::HorsePigCow:: marketing uncommon: August 2005

One more for BlogDay

Shel just posted something that reminded me I should add:

The Onion

to my list...it's great in so many ways...

Tag: BlogDay2005

Blogday!

Hugh Macleod reminds us all that it's blog day (because link whoring all by yourself looks tacky!). I've found a few amazing blogs lately I'm adding to my blogroll:

My Ex Husband Sucks - all that rage and revenge bundled up in a blog dedicated to stinging nasty ex-husbands everywhere. It's morbid to read. Like an accident.
Naughty James - stunning photoblog essay pointed out by Hugh himself
Halley's Comment - She's already famous and all, but I like her style
Silicon Beat - (sorry Michael) Another really great tech review blog in my new home base
Lainey's Hollywood Gossip - she kills me. I've been there a couple of times (no RSS, how strange) and if she had a feed, I'd use it for my daily trash.

Tag: Blogday
Official site: BlogDay 2005 site

Time to help out

The devastation of Katrina leaves so many people without homes, food, hope...and we are all touched by it. I have family that are okay, but shaken and staring at the aftermath, and a good friend who has taken shelter in LA, but who doesn't know what she (or her grandmother) has left to go back to.

Here are a few ways to help out [via Instapundit]:

American Red Cross
Catholic Charities is involved, and probably has lots of resources to draw on in the heavily Catholic New Orleans area.
Austin Bay is recommending Episcopal Relief and Development.
Liz at Rightalk suggests that animal lovers donate to the Humane Society.
Here's a link to Mennonite Disaster Services. The Sanity Inspector says they're highly efficient.
Reader Peter Viditto recommends The Mercy Corps
Here's the link for Methodist Relief.
Lisa Larkin recommends Operation Blessing.
The Salvation Army does good work. (WalMart just gave them a million dollars, but that's just the barest beginning of what's needed.)
Hugh Hewitt recommends Samaritan's Purse
Scott Ott recommends Southern Baptist Disaster Relief.

And here is a comprehensive list [via Hugh Hewitt] of Katrina related links.

TechCrunch and Michael rock

Michael Arrington, who runs one of my favourite blogs, TechCrunch (I think it was on my top10 blogs for a desert island, and if it wasn't it should be) gives an amazing early peek into what we are brewing up over here:

The way I am thinking of this is that Ojos solves the long tail problem with my thousands of unnamed, untagged photos. Sure, I put the occasional picture up on flickr and buzznet and go to the trouble of tagging them, but the vast majority are simply filed away on my hard drive under a general topic and month the picture was taken. This could fix that.

I originally started chatting with Michael before I moved to the area when he saw that I point to his reviews frequently. He got me involved in the amazing Pandora alpha (love it) and is a self-proclaimed 'blog whore' (love that, too). I think it was Dave Winer who originally got me hooked on his great reviews.

A couple of noteable mentions of late (in no particular order):

Peter Forret's PREview
Robert Scoble's Conversation with Munjal
Tarun Mata Gets Excited About it
Tejas Patel Discusses the Conversation
Shel Israel Experiences Ojos for the First Time
Ho John Lee Offers His Predictions
Rob Hof at Business Week Talks with Munjal
Mapopescu Discusses the Long Tail

Meanwhile, I don't appear to be making any friends over at Flickr, but I'm sure that they'll like me when they get to know me. ;)

Seth is right...

Trying to monetize blogging is a tricky issue. I know that's what he meant, I just had to make a jest. (sorry, Seth) ;)

It does appear odd to see Pam's million $$ smile appearing beside Jeff, but it makes for a GREAT conversation. Perhaps disconnect IS the story here.

I had sort of similar issues when I put Google's AdWords up for a short spell on my blog. When I railed against the numerous SUV's on the road in our energy hungry world, I got SUV ads appearing in the column. Not only a disconnect, but the sheer antithesis to what I believe in. Sometimes the results are funny, sometimes they create unpleasant results. Like what Zoli said: it is just technology without human feelings.

Once again, with oomph

Why are there so many nasty people attacking others' character in these large discussion groups? Maybe they go around searching for ways to blow off steam? Scoble gets them. Rubel gets them. The Freakonomics guys get them. Everyone with rather large 'mudpits' (Scoble's brilliant name for his comments section) get them. My comments section is rather tame and nice. I'm a little guy, though, with only about 175 regular readers a day (and only 2,500 hits).

It just seems to me that where you find large readership, you find the wolves. I'm all for being corrected, questioned and disagreed with, but personal attacks are below us. Unless I 'know' a person (and even then, I'd email them personally before saying 'you are a nasty person'*), I will try to have a conversation and not just a plain-old spew.

*and, to be totally self-reflexive, my BlogOn post didn't mean to imply that any person or even the conference was 'evil', but that the action sounded 'a little evil' (that's passive aggressive, I know) and was not meant in a mean spirit at all...really. I'll watch my hyperbole going forward, Chris! ;)

Bowing Down to my new Boss

He had a comment on his post from the Blogfather himself, Hugh Macleod. NOW, he is exchanging emails with him.

Wow...Munjal rocks. [btw...I already knew that, but this is like total vindication]

This story has been removed

For no other reason than this particular archive page gets oodles of hits and I was a dumbass for every typing it.

;)

Day 2 in SF

Have I mentioned that the beacon through the rain and the fog that was my hope has turned to a clear, beautiful endless blue ocean?

Not only do my coworkers buzzing around me create this an amazing creative energy, but they also do stuff together...lots. We all went for Chinese at lunch today (a break from the Mexican fare I've been consuming) and talked and laughed and enjoyed. I know. It doesn't sound strange or out of character.

I was going to work out with Neelesh this evening, but I have to dash into the city to meet with a strange Italian student who studies creatures like bloggers et al. (another story) Tomorrow definitely.

Munjal just blogged a proud post about our team and where it all was born. I'm proud to be here. I have this feeling we'll be creating more history...

Jeff Jarvis Said it...

And did he ever:

Try this on for size: I think there’s no such thing as an objective blogger. Or you’re probably not blogging. You’re probably not talking with people, eye to eye. We’re about to kill the myth that journalists can be thoroughly objective; let’s not start trying to accrete that artificial ethic to blogs. I say that opinion is the proxy for transparency and it also makes a relationship more compelling: Agree or disagree with him, you knew where former NY Times Public Editor Dan Okrent stood and he made an interesting read; the current Timesman, the more balanced and traditional Byron Calame, is as dull as limestone.

Funny thing is that after I had this conversation with my husband at the beginning of last week, he totally 'got it' (even being a neo-luddite). Bless his soul, he was overheard on every conversation at our wedding reception chatting away on how the blogosphere is going to change journalism as we know it. He even chatted about it with my good friend, Tanya Enberg, Senior Editor of 24 Hours, who immediately came up to me, wide-eyed and asked if she needed to start a blog.

Not Pam!

Hey Seth:

That's a fellow Canadian hottie you are dissing there...;)

I think Jeff would be happy to cozy up to Pammy.

Blog Fog

Very funny new definition over at Eric Schonfield's Business2Blog:

Blog Fog: A state of mind you attain when you've read too many blogs and your brain has turned into a mush of unconfirmed information.

I think we all can relate...

Wanna be an icon?

Very cool little design concept at Iconize Me!, where you send in a photo of yourself or a friend and pay $15 to get an awesome icon made up of you!

Could be a gift, a new image for your blog, or something just fun to do (kind of like walking around a fairground and sitting down with the guy who does those crazy caricatures, but without the sitting and gawking).

I think it's a great idea, but boo-hoo, they seem to be seriously backed up and on a break until the fall...so you'll have to wait in line with me, but I think it's totally worth the wait. (the blog will keep you up to date)

Oh...for a totally scaleable vector version of your icon, you pay only $30. That's a deal and a half as far as I'm concerned.

Thanks Michael for the tip!

Silicon not Silicone

Okay, so I'm not THAT naive....I knew that it was spelled Silicon. But I did assume that there was a connection between the periodical element and the materials used to create the squishy stuff in implants. (but wait, there IS)

So, I got my first 'isn't she cute' chuckle from Shel and Munjal yesterday in our meeting when I said:

"blah blah blah SILICON(E) Valley..."

...and blushed like a teenage girl when corrected.

According to the Wikipedia, I'm not the only one out there that makes the mistake:

Silicon is the principal component of glass, cement, ceramics, most semiconductor devices, and silicones, the latter a plastic substance often confused with silicon.

Now, Silicon in it's most frequently used form would be totally uncomfortable to the implant wearer and enjoyer, but when you add Oxygen and some other stuff, all sorts of great things happen! Geez, it even points out on the SiliconE page that Shakira, another out-of-towner, makes the reverse mispronounciation.

[The lovely burlesque meets wrestling babe in the photo is my fabulous friend from Toronto, Meryle Vinyl, who goes by the stage name Penny Whistleton and is hot hot hot - she is all natural sans SiliconE - and does, I believe, 6 variations of tassle twirling that will blow your mind - but may come visit me in Silicon Valley]

Never jaywalk in front of a Ferrari Dealership

Pedestrians? What pedestrians?

;)

[photo from Flickr - ds4832's photostream]

The new fight

[inspired by a Skype conversation with my best friend, Carol]

So, I used to have this tousle with my boss:

"You just don't get it!"

Now I have this tousle with my boss:

"You just don't get that there are people that just don't get it!"

;)

Blogger Being Sued for Comments

Seriously...first heard about it through Steve Rubel, then read more about it at The Blog Herald, then read it directly from the horse's mouth.

Alas, just when I think the world had turned and the blogosphere had broken through the muck, Aaron Wall has been given a cease & desist notice regarding some comments in his forum about a certain company I've never heard of...

Anyway, what really bothers me about this is the comments to his post. Yes, there are some really great commenters, offering support and saying 'go get 'em' etc. Then there are commenters offering genuine concern for his future. It appeared to me by reading Aaron's post that he had weighed the consequences and decided to say "I'm in for the fight", which I totally respect, because that is usually my reaction (even when the fight isn't worth fighting). It's almost like these commenters have thrown in the towel. There is a fearful apathy that resides in the "don't do it! it's not worth it!" comments that perpetuates the Big Guys with their Big Money and their Big Lawyers with always win syndrome...when we all know that a whole load of little guys banding together with passion can change the world.

Ah, but I'm a big ole risk taker and a bit of a crazy revolutionary...

[go Aaron go! rock on! if you want to stand your ground, just do it! hooorah! etc.]

A window in the tangled web?

[disclaimer: if any of this sounds incoherent, I'm flying high on flu medication right now, so bear with me]

Danny, here at the office sent around an interesting article from Wired Magazine this morning, entitled:

Flickr Fans to Yahoo: Flick Off!

I am no unbiased reader here, as the company [we're still between names...suggestions?] that hired me and travelled me across the continent looks to become the biggest Flickr competition to date. However, even before this fateful event took place, I recall the first time I logged into Flickr when the Yahoo! / Flickr login was implemented, I was a bit confused...and I remember thinking to myself 'Thank god I signed up before August 15th!' I guess there is no choice, though, after the end of this year. You have to belong to both.

