My intentions in starting this blog was to help myself figure out my thoughts and opinions on Web 2.0. Before forming an opinion on anything, it goes without saying you at least need a fundamental understanding of what is you are actually trying to opine about. This video is the best illustration I've come across of what the second generation of the web is.
However, what really stuck me about that video was two responses to it. This one really embodies the dilemma I seemed to be faced with.
And this response (which I link to, lest this post becomes lost with video), embodies the title of this blog. The Internet and Web 2.0 have done wonders for enhancing communication globally, and giving people the opportunity to have a voice that's heard. However, I still maintain that a vast majority of these voices are talking just for the sake of being heard. Healthy discussion and debate are one thing, opening up your mind's sphincter for the sake of "participating is only contributing the Web 2.0 shit soup. Present company included.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Friday, February 23, 2007
Four is Greater Than Five
Three day weekends are always welcome, but the inevitable shit-storm that encompasses the hectic flow of the ensuing cram four days of work into five has beat me down.
Tough sledding at work these days. Aside from the regular urgency that is the PR world,we're still in the midst of '07 planning, which has its obvious stresses. Add in that it's also performance review season sprinkled with regular life, and you've got a craptastic bouillabaisse. Good times. Fortunately, I've had visits to the ever-satirical despair.com to humor. The idiom that it's difficult to comprehend how insane some people can be. Especially when you're insane, has been my guiding principle this week.
Remember that mini-controversy regarding the Massachusetts governor from below? You'll be happy to know it blossomed into a full-blown one this week. He's off to a great start.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Tuna at Outback...huh?
I'm still trying to figure out what I want to with this blog. In the meantime, and keeping in the spirit the true spirit of the blogging world, I thought I'd update you on some nonsense while I battle my annual winter bout of bronchitis.
Saw a commercial for Outback Steakhouse the other advertising their new Ahi Tuna. Ahi Tuna, now at the Outback. I always try to stick with the tried and true idiom of never eating seafood anywhere unless you can see the ocean. Sure, you can stray, but rare tuna at the Outback...I'd rather avoid the time on the throne that is sure to ensue.
I jumped on the Sirius bandwagon thanks to a wonderful Christmas gift from my wife. I'm not sure how I lived my daily commute without it For one, its nice to have the Howard Stern option again. I was never a huge Stern fan, but do find him assuming and have always respected what he does every morning. From what I've heard so far, he's better than ever in the satellite realm. What's really struck my chord lately comes from a recent programming update where the added a channel dedicated solely to 90s alternative/grunge...its been like a trip through the summer of 1994 for the last couple of days. Good times. Of course, it's also made me realize that I've reached an age where I'm listening to my generations version of classic rock.
There's a mini-controversy simmering in Boston around new Governor Deval Patrick's choice of transposition...a fully loaded Cadillac which is costing the tax payers $1200 a month. The irony of course comes from this promise on Patrick's website where he promises his administration will "As the state replaces its vehicle fleet, for example, new purchases will be hybrid or other fuel-efficient vehicles. "
Not even two months in, and he's already broken one promise. Still, he's better than the last guy, who recently shocked no one by kicking-off his presidential campaign in Michigan, with hardly any mention of his last job.
That' s all for now, but I'll leave with this wonderful story regarding a newborn and a mother's sweatpants.
Saw a commercial for Outback Steakhouse the other advertising their new Ahi Tuna. Ahi Tuna, now at the Outback. I always try to stick with the tried and true idiom of never eating seafood anywhere unless you can see the ocean. Sure, you can stray, but rare tuna at the Outback...I'd rather avoid the time on the throne that is sure to ensue.
I jumped on the Sirius bandwagon thanks to a wonderful Christmas gift from my wife. I'm not sure how I lived my daily commute without it For one, its nice to have the Howard Stern option again. I was never a huge Stern fan, but do find him assuming and have always respected what he does every morning. From what I've heard so far, he's better than ever in the satellite realm. What's really struck my chord lately comes from a recent programming update where the added a channel dedicated solely to 90s alternative/grunge...its been like a trip through the summer of 1994 for the last couple of days. Good times. Of course, it's also made me realize that I've reached an age where I'm listening to my generations version of classic rock.
