grenade fishing

A very cool video sent to me by Matt C. To answer his question, “How many can you name?” 

Unfortunately, I can only name maybe eight?

It seems my destiny is to blog. I obviously enjoy it, given my many blog involvements. Yeah, I may whine, but we all know that means I love it. Honestly, I’m just glad others think I’m worthy enough to allow me to contribute.

I’m happy to announce my new blog adventure - the launch of Elfing It, The Elfster Blog. It’s all about gifts… Gift ideas, gift tips, and even green gifting. Check it out when you have the chance.

It looks like Yahoo photos is shutting down. If you use that site you have until September 20th to get your pictures off. If you have a Flickr pro account they will give you an additional three months on your subscription if you transfer there.

Thanks, Amy, for the tip. 

Lots of the technology fellows in organizations I have worked with often refer to themselves as “geeks,”  and proudly so, too. It reminds me a lot of “Revenge of the Nerds” and the popularity of it all. A bit different than the “nerds,” these geeks have non-geeky taste. They’re progressive in their pop-culture observations and some are very hi-brow with their fashion preferences. One of my new all time favorite online e-commerce site is ThinkGeek. There are some fantastic gadgets and silly fun things on this site. I’m a bit addicted to it, actually.

The hierarchy below is a perfect example of geek intelligence. Very funny. To see it in full scale, click here.

_{Hierarchy via brunching.com}

READER COMMENTS (1)

04.5.2007 | j

Creating Fun Images is a user-contributed content site (mostly images and some video) with about 5,000 computer graphic designs for sharing. I chose to display the animated image. There are plenty of stills to select from, or you can save it as a still. Don’t be afraid when you visit. It’s very “MySpace” culture. I recommend skipping the categories Military, Buttons and Flirty (Unless you want to find out MySpace’s secret to “how t o build an attractive web interface.”)

There are more social networks now than one can count at this point. Like in real life, you go through different circles of friends, and you end up maintaining a few you are most comfortable with. You do somehow find one, though, that you bond with the most. You invite in other friends who fit the culture of that circle. 

You build your community. 

It’s interesting (and probably sad) that I have some great relationships online with people I’ve never met and seldom visit. Yet these friendships become important, because they somehow become a support group. They are not participants of your real life events, so they can provide unconditional support. I feel it’s because they rarely see the bad that comes with the good. They see only what you want to show them, whereas in real life, you cannot necessarily control this.

Here’s something I received from one of my online friends. I barely know this person, yet he sensed some sadness or madness (not sure there’s a difference sometimes). It made me smile. It made me feel good. It made me appreciate the good in people. It didn’t creep me out.

A part of me wonders when this behavior becomes socially unhealthy.

^{via creatingfunimages.com}

ThisNext just did a mini-facelift of their blog to include a Readers’ Find section that allows interaction between the site and the blog. By tagging an item on ThisNext’s site, your recommendation will magically appear on their Readers’ Finds product display. Very cool.

Check out how easy it is to do…

1. Recommend a product that is appropriate for this week’s theme (this week is St. Patrick’s Day). 

2. Tag it with “St. Patrick’s Day” 

3. Voila! Your recommendation appears on the blog’s homepage!

Cool Hunting is one of my favorite trends blogs. They post about five short and sweet updates a day, which caters to my ADD attention span. It is probably the only blog I read almost everyday. That says something.

This past week they just launch a nifty feature, powered by ThisNext, that allows readers to post ‘product discoveries’ to the Cool Hunting blog. This is a big deal for multiple reasons…

It’s smart. Cool Hunting is empowering their readers by giving them voice. Very important to survive online. Secondly, they can potentially acquire new readers from ThisNext’s existing user database. For free. Uber smart.

Cool Hunting’s Reader Finds section… 

Stroking the readers’ ego. Seeing your product post on Cool Hunting feels pretty good to the ego. How would I know? Aaah. I have a “few” posts uploaded recently.

The part that amazes me is how easy it is to do this. Web 2.0 technology never ceases to amaze me. It was super easy for me because I already have products at ThisNext. All you have to do is to tag your product “cool hunting” to get it posted on CoolHunting.com. Seriously, it’s that easy. If you are gonna do this, try to pick cool products, okay?

Here’s an example of it on ThisNext…

One of the hardest part of branding is getting everyone to agree on a voice. It seems silly, doesn’t it? That a company should have “a voice.”

Gone are the days of serious three-syllable verbiage (thank God). I am a big, big fan of humor in web messaging. Google has done quite a bit of this, which was a huge service to brand managers who like out-of-the-box creativity. Humor, when executed well, give companies more personality. Having personality makes the experience more “human.” In other words, computers don’t have personalities, people do.

Here is an example of  Flickr’s “site is down” messaging. It made me smile. (Instead of being upset their site is down.) Brilliant.

Imagini.net is a visually rich new social network which uses visual graphics to evaluate “your type” and matches you up with other users who are “like you.” While I think it is an interesting concept, I also find it somewhat limiting. The test corners me into a “type” via 12 images per category… I don’t really know how it would be possible to accurately define (or even come close to defining) the hundreds of millions personalities online. Maybe I’m taking this a little too seriously.

I did enjoy the registration process and seeing the results. I’m not quite sure what to do with it, except send it off to someone… The social aspect from it is still a mystery to me. Here is an example of what “I’m all about.” (Oh come on, it describes me as High Brow! Really?) (Okay, so it did get a few things right.)

A year of mornings. Two women who live 3191 miles apart. One photograph each woman, each morning. What a great visual blog from two very creative women.

_{via mocking-bird.org}

Wow, these are incredibly creative videos! Themed by color, some are extremely dark, like this panda bear video representing “black.”

I’m not a regular YouTube user, but I try to keep track of what’s happening out there. Ran across LiveVideo.com today and decided to view a random video. You know, she’s pretty good. I can see how unknowns are discovered now. So much less work than touring all the local bars, I suppose (My friends have seen Jewel played at cafes and bars for years before being discovered).

Ana Free Singing Bryan Adams

Another big player moving into the blog space. Let me see, my 2007 predictions about big bloggers moving in and small bloggers moving out looks to be true so far…

From MediaWeek.com
Mike Shields

JANUARY 17, 2007

MSNBC.com has launched World Blog, a new international news-focus blogging section built in conjunction with NBC News. World Blog has been born out of Blogging Baghdad, a regular MSNBC.com feature through which NBC News Middle East Correspondent Richard Engel has been providing on the ground perspective on the War in Iraq over the past year. The new dedicated blogging section will regularly feature text, video and photo postings from top NBC News correspondents positioned throughout the world. For example, a recent posting from NBC News producer and Havana Bureau Chief Mary Murray discussed the fate of Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

Click to read more ...

from the East Bay Express Blog
January 9, 2007 

Wired Magazine, our multiformatted friend across the Bay which you can already read via paper, Web site, blog, handheld device, or RSS feed, is tentatively stretching a tentacle into the world of public broadcasting. This month, PBS is testing out three new science programs, including Wired Science, and letting viewers weigh in on which one to keep as a regular series. If you missed the debut of Wired Science, or of its competitors Science Investigators and 22nd Century, you can find the the pilots for each show on the PBS Web site. — Kara Platoni

I must say, for a flash site, I REALLY like it!  So far the music is slightly above so-so, but it has been a better experience for me than Pandora (but then again, although they’re both in the “discovery” business, it’s not fair to compare since they’re quite different in their intentions). Who am I to complain anyway? The music is free.

Check them out. Part of the fun is learning how to use their interface (like being able to select the music era).

Musicovery.com 

There’s a reason why StumbleUpon is commonly referred to by loyalists as StumbleCrack. No, I have not mentioned StumbleUpon in the past, only because I was not able to. It was my dirty little secret. I might as well confess about my uncontrollable desire to visit Stumble on a regular basis, though I knew it was not good for me. Stumble was my favorite, and although I’ve moved on, I still rank it in my top three. I loved it so much, I only shared its existence with people I felt were StumbleWorthy. Yes, I was spiraling out of control. 

I did eventually wean myself off StumbleUpon. Today I find out about this…

Oh yikes.

 

Thanks a lot, Mike C. This will really help me with my o.c.d. issues.

Reader Comments (3)

12.19.2006 | Amy

12.19.2006 | Educazione

I just got back from LA where I attended a friend’s funeral. While there, I needed to find the Whole Foods near their home. I borrowed her husband’s laptop to get the address and he had his SU page up! I quickly noted the times when he did his posts and, like me, they were at all hours. A shiver went down my spine. Martin is a doctor, for God’s sake. If he’s hooked, I’m doomed!

I’m now looking for an SA (Stumblers Anonymous) meeting… I know I’ll need someone to turn to when I get the urge to click “Network” on the SU toolbar at oh-dark-thirty to see if any of my friends have posted something interesting. My fingers are already tingling at the thought of who’s passed over my page and what interesting tidbits one of them may have uncovered on the Internet; web pages I would never find on my own but, with their help, will make the dawn brighter.

“Hi… um… my name is Ed and… ah… I’m a Stumblaholic…”

“Hi, Ed!!!”

12.20.2006 | andrew

1. The obvious prediction… Many blogs will go away, and the die-hards will remain.

2. Improved privacy options. I am already experiencing privacy issues with various social networks and blogs. Vox announced today the launch of an additional privacy option. I applaud them for being one of the first networks to offer so many choices. 

We’ve added a new privacy setting to Vox!

In addition to the great privacy groups you’re already used to (friends, family, friends & family, public, private) you can now set posts and assets to be viewable only by the people in your neighborhood. It’s another great way to control your privacy on Vox!

3. Blogs will become Content Headquarters. Many bloggers participate in other blogs and networks. Casting services will become more available (and user-friendly).  Bloggers will use their own blog to originate and organize their content, and they will use casting tools to streamline their content process. (i.e. ShopCast and BlogIt widgets from ThisNext.com.)

4. New blog portals will need to be ultra creative to compete with the big boys like WashingtonPost.com, cause they are gