Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Does Apple own Web 2.0?

This is the front row of the Web 2.0 Expo in Berlin. My seat was about 7 to the left of Tim O'Reilly although I put my MacBook Pro down to take this photo. Tim says to follow the alpha geeks. I wonder how the Microsoft speaker felt as he looked down on this row five minutes earlier.

I think it is time to go buy some shares in Apple!

Web 2.0 Expo Berlin - Day 2 PM (Tag Zwei)


A lot of stoked people here behind myself and Jeremy Keith. My slide deck is available for download here:

http://www.slideshare.net/adunne/web-20-design-patterns-models-and-analysis


You are free to download these and use them to explain Web 2.0 to others.

ADDENDUM:

You mean rock horns like this?

My Web 2.0 Expo Berlin Slides in advance


Web 2.0 Design Patterns, Models and Analysis


From: adunne, 20 hours ago





Speaker: Duane Nickull


SlideShare Link

True devotion starts with ink!

During Adobe MAX EMEA in Barcelona, I met several people who are fans of Adobe. None beat this guy – he actually has a real (not temporary) Adobe tattoo on his lower left wrist.

Web 2.0 Expo Berlin - Day 2, AM

Having watched most of Tim O’Reilly’s keynote talk (yesterday) here at Web 2.0 Berlin, I had an epiphany ( I missed part of it to provide due ubersetzung (translation) between panicked O’Reilly staff and the sole German only speaking tech guy on duty for the keynotes). Tim really espoused that one of the core patterns of Web 2.0 is harnessing collective intelligence. This is a pattern whereby you collect the intelligence from many individuals and mash it up to create something new (product, website, platform, or whatever), based on the collective and collaborative best ideas and scrutinizing by all involved. So why does Tim get this? He didn’t invent the concept of developing things by committee and is far from being the only one who uses it. So why did he seem to be the first one to really understand it and explain it well? The answer is actually so simple it escaped me until now.



O’Reilly Media, as a publisher, has been using this pattern for years. It is implemented by making, refining and publishing books. When O’Reilly makes a new book, they use the collective intelligence of multiple authors, editors, technical reviewers and others who help package, market and promote a book. It is a textbook example of this pattern in action. Their collective intelligence makes O’Reilly books better than most others.

Design and Architectural patterns are really the basis for Web 2.0 in terms of defining it and distinguishing it from the first iteration of the Internet. During the general keynote sessions, many speakers correctly noted that patterns can be reapplied to other realms. You could use the same pattern (harnessing collective intelligence) for building a house, a formula one car or software. Getting collaborative input provides more ideas from which to select the final design and form.

The new O’Reilly book "Web 2.0 Design Patterns" discusses some of the key patterns, although it does not claim to be a complete or authoritative resource in terms of what Web 2.0 is. It was written for people seeking to understand what Web 2.0 is all about and the impact it is having on their industry.

As a book publishing company, O'Reilly has used this pattern in their design since first developing their process. This process is completely different from one in which a book is made in secret and released only when deemed ready.

Jen and Brady on stage dealing with a ghost in the slide clicker

Some other Day 2 observations for Web 2.0 Expo Berlin? Brady Forrest and Jen Pahlka are working very hard to make this event great. It is no small feat and considering the diversity of attendees, they have done a stellar job. IMO, deserving of huge raises and toasts with good German beer. During the keynote session, there seemed to be a ghost in the room randomly advancing the slide deck to trip up Jen who handled it like a pro.

Monday, November 05, 2007

Web 2.0 Berlin: Day One!

Heute ist eine andere gutes TAG! Hier habe ich Tim Oreilly im Hauptkonferenzplatz getroffen! Tim bereitet seinen Hauptgededanken vor (auf einem Mac) wie ich diesen blog Pfosten schreibe.

Duane Nickull and Tim O'Reilly in Berlin today.

