At first glance, those of us interested in the evolution of the Internet Industry might laugh when we hear the news that Motley Fool will begin charging users to access their discussion boards. I know I did. How many other financial message boards are there that do not charge? Would you pay to hear from other people like you (as opposed to paying to hear from experts, whatever that means)? Take a look at how they broke the news. I am curious to find out how successful the program will be. Note that this is not an example of charging for "premium" services. Only paying members will be allowed into the discussion forums.

And so the saga continues... searching for best practices...

I was just reading an article posted in 1999 to a webzine that is now out of print. I went to their 'about us' page and proceeded to read "we're back, after a long hiatus, we're back." It was clear that the copy was referring to 1999 and a hiatus they took earlier in that year. It was not referring to 'being back' in 2002. It then dawned on me that perhaps more so than ever before we are on the lookout for DATES. It's important for us to know when something was posted. Not just the year. Not just the Month or even the day. We want to know down to the second the posting time of something we're reading.

I suppose part of this new fascination - we somehow feel uncomfortable if we can't find a "posted on" date/time - is because more and more people are increasingly posting more and more content (news, opinion, anecdote, etc.). Time is so important. With the advent of huge archive databases (Wayback Machine, Google Groups, Blog archives, newspaper archives and on and on and on) we are much more attuned to when an opinion was put to paper (or byte). On the flip side, does this have any connection to the perceived value of that opinion? Maybe so when it's a 3 year old commentary to a 4 year old opt ed piece on a 5 year old issue. Maybe not when it's a poignant thought an on never-ending issue.

Does not knowing the exact birth year/month/day/hour/minute of a piece of content diminish its value? Does knowing that information increase its value? Maybe the word value is a red herring. Maybe a more appropriate word is worth, or 'the set of things able to be learned, inferred and understood from the content.'

What do you think? Quick, post your comment before it's too late!

As a late night TV junkie I am both shocked and stupefied by the both shocking and stupefying news that the Miss Cleo Psychic Network is a hoax. Dang! I just found a very detailed and interesting article by a Court TV reporter on the matter. In the article you'll find links to an application to become a psychic, scans of the prepared scripts they read from and even court affidavits. As it turns out, Miss Cleo herself, real name Youree Cleomili Harris, is a nice lady who is just a spokesperson hired for the commercials. In fact, she has offered her help to those filing suit against the company. On the marketing side, it shows you that a powerful spokesperson/personality can really make a difference, and no one ever needs to know who the CEO is. No big surprise but it bears repeating. In his book and subsequent writings, Rob Frankel (Mr. Branding) often discusses the benefits of a "Branded Icon" as a commanding symbol for a company. If you'll excuse me, I must go learn how to read my own tarot cards now. Shoot!

"Shades of grey are all that I find" (Billy Joel)

Can it really be this simple? We often tend to complicate life. Here's your chance to declare your pure joy: How Do You Feel Today?

Thank you to my dear friend for enlightening my day with this gem.

Does power corrupt? Or, are those who seek power corrupted to begin with?

What year is this? I think it's a little insane, or just out of touch, for a business magazine to write an article entitled "The Next Big Thing" and even put that tired headline on its cover. I am speaking about Fortune Small Business, which is a "perk" I was awarded when I got my corporate Amex card. I can't be too negative though, since they do astutely "break the big news" of weblogs in this same issue. Thank you Fortune Small Business!