Grooming the Avatar

Hiatus

noreply@blogger.com (sawinkler) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 17:21:00 +0000

Grooming the Avatar is taking a break while I focus on the realest of real life events: the birth of my daughter.

I am still collecting links at http://delicious.com/sawinkler/groomingtheavatar

Iam writing about fatherhood (when I can) at http://newbdad.wordpress.com/

I am still on twitter at http://twitter.com/sawinkler

back soon.

The Big Delete

noreply@blogger.com (sawinkler) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 18:48:00 +0000

The Long Now blog recently ran an item on a service that allows people you designate access to your online assets in the event of your death.

"Online assets"? No, we're not talking about bank accounts, credit card accounts, and all of the online places that handle your money. We're talking about places like facebook, flickr, ebay, gmail, LinkedIn.

I don't think I'd ever considered these "assets" but if this is the information economy, then information about me must have some value. And if they have value I guess they should be dealt with as part of my estate.

It just seems a little...ghoulish...to have someone go through my online life and erase my tracks. It feels they'd be erasing the evidence that I existed.

Maybe my wife could use my assets as therapy, and update my status to "channel" me. Of course, those friends of friends who read "Stephen has updated his status: dead." on their facebook home page might get a little freaked out. But they'd get used to it, eventually.

There might even be a business to be made out of posting updates from loved ones who have passed on. A twitter John Edward, if you will.

And what about the avatars I have created? What happens to my Second Life avatar, or my World of Warcraft characters? Maybe they're out there in the servers of Linden Labs and Blizzard, having their own electron adventures? If they are, it really wouldn't be fair to end their little existences. I'm a benevolent creator. . .

And I'm not convinced that we should delete all of our digital breadcrumbs. I guess I'm just hoping that my small contribution to the epochal data will be useful to future anthropologists sifting through the layers of this time.

(photo from djaquay)

Where No One Has Gone. . . in a long time

noreply@blogger.com (sawinkler) — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 19:57:00 +0000

I'm chalking this one up to: cool! Google Maps reveals unexplored (at least to modern science) areas of the world and, according to National Geographic:

In the fall of 2008, an international team of 28 researchers hiked into the wilderness, where they found a new species of snake, a rarely seen orchid, and more than 500 plant specimens.

This strikes me as a good reminder that we can't fully understand the world around us by limiting ourselves to either the digital world or the physical world. The digital world can bring things to us that were previously unknown, but it's still up to us to go verify, explore, and experience.

I'm glad I can still wonder at the fact that there are undiscovered places left on this earth. I like the idea that we haven't stopped searching from them, or trying to learn from what that search tells us. It's one of the best parts of what makes us human.

And some day, we'll wind up doing this:

Marshall Yourself

noreply@blogger.com (sawinkler) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 14:33:00 +0000

Earlier this week my twitter stream tipped me off to a news story with the headline "Martial Arts Expert Challenges Chris Brown to a Fight." Basically, the owner of a boxing training center in LA created a Facebook group challenging Chris Brown "to step into the ring against him and see what it’s like to face a real opponent."

There are so many things wrong with this, I don't know where to start. But I'll try.

First I'll say I don't think Chris Brown should get a pass for allegedly doing this to Rihanna. Domestic abuse is a disturbingly difficult problem to try to solve and needs to be dealt with when it happens. But it doesn't need to made into a circus, no matter who is involved.

My issues with this promotion by LA Fitness are threefold:

As a PR guy, I have a problem with trying to capitalize on this incident to promote your business. One, it's just tacky. And two, the promotion smacks of "come to LA Boxing and learn how to fight." One implication being that, if Chris Brown trained there. . .he'd REALLY know how to throw a punch?

As an aspiring martial artist, I'm insulted by the idea that this guy is selling martial arts as a way to gain revenge or mete out justice. The paradox of martial arts has always been that the more you know how to fight, the less you actually want to or need to fight. Yes, you learn how to efficiently fight people (meaning, disarm/disable them quickly) when you study martial arts. But the key is that you learn how to control that knowledge. You learn that your first impulse is not necessarily to attack.

As a man, I have a problem with the thinking that the answer to a man who has problems with violent impulse control is to. . . threaten him with violence. Way to try to break the cycle, LA Boxing dude.

I sent my thoughts to the publicist who sent out the original tweet, but did not hear back. I'd love to hear why they think this promotion is a good idea, but maybe they don't want to take too close a look at this. That wouldn't be a good story.

