October 2007 Archives

I have spent the last week fooling around with WordPress 2.3 and Movable Type 4.01 and have been very impressed with the advancements on both platforms. I come from a background of all blogging software, but recent years have found me tooling around in pMachine and Expression Engine. Many moons ago I first started playing around with the idea of a blog by handrolling HTML (this was the mid 90s), used FrontPage, graduated to GreyMatter, ran Movable Type for 3 years, and then found Ellis and company's pMachine. I have not played with WordPress since 1.5, and it was really to evaluate the platform. The Andyverse has been run on Expression Engine since that software's release, but recently found some of the functionality lacking for personal blogging. I was running into spam problems and just simple user authentication, so I wanted to move to a smaller option (free works great too). The goal was to view the playing field once more of options, and it mainly looked like the self-hosted software  category had only two other entrants: Movable Type and WordPress. I of course started with Movable Type, it still having a loving place in my heart, and I really like what I see. As do others... But this Google Trends graph shows the magic is not in action. What happened to the world-wide support for Movable Type? Japan seems the only bastion of loyalty now, and the problem is likely attributed to the infamous v3 release with required payment for anything more than the most basic version of Movable Type. Of course this also happened to coincide with the release of WordPress, a famous '5 minute install,' and notable luminaries in the blogsphere exclaiming their love for open-source and free-as-in-beer philosophy. If we go back to the article posted at Plasticmind,  out-of-box functionality in Movable Type 4 exceeds WordPress 2.3. Even the concerns over paid versions have been trounced, as MT4 is now free-as-in-beer, and a recently announced GPL open-source version will be available without any restrictions in the later part of 2007. So why the lack of love? Sex appeal. WordPress is using all the right bits to make people think it is a slicker application for writing down your thoughts on the web, even if its functionality is more limiting. They have also engaged the community by encouraging development without having to strain themselves. And Automattic has relied on third parties to provide core functionality to the product without having to stretch themselves too thin. By comparison Six Apart has over 100 employees and still took 2 years to roll out a new 4mb blog software package. This war is being fought with sex appeal, and WordPress seems to have all the right moves. Especially since I can make it do whatever any other package can with extensive plugin support; it just might take a weekend longer than I assumed...

Following on our discussion of the Zune and what it means for consumers going forward, I see a fellow Voxer, Ctrl-Alt-Jim, has written a little about the Zune 30. His opinion places it squarely as a nice replacement for his iPod, with a nice enough screen for television watching. But right now it does not have podcast support built-in, something that will change in the coming days. Oh, and the software sucks. Go figure... only from Microsoft. =)

So I'm sitting here waiting at my open house for people to show up. I have been thinking about things you can do to get your house sold... Disassociate Yourself With Your Home.

• Say to yourself, "This is not my home; it is a house -- a product to be sold much like a box of cereal on the grocery store shelf.
• Make the mental decision to "let go" of your emotions and focus on the fact that soon this house will no longer be yours.
• Picture yourself handing over the keys and envelopes containing appliance warranties to the new owners!
• Say goodbye to every room.
• Don't look backwards -- look toward the future.

De-Personalize. Pack up those personal photographs and family heirlooms. Buyers can't see past personal artifacts, and you don't want them to be distracted. You want buyers to imagine their own photos on the walls, and they can't do that if yours are there! You don't want to make any buyer ask, "I wonder what kind of people live in this home?" You want buyers to say, "I can see myself living here." De-Clutter! People collect an amazing quantity of junk. Consider this: if you haven't used it in over a year, you probably don't need it.

• If you don't need it, why not donate it or throw it away?
• Remove all books from bookcases.
• Pack up those knickknacks.
• Clean off everything on kitchen counters.
• Put essential items used daily in a small box that can be stored in a closet when not in use.
• Think of this process as a head-start on the packing you will eventually need to do anyway.

Rearrange Bedroom Closets and Kitchen Cabinets. Buyers love to snoop and will open closet and cabinet doors. Think of the message it sends if items fall out! Now imagine what a buyer believes about you if she sees everything organized. It says you probably take good care of the rest of the house as well. This means:

• Alphabetize spice jars.
• Neatly stack dishes.
• Turn coffee cup handles facing the same way.
• Hang shirts together, buttoned and facing the same direction.
• Line up shoes.

Rent a Storage Unit. Almost every home shows better with less furniture. Remove pieces of furniture that block or hamper paths and walkways and put them in storage. Since your bookcases are now empty, store them. Remove extra leaves from your dining room table to make the room appear larger. Leave just enough furniture in each room to showcase the room's purpose and plenty of room to move around. You don't want buyers scratching their heads and saying, "What is this room used for?" Remove/Replace Favorite Items. If you want to take window coverings, built-in appliances or fixtures with you, remove them now. If the chandelier in the dining room once belonged to your great grandmother, take it down. If a buyer never sees it, she won't want it. Once you tell a buyer she can't have an item, she will covet it, and it could blow your deal. Pack those items and replace them, if necessary. Make Minor Repairs.