While I have been here for a week or so, today is the first day of real excitement. I had the luxury of sitting down with a very brilliant television crew (HdM Stuttgart | www.web2null-derfilm.de) crew to discuss some of the finer points of Web 2.0 from a European perspective. One of the questions was about how the Web 2.0 market in Germany might differ from the Web 2.0 market in the USA. I really have to respond that the very question itself is not correct. There is now a global marketplace and things that can affect people in one place are really affecting us all. The illusion that we are different is a relic of the non-digital age and the new electronic democracy can affect an entire generation, country, or multiple countries and generations with the same speed. Honestly, I think this may be one of the finest inteviews I have ever had the pleasure of doing. The questions were right on target and it really made me aware of some key questions from a European perspective. It seems, like in many other places, there is a real pragmatic struggle to understand *exactly* WHAT Web 2.0 is. Once again, I think the book Web 2.0 Design Patterns (co-authored with Dion Hinchcliffe and James Governor) is a good starting point, yet this book will leave readers with just as many questions as answers. I found myself digging up several of the core Web 2.0 patterns several times during the interview and keep realizing that it is hard to describe something when you abstract the implementation away from the facts. Nevertheless, the book really does this.

And speaking of Dion, he is downstairs at his finest delivering his Web 2.0 University talk to an eager and packed audience. This is a great conference! Looking forward to some good German beer next!

Sunday, November 04, 2007

MicroSOAft?

I saw a recent article by Joe McKendrick (ZDNet) who I actually really respect and generally agree with. In his blog article, he quoted some talk from Microsoft about their SOA strategy:

The Oslo SOA bundle will encompass BizTalk Server 6, BizTalk Services 1 (Internet Service Bus), .NET Framework 4, Visual Studio 10, and System Center 5. Nothing new or dramatic in this announcement, other than firming up Microsoft’s evolving SOA strategy. (And note that they’ve been using the SOA acronym freely and frequently over the past year — hooray.)

Industry analysts are generally favorable to the announcement, but say Microsoft is late getting to the table, and may have a tough time competing with vendors already well-established in the SOA space.

Sorry man. BizTalk is as dead as ebXML. In fact, it died first. I hate to say it but from my point of view, they do not have an SOA strategy. Other than really smart yet underutilized guys like Chris Kurt, I have never even talked to someone else there who rally gets SOA. Chris Kurt's got a great book on the WS-* Architecture that makes a really relevant statement. I cannot quote it exactly, but it reads something to the effect of this:

"SOA is not equal to Web services. It is possible to use web service protocols without a service oriented architecture and it is likewise possible to develop an infrastructure using web services standards without it being SOA".

For this revelation alone, Chris should be hailed as a great source of truth. I hope that Joe will take a close look at some of the work from the OASIS SOA RM TC and make a really pragmatic interview from someone in Redmond and ask them the tough questions (Don't ask Chris - he is smart and will have the right answers). I'd like to see Joe ask the marketing guys from Microsoft and report on that.

hehehehe..yeah - I am feeling rather disruptive today!!! Sorry Joe!

LiveCycle ES SOA platform rated 8.2 of 10 (Infoworld)

After years of not being recognized for having a full featured enterprise server story, Adobe has finally received great recognition from Infoworld's Test Center. In fact, reviewer Mike Heck rated LiveCycle ES an overall score of “very good 8.2” out of 10: with ease of use and scalability rated at 9.0; features, integration, and administration rated at 8.0.

This doesn't surprise me as Mike is a well-known guy and has been very pragmatic in his past analysis of enterprise software. If you take a look at the kind of depth he goes into when testing Attensa Feed Server 1.1.7, you can easily see he isn't a writer for hire. He is pragmatic and speaks the truth about both good and bad aspects of software as he explores and experiences it. In other tests, he actually points out both weakness as well as strengths of Adobe Software.

IMO - the LiveCycle ES ranking is correct. We still can make it better but it really is an 8.2 out of 10 today. But hey - don't take my word for it. Grab a DVD or download it and try it yourself. If you need help, there are lots of lists and experienced people around to get you started. The best are:

http://www.adobe.com/devnet/livecycle/
http://groups.google.com/group/livecycle

Saturday, November 03, 2007

Web 2.0 Berlin: Ich liebe Deutschland!

Wirklich, mit meinem ganzen Herzen, ich liebe Berlin!! This city just speaks to me and is so alive. Aus irgendeinem Grund glaube ich etwas im Common mit den deutschen Leuten mehr als irgendwoanders.