Grooming the Feeds

noreply@blogger.com (sawinkler) — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 22:49:00 +0000

this week's Grooming is a list of news that caught my eye. they're over at Delicious.

http://delicious.com/sawinkler/groomingtheavatar

I'm trying to figure out how to merge my delicious links into my feedburner. when I do, you'll be the first to know. Actually, you'll be the only one to know, dear subscriber.

Names Writ in Water (no more)

noreply@blogger.com (sawinkler) — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 16:25:00 +0000

This murketing post got me thinking about how our digital lives remain after our physical existence has ended.

When Keats wrote his own epitaph:

"Here lies One Whose Name was writ in Water" he was probably thinking about the transience of memory and that any fame he had achieved relied on someone else remembering him after his death.

Of course, he will be remembered for as long as English classes teach Ode on a Grecian Urn. But the rest of us will probably not write a line like "Beauty is truth, truth beauty" and earn a place in the cultural canon.

Before the internet, there were few ways for a man's name to live beyond him because he had to be famous enough for anyone to want to record his life. No more: the barriers to recording life are astonishingly low in our time.

Now, blogs and youtube record everything and search engines make everyone immortal.

There are 22.6 million bloggers in America. We're not all Keats, we're not even the guys who nursed Keats on his death bed. If 98% of the blogs shut down tomorrow, the world would not miss our absence.

Do we do this because we can, because after we're gone, these digital crumbs of our thoughts will still be around? That's probably part of it. I know that 100 years from now, if someone googles the word "avatar" this blog will be one of the results.

Like that guy who left a red hand-print on a cave wall in Lascaux knew that someone would find it and know he lived, I know that someone in the distant future may see my name and know my life. May it be worthy of the immortality.

(image of John Keats' gravestone from wikimedia commons)

Service for the Bullhorn-less

noreply@blogger.com (sawinkler) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 17:11:00 +0000

This week I had some customer service related experiences. The first was a disputed charge on my Comcast bill. Last year, when I had a disputed charge, it took me long phone calls for three consecutive bills in order to correct the error. Now, thanks to twitter, I got help directly from @ComcastGeorge, who had someone call and issue a credit. Total time invested by me: about 15 minutes.

Then I was setting up an event on my ning site and sent out a tweet in frustration about not wanting to be forced to include an image for every event, to which I got a reply:

Later the same day, I vented my frustration with Acrobat and got a response:

I'll admit I was half-testing twitter to see if someone from Ning or Adobe was listening. It's good to see that they are, and, in the case of Ning, that they are taking what they learn from the community and applying it.

But it struck me that if I was not on twitter, like the other 95% of the people in the US, I would not be as happy with these companies. I know that Comcast is not getting any better with their call-center service because I experienced it and still hear about it from other people, I know that Adobe's on line support is basically an FAQ because I looked there for a solution before sending out that tweet.

David Armano shared a story the other day where Priceline had refused to issue a refund to a baby that had been burned. Only after the child's mother enlisted her friend to spread the word on the internet, did Priceline credit the family. Yes, Priceline did the right thing, but only after being faced with the choice of being publicly outed for having no empathy for a...burned...baby.

Until companies stop running the formula from Fight Club, and only taking care of the vocal minority because it's cheaper to do so, we're going to keep seeing that minority become more and more vocal to get what they want.

This is not a Good Thing. Not only because there will be cases where the undeserving are rewarded, but also because the loudest voices are often the most extreme. I have seen our national conversation devolve into shouting matches between extremes, creating the false choice that we need to agree with one or the other point of view. From politics, to religion, to the economy, to education, the middle way is being lost.

Thinking in terms of exact opposites is as childish as believing that you will get your way if you yell long enough.

Here's hoping we're in for an era of passionate moderates who are willing to bank their personal outrage in the cause of community peace and progress, and that companies will give people less reason to reach for the bullhorn in the first place.

(photo from natebeaty)

I am the Mob

noreply@blogger.com (sawinkler) — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:47:00 +0000

The past few days, I've read about two ways in which the digital mob reached out and affected the physical world. One was positive, the other negative (hat tip to Cecily K).

The two cases boil down to two comm

ents in twitter that started something bigger.

In the case of David Armano, he asked his "digital neighborhood" to help out a friend of his who was trying to escape an abusive relationship. He asked for $5k. By the next day, he was well over $10k. (here's the twitter stream).