This is sort of the same thing I was talking about when I discussed the 'Law of Limits', where as individuals participating in the conversation, we want to see one another do well, but as soon as one of us gets bigger than our britches allow (i.e. prosocial behaviour), the rest of us get suspicious.

I'm not saying that is what is happening here, but there have been some changes over at Flickr that go from being 'for the people' to being 'for profit', which, I think is the goal for any company that has to answer to shareholders and boards of directors.

Seth Godin's 'Small is the New Big' describes the new thinking about business that has been demonstrated in our recent critiques of Google, Apple and now Flickr, companies that looked alot like my motley crew in this small office, pounding away at their programs and forming close relationships with their users. After a certain amount of sign ups, it's nearly impossible to keep up with the dialogue...or is it?

Well, if Yahoo! doesn't wise up, it's good news for me anyway. It'll make it that much easier to convince more avid digital photographers to migrate over to our site - 'cause we're the 'little' guys who listen. Or at least, that's what they hired a blogger for...to join the conversation.

Yahoo!'s mistake might just be my window in the tangled web...now...we just have to get this bugger launched to take advantage of it...guys? ;)

[photo courtesy a lovely colourful group of photos by Essjay in New Zealand on Flickr]

Ugh

So, I've been as sick as a dog since I first got here. I'm looking at the screen cross-eyed and fuzzy with the biggest headache and worst cough I've had in a longtime (not a good combo). Between the stress of wrapping things up before I left, the lack of sleep I had while I burnt the candle at both ends and the long plane ride to get here, a gianormous flu has taken over my body.

Ech. Hopefully by tomorrow, I'll be back in the saddle again. I'm really bummed about not being able to explore my new surroundings (I would have had the chance this weekend and everything).

Pandora to Launch Next Week...

...can't wait! Michael says it all here.

But I should add that I only had a brief jaunt with Pandora (things have been so nuts the past couple of weeks) and I thought it was a fantastic idea. I figure that as more users get on it, the better it will get. It will make for a sweet listen as you work station...I just hope they build in some portability at some point. That would be amazing.

People are starting to talk...

...and I think there will be a great deal more when we open up a beta version.

First, there was Rob Hof at BusinessWeek...now, we've heard from Ho John Lee...

...although Ho John (thanks!) doesn't think there is room for another 'freestanding website'...C'mon Ho John! It's the web...it's unlimited! There is always space ;).

I've landed...

I'm in California, in my new office - which is abuzz with activity. It's pretty brilliant to walk these guys work together.

They'll be at their respective computers working away, then one of them will call out something like, "Look at this!" and either there will be a bug that's been fixed or something really funny that's happened (as we know, text recognition can sometimes interpret handwriting in wierd and wonderful ways). They chatter away, then it's back to their respective desks.

The energy is amazing, though.

Munjal met me at the airport and I instantly felt like I had 'come home' in a strange way. Silicon Valley didn't experience the same level of let down other parts of the world did during the dot com bubble burst. Munjal doesn't recall ever panicking or having to think about career options or crying himself to sleep clutching his Cluetrain. (I wasn't THAT dramatic, but close) In fact, the 'Valley' (the slang I will call my own soon) has been chugging along happily (although with a little more restraint on budgets) the entire time.

Geez, I'm ecstatic about this new phase of my life...

On my way out...

...bye Toronto! Bye Tim Hortons! Bye friends! Bye great house in the heart of everything (I'll be posting something here so people can take it over if they'd like)!

I'll miss you...

BlogOn is NOT evil...

...nor is Chris Shipley. She's actually pretty darn cool.

Chris responded to my post. Then went over to her own blog and wrote this post. Then I commented:

Hey Chris,

Of COURSE you aren't evil. (And, yes, I am seriously prone to hyperbole.) I just don't agree with not giving press passes to well-read bloggers (sure, you have to draw the line) who also write for online zines. Maybe I'm too quick to write off traditional media, but I'm constantly impressed by the power of the blogosphere. The permanence of the entries (without being locked behind subscription walls) also make for good ongoing online marketing efforts.

If B.L. were to write a series of great posts on the proceedings, others would read it, link to it and the word would spread that BlogOn is the conference to be at. If a newspaper covers the story, they will (most likely) still be talking about blogging like it's new and a trend and some people may read it with interest, but very few will pass that information along.

When I say 'evil', you are right - I don't know enough about the conference to make that assessment (even if by 'evil', I mean I'm suspicious of the intent). I'm just skeptical about a blogging conference that hire traditional PR and (it seems) brush off the real clout behind the subject matter - bloggers themselves.

But, perhaps your audience isn't the blogosphere. Perhaps your audience is corporate america and spreading the word offline. That's a great cause in itself.

The location is great, though. I did write a post about that earlier. And your speakers/moderators? Fabulous.

I wish you the best and I hope to read all about it (online).

Tara

Then Chris commented back (I love the blogosphere...all this conversation stuff):
I agree, Tara: the power of the blogosphere is awesome, and we (at Guidewire Group and the DEMO Conference) have been working to leverage that power -- and authority. But, to borrow from Monty Python, traditional media is "not dead yet." And it still holds tremendous sway with the corporate communications people for whom blogging IS a new thing.

The remarkable bit of data lost in the whole "BL didn't get a press pass" bit is that BL WAS invited to become a BlogOn Evangelist, complete with a comp ticket to the conference. She turned us down.

We absolutely believe that bloggers such as BL and others ought to be a part of this discussion. But it IS a different discussion now from the ones that occur among bloggers themselves. And it requires a different approach to reach these new conversants. THAT'S WHY we need to use traditional channels and techniques -- because those work with this audience.

You are right, our addience isn't the blogosphere, it's corporate America. I appreciate that you see our intent as "a great cause."

And I think that BlogOn will be a right on time - but mostly for the intended audience: corporate dudes who need to get their brains around this blogging thing. The hard core bloggers should stick to Bar Camp and BloggerCon. (but I'm sure they are welcome nonetheless)

Good luck, Chris! You're working on a very tough audience - it's like stepping into the Twilight Zone where everyone has been asleep for the past 20 years! ;)

We NEED people advocating offline...

Letter to my former co-workers...

Subject: O Gee...what can I say?

…other than I will miss everyone here so very much…

I’ve spent the last 2 and a half years working with a group of amazingly intelligent and talented people who have more heart and soul than is measurable. My co-workers make this organization astounding. I know each and every one of you is dedicated to creating a great member experience and, having been a member at many different organizations, I know how difficult that can be sometimes! I admire each and every one of you for your individual talents.

I’m heading for an adventure of the most uncertain type. I know there are amazing roads ahead for me, but who knows where they will lead? Good thing I’m such a spontaneous, fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants, unstructured person. Still, I’m a little afraid, but I keep telling myself, “Hell, I only get one life (as far as I know), I may as well go for it!” And, really, when the first stop is California, it can’t be that rocky.

I hope everyone stays in touch and I hope you know that our home in San Fran will always be open to anyone who wants to visit (even though I have no idea where that will be….yikes!). Here is some contact info for everyone:

e. tara[at]roguestrategies[dot]com
b. http://www.horsepigcow.com/ (blog)
(I certainly hope y’all get into the blogosphere…it’s an amazing place!)
I’m also on LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/) a really amazing networking service.

I don’t have a phone number yet or a permanent address (I’m living in a commuter hotel for the next 6 weeks) (Yay! Maid service!), but I will be forwarding it all to Gary once I get it.

Take care and keep in touch!

T.

I'm weak in the knees...

[click on the photo for a larger image...]

ai ai ai

Digital photo hell

I have the most amazing digital camera. I bought myself the Fuji Finepix S7000 for my birthday last summer and I'm constantly in awe of her. I love her for so many reasons.

When I pull her out of her case, I ALWAYS have oglers. Both novices and experts, alike, comment, "That's some camera!" I usually let them give it a whirl...then they are even more impressed.

She takes fantastic shots. Fantastic. And here is the clincher: I have no idea how to use all of the bells and whistles she comes with. Basically, my Fuji could be a point and shoot for all of the settings I use. I could be taking WAY better photos if I knew what the hell I was doing.

But here's the hard truth about having a great camera...I'm stuck in digital photo hell!

Yep. I probably have 10,000 digital photos, scattered everywhere on CD's, all over the place on my hard drive, some long lost...all these wonderful photos...perhaps never to be looked at again. After a while, they take up so much space on the hard drive that I have to put them on more CD's and even delete a bunch. It's so sad. What a waste of beautiful photographs.

And...yes...I've been using Flickr, although limitedly, because they only allow so much space (I'd exceed it after a weekend of shots) and because I still have to organize the damn things photo by photo (which I've established is not my strong suit). I the tagging, but even tagging takes time.

So, when I started chatting with Munjal, the CEO I'm joining in San Francisco to work with and he started talking about where I was about to work and what they were doing, I just about fell off of my chair.

Imagine this...taking those umpteen-gazillion digital photos over the years that you have, uploading them to an unlimited space and having the same program HELP you tag all of your photos...[I'll provide more details as I figure this stuff out]

droooooooool...

Munjal called it 'hacking' digital photos. Okay, so I'm no Ph.D. programming/engineering genius, but I do understand the significance of this kind of technology. I think the only issue in the blogosphere will be "are they for real?!!" I get to tinker with it in a couple of days. I've gathered all of my photo CDs and I'm SO ready. I'll be sure to update you here on what's going on.

This is my new job, eh? What a hoot!

As per my post on being HorsePigCow'd, holy crap! What's happening? The second coming must be about to take place. I bow down to the power of the blogosphere...

[thanks again Shel!]

Hitched

What a day yesterday!

8:30 am - at my old job - work work work meetings meetings training someone to take over some of my tasks work work work
10:30 am - realize I should probably get a bouquet - call King West Flowers
11:00 am - make reservations at Keg Mansion for 7 pm eve because Ken tells me his entire family is coming in to celebrate with us, friends want to know what we're doing
12:00 pm - leave work
12:15 pm - arrive at Karyn's millner shop - Lilliput Hats - pick up my hat, get changed
12:45 pm - arrive at floral shop - King West Flowers - pick up bouqets, realize that guys may need flowers for their lapels (nice thing to do, right?)
1:20 pm - arrive at City Hall wedding chapel, everyone pours in (10 in all!)
1:25 pm - sign in on the registry, etc.
1:30 pm - walk down the aisle with Ken to traditional wedding music on the stereo provided (wishing that I had brought my iPod and could be playing something more 'us')
1:32 pm - realizing I should have brought my Digital Voice Recorder - it would have been awesome to podcast this!
1:45 pm - married. Signing the final 'stuff'.
2:00 pm - across the street with the 'guests' to have a glass of champagne in the hotel lounge
2:45 pm - hop in the car, off to way far and gone to pick up my passport (fighting traffic all the way - gee, can't they automate this?)
5:00 pm - finally back downtown with passport in hand
5:30 pm - pick up more champagne for the reception/dinner
6:00 pm - call my parents yada yada yada
6:30 pm - pick up Ken and his brother, head to the restaurant
7:00 pm - arrive at the restaraunt to discover that 30, not 20 people are there to help us celebrate
various pms - toasts, great food, great friends, Ken's awesome family, the Keg being wonderful accomodating our last minute shindig and growing number of guests.
11:30 pm - quick last drink with Kai (Ken's best man and Karyn's partner), Karyn (lovely and talented milliner, and amazing friend) Andres (good friend and Marketing Director for EMI Canada - we have many music sharing discussions...poor Andres), Art (another great friend and Ken's original band manager for the Dream Dates), and Blair (Ken's brother).
12:15 am - home, at last
**none of your business**
1:00 am - fast asleep

Oh Dell Dell Dell...tsk tsk tsk

The most memorable quote from this article covered (well) by Shankar Gupta at Mediapost was Jennifer Davis':

“Obviously, Mr. Jarvis’ experience could’ve been handled better..."

