[Web] Online Directory Services?

Okay, so technically speaking I'm default representative for my high school batch and I'm getting tired of manually managing the directory.

I'm a good geek, right? I should be able to find a way to may this process a lot easier with all the tools at my disposal, right? Isn't there a cool, web 2.0 site that helps people manage directories?

The first idea that came to me was to utilize an shared online spreadsheet, like with Google Docs. It seems straightforward enough, but in order for it to be convenient, everyone needs to have a Google Account to use the service and at the end of the day it's just a spreadsheet program, which is not very inviting for high school alumni on the go.

That got me thinking about the possibility of hosting a wiki, probably because of the recent wiki work I've been doing to have my efforts documented in the Pinoy Blogopedia. Wikis can be cool, but again not very easy to use and perhaps even worse than using an online spreadsheets program given how technical it is.

Host a social network you say? That's another idea - I might be able to control the number of users, have them host images and update their own profiles, as needed. That may be just the possibility I need, but I don't know of a good social network hosting service.

Do any of you have other ideas in mind? What other online solutions exist for managing an online directory for high school alumni? I'm wracking my brain yet nothing comes to me just yet - HELP!


Photo linked from brutal's photostream.

[Google] Docs & Spreadsheets Improvements

As announced on the Official Google Docs & Spreadsheets Blog, recent changes to the site now allow users (1) who aren't logged in to their Google Accounts or who (2) do not have Google Accounts to view documents and spreadsheets shared with them.

Before you had to have a Google Account to even just view shared files, which was always a bit of a pain. Sure, I like trying to get more people to sign up for Google Accounts but at the end of the day it hampers people from reading / viewing the file I wanted to share with them in the first place.

In addition, they're now also allowing Google Apps users to share their documents and spreadsheets outside of their registered domain. Again, a way of focusing more on the functionality of sharing as opposed to just pushing Google Account sign-ups.

As always, if you actually want other people to be able to edit / collaborate with you in terms of maintaining the particular document of spreadsheet, then they'll really need to get a Google Account. No ifs-ands-or-buts about it. Either way, these are very welcome changes for Google Docs & Spreadsheets users like me!

All of these changes have also been documented on their Official Google Group.

[Geeky Guide] All Clear!

The Geeky Guide has been cleared of all "potential spam blog" charges! Hooray!

Frankly, I'm surprised at how fast they got around to reviewing the site. While we're all aware how typical Google customer support is like outside of the purview of the premiere edition of Google Apps - next to nothing beyond automated responses and heavy reliance on Google Groups. Add in the fact that I sent my review request on a Sunday and one has to be impressed that the site was reviewed within 24 hours.

I guess this may indicate just how many resources they have dedicated to this anti-splog initiative, or it means just how few people are actually taking the time to send feedback that their blogs are not splogs.

Go figure.

[The Web] Wired on Yahoo

Call me a late bloomer, but I just came across this particular Wired News article taking an in-depth look at how Yahoo! wasted a prime opportunity to beat Google before they even began. It's pretty lengthy, so you'll need some free time put aside before reading it here:

• Wired News: How Yahoo Blew It

You can also Digg the article here if you're into that, too.

Of course Yahoo responded to the article in their own fashion, but does anyone really care? The author, Fred Vogelstein, did a tremendous job of painting a detailed picture of the many missteps made by Yahoo CEO Terry Semel in the years before Google made its radical rise to the top of the search advertising industry of sorts.

I highly recommend that everyone read this article. It seems like the best time to do so, just after GooglePress confirmed Google will be announce their fourth quarter results at the end of this month, a press conference that is sure to send ripples throughout the tech and financial communities depending on how well or how badly they did.

[Ateneo] Calling All AHS 2001 Alumni

Attention all alumni from AHS Batch 2001!!!

In support of the efforts of the Ateneo Alumni Association (AAA) to connect to the various Ateneo alumni across the globe, we're trying to help out by building the batch directory for the class of 2001 for the Ateneo High School.

What do I do to get involved?

All we need is for alumni to update their contact information either at the AAA website at http://www.admu.edu.ph/aaa or by emailing aaa@admu.edu.ph with your contact details.

In addition, AHS 2001 alumni are encouraged to sign up for the eGroup in order to get in touch with other alumni and to receive updates regarding upcoming batch alumni activities and other important information.

You can sign up for the eGroup by sending a blank message to ahs-batch-2001-subscribe@googlegroups.com. For Google Account / GMail users, you can sign up directly at the group website at http://groups-beta.google.com/groups/ahs-batch-2001/ and clicking the "Join this Group" button towards the top of the screen. You can also enter your email address in the box below.

Please help spread the word to other AHS 2001 alumni so we can build our batch directory and present stronger representation in various alumni activities and projects!

Subscribe to AHS Batch 2001

Email:

Visit this group

[Google] Aggressive Moves in Video

Being a member of the GooglePress Group distribution list, yesterday started out interesting enough with the successive announcements related to the deals signed by Google with content providers Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group to distribute their video content through a shared ad revenue scheme of sorts. Then of course the big bomb hit when they announced the planned $1.65 Billion acquisition of YouTube within the year.

The best thing about this move is their announcement to retain the existing YouTube brand along with their existing team, which is somewhat similar to the acquisition of blogging service LiveJournal by fellow blogging company Six Apart some time back, which felt more like a friend merging of companies rather than one larger company consuming the other.

Of course this leaves Google with two main issues - one to turn YouTube into a solid revenue generating enterprise while at the same time dealing with the potential copyright issues plagued by all video sharing sites today. With a combined majority market share between YouTube and Google Video, interested groups are certainly going to pay notice to the new video giant.

Of course while the lawyers start working on the fine print and dotting all their "I's" and crossing their "T's", the rest of the world is left to just enjoy the wave of media coverage and support from the global internet community.

[Google] Promoting Cooperation

Google has been really busy as of late, in case you haven't noticed. Today we've seen a number of announcements in terms of new services and revisiting some older ones.



Today Google announced the establishment of what they're calling The Literacy Project, a free collection of tools and information from around the world about promoting literacy. It's like taking an open source approach to teaching people how to read. Given the resources on the site like user-submitted videos and blogs, Google hopes to help people around the world learn from one another in order to aggressively reduce the number of illiterate people in the world.

Google also added the ever-popular set of advanced features to its Accessible Search tool, giving all those handicapped users out there the ability to further refine their searches just like everyone else.

What really got me excited today was the announcement of the launch of a new beta version of Google Groups, one of Google's older services that has been in dire need of a major overhaul.

The new Groups has finally added file sharing support along with the option to create webpages within the group. What has also been long overdue is the conversion to the conversation style of message presentation such as is used in GMail, which makes for easier reading. They appear to have adopted the cartoony style of Blogger in terms of its icon set, which I'm not sure if everyone is going to love right away.

I'm still trying the service out to see if it's worth it and as always Google has provided the option to test the new format using your existing Google Groups along with the option to return to the old system if needed.

All in all, today has been a day for a lot of collaborative efforts from Google. I wonder what has them so productive as of late? Is this a fourth quarter sort of thing?