.: On Tokyo Time :.

I was pleasantly surprised that PG&E includes graphs for usage and billing history on their website. You can view electricity usage and charges in a pretty neat (but simple) graph.

I’ve been living in my current apartment since March 2007 which is the first data point on the x-axis. I wonder if there is a limit to how many months they show?

Making it easier to compare

The electricity usage is obviously seasonal and you can see the ups and downs in the graph. It would make more sense to have a 1 year wide graph and overlay last years data over the current data in a line or area chart. This would make the comparison easier and more meaningful. Alternatively a 12-months trend line would provide additional information but with a significant delay.

I created the above graph using Google Docs. I like the look and it makes comparing the charges from one year to the next a lot easier. Even adding another year shouldn’t impact readability. Now I have to find out why I’m paying 15-20% more this year.

It would also be interesting to compare usage and charges in the same graph. Am I paying more because I’m using more or because electricity is more expensive?

What are other companies providing?

Not much. I would love to have similar graphs for my bank account, credit card and phone bill. In fact I initially started this post rambling about AT&T and how they make it really hard to look at usage history. I’ll save that for another post. Maybe I’ll whip out Greasemonkey and create a little script…

Has this ever happened to you? You remember reading something but can’t find it again!

It’s happening to me constantly. While discussing a topic with a friend or co-worker I remember having read a relevant blog post a few days ago. I want to send the link for reference. I know I’ve seen it in my feed reader but can’t remember in which feed. A Web search returns too many results and rarely the one I’m looking for. What I really want is a search for my feeds only!

The solution? I finally got around to setting up Google Custom Search. I entered the URL of all my feeds (watch out for the feedburner redirect ones) and named it appropriately “Search my feeds”. It seems to work pretty well but I would like a way to sort by publishing date as I often look for recent posts. New posts are often ranked lower as they haven’t had time to accumulate links.

It would be awesome if google.com would automatically add my custom searches so that I can run them from there. Getting to my custom search right now is painful. Bookmarking the link or adding a module to iGoogle works but is far from ideal. Going to google.com/custom doesn’t work. google.com/cse gets you within 2 clicks of your search. Adding it to the Firefox search bar would also be cool.

Ideally Google Reader would create such a custom search automatically given your feed subscriptions. Or use the subscription information they have in FeedBurner.

Nokia has announced three interesting acquisitions in the last 9 months:

Navteq is the leading provider of Maps data for GPS, mobile devices and Internet. This acquisition will allow Nokia to provide improved location-based services and at the same time making it harder for competitors to get this data. Smart move! It looks like the acquisition hasn’t closed yet and is still undergoing regulatory approval.

I first heard of Plazes back in June 2006 from Laurent Haug. The basic idea at the time was to have members report their location and record their IP address (or subnet). The system would then assume that any visitor with a similar IP is in the same location. They extended this to mobile phones and cell towers if I remember correctly. A dedicated community emerged on Plazes (basically a social network around places). I didn’t end up using the service on a regular basis after trying it out. It looks like the product has come a long way since then and is now more centered around organizing social activities (with a corresponding place and time).

These two companies combined are a great foundation for location based services and applications! However turning acquisitions into new and exciting products is always a huge challenge. It’s been too quiet around Google and Dodgeball or GrandCentral for example.

The latest announcement is the acquisition of the remaining shares of Symbian to create the Symbian foundation [press release] and partially open source the OS. An interesting move given Google’s Android project and other closed source OS for mobile devices. It looks like Nokia wants to ensure that Symbian survives as an independent OS.

Nokia’s shares have been on a downward trend for a while now. I hope these acquisitons will start the turnaround.

Disclaimer: I have owned several Nokia phones and the brand has always kept a special spot in my heart. I do not own a Nokia phone (or shares) right now. And I’m eyeing an iPhone.

