Entries from Earthling - EarthLink blog tagged with 'EarthLink'
Thank You
In this final entry on Earthling, I mainly write to say thank you all for reading, commenting, e-mailing, talking, listening, and contributing.
Everything Must Go: Half Off On Used Comments
With me moving on as part of the restructuring, and the company in the midst of transition, we decided it's best to end Earthling's run. I say "we" in all honesty; assessing the situation and available resources, this is the path I recommended, and my leadership agreed.
Lay Of The Land
How the heck do you follow up a restructuring announcement on a corporate blog? A Friday heh list didn’t quite seem right on the heels of such a weighty announcement, and I’ve been struggling with that question and what to talk about next. Nothing seemed quite right, so I stepped away from Earthling for a while. As I return today, I thought it might be useful to give you a brief rundown of answers to questions that you may have about the current state of things:
Clarifying EarthLink Municipal Wi-Fi Plans
I've seen a few articles online this morning suggesting that EarthLink is getting out of the municipal Wi-Fi business. This is not the case. After checking with our leadership this morning, I want to confirm two points:
EarthLink Announces Restructuring
Today EarthLink announced a corporate restructuring that included downsizing and organizational changes that refocus us on our core business. Here's a link to the full press release with all of the details. EarthLink CEO Rolla Huff sent along some brief thoughts he wanted to share with you directly via Earthling:
Separately/Together And EarthLink Montage
Late last week EarthLink made available a beta version of Montage, a new, free email/RSS/address book suite for Windows XP and Vista. It's a desktop application that lets you handle multiple email accounts along with RSS feeds and podcasts, all with a unified interface and organization system.
On The Product Blogs
The latest news from around the EarthLink product blogs.
Thoughts From Carla At BlogHer '07
Carla Shaw, senior manager of corporate communications at EarthLink, shared some of her thoughts this morning about her experiences at BlogHer:
At BlogHer Today
Sorry for the lack of heh today. I'm at the BlogHer Conference in Chicago, meeting bloggers of all kinds and participating in discussions about the world of online content. There are a couple of other EarthLinkers here as well -- Carla Shaw from Corporate Communications is participating, and Liza Barry-Kessler from Legal will be on a panel titled "The Politics Of Inclusion and Exclusion In Online Communities." This is my second year here and like last year it's been an interesting and useful experience to be one of the few guys in a conference composed mostly of women.
On The Product Blogs
A round-up of what's happening on the EarthLink product blogs
BlogPhilly Bound
I'm headed out to BlogPhiladelphia this afternoon. I'm no stranger to the allure of the Cheesesteak, but this will be my first time in Philly since our Municipal Wi-Fi network buildout began. I 'm looking forward to meeting lots of Philly bloggers including BlogPhiladelphia's intrepid organizer, Annie Heckenberger.
Usenet Revisited
In an effort to increase the level of service, we are working on outsourcing our Usenet service to a top-notch provider. If the current experience offers around two or three days of retention, the improved experience will offer months of retention with a lot more complete postings than we’ve been able to offer in the recent past. Internally, my fellow engineers are very excited about offering a great Usenet service AGAIN.
EarthLink Round-up
EarthLink happenings from the last couple of weeks.
Welcome Rolla Huff, EarthLink's New CEO
Today Rolla Huff joins EarthLink as our new President and CEO. He comes to us from MPower Communications, where he served as Chairman and CEO.
When The News River Is Swollen And Teeming
Reader is still a daily addiction for me, but it could be much better. I think there's still a huge opportunity for ours -- how about if we dedicated ourselves to making it the most stress-free and encouraging environment out there for getting through your morning's work?
Security Center Out Of Beta And myEarthLink Feature
You might remember the new EarthLink Security Center from its beta launch back in April. Kinks have been worked out, a little polish has been added, and as of yesterday Security Center is now officially out there as a full product. As you may have noticed, our beta releases don't tend to stay in beta for long. Keep up with ongoing news about the Security Center and talk to the team via their product blog.
EarthLink Round-up
A round-up of what's happening at EarthLink.
Clarification On Broadband Over Power Line Story
On Sunday, May 27th, Exscoms Corp. announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Atlanta-based EarthLink, Inc. (NASDAQ: ELNK). It has been reported inaccurately by media outlets that certain won/dollar amounts could possibly be earned as a result of the agreement.
Philly Wi-Fi Proof Of Concept Approved
This morning EarthLink announced that Wireless Philadelphia has approved our 15 square mile Proof of Concept(POC) area, and given us the green light to continue to build out the full 135 square miles of network.
New Start Page Launches
After a two-month stint in preview mode, today EarthLink's next-generation start page becomes a full-fledged release.
Checking In With Email Guy
The Web Mail blog is currently the only EarthLink product blog to have "open threads" where readers are encouraged to ask anything at all as it relates to John's beat. I sent John five questions to get his perspective on 6 months at the Web Mail blog, managing open threads, and his suggestions for other product managers thinking about using a blog to better connect with their users:
Security Center Beta Launches
The new EarthLink Security Center rolls out as a beta release today. Its goal is to provide a complete and trustworthy set of content, tools, and software to help you stay on top of your internet security needs. It should be a satisfying destination for learning, tips, troubleshooting, and solutions. In addition to hearing your thoughts overall, the team would love feedback on some specific elements of the Security Center.
Can You Give Away A Multitool, And If So How
So how do you balance it? How do you establish that someone is, at a minimum 18 or older and not in prison, and do it in such a way that it's all done online and without creating an awkward and unfun set of hoops to jump through? Les also suggested that perhaps this is really the heart of a blog entry -- anyone have any ideas, or is it just better to give away soft and fuzzy things?
A Conversation with Eric Mattson on Corporate Blogging
Rounding out this week in "EarthLinkers in the media", I had an excellent discussion with Eric Mattson of Jenerous.com yesterday about what I do at EarthLink, the value of blogs inside companies, and the ways we measure success, among other things.
