MySpace Spam

This is an example of a MySpace spam profile, it’s very convincing—see if you can spot the ad. I think this phenomenon is under-reported. They are using data from your profile—location, age, romantic preferences—to highly target messages and “adds.” Seventeen hundred friends. It would be interesting to know the growth of spam on social networks like MySpace is as high as email or comments. The incentives are there.

Web Scaling Books

I’ve read two really good books on scaling large-scale web applications lately: Building Scalable Websites by Cal Henderson and Scalable Internet Architectures by Theo Schlossnagle. (Original titles, eh?) Both dispel common myths and misconceptions about scaling. While neither maps directly to the approaches we’re taking at Automattic, they’re both must-read for developers approaching or past the million/day pageview mark. I only wish I had more time to discuss my thoughts on the various concepts in the books—particularly Cal’s.

Essential PC Software

I recently got my Sony TX690 back from the repair place, I asked them to wipe the HD to rid me of the plague that is Vista. Here’s the software I installed, in order, after getting it back: Firefox, Foxmarks, Thunderbird, Putty, TortoiseSVN, MIRC, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Topstyle, AutoHotKey, iTunes, EVDO drivers, Filezilla. I will probably install XAMPP later for offline plane hacking. That’s all I need to do everything I do on a computer.