Mark’s Blog

I have been building a proposal for a client, and to get more familiar with the iGoogle Gadget API, I built a Gadget that pulls a list of URLs from a remote XML file asynchronously and displays them.

Fun lessons I learned about writing iGoogle Gadgets:

• Using the iGoogle editor allows you to quickly edit, preview and troubleshoot apps, BUT does not allow you to use anything but the legacy APIs
• You cannot develop with the new APIs by calling them from your server, as they are cached by Google every hour (along with any called XML files)
• iGoogle has a pretty intuitive setup for using Javascript and writing cross-browser apps, once you look past the (very) rough developer’s tools

Here’s the gadget as it exists currently:

My future plans are to put the links in a tab, and change the link loading scheme.  The images are just too big and take precious vertical space. I’ll use another tab to display an RSS feed.  iGoogle has an API to chew on feeds and convert them to JSON for you.

I think loading the App data from an external XML/JSON is a far superior solution to hard-coding it into an app.  It allows it to be edited much easier by an program/unskilled user. You can view the code by reading the XML file here.

A recent post at the BetterThanYourBoyfriend blog entitled “Living Transparently”  really reinforced the reasons why I live an “open source lifestyle”.  Being open with everything I do is a very important core of who I am.  I’ve learned in my 22 years that you really shouldn’t do anything you wouldn’t tell anyone who asks, and really shouldn’t say anything that you wouldn’t feel comfortable telling just about anyone.  Lies usually get found out , and hurtful words usually filter back to the intended target over time.

What really inspired my pursuit of an open source life is when I was growing up and really immersed myself in open source software.  It was something I viewed as a complete 180 to how things are normally done.  Everyone shares their info, and together, everyone is better off.  This attitude is supported by my academic training as an economist.  When everyone contributes, more value gets created than the sum of the parts.  There is no “cost” to giving out my knowledge, and instead, everyone is made richer.  If someone asks for help with a problem they have, or asks for a piece of my knowledge, I give it to them.  I have increased the amount of knowledge that exists between the two people, or increased the total “wealth” of the system, making me a small amount richer.  Witholding information to gain a competitive edge only works for a very short time, and creates a large opportunity cost of lost knowledge (this cost is born both by you individually and by the system as a whole).  Being skilled is where the real differences should happen.  For instance, I could have Paul Krugman teach me everything he knows, but I wouldn’t have 1/10th the analytical power he has.  This is why giving information away will not put you out of a job.  All you have to do is “capture less value than you create” in the words of Aaron Wall.  

As far as actions and words aside from knowledge, similar to Tynan’s experiences, I feel that living an open life forces you to think about what you will say or do.  I don’t edit my life to satisfy everyone, but I do undergo a thought process identifying the benefits and costs of a particular action.   I generally try to act in the most ethical way as possible at all times.  I don’t steal, I don’t plagairize, I don’t lie (except some white lies, but those can be ethical) because I would not want to have to tell someone about stealing, plagairism, or lying.  When talking about someone, I will only talk about them if I have something nice to say, which according to psychological studies, will make me look good too.  Lastly, being open with people really opens up the amount of brains I can strategize with.  I can bounce my goals off of people and filter out the bad ones, and get greate advice on achieving my goals.  It generates an incredible amount of value while consuming almost none, and also makes for great happy hour conversation