Have they really handled it at all? Jeff is yet to hear from them, but suggests an email is a start.

[via: Micropersuasion]

I don't think BlogOn should be claiming victory quite yet...

Think about it...a conference on blogging at war with a high profile blogger?

I don't care who is right or wrong...it's just dumb.

What's the opposite of being Dooced?

...being HorsePigCow'd?

Some people get fired for blogging. Like him. And her. And her. Employers, including Google, who just don't dig that bloggers are being bloggers. We blab. Sometimes we say inane things. Sometimes we rail. Sometimes we rail against employers who are unfair or just don't get it. Bloggers are a scary lot, I know.

Sure, there are some evil bloggers out there. Shel calls these types 'chihuahuas'. They spend their time in the blogosphere masked in anominity, saying mean things without much thought to the fact that they are dealing with another human being. Their passive aggressiveness is apparent. I doubt if many of them would act as cruel in a face to face conversation. [which makes me wonder about conversations online a little]

But there are more bloggers with heart and soul and brains and passion. Many bloggers take significant portions of their days to converse with one another. Exchanges of ideas, stories, passions, information and cool stuff are happening daily. It's hard to keep up with the positive interchanges online. These are people that believe in the power of conversations, connections and, most of all, the blogosphere. Sometimes we want to believe the power of the blogosphere so badly that we will make it happen. Hugh and his followers (I'm one) with his Stormhoek and English Cut. Jeff with his Dell woes. These are true and poignant stories, but they are also driven by the passion to change the way we communicate. Down with mass media! Small is the new big!

And then something even more significant happens. A blogger is hired. For being a blogger. And not only for being a blogger, but for being a blogger who quite often says everything wrong. She (me) is herself.

Is this the start of a new trend? Are there going to be more visionary companies out there that will read a blog (or be referred to a blog) and see it's author in all of his/her rawness and know in an instant that he/she is the kind of person that should be working for them? This is just another story of the power of the blogosphere.

Put your blogs onto your resumes! Fire up your Typepad/Blogger/WordPress/etc.! Next official job title: "Director of Blogging". Love it.

p.s. Believe me, I won't change. I'll be the same big pain in the ass I've always been.

Busier than snot

Wow. Four more sleeps until I leave for San Fran and so much has happened!

Had a brief panic over an expired passport (picking it up tomorrow...whew!). Had a great going away party on Saturday with over 60 friends stopping by...and not leaving until 4:30 am. Got a marriage license...taking the plunge tomorrow at 1:30 pm (I've been common-law for the past 2 years, but marriage hadn't really crossed our minds...not because we don't want to, just because it didn't seem necessary - now it is). I see a fantastic immigration lawyer on Wednesday a.m., so I ran around gathering all of the documentation I'll need to get that Visa.

Things still to do: Write some articles for Ken at OneDegree.ca (sorry!). Pack (which includes laundry, sorting and fretting). Compile my research for my new team so that we can hit the ground running. Figure out how to get into the #$%@ cygwin remote thingy so I can start testing the exciting new technology. Firm up my contacts in San Fran and make some appointments. Find a place to temporarily live while down there (office couch?). Pick up the passport. Do that wedding thing...and the dinner with Ken's family afterwards (Tuesday night is shot - okay, it's a good thing, but my schedule is so tight!). Have goodbye drinks with my coworkers (amazing team of people that I will miss). Wrap up stuff here at work (oops, didn't have time to write that manual for my job). Fill out all of the HR stuff and send it back. A few conference Skypes back and forth with San Fran office. Workout at some point. Sleep!

I'm very excited about working with my new team. It hasn't hit me yet that I'm leaving, probably for good. I have made so many wonderful friends here and I am totally compartmentalizing my feelings. I'm usually such a crier, but the flood gates haven't opened yet.

Excitedness = 90%
Sadness = 5%
Fear of the unknown = 5%
Little girl jumping on the bed squealing kind of happy = 100%

(I know that is 200%, but that's just how I feel)

Just when I thought life was perfect

...it gets better!

I was catching up on my RSS Feeds and started reading (the wonderful) TechCrunch posts...when I came across this.

Wow. Wow. Wow. I thought I died and went to heaven when I heard I can search INSIDE books on Amazon. Then I flipped out when I found out I can search the content of podcasts on Podscope. But NOW I can search music...and not just in the old fashioned, "What song is this?" or title, artist, album, genre way:

Ever since we started the Music Genome Project, our friends would ask:

Can you help me discover more music that I'll like?

Those questions often evolved into great conversations. Each friend told us their favorite artists and songs, explored the music we suggested, gave us feedback, and we in turn made new suggestions. Everybody started joking that we were now their personal DJs.

We created Pandora so that we can have that same kind of conversation with you.

Musical analysis? Wow. I'm all over that one. What's next? Bring it on!

BlogOn Hired a PR Firm without a Blog?

Wow. What is that saying?!

Sure, they can hold it at the Copacabana and appear to be all cha-cha-cha, but when they turn down B.L. Ochman for a press pass, it makes me wonder if the conference organizers are merely co-opting the Blogosphere for their own purposes.

Sounds a little evil to me...

Treasure Hunting

In Canada, we have this huge fashion discount retail chain called Winners. It's a terrible name for a place where you can find some really nice stuff.

There are actually a great deal of terrible things about Winners. There are the extremely tight racks and racks of clothing that you have to wade through, while trying to navigate around the other people frantically looking through the same racks. There is always terribly long lineups in the changerooms and they treat you like a criminal when you go in. They count the items, give you a big, ugly tag, take the items that you are 'over' (limit of 6 - which is not nearly enough there - I usually go in with twice that) and monitor you closely when you exchange your rejects for the 'over' items.

The service is terrible, too. Nobody helps. If you ask, you often get a snide remark or the bare minimum.

Yet, I keep going back there. Over and over again. Why?

The clothes are amazing. Not all of them. There are some truly hideous pieces - actually, the majority of the pieces are hideous. But among them, you will find a gorgeous Tahari jacket or a truly unique dress. I find a treasure every hunt through Winners. And then I leave without feeling robbed. The prices are fantastic, especially for a clothes horse like myself. I truly make off like a pirate.

It's like a really great blog. Maybe I don't get terrific gems of wisdom everyday when I read gapingvoid or Creating Passionate Users or micropersuasion or naked conversations or JoHo (etc.), but damn, when I do, I get entirely inspired. They could talk about their cats for weeks, but give me one quote every now and then that will ignite my imagination and I'm aggregating them for life.

As a blog reader goes, I'm a treasure hunter. My RSS feeder is filled with successful excavations waiting to uncover more gemstones. If I've added a feed where I've found a treasure and I don't uncover anything else after a couple of weeks, I remove it from my list. Nothing personal, I just don't want to keep digging there when there is so much information to uncover.

Bloggergasted

Wow. Where to start? Here, I thought I was going to take a simple vacation - a mini getaway - to Montreal and I return to Toronto preparing to leave...for San Francisco! (I have to learn to spell check)

I've said it before and I'll say it again - the blogosphere is a powerful place. I posted that I'm looking for a change and I am getting it. Perhaps the blogosphere is like a wishing well...*

Here is the scoop...I'm moving to San Francisco (area) to work with an amazing team of amazing people on an amazing project. I'm currently on a huge learning curve (mostly trying to catch up with the rest of the team on what I'll be marketing), so I may be more relaxed in my blogging for a short spell. I can't say much more right now, but I will keep everyone posted as it unfolds.

I do have Shel Israel to thank for this. He's da man.

*right now I'm wishing for the return of my youthful figure, a VW, a vacation home in Tuscany and a million dollars in the bank. ;)

Disruptive Technology

By now, we all realize that the best technology doesn`t always win. When people adopt, they adopt for various reasons - ego, ease, networking ability, popularity, coolness factor, etc. When VHS won over Beta, and when PC`s won over Mac`s, it was mostly attributed to the marketing efforts. Both VHS and IBM were aggressive in getting their technology to market fast.

More recently, the iPod took over the market because, among other reasons, the add-ons (or Seth Godin`s `Free Prize Inside`) available and the easy interface of iTunes. There are many other MP3 players in the marketplace, but the iPod came in and made digital music the rule rather than the exception. Larger memory capacity allows people to put their entire CD collection into a portable device. I know that I appreciate the ease of carrying all of my favourite songs in my pocket. While travelling, I just plugged an iTrip into my iPod and put it on shuffle - the amount of CDs I would have needed to have the same selection would have filled my little car.

The iPod, blogs and collaborative networks grew (and are growing) in popularity, not just because they are new and cool, but because they are disruptive. Carrying our entire CD collection on a small portable device disrupts our previous idea of music (and the music industry has yet to understand this - they just attempt to stop the disruptions rather than come up with more disruptions). Blogs disrupt the idea of where information and news comes from. Collaborative networks disrupt business as usual - many businesses not understanding how to adopt it because they think of how to make money first and collaborate second.

Digital formats, in general have disrupted many of the previous formats we use. Look at digital photography. Camera companies keep trying to come up with printers that make it easier and easier to print your digital photographs, photo printing outlets give you the option of printing your shots through big machines - but printing out photographs is passe. It isonline photo networks and photo sharing that understood the true disruptiveness of digital photography.

The key to success in the new economy is to disrupt the old economy. You can invent the tools that change the way we think about music, photography, networking, information, etc. or you can create networks that understand the disruptionn caused and exploit it.

I rather like disruption. It keeps life interesting and the imagineation tweaked. It`s quite `rogue`.

The Big MOO

Seth Godin has collaborated with some uber impressive names in business to bring you 'The Big Moo' and is spreading the word: he needs YOU and I to help HIM spread the word. Great idea, huh?

He should do very well (I'm signing up) because he is what he called a 'Powerful Sneezer' (or what Malcolm Gladwell called a connector). Many people read Seth's blog and ascribe to his wisdom. All of us would love to see his theories spread so that change isn't such an uphill battle in the world of business.