I start seeing more articles that emphasize the social  ‘features’ over the social ‘network’ (also see my post Increasing relevance by adding social networking features). This video on FriendConnect shows some examples and makes the difference more obvious.

I love Nova Spivack’s comparison to cars and how the choice of a Social Network will come down to personal preference (ultimately determined by brand). For this to happen the Social Networks will have to open up and support a common base feature set. This is already happening today but will accelerate. I’m convinced that soon most of our online activity will be aware of our friends and that ’social context’ will lead to a more relevant user experience:

• Amazon book and NetFlix movie suggestions based on what your friends like
• Craiglist and ebay items from friends of friends
• Search results ranking enhanced by sites friends clicked on
• Yelp reviews and ratings from friends rather than 200 strangers
• News that your friends have read
• …

Things to think about:

• ‘Friend’ is probably to strong a term. What are better terms? How will this evolve over time?
• ‘Soocial context’ brings trust. Trust brings economic opportunities.
• How can the 2nd and 3rd degree be used especially on commercial sites (LinkedIn is already using this)?
• When will large retail sites grasp the concept and what kind of opportunities will arise?

And the big question is:  How can the Social Networks be open (interop) and closed (privacy) at the same time?

ReadWriteWeb picked up the latest Hitwise numbers that indicate that Myspace is still way bigger than Facebook in terms of traffic. Depending on which metric you’re looking at you end up with a very different picture though.

I’ve only recently started using Myspace and I use it exclusively to listen to music. I don’t even have a Myspace account. I consider myself more of a visitor to the site than a user of the ’social network’ Myspace. However I’m a user of their ‘DJ/Band pages’ and a consumer of the online music.

I’m a pretty engaged Facebook user on the other hand. I have an account with over 300 friends and log in about 4 days a week if not more. I change my status, send messages and post on walls.

My engagement and therefore user value is clearly higher on Facebook.

I think Hitwise could measure active accounts by looking at the subset of URLs that is only accessible when logged in and report that number separately from overall traffic to the entire site.

As mentioned before I’ve been fascinated by the play by play evolution of the attempted takeover of Yahoo! by Microsoft. A few days ago I started having a feeling that the deal will not go through. Even when the rumors of a higher bid started surfacing I still didn’t believe the deal would happen. And today Microsoft announced that it withdraws its offer!

I think that’s good longer term for Yahoo! even though it will hurt the stock in the short term. It might have actually helped rallying the troops behind Yahoo! even though we lost a bunch of good employees. It’s now up to the leadership to send strong signals to the employees asap and get them fired up.

Steve Ballmer seems to be very nervous about the recent (partial) outsourcing of search monetization to Google and has included a few remarks on that topic. I’m surprised Valleywag didn’t point out that these bullets were directly addressed to regulators rather than Yahoo!.

It’ll be an interesting Monday. For sure.

I’ve been having issues in the last weeks where my CPU would peg at 100%. This is typically caused by a web page with an embedded Flash object (e.g. an ad or a music player). Closing the respective tab brings the CPU back to normal. This happens to me on Firefox 2, IE6, Safari 3.1 and SeaMonkey 1.1.9.

I’m running Flash 9,0,115,0. I will try upgrading to the latest version and see if this improves anything.

It’s not the first time that I see a third party component hurting performance and stability of the browser. I wonder how many extension the Mashable guys are running and how those impact the stability of Firefox. Disable/remove all extensions for a few days and see if the browser still crashes as often.

Also see “Firebug and Yahoo! Mail“.

Microsoft’s attempt to purchase Yahoo! and the ensuing public moves and counter moves have been fascinating. It is a major milestone in the history of the Internet and witnessing it from within Yahoo! is very interesting.

The fact that all of this is happening in a very public way is indicative that the shareholders are an important piece of the puzzle. The tone and message sometimes remind me of two kids that are fighting.

We’re currently at the stage were Microsoft threatened to lower the bid and blamed Yahoo! for not even talking to them. Yahoo! denies this and says the offer is too low and that they are willing to talk.