Arlington VA Chooses EarthLink for Wi-Fi Network -- Now With Short Form
This morning EarthLink is pleased to announce that Arlington County, VA, has selected us to build, own, and operate their 26 square-mile Wi-Fi network. There's more information in the press release, and less information in our new EarthLink Twitter presence, ELNK.
EarthLinker Tom Andrus and Family on Oprah Tonight
Oprah Winfrey interviewed Tom via satellite while he was in Cape Town, South Africa, and the interview segment will air today on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Here's more from The Six on what it was like to do a remote interview with Oprah from Table Mountain.
Around The Horn With The Product Blogs
A summary of what's going on on EarthLink Product Blogs.
How Secure Is A Security Expert? 9 Questions
This week I seized the opportunity and asked Jonathan nine questions about his software and home security habits. It turns out that although he does live in what has been called a "fortress," I'd classify his security habits as smart but human. Read on to find out about his run-ins with computer viruses and burglars, and what he does(and doesn't do) to keep his personal information, computer network, and living space safe.
myEarthLink Start Page: We've Gone To Plaid
I'm very happy today to announce we're launching a Preview release of the new page to our esteemed Earthling readers and existing start page users. To take a peek, go to http:// preview.my.earthlink.net. If you are logged into myEarthLink already, you'll be switched to the Preview version, and your preferences will be moved over. If you're not logged in, you'll be directed to a log-in page.
ProtectionPack AEA Reaches 100,000 Users
Our Anonymous Email Addresses feature just reached an important milestone -- its now in use by over 100,000 customers. If you've been reading Earthling for a while, you'll remember when Julie blogging policy work in practical situations, and the rest of the session on whatever blogging-related topics come up.
Web Mail Blog Makes Search Results More Useful
- Email Guy John Foltz has made searching the full content of his blog much easier.
How To Manually Install WordPress On An EarthLink Web Hosting Account
I saw a comment on the WordPress support forums from an EarthLink hosting customer wondering how to do custom installations of WordPress so that they can choose a different path, or have their blog live at the root level of their domain(right at, say, mydomain.com). With lots of help from my fellow EarthLinkers I've put together an unofficial how-to on skipping the easy install and doing your own manual install in your account.
WordPress Easy Install In Hosting Accounts
EarthLink Web Hosting accounts now offer easy installs of several oft-requested applications, most notably that most excellent blogging platform WordPress currently in use by 699,486 bloggers. Here's the full rundown of what's available:
Steps In The Municipal Wi-Fi Process
Last week the cities of Houston, TX and St. Petersburg, FL chose EarthLink to build and operate Municipal Wi-Fi networks in those cities. Before I started working with our Muni Wi-Fi folks I had no idea how something like this comes about or what it means when a city "selects" a partner, so here's a run-down of the major milestones in the development of our Municipal Wi-Fi networks. In practice it works a little differently in each city, but here’s the general shape of the process:
New Feature: EarthLink Blog Directory
Today we unveil an extension of Earthling – it’s a list of links to official EarthLink product blogs and a directory of unofficial personal blogs of EarthLink employees.
Web Hosting Enhancements Update: MySQL Arrives
Back in October I mentioned some important software enhancements coming to our Business Web Hosting platform. If you're an existing hosting customer, you'll have received an e-mail earlier in the week announcing that MySQL support and easy installs are now available. Each Web site comes with 25 databases that can store up to 200MB of data each. I tried it out on a test account yesterday -- it's a dirt simple, two step process to set up new databases with sample code to get you started. To get to the new options, there's a link that says "MySQL Databases" on the left side of your control panel:
PCC 2.0 Problems Update
I understand that some of you are still experiencing PCC 2.0 issues; please know that we are working to resolve them as quickly as possible.
Come Support Muni Wi-Fi In SF
Lil Mike at Metroblogging SF reports that the Board of Supervisors in San Francisco will be holding a hearing about municipal Wi-Fi today, February 7th at City Hall, Board Chamber, room 250, Budget and Finance Committee. At the time of my writing this, the start time appears to be between 1:30 and 2 pm, but I've also seen reports of it starting as early as 1:30. Best to get there early if you want to catch the start of the conversation. The committee meeting itself begins at 1pm. [found via Jesse at The Urban Commons]
Frenchulettas, The Magazine Canyon, and Wi-Fi
Liuzza's on Bienville was packed when Ken and I got there on Friday night. We had chosen Liuzza's for a number of reasons, not the least of which was my having never experienced the Frenchuletta, which is a Muffaletta-ish sandwich served on a huge piece of french bread. It was interesting to see what it was like on a Friday night at a neighborhood restaurant in a part of town still very much in the thick of coming back to life. It was packed, loud, and full of good cheer. When we got there, both rooms were completely full and we ended up waiting outside with our beverages for our guests to arrive.
Atlanta Chooses EarthLink For City Wi-Fi
As both a resident of Atlanta and an employee of EarthLink, I'm excited to announce that we've been chosen to build, own, and operate the City's new municipal Wi-Fi network. The network will be similar in model to what we're building in other cities, including retail residential 1 Mbps up/down service, open access for competing providers to sell over our network, small business support with T-1 replacement services, and programs to help bridge the digital divide. There's more information about the city's RFP process on the Wireless Atlanta section of AtlantaGA.gov.
Liuzza's On Bienville On Friday
Ken Womack from the Search team and myself will be heading down to New Orleans for a couple of days. Ken's doing some research around the local search and portal services in our Municipal Wi-Fi markets. I'm going to help plan some future EarthLink Wi-Fi events, reconnect with friends and colleagues, and hopefully meet some new ones as well. We'll be grabbing dinner at Liuzza's on Bienville on Friday night at 7 p.m. along with whichever bloggers and geeks can make it on the short notice. Feel free to stop by and say hello.