Hugh Macleod does this with wine, t-shirts and suits (I was sad to see his name is not amongst the 33 collaborators). He has already seen fantastic growth. We aren't talking 'Coca-Cola' growth, but who really wants that these days? Big is the new small.

Of course people want growth...and they want to make money...and they want to leave a mark as far and as wide as possible...but what is the cut-off? Google can't dominate the world. We're already seeing a serious backlash. Microsoft is continuously slowed down by citizens and governments and competitors saying, "Whoah!" They've passed the cut off.

Now Seth wants to sell 100,000 copies...but that's a good thing. Seth is leaving his mark far and wide through this promotion, but it isn't for his own personal financial gain. The money goes to charity for every $2 galley he sells (only sold in groups of 50).

So, if the line of 'big enough' is drawn in the proverbial sand for companies that are in business for maximum profit, is there an unlimited amount of space for growth for a project or a business that sets out to achieve more altruistic goals?

I'm looking forward to seeing this explode.

A Montreal

Driving into Quebec I noticed signs advising motorists that radar detectors are prohibited. I can honestly say I don't know anyone who owns a radar detector, but most of them probably speed.

Whatever happened to radar detectors? Back in the late 80's, early 90's everyone I knew had a radar detector. It was a necesary device to have in your vehicle, whether you could even drive faster than the speed limit or not (I had a Toyota Tercel Station Wagon that shook over 110 km/hr). It seemed like everyone talked about which radar detector they bought, the accuracy of it and the features. Some radar detectors even had radar detector detectors inside of them and would automatically change frequency.

Mine was terrible. It went off every two seconds, which set me into panic attacks for the first while, then after about 3 months of the false alarms, I just ignored the signals. Alot of good it did me, then. In the end, the $300 piece of equipment probably didn't save me from a single ticket. I'm not as much of a speed demon today as I was in my twenties - I only speed 'slightly'. I've received a total of 1 ticket in my lifetime. (knock on wood) It cost me $120.

Maybe somewhere they are still sold frequently. I don't know. I could just exist outside of the radar detector belt and not know it.

Holidaying

I'll be posting photos on Flickr soon...

[my best friend, LouLou is getting married today and then we're off to Montreal]

Cindy Sheehan: One voice packed with power

The Huffington Post features Cindy Sheehan in an uber brave 'one woman against the Bush administration tells her side of the story' feature.

The comments go on forever. She's been the #1 search on Technorati all day (from what I can tell...maybe even longer). Bloggers aren't alone in their David vs. Goliath power. Bloggers are only one segment of the brave population that stand up for something they believe in and make a difference.

Strength to you, Cindy.

[via Craigblog - who is incredibly brave, he's stood up for the underdog from day 1]

Breaking news in the Blogosphere

If the blogosphere is right about Bush being indicted, I bow down to the ultimate power of it. If it's wrong, the rumormill is still a force to be reckoned with.

All in all, don't f*&k with bloggers.

Just in case you aren't convinced, here are a few good reasons:

They aren't constrained by the limits and rules of traditional media, so they will speak first and ask questions later (whether this is ethical or not is not the point here).
They are connected in a powerful spiderweb to one another. Even the blogger with a small readership will attract attention with a poignant message.
Many bloggers feel it is their responsibility and purpose to expose the big, bad wolf - partially because it reifies the strength of social media (the self-fulfilling prophecy) and partially because these are already passionate people.
The blogosphere thrives off of hot stories. It's like STAR Magazine, but with citizen journalists. And, from what I've heard, Star is accurate 90% of the time, even when it seems sensational.

[via a gazillion bloggers - but it was first brought to my attention via Steve Rubel]

Tragedy of the Commons

I read a particularly poignant passage the other day at Clickz....

Perhaps we'd all be well served by dusting off Garrett Harden's famous treatise, "The Tragedy of the Commons." It teaches us about the fundamental conflict between individual interests and the common good. Hardin talks of a plot of land used by all livestock farmers in a village. Each farmer keeps adding more livestock to the common, lured by the fact it costs him nothing to do so. Meanwhile, he's blinded to the painful reality of overgrazing and depletion.

eMail Marketing has fallen victim to this, for sure. Spam and viruses and over zealous eMarketers and publicists with quantity over quality lists have all contributed to the delete button becoming all too familiar. I see SEO going this way (just take a look at the pollution on Google) in the near future.

What else do you see falling prey to the Tragedy of the Commons?

Bush has a podcast

That's it. I missed the boat.

Now we can truly proclaim the death of podcasting.

For some inspired listening [I've heard it's danceable] go here.

[via Steve Rubel]

Creating a podcast of an article or book is hard

Especially for someone who sucks at reading out loud. Conversationally, I'm great (unless I get too excited about something, then I'm all over the place - it's inspirational, but doesn't do much for me in the respect category) . When I try to read notes or from a script, it's the death of a presentation.

So, when I found this great paper and wanted to give podcasting a whirl by reading it outloud, the results were more than disasterous. Thus, you will not hear it here. You should read it, though. Title: Folksonomies, Power to the People, by Emanuele Quintarelli.

Maybe I should take hints from WOMMA on podcasting.

No Way ...The Donald is Blogging!

Is this the Tipping Point?

http://donaldtrump.trumpuniversity.com/default.asp?item=93588

[via: Steve Rubel]

Reality vs. what the hell?!

Some of us are fortunate enough to work for ourselves or companies with
vision. Some of us are still pretty fortunate because we work with
companies that trust us to give them vision, even if they don't always
take our advice. Then there are the poor saps among us that work for
companies that haven't caught up to the new-fangled business philosophies
called...um...trust and...um...employee empowerment...and...um...the
customer.

You may think that's a recipe for disaster. And it is. In fact, it's a
slowly dug grave, but it's being dug nonetheless. These companies fire
their innovators because they 'rock the boat' and keep the 'yes-men'
because they are 'on track'. On track to what, preytell?! Your own
funeral?

Just imagine for a second that you work at that company. What do you do?
Do you quit? What if you have a family at home and you are the sole
breadwinner? You have very little savings to fall back on. They've beaten
you down so much over the years that you don't believe your talents
saleable. Yet, you have ideas. You have passion. They haven't snuffed
that. Something in you still burns. You find refuge volunteering, writing,
blogging, networking...maybe even just dreaming. You've written 25+ well
thought-out proposals over the year that would save your company oodles of
dollars and/or provided unbeatable advantages for customers to use your
service vs. another on...but you continually get the pat on the head and
your proposal gets filed under 'trash'.

And then the day comes when they decide to shake up the organization.
Something needs to change. And, somehow, the people patting you on the
head get to stay and you get let go. And you walk away thinking, "If
that's change, I don't want anything to do with it."

Don't ever let them tell you that layoffs and organizational change is
always getting rid of the deadwood. Remember, deadwood floats.

When word of mouth is stated, it's not word of mouth

Whilst sweating on the treadmill late this afternoon, one of the many
television screens laid out before me showed an ad for a robot sort of
dusting floor thing that rolls around so you don't have to worry about
sweeping ever again. Interesting enough.

I might have even been tempted to buy one, but all of a sudden, they
flashed in the corner of the screen, "This is a Word of Mouth product! It
will go fast!"

So, infomercials have co-opted WOM now? It made me feel dirty.

Testing

"The market for something to believe in is infinite..."
hugh macleod - gapingvoid.com

What would you call the fear of doocing?

Doocophobia?

Well, although I'm not technically afraid of being Dooced, I should probably put the call out that I'm looking for opportunities to move my career in a new direction...or, rather, the same direction, but somewhere else. I'm seeking an Online Marketing Position, preferably in Toronto, but I'd take Eastern US (if they'd have me) or Vancouver.

Here are asummary of my qualifications (what I've worked on in my current position or through my consultancy):

Online Marketing

Organic Search Strategies/Paid Search Program Development
Social media/collaborative network involvement (blogs, wikis, rss, etc.)
eMail marketing/eNewsletters
Online channel/partnership development
Banner ad buys & design
Viral campaigns

Measurements

Market research and target market behavioural development
Measurements of click-through, conversions, impressions, etc.
Web traffic analysis
Online behavioural analysis

Content Management/Online Merchandising

Content Management Software (Microsoft CMS, Red Dot, etc.)
Cross-content partner development
Online gaming & contest development
CRM online planning
Online brand development
Corporate blogging & customer community development (Social Media)

New Technology Research/Integration

Online research into future technologies
Excellent understanding of how these technologies can be deployed for online business development

I have 6+ years of work experience in marketing, online marketing and project management. I have been designing websites and working onlinesince 1993. I have a great passion for everything online and I am aCluetrain Manifesto evangelist.

I'm looking for an Online Marketing position with an online marketing agency or a company/association dedicated to their online presence [read:passion for online]. I have been working in middle management for the past two years and am looking for a similar level with the chance to grow intoa more senior role.

Here is my resume in PDF

Thanks, in advance...xo

OneDegree.ca

I think I mentioned a while back that I would be writing regularly for OneDegree.ca. Well, I am still and I'm loving it. I write in a very different style over there.

I imagine my audience is ~~naked~~ the business community who are hip to online marketing but don't obsess over it like I do. So, I get to write great 'instructional' and logical type articles like:

I know. My articles sound like yawnsville, but I'm really very proud of my contributions. Ken has built a nice ~~blog~~ e-zine over there that is very much worth a read. I think I'm going to discuss folksonomies next week!

Fast Company BlogJam 2005...

Well, it's wrapping up and I've lost all desire to post there any longer. Too much was being said by too many brilliant people and I lost track sometime between yesterday evening and this evening...when I went to write another entry. I just couldn't.

For the first time...ever...I think I got Blogfright. Or was I just merely Blog-tied? Maybe it's just Blog-xastion...[enough, I know]

Nonetheless, here were my posts:

Like a ruby on rails - okay, so it's just a look at cool technology...I wanted to start out slow
New rules for Wikipedia? - this one received some good cross-blogging response
Big brands need not apply - people are still talking about this one...
Another tag for Technorati - 10Dreams - only one bite so far
So many blogs, so little understanding of RSS - not enough people are looking at that ugly page of code and going, 'This has GOT to change"

Nothing today, though, and unless at some point between now and midnight I get a burst of creative energy, it's not going to happen. I refuse to force it. It will just turn out badly.

Thanks again Fast Company and Heath! I had fun!

[you should really just go and read the plethora of entries under the BlogJam2005 category - there were some really amazing ones!]

The Law of Limits is actually...

...The Paradox of Choice, a brilliant book by Barry Schwartz. If you haven't read it, you really have to.

In it, he discusses choice. No choice is not good. Some choice is good. Too much choice, well, that becomes not good again.

Have you ever stood in front of a wall of shampoo in the drugstore? I was while I was listening to Barry talk at PopTech [via IT Conversations]. It was one of those gorgeously ironic moments.

