A lot of what I am recalling here from my week is technology related. This isn’t a surprise, as that’s what I do most of my days. I guess it’s better than if I worked in politics?

Back To The Future – A friend and loyal reader here forwarded me this article from a few years ago on the founder of the Web Sir Tim Berners-Lee talking about the Web going back to its roots. I remember the article from then, and it was a good reminder of the “good ol’ days” as myself and many others were getting on the Internet for the first time.

Can We qTox? – I have been seeing a lot in recent weeks about online privacy and controlling your own destiny online. One such endeavor is qTox, an online chat and video tool that is built around privacy. People connect with each other using a long, cryptic key. I don’t know a whole lot of people using it, but it’s another alternative tool to keep around. If anyone reading this uses qTox, let me know!

Lower (Case) Expectations – This past week General Motors came out with a new logo. It’s a take on its iconic logo, but the letters are lower case, and only the “M” is underlined. Apparently the change is to reinforce their move to building more electric vehicles. Clearly they didn’t learn from AT&T doing the same thing with lowercase letters years ago. At least the sign makers will benefit from this.

Taxation Without Dealerships – There are no car dealerships in Washington, D.C. This is nothing new, but it came up in a conversation with a friend who is a car dealer. Rumor has it cars are for sale in neighboring states.

Domaining In The Dark – My favorite domain name registrar Name.com came out with a “dark mode” for their well-designed and easy-to-use Web site. They wrote about the change and how they went about developing it, which was an interesting read. I turned on dark mode then turned it off – it’s just not my thing.

TikTighten – The video social media service TikTok announced it was tightening privacy features for younger users. That’s nice, but I still won’t let my kiddos use it.

Learning Tech – If you’re like me, you are going to be learning and working with cloud technology this year. That’s why this article on managing DevOps was a great read for me. But if you’re not like me, you may want to pass on it.

Using Tech – For as long as the Americans With Disabilities Act has been around, it fascinates me how there is still not complete adoption of it, and the ambiguity with regards to how it applies to technology just causes for all kinds of problems. The law firm Seyfarth laid out its predictions on all Accessibility for the coming year. There are also good tips for anyone who has a business or works in tech to consider for the coming year.

Back to School Shopping in January? – As my kiddos will finally be going back into a school building for their education for the first time in 10 months, of course they were asking to go school shopping. This reminded me of a classic commercial from Staples on one parent’s joy for their kids going back to class. Where I am ecstatic they are going back, it has more to do with at-home remote education simply not working.

Speaking of That At-Home Thing – John Stossol’s latest video report is on actions by school districts and teachers union to keep kids at home. Where I completely respect people who want to keep their kids home, I have met teachers who have kids and who want themselves and their kids back in the classroom, and I am with them. And so is the science on the low spread of COVID-19 in schools that are open.

End of a Safe For Kids Era – The other day I saw a missing spot on the saved channels in my car radio, and after checking I found that Radio Disney was no longer listed with other SiriusXM channels. That’s due to the fact that the kid-friendly pop music channel has left satellite radio, and Radio Disney in the process of shutting down altogether. I was sad to hear this as the contemporary pop songs carefully edited for kid consumption was a very good thing, even though I am sure my kiddos know the full versions. It also made for great swim meet warm-up music. I’m hoping someone will fill the gap that Disney covered for years.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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What I Learned • (2) Comments • Permalink

As Frida said best, I know there’s something going on. Personally I want to know what that is – the who, what, where, when, why and how and all sides of a story. If there’s an opinion about it to be made, it will be created in my own mind.

Call me old fashioned, but that’s the way the news was like when I grew up; I liked it then, and I still do now. However today and for many preceding years, the news has been nothing like how it was. Stocked with thin, incomplete coverage and opinion coming from talking heads in boxes on a screen – that’s not news to me.

As the saying goes, misery loves company, and after reading Slanted by Sharyl Attkisson, I realized I was in very good company. Attkisson is an award-winning investigative journalist and has worked for CNN and CBS in the past and is the host of the weekly news program Full Measure. Slanted chronicles the devolution of mainstream media news from the major TV networks and cable channels. Where their news reporting was once revered, it has become a shell of what it was, and biased or slanted towards a certain side or stakeholder in a news story.

With a strong desire to go back to the days when news was news, I certainly had takeaways from reading Slanted.

It’s not just me – Slanted presented thoughtful analysis of what I observe when I do watch or read the news. Often I am left head-shaking when I consume a news story, wondering why I feel like what I just read or saw was not the whole story, or if a perceived bias was correct or not.

Let’s all play the Substitution Game! – Attkisson uses a technique called the Substitution Game, where she will take a story that is biased towards one party – political or not – and substitute one side’s name for the other, typically in a story against one of those parties. Almost instantly a lightbulb will go off over my head realizing how absurd or incredulous a story appears when that’s done.

Who said there’s no money in objective journalism? – I am willing to pay for it, and am not willing to pay for bad, biased journalism, let alone consume it. This is part of the reason why we haven’t had cable TV in my household for years.

