Recursive Function

The good people over at TechCrunch, GigaOm, VentureBeat, and ReadWrite Web are hosting the Crunchies, an award ceremony for tech start ups.

We have thrown our own FormSpring into the mix. If you like the product, head over to the Crunchies and nominate FormSpring.com for the Best Bootstrapped and the Best Enterprise Startup.

Wouldn’t it be nice if at least one company outside of Silicon Valley won a Crunchie? *hint*

I started up Safari on Windows yesterday to test a website, and was delighted to see a major change in the 3.0.4 update: increased compatibility with the Windows desktop environment.

This means that Safari windows now behave the same way that other application windows do, and support utilities that enhance or alter that behavior. For example:

• When I re-launch Safari, it remembers the window size and position from the last time I closed it, rather than defaulting to some arbitrary size far smaller than 1024×768.
• I can resize the window from any side (as is typical with MS Windows applications) instead of just with the resize handle on the lower-right corner.
• I can use utilities like UltraMon and Sizer to quickly move or resize windows, like I do on a regular basis with other applications.

Safari is a great browser, and I was glad when the Windows version was released. But I don’t see it ever getting much market share until it looks or behaves more like other Windows applications. It hasn’t yet felt like it was meant to be run on Windows, as it’s so much more foreign than native applications.

The OS X GUI definitely looks great, and I’m not getting into any debates about whether it looks better or worse than XP or Vista. But stick any GUI on an application in an environment where it doesn’t match, and it’s aesthetic is going to be knocked a few points.

Kudos to the development team for working towards making it a more viable Windows browser, and I hope they don’t lose that focus. We need something to pry IE 6 out of the hands of the masses.

“The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” - Verbal Kint, Usual Suspects.

The exact opposite statement can be made about the National Retail Federation and Cyber Monday - The greatest trick the National Retail Federation ever pulled was convincing the world Cyber Monday did exist.

By all accounts the Monday after Black Friday is not the busiest online shopping day of the year, last year it was Dec 13 (the last day for shipments to arrive in time for Christmas), when sales neared $667 million. But we have bought into this mythical day, even so much as NPR had a report about it this morning. Why? The term was first coined in 2005 by Shop.org who saw a spike in online sales on the Monday following Black Friday. Seeing a need to capitalize on that spike they decide to brand the day and create a national awareness around an otherwise normal day.

This is a great lesson in marketing, how to take a slight truth (growth of online sales) and turn it into a national phenomenon by good branding, and good messaging.

It truly was a great trick and now millions of people are online, in their cubicles hunting for the best online deals instead of working, because, well, that’s what you do on Cyber Monday.

We’ve started looking for someone to join the Recursive Function team as a support specialist. We’re interested in applications for full-time employees, but are also open to someone who’d like to work part-time, or an intern who wants to get a foot in the door.

Here’s the job description:

We’re looking for a talented, enthusiastic individual to learn everything there is to know about FormSpring.com, and to be the first line of support for our users. You’ll respond to questions via email and be active on the forums. You’ll also work closely with the development team in relaying issues and feature requests, testing new releases, and collaborating on documentation.

General skills: excellent written and oral English communication skills, exceptional customer service skills, attention to detail, and the ability to work well within a team environment.

Technical skills: Great overall computer/technical aptitude, experience using a variety of web-based applications, some knowledge about HTML and CSS, and a hunger for learning about the web.

Please apply by filling out this job application form, which we were magically able to build in about 1 minute.

But before applying, it might be good to take a few minutes and read Guy Kawasaki’s How to get a job on Craigslist. Every point applies but the first one — I’ll be eating Tofurky for the new days, so it won’t make any difference if I get an application today or a week from now.

As my social networking applications continue to grow, i.e. Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc I am constantly trying to find ways to incorporate them into my professional life, and utilize them in a way that provides value. LinkedIn has been a tool that I have loved and hated since I started using it, but really didn’t know why.

Ever since I started using Facebook, I realized my issues with LinkedIn. It is a great tool for networking and adding business contacts, whether they are close friends or associates you have only met through email. The user interface is pretty clean, and because it has maintained its principals based around business networking the signal vs noise ratio ensures that you aren’t getting poked or superpoked by friends and colleagues.

However, the static nature of LinkedIn has severely limited the way that you can use it. The interaction factor, or lack thereof has essentially made it another Rolodex to keep track of. The ability to add recommendations and ask/answer questions has started to make it a little bit more interactive, but overall it is still just another application that I check in on every other week or so, or anytime I make a new connection. I haven’t figured out a way to leverage it than for piling up my list of contacts. I am sure that there is some value if you are looking for a job or recruiting for one.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could create niche groups for thought sharing, set up “meetings” and conduct interviews online? Wouldn’t it be useful if you could hold e-Events and virtual networking events where people shared ideas and business problems freely? I think there is a large untapped potential, especially as more and more people, not tech related, are starting to use it. The need for smart business discussion is always going to be there, and LinkedIn has the built in user base to help expand to networking “2.0″. Will it get there? I hope so, but for now, I will continue to use it and hope for more, and if not, maybe someone else can get started on the next killer networking app, I would be happy to beta test it for you.