I'm listening, I'm thinking, I'm trying to recall one of those moments he's describing, then I look up and see an entire aisle of shampoo before me. How do I make my choice? What if I choose the wrong one for my hair type? I grabbed the one on sale. Then put it back. I grabbed the one with the points rewards. Then put it back. I must have grabbed 10 different shampoos before I just went with the 'old standard' that I was trying to avoid buying again (I promised myself I'd be more adventurous in the hair product department).

I walked out of the drugstore feeling incredibly defeated. I questionned my decision all the way home. Washing my hair was lackluster this morning (should it be exciting?). But, really, how much difference is there between shampoos? This one gives shine, that one is for fine hair, this one enhances curl, that one is for blondes...I never really see a difference in the end. I can pay $1.99 or 20.99 and the results are exactly the same. Hairspray, now there's another story...

The Paradox of Choice was one of those books that I read and I let out a sigh of relief. How dare I question the amount of choice we have in our 'free' society? Well, I can now, because Barry says it explains a great deal of depression and anxiety we feel as individuals. From his website:

As Americans, we assume that more choice means better options and greater
satisfaction. But beware of excessive choice: choice overload can make you
question the decisions you make before you even make them, it can set you up for
unrealistically high expectations, and it can make you blame yourself for any
and all failures. In the long run, this can lead to decision-making paralysis.
And in a culture that tells us that there is no excuse for falling short of
perfection when your options are limitless, too much choice can lead to clinical
depression.

Next Book: I've been recommended "Everything Bad is Good for You" by Steven Johnson, who has a blog.

Another meme of 10...10dreams

[originally posted here for BlogJam 2006 at the Fast Company blog]

Now that Steve Rubel and Jeff Jarvis have started something, I think it might be fun to play along and start a couple of Top 10 tags of our own for Technorati. It really demonstrates to me the power of social networks when I see these lists grow...

I always like to think of what I would do if money wasn't an issue, so here is my 10 tag -- 10dreams -- the first ten things I would do if I won a big, fat lottery:

Quit my job. I'm being totally honest here (don't Dooce me). I love being an online marketer, but I would just rather do it out of love than money.
Read all of the books left on my list.
Trash my fridge... and order delivery and dine out for every meal going forward.
Hire a maid.
Donate money to Rageboy.
Throw all of my PC's in the garbage and replace them with Macs.
Buy up every copy of The Cluetrain Manifesto in existence, send them randomly to business people, and give them out generously to anyone who wants one.
Buy a nice center floorplan house on Palmerston Boulevard in Toronto. The street is home to the first electrical streetlights in Canada.
Pay my parents back.
Travel. Lots.

Anyone want to join in? 10dreams

BlogJam 2005 - Fast Company

Things are cooking at the BlogJam...LOADS of great articles to read and comment on, such as:

3Q's: David Weinberger - Brian Oberkirch
Get Smart About Managing Marketing Burnout - Leigh Duncan
A little advice from a clueless small-business wannabe - Jason Pettus
New rules for Wikipedia? (mine)
Country as a brand - Risto Pakarinen
Structures for unlocking innovation and purpose - Gautam Ghosh
Take me to the river - Peter Rees
Like a ruby on rails (mine)

There are more being published by the second...go there, converse, enjoy!

How a local video store can use social media

[because I can't let this argument go]

Thinking more about my conversation with my girlfriend, I started to imagine how she can use social media and networks as a marketing tool for her new video store. Here are just a few ideas:

Online: Start a Movie Blog - as she watches and/or recieves movies, new and old, she can write up a synopsis, a review and compare it to other movies that people would like. Using tags, she could set up Drama, Classics, Comedy, Sci-Fi, Documentary and other genre tags. She could also link each movie title to Rottentomatoes.com or another social network online that gives various opinions on the movies.
Offline: Print out these reviews and make shelf cards. She could also place a computer in the store so that browsers can search it.
Online: Start or join into Technorati tag lists - 10SciFi, 10Classics, 10ChickFlicks, etc. and promote their use through various bloggers.
Online: Start a Movie Wiki - allowing her customers and friends (and others) add their own favourites, lists, reviews, etc. When she sees movies that she doesn't already have on her shelves, she can purchase them and put a notice up in the Wiki and in the Blog.
Online: Connect all of her Blog entries and Wiki pages to discussion groups where real enthusiasts can debate the entries.
Offline: Print comments, feedback and discussions and display them prominently in the store.
Offline: Get involved in the local business community - collaborate with other businesses in the area to promote one another. Rent a movie, get a free coffee. Buy lunch or dinner at the local restaurant and get a free rental.
Offline: Start a movie club - like a book club, you can post an obscure art film or documentary, create a group to watch it (together or individually) and get together over coffee and treats to discuss. You could break this off into 'Singles Movie Club', 'Moms Movie Club', 'Chick Movie Club', 'Geek Movie Club', etc. if it's popular. Use the connections in the local business community to promote it (maybe you meet at the coffee shop).
Online: Use Meetup.com for movie clubs - get the word out further. You may pull in people beyond the neighbourhood that won't rent from your store, but you just never know who they know in your area or whether they'll move or even how much they'll go out of their way for a great experience.
Online: Research Amazon.com and other user feedback sites for suggestions - these sites create their own lists and provide customer reviews of movies. There may be some brilliant suggestions for movies you wouldn't discover otherwise. [Fan sites, rottentomatoes.com, Technorati searches, chat rooms, etc. are all good places to scour - don't forget to do the occasional search for your business or blog to come up]

There are probably many other ways to use social media for local business and the same way you apply 'Markets are Conversations' online, you can apply it offline. Word of mouth has been around forever, but it's more powerful than it has ever been...and it's only going to get stronger.

The long tail can get a whole lot longer

I catch myself walking down a crowded street, searching the faces of the people, wondering which of them know what social networks are, if they've ever used one or where they are at with the whole 'Power of Us' culture.

We're all so different. So unique. We all consume for our own reasons, based on our own experiences...but social networks are almost always present at some stage of the transaction.

I had a near-yelling debate with a friend of mine last night (both of us had too much to drink) where her and I were speaking entirely different languages. If you asked both of us separately what we were discussing, you would end up hearing two versions of the conversation that didn't seem congruent at all. The strange thing is, though, we kept arguing.

Where it stemmed from was that a student was staying with her neighbour who was working on his Ph.D. in Mass Media. He and I connected strongly because I basically live what he studies. The conversation with him got me quite excited and all of a sudden, I was on the runaway 'Cluetrain'. This would be fine, but I had spent the day drinking in the sun and was tipsy and tired and scrappy.

So, when my girlfriend started questionning the Cluetrain logic, I sputtered a bit. But here's the thing, I don't know if she was really challenging what I was saying at all. She came from a position of not being an online person, never having read the Cluetrain and starting her own business (neighbourhood video store). In fact, she's already used collaborative social networks in her early phases of starting her own business. She sent an email out to her list of friends asking for their 'top 50 movies of all time' (theres another tag...) to help her with her collection for the store. The difference came when she defined this email as 'target marketing to a specific demographic' and I was defining it as 'collaborating with her social network'.

I, personally, never like to think of my friends as a target market. Certainly, they may seem to fit a certain demographic. They are generally urban, 30-45, and middle income. But rather than picking my friends because they fit in a demographic (I certainly don't meet someone and think, "Gee, this person fits into my demographic profile of who I would like to hang out with"), it's because we share common interests. And that is where many of my friends differ. I have feminist friends, partying friends, online geek friends, arts and culture friends, work friends, funk/club culture friends, jazz friends, old friends, fashion friends, friends through Ken friends, queen street friends, etc. etc. And some of these friends have many various cross interests with me (i.e. many of my partying friends are also club culture friends).

[Nor could I rely on my email list of friends exclusively to actually build a business. I tend to find it easier to charge acquaintences than I do friends. I'm a generous friend. If I built a business on my friends alone, I would go broke.]

Friendships and interests are more akin to folksonomies and tagging than they are to demographics and psychographics. What's happening online is just an extension of how we sort our own lives offline. Back to Jay (and thanks for clarifying on that other post), we have very individual ways of sorting what we understand to be the world, our lives, our likes and dislikes, our observations, our theories, our beliefs, etc. We also are influenced by the ways our friends sort these things, and what I'm finding more and more is that tagging can both be an individual thing and a network thing. In order to connect with others, we find similar classifications or tags (i.e. doyourworst, 10blogs, 10shows, etc.). Sometimes these two versions of tagging crossover, sometimes they don't.

This doesn't render demographics or psychographics null, it just means that demo and psycho-graphics become another social network classification. And these types of classifications are both based on interests and not based on interests. Confused? So am I. I just don't believe that that demographics and psychographics are very personal. Tagging gets closer to being personal and it more closely aligns to what happens offline when we organize our own lives.

Now...back to the long tail. Folksonomies aren't new, but they certainly aren't widely known (or, more likely, widely recognized) beyond the confines of our online networks (and the people who study them). This means, to me, that as the word spreads and as more people get 'hip' to the terminology, folksonomies will take on new meaning and uses to many other people. Perhaps my girlfriend will reframe her own marketing strategies for her business in the years to come. Then we can have these discussions in the same language.

The long tail of the Cluetrain may be longer than any of us can ever imagine...I wonder what it will look like at the end of it?

Get your daily dose of The Daily Dancer

Speaking of funny...

This guy is a hoot. He's a programmer by day, vlogging dancer by night. My favourite is his Billy Idol rendition of 'Dancing with Myself' where he appears to substitute two black belts for S&M gear to look especially badassss.

[found through "Hello World!" a fellow Cluetrain rider]

Did my worst

Okay, so it's juvenile (according to Ken, who had no problem participating), but I've made my mark in Flickr's 'doyourworst' tag.

There are some fun shots in there that could be used in many circumstances...if not just browsed for a good laugh. I like to watch people busting out, having a good time.

I recruited my group of friends at the Festival of Beer here in Toronto and a table of fabulous women next to us to fill my portion of the tag. (What a better time than in the hot sun, drinking far too many 'samples' of beer?) I think everyone did a bang-up job.

Top 10 TV Shows Ever

More fun with technorati tags from Jeff Jarvis (via Steve Rubel)...I'm putting my Canadian spin on them:

Twitch City - Don McKellar's Curtis was the most interesting character. Brilliant and hilarious.
The Frantics (Four on the Floor) - Nutso Canadian humour. Who couldn't love Mr. Canoe Head (Monsieur Bateau Tete) and Kazoo Theatre. I fell in love with the kazoo at that point.
Corner Gas - Brett Butt's Saskatchewan humor is something the whole world will catch onto someday.
Trailer Park Boys - Haven't heard of them? If you haven't you will soon. I promise you. You'll never miss an episode.
Degrassi Junior High - Grew up with Joey Jeremiah, Caitlyn and Spike. Now they are all grown up and still on Degrassi "Next Generation".
This Hour Has 22 Minutes - Canadians making fun of Canadians. What could be funnier?
Rick Mercer's Monday Night Report - coming out of This Hour, Rick is the funniest Canadian ever. His spot with the late Pierre Burton (canadian icon) rolling a joint has to be a historical moment.
Red Green Show - If you can't be handsome, be handy.
The Beachcombers - Oh, Relic...if you weren't such a screwup, we so wanted to love you!
Canadian Idol - Our Simon is nicer.