Free Wi-Fi In Philly: Share Your Insights
I wanted to follow up today to show anyone who hops on the network in Philly how you can share your feedback about your experiences. You'll find a feedback link on the landing page you arrive at on the network, in the bottom row:
News From HQ: PCC 2.0 Update
We released our new Protection Control Center version 2.0 last week, and a few of you have commented here on Earthling with installation or scanning issues. I received the following update via e-mail from product manager Ben Kaplan last night:
EarthLink And SF Agree To Terms
“Today, EarthLink and the City of San Francisco reached agreement on the terms of the contract to build a citywide wireless network.
EarthLink’s Garry Betty Passes Away
I am deeply saddened by the passing of EarthLink’s President and CEO, Garry Betty, due to complications from cancer. EarthLink’s founder and Helio CEO Sky Dayton put together a heartfelt tribute blog for your and our thoughts, photos, conversation and information at gbetty.earthlink.net. Please consider sharing your memories and photographs there. Thanks to the engineers at Ning and EarthLink for helping to pull it all together. Memorial arrangements are being made at this time, and Garry’s family has requested that those wishing to pay their respects do so with a donation to The Garry Betty Foundation in lieu of flowers. Donations can be sent to: The Garry Betty Foundation c/o EarthLink, Inc. Level A 1375 Peachtree Street Atlanta, GA 30309 There’s additional information in the press release.
The Year In Earthling, By Month, Part 2
Part 2 in Earthling's look back at the most commented, most viewed, editor's choice, and best photos from each month.
The Year In Earthling, By Month, Part 1
Today and tomorrow, I'm taking a look back at the most popular, most commented on, editor's choice, and best photo from each month of 2006. Today I'll cover January through June, and tomorrow July through December.
New Orleans Wi-Fi Network Launches
It's been a big week for EarthLink Wi-Fi -- on Tuesday we announced the launch of our network in Milpitas, CA and today we're officially unveiling our New Orleans network.
Wi-Fi Launch And 30 Days Free In Milpitas
Today we proudly launched our Wi-Fi network in the city of Milpitas, CA.
Insights From A Blogging Boot Camp
We held an event in our Atlanta office today to talk about blogging, mostly as it relates to blogging about the company you work for. Earlier this year, Our Legal and Corporate Communications teams (with some input from me) put together an official Blogging Policy, and part of the goal of today's meeting was to have a conversation about it and how it works in practice.
Web Mail Hosting Email Concerns Via Slashdot
n October, we did reach a capacity issue on our Web Hosting mail farm that was largely triggered by a sudden and unexpected surge in spam. For a short period of time, this affected email deliverability for some of our Web Hosting customers. We immediately took steps to address the problem. We added more capacity to the mail farm and also migrated hosting mailboxes to an improved mail infrastructure. This resolved the issue. An added benefit of these mailboxes being moved to this new platform is that our web hosting customers now have access to web mail and new anti-spam tools. We have continued to monitor the situation and improve the capacity to ensure ongoing deliverabilty for our hosting customers.
How To Add A Custom Ringtone To A Helio Kickflip
A while back when I tried out the Helio Media Mover and PC Sync software, I offered to write a how-to about adding your own rings to the Helio Kickflip. This weekend I noticed that it's a perenially popular topic on cellphone message board Howard Forums. The regulars over there got it all figured out, and I just want to write it up for you in a clear, step-by-step sorta way. It's a few months overdue now, but hopefully still helpful.
EarthLink Sponsors The Zoo Atlanta Panda Cam
As of October 1 of this year, EarthLink has been proudly sponsoring the live Panda Cam at Zoo Atlanta. At that time we took over for temporary stopgap support generously offered by CNN. Lun Lun and her new cub are viewed remotely in all of their cuteness by thousands of visitors each day.
Thanks For The Start Page Feedback
Thank you to everyone who contributed an asnwer about what's most important to them on their browser's start page. As you might expect, the answers have been varied, and start pages mean different things to different people. Some set themselves up with a full set of content right there, and others want the barest experience possible. The myEarthLink team has been reading them over with interest, and will be sharing some thoughts with Earthling in the next couple of days.
Alexandria Chooses EarthLink To Build City Wi-Fi Network
I'm pleased to report that EarthLink has been selected to develop a municipal Wi-Fi network in Alexandria, VA. The city has chosen EarthLink's bid to create a roughly 16 square mile Wi-Fi network. Our proposal also provided for discounted access for a certain number of qualifying, low-income residents, and free public hotspots in approximately two dozen areas. Like the networks we're building in Philadelphia, New Orleans, San Francisco, Anaheim, and Milpitas, CA, it will be an open-access network, allowing other providers to sell service over it as well.
EarthLink and Helio Round-up
First of Five Helio Stores Opens - Helio's first standalone store location opened on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, CA.
Our Thoughts Are With Garry
I received word today that EarthLink's CEO Garry Betty was diagnosed with a serious form of cancer and will be taking an indefinite medical leave to receive treatment. Garry is a very visible personality at our offices, and someone who I’ve bumped in to in the elevators and at the airport on several occasions. As one of my colleagues remarked today, optimism and positivity have always been hallmarks of his personality. We'll all feel his absence from the office during his treatment, and our thoughts will be with him.
A myEarthLink Revisioning With A View
For now, the *big question* the team has asked me to ask of you is this: what's the one thing (other than Search, which is a given these days), that is most essential to you on your browser's start page? What do you need every time you open up your browser, without fail?
Protection Control Center 2.0 and Attack Shield Sneak Preview
Last I checked in on Security Product Manager Ben Kaplan, he was inviting large amounts of viruses and spyware into his computer. He and his team are preparing to release the new version 2.0 of EarthLink's Protection Control Center in the next couple of months, which will feature a new technology called Attack Shield. Attack Shield represents a new approach to fighting malware, that sniffs out potential threats as they are happening to your computer, and stops them from doing any damage. I interviewed Ben via e-mail to find out about how it works and what's new in PCC 2.0.
