What I hear you saying is...

The pundits are pleased: Jarvis gushes, Arrington applauds, and Rubel throws a bone or two. Let's give an old stalwart some props for making a solid effort in building community around news, they seem to say.

IMO, it appears to be a reasonable foray into UGC. My one objective comment is that it's horribly slow. But otherwise there are some nifty features, plus some nice eye candy like the random comment widget in the header, and the ability to leave messages on profile pages.

Wonder what the users think?

Egad... 139 comments like these:

-- My initial impression is an unfavorable one. I was more than pleased with the original layout. This wreaks of change for the sake of change in the sense of the layout. Of course this is the initial impression, but as they say, no second chance at this first impression. -- If I wanted to view my news like DIGG I would go to DIGG.com. I used to view news via the old Netscape.com site as well until they went to a DIGG type of format. Sorry, I'll get my news elsewhere now. -- usatoday has been my homepage for 8 years plus. Your new design is a train wreck. I'll try to adjust, but it doesn't look good........ -- HATE the new look ! Is this is a national newspaper, or a newsblog ? -- Who cares what someone in Missouri or Idaho thinks of a reported story (news)? Who cares what I in Michigan think compared to someone in New Hampshire, Georgia or Switzerland? The responsibility you undertook was to report the news. You should continue to excercise your responsibility!

It goes on an on - and there's a whole parallel thread that pretty much reflects the same litany. Those last two quotes are really interesting to me, though.

USAToday has worked for years to build the "McNewspaper" brand. I can recognize their weather pages from 500 yards away. I still read the terse little state-snippets of places I've lived before, just to see what's happening. I like their graphics-heavy sports pages.

They are a really comfortable brand. Now they've gone and messed with the recipe.

This reminds me of branding experiments with two other grand-daddies: Coke and McDonald's.

When Coke released New Coke, they went whole-hog and actually replaced their existing product. When it crashed, they had to back-pedal like crazy to get "Classic Coke" released to the angry masses. Not good.

McDonald's, on the other hand, has always been more careful with their branding. When the Arch Deluxe flopped, users could fall back on the Big Mac. Not good, either, since the brand was diluted. But it wasn't trashed either. It was an extension that was severed, albeit at the cost of $300 McMillion.

So does USAToday believe their online presence is an extension that can be gambled with, like an ArchDeluxe? Or, as more and more users move online to get their news, have they barrelled ahead with all pistons firing on a New Coke?

We are in the middle of our own radical redesign right now at Topix, so far be it from me to throw stones at glass houses. To the contrary, I applaud USAToday for taking some pretty big steps in experimenting with ways to get their readers more involved.

But on a branding level, Topix doesn't have a whole lot to lose. In terms of public mindshare, Topix is more like the "Mr. Pibb" of online news sites: Great "Dr. Pepper-like" taste, but good luck finding it at the market. (Incidentally, we're about to change all of this).

USAToday has a lot to lose.

In fact, they have everything to lose. They are the #7 news website, just after Google news. They have placed a Henry Ford bet on building a new machine -- not a faster horse. Consequently, they may turn-off their entire constituency of readers, leaving a burning crater as users flee for CNN, MSNBC, and other sites.

The motivation to innovate in the online news space seems tentative right now, especially with the traditional newspapers. LA Times and Washington Post have both had disastrous UGC experiments that resulted in removal poste-haste from their properties. Even Yahoo recently pulled their comment systems down for no clear reason or alternative. A lot of industry eyes are going to be scrutinizing the tea-leaves of this USAToday re-launch to see how it plays into their own UGC strategies.

So if the traffic takes a dip in the early going, will the Gannett execs have the intestinal fortitude to forge ahead, damn the torpedoes and never surrender this plan-so-crazy-it-just-might-work? Or will they pale in the horror at the nazgul cries of their revolting reader-brood, and roll back the old site?

I dunno, but I'm going to whip up some Orville Redenbacher and enjoy the show. :-)

Well, I think we finally found one that measures up: Nami Nami on Castro in Mt.view. Using my own Criteria, let's see how Nami Nami stacks up:

1. Intimacy: 9.0
Given the space they have to work with, they've done a remarkable job creating a relaxed and inviting environment. Deduct a point for some minor noise and light spill-over from the kitchen.

2. Character: 9.0
Great subuded lighting and dark textured surfaces perfectly align with the friendly but unobtrusive wait-staff. Sublime. You will melt into your surroundings. Deduct a point for the ridonkulously noisy bathroom fan -- a room which they had otherwise expended considerable thought to aesthetics.