I am here for Web 2.0 Berlin, probably the most important technical and social conference to hit Europe this year. I don't just say this lightly either. As someone who has worked as a Vice Chair for the United Nations, I see the social impact of Web 2.0 as the single most important thing affecting people within the European Union. Web 2.0 is not just about computing and technology. It is about the migration to the web as a platform upon which democracy prevails, where people with common beliefs find each other, and where new ideas become reality.

Some themes that a year ago might have seemed radical are happening. Video formats on the Internet are now better than most people's home TVs. (Note - when you get to this URL, make sure to click on the lower right hand side icon for full screen view. You WILL NOT believe your eyes.) When you think that the average person can buy an HDTV (the H.264 codec) video camera and editing software for under $2000, this means that anyone can have their own TV channel.

So what else is Web 2.0 about? CNN news is recruiting ordinary people to videotape questions for US presidential candidates on YouTube. During the recent Lebanon-Israeli conflict/war ordinary citizens blogging about it were getting their versions of the events out just as fast as the mainstream television networks. A single opinion about a bad customer experience with a company that lies to its customers like Rheem can circle the globe in one day and result in a loss of revenue based on their mistruths.

Web 2.0 is affecting the very social fabric in which we exist. Those who figure out what it is and how they can use it prosper. This conference is about finding that truth. I will be speaking on a topic that brings the matter closely into focus. The session is scheduled for Wednesday at 9:00 AM and is titled Web 2.0 Design Patterns, Models, and Analysis. The abstract describes it as follows:

Many enterprises seek knowledge of the design patterns used by successful Web 2.0 companies. This session starts with Tim O'Reilly's list of Web 2.0 examples and distills the abstract architectural patterns from behind the examples. By using the patterns notation, the core knowledge of the design principles is preserved in a template which can be reused in multiple contexts.

Duane will also show the evolution of the client server model into a 5-tier model based on the consistent concepts of most successful Web 2.0 patterns. The model serves as a useful starting point for anyone either designing business models or technology for Web 2.0. The Web 2.0 model is also used to illustrate a reference architecture. This abstract set of technology components allows developers to start thinking about the types of technology decisions required for building Web 2.0 projects.

The conference is full of the best Web 2.0 speakers in the world. O'Reilly has truly put together the best of the best for Europe. I urge anyone who can to come to this show, as it truly is a global phenomena and understanding what Web 2.0 is all about can be really useful.

I also look forward to newspaper interviews with some of Europe's most prestigious newspapers - Die Welt and Die Zeit. As I write this, more are being arranged and I hope they come through.

Ich liebe Berlin und ich bin ein Berliner!

Thursday, November 01, 2007

LiveCycle's new face?


Charlton Barreto and I have been working hard on some new collateral for LiveCycle in the context of SOA and enterprise architecture.

The work has been stressful and resulted in some behavior patterns most often associated with those who still think COBOL is cool. Nevertheless, stay tuned for some really new stuff on SOA.

Photo courtesy of Andre Charland (Nitobi).

C'mon Web 2.0 - get it together now!!!

I have watched in dismay in the last months as I have been forced to accept the same connections via LinkedIn.com, Plaxo, Facebook, MySpace, Mix2r.com and a number of other social networking sites.

Why can't someone build a portal using the XFN (XHTML Friend Network) microformat to allow these connections to be only declared once. Then an API can federate it to all sites wanting to declare this sort of information. James Governor wrote a piece for the O'Reilly Web 2.0 Design Patterns book on the Synchronized Web being a core pattern of Web 2.0. It looks like these sites are really failing in that they are not getting it together fast enough.

Maybe I will start one now. How should it work?

When you accept a friend request from any site, it also allows you the option to "federate" the declaration. This means that any other site can pick it up. Of course, this will require the sort of Sxip-ish OpenID infrastructure in place to make sure the identities match.

Entrepreneurs - please take this idea and run with it. If you feel really nice, give me some shares but please save us all time and effort by making this automated! Hey - if you really like it I'll be your friend on the system.