The other case involved an off-the-cuff comment from a frustrated mother that became a digital mob, complete with pitchforks and torches going to her house to confront the monster (OK, someone called the cops on her, but the metaphor works).

There are plenty of people talking about both of these, so I won't get into "the power of the internet." It just strikes me that we have choices about what to do with the power we have, as @armano said yesterday:

And whether we start these calls to the mob, we can choose to support them or fight them. Me? I'm using my powers for good.

(photo NotionsCapital)

A Plank for 2009

noreply@blogger.com (sawinkler) — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 17:00:00 +0000

Chris Brogan and Christopher S. Penn recently got me thinking about 2009. Chris Brogan challenged readers to find three words that would serve as umbrella categories for goals in 2009, while Chris Penn cautioned that resolutions need to be achievable, measurable, and atomic.

These two methods may seem contradictory, but they actually work perfectly together. Here's what I'm hoping to accomplish in 2009.

Explore - this, to me, is more than “learn,” which seems too passive. I’m thinking in terms of not just learning from what comes to me, but also seeking out new ideas and experiences.

Connect - not keeping these experiences to myself, but sharing them, discussing them, and connecting with the people around them.

Dare - doing something with this new knowledge and experience. making myself uncomfortable by stepping out from behind the screen, desk, door - any barrier - and meeting new people, doing new things.

Some distinct goals are:
- Attend five networking events. This doesn't seem like too many, but given that I went to three last year, it would be an improvement. The catch is that I'd like to attend different kinds of events; I don't want to go to five tweetups. At these events, I will make at least three new connections - not get three new business cards, but find people with whom I can continue our conversation after the event is over.
- Read five business books and apply the lessons within them. I love reading, but generally read fiction. This goal will push me out of that box.
- Continue blogging, with at least one post per week. Comment on at least three new blogs per week (as in, not the same three blogs every week).
- Take the GRE in March 2009. Score 650 or higher in both verbal and quantitative.
- Prepare for fatherhood. Cook at least twice per week, do laundry at least twice per week, set time aside for quality time with my wife. This will only get harder once the baby arrives in May, so setting these habits now make sense.
- Prepare for fatherhood. The above was more about being a better husband. In terms of being a dad, I will do the reading and the research, but I'm thinking the way to be a good dad is to be present and engaged.
- Become proficient in the more beautiful capoeira movements. Develop my own "style."
- Write. I used to consider myself a writer. Let's see if I still am.

This list will most likely evolve. Some will be easier to achieve than others, but that's the point. Crossing some things off this list will give me the confidence and momentum to go for the others.

Chris Penn suggested carrying around a plank of wood with the resoutions carved into it as a way to stay accountable to them. In lieu of that, I'll use this post as my plank and refer to it monthly.

(photo by incurable_hippie)

Respect My Authority!

noreply@blogger.com (sawinkler) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 14:52:00 +0000

This weekend, the subject of authority came up in the twittersphere. I'll let the other people cover how we should be defining authority, and even whether we should be defining authority (PurpleCar, BuzzMachine, and /message all have good takes).

My experience with the authority trap has been interesting. I started out on twitter by following Scoble, Chris Brogan, Brian Solis and a bunch of other social media and tech types who have thousands and even tens of thousands of followers. They were a good place to start since they generally share interesting and informative things about the world of Social Media and Marketing in general. But it was a very one-way experience in that I never engaged them directly. Probably because I knew I was only one of thousands who were getting the same information. I figured anything I had to say would be covered by one of the others in the horde, and generally I was correct.

I'll admit there was also a certain amount of self-editing in terms of not considering myself in the same league as these guys and therefore not having a seat at "their table." In their defense, all of them invite comments from anyone at anytime.

Then I heard about twitter local and started following Philly people. This has been much more rewarding, even if some of them have thousands of followers. It may be that because we share the same physical space, that one extra degree of connection lowered the barrier to engagement, in my mind. Same thing goes for my experience at GoodReads. I am much more comfortable sharing within these smaller circles.

I have 188 followers on twitter, my blog has a total of 3 comments from the same person (thanks, Bridget). This does not put me in the same league as those mentioned above, it puts me right in there with the other 99% of people on twitter and who blog. Clearly, I am no authority.

But so what? I'm not in this to gain authority; I'm in this to gain experience and experiences. And more and more, the experiences that have the most value all involve interacting with other people, not reading the daily thoughts on Social Media coming from the most popular users.

So in 2009, I will fight the instinct that tells me that my low follower/comment count means anything and I will reach out more to those people around me and with whom I have things in common.