There's a mini-controversy simmering in Boston around new Governor Deval Patrick's choice of transposition...a fully loaded Cadillac which is costing the tax payers $1200 a month. The irony of course comes from this promise on Patrick's website where he promises his administration will "As the state replaces its vehicle fleet, for example, new purchases will be hybrid or other fuel-efficient vehicles. "
Not even two months in, and he's already broken one promise. Still, he's better than the last guy, who recently shocked no one by kicking-off his presidential campaign in Michigan, with hardly any mention of his last job.
That' s all for now, but I'll leave with this wonderful story regarding a newborn and a mother's sweatpants.
Friday, February 02, 2007
I love Twister, but Bill Paxton is a tool...
Everybody has thier list of movies they will always watch when they come upon it while flipping through the channels. I have to imagine, I'm one of the few for which Twister fits the bill. Yes, I know this movie is nothing more than a glorified thrill-seeker movie, and not a very a good one at that. But, it hold meaning for me because of when I saw it.
My buddy and I took to seeing this in the theater when it came out in May of 1996. Normally, no big deal, aside from one small detail, it was the last movie I saw while still a college student.
We saw it the week before graduation, stoned to high hell as was often the case back then. See, having a few beers and getting stoned was an event in college. Part of the romanticism lied in the fact the dropping money on a movie was considered a big night out back then. But, it also represented the carefree nature that encapsulated the all the freedoms with none of the adult responsibilities that was college. And for me, this represented that last bastion of freedom.
So, when I came across it tonight, I watched it in its entirety because it allows me to live vicariously though myself 11 years ago. Good times indeed. And yes, Bill Paxtons dialogue sucks evens more with the time passed, but Phillip Seymor Hoffman still rules.
My buddy and I took to seeing this in the theater when it came out in May of 1996. Normally, no big deal, aside from one small detail, it was the last movie I saw while still a college student.
We saw it the week before graduation, stoned to high hell as was often the case back then. See, having a few beers and getting stoned was an event in college. Part of the romanticism lied in the fact the dropping money on a movie was considered a big night out back then. But, it also represented the carefree nature that encapsulated the all the freedoms with none of the adult responsibilities that was college. And for me, this represented that last bastion of freedom.
So, when I came across it tonight, I watched it in its entirety because it allows me to live vicariously though myself 11 years ago. Good times indeed. And yes, Bill Paxtons dialogue sucks evens more with the time passed, but Phillip Seymor Hoffman still rules.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Here's My Dilemma...
I created my first blog four years ago, so by blogging standards, I stand right at the cusp of when blogging started seeping into the mainstream. My first blog was nothing more than an online journal uses primarily to rant about the displeasure with my career. I was pretty steadfast in keeping it up to date for nearly two years before I lost interest (the reasons which I'll get to shortly).
Around the same time I created a second blog with the goal of chasing my dream of becoming a syndicated columnist. Basically, it was a more in-depth extension of my first blog used to published full-length columns. I maintained this regularly as well, amassing over 30 columns in a two year period before letting it die as well. Sure, real life intrusions had a lot to do with my stopping. Namely, several job changes and becoming a father. But my main reason in doing lie in my disenchantment with the blogosphere itself. As more and more people were blogging about the same mundane stuff I was, I begin to realize that the art of writing, or more so, the romantic idea of being a "writer," became diluted for me. What good was thinking I had something to say, when millions of others were doing with same. It became too mainstream for me, and I lost interest.
The blog search engine Technorati estimates there are some 60 million-plus blog in existence these days. Of course, there are also estimates that upwards of 75 percent of these blogs consist of only one post. In other words, blogging as become a novelty for most, or, as the title of this blog suggests, have become similar to assholes, everyone has one.