3. Music: 9.5
Nice clubby jazz, including most of a Charlie Haden album. Deduct a half-point for not using vinyl (and because it's fun to be pedantic).

4. Location: 9.0
The middle of freakin' Castro... Deduct a full point for being at ground-level, as this place should be on the 40th floor of a sky-scraper, (see my earlier post), but major props for being 8 minutes from my front door and not making me drive to SF for an urbanite experience.

5. Drink: 8.5
I'm still nursing a cold, so couldn't really do much empirical research. Deduct a point-and-a-half for their Sake list, which is a bit weak on selection, but kudos for a remarkably diverse Shochu menu. My next trip will be devoted to getting to know page a bit better.

6. Food: 9.0
Ahh, the most important part of the review. In a word, the food was excellent. We had nine dishes, of which 7 I would definitely order again, and of these 4 were outstanding:

1. maguro no shirawae (tuna with "snow"(tofu) sauce)....8.0
2. amadai wakasayaki (grilled snapper) ....8.0
3. tara to shirako no agedashi (fried cod w/shirako).... 10.0
4. renkon manju (lotus root dumpling).... 9.0
5. nigiri moriawase (nigiri sushi selection)....10.0
6. uni donburi (sea urchin rice bowl).... The uni was 10; rice was not sushi-meshi, so 7
7. anago no kakiage (deep fried eel & vegetable tempura patty).... 9.0

So, if you need a special night out, or want to entertain a small group of friends in a relaxed, elegant environment with great, authentic Japanese food, you'd be hard pressed to beat this place. One caveat to leave you with:it is not cheap, and the dishes are-- as with all Izakaya -- quite small. If you come with a ravenous appetite, be expected to shell out some $$$.

Still, I can't wait for a chance to go back again.

Kappo Nami Nami
240 Castro St.
Mountain View, CA,br> 94041
650.964.6990

1) The architecture looks like what you end up shooting in a lot of in places (rotundas, columns, fountains, etc).

2) The scale is huge, so you're forced to work with some difficult perspectives and composition choices.

3) There are tourists everywhere, constantly walking into your frame, giving you little time to think about the shot you're composing.

4) The light is a bitch. UV and haze everywhere. Washed-out sky against faded stone, with an eight to ten f-stop jump between the shadows.

5) It's been shot a gazillion times, so finding a fresh look is a challenge.

I'm going to start making it a habit to go here more often - especially when I get a new camera or when I'm planning on travelling. It's a great place to practice.

Thank god I only had my paper-route funds to pull from. If I'd had the solvency to afford such a place, I'd surely be regretting the choice. Sure, it would have made some money, but having since dragged numerous out-of-towners down the same stretch over the last 10 years, I'm always amazed at how many cars are lined up to go down this street. Can you imagine living here? You'd have to line up for 20 minutes most times of the day just to get into your own driveway.

Insanity.

I wondered if these homeowners pay a price for association with such tourist cachet. Some poking around Zillow seems to indicate that this is the case, but not in the manner you might expect: A quick check revealed that properties on Lombard seem to be about 25% lower per square foot than surrounding homes. Some of this gap might stem from the fact that the views a little higher up towards Filbert and Hyde are much better, and drive the comp prices up. But all things being equal, it looks like these Lombard properties suffer for their fame-iness.

Oh, and if the cars weren't enough, check this out...

Bring Your Own Big Wheel event

April 8th (Easter Sunday) 2007

4pm at the top of Lombard in SF.

Oh yeah, screw the egg-hunt. I am so there! :-)

I think Ronald and Uncle O'Grimacy may have been smoking a little of the green...

Let's see... I think it would help to have:

1) Great weather.
2) Culturally diverse population
3) Plenty of undeveloped land (or in-need-of-redevelopment)
4) A decent transit system.
5) Attractions and nice hotels for tourists
6) A strong local economy, with lots of $ available from wealthy corporations and citizens.
7) Great shopping with easy access.

My god... that sounds almost like... San Jose.

Downtown San Jose pretty much has everything going for it except the one thing that really matters: A life Great shopping. The result? I have actually seen a tumbleweed blow across Cesar Chavez park on a Sunday afternoon. The place is a ghost town. You can't even find an open Starbucks.

But just a few miles north, the Barcelona-meets-Vegas promenade of Santana Row is teeming with people. Couples are strolling their kids and dogs, while the jet-set types are drinking margaritas al fresco, cooly eyeing the valets at the Valencia driving off with the next millionaire's Ferrari. Some young asian kids play with the giant chess set, while a couple of middle-eastern teens unpack a hookah and kick back in the public chaize lounges. Crazy.

And just across the street? Valley Fair is a monster of retail, with a relatively new wing that sports some pretty swank up-scale shops. An Apple store, Movado, Tiffany, a Sony store, etc. The same kind of stuff you see up in Palo Alto, but even more of it.

What happened?

The San Jose Redevelopment Agency (RA) happened.

If you're interested, you can read about their snoozer accomplishments. Or you can simply ask how they allowed opportunities like Santana Row and Valley Fair to slip through their hands.

We lived in downtown San Jose from 1998 to 2002. We desparately wanted it to develop and become something cool, instead of having to drive 50 miles to SF every weekend. And the odds were good. All of the chemistry was right. All they had to do was bring in some anchor tenants like Macy's or Nordstroms, and set the timer for 18 months. But the RA was afraid that these huge retailers would put a damper on the "uniqueness" of the fledgling downtown character (wtf?) and so the retailers were not given any incentives to set up shop.

Instead, they RA concentrated on trying to bring in smaller, mom-pop boutiques that would attract the wealthy and give SJ a dose of charm. Alas, all of these knitting shops, stamp collectors, and florists failed within months of opening. There wasn't any critical mass, and these types of places need lots of foot-traffic to survive.

The kind of traffic that big retailers bring. Like the ones in Santana Row and Valley Fair. Yeah, like those.

After a few years, we'd had enough of hoping for SJ and the RA to get it's act together. I'll never forget that the same week we put our condo on the market, the RA announced a new plan to hire street performers (mariachis, mimes, jugglers) to wander around 1st and 2nd streets on the weekends to attract people. Yeah. Because nothing brings in the crowds like a mime.

Fast-forward a few years to this morning:

A free copy of the Mercury News appears in my Sunnyvale driveway, and noting that I haven't picked up a real newspaper in over a year, I flip open the local section to see what we've been missing...

Story #1: Valley Fair expanding to add 650,000 sq feet of additional retail (57 shops).

Story #2: Downtown SJ merchants outraged at plans to begin charging for parking at night.

Heh.

So my advice to my friend: I don't know the right career for you. You probably don't either. If you don't like the one you're in now, try something else. You're smart, personable, ambitious - lots of opportunities out there. Don't wait around for "exact" fit, because there is no such thing. Try something new and see where it takes you.

When I reflect on some of the best decisions I've made in life, they each involved trying something new... and risky.

Japan

Moving to Japan was a big one. A recount of my first 24 hours in Japan leaves most listening to the story wondering if I was insane. At 22, knowing absolutely no Japanese (other than what I'd learned from Styx), with no job in hand, and about $700, I got on a flight to Tokyo to go and find a job. At the time it was terrifying. But looking back at the facts: I was an English Lit major, graduating into a recession. My best prospects were moving to Kansas City to write greeting cards for Hallmark. (In the parlance of Jack Arnold, I was not going to let that "happen" to me).

What did I have to lose? Nothing at all.

What did I gain? Four of the most exciting years of my life. I got to travel around Asia, learn a foreign language and adapt a new culture, and most importantly -- it's where I met my better half.

Tech

At 27, I felt the tug to return to a "career path". Graduate school was an obvious choice, and so I applied and was accepted to an East Asian Studies program that, according to my plan, would parlay into a doctorate in Anthropology. This would set me on the respectable path to academia, where I could sequester myself in the cloisters, or do whatever those professor types do in the off-hours.

Within 3 weeks of returning to the classroom, I became acutely aware that academia was not for me. (If you think the politics in your office are bad, try the social sciences department at your local college.) My end-goal was recalibrated to graduate as quickly as possible, and to move on. My advisor had all-but-convinced me to apply to US State department and try the diplomacy route. Meanwhile, I'd had an offer from Matsushita (Panasonic) to move back to Japan and take a cushy job on a managerial track. Sure seemed tempting.

Then one day as I was crossing the quad, I pretty much stumbled on a late-season job fair. I meandered around the booths, but most companies were trying to hire MBAs, CS, and EE degrees. After some uncomfortable cold-shoulders from the McKinsey and Andersen consulting booths, I wound up at the Apple table. By sheer coincidence, it turned out that the hiring manager was also a grad from the same department, and that we'd shared many of the same instructors. We hit it off, and in spite of zero tech experience, he asked me to come in an interview for a QA job testing Japanese database software.

My wife thought it was nuts -- I had a great gig lined-up in Japan, and I was willing to toss it for a job that I was not very qualified for.

Again, a seemingly risky move at the time, but what did I really have to lose?