(photo by wurz)

7 things

noreply@blogger.com (sawinkler) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 14:19:00 +0000

The always funny and hyper-kinetic Yellaphant tagged me in a meme going around the interwebs, asking bloggers to reveal 7 random (and hopefully) interesting things about themselves.

1. I am one of 4 boys. There are a series of photos spanning 8-10 years showing each of us wearing the same pair of red plaid pants, which may be why we're all pretty close. I am not the reason we can't have nice things, though. That goes to my older brothers. I am the one that gets choked up at brother movies like "Saving Private Ryan."

2. I worked in the nuclear medicine department at the Beth Israel Med Center in Newark, NJ during a one year hiatus from college. The techs there told me this would be the best job of my life. They were right: I got so good at the job that I worked for maybe 2 hours out of the 8 hour day. The rest of the time I spent reading or doing the crossword. I was 19 and dating the head of the department's daughter; how did I know I was supposed to look busy?

3. I lived in Switzerland for 6 months. If you ever have the chance to live in a foreign country, do it. But don't live in Biel. It's the Scranton of Switzerland.

4. I'm a mentor (okay, you know this from two posts back, but I'll talk about it every chance I get). My first mentee is currently a freshman at Millersville, and the current one is a sophomore at Strawberry Mansion HS. The experience has been worth it: it's phenomenal to help these kids succeed and is also an education in teenagers and the workings of Philadelphia. If you're in Philly and reading this, then consider volunteering with Philadelphia Futures.

5. My friends and I once created a Tournament of Species wherein we seeded the top 64 species in 4 brackets and figured out which species would come out on top. I think cockroaches beat ebola in the finals. We also planned to do a Tournament of Lard, but bacon would have totally crushed the competition, so we decided it wasn't worth it.

6. I hate bugs. I make my wife kill them or throw them outside when we find any in the house.

7. The longest I've ever lived in one place is the eight years I lived in NYC after college. I lived in seven different cities by the time I was 14. People who have known their friends for their whole lives intrigue me. It is such an alien and interesting concept to me.

In accordance with the rules below, I am "tagging" these people:

holaolah - may he take time out from twitter for this

Uppercase Woman - a woman whose life and writing I admire

Ann and Michael at Books on the Nightstand - great book people on the interwebs

Geekadelphia - because they're geeks...in Philly

Christopher S Penn - who I started following because he showed me the ways of Yahoo Pipes, but who I keep following because he can break down the economic mess by using WoW.

Artistic Pilot Light - because I met him at GeeksWhoGive and want to learn more.

PurpleCar - because I'm so in her entourage.

The Rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules.
3. Write 7 random things about yourself.
4. Tag 7 people and link to their blogs.
5. Let each person know they were tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry has been published.

(photo by platinum)

Geeks who Give

noreply@blogger.com (sawinkler) — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 15:23:00 +0000

Last night, I attended my first Philadelphia tweet-up. These are people I spend all day with on twitter, but most of whom I have never met in real life.

The event was organised by Geeks Who Give and required everyone who showed up to bring at least 5 non-perishable food items. The unofficial numbers I heard last night were that there were 100+ attendees and approx 900 pounds of food collected.

I think that's an incredible accomplishment given that this was done by volunteers, on a minimal budget (I would say zero, but I could be wrong) and promoted solely through social media for about two weeks.

This was a groundswell in action. It was all the theory I've been reading about, come to life.

I saw real life proof that, while the tools (twitter, facebook, blogs, etc) are powerful, it's the people behind the tools that make the difference. The tools make it easyier to organise a crowd , but without dedication and passion of people willing to drive an idea, that idea will languish.

It was amazing to be in a room full of people so willing to give. I am looking forward to what comes next.

Facets of the Whole

noreply@blogger.com (sawinkler) — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 14:30:00 +0000

I was talking to a colleague the other night about this blog, particularly how I sometimes use it to examine the ways in which our online personae have the danger (and tendency) to be our best possible representation. She raised the point that nobody ever really shows their "true" self, even in real life. We only ever present facets to people. There may be people in our lives who know all the facets, but I would imagine that number would be limited to one or two people, at most.

I have always kind of felt that having a presence in the virtual world somehow subtracted from being present in the real world, or encouraged fantasies of self that were not linked to who we really are. But the thought occurs to me that perhaps these virtual personae actually augment who we are by giving us places to explore those facets that we wouldn't normally in real* life.