Wi-Fi Nodespotting In New Orleans
A couple of weeks ago Schroeder, one of the bloggers I met on my last trip to New Orleans spotted an EarthLink Wi-Fi SSID in the wild. Before my vacation I asked our Wi-Fi team for an update and found out the build-out is in fact in full swing and they're installing Wi-Fi radios on light poles and working on the network infrastructure. I had little intention of doing much work on my vacation, but knowing all that (not to mention the tremendous food options available), I couldn't resist passing through the city on my way back from Baton Rouge. So on Sunday I went nodespotting.
Meet The New Helio Drift
A new Helio device joins the Kickflip and Hero today. It's called the Drift, and it looks like it'll be my new favorite. Sorry, Kickflip.
Web Mail Product Blog Launches
Have a question or suggestion about EarthLink Web Mail, or just want to stay informed about upcoming features? Email guy and Senior Product Manager John Foltz is putting the finishing touches on the new EarthLink Web Mail Product Blog, and invites you to stop by, kick the tires, and say hello. You'll also soon be able to get to it via a link on Web Mail itself as well.
Clarifying Some New Orleans Wi-Fi Questions
There was no particular news here other than the fact that our development efforts in New Orleans are taking shape on the ground. In the original press release and in my coverage on Earthling, it was spelled out that a free tier of service would be available throughout the city's rebuilding efforts and not permanently.
Third SF Wi-Fi Meeting Coverage
There were two more EarthLink/Google Community meetings in San Francisco since I last wrote about them, one last night and one on the 17th. I'm still looking around today for reports from last night, but there was quite a bit of blog coverage from the 17th. The first two were very different from each other, and judging by the reports the third was more raucous than the first. Much of the conversation seemed to center on Google's free service that will run on top of the EarthLink network, and there are also some residents who are coming to these meetings to argue against the current city plan and in favor of starting over to investigate a fully city-owned and operated network.
Upcoming Business Web Hosting Enhancements
In the next few months, the folks in Business Web Hosting are rolling out a number of new features
Some Of Your Blogs
What do an ex-paratrooper, a documentarian, a yoga instructor, a buyer for a bookstore, a playwright, and an art aficionado all have in common?
EarthLink/Helio Round-up
A few updates from the last couple of weeks: Helio Hybrid launches - Hybrid is a new wireless access plan, hardware, and software that lets you connect to the internet via your own regular Wi-Fi if you have it at...
Second Wi-Fi Community Forum
I wrote this up on the plane back to Atlanta, thinking back on last night's meeting. Each night's conversation was valuable in a different way. The first meeting's discussion was fairly technical, theoretical, and to some extent academic. The second was more practical.
First SF Community Wi-Fi Meeting Notes
As useful as blogs are for two-way communication, there's still something qualitatively different about face-to-face discussions. I've found this when I meet people at conferences who I've only known through their blogs, when I meet some of the bloggers from a particular area, and in conversations that eventually migrate from blog comments to phone calls or e-mails to in-person interactions. Blogs have other benefits that in-person conversations don't have, like findability, creating a lasting record, and the ability to have lots of geographically-impossible interactions. But the give-and-take is never quite the same mediated as it is live and direct. That's one of the reasons why I wanted to be a part of these community forums about the San Francisco Wi-Fi project.
Headed to SF Today
Today will be mostly taken up with travel, as I'm headed to San Francisco for the first two community forums about the EarthLink and Google Wi-Fi project. Over at GigaOm Katie Fehrenbacher writes that she foresees lively discussions and knowing the city's reputation for vigorous local politics, I expect some interesting questions and good conversations. I'm looking forward to it.
Come Find Out More About The SF Wi-Fi Project
I'm headed to San Francisco next week for the first two of eleven public neighborhood forums EarthLink and Google are holding about the city Wi-Fi project. The goal of the meetings is to tell you more about our proposal and hear your ideas. The first meeting will be held on October 3 at the Ocean Avenue Presbyterian Church at 32 Ocean Ave. between Mission and Alemany, and the second will be at Southeast Community Facility at 1800 Oakdale Ave. at Phelps St. Both will start at 6 p.m.
Hyperlocal in NOLA
There are lots of people blogging in New Orleans. I got to meet a handful of them in person at Rocky's Pizza on Magazine Street last Thursday.
Editor B and Michael from Mid-City
It was great to meet Mid-City New Orleans residents Editor B and Michael Homan. They invited me for a conversation at Finn McCool's, an Irish pub in Mid-City that also has set up its own free Wi-Fi access. They're both rebuilding there, and wanted to show me what their neighborhood is like and talk to me about their interest in having EarthLink include the area in future expansion of Wi-Fi service in New Orleans.
More Info On Dead Domain Handling
For customers who are still experiencing issues, we've set aside a pair of servers that will remain outside of our standard DNS system. If you have a need to stay clear of our dead domain handling, just point your DNS servers to...
Blogging Out of Sequence
I may not get the chance until Monday to write up my Web Wednesday talk from yesterday and everything I've been up to since. I've met a lot of great people and heard some interesting stories about technology and rebuilding...
Notes From Tech Tuesday
There was a good crowd last night for the Louisiana Technology Council's EarthLink Wi-Fi Tech Tuesday event. Donald Berryman, President of EarthLink Municipal Networks, explained the roots of our municipal Wi-Fi initiative, how it came about in New Orleans, how the network will work, and what it will mean for residents and businesses in New Orleans. It was a pretty comprehensive presentation, and addressed everything from strategic to practical to technical issues. There were lots of good questions afterwards, and it felt like those who came in with an incomplete understanding of the project left with a better sense of what it's all about. I enjoyed the opportunity to meet new CTO Mark Kurt, and speak to many of the members of the LTC as well.
