Jim Williams

Wikipedia sucks. Why do I say this?  Obviously I’ve just had yet another bad experience with the self-professed Gods who “manage” the encyclopaedia.  But before I bore you with the Data as a Service controversy (ooh, that sounds exciting, doesn’t it!?), let’s take a look at just why Wikipedia sucks quite so badly. Who wants to be a Wikipedia moderator?  Why would you want to do it?  How would you find the time?  Why would you be bothered?  Here are the reasons: 1) You want to contribute something of value to the human race: knowledge.  A noble thought.  But why not just contribute in the normal way?  Because you are a prolific contributor and want to feel a little important. 2) You have a burning hatred of “spammers” and pranksters who leave their trail of junk contribut... (more)

What’s the Point of Yahoo?

So the wires are aflame with the news that Microsoft and Yahoo have “joined forces” in a 10-year search and advertising deal. Search and destroy Let’s be clear on this one: Microsoft isn’t partnering with Yahoo. It’s devouring it. It’s gobbling it up whole like a party snack before moving onto its next conquest. The argument, of course, is that not having to fund search will save Yahoo “h... (more)

The Top Five DaaS Cloud Companies

Data as a Service can empower your business, or help you develop great web apps quickly and easily. Not everybody believes in the validity of the term “data as a service,” but these opinions seem to be held mostly by academics and niche bloggers who are resistant to “yet another –aaS acronym” (which is understandable, I guess). There is still no entry for the term DaaS on Wikipedia. But ... (more)

Ask Jeeves: The Idiot Stepchild of Search

Is Ask’s marketing strategy a gift or a curse? I think it’s a bit of both. (Whatever the case, my mother-in-law literally thinks there is a real man called Jeeves who answers your questions when you hit the Search button.) Apparently Scott Garrell, president of Ask Networks, said in a recent interview: “In a very tough and competitive market, we’re holding our own… people don’t talk in ke... (more)

Twitterers are “Tw@s” Says UK Tory Leader

According to the man who is currently favourite to be the UK’s next Prime Minister, David Cameron, “The trouble with Twitter, the instantness of it – too many twits might make a twat.” He precursored this comment by saying: “Politicians do have to think about what we say,” a grammatically garbled statement that’s unfortunately more Bushism than insight. Commentators are quick to point o... (more)