• Replace cracked floor or counter tiles.
• Patch holes in walls.
• Fix leaky faucets.
• Fix doors that don't close properly and kitchen drawers that jam.
• Consider painting your walls neutral colors, especially if you have grown accustomed to purple or pink walls. (Don't give buyers any reason to remember your home as "the house with the orange bathroom.")
• Replace burned-out light bulbs.
• If you've considered replacing a worn bedspread, do so now!

Make the House Sparkle!

• Wash windows inside and out.
• Rent a pressure washer and spray down sidewalks and exterior.
• Clean out cobwebs.
• Re-caulk tubs, showers and sinks.
• Polish chrome faucets and mirrors.
• Clean out the refrigerator.
• Vacuum daily.
• Wax floors.
• Dust furniture, ceiling fan blades and light fixtures.
• Bleach dingy grout.
• Replace worn rugs.
• Hang up fresh towels.
• Bathroom towels look great fastened with ribbon and bows.
• Clean and air out any musty smelling areas. Odors are a no-no.

Scrutinize.

• Go outside and open your front door. Stand there. Do you want to go inside? Does the house welcome you?
• Linger in the doorway of every single room and imagine how your house will look to a buyer.
• Examine carefully how furniture is arranged and move pieces around until it makes sense.
• Make sure window coverings hang level.
• Tune in to the room's statement and its emotional pull. Does it have impact and pizzazz?
• Does it look like nobody lives in this house? You're almost finished.

Check Curb Appeal. If a buyer won't get out of her agent's car because she doesn't like the exterior of your home, you'll never get her inside.

• Keep the sidewalks cleared.
• Mow the lawn.
• Paint faded window trim.
• Plant yellow flowers or group flower pots together. Yellow evokes a buying emotion. Marigolds are inexpensive.
• Trim your bushes.
• Make sure visitors can clearly read your house number.

I think that is good enough for now.

I am likely not alone in confessing that I use Facebook extensively. My daily ventures into meatspace do not have me living by the Facebook IV as some others, but nonetheless it is a wonderful site for contacting friends and acquaintances in-or-out of town on various topics. The power of these social networks is allowing other people to find you, find your existing friends, and create relationships with new friends (for whatever reason). Originally the site allowed you to see the classes and contact information for other students, but got wise to the power of an entrenched audience and opened the platform to non-.edu email address holders and application developers. By extending the platform they have been able to lock in revenues from advertisers through increasing retention and attention of customers. If your social networking site also allows you to use Twitter, you will probably stay on Facebook. If you can message your friends through Facebook too, maybe do that instead of email. And if you can share pictures with a group, maybe stay longer instead of trying Flickr But I do not think the power of information on your friends has been a primary draw for the intended audience. Do you surf Facebook to make sure Kim's cell phone number is up to date, and she is still working at BioMedical Conglomerate? No. No matter what Valleywag says... Michael Arrington says that Facebook is ready to venture into the professional world (the beyond the locale of Sand Hill Road), but I am not sure that will be the next big evolution of the platform. As the reach extends, functionality will be bolted on that will keep your desktop or mobile address book up to date (Jim got a Gmail account; your next correspondence will go automatically to the new address that was synced to your PIM). But Facebook still has identity issues as well. The button-up business world sees Facebook as a plaything, and sites like LinkedIn as a professional tool. Merely adding teeth to a sheep makes it no more likely to play with the wolves. Expectations are high of any business extensions because of ballyhooed valuations of the firm. Should this LinkedIn-like functionality come online soon it will only add fuel to the clamor for a large check... but they had better make it quick. November 5 is quickly approaching. Why would you even care to put your crap in a LinkedIn when you can Google a person and get a business card pulled up with one click. No logins, no steps. Just a name into your search bar and you get a headshot with contact information. Some of us have already done that (just google Andrew Ruess and you will see what I mean. The first ten pages should have my email address, phone number, and further contact information. November 5 should see OneBox functionality added... awesome! Update: Brian Solis has the right idea with iinventedfacebook.com. Give us the money!

The old Zune (now called Zune 30) is getting all of the new features found on the Zune 80 and Zune Flash. 100% software firmware upgrade. Same functionality. True, it won't be able to get rid of that brown color... but now you can wirelessly sync your Zune 30, the one you bought in November 2006, with your desktop simply by walking back into the house after a drive. No wires to mess with, etc. For free. Microsoft did something fantastic here and rewarded the believers who purchased Zunes in the first year by allowing them to get in on all the cool new stuff without having to pay more. Are you paying attention Apple? This is how you should treat your customers. So, not only do they get wireless syncing functionality, but they also get built in podcasting support. Microsoft has changed the Zune desktop software so that it is truly a version 2.0 product and not a simple rebadge of the existing WMP10/11 software. Now you will have 1 click podcast subscription onto your XP or Vista machine and then have it get to your Zune in your backpack. Wirelessly. And the firmware is rebuilt from the ground up. None of the strange bugs that the first version had. What do we think of this development? Will it lead to more Zunes being sold, or simply maintaining the existing sales forecasts for the Zune 30?