Sunday, January 16, 2000

Luke Tymowski: "Amazon, having enraged the Webheads after registering and enforcing a half-witted software patent, seems to be disappearing from Webhead Web sites, to be replaced largely by FatBrain and somewhat by Barnes & Noble. Amazon, although having given Cluetrain a rave review, seems to have missed the point of the book." Exactly!

Faisal Jawdat recommends Powell's Books in Seattle.

Last night at Marc's party a longtime friend, Bruce Zweig, congratulated me on EditThisPage.Com. I found this gratifying. In the past at parties I'd wave my hands to a dubious look. Now many of my friends understand what I'm doing. This is good. So Bruce asks if we took out a patent. I said no! I hate patents. I said that the patent madness will end when someone fights back when sued instead of making it a legal issue, make it a customer issue. When users learn of what they're being deprived of because of this sickness, the greedy folk will have to back down. The practice won't stand up to public scrutiny. This is why I and others choose to make an example of Amazon and Cluetrain.

LinuxNewbies: Sunday BrainDrain Quiz.

Kate Adams checks in from Las Vegas.

Marc Canter is on his way to London, but first he checks in with pictures from last night's party.

DavosNewbies: "I read of a coup in Côte d'Ivoire the other week and instead of thinking, 'I hope everything will be all right', my first thought was, 'That means a free hotel room since the prime minister won't be coming.'"

AP: "Organizers choose Davos for the annual forum in part because it is easy to control access over road and rail links up narrow valleys in eastern Switzerland."

I've been asked to present my choices for "10 websites that will change the world" at Davos. At first I was confused. Websites don't change the world, ideas and people do.

I immediately thought of EditThisPage.Com, of course, but have reservations because it's self-serving, and it may be hard for the luminaries at Davos to understand. I assume most of the CEOs and heads of state aren't immersed enough in the web to understand why it's so hard.

Last night I came up with a class of sites that I believe *are* changing the world. If I present them at Davos it might change Davos. (And I might not get invited back.) Thinking more, if it doesn't get that kind of reaction it probably wouldn't really change the world. To change the world you have to go thru peoples' fears. And when people have their fears challenged, they often attack the person who challenges them.

Phil Wolff started a thread on the 10 websites.

Excite news search on "Davos".