And tomorrow Yahoo! will announce Q1 ‘08 earnings. There are basically two possible outcomes:

1. Results below expectations: Shareholders will get even more nervous and will push hard for accepting Microsoft’s bid. Microsoft can close the deal by increasing the bid slightly. This is preferable to lowering the bid which might have the same result but is more risky.
2. Results in line or above expectations (with positive outlook): Shareholders are willing to give Yahoo! another chance and Microsoft will have to raise the bid and potentially go into a proxy-fight to push the acquisition through.

Given that Yahoo!’s senior management has been on a roadshow confirming the Q1 and 2008 forecast I would be surprised if earnings came in below expectations. This would totally ruin the management’s credibility.

I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s announcement and the after-hours market.  Microsoft’s next move will probably follow several days later. Valleywag determined the last possible date for a result in the case of a proxy fight to be mid-august.

If ’survival of the fittest’ ultimately comes down to reproduction and the successful people have children late or not at all, what does this mean for the future society?

Mashable reports that Microsoft is introducing a new technology called ‘clearflow’ that calculates driving directions based on current traffic conditions. I will have to try it during rush hour.

They’re using GPS devices to enhance their data sources:

“collecting trip data from…employees who volunteered to carry G.P.S. units in their cars.”

I suggested using mobile phones not too long ago. More sensors equals more accurate data.

I’ve been buying a bunch of concert tickets recently. I typically buy two and then figure out who I want to bring.

The math used by the online ticket sellers is stunning. Here is an example of ticketmaster:
2 x $32.50 for the tickets
2 x $9.45 convenience charge
1 x $5.15 order processing charge

Total: $89.05

That’s a 37% premium over the ticket price! The total would have been even higher if I chose to get the tickets delivered rather than will call.

Sure, they’re running a business and have to make a profit on every transaction. That’s what the order processing charge is for. But what is the convenience charge and why is it per ticket? Isn’t an online transaction more cost effective for them? If I called in my order they would have to pay an operator. In some cases I even print the tickets myself. Shouldn’t ticketmaster pay me for doing some of their work?

I got so annoyed that I went over to StubHub and see what they have (after checking Craigslist too). There my experience ended at the sign-up flow where my email address with a 2-letter country code didn’t validate. Too bad.

I then went on to ticket liquidator which I hadn’t heard of before.

I found better tickets for the same show for $44 instead of $32.50. Add to this a $16.28 service fee and $15 for shipping (cheapest option) and you end up with a total of $119.28. Again, I feel like I’m getting ripped off with a 35% premium. The show better be good!

Facebook has launched various community-based translations of their site. I’m currently seeing French, German and Spanish next to English (US) in a drop-down menu. The Spanish version launch received a lot of blog coverage but I almost missed the German and French launch. They’re also working on a traditional Chinese version (and more).

Community-based translation

The idea of community-based translations is not new but Facebook is trying to optimize the result with two twists:

• A Translation Application allows for easy and contextual translation instead of an external strings file
• A rating system bubbles up the “best” translations through community-based voting

I haven’t had the time to look at the quality in detail yet but started using Facebook in German today. I will switch to French in a few days.

I’ve tried to add the Translation Application a while ago without success. I just managed to add it now though.

Promoting the new language versions

One of the key questions when launching a new interface language is how to migrate users to it. Typically the user is given a choice via a preference. Facebook went one step further and force-redirected IPs from Spanish speaking countries to the Spanish version. I expected some backlash from users as changing the user experience without their consent is typically a recipe for trouble. I haven’t seen anything so far though.

One thing that doesn’t seem to work quite right: I tried setting my language to German in the logged out state. After logging in the interface language switches back to English. I have to change it again in my account settings.

Impact on local competition

I do expect to see higher Facebook adoption in non-English speaking countries as the interface language is an important factor in the user experience. Network effects, i.e. if your friends are already part of it, are more important than interface language for social network adoption though.

