What I've Been Up To

It's been quiet on the old blog, so I thought I would mention what it is that's been keeping me not blogging.

The answer is a small contribution to a new product, Times People. The premise is simple: Join the service, and share New York Times articles. A simple click on the "Recommend" button is all there is to it. Those who follow you will see your recommendation, and you will see the recommendations of those you follow.

Here's my pitch. Please note that the thoughts and opinions expressed in this blog are my own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the New York Times Company.</disclaimer>

You can read all about what Times People is and does, and how it works on the welcome page.

Instead, I'd like to mention what it's like when you use Times People: You end up reading a lot of interesting articles you probably never would have. For example, because of Times People, I learned that there is a rule at the Met Opera House that there be no solo encores.

The rule has been in place for decades, with few exceptions, and a few weeks ago, an exception was made. The last time this happened was 1994, for Luciano Pavarotti. Imagine the performance worth breaking such a rule.

Not a regular Arts section reader, I likely never would have read this story, but because of Times People, I did.

Clay Shirky came in for a talk today. As he fired off examples of cool projects exemplifying the power of the internet, I considered the intense value of people who cull a topic presenting the best bits. Curators, if you will. Clay Shirky is a really good curator of internet social trends. He's read all the books and articles, and can tell you where to go.

Times People lets you take up the curator mantle for yourself. Or if you'd prefer, you can leech on to some excellent curators. The result for me has been a much richer reading experience in areas I would not have otherwise pursued. Of course, your mileage may vary.

If you do like the service, you might enjoy my contribution, the Times People iPhone viewer at http://timespeople.nytimes.com/iphone. I hope you enjoy it. Feel free to pass along any thoughts or suggestions.

Addendum: About Those Other Services

When I tell people about Times People, the question is invariably raised: What about x site. Digg, Twitter, Facebook, whatever. Why should I use Times People instead of those other sites?

I would offer two answers.

1. Times People has a complete API. Just about all data available in the system is exposed as RSS and JSON feeds. If you want to integrate our data with external services, much work has been done to let you do so.

2. If you feel your Times reading needs are met by services like Digg, that's great! Really. The mission of the Times is to inform and entertain our readers. We produce vast quantities of reading, listening, and viewing material. How you arrive is secondary to your being there at all.

If Digg is meeting your New York Times needs, seriously, more power to you. If receiving twitter posts of articles from friends is meeting your needs, awesome.

For myself, I'd rather not clog up my Twitter feed with Times links. I became disenchanted with Digg and vote-based systems long ago. Not everything that is popular is good, and not everything that is good is popular. There is a place for voting systems. There is also a place for the well chosen suggestion from a friend. We have built a service to let you do so, easily.

I would urge you, if you are skeptical, to give it a go anyway. I was skeptical myself when I first encountered the project, and have since come to really value the service.

If you want to follow me, check out my profile page You can also see who I'm following.

And for what it's worth, there will be no one on Times People commenting "First!". Think about it.