As much as I enjoyed Slanted, it’s unfortunate such a book had to be written. It provides great context and insights from others who work in news media. I enjoyed the interview Attkisson had with Lou Waters, with whom she co-anchored on CNN back in the 1990’s. Where Waters is named, many of the other interview subjects and not, and my guess was to protect their identities as they likely still work in mainstream news. Had more of them come forward that would have provided even more credibility to the state of news, but I can understand why.

If you are curious as to what may be going on behind the story in news coverage, I highly recommend reading Slanted. I purchased my copy, actually pre-ordering it when it was announced back last April. I have in the past purchased and wrote takeaways on Attkisson’s other books – Stonewalled and The Smear. As I give away all books I read, this one is going to a colleague whom I had a recent conversation with on the news and feels similarly to me on today’s reporting. You can always get your own copy with one of the links in this post, and note that if you do click and buy, I earn a few cents.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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Book Take-Aways • (0) Comments • Permalink

Imagine besides the major civics lesson we are having in the United States this week there’s other things going on. Well, perhaps not as important.

Great Reading at a Great Price – On January 1st, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gadsby came out of copyright, which means it can be freely distributed. So another great, Chris Abraham shared the text of the novel on his blog, and I am sharing it with you.

Great Images at a Great Price – I came across Unsplash this week, as I saw an attribution license link to a photo from them. You too can read the license and check out the site for a variety of free and low-cost images.

Some Would Say There’s No Difference – It’s time to play the game that everybody loves, School or Prison! I found this link and didn’t do so well the first time around, much to my dismay.

The Thinking Within Those Walls – Without any additional commentary, I present this survey of students at the University of Wisconsin – Madison on free speech.

Look Away – Have you ever taken the time to read the terms of service for online services, or any software for that matter? One artist decided to print them out for several of the larger one and made an exhibit piece out of them. Reading is of course only one part of this, understanding is another.

Ask Away – This past week I participated in Open Office Hours offered by Headway, an app design and development firm in the area that I have gotten to know and respect. It’s a unique hour session where you can present technical, business and strategy questions and Headway’s CEO Andrew provides his thoughtful insight on them. This giving back to the global community is in addition to their overall contributions to the local tech community.

Business Paradise By The Dashboard – Congrats to my friend Jason Jacobsohn and his Propellant Ventures on their investment in SquareStack a service that integrates the various services a firm uses into a common dashboard. With the growth of the uses of varying third-party services, such a dashboard will be a vital service for firms.

Mi Calendario Su Calendario – I’ve seen a lot of calendar scheduling systems, from doctor’s appointments to professionals making time for clients, and from a user-experience point of view I have found Microsoft Bookings to offer the best from the customer or end-user point of view. It’s part of Microsoft 365 and come with an added cost, but it may be well worth it.

Back to School Giving – What a better combination of starting the new year by going back to school and getting a tax write-off? My daughter’s school teacher, whom she will finally meet in person in a couple of weeks, has a wish list where looking for some books and supplies to compliment her classroom and thank you on advance.

Too Soon? – While setting up an online account this week, I was prompted to enter security questions to verify the account. Where most options are usually the same on every site, one stood out, “where were you when you first heard about 9/11?” That stopped me in my tracks. First, 9/11 is a topic that almost 2 decades later is still sensitive for many people. For many people, you don’t have to guess too hard to find that answer, such as in my past post on remembering 9/11. In any case, take my advice and lie with your answers.

"We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us." – E. M. Forster

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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What I Learned • (0) Comments • Permalink

With the New Year upon us, a lot of annual thoughts are swirling through my head, and one of them is regarding professional training. Last year I became a Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) through the Scrum Alliance. As I am thinking of what to take to continue my Scrum training, I am also thinking of where to take it, as the world of Scrum training changed in 2020.

In a departure from my typical posts of offering advice, this time I am seeking it. Please read on and I welcome your thoughts on my training journey.

That Was Then

My decision on the CSM course I did take was relatively straightforward. In discussion with colleagues I was advised the courses and certification from the Scrum Alliance were the most recognized. The other factor was location – I chose the closest course to me, and that was one being offered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I signed up for the April course in February, not knowing what was coming down the pike.

Shortly after the state shutdown order happened in Wisconsin, I got an email from the vendor offering the course that it would still be happening, and they would provide more details. As the date of course drew closer on the horizon, I was concerned with taking what could be a virtual course – no Scrum training to that point was offered online and was always in-person, and that was my preference. Several emails to the vendor went unanswered until I finally got a terse response – the course would be offered virtually, and as it was within the no-refund cancellation window I had no option to change it whatsoever. Cancellation windows were not a consideration when I signed up for it – I was going to take it no matter what, and that included driving the hour from home to the venue.