The Spanish launch is targeting the Latin America market where Hi5 is strong. Germany has a Facebook clone called StudiVZ that will now get stiffer competition. Asia has very strong local competitors and entering those markets will be very tricky.

And who will translate the Facebook applications?

Applications are trickier to translate as they’re built by third parties. This leads to a weird mix of languages on profile pages. The larger application companies could collaborate with Facebook and expose their strings for translation too. Smaller applications are probably out of luck for the foreseeable future.

April 1st marked the 4 year anniversary of the launch of Gmail. This was a life changing event for me as it is the main reason I’m with Yahoo! and still in the US.

The launch on April Fool’s Day was genius. It generated a ton of buzz especially after it became clear that the product actually exists. Back then Google was all about search which made an email product launch very unlikely. Some people were confused or didn’t believe the story for weeks.

I have a Gmail account but don’t really use it. I don’t think I have logged in for the last 4 weeks (I’m going to now though). I work for Yahoo! Mail and know that product inside-out, every key-shortcut, search modifier and also some hidden features . And I truly prefer it to Gmail from a user experience point-of-view.

Thanks Google for mixing up the email space!

I went clothes shopping today for the first time in several months. Such a long break is unusual as I like to shop but much appreciated by my bank account. Total damage: $303 for 2 button down shirts, 2 polos, a sweat-shirt, a long sleeve shirt and a pair of shoes. I gave my money to Guess, FCUK, Zara, Banana Republic and Skechers (via DSW). I’m a total sucker for Guess and FCUK but it’s the first time I found something at Zara.

I realized how important the fitting rooms are as that’s where the buying decision is ultimately made. And some stores can definitely improve on that front.

Top lights are bad

The direct light from ceiling mounted spot lights is terrible. It overemphasizes the structure of the fabric and creates drop shadows for every fold. Also it gives the face a spooky look. Indirect light from behind the mirror is much better.

Mirrors - size and position

The mirror has to be big enough so that I can easily see my entire body. I like it when there is an angled mirror behind me so that I can get a 360 view.

A the DSW shoe store they had these small angled mirrors mounted to the seats. You can see the shoe and your leg up to your knee. It allows you to see if the shoe matches your pants. But it doesn’t allow you to see if the shoe matches your style. I couldn’t find any full size mirrors anywhere. I ended up not buying a pair even though I liked how it matched the pants. I was convinced it doesn’t match my personality.

Customer vs. guest vs. client

At the checkout at DSW the employees called for the next ‘guest’ rather than ‘customer’. This must be a policy as they consistently did so. Now I understand that some companies don’t want to call their customers, well, customers as the term implies:

• buyer of product
• source of money

But being called a ‘guest’ felt wrong. Especially at the checkout where I turn into a customer as I’m handing them my money. I can’t be fooled into thinking that it’s a privilege to be at the store or that they just want me to be there without buying anything. It makes more sense for a hotel or restaurant as they’re hosting you for an extended period of time. Please don’t call me a guest at a shoe store.

In-N-Out also has some special name for their customer. I can’t remember it right now though.

I recently received a newsletter from AT&T thanking me for choosing AT&T and stressing how lucky they are to have me as a customer. This was immediately followed by an invitation to visit a store! No special offer, reward or anything. But that’s not the point here.

The headline reads “lucky. glücklich. chanceaux.”.

Congratulations on being international! The French translation is obviously wrong and should be “chanceux” unfortunately. I’m the first one to admit that foreign languages are tricky but screwing up a one word translation takes some skills.

Why German and French? What about Spanish and Chinese?

What I don’t get is why they picked German and French. This would make perfect sense in Switzerland but not in the US. Spanish and Chinese would have been more powerful in addressing important local populations. Note: The newsletter closes in Spanish with “Muy afortunado!”.

Further reading: I wrote about another AT&T marketing blunder not too long ago.