In cyberspace, we have the opportunity to explore all facets of our selves at any time, as opposed to the limited amount of opportunities that present themselves in the physical world.

In cyberspace, I can be part of an ongoing discussion with 130 people about books. Organising something like that in the real world would be extremely difficult.

In cyberspace, I can practice writing for an audience (granted, it's a very limited audience, but that still trains me in ways that writing in a private journal would not).

In cyberspace, I can meet and have daily interactions with nearly 100 people from Philadelphia, most of whom I can safely say I never would have met in real life.

There are some who will argue that the freedom of cyberspace can be dangerous. True, but freedom carries that risk. The freedom to adopt different roles in cyberspace is no more or less dangerous than that freedom in the physical world.

So while there is a danger in creating a fantasy life that relies on cyberspace, for me the trick will be in prioritizing the different facets. My roles as a husband and father need to get more attention than all of the others, but not to the point where that's all I become.

Growth comes from choosing what to explore, and then fully exploring it. Cyberspace just makes that easier to do so.

(photo courtesy of Steve Crane)

*the terms real and virtual are really kind of loaded (as in "real">"virtual") - I'm going to start using physical or in-person and cyberspace to keep it more neutral. the idea came from this ebook.

Gaming Connection

noreply@blogger.com (sawinkler) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:48:00 +0000

Because I spent most of my life playing games, last night I was able to make a critical first connection with the 15 year old I just started to mentor.

I grew up gaming. My brothers and I had an Atari, we played Archon on the Commodore 64, my father made sure I learned how to play chess, poker and risk by the time I was 10, my grandmother and mother instituted traditional Scrabble games after holiday meals, and we learned hearts from my other grandmother. We even got an arcade version of Scramble for Christmas one year. We were the cool house for the 6 months it took us to break the thing.

I am of the generation that has continued to buy games and game systems through adulthood: college days were spent playing NHL, Madden, Battle Arena Toshinden, early twenties were buttressed by Wipeout, Zelda, Diablo and Age of Empires, and for the last few years, I have sunk quite a few hours into World of Warcraft.

I did not sink enough hours to hit anything higher than level 55 or so (out of 70 80), but I spent enough time familiarizing myself with the different classes and factions and getting caught up in how the world works that I don't feel like a total n00b when the subject arises (which is more often than you think).

I never really thought about the potential benefits any of this may have brought. Games were always, well, games. Diversions.

Then I started seeing articles on how WoW is good for business. And then books started being written about the benefits of gaming. Then the military started using games as training tools.

And last night, because I had built up a Tauren Enhancement Shaman to level 50, I was able to get a 15 year old from North Philly to open up to me about his life (outside of his level 75 Orc Prot Warrior). Where we would otherwise have very little in common, the fact that we are both gamers gave us a cultural touch point to begin a relationship.

In relationships, as in games, small things count early, and set you up for success later on.

(photo courtesy of Kirako)

Everything's Amazing, Nobody's Happy

noreply@blogger.com (sawinkler) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 19:08:00 +0000

Hat tip to Yellaphant for posting this clip of Louis CK on Conan.

We do live in amazing times. We are on the verge of discovering other universes, we can explore farther in space and deeper in the ocean than ever before, we can break down the very essence of humanity and reality, and we can all be a part of it as it happens. Modern technology has democratized access to knowledge and the transmission of information in the same way the printing press did 500 years ago.

I have personally kept up on the exploration of Mars as it happened, seen my unborn child and heard his/her heartbeat, and maintained a relationship separated by two continents with the woman who is now my wife. None of that would have been possible before I was born.

I can only try to imagine what technology will bring me in the next 35 years of my life. It is literally awesome that I get to raise a child (or children) in this age and will be able to watch him/her discover all of the beauty that I take for granted.

This is not to say there are not serious things going on, but only, especially this week, that it is vital to pause and recognize that we do live in amazing times, and to enjoy them as they happen.

(image courtesy of funkandjazz)

Eulogy for Abraham

noreply@blogger.com (sawinkler) — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 15:57:00 +0000

Abraham,
I didn't know you. I don't know what your life was like, and I've only read about what you were like in your virtual life. I can only imagine what drove you to the place you were in last week; but your note shows how in pain you were and how much you were struggling with that pain.

I've never experienced the kinds of forums you apparently were a part of. I know in a theoretical way that they exist, just as I know that "trolls" exist. But I could never imagine there are people who could encourage someone to kill themselves and watch it happen. From what I can gather, only one person IN INDIA finally called the police when it became apparent this was not a joke.