As it turns out, while mulling over the Apple job, I was contacted by Matsushita and given the hard sell. When I countered that I needed more information about where we would be working and living, they revealed that after a few years in Japan, I would be sent back to the US to help manage one of their battery factories in the Midwest.

Battery. Factory. Midwest.

So I took the Apple job.

What did I gain? 10+ years working in a dynamic and fast-paced industry. Chances to work with intelligent people from all over the world. A career that affords me the ability to live in the SF Bay area and actually enjoy it.

Topix

A couple of years ago, I found myself sputtering a bit at large, highly dysfunctional organization that runs a payment platform that rhymes with "HeyGal". Something wasn't right, and things weren't improving. Just as I was reaching the nadir, I received an out-of-the-blue mail from Rich saying that Topix had received funding, and that they were hiring. I met with him the next day, and he basically made me an offer that night.

But was I ready to go back to a start-up? I had been burned before in 2000. Now I had a mortgage and a little one on the way. Was it going to be alright? Was everything going to be ok?

Yes.

What's the point, Blake?

There's a Taoist principle known as Wu Wei, which essentially means understanding when to act and when not to act. Another interpretation is that Wu Wei is an understanding of when to adapt to your environment or circumstances in order to best take advantage of an opportunity.

Though scary at the time, in retrospect my decisions were stupidly obvious ones, with little or no risk at all. In each example, my mind was clouded with doomsday scenarios that, if followed to their logical outcomes, were about as likely as getting hit by lightning.

But that's life. Life is cloudy. Life throws us curve-balls everyday. Some we artfully dodge, while others we take smack in the center of our noggins. But some... are thrown perfectly across the plate.

A pro pitch moves at over 80+ mph. A great hitter can't really see what's happening -- he doesn't think. He just knows when to swing instinctively. You too will receive such pitches in life. Though they will look just like the other curve balls, they'll be the ones you want to hit.

Will you be in the proper state of mind to act upon them, or will you retract in fear? Will your mind be clear?

Be the ball, Danny. Be the ball.

I'm not an engineer, and even when I was interviewing project mangers in previous companies, my interview questions are never very technical in nature. I'm also not a big fan of brain-teasers in an interview setting. Not that I don't like them -- I love 'em. But because when I've tried them I invariably find they are not useful in determining how well a candidate thinks or behaves.

Why?

Because our daily lives are not brain teasers. To be sure, there are tough problems to solved. But our days are more truthfully filled with traffic lights, busy signals, and other mundane noise that tends to sap the life and passion from our souls. As the interviewer, I want to know what lights your fire. What will get you talking about yourself to reveal more reasons to hire you?

I like to ask questions to which the only right answer is the one you will inevitably give me. For example:

What was the best day of your life?

If you're coming out of a round of diificult coding questions, this seems like a cream puff, right?

It isn't.

If you have a family, you seem almost obligated to choose your wedding day, or the day your first child was born. Then you retract the response because, when asked to describe why, you realize that everyone must answer this way. You want to seem different, so then you fall back on a personal achievement like college graduation or winning the spelling bee. Then it dawns on you that this was long ago, and you don't really remember it well, and so it feels hollow trying to describe the experience. Then comes the pregnant pause... the negative space... in which silence pervades and through much hand-wringing, you reveal your inner-core.

What am Iooking for in this question?

The seemingly innocent nature is enough to throw even a seasoned interviewee off-guard. Can you stay with the big picture and not lose sight of the fact that you're still in an interview? Are you going to waste time vascillating between prom-night and your first hour in Paris -- or will you surmise that you've had a lot of good days, and then tell me in some detail about one of the better ones?

The best candidates understand intuitively that in the end I don't really care what the best day was. You know that I want to hear a convincing, one-minute monologue that demonstrates a love for life and a passion for the events in your life. This demonstrates that

(a) you know how to package yourself
(b) you can make quick decisions and get on with more important business
(c) you actually have a life.

The great candidate recognizes this question for what it is, answers it, and is ready to move on to my next question.

Which is, of course this:

What did you eat for dinner last night?

Yeegads.

First Reuters , and now the AP photographers with a completely inappropriate photo for the Top Story on Topix today. The story is about Iran's abduction of 15 British sailors -- the stuff of national crisis... and here's a pic of Tony Blair grinning like an idiot.

No doubt that the photo was taken completely out of context, and probably snatched hastily from their seriously deficient stock archives. For this story, we want the pensive, brooding Tony. Not the goofy Mayberry RFD Tony.

Well, as long as they were going to print a pic of him enjoying himself, they should have just gone "whole-ass" and done it right.

Gotta luv that British "tan".