DBTA: Getting Up to Speed on the SQL Server Social Media Scene

If you haven't paid attention to the new social media, you're doing yourself a disservice.  Just as email was a game-changer in the 1980s and the internet revolutionized society in the 1990s, social media is making a huge impact on the way people work and interact today.  Personally, I was skeptical about social networking until some good friends persuaded me to give it a trial run.  It seemed like a great way to dither away some valuable time, but I didn't see the business value in the whole proposition until I tried it. [READ MORE] … [Read more...]

Free e-Books from O’Reilly

O'Reilly Media has a large collection of pdf book samplers.  A complete list is here. … [Read more...]

Collaboration Nation Call to Action! Calling All SQL Server Bloggers and Twitterers

The Suggestion The Modern Language Association hasn't made up all the new rules yet to govern how one blogger should reverence, er, reference another in their blog posts.  But they should!  Let's get that ball rolling for them. I'm not exactly sure who started this format, but it's my favorite.  When writing a blog post in which you mention another person's blog, let's do it like this: "blogger name (blog_hyperlink | twitter_hyperlink)" So, we might read a blog post by my friend Kimberly Tripp (blog | twitter) that might look something like this: "...the Scottish Terrier was so well … [Read more...]

What Three Events Brought You Here?

Whiners and Whingers Get Wedgies There I was, just a couple weeks back, whining that I wasn't getting tagged by friends when a new meme comes out.  Sure enough, when my friend, Paul Randal (blog | twitter), starts a new meme with me as one of the first handful of people tagged, it's taken me a full ten days to get a response out the door.  Yes - I deserve a wedgie. In Paul's initial post, I saw that he'd asked for three events that were pivotal in why I'm where I am today.  To be honest, I've been noodling over my response ever since Paul first tagged me.  So, in a sense, I've been … [Read more...]

[OT] When Does Media Content -Truly- Become Public Domain?

I've always been intrigued by our process for allowing creative content, such as songs or movies, to become public domain. A common usage for public domain might be to create a short family video and, seeking a peppy and familiar piece of background music, you settle on "The Entertainer", by Scott Joplin. (If you've never heard of it, listen here. You'll recognize it.)  Since the music is past the 75 year limit of copyright protection, it is now public domain - meaning that you don't have to pay or seek permission to use it for your family home video. Now, it seems that many old media … [Read more...]

New – Author Page on Amazon.com

I'm happy to report that I have a new Author's Page on Amazon.com.  I look forward to interacting with you there in the future. Best regards, -Kevin Twitter @kekline … [Read more...]