It is tragic to me that you were surrounded by people as you were dying, and yet you obviously felt intensely cut off, inconsolably alone. All of those virtual connections you made and digital interactions you were part of amounted to nothing. The shame is that there were people who loved you and who would have helped you, had they only known. But your note was posted in the virtual world where it was met with no empathy, no compassion. How many hundreds of people read that note and did nothing? It may as well have been a secret.

I can't help but think about what I would have done if I saw someone on twitter threaten to kill themselves. What if that person had made the same claim before? What if that person was an habitual jerk? Would I shrug my shoulders and move on, thinking someone else would handle it? Would I send them a message? Would I find out where they live and call the cops? I honestly don't know. I have to believe I wouldn't ignore it.

I certainly never will ignore it, after this.

Maybe that can be your legacy: instead of being a grisly reminder of the callousness of the virtual world, we can all remember this incident and take every online mention of suicide as seriously as we take jokes about bombs at airport security.

We all owe it to each other, because the more our virtual connections grow, the less we should be allowed to hide behind the screen and claim distance from them. We are responsible for building the world we want.

you can find initial reporting at http://mashable.com/2008/11/20/19-year-old-lifecaster-commits-suicide-on-justintv-smcb/

One Avatar, Hold the Outrage

noreply@blogger.com (sawinkler) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:14:00 +0000

Just because facebook, twitter, youtube, blogs, etc give us more opportunity to vent our anger these days doesn't mean we should all take the opportunity every time we're bothered by something.

It seems like we're a nation of outrage lately. But we don't get mad about the big things, we get irate about the little personal things like whether that Motrin ad makes fun of mothers who wear trendy baby slings, whether that doll is an Islamic agent, whether repeating an old cliche about pigs and lipstick is sexist, whether foie gras is cruel. The list of triviality goes on.

Slate had an article on how taking umbrage was the go-to move of the past presidential campaign but I think it might just be the go-to move of everyone in America. If the media only pays attention to controversy, then controversy is the only way to get attention.

Outrage is unassailable. As Americans, we all have the right to protest, no matter how trivial, irrelevant, or even repugnant (think Westboro Baptist Church protesting Iraqi soldiers' funerals*). But for some reason, we are in the habit of thinking all protests carry equal importance and validity. They don't.

Maybe it's because I'm a heterosexual, white male from an upper-middle-class background that I have never felt personally outraged. Maybe it's because I believe that outrage - outrage that sparks mobilization in order to force huge entities to act - should be reserved for those things that are truly outrageous (defined as "passing reasonable bounds; intolerable or shocking"). Things like genocide, poverty, the fate of refugees, the graduation rate of Philadelphia high schools, this list is too long.

My wife is a marcher. I am not. But I'm smart enough to realise that if I get out of her way and shut up about my ire that all married white men onTV are buffoons, I won't take any attention away from people who are trying to talk about the truly important things.

Unless your protest is going to change the world, take a minute and think about how you can.

*link is to the Anti-Defamation League site's profile of Phelps and WBC. I refuse to link to that man's web site.

(image courtesy of RespectAKP)

The Girl With the Dragon Mac

noreply@blogger.com (sawinkler) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:23:00 +0000

Image via WikipediaSPOILER ALERT - If you plan on reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, read no further.

I just hit page 360 or so last night, wherein the killer is revealed. He turns out to be a serial kidnapper/rapist/murderer of women descended from a serial kidnapper/rapist/murderer/disemboweler of women.

This is not so surprising, given the clues we've been getting (but only since page 200). But this isn't my reading site, so I'll complain about the pacing somewhere else. I'm focusing on something else, here.

All along, I've been very cognizant of the literary product placement that happens every time a laptop is mentioned. The two protaganists' laptops are always referred to by model (and they are referred to often): as iBooks or PowerBooks. The purchase of the newest PowerBook on the market even serves as a major event in the eponymous character's story, giving the reader insight into her character and motivation.

So I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when the killer's laptop was described as "a Dell PC laptop." The thing that strikes me is that nowhere else in this book are computers called out, though there are places where they are most assuredly being used (in archival searches, office settings). No other tech brand is mentioned even though the characters are always on cell phones and use esoteric security equipment. The only time any electronics are mentioned by brand is in conjunction with either the heroes' or the villain's laptops.

