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Web 2.0 Holiday Buying Guide – Part I
Allen Stern - November 19th, 2006
As I started to think about a wish list for holiday gifts, I decided to publish a list of ideas for the person wanting a startup, a blogger, an entrepreneur, or a friend. What won’t you find on this list: Zune, iPod, PS3, Wii, and anything else that requires electricity to use. You either have one, want one, or don’t want one.
I thought it would be an interesting proposition to offer you gifts that you could get someone that require something different: an open mind. So with that, I present the 2006 CenterNetworks Non-Traditional Buying Guide, each gift is under $75, most under $20. If you would like an international guide, please let me know. Grab the RSS feed to be notified when we publish Part II later this week.
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Holiday Gift Ideas |
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Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable Amazon: USA | UK | DE | JP |
This quick-read book helps you to understand why you should always create something remarkable, a “Purple Cow.” Seth does a good job of demonstrating several current cows and this book is a must read for anyone trying to create the next, “big thing.” |
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Business 2.0 Magazine Amazon: USA |
The first 2.0, Business 2.0 covers what’s hot and not in the “new” business world. GigaOM’s editor, Om Malik has a column as well. This should be on your coffee table or your office waiting room. |
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Goethe Institute Goethe: English | German |
Why not learn a new language? If you are starting a new venture, being able to speak multiple languages can help you gain acceptance. Why not learn German? I have been learning German for 18 months now at the Goethe Institute and really enjoy it! They have hundreds of locations all around the world. Sprechen Sie Deutsch bitte! |
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Future of Web Apps Conference | Ryan and the gang at Carson Systems put on a great Future of Web Apps conference. The next one is in London in early February and if you are serious about your web app, you need to be there. You can also check out our previous FoWa event coverage. |
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W Hotels Rhythm & Muse 2 | I find staying at the W to be a really relaxing experience. They have a cd filled with music to help you “get away” even when you can’t. Even if you decide not to buy, you just have to close your eyes for a minute and listen to the samples. If you aren’t 100% relaxed, go see a shrink. |
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Joy of Cooking: 75th Anniversary Edition Amazon: USA | UK | DE | JP |
Your mom, your grandmother, possibly your great grandmother all used this book. Now it’s updated to Joy of Cooking 2.0. Continue the tradition. |
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Candy Cig’s | I remember “smoking” these when I was a young kid. Relive the days of the candy truck with some nostalgic candy. |
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The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader Amazon: USA | UK | DE | JP |
I really enjoy listening and reading John Maxwell’s books. He is an amazing speaker and if you plan to lead a team one day, or just lead yourself, you should check out one of his seminars. This book is a good entry into his methods. |
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Molton Brown Lounging Holiday Gift Set | Some awesome product from London and it will pass through the security lines at the airport! |
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The Economist Magazine | Read it and your IQ will go up by 10 points. |
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Small Is the New Big: and 183 Other Riffs, Rants, and Remarkable Business Ideas Amazon: USA | UK | DE | JP |
Basically a book of blog posts, this book helps you to gain grounding for your business ideas. I really like the quick start guide at the beginning of the book, helps if you need to find Seth’s thoughts on something immediately. |
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Calvin Klein Euphoria Men Amazon: USA | UK |
Smell better. Remember you will be in front of a crowd at some point. |
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Clinique HAPPY For Women | Smell better. Interesting side note: I created Clinique’s first web site in 1996. |
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Amazon Gift Certificate The easiest gift is of course a gift certificate. I think Amazon has the best gift certificate because they have so many products in so many categories. |
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| Book Donation Every time I visit a library, I check out their tech books. Most public libraries only offer books up through DOS 6 or maybe if you are lucky a Windows 3 book. Why not donate some of your books to the library in your town or county? Most states and countries offer a tax deduction for the donation and you would be helping someone less fortunate with their education. |
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Read More: holiday gifts, Insights
Except for the candy cigs this list looks rather traditional to me …
however , maybe building a list of books/must-reads that can be updated is not a bad idea? I am sure other users have reading recommendations as well
Tim – I tried to create a list of products and ideas to get people thinking about a gift that you don't need batteries or to plug in. This is just the first part, more will be coming – I will certainly look into adding more books – thanks for the suggestion.
oh i did not read the "without battery" part. since I know you like nyc, here's something to make up: MoMa:)
Sounds like Allen needs reminded that people spend billions of dollars on Christmas gifts, not holiday gifts. They make Christmas lists, not holiday lists. They go Christmas shopping, not holiday shopping. Remember Christmas is a holiday for a reason: it’s a holy day which rules out Kwanzaa which isn’t holy at all and Hanukkah which lasts more than a day (but is holy). When you rule out those 2 (which could just be ruled out on revenue generated) there isn’t any reason to try to be inclusive because there is nothing left but Christmas. Oh, and the US gov’t recognizes Christmas but not the others. Maybe next year we’ll see a Christmas buying guide since Christmas is what most people spend their money on (even if they don’t celebrate Christmas for the proper reason: religion).
Brandon, thank you for your comment. I am glad that billions are spent on Christmas gifts. I have to disagree with your comment about shopping though. I go holiday gift shopping as I have friends and family who do not celebrate Christmas. And for your last comment, I can guarantee you that you will not see a Christmas only list on CenterNetworks, this year, next year or in 10 years. But you will see holiday lists. I am sure if you do a search on any of the major search engines, you will find plenty of Christmas lists to suit your needs. Good luck and happy holidays!
Well because of views like yours the idea of Christmas is being thrown out the window because people are so afraid of offending people who don’t celebrate Christmas they don’t realize they offend those who still do celebrate Christmas. Even though people who don’t celebrate Christmas don’t care what a Christmas tree is called and can very easily ignore them people like you share the view that it must be called a holiday tree, despite that fact that no other holiday uses a tree like Christmas does, therefore no one has a right, or reason, to change its name. To be all inclusive where are the displays that include a menorah? If there were any would you call it a candle instead? Just remember that by calling it holiday gift shopping you remove any hint of the Christmas spirit that makes people feel good this time of the year just so you can feel good because you (supposedly in your mind) aren’t offending anyone (except those who celebrate Christmas but I know they don’t count anymore). As the Slashdot.org joke goes, Netcraft confirms it: Christmas has been killed off by the secularists.