Who's Online Now (Fortune.com) - Found via Mark Pincus's blog (see above), this is a look at Rupert Murdoch's online strategy.
• Woot - Sometimes, yeah whatever, works (The Post Money Value) - The headline should read, "Woot - Sometimes 'yeah whatever' works" but I understood it anyway.  Post about an interesting site that puts a, um, distinctive spin on customer service.

Reading List October 18, 2005

• Quote of the Day (Blog on the Run) - "... by refusing to ridicule the ridiculous, by watering down every criticism into a mannered circumlocution, we have created an environment where idiots thrive unchallenged." -- PZ Myers
• The Times Speaks, Kinda, Sorta (Blog on the Run) - Lex Alexander, a fine journalist in his own right, takes the New York Times to task for their handling of their own story - the journalist who was held in contempt in the Plame case.  Basically he says they screwed the pooch.
• Thinking of Joining a Startup? (A VC) - Fred Wilson points to a checklist of questions you should answer to determine if joining a startup is right for you.
• Rethinking Reed's Law (A VC) - Some really smart business people talk some serious math re. network effects and make my brain hurt.
• While Boomers Were Busy Watching Their Retirement Accounts (Matt McAlister) - An interesting look at the differences between the Boomers' form of rebelliousness and Gen X's form of rebelliousness.  Actually it's more a comparison of what they rebelled against.

Reading List October 17, 2005

• All the News That You Can Use. And More. (New York Times) - A new service called Inform aims to be a better Google News.
• ADPrentice (Feld Thoughts) - A venture capitalist spends a little time giving back to his fraternity at MIT, and it was a lot more than beer.  I think it's a useful template for how any of us can create ways to give back to the groups that helped form us.

Reading List October 14, 2005

• CNN Seeks Blog Guru to Work with Blitzer (Micro Persuasion) - Everything about this potential gig sounds interesting, and I was seriously considering it until I read the part that says the blog guru will be working out of the DC bureau.  I just escaped D.C. and there's no way I'm going back, even if it was working with a short guy named Wolf.
• Grassroots Journalism: Actual Content vs. Shining Ideal (Online Journalism Review) - A review of "10 citizen journalism sites" including Greensboro101.com.
• Why Google Wants AOL (Business 2.0) - It's all about IM, installed user-base, protecting search territory, and...oh hell, just go read it.
• Getting Flat, Part 1 (Linux Journal) - Doc Searls looks at Tom Friedman's "The World is Flat" from the open-source software point of view.
• Getting Flat, Part 2 (Linux Journal) - A must read.  Doc continues what he started in Part 1, and here's just one of many good excerpts I could pull: "I can save Microsoft a pile of time and money by reporting a fact no school wants to admit, one that will flatten the world far more than any other factor: pretty much everybody is smart. What's more, they're all smart in their own ways."
• For Future Journalists, It's Cash, Not Causes (Cleveland Plains Dealer) - An opinion piece on the shocking news that today's journalism want to make real money.
• "Journalists Have to Get Smarter About Business" (Manship School of Mass Communication) - In a speech Peter Copeland, Editor and GM of Scripps Howard News Service, says that journalists have to get better at business in order to survive and thrive.
• The Open Source Business Model (Moore's Lore) - Dana posits that it isn't enough to provide relevant space to advertisers, you also have to show them how to communicate with your audience. He says a lot more than that, but you get the gist.

Reading List October 13, 2005

• Our Web Site is a Blog (A VC) - Fred Wilson's firm has converted its website into a blog, which might be an interesting read if you're interested in venture finance.  The site is http://www.unionsquareventures.com/
• It's Official - It's Rude (and other survey lessons) (The Post Money Value) - An ex-Microsoftee surveyed 25 other ex-Microsoftees on various issues related to the company.

Reading List October 12, 2005

• Corante is Not Second Class Journalism (Moore's Lore) - Should First Amendment protections be restricted to media companies?
• Cramer Gest Prechterized (Moore's Lore) - A loud Wall Street bull is starting to growl like a bear. which can't be a good thing.
• Online Search Company Taps Bloggers, Celebrities to Endorse Products (PR News) - The Rollyo story.
• Who's Connected? Companies that have their own website (bookofjoe) - Joe found some data in Financial Times that compares European countries by the percentage of companies with 10+ employees that have their own website.  France is at the back of the pack with just 26.3% of companies with their own website.  Joe then provides some background on why the French lag behind and compares them, unfavorably, with Argentina.  Of course I could have told Joe that the reason that France is lagging is because the French are so, well, French.
• Banned Books Week - 'Of Mice and Men' Ranked #10 - (bookofjoe) - Here's the money quote from this post: "She remarked that when she was a girl her mother was extremely unhappy with Winterson's love of books and reading. Her main complaint? 'You just can't tell by looking at them what's in them.'"
• Sourcing, verification, bloggers and the Times (The Editor's Blog - John Robinson) - John, the Editor of the Greensboro News & Record is asking some good questions of himself and other media folk.  If a major story came across his screen via a trusted blogger, but without sourcing would he go with the story?  Probably not.  But his paper did go with a major story based on a New York Times report that was also unsourced, even thought the Times has had credibility problems of late.  More credit to John that he's willing to think about this.