But, blogging as also become a recognized form of journalism, and, this, more than anything not only blows my mind, but creates a dilemma for me. As a practitioner of public relations, this influence of blogger as journalist as caused most in my profession to rethink the traditional way of practicing PR. No, the press release hasn't gone by the way-side...yet, but the need to figure out ways to engage bloggers, is something I've yet to quite nail down. Let alone trying to come up with the right form of when, who and how to engage bloggers who constantly are taking negative shots at the clients or companies I represent.
Case in point, there is a notorious blogger (who shall remain nameless for fear of my job) who exhibits constant disdain for my current employer. His vitriol is unmatched at times, and while he often formulates his attacks in what I sometimes find to be an amusing manner, the damage he does hurts my employer. And, we can't engage him because it fly back in our faces. I know, because a colleague tried it once and was skewered.
But, I digress. My main dilemma remains, I can't decide where I stand on the whole next generation of the Web. This whole world driven by user-driven content and community interaction is one I yet to come close to fully understanding. But, my opinion doesn't matter, because it is happening, and what I need to figure out is if i want to be a part of it. Is technology truly killing the human experience? Is this whole notion of community moving us to interact with people of common interest that we are effectively going to create a society that is far more segregated than ever before? These are the things that keep me up at night...and as foolish as that is, I'm starting to think I need to talk about it more. But, I need to embrace it before I can form a concrete opinion. I need to seek out people with the same idea as the above; to embrace what the current world is, before I can debunk it.
Around the same time I created a second blog with the goal of chasing my dream of becoming a syndicated columnist. Basically, it was a more in-depth extension of my first blog used to published full-length columns. I maintained this regularly as well, amassing over 30 columns in a two year period before letting it die as well. Sure, real life intrusions had a lot to do with my stopping. Namely, several job changes and becoming a father. But my main reason in doing lie in my disenchantment with the blogosphere itself. As more and more people were blogging about the same mundane stuff I was, I begin to realize that the art of writing, or more so, the romantic idea of being a "writer," became diluted for me. What good was thinking I had something to say, when millions of others were doing with same. It became too mainstream for me, and I lost interest.
The blog search engine Technorati estimates there are some 60 million-plus blog in existence these days. Of course, there are also estimates that upwards of 75 percent of these blogs consist of only one post. In other words, blogging as become a novelty for most, or, as the title of this blog suggests, have become similar to assholes, everyone has one.
But, blogging as also become a recognized form of journalism, and, this, more than anything not only blows my mind, but creates a dilemma for me. As a practitioner of public relations, this influence of blogger as journalist as caused most in my profession to rethink the traditional way of practicing PR. No, the press release hasn't gone by the way-side...yet, but the need to figure out ways to engage bloggers, is something I've yet to quite nail down. Let alone trying to come up with the right form of when, who and how to engage bloggers who constantly are taking negative shots at the clients or companies I represent.
Case in point, there is a notorious blogger (who shall remain nameless for fear of my job) who exhibits constant disdain for my current employer. His vitriol is unmatched at times, and while he often formulates his attacks in what I sometimes find to be an amusing manner, the damage he does hurts my employer. And, we can't engage him because it fly back in our faces. I know, because a colleague tried it once and was skewered.
But, I digress. My main dilemma remains, I can't decide where I stand on the whole next generation of the Web. This whole world driven by user-driven content and community interaction is one I yet to come close to fully understanding. But, my opinion doesn't matter, because it is happening, and what I need to figure out is if i want to be a part of it. Is technology truly killing the human experience? Is this whole notion of community moving us to interact with people of common interest that we are effectively going to create a society that is far more segregated than ever before? These are the things that keep me up at night...and as foolish as that is, I'm starting to think I need to talk about it more. But, I need to embrace it before I can form a concrete opinion. I need to seek out people with the same idea as the above; to embrace what the current world is, before I can debunk it.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
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