Tying One On

Jerry Lawson and David Maizenberg are exploring the notion of Web Site Design As Necktie. Jerry draws a parallel between the necktie divide—those who pay for $5,000 Hermes, and those who would sooner hang themselves given the array of acceptable, better priced alternatives—and Web pages, concluding "[t]hat's where blogs are going to take web site design." David says not so fast: uniqueness, instant recognizability, and "branding" are becoming more, not less, important.

Me? I think they're both right. In Jerry's post I see reflected the fact the Web is still in its infancy, and part of the progression to the next level is the easy, out-of-the-box, idiot-proof ability to have complex online interactions and presence. It also reflects the growing RSS- and RDF-ification of text and other online media, the death of push (and rise of pull), and the semantic Web. In David's post, I see perhaps further into the future. Not to get too sci-fi on you, but in Neal Stephenson's Metaverse, off-the-shelf avatars ("Brandys" and "Clints") make participation (and deception) possible, while those concerned with their identity and credibility opt for something more unique, personal, and sophisticated. In other words, I think we're at the very beginning of all this. We'll start to see a continuum, and before we're done we'll see it all.

Today's New Blawg

Cindy Chick is Information Resources Manager, Knowledge Systems at Latham & Watkins. In addition to being a self-professed "case study in how to get on every spammer's e-mail list from here to China," Cindy writes LawLibTech, "a conversation on law library technology and knowledge management." Cindy readily recognizes the law firm knowledge management ramifications that can crop up in Dilbert when one pays close enough attention. If you're interested the convergence of law, technology, and knowledge management (and who isn't?), Cindy needs to be on your list of must-reads. [Via Genie Tyburski]

Encyclopedia Dumtannica

There really is a For Dummies book for everything, isn't there? (Well, not quite everything.)

Today's New Blawg

From Winston-Salem North Carolina, J. Kevin Morton writes the Disability Law Blog:

We've had a traditional website for about 5 years, and it's had its share of compliments. But it was so rarely updated that it went the way of other Websites of the Living Dead, made useless by outdated content. Look at your own site and see if you don't have a "last updated February 3, 1999" somewhere. Weblogs make it easy to update websites. So I've bought a new suit, and I'm hoping it fits. [...]

What is this site about? It's about Social Security disablity law and practice, though there's plenty of medical news, the odd woodworking story (I love woodworking), and a few hikes down rabbit trails regarding technology in my practice.

Kevin's posts are wide-ranging and informative. The new suit seems tailor made.

It Never Rains, It Showers

Aw, folks, I'm extraordinarily touched by the notion of a virtual baby shower. Leave it to an intrepid blawger (and one of my all-time favorite people I've never met) to ferret out our Amazon wishlist of baby necessities. Really, it's amazing to go into an event like this buoyed by the tangible support and wisdom of folks I know because our blogs pal around together when we're not looking (and sometimes when we are). I can't thank you all enough.