More Cities for DSL and Home Phone Announced
The official announcement on the expanded DSL and Home Phone Service came out this morning. The service is coming to the 8 new cities -- Atlanta, Chicago, LA, Miami, NYC, Philadelphia, San Diego, and Washington DC -- and the serviceable areas in the original cities of Seattle, Dallas, San Francisco, and San Jose are expanding as well.
DSL and Home Phone In Additional Cities Next Week
Next week EarthLink DSL and Home Phone service will be expanding to the additional cities we announced back in March. This is the combination high-speed DSL and voice (VoIP) service that works through regular phone jacks with no adapters needed.
Update on Dead Domain Handling
We're continuing to tune how the system works in response to our analysis and the feedback you've provided. Part of the reason we're rolling the changes out to a small number of servers at a time is to catch and correct any anomalies before we scale the service to a larger user base. I want to take a moment to run down some of the major questions that have come up. Read on for the list.
EarthLink Podshow Challenge Winners
Congratulations to David Ippolito, Steve Webb (and his son Timothy), and Dennis Gray -- the three winners in the EarthLink Make Advertising Better Challenge.
New Orleans Wi-Fi Update
The Times-Picayune published an
Handling Dead Domains
By presenting users with contextual help based upon the non-existent domain the user entered, we believe we are improving the EarthLink user experience with a system that will not interfere with other network processes.
TV Listings Gets a myEarthLink Widget
There's now a myEarthLink widget to go along with our TV Listings application. So now, once you've spilled your guts to the application, you don't have to go back to the full application to see what's on tonight. The widget gives you your favorite shows, best bets for tonight, and top selling DVD picks from Amazon, all on the myEarthLink start page and at a glance.
ProtectionPack AEA Launches
We recently sent out an email to our customers to tell them about the full launch of the Anonymous Email Address feature I wrote about in beta a few months ago. One of our customers has become so wary of scam emails he asked on this blog "Is this the real deal?" It is the real deal, and apparently not a moment too soon.
..So Then India Called Me For Tech Support
Often in a blog entry when you see the terms "India" and "tech support" in the same sentence, you've come to expect some sort of bitter rant to follow. I've received my share of e-mails and read my share of blog entries about bad support experiences, ours included. Last night I had an unexpected, amusing, and positive experience with our customer service team overseas that made me think about how small the world has become.
Watch This Pole
At close range, this pole will look a little bit different tomorrow. Hints: it's in Philadelphia, and it's on 17th Street, and some people from EarthLink will be there. And no, we're not stapling a flyer to it.
Know Your EarthLink Schwag
Click through to Flickr for Ken B.'s annotations....
TypePad E-mail Issue Should Be Fixed
I got word over the weekend from SixApart that they'd fixed the problem with EarthLink addresses and TypePad. EarthLink e-mail addresses should now work fine for receiving TypePad system e-mail messages. Thanks to the TypePad operations people and the EarthLink e-mail administrators for getting that resolved.
EarthLink To Build Out Pasadena Wi-Fi Network
I guess this is why the "take notes now, blog them later" strategy is risky. I'm occupied all day with an internal presentation, and not only do I have more BlogHer stuff to write about, but we also just announced another Muni Wi-Fi city.
Friday Heh Round-up
The heh level in my myFavorites bookmarks is reaching dangerouly high levels. It's again time to spill them out onto Earthling.
Muni Wi-Fi In The News
Here's a collection of municipal wi-fi-related stuff that's ended up in my bookmarks (currently straddling myFavorites and del.icio.us).
Importing From Del.icio.us
I hadn't seen how myFavorites handles importing your data from del.icio.us prior to Friday. Seeing it in action really pleased me, in terms of both the user interface and the way it talks to you. The language is plain and direct and friendly, and the information is organized in a way that's easy to understand at a glance. Here's a peek at it, cropped and resized. Click it to see an un-resized version:
EarthLink Round-up
With all of the hubbub around myEarthLink Reader, myFavorites, and WebLife on Friday and over the weekend, I've had lots of topics pile up in my bookmarks. I'm not usually a bulleted-list guy, but bulleted list seems like the way to go today. Though it's a round-up it's about EarthLink mostly, so I'm putting this in the @EarthLink section.
Framing Reader
The letters RSS can bring anxiety (or blank stares) to many. Our goal with reader was to expose the idea of reading feeds instead of web sites to many more people than know about it today, and do it in a way that doesn't give anybody nightmares. At it's best, an experience with a feed reader should remove several steps in your quest to stay connected with your friends, colleagues, and the world around you. It should bring you information and entertaining content that you didn't know was out there. And it shouldn't bring on additional anxiety. It's an exciting space because it's still new and wide open. No one has yet defined the ideal RSS reading experience, and in fact one size may not fit all.
Framing myFavorites
Ok, so myFavorites. It's no secret on Earthling that I'm a huge fan of Yahoo's social bookmarking site http://del.icio.us. It's become about as indispensable to me as e-mail, for keeping track of all of the stuff I find online and that people point out to me. I also use it to discover other people's finds, but the part I can't do without is the ability to categorize and hold on to URL's and find them again later. EarthLink saw this as a tool that could be helpful to a much wider set of users than even necessarily knows it exists right now. I think once you're exposed to the simplicity and discoverability of a del.icio.us, it's tough to ever want to go back to browser bookmarks again. And in our internal testing, it was clear to me that in addition to individuals, companies can benefit from its use because when you have a pool of like-minded users, the list of bookmarks they create is really valuable. I'd like for us to be able to offer the public a feed of the things we tag as important.
Cat's Out Of The Bag on Reader and myFavorites
Yes, it's true. We've quietly exposed a new RSS reader and social bookmarking application to a small subset of our users.
What's That Bug -- Update
In case you missed the blog entry on Friday, I had discovered that one of my favorite recent web site finds, What's that bug, is/was an EarthLink DSL customer who had been told he no longer qualified for DSL service though he hadn't moved. I e-mailed Daniel, the proprietor of What's That Bug on Friday, and got to speak to him on the phone Friday night.