There are oodles more I can think of...any of my Canadian readers want to throw a few names out?

Why we shop...an idea for online retailers

Just listening to Paco Underhill's 'Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping' and he makes a very astute remark about how online retailers can learn from old skool catalogue shopping...

Basically, he says that online retailers should give the option when someone orders online to 'pick up' their order at the store most convenient to them.

Wow...what a trip that would be! I think that Chapters/Indigo could kick some Amazon ass in this department. Sometimes I want a book today, but I don't want to wander down or wander around looking for it (sometimes to find it isn't there). So, I find out that the book is available at the Richmond Street store (not close to work, but en route home), so I purchase it and pick it up on my way home from work. It's ready for me at customer service.

Brilliant. The perfect blend of online and offline. Are you listening Heather?

The Cluetrain is picking up speed

Hop on board!

[let's see Technorati burst with Cluetrain tags! Chugga Chugga Woooo Wooo!]

More Satire - this one jabs at everyone...

Live theatre....ah....when I spend so much of my day wired, I enjoy live that much more. Here is one that you can't miss if you are in TO (or coming through...geez, just come visit and see it):

THE MEETING

Synopsis...The Meeting is an interactive, multi-media corporate fantasia set in a boardroom at fictional interactive marketing agency SideCar. Part survival-guide for the corporate meeting hound, part interactive bullshit-bingo playing experience for the audience, The Meeting provides a context for the playing out of petty jealousies, neuroses, insecurities and ambitions of the attendees.

The play itself is a combination of live theatre (ritualized corporate narrative) and a multi-media presentation focusing on the inner monologues, dialogues and random pieces of pop music that are part of the interior life of anyone who has ever attended a meeting. People just like you, man. Just like you. But funnier.

SHOWTIMES for THE MEETING
SAT Aug 6 3:00pm
SUN Aug 7 9:00pm
THU Aug 11 10:30pm
SAT Aug 13 6:00pm
SUN Aug 14 12 noon

VENUE
At the Factory Studio Theatre125 Bathurst Street (at Adelaide)
directions & map

TICKETS
Tickets are $10, cash only, and are on sale daily at the venue, one hour before the first show of the day. No Latecomers!

MORE INFO HERE

HorsePigCow is a perfectly fine name for a blog

I mean, really. Lots of people want to make fun of it lately. Haven't these same people heard of Wonkette? Boing Boing? Instapundit? Dooce? Joho? I hardly think I'm out of line...

Sniff...the story of HorsePigCow is a sentimental one for me...my Mom used it to give herself memory recall when forgetting names of people and things. It was her goofy little thing. So, a couple of years ago I bought the URL. I had no idea what to do with it. I thought I'd start a t-shirt company (har har - we have a couple of great samples that will even someday be reproduced). Then, when I needed space to host my own blog (I was getting tired of blog-hopping), it was the only website I could use.

(Rogue Strategies, Pink Saki, CreamSodaFunk & Muse05 were occupied)

And I thought that it sounded like a perfect name for a blog. It was downright blog-ish, in fact.

It describes my history a bit (having been raised on a farm with horses and cows - now living in what people refer to as Hogtown right down the street from an avatoire). It's a metaphor for life (the entire farm) (or) (the entire farm minus the sheep and the chickens). It's connected to Chinese astrology, which I love. And I happen to be the cow.

I could have used 'Rogue Report' or some boring old business thingy or tried to be real clever. But I just didn't have the energy and I had this website URL I bought for sentimentality that sat there barely used...

And believe me, once you laugh about it, you will never forget it. You may forget the order and/or the animals: "was that PigHorseDuck or DogSheepMoose?" But you won't forget the site and you'll be in the damnedest place when you cry, "Eureka! HorsePigCow!" and everyone around you will look at you suspiciously, but that moment, too, you'll remember.

In French: ChevalPorcVache.com
In Dutch: PaardZwijnKoe.com

Fast Company BlogJam2005

Chris at Shotgun Marketing reminded me that the FC NOW BlogJam2005 is fast approaching (Monday and Tuesday). I'm very excited to have been handed the coveted login and password to participate in this uber fly event.

Thus, I'll be posting more there than here for those two days...(which may be a good time for the BLOG:CMS changeover)...and, crap, I forgot to talk to my boss about it, so I'll have to do it with with my mouse hovering over the minimize button. ;)

Blog parodies

I was taking my usual trip from [aggregated] gapingvoid post to [link #1] Paradox1x [reading reading reading] [click read back] [click read back] [click read back]

[sidenote: does anybody read linear anymore? I sometimes go off into the endnotes/links and never get back!]

then...

a very humorous look at the A-Listers that I was surprised hadn't resurfaced previously. Although I only read 2/3 of them...and many of their styles have probably changed a bit...I had a good belly laugh.

Have any to add?

Thinking about moving

BLOG:CMS looks like this uber amazing product. I currently work with an amazing programmer who says he'll help me install it and set it up for beer. This sounds like a price I can afford.

Anyway, BLOG:CMS not only has all of the blogging bells & whistles (tagging, categories, multiple blogs, options to feed multiple blogs into one, comments, trackback, etc.), it also has an integrated forum template, built in aggregator a wiki engine and a photo gallery. Here is their write-up:

BLOG:CMS is the most complete, feature-packed, personal publishing system on the market, developed by Radek Hulán. It includes state-of-the-art weblog, forum, wiki engine, news aggregator (atom / rss), and photo gallery.

If it does everything I think it does, I'll have died and gone to heaven! It's Czech origin from what I can gather...so it's gotta be great! (Prague is one of my favourite cities)

So, if anyone reads my blog regularly, there may be some downtime here and there. Some ticks and hiccups may occur as well...like, all of a sudden your RSS aggregator gets stuffed with my entries (I always know when people are refreshing their content, I get duplicate entries from way back).

As well...if anyone knows anything about BLOG:CMS or knows how to read the specs and you feel like giving me any advice before I make the painful plunge (the content migration alone will be hell!), please comment below.

New Manifestos at Changethis.com

1. Why smart people defend bad ideas

2. Bet this! A gambler's guide to leadership

3. The youth of today

4. Escape adulthood

I'm going to read Escape Adulthood then find out what my new life will be like in Youth of Today. ;)

Addicted to audio books...where is my fix?!

Since I bought my iPod, I've listened to 20 books, oodles of spoken word/speeches, even more podcasts and hundreds of songs. It's just become so convenient to download a book I've been dying to read, hit play and go. I listen to books while working out, shopping, walking from destination to destination, riding the streetcar and subway, eating lunch, eating dinner, sitting in the park, lazing around, compiling stats, running errands...you name it, I'm listening and learning.

I'll even go out and buy the hard copy of the book quite often after I'm done listening - just because I need something to refer back to later on (and I can't highlight audio). I've also begun amassing books I want to read (but never have my hands free to pick them up - nor the time - I'm constantly reading articles I find online) on my shelf. I desperately search Audible, Amazon and Google for the potential of finding these books in audio without any relief.

I'm considering paying people myself to take my digital voice recorder and read some of these books out loud so I can listen to them.

How difficult could it be to hire talent to read a book out loud? Most books run about 4 hours. People podcast daily. Some podcasts run longer than these books. Just pop a digital recording online and 'presto' - I'll pay the $20 for the convenience. You'll sell me the book AND the recording of the book, doubling sales right there.

Here's an online business model - someone with a good voice should contact all publishers and offer to record all of their books to download to portable listening devices, then pay the publishers (and the authors) royalties. $5 for me, $5 for you, $10 for you - or whatever (I'm no CFO). You set up a store online that kicks Audible's ass, partner with Amazon and market your product everywhere you can online (I'm sure that the various audio search engines will help you out, too). You could even specialize in certain areas where Audible seriously lacks. I'll tell you one. Marketing. They suck. I've listened to everything they have (except for the icky Trout/Reis books) already. Maybe specialize in non-fiction.

Then contact me, I have a list of requests... [gee, one of these days I should take my own advice, stop flapping and start doing!]

What a week for references!

Yep...my sleepy little blog is being read by really prolific blogging giants (A-lister would be politically incorrect, but there has to be a kudos for being uber popular in the blogosphere and these bloggers are).

Doc mentioned me. (ok, it was last week, but I certainly couldn't get excited when it was just one)

Steve Rubel mentioned me.

Did I mention that I dined with Dave Winer? No, he didn't mention me, but I'll be in some podcast in the future most likely that he will post on his morning coffee notes...maybe.

And I know, I know...why should it matter? Well, for one, having a link on these well-read blogs brings more traffic, which will bring more commentary, which may even cause a trackback or two, which will spider my ability to find more people out in the blogosphere who I have something in common with, so that maybe someday I can get this career of mine kicked into gear through meeting more people. AND when you have a successful career, all sorts of great stuff happens:

I could afford a nice vacation every year (even if you don't have time for it) ... sigh ... Paris
I could finally buy that old Victorian in downtown Toronto I've been dreaming about
I could get more stuff done in the workplace 'cause I'd have seniority - thus, all of my wild and wonderful ideas might even be heard
My mom & dad would be proud (although they seem to be pretty proud of me now, but I'd like them to beam)
I'd have the power to hire really fabulous, innovative, passionate people on my team that will make me look better (although I would totally give them credit)
When I write an article, it would get printed, which would cause discussion instead of being passed over (I once had an editor say, "This is a great article, but nobody's ever heard of you.")

Okay, so maybe the delineations between seniority and peon-ity (where I am now as a middle manager) aren't all they are cracked up to be (the money is a good incentive, though), but there are oodles of advantages to having more traffic here. The biggest being that the conversation that I yabber about constantly will actually happen here.

And, like Charlene Li says regarding A-lists, "If we don't care, we can't make a difference" and "will give (us) an opportunity to rise in (our) own specific areas".

Yep. We are truly " writing ourselves into existence on the web one entry at a time." (David Weinberger)

Thanks Steve and Doc for helping me by pinging my existence!

Noticed: blogosphere bashing

The problem with getting attention is that it becomes a double edged sword. Bloggers show up in the news, blogging becomes a newsworthy item in general, then the nay-sayers come out in flocks.

Phooey on them, I say. Celebrate it, bash it, ignore it...I don't really care. What matters is that we're here and we're real and whether there are 14 of us or 14.5 million of us, it's a community (or, now in the case of multi-millions of us many communities). Besides, we have seen real consequences of companies who aren't participating.

I never said that blogs are your only connection to your customer...nor did anyone else. They are part of the mix - of both online and offline strategies. But they are an increasingly important part of the mix. Whether you are just checking out what the public is saying about you and either responding to it or fixing your issues; or whether or you are actually rolling with a blog, participating is important. If you aren't, you are missing a HUGE opportunity.

