Nick Bradbury

Hello, Gnomedex!

OK, I'm not actually at Gnomedex (here's why), but I still want to send my greetings to everyone there. I've attended Gnomedex several times, and I learned a lot each time (it's where I first heard about podcasting and attention, for starters).

And if you're there and happen to see a guy named Jack Brewster, stop and say hello. He works for NewsGator, and chances are you've been helped by him if you use one of our products. If you don't know what Jack looks like, take a gander at his new son. Jack looks almost exactly like him, albeit with slightly less hair :)

NewsGator Platform Roadmap (2006)

This week NewsGator founder and CTO Greg Reinacker posted a two-part overview of our company's roadmap. Part I provides the necessary background for part II, which talks about where we're going in the near future.

It's an ambitious roadmap - but so was the one he posted in 2005, and our company has met every one of the stated goals (along with a few more). It's going to be a fun and challenging year as we cross the next chasm.

Digital Identity Newbie

I haven't focused too much on digital identity, but I've been paying more attention to it lately. I don't know enough yet to post an opinion on the subject, but here are some recent posts about identity that I've enjoyed:

• Phil Becker and Eric Norlin: Top 5 Identity Fallacies: #5 Net 2.0 Can Happen Without Solving Identity, The return of the walled garden and Google's authentication vs. Microsoft's Live ID
• Dave Winer: Identity and Trust
• Kim Cameron: Facebook as a Background Check

Freedbacking?

At the "Users in Charge" session at last week's BloggerCon, Chris Pirillo defined the word "freedbacking" to mean "free feedback from software users to developers." Later in his blog, Chris asked users (better known as "customers") to use the word (or tag) "freedbacking" in any blog posts which give feedback to developers.

Chris, you know I respect you, but beyond self-promotion, what's the goal here? If it's to make developers listen, then I don't get it. Any developer worth his salt is already subscribed to keyword search feeds about his or her software, and any developer who isn't already listening isn't likely to hear users just because they use the word "freedbacking." So using the word "freedbacking" strikes me as superfluous.

What am I missing?

PS: Ironically enough, by using the word "freedbacking" here, I've made sure that Chris will hear this :)

We're Looking for a Denver Delphi Contractor

If you live in the Denver area and have the chops to build great Delphi applications, perhaps you'd like to come work with us?

As you can see from the job description, we're looking for an experienced Delphi contractor with proven UI skills to help take over TopStyle's development. We need someone who is committed enough to take charge of getting a major new version out the door (something I've been unable to handle due to FeedDemon's popularity). This job may expand so that you'd also help out with FeedDemon.

We're a great company, we've got a great team, and as my previous post illustrates, we have a lot of fun. If you're up to the task, we want to hear from you!

NewsGator Rocks with the Chili Peppers

I'm spending a few days in Denver this week to visit my friends and co-workers at NewsGator, which is something I should do more often. I'll be here again on August 18 - which as luck would have it is when the Red Hot Chili Peppers (one of my favorite bands) play in Denver.

At the company's "all hands" meeting this morning I suggested that a bunch of us go to the concert together, and asked for a show of hands of those who wanted to go. A surprising number of hands popped up - and they all popped up after NewsGator CEO J.B. Holston said that the company would pay for the show.

I'm working for a company that's paying for everyone to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I may never leave this place :)

BloggerCon IV Wrap-up (Thanks Dave and Niall)

BloggerCon IV concluded today, and the (un)conference exceeded my expectations. My thanks to Dave Winer for the time and effort he put into this event. I learned a lot and shared a lot at this BloggerCon - I leave knowing and feeling more than when I came.

I also want to thank Niall Kennedy for being an excellent tour guide and friend during my short visit to San Francisco. Niall showed me around the place, introduced me to people, and basically made my brief stay here a better one. Even if we end up competitors in this whole RSS thing-a-ma-jig, I think we can still bounce ideas off each other since we're both motivated more by the possibilities than by the competition.