Link Roundup 2007/12/18
No, I’m not turning this into a link blog. But out of all the web content I consume daily, I run across a handful of things each day that I have an opinion on and want to share, but not enough time or energy to compose a full post. So I’m trying something new and creating periodic roundups where I link/embed semi-related content and blurt out a few sentences about each. Feel free to be blunt if you hate this format.
Links
1. R.I.P.: The Web 2.0 Office Suite - Ninety-four percent of U.S. consumers have never heard of Web-based productivity suite alternatives. A mere 0.5 percent have substituted Web-based productivity suites for desktop software such as Microsoft Office.
Techcrunch makes good points about problems with the survey and Douglas Karr sees the stats as a rallying call for marketing and an incredible opportunity for growth. I definitely don’t see Google Docs killing Microsoft Office anytime soon, but it’s way too early to say the war’s over.
2. Web 2.0 Can Be Dangerous - AJAX, rich Internet UIs, mashups, communities, and user-generated content often add more complexity than they’re worth. They also divert design resources and prove (once again) that what’s hyped is rarely what’s most profitable.
I think Jakob is mostly right, at least when it comes to content-centric websites. Ajax and rich UIs are essential for web applications, but can easily be misused. Developers should always build for the user first, not for the technology. And even though I seem to say so otherwise, I think money should be spent on the bells, whistles and yellow fades long after version 1.0 is up and running.
3. Lack of Funding Most Common Reason to Bootstrap - Only 38 out 100,000 new businesses reported receiving venture capital funding. Another way of looking at that is that of all estimated 650,000 new businesses that will start this year, only 247 will have had funding from venture capital.
That number sounds counter to expectations, given the amount of coverage venture-backed businesses receive. But the takeaway is clearly that if your new business plan relies on getting VC, then it’s wise to have a backup plan. You’re smarter than VCs anyway.
4. Bosses behaving badly - In August and September, as his company is racking up the largest quarterly loss in its 93-year history, Merrill Lynch CEO Stanley O’Neal squeezes in 20 rounds of golf, including three rounds on three different courses in a single day.
He should definitely be criticized for getting a $161.5M retirement package when performance was terrible. But to be criticized for playing golf? Wasn’t most or all of that on weekends and holidays? Should people not get any time off work if they’re not meeting expectations? Isn’t it healthier to relieve stress on the golf course rather than at the office?
5. Blogs in Plain English - A video for people who wonder why blogs are such a big deal.
Another well-done CommonCraft video. I’m guessing most of the people who haven’t heard about Google Docs need to watch, so please share 
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