Can you make money doing this?

Blogging certainly has caught the attention of the proverbial mainstream -- hell, even I'm doing it, and I haven't been near the bleeding edge in a long time. But today I saw two blog-related bits that seem to fit in the fun, and/or worth-pursuing-for-more-information category. One is a map here in NYC, and the other is an attempt to figure out if there is a way to legitimately capitalise on this whole crazy thing... The latter remains to be seen. The capitalist in question is a smart guy, though, so perhaps this holds promise. Only time will tell.

An Agent for Every Fan

Baseball junkies who need up-to-the-moment results – or, nearly so – can download a freebie from ActiveBuddy (a company that creates specialized “agents” that work with AOL Instant Messenger) that provides scores, stats, standings and other relevant big league factoids almost as quickly as you can ask for them. Using simple text-based prompts, the AgentBaseball buddy answers those nagging questions that plague your average fan. What is Ichiro’s average today? How many strikeouts did El Duque record the other night? You know, the important stuff. Well, okay, perhaps it is only important at the moment that the question occurs to you, but if you want baseball stats, and you don’t have time to look them up in something as conventional as a newspaper, then this is the way to go. You can save AgentBaseball in your “buddy” list, and he’ll be there the next time you are trying to settle an argument about who is leading the league in stolen bases.

Got any other bright ideas? Tell me about 'em.

The Secrets of Search, Revealed

For anyone who has used a search engine on the Web, and been relatively impressed by the speedy results that are returned, and then wondered, ‘Gee, how’d they do that?’ Well, it turns out that the leader in search – in my opinion anyway – Google, has decided to reveal its trade secrets to the rest of the world. It turns out that none of the credit belongs with programmers, or with racks and racks of server farms in a climate-controlled warehouse somewhere. Actually, Google claims the whole thing is being efficiently handled by members of the family Columbidae, i.e., the pigeon. See for yourself.*

*In the interest of full disclosure, here are two points:

1. Obviously, this is a joke. A good one, but still just a joke. It’s nice to see that the good folks at Google don’t take themselves too seriously.

2. Today’s fun link first came to my attention yesterday in the “Good Experience” newsletter written by Mark Hurst, founder of Creative Good, champion of customer service and the customer experience on the Web, and all around sharp thinker whose work I tend to admire. Thanks, Mark.

If you have suggestions for other fun bits, random quirkiness, and general amusement lurking around on the Web, please drop me a line.

Annual Freebie from the Dynamic Duo

Well, fun for today can be had offline – in the real world – at any Ben & Jerry’s scoop shop where they will be giving out free ice cream cones all day long (or, until they run out of ice cream). And, in case you don’t know where the closet B&J’s happens to be – how could that be possible? – you can use their Web site’s store locator to find one. Although, considering that some locations will have lines snaking out the door, my guess is it won’t be too hard to figure out. In my case, I might just go twice today: once at lunch with my officemate to the midtown spot, and then certainly tonight after work with my daughters. Yes, it may be rainy and cold here in NYC, but you can’t beat a freebie from the dynamic duo.

Snap, Crackle – Procrastinate!

In honour of Tax Day, and people like me around the country who cannot seem to get the darn forms filled out before the last possible moment, here’s a sampling of desktop-based diversions that simulate the joys of crunching bubblewrap. A quick tour of Google brought up several options, including:

Virtual Bubblewrap

or This one

and this “game” where you try to pop as many as you can in 20 seconds

Finally, for those of you who need source material, here’s the real deal.

As always, I'm looking for suggestions for sources of amusement, fun, and joy on the Web. 'Til next time... The post office is open late, and they sell bubblewrap by the yard.

Tickets, please

Near the end of last month, the sanctimonious NY Times asserted that “Fun is hard to find” on the Web these days. I read that article. And read it again. I was flabbergasted. It was on the front page of the Circuits section that day, which I assumed was devoted to all things Internet and new Tech.

Well for reasons that I can’t quite explain, that article struck a nerve. And then it got stuck in my craw. I have fun with the Web all the time. And I know there must be plenty of other people who feel the same way. So I’ve decided to start this page to document the fun. It will be a random hodgepodge of various and sundry bits and pieces tucked away in the deep recesses of cyberland. After this one introductory post, I promise to keep the future posts short and sweet. As I come across new stuff that merits the badge o’ fun, I will get a link up, and make some rudimentary comments, and be done with it. I will try to live up to the spirit of what was Suck.com, which exemplified the principle of "less is more."

Equally, I want this experience to be one that is shared with friends and strangers alike. I want feedback, and suggestions, and complaints (constructive criticism?). But as much as anything else, this will be an attempt to prove the paper of record wrong. The Web, and the technology that thrives with it (like p2p collaboration stuff) is fun. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a jaded jerk who needs to get a grip. (Had to get that off my chest, I guess. I promise not to be so mean in the future.)

So as you can see, I’m calling this the Thought Train (two words, not one, with a wacky Web spelling and needless capitalization). Another suggestion was "Thought Chain Management," but that was given a thumbs down vote by your truly. The name might be hokey, and it might have too many other literary allusions to be unique, but I’m sticking with it. It combines my goals with this page: explanations of my ideas about why the Web is fun (and useful, etc), as well as exemplifying the virtual journey that is required to demonstrate just what the heck I’m talking about. So meet me in the bar car, I’m ready to ride.

First Stop: The musical stylings of David Hasselhoff. You don't need to be a fan of the Knight Rider to appreciate this remix.