Community Mobilization

Bolt.com

Just had a visit with one of the Sales people from Bolt.com.  We were thinking about the intersection between the society and their website.  Frankly it is minuscule if it exists at all.  However I was intrigued in the purpose of the site from the owner perspective.  Bolt is all a bout making money through the Add revenue, and let me tell you they have some serious add acation on the site.  Brent Herd of Bolt explained that the real value in the system is that it engages the users to actively shape and create the messages and the interaction with the sponsors, and their campaigns.  Unique take but I am not convinced that our brand and  imprint are right for the site.

Social-Networking Sites Catch Eyes of Employers

A great Wall Street Journal article by Jessica Mintz on the true ramification of putting your information into public space.  The article chronicles a number of hiring managers and their quest for additional information about the candidates they are about to interview.  Anyone can put on a suit and tie and answer questions, but how much are they really telling about themselves? On the contrary some people go to extreme lengths to highlight their social habits and party lifestyle.

Glad to see danah's name at the bottom of the article since I was going to mention her concept of context here anyway.  Sadly this is the end of another part of perceived innocence.  We felt that what we put in our profile was ours and that just maybe it would fly under the glaring eye of HR managers,  university enrollment officers, or homeland security goons.  Clearly the web is turning into the public space it was destined to be, and we must accept that at face value.

A snippet of the article is below.

Yahoo 360

I like waht the Yhoo people are trying to give te customer in the 360 package.  I read danah's first view  review of the system and I tendto agree. this is not designed for the technology entrenched users.  this seems to be the system I would build for other people to use for social networking and colaborative work / play.  It seems easy to use although  abit overloaded with buttons and information.  I like how eveything is simple and integrated into a single space on the home page.  The labels are clear and the functionality is slow yet fairly intuitive.  Not being a huge Yahoo user to begin with I am currious if I will adopt this system.  For newcommers to the space it is a real nice package to start out on where all of the tools are in one box.

IT Conversations

Stowe Boyd of Corante hosted a True Voice event at my NVHA conference and I just had a chance to listen in to the audio of the IT Conversation with he, Peter Kaminski of Socialtext, and Peter Quintas of Silkroad Technologies.  It was a very interesting conversation and very insightful.

Second Life Future Salon

My good friend and partner in virtual world forecasting Jerry Paffendorf is hosting a fantastic Futures Salon in Second Life for the Acceleration Studies Foundation. Here is his announcement on his blog.  I am very excited to be presenting there and also to be assisting on the Future Salons.

Food Poisoning

Food poisoning is one of the worst experiences period.  I hate it.  I spent the entire day in bed and bathroom and today I am sore from head to toe.  This is the third or fourth time I have had food poisoning in my adult life; once from airline food, once from Thai food, once from shwarma, and just yesterday from some stir-fry that I suppose was not refrigerated well enough.  I do not wish this on anyone ever!

Sandanista Dora Maria Tellez Denied Visa

NPR ran a story this morning that made my stomach turn over.  Dora Maria Tellez, a Nicaraguan Sandinista rebel and a Nicaraguan historical Icon is being denied a visa to enter the US because of her former participation in terrorist activities.  Under the overly broad definitions found in 'The Patriot Act' Tellez is not eligible for entry into the state, much to the chagrin of the Harvard University faculty who awarded her the John F. Kennedy fellowship to come and teach at one of the nations most prestigious institutions.

I think this is a travesty.  I have challenges in pulling between the definitions of a Freedom Fighter, and a Terrorist but I am fairly certain that the definition needs less attention than our policies do.  If we continue to move in a selective isolationist path we will eventually close off our boarders, hearts, and minds to all of the unique and stimulating people and experiences that lay just outside our boarders.

Blogergers as Journalists - A Business Week Editorial

The back Page of the Business Week magazine for March 28, 2005 has a very interesting editorial on the Apple Vs. Think Secret.com.  The Editorial tries to wrap its hands around the question of are bloggers journalists, and should they be protected as such.  It is nice to read a very well organized set of questions from the 'old media' point of view.  Interesting is that they set out some very good and clear definitions for what constitutes a journalist and I seem to agree with most of the assertions.  "Technology has liberated individuals from having to work within any specific journalistic organizations, and it is time the law recognize that fact."

SMS.AC Customer Support

I was Annoyed by SMS.AC for the blast spamming of my e-mail address book.  It was garbage.  However Brian Johns sent me an e-mail about SMS.ac customer support including their web address and their telephone number (888.697.6722).  I called and had my e-mail supposedly removed from the system.  Like Brian, I waited 3 rings, got a live person, and then had my request completed in under one minute total time.  Too bad they started off on such a bad foot with the rest of the world. Brian's e-mail to me is below.

Marginalized Populations in the Circut

After reading danah's and Liz's post about the equality in numbers in the blogospher / nerdosphere / speaking circuit I felt compelled to add a bit to the discussion.  Last year at E-Tech I had dinner with Liz and Judith Meskill and we all commented on this exact issue.  It seems things have actually gotten worse diversity wise at E-tech.  I want to say that for the NVHA conference I actively reached out to female, and diverse presenters.  I will add that I am disappointed that I have never been exposed to more diverse population of blogers, developers, and academics.  I agree and empathize with their sentiments, and I challenge them to be proactive in recruiting and developing new and diverse talent in this space.