Now, let me dissect the quotes, Steve Rubel lovingly extracted from eMarketer's overpriced report:

"Blog creation has, if anything, outstripped the growth of readership"

Yep. Loads of blogs out there. Too many to keep up with. But within the millions popping up everyday, some are really standing out, gaining readers and making an impact. Maybe you should look at them as examples...
"New figures released by Pew earlier this month, however, showed readership growth had stalled."

Of the millions of new blogs popping up everday, I'll bet there are still a large fraction of them that are online personal diaries, not meant to be read by anybody but the blogger's personal friends. Those personal friends probably already have blogs. I also know of alot of people starting blogs, but just banging around until they figure out how to get the right mix. One person I know has opened blogs in 7 different blogging programs just to see which one will suit their needs.

I predict that blog readership will start growing again as new bloggers get more comfortable with the blogosphere. It took me a couple of weeks to realize the key to really getting the most out of blogging is to participate in the blogosphere in general. You get more readers that way, too.
"For all the interest and activity in the blogosphere, however, American businesses appear to be taking a cautious approach. A spot check of the companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 found just four percent of companies had any form of publicly available blog -- and not all of these were current and active."

Since when did the Fortune 500 ever wow us with their innovation? Don't worry, they will all go the way of the dinosaurs within the next decade or so.
"Decentralized by design, blogs are unlikely to become a mainstream business communications tool without change at the root level of corporate culture."

That's what you say. I say there will be a change at the root level of corporate culture. Viva le Cluetrain!
"Doubtless more companies will give blogging a shot. But for the time being it is difficult to see corporate blogging becoming widespread, however tempting the new format may be as a marketing and communications tool."

The key to it becoming widespread will be in how accessible the tools become to blog and, even moreso, how accessible the tools become to aggregate. Microsoft and Google and Yahoo and other technology giants have to step up to the plate on this one. USER FRIENDLY is the key. Make it easier than using Outlook and I guarantee people will adopt it.

There were critics when 'Talkies' took to the silver screen. There were critics of television of CDs of the internet in general. There will always be critics. There will be failures. There will be crazy revolutionaries that speak in odd languages we don't understand, so they scare the hell out of us, but then their predictions come true. I have a pretty good feeling about this one, though.

The blogosphere is here to stay and it's only going to get stronger.

Reality TV meets the Blogosphere ... the blogover

My good friend, Lex, over at Cheapeats Toronto, pointed me to this new 'Blog Makeover' online series that is going on.

It's an amazing promotion for the blog makeover team of Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff of Build a Better Blog, a consultancy that will help your blog sing. The 'Blog Squad' isn't currently as public as the HGTV shows it (kind of mimics) and it costs the participant money ($500), but it makes for a fun idea and promotion.

Let me tell you, though, the Blog Squad is a great idea for a new type of promotion that could be used by various technology companies (Six Apart, OPML, Microsoft) to promote new software or their technology. They could even come together with online versions of television shows, pounce on unsuspecting bloggers, corporations (with or without a blog) or really bad websites in general, record the makeover, do some vlogging and podcasting around it, and really have fun with it. They could even create a wiki that fans could get involved in for making suggestions.

Really, I love the idea. Anybody know anyone at HGTV online?

Virus alert

Like I didn't know this would be a virus [read: dumbass]...

I received an email from someone I didn't know earlier today that said, "40 US Marines killed" and had a blurb and a link to read more...

I thought, perhaps, my name was added to a list because I've signed up for other various newsletters and notices. Sometimes it happens.

Anyway, I clicked on the 'read more' and got blasted with viruses. Luckily, my computer is armed with up-to-date anti-virus software. I didn't get a look at what virus it was...

Anyone know?

What am I so frustrated with when...

Hill and Knowlton encourage employee blogs...and they call it 'Collective Insight'. And their guidelines are fair.

Blog on BlogOn

BlogOn: 2005 Social Media Summit
The business of Social Media
October 17-18, 2005
Copacabana, NYC

more info go here...

[*sniff* yet another great conference I can't go to - darn cutbacks!]

10 blogs for a desert island

I'm joining in the fray (wee! this is fun!) with my top ten blog list:

Hugh Macleod's gaping void - absolutely! I couldn't live without his drawings on the back of business cards or his daily snarkisms.
The Adventures of Accordion Guy in the 21st Century - Joey has been around far longer than most and persistently writes fun, applicable posts.
Fast Company's Blog - A great resource and oodles of fantastic writers at a magazine that will always be cutting edge
Creating Passionate Users - it takes passion to create passion. Kathy has it in spades!
Joho the Blog - David Weinberger rocks. He is totally honest and was one of the true pioneers of today's cluetrain economy.
Seth Godin's Blog - even though he's become bigger than god for saying stuff that everyone else says (but better), he says the stuff. I want to keep listening.
Micro Persuasion - egad, this may be on everyone's list, but he is like the flippin' New York Times of the tech world. Between his del.icio.us links and his other pointers, the man has introduced me to more articles and blogs than I can handle.
Business 2.0 Blog - same thing as Rubel, but with more writers
Lainey's Entertainment Update - Brilliant...she just needs an RSS feed. Watch out, though, she's addictive WITHOUT RSS.
Buzz Marketing with Blogs Blog - there is a reason why Sussanah was asked to write the 'Buzz Marketing with Blogs for Dummies' book - she keeps it real.

Hon. mentions go to: Twist Image Insights, Freakonomics, Cheapeats Toronto Blog (to know what great food and/or cultural festival is going down while I'm gone), Church of the Customer, and Rick Mercer's blog.

There are tonnes of good blogs out there and I have oodles of them in my RSS aggregator. These are the ones that make my heart skip a little when I see a new post appear. I actually hate the rating system because I know I'm missing out on reading brilliant blogs out there that don't have oodles of followers and not all blogs have consistently amazing posts.

Why Atkins failed

Have you ever tried to follow the Atkins diet? If you have, you'll know how desperately hard it is to follow their regime.

First, there is the issue of expense. If you follow it using 'regular food', your grocery bills triple. Loads of meat and cheese and high protein foods cost a great deal more money than the old days staples of bread, pasta and rice. If you buy Atkins products, you are forking out $8 for a brownie mix that produces 12 small morsels (and my son eats most of them before I can really enjoy them). In other words, their supplements were crazy expensive.

Then, there is the lifestyle impact. Eating out is a pain. Eating on the fly is a pain. Going for dinners at neighbours, relatives and friends is a pain. I've run around hungry enough to chew off my own arm, looking desperately for something that won't throw my regime for a loop. It's just so much easier to pop into Tim Horton's for a bagel. After one bagel, it all goes south.

Not to mention the stigma associated with it. Health Canada railed against it. The critics were flying off the handle. People I mentioned it to laughed at me and told me I would die of a heart attack at a young age. I would say, "Geez, I lost 60 lbs. after university and kept it off. My blood pressure was better than ever. My cholesterol never went up. I had oodles more energy." But the massive anti-Atkins organization was against me. I chose to stay in the closet. I made up food allergies to avoid certain servings. I didn't utter the 'A' word publicly.

What Atkins needed was collaboration, community building and support. Collaboration with more than TGIFridays - they needed to collaborate with the other similar diets out there to create more accessible meals for people wanting to follow the regime. Community building and support to encourage and arm their followers with the tools to continue along proudly. There is a humongous online community of people offering up recipes, tips and preaching the good word of the lo-carb lifestyle. Their website had a good start, but the good stuff was locked behind a membership barrier. They didn't have a blog or a recipe wiki or go far enough. And there was next to no support offline. No centres, classes, meetups, or otherwise - not in my area, anyway. (a stiff reminder to all of us online that the offline world matters)

They also tried to paint Atkins diet as the solution for everyone. I don't think it is.

Lo-carb lifestyles are still prevalent, but Atkins had bad PR. South beach is okay. Eat Right for Your Type is okay. The Mediterranean diet is okay. Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers are okay. It seemed that everything with the Atkins name was tainted. Instead of having to put their logo and control on every outlet that tried to support their cause, they should have just posted a 'Atkins friendly' list on their website. Those of us who were 'in the closet' wouldn't be caught dead in Subway ordering the Atkins wrap.

I'll continue to watch my carbs going forward, but do it the generic way. No help from Atkins (although I'm buying up the clearance items before they disappear). And, I'm convinced that my dedication to working out, taking vitamins and eating smarter will keep me healthy and fit. Atkins is gone, but his philosophy changed dieting.

RSS vs. eMail? Nope. RSS vs. Search.

Think about it. The more great stuff I add to my RSS, the more great stuff these bloggers and sites lead me to and the more tagging networks I'm plugged into, the less I need to search. Won't that happen to alot of people?

SEM can eat RSS dust! e-Mail can hang around and pick up the stragglers.

See...I told ya...

Plucky plucky plucky.

I'm wearing my 'watchatalkin'bout' beotch hat today.

Is your company ready to get their heads out of their ...

[image courtesy of Flickr's 'doyourworst' tag]

Everytime I start thinking beyond where we are at now, reality comes back to bite me:

There are alot of people (business people) who need to catch up. Seriously.

So, technology and ideas are forging ahead, but it's leaving loads of companies and people too far behind in the dust...beyond the dust, actually. So far ahead, that ideas from 5 years ago are just starting to be noticed (kinda).

When guys like Tom Peters are blogging, I have hope. I love using his blog as an example to business people I run into. I can see them thinking, "Well, if Tom Peters has a blog, maybe it's not such a crazy idea afterall."

It's different if you hang around with online people all of the time. We think differently. We like to share ideas and information, collaborate, see what else is going on, explore, muse, philosophize, take constructive criticism, delve out helpful hints, etc. etc.

But have you met a bonified traditional business person lately? Have you had a full-on conversation with the non-believer? It kind of feels like you're bludgeoning yourself to death with a mackeral. It's not very effective and it leaves a stench long afterwards. What's the worst part is trying to wretch that patronizing grin they give you out of your memory as you try to collect yourself after the incident and go on about your life.

Then the doubt sets in. And the overall depression (harkening you back to the post-bubble burst years). What's the purpose?! We lament.

So, we could avoid having conversations with the stone-agers or we could work really hard on doing what we do best: SHARING INFORMATION.

We kick ass at sharing information within the net nation. Everything is there for the taking, exchanging and giving. But outside of our online channels and the occasional geek dinner, many of us clam up about what's going on. Sure, the media is starting to help by jumping on the bandwagon, but remember, some of these dudes don't have time to read (I actually met a guy recently who still gets his 'secretary' to read the paper and clip snippets of important world stories), especially when it comes to the techie papers.

And, what makes it worse is that, when they do read, they tend to read the drivel they've been reading for years. Thankfully we have the Freakonomics' and the Blink's and the The World is Flat's breaking through to the top sellers list...there may be hope yet. However, although these books challenge conventional wisdom, they don't even touch what is happening with the conversation online.

Who will be the brave publisher to take on Cluetrain again? Who will pay the brave souls (Chris, Rick, Doc & Dave) to update the publication and take it into market with a vengeance? Who will put oodles of marketing dollars behind it and seat them at the table of The Daily Show and Larry King Live et al?

Then we will be halfway there, the theory that underpins the progress online will be in the hands of many 'business leaders' and we can start getting busy...and those who have toiled for years online will start making some real money (hallelujah!).

We need a 'take it to the streets' manifesto. A plan to knock down the barriers of ye olde business model and implement Gonzo marketings 'worst practices', then keep moving on. I want to start with a gathering. I want to bring believers together in one area to cook up a plan for shaking it up. Not a conference for wanking and wonking about how super special we are, but a cookout for planting a recipe and watching it spread across the world.

Geez, it would make our jobs so much easier. Rageboy wouldn't have to ask for donations. Bloggers would have more power against doocings. Google would smarten the f*^$%k up and stop acting snotty. And the world would be well on it's way to global peace...(or maybe that's too ambitious).

Plucky

I think I woke up on the proverbial wrong side of the bed this morning. I've got the gloves on...

Let's talk about the weather...

Dave Winer points out a beta RSS weather feed, aptly named...RSS Weather (and they use OPML).

How cool is that?

Joey's Soulful Song

The meeting ended with music. I love it. Dave ends all of his meetings with a song. I'm going to propose it at every future meeting I'm part of.

Joey led us in an amazing rendition of 'Hit Me Baby One More Time' on the accordion - I was so impressed he knew all of the words!

[gee, I'm positively glowing!]

[p.s. here is Joey's Brittney rendition a la accordion...well worth the watch!]

A most enchanting evening with Dave Winer

Yep. You read it right. Tucows had their meetup this eve in Toronto and Dave Winer presented OPML (Outline Processor Markup Language) - a really amazing program that will revolutionize how we collaborate with workteams, within the office and via remote (combines wiki principles, blogging outputs, RSS-type aggregates in IM-type real time - it's both none of those things but all of those things...I think I have it right...Dave?).

So, there I was after an excellent discussion on what OPML is and it's potential applications (btw, Dave put the call out for any Linux savvy programmer to develop OPML for Linux - as it is only available for Windows and Mac) mucky-mucking with the Winermeister himself. 11 of us had a lovely dinner and (soon to be posted) podcasted discussion at The Liberty and the entire experience was invigorating and magical. I pitched my 'cookout' idea to Dave, who would love to do a large meeting of the minds in Toronto (I won't call it a conference 'cause it's antiquated). How very scintillating!

As soon as I have the link to the podcast and the other mentions, I will post them here.

Thanks Joey for putting up the notice, thanks Tucows for hosting it and thanks Dave for an entirely enchanting evening!

Event: For the Goddess in You...Aug 17

Speaking of women's events, this one is being put on by the amazing Helen Goldstein, so the event won't only be a wonderful night to sip and spa, but also network! Helen is one of the most connected women I know.

Here are the details:

Wednesday, August 17th, 2005 7-11 pm
C-Lounge 456 Wellington St W, Toronto

Indulge in two 15-minute complimentary sessions: choose from shiatsu, foot & hand massage, Reiki, non-invasive face-lifts (I've been told these are da bomb), intuitive readings, crystal healings, tarot, astrological readings and more!

Experience channeling with medium Natarsha Douglas. Manifest your intentions with Helen Goldstein. Shop at our one-of-a-kind boutiques (including some amazing vintage pieces from Holt Renfrew at serious discounts). Nourish yourself with delectable hors d'oeuvres & desserts. Take home gift bags (with YSL, Creme de la Mer, Axis Spa, etc. - valued at over $100).

Only 108 tickets available - $108.00 each.
Call 416.322.9936 x. 0 or visit http://www.yogastudio.net.

Part of the proceeds will be donated to Feed the Trees Foundation.

Oh...and the guys can come join the goddesses after 10:30 pm once we are relaxed and channeled and pampered for the after-party that will go to the wee hours.

******
I'll be there for the astrological reading and the tarot...what? You've never wanted to know your future?

Geek alert! OPML Meetup in Toronto...Tonight!

Tuesday, August 2
7 pm
Tucows Offices in the Liberty Village (96 Mowat Ave, Toronto)

For more information, go to Accordian Guy's post.

I'll be there...I love geeking out!

And even MORE proof that girls rule

From smartmobs.com (emphasis mine):
In the U.S "women more likely to text than men",this article says."Consumers aged between 15 and 24 years are the wave of the future for mobile marketing strategies using text messaging and internet on mobile phones.However (more surprisingly)young women are more likely than their male counterparts to use a computer and more likely to own a mobile phone and use it for text messaging.Mobile phones,MP3 players and hand-held computer devices continue to threaten the traditional hold of the clothing industry on spending in the youth market".This "youth market has a spending power of USD485 billion", Packaged Facts estimates.
Hello?! Are you listening?!

p.s. Why add (more surprisingly) to this statement btw? How is it surprising? Seriously. Just because boys are louder online, doesn't mean there are more of them.

More proof girls rule

We are taking over the internet, one blog and one purchase at a time. ;)

Gender in the blogosphere

As per Doc Searls' post yesterday on gender balance, I concur with Red Barren. I wish I was at Blogher. It sounds amazing.

One discussion I had on Friday with Dave F. was around 'great leaders'. Dave asked me to name 3 great leaders, alive or dead. I named 3 - Ghandi, MLK and Pierre Trudeau. Then he paused and asked me for the names of 3 great female leaders. Ummmm...I have loads of examples of amazing women throughout history, but, beyond Oprah (who Dave had to remind me of), I was stumped. (although I mentioned the Famous Five, I couldn't think of 'world leaders')

Stumped!

Yikes, here I am a self-proclaimed feminist and I was stumped. I was so very embarassed and shocked (at myself). So, I thought about this post-conversation and came up with a list (not at all comprehensive...feel free to add more in comments below):

Indira Ghandi - talk about courage, she fought against many odds
Queen Elizabeth I - the virgin queen became one of my heroes after I read the biography years ago. She beat many odds.
Simone de Beauvoir - a leader in philosophy and french feminist thought
Virginia Woolf - her 'Room of One's Own' is still as vital today as it was in 1929
Susan B. Anthony - led the US Women's Suffragette
Angela Davis - key to the fight for black women's rights
bell hooks - her examination of feminist politics brought women of colour to the table in a big way
Audre Lorde- should not be forgotten in this list. Poet, activist, feminist, lesbian.
The myriad of amazing female academics, authors and activists that came before me so that I may thrive in this 'man's world', including Luce Irigaray, Mary Wollstencraft, Sappho, Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Judith Butler, The Gorrilla Girls, Monique Wittig, the Combahee River Collective, my favourite professor, ever, Eli Silverman, and many many more
My mom (I know, it sounds cliche, but if you met her, you would agree)

But most of all, I'm disgusted with myself. I'm a product of everything I work against every day. It is still difficult as a woman with very feminine traits to get ahead these days. Really. If you are a woman who plays by 'men's rules' and values and embodies male traits, you can get way further. Those of us who value emotion, connections, feelings, empathy, etc. are often dismissed outright. If it ain't about making a buck and being 100% accountable for it, it ain't business...

I've been working amongst a majority of women for years, so I have been allowed to blossom and encouraged in my creativity. I find conversations with many male executive types very frustrating. I can usually articulate exactly where we are experience a chasm in our conversation, but I still get blank looks. Nope. I don't agree. Money isn't 'the bottom line' for me. The money will come when you take care of 'the bottom line', which means human beings in my eyes.

But what I find interesting is that when guys like Seth Godin, Tom Peters and Doc Searls speak for women, people listen. Male leaders. Don't get me wrong, I love it and I hope they speak more. It's incredibly important for the future of women in business. I just observe that their voices are heard as rational and ours as whining or worse.

Power to the people

Last week's discussion with Kryptonite as well as the drama that unfolded over at The Accordion Guy's blog on Quick Boys Movers have made this an amazing week for 'The Power of Us' in the blogosphere.

Sure, we can't ever abuse that power or believe that, individually, we can really truly accomplish anything major (then we'd become alot like who we are criticising). (Neither are 'we' ever a collective 'we') However, it will only be a matter of time before the conversation becomes the central thesis and hierarchies are broken down.

As the blogosphere grows, I can only imagine that the power of the voices within it will, too. I wrote a piece about it over at OneDegree.ca that should be coming out in a day or two.

Oh...and it won't be long before I help AIMS Canada get their blog up and running. I had a great meeting with Dave F. over there and pushed all of my opinions on him. He's biting on the blog. I'll keep working on him with the other stuff.

Noticed: War on Bloggers

Whoah...what's going on here and here?

So, when did bloggers (albeit prolific ones) become punching bags? Here are some theories (not that I agree with all of them):

1. Because of the broadcasting and sensationalization of blogging, we're attracting the assholes into the blogosphere. These people that limited their internet activities to surfing porn and gambling (not that there is anything wrong with that) found a new toy to play with.

2. High profile bloggers are being put in their place by the 'Law of Limits' - their authority must be challenged in order to restore equal voice in the blogosphere, pundits are being dispatched to take them down a notch.

3. Petty, jealous people are everywhere and when they don't have another outlet, will find any old place to vent - especially if they have a big audience to do it in front of.

The problem is with all of this is that a few jerks are going to ruin it for the rest of us. IM notifications, emails, telephone numbers, comments and trackbacks will start to disappear from these meeting places. Flamers are as bad as Spammers - they are the pollution of the internet, but Flamers are worse in that they make it personal.

None of us are immune. Everytime I receive a negative comment, my heart falls into my stomache. I have to take a deep breath, remember the adage "Check the source" and remember that, although the comment FEELS personal, it probably isn't. If I was to encounter the anonymous' or Arnold's of the world in real life, they wouldn't have 1/100th of the balls they have online.

Molly and Robert, I hope both of you keep blogging. I hope the bullies don't screw up the blogosphere for the rest of us.

8/31/2005

Time to help out

Once again, with oomph

Bowing Down to my new Boss

8/30/2005

This story has been removed

Day 2 in SF

Silicon not Silicone

Never jaywalk in front of a Ferrari Dealership

8/29/2005

The new fight

Blogger Being Sued for Comments

A window in the tangled web?

8/28/2005

Ugh

8/26/2005

People are starting to talk...

I've landed...

On my way out...

8/25/2005

BlogOn is NOT evil...

Letter to my former co-workers...

8/24/2005

I'm weak in the knees...

Digital photo hell

Hitched

8/23/2005

8/22/2005

I don't think BlogOn should be claiming victory quite yet...

What's the opposite of being Dooced?

Busier than snot

8/21/2005

Just when I thought life was perfect

8/19/2005

8/18/2005

Treasure Hunting

8/17/2005

Bloggergasted

8/16/2005

Disruptive Technology

8/15/2005