In the end, it was a great course. The instructor Mike Stuedemann of agilityIRL (a firm separate from the vendor) was very knowledgeable and ran a great virtual 2-day session. The class was composed mostly of people from Wisconsin, plus one from New York and another from Paris, France, which added nicely to the mix. I was well armed to take the certification exam, which I passed and gained the CSM title. Though my preference was still to take the course in a live setting, this was a perfect Plan B.

This is Now

Today most all Scrum training courses continue to be offered virtually. As well, my knowledge of the Scrum community has broadened since I became a member of it, and have learned of other organizations offering the courses, all virtually. Needless to say this opens up a whole potential for taking courses, including ones from Scrum Inc. taught by none other than Dr. Jeff Sutherland, the co-creator of Scrum.

How to Proceed?

With all of these opportunities, I am curious how to proceed. Should I continue taking courses through Scrum Alliance? I have no issues per se with the training I received or the organization as a whole. Or should I look to other organizations that offer the training, like Sutherland’s Scrum Inc. or Scrum.org, a firm led by Ken Schwaber, the other co-creator of Scrum? There are also other firms offering courses and certifications as well.

Does continuing with one firm make more sense? Is looking to other firms a good or bad thing? Are there approaches to the instruction of one better than the other, overall or course-by-course?

The answers to these questions I don’t have, and I am putting this out to the greater community for advice. Where I have seen comparisons of various firms and their courses, I am also interested in the experience of people who have first-hand knowledge.

I welcome your thoughts here in the comments of this blog post, and I thank you in advance.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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Agile / Scrum • Technology • (0) Comments • Permalink

Meet the new year, same as the old year? I guess time will tell.

Finally! – Thanks to my friend Craig for reminding me that Adobe Flash is now no longer supported and the software giant urges you to uninstall it from your computer. Flash was/is a technology for displaying content on the Web. It was revolutionary when it first came out and was far from perfect, including the high ability for it to be hacked. But that doesn’t mean it still isn’t out there on Web sites – including corporate Intranets. If what I said is all a blur to you, don’t worry, but if you can’t load a restaurant menu online someday then now you may know why.

Resolution Breakdown – Where paper calendars to change have mostly gone away, making resolutions at the beginning of the new year is still common for many people. Not for me, but if for you, this post by Dan Rockwell on rethinking how you structure resolutions is very insightful. I have been a fan of Rockwell and his blog Leadership Freak for years, and while you’re there check his other to-the-point and insightful writings.

Destiny – I saw a reference online to someone being called an umareli. Who knew my people had a term for what I will eventually be, if I am not partially there already.

Celtics Lost – I was sad to hear that Boston Celtics legendary player, coach and executive KC Green died this week. In reading this I also learned that another similar legend, Tommy Heinsohn, died earlier last year. One thing I will always remember about Green was when, despite his greatness, he was fired by the team when Rick Pitino was hired as coach in the late 90’s. When asked to comment on his firing, he quoted none other than Kermit the Frog saying, “it's not easy being green.” This tweet from another Celtics legend Bill Russell, shows him and Green the last time they got together.

More Of Not If But When – Synthetic identity theft is a thing- . So be diligent out there my friends.

RumChata is made in Wisconsin – Who knew? Clearly I didn’t, did you?

RumContrast – If you check out the RumChata site linked above and scroll down to the bottom, you’ll notice there’s a switch to view the site in “high contrast mode.” I’ve never seen this on a site before – I have seen similar switches to see sites in “dark mode” but this is one I will think about the next time I am working on a redesign.

Symphony of Good Design – Speaking of design, my friend Stefanos wrote a post the other day on LinkedIn comparing good design with music and had my mind not been on vacation I would have engaged with him more on it. Shortly after reading I was subjected to a new and poor user experience, the checkout for the US Postal Service’s Click-N-Ship service.

Another Agile Anniversary – In February there’ll be a live webinar for the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Agile Manifesto. What is that? First you can read the Agile Manifesto here. The signing happened at a gathering of the leaders of agile software development frameworks where they agreed to base principles on what is agile, paving the way for both more people using agile to create software and for many more to resist it.

Alone Together – I just listened to Randy Streu’s podcast mini-series Alone Together which is 4 short monologues recorded back in the late summer. As he only told me about them a few weeks ago I don’t feel bad that I missed it. Of course nobody wants to rehash 2020, but if you like well-written and spoken entertainment, it’s a good use of less than a half hour.

Exclusive Showing – Last week my family and I went to the movies, and where we have gone once or twice since last spring, this was the first time we paid “full price” for tickets, as most other showings were only $1 or some ridiculously low price. Perhaps it was all going on, or it was because we saw Croods 2, but we were the only ones in the theatre. As soon as we got home I got an email from Marcus Theatres, where we saw the film, promoting that you can rent a theatre for a private showing... which was like we just did?

I feel bad for Marcus Corp. – they are a Wisconsin-based company that runs quality movie theatres and manages hotels, and are benefactors to the communities they served. Throughout the pandemic their business has been devastated. They are one of the good ones I hope thrives again soon.

Happy Birthday TJ!

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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What I Learned • (2) Comments • Permalink