Feeling More Human Than Usual
See that tag line up there? "By a human, for humans." I felt extremely human by the end of the day yesterday. It's mainly two things:
Wrapping Up The Anaheim Coverage
This is the last of the odds and ends that I didn't get a chance to publish from the Anaheim Wi-Fi Network launch. In addition to uploading the rest of my photos to this Flickr set, here's one bulleted list of miscellany, a la a newspaper sports column. This is also a good place to drop any questions you have about the new network -- in the comments below.
Highlights from Anaheim Launch Speeches
I'm back in the Atlanta office and working on publishing the rest of my notes. Here are some brief highlights from the speeches commemorating the launch of the EarthLink Wi-Fi Network in Anaheim:
Now That Anaheim's Unwired...
If anyone needs anything else done, I think there's still a little authority vested in these. The line forms in the back.
Tags:
Don Berryman's Opening Remarks
I've found a nice shady spot to blog from, over by the concessions tent. Rosie is being interviewed for Cnet in front of me and people are trying out the network from a couple of kiosks. I've got a free moment, so I'm looking over my notes from the speeches I just heard. Here are some of the points from Don Berryman, President of EarthLink Municipal Networks:
Wire Cutting Ceremony
I'm under the tent listening to the speeches from the leaders of EarthLink, Motorola, Tropos, and the City of Anaheim at the Wire Cutting Ceremony. I'm blogging from the EarthLink Wi-Fi network itself, and appear to be the only nerd in the audience taking notes live with a laptop right now. I'm guessing that's going to change quickly.
Canopy Gear Atop City Hall
Here's Staff Network Architect Tom Holbrook and Paul Varnedoe running some network tests in the parking lot near City Hall. Between the ubiquitous laptops and the tangle of wires Tom's got, we're not a tough group to spot.
Anaheim Coverage Area
Here's a close-up of the current Anaheim EarthLink Wi-Fi coverage area:
Click to get to a bigger photo
It's not the clearest photo -- I'll work on getting a better one today. Here's the whole map including current and future plans:
Click to get to a bigger photo
This Morning In Anaheim
There's good coverage of the Anaheim project and today's unwiring ceremony in the LA Times this morning. They mention one of our first test customers -- Rosie Navarrete -- and her store Caracol Toys and Candy. I got to meet Rosie yesterday. Her Wi-Fi and technology knowledge is astounding, and she makes really cool custom piñatas too. I'm declaring Caracol the official Piñata maker of record for Earthling. For $20, you can get one made to your specifications. Rosie said she gets all kinds of clients from all over LA, from emo kids to graduation parties to *ahem* bachelor parties and the like. In addition to the Piñatas, her store is stocked with strange and wonderful mexican candies. They don't sell online yet, but I'm hoping they head in that direction.
Who Needs Pole Trucks
Where was towering giant Brad Day from Tropos when we were putting these things up all over the city?...
I'm Becoming A Node Spotter
I spent all morning doing a ride-along with Paul Varnedoe, Senior Project Manager on the Anaheim Muni Wi-Fi project. Paul showed me all of the physical devices that make up the wireless network, from the nodes up on light poles to the gateway units and the canopy gear atop City Hall. He gave me the run-down on how they talk to each other. It's all pretty invisible unless you know what to look for.
Rosemary Checks In From The EarthLink Tour
Corporate Communications Manager Rosemary Jean-Louis sent the following blog entry for Earthling from the recently-launched EarthLink store in Seattle...
On The Road This Week
I'll be taking off for Anaheim this afternoon and will be blogging from there all week, to get a nuts-and-bolts tour of the EarthLink Wi-Fi network, celebrate our unwiring of the city, and attend the Taste of Anaheim festival. Drop me a line if you're in the area and would like to meet up.
Dave Winer Is Sick Of Our Podcast Ads
Last week Dave Winer expressed some serious disdain for the EarthLink ads on the Gillmor Gang podcast. He wrote:
...at the beginning of each show Steve inserts a 3-minute rambling advertorial for Earthlink. After listening to it twice (the first time it was actually entertaining) I learned to skip over it, but then Steve implemented a workaround, he went to six minutes (I made the mistake of telling him I was skipping over the 3 minute version). Then, after a short break, he splices in the recorded banter between himself, Mike Arrington, Doc, and whoever else happens to be on the Gang that week..
Helio Will Pay You For What's In Your Drawers
Helio launched a program for Helio customers yesterday where you can trade in your old devices (not just phones -- digital cameras, mp3 players, stuff like that) for cash. I had to read it several times to find a catch, and so far I don't think there is one. It's real cash, not credit, and the money seems pretty good. As an example, they'll give you $185 for a Treo 650 in good shape, minus the cost of shipping. It's a one-time deal, but there's no limit to how much stuff you can trade in. I've seen similar programs out there, but they're always a trade-up for a phone deal, not a trade for cash. This strikes me as pretty unique.
WebLife Launches (Softly)
EarthLink soft-launched a new software suite called WebLife last week. It's a soft-launch in that there's no fanfare around it yet, but it's now a fully functioning and supported product out there in the world. You can learn more about it and download it at http://weblife.earthlink.net. The WebLife suite includes photo and file management and sharing, personal computer data backup, and online storage you can mount on your desktop. It fills an important need for our customers in our overall portfolio of software and service offerings. Read on for more on the project and how you can help us out.
Try The EarthLink Shopping Widget For Mac Dashboard
Today, we've got a beta release of a new Mac Dashboard app called EarthLink Shopping Widget. It's a tool that allows you to search and comparison shop on eBay, Amazon.com, and Shopping.com all from the Dashboard instead of your web browser. If you flip the widget over (click the "i") and give it your zip code, it will also show you the shipping costs of eBay auction items when you roll over the price. We think it's pretty unique as far as Dashboard widgets go.