Given that authors don't just throw things in, there must be a reason for this. It makes sense that things have progressed to the point where "mac" and "PC" carry definite enough connotations that they can be used as a kind of shorthand for an author to say something about a character. Macs have been synonymous with "cool" for a long time, but this takes PC from being merely "boring and old-fashioned" and goes straight to "evil". That's a version of Dell Hell that hasn't been talked about.

The author's intentional contrast of laptops struck me as a bizarre extension of the Mac vs PC ads. I'm wondering if it's a matter of time before I see a spoof "I'm a PC" video for the killer on YouTube.

I Am Not an Avatar

noreply@blogger.com (sawinkler) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 18:43:00 +0000

Geoff Livingston doesn't care about your personal brand. And he shouldn't. I'm not sure there is such a thing, really.

You're a person, no matter what. You can associate yourself with objects, ideas, colors, whatever, but you can't ever be anything but a person. You can be the first person someone thinks about when they think of wine, but you better have a personality once people come calling for your expertise or they'll just go to a database or a book for the knowledge. Nobody wants to talk to a brand.

You better be willing to admit your shortcomings and invite criticism and make jokes and show that you're evolving. In short, you better do all of those things that comes with being human in the company of other humans.

Otherwise, slap a tattoo on your forehead and be the brand. The rest of us will know who to avoid.

(photo from PhotoAddicted)

The Avatar Elects a President

noreply@blogger.com (sawinkler) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 18:57:00 +0000

still think virtual life and real life are separate?

consider that Obama crushed McCain on social networks (from Jeremiah Owyang):

Facebook
Obama: 2,379,102 supporters
McCain: 620,359 supporters
Obama has 380% more supporters than McCain

MySpace
Obama: Friends: 833,161
McCain: Friends: 217,811

Obama has 380% more supporters than McCain

YouTube
Obama: 1792 videos uploaded since Nov 2006, Subscribers: 114,559 (uploads about 4 a day), Channel Views: 18,413,110
McCain: 329 videos uploaded since Feb 2007 (uploads about 2 a day), Subscribers: 28,419, Channel Views: 2,032,993

Obama has 403% more subscribers than McCain
Obama has 905% more viewers than McCain

Twitter
Obama: @barackobama has 112,474 followers
McCain: @JohnMcCain (is it real?) 4,603 followers

Obama has 240 times more followers in Twitter than McCain

And this doesn't include the iphone app, the e-mails, the text message campaign, or even Obama's own social media-based website.

And now, President-elect Obama has a website, asking for input from the crowd.

Welcome to government, avatars.

(image: Shepard Fairy)

Interactive Resonance

noreply@blogger.com (sawinkler) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 17:14:00 +0000

In my last post, I mentioned the "resonance" of actions. This metaphysical idea may be a side-effect of reading Anathem, but this blog is about "exploring the intersection of real life and virtual life."

So what am I talking about? I'm thinking that the residual effects following an interaction are different depending on how that interaction happens.

They both have value (positive or negative), but I think that physical interactions are richer in the sense that, by definition, we are fully present when they happen. Literally our whole "self" is interacting with another person's whole "self." When our interactions are separated by a digital medium, we can not be fully present. Even a webcam does not bring that same sense of immediacy, because merely seeing someone is not the same as sharing the same space with them.

There is a constant feedback loop in a face-to-face conversation, even when one person is talking, the other is still giving feedback by nodding, smiling, or even looking at their watch. In virtual interactions, there is a longer delay between action and reaction.

Because of this, I think our physical interactions resonate longer; it's easier to feel connected to people with whom you share your whole self versus people who only ever get the digitally projected part of your self. You can make your avatar as human as possible, but it is still not human.

I'm guessing this is why conferences exist and why the same people tend to go to them: if you're a leader in the field and have 10,000 friends/followers/readers, you realize that giving a little bit of your whole "self" will create a stronger connection and will keep those digital followers engaged for longer. People are probably less willing to disconnect with you if they have actually met you. If they're more willing, at least you'll know who the true fans are.

I'm on the other side, but will say that the major value of going to PodCampPhilly was meeting, in person, many of the people in my virtual life. Now when I read their posts, I can use that physical interaction to fully inform what I'm reading because I can draw on the resonance of that one moment when I experienced their whole self.

Put another way: Digital interactions are finite, direct and require a high frequency to maintain their value. Physical interactions are diffuse, indirect but can happen at a lower frequency to maintain their value.

OK, enough small talk. Go back to twitter.

