With today's launch of Google Finance I am reminded of a feature that is missing from every major finance site I can think of: Smarter Stock Symbol Lookups!
On every finance site I have ever used, you have to know the company's exact stock ticker symbol in order to pull a quote, add to a portfolio, etc. Sure, they offer a "symbol lookup" tool if you can't remember those three or four unique letters, but why make me jump through hoops? Make it easier!!
Here's what I want.
Let's say I am interested in getting a quote for Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway, but I don't remember the ticker. I want to type "berkshire" in the symbol field and instead of seeing this:
I want to see this:
With ajax oozing out of all the new web app (including the new Google Finance), I am surprised no one has implemented this yet.
Please! Someone steal this idea! I beg you!
As an aside, my overall impression of Google Finance is similar to Om Malik's take. The charts and blog mentions are nice and it might spur Yahoo! to improve their site, but it is not enough to convert the average Joe.
Want to add a little flare to your web site with one of those little icon-thingys that shows up next to the browser's address bar? That icon-thingy is called a favicon and it couldn't be simpler.
Create 100x100 pixel logo
Using your favorite graphics program, create a 100x100 pixel gif or jpeg that contains the logo you want to use as an icon.
Upload your logo to a Favicon Generator
There are lots of web sites that will create the specially formatted favicon.ico file for you. Just upload your logo to one of them and they will spit out a favicon.ico file for you. (For free!)
The O'Reilly Radar has some great bite-sized Entrepreneurial Proverbs. They provide fantastic motivation and guidance for anyone running a small business or considering starting one of their own.
Here are some of my favorites:
Building to flip is building to flop
Prudence becomes procrastination
Jump when you are more excited than afraid
Pay attention to the idea that won't leave you alone
This morning I recorded a very short segment on a nation-wide radio show for entrepreneurs called Startup Nation. I basically spent 20 seconds complementing the hosts and got to mention my list of 5 must listen podcasts for entrepreneurs.
It should air next Saturday or Sunday, March 18-19th March 11th depending on where you are located. Here is a list of radio stations and air times. That page also has links you can use to listen live-online on March 18th at 4:00 PM PST.
It will also be available later in podcast form. I'll link to it when it is up (unless they cut me or I sound like a complete dofus.)
This makes me laugh. But, not in a way that most of my friends would appreciate. So I'll tell the Internet instead.
Scoble, a prominent Microsoft blogger, recently proclaimed that you should be fired if your marketing site doesn't have an RSS feed.
Fast forward to today where Microsoft is hyping their Origami Project (some tablet-PSP-wireless-iPod-gizmo). They have a very pretty flash site that tells you absolutely nothing. (Which is the point I guess?) However, they did take the time to provide a RSS feed.
I guess someone got the memo.
Well, here's to you Mister Microsoft Marketing Guy. You won't be fired today. But you might be fired in three weeks when the device fails to live up to the hype.
Oh, who am I kidding? I'll probably buy one if it is half as cool as it sounds. But sometimes you've just got to laugh at the big-company hype-machine.
UPDATE: Here's the commercial that was "accidentally" leaked. I officially want one.
Similarly...
Here are some other entries from around that time.
Mar 21, 2006 | 
4
| AJAX + Feature Request + Google