Come On Feel The Helio
Helio sent some phones and materials along for us employees to mess around with, and Amy and Ali in Product Marketing and Marketing Communications provided the expertise and the snacks. Both the phones and the snacks were well-received. I snapped a few photos and put them in this Flickr album.
EarthLink Gets Approval For New Orleans Wi-Fi Network
I'm very pleased to report that we've been approved to build out and support a Wi-Fi network in New Orleans, thanks to a New Orleans City Council ordinance this week. More on the project's history here.
Dear You: Please Make Advertising Better
If you think the ads you've heard on podcasts completely blow, or if you'd just like to make an ad and have the chance at earning some prize money, you can create a jingle, spot, or testimonial and submit it at the URL above. Podshow.com will showcase our favorites as submissions come in, and we'll run the winners as EarthLink ads. The submission deadline is July 4th.
EarthLink Protection Pack In Beta
Product Manager and fellow sushi enthusiast Julie Van Leuven stopped by my desk yesterday to show me a new feature for EarthLink Web Mail that they've rolled out as a private beta. It's called Protection Pack, and it lives at www.protectionpack.net. Once you turn it on, it creates disposable e-mail addresses for you so that you can safely give away your contact information to anyone you do business with while keeping it safe from robots, spammers, and overly aggressive e-mail marketing schemes. It puts the e-mail to your disposable addresses in separate folders that you can control or delete if they get too much spam.
First Week With The Kickflip
I've had the Helio Kickflip on my person for about a week now, after picking it up on my trip to LA. I haven't really had time to stop and catch my breath, so I've been 'that geek who carries two cellphones' everywhere I go.
How To Clean Up And Report A Yapbrowser Drive-by
But what if, for whatever reason, you found your computer on the receiving end of something like what Yapbrowser did? It would be frustrating enough to have a piece of software hijack your web browser, but what if in so doing it also started delivering something illegal like child pornography? I spoke to EarthLink protection software Product Managers Ben Kaplan and Liza Barry-Kessler about this, and they've provided some tips for what to do if such a thing happens to you, and how best to avoid a browser hijacking in the first place.
Blogging From The Road (Again)
I'll be blogging from LA for the week, reporting on game and entertainment-related stuff from the massive E3 Expo, and stopping by the Helio offices as well. If you have any suggestions for what to look for at E3, or questions for the Helions, leave them in the comments or send me an e-mail at earthling at corp dot earthlink dot net.
Photos From Lakeview In New Orleans
I've put all of my New Orleans photos in this Flickr set, and the link points to the start of the Lakeview photos specifically. The orange rust marks on the houses are the waterline. I'm working on tagging and titling them slowly, but would welcome help if anyone wants to add words to help categorize the pictures. And if you have any questions about what you're seeing, let me know and I'll explain or find someone who can.
Scott's Thoughts and Yours On The Rocketboom Ads
got an e-mail from Scott Cuppari this morning with some thoughts he wanted to share about the EarthLink/Rocketboom collaboration. He also wanted to find out what you all thought of the ads while they are still fresh in your mind, so in great haste we worked together to create a short survey. Please share your thoughts with us here. Your responses will be anonymous, and in participating you'll help us to shape our next steps.
New Orleans-bound
I'm headed down to New Orleans to participate in the Brain Jams unconference tomorrow, meet as many people as I can (bloggers and non), and learn more about how things are down there. If there's news on our efforts to...
Helio Phones And Service Now Available
It's been a while since I've written about cousin Helio. I'll be headed their way in a couple of weeks, but in the meantime I'm pleased to report that as of right now, Helio phones and service are available at Helio.com or 1-888-88-HELIO.
EarthLink Ads Hit Rocketboom All Week
We're finally there. Rocketboom's new EarthLink ads make their debut today at noon eastern. In addition to the usual daily video content goodness, there will be a new Rocketboom-produced EarthLink ad each day this week on Rocketboom.com. Or you can see just the ads themselves over here.
Is Blogging Cooler Than A Firetruck?
A few of the kids really liked it though. Arvind's son wanted to write down the location of his blog so he could post more later. And one of the girls wrote several posts and didn't want to leave. I saw her later and she said blogging was cooler than a firetruck.
Polls Will Stay Open Until Sunday Night
Thanks to everyone who has voted and/or commented. I'll keep the poll open until the end of the The Sopranos episode on Sunday night at 10pm Eastern. If you haven't voted yet, make sure you do so by the time we find out if Vito gets to live out his days in pastoral New Hampshire. I should be prepared to take any needed action based on the voting early next week.
EarthLink Wins Bid For San Francisco Wi-Fi Network
This evening I received the exciting news that we've been selected to build the municipal wireless network for the City of San Francisco. Read on for an official statement from Executive Vice President Donald Berryman.
This Could Come In Handy On A Mysterious Island
A feature I found while getting to know MindSpring:
But I Don't Have An E-mail
But the exciting thing about MindSpring is that as EarthLink continues to integrate its VoIP and internet services, it will soon be another way to use voice and internet products I already use and like. These are things like trueVoice, DSL and Home Phone, my webmail account, and my voice services site (which, by the way, is one of the neatest things about trueVoice). As a standalone alternative to other forms of communication, maybe it's just interesting. But as an integrated part of my home phone line, my voicemail system, my instant messaging tools, my inbox, and my address book, it becomes a more seamless extension of what I'm doing anyway. When I can set up these services to work in harmony, like if I had one shared identity in all of these systems, then things start to get really interesting. When I choose to use computer-based calling from my array of choices, but the person on the other end doesn't know or care how I'm calling, then it's all working together. It provides a cheap, quick, and easy option for communication where previously it would have been difficult. Just like the real power of VoIP is in its efficiency behind the scenes, the real power of PC-based calling is in its ability to act as an extension of your regular communication habits.
Rocketboom Micro-Update
The schedule for the EarthLink ads on Rocketboom.com has shifted a bit. When details are finalized I’ll bring you a meatier update as well as a look back at the TRM ads.
Working To Keep Wi-Fi In New Orleans
I was thrilled to find out this morning that the City of New Orleans had approached us to ask if we'd take over the network ourselves and keep it running for them. I followed up with our Muni Wi-Fi team and found out that we've agreed to the city's request, and are in the process of applying for the licensing required to get it done. Read on for the details.
Notes From Omaha: Tracy Visits Cyber Check HQ
Why would a Product Manager travel to Omaha, Nebraska when there's twelve inches of snow on the ground? Believe it or not, this is where the best of the best are located. We have an elite group of technical agents working on a special spyware and virus removal service called Cyber Check. They do battle with Aurora, Spy Axe and Spy Falcon!
What's The Difference Between 911 And E911?
Jim took me through how 911 service works on trueVoice. All EarthLink trueVoice customers have E911, or enhanced 911 service. It's called enhanced because when you dial 911 in an E911 system, your registered address and phone number are automatically transmitted to a local emergency center called a Public Safety Access Point, or PSAP. Without E911, a VoIP system doesn't transmit your location automatically. Not all potential phone customers in the U.S. can get E911. EarthLink won’t sign-up any customers to use trueVoice unless they can get E911. According to the information on Vonage's site, some Vonage customers have basic and not enhanced 911.
Spill Your Guts To EarthLink TV Listings
Remember the sneak preview of TV Listings last week? Well it's now out of Beta and ready to help you track the great James Caan's television career. You can find all of the reruns of my favorite awful show, Las Vegas featuring the triple threat of Josh Duhamel/James Caan/Jim Lesure. Nobody but you, your sofa, and TV Listings needs to know that Deal Or No Deal is how you prefer to unwind. Here's how to go check it out for yourself:
EarthLink Line-Powered Voice Coming To 8 More Cities
This morning I woke to the official word that our DSL and Home Phone Service is coming to eight more cities:
- Atlanta
- Chicago
- Los Angeles
- Miami
- New York City
- Philadelphia
- San Diego
- Washington, D.C.
More On EarthLink And Google And A Lack Of Wires
... I feel like today I should go back and explain a little bit about the history of the San Francisco proposal for those of you who are just now learning about all of this Muni business.
EarthLink and Google Offer To Build SF Wi-Fi Network Together
The following statement is attributed to Donald Berryman, executive vice president of EarthLink and president of the ISP’s municipal networks unit: “Yesterday, EarthLink and Google jointly submitted a ‘Request For Proposal’ (RFP) to the City of San Francisco to build a citywide wireless municipal network. This proposal presents a unique opportunity for both companies. By coming together to leverage the strengths of both companies, we will be able to offer services to different customers on the network that fit with their own individual needs and wants.
From Radio To Rocketboom
Last week EarthLink agreed to sponsor the Rocketboom vlog for the week of March 13, 2006.
What's A Helio?
Although the idea of cutting-edge products and services probably appeals to most people, Helio's mission focuses on the most rabid American cellphone users. These are people for whom making voice calls is only one of many things they do with their phone. Many are dissatisfied with what the mainstream cell phone companies offer, and are sick of the long wait between hearing about a new feature out in the world and being able to actually use it on their phone and network.
Helio Sends Their Best
Today is a catch-up day. I just got back into town last night after spending a few days in LA, in media training and meeting cousin Helio. Media training was a lot tougher than I thought it would be.
A New Addition To The Family
I am proud to welcome a new arrival to our family by the name of EarthLink DSL and Home Phone Service Frances Reynolds Esquire. It goes by EarthLink DSL and Home Phone Service for short.
Who Are The Servers In Your Neighborhood?
If you work at EarthLink and find yourself needing to make any changes to our myEarthLink pages, you go through a web-based service with a plain old name. Let's call it Bananaphone. Up until my trip, I knew Bananaphone as a URL in a bookmark, nothing more. For all I knew, on the other end, it could have been a steam engine connected to one of those old-time exercise machines with a laptop computer in front of it. I've used it several times, but rarely did I stop to think that there are real people and real machines on the other side.
What's Going On Out West
Spending a few days in EarthLink's Pasadena offices was a bit like visiting long lost relatives. We had something in common, but I didn't know exactly what to expect, and I'm sure they felt likewise. Are they the weird cousins or am I? I guess we both are. It turned out to be an excellent trip, and I'm indebted to the kindness and hospitality of everyone I met out there. Maybe it was just because I was hanging out with insane Frenchman Chris Holland, but the phrase I kept hearing in our Pasadena offices was "insanely useful."
EarthLink Pasadena In Pictures
I'm working on uploading some of the photos I've taken at the Pasadena offices today. You can find them in this photoset on my Flickr account. Feel free to leave comments there.
From The Road Today And Tomorrow
Quick note: If you're wondering why the blog's hair has such bounce and sheen today, it's because I'm on the road, and hotel shampoo will do that to you. I hitched a ride out west in the back of one...
Blogging Live About Broadband Services To The Home
I'm sitting at a CES panel discussion about broadband to the home that Mike Lunsford, EVP of Access and Voice at EarthLink, is participating in. I'll be publishing my notes about the panel as I go. The discussion is about...
Where Did Earthling Come From?
Note: I wasn't at EarthLink for most of this, so I'm going through the history as I've come to understand it. EarthLink first got its feet wet in corporate blogging with the Protection Blog. The Protection Blog's goal was to...
Welcome To Earthling - First Entry
My name is Dave Coustan, and I'm EarthLink's newly hired full-time blogger. This thing you seem to be reading is a new blog called Earthling. You'll find two kinds of entries here -- some about what goes on at EarthLink, and some about things that interest me on the web.
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