(photo courtesy of orsorama)

"Mayberry with Blackberries"

noreply@blogger.com (sawinkler) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 15:57:00 +0000

This phrase from a recent David Brooks article struck me as pretty accurately describing my block.

The residents of my 50 yard block spend a lot of time together. Aside from the almost daily ritual of sitting on the stoop in the summer, we win ice cream contests, host Halloween parties, host citizenship parties and, oh yeah, have a website.

Of course, I set up the website; one neighbor is the camera man who uploads everything to flickr; most are on Facebook and LinkedIn; we have two web programmers who are pretty much in charge of tech support. I'm sure if we really wanted to, we could hack into Norad and play Tic-Tac-Toe with WOPR.

Even with all of these virtual ties, I'm realising that our physical interaction is essential. An impromptu chat session is more engaging than a random e-mail, helping someone with their groceries offers more assistance than sending someone a link to a grocery delivery service, making someone laugh is so much more gratifying than seeing LOL in a text message. The immediate act themselves might not be more valuable, but I think the physical interaction resonates for a longer time.

Having both worlds fuse does offer me a glimpse into the value of virtual ties. There is no longer a choice between friendship and proximity. Facebook, blogs, twitter, etc are not replacements for relationships, they are complements. This virtual life does require much more attention in the form of daily updates, photos, articles, comments, etc. but those updates only enhance personal interactions when they happen.

As I grow older, I see the friends I had in my twenties less and less. The digital connections we share allow for the continuation of that personal shorthand we developed when we saw each other every day. They know how my day is going, they see pictures of my life, they read the blogs I find interesting, they may even read this blog.

I'll admit all of this is probably instinctive to a younger generation, or those on the bleeding edge of this whole web 2.0 thing. But this is where I am right now.

What's In a Name?

noreply@blogger.com (sawinkler) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:18:00 +0000

Humanity.

When I first started this little foray into digital life, I signed on as acewink (a portmanteau of a high school nickname and my last name). I didn't use my face as my profile picture. I put as little information in my profiles as possible. I didn't think I needed to be a person online, I thought being an anonymous entity made more sense. Plus, it was less risky, psychologically.

After about a month, I realized that was only going to hold me back in the future. I don't have the time or energy to have a secret identity. So, I made the decision to be me, and the changes have been interesting. When I post to this blog, or tweet, or digg , or tag in delicious, I "feel" like me. I know that I am acting as me, and not some unaccountable persona. Because of this, I hold myself to the standard that if my name is going to be associated with anything, it had better reflect positively on who I am. Or at the very least, show the human that I am.

The Kindness of Strangers

noreply@blogger.com (sawinkler) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:28:00 +0000

The interesting thing about being active on twitter and blogs is that over time, the humanity behind the ones and zeros pushes to the front.

In the past two weeks, the economy has been THE topic of discussion, and it has not, overall, been a positive one. There have been jokes, there have been sad stories, there have been instances of justice, and they've all centered on how the economy is negatively affecting people.

That's why the tweets below struck me. Idogis1 is one of the first people I started following. He sends out tweets rarely, and when he does, they're usually about how he's re-installing some part of Windows. But every now and then, I get an insight into this kid's life. And he is a kid - I think he's 13. So, out of the mouths of babes (read from bottom to top):

I especially like the way he moved from deep thinking to figuring out what game to play before doing homework.

Give

noreply@blogger.com (sawinkler) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:23:00 +0000

There are a few gifts that stand out in my mind over the course of my life. Try to remember a gift from three birthdays ago; chances are that you can't. But there are some that you'll never forget. I think I just had another one of those; and I was fortunate enough to be the guy giving the gift, rather than receiving it. The picture below shows the cover of my wife's first book and the copper plate I commissioned to commemorate the achievement.This puts me in mind of the philosophy of the world of social media marketing and PR. Chris Brogan's posts are constantly about generosity. At PodCampPhilly, I asked Geoff Livingston what he got out of coming to Philly to host a few sessions. His response was that he just wanted to share what he knew. Todd Defren and Brian Solis make it their business to carry the flag of Social Media PR and advance the knowledge of everyone in the field.

These guys could all horde their knowledge and thoughts and sell themselves as the experts in the field, but they don't. They share everything. They help. They give.

As for this gift I just gave my wife, she said is was possibly the most thoughtful gift she'd ever received (update: with the exception of her engagement ring). And it never would have happened if Ann Kingman and Michael Kindness over at Books on the Nightstand hadn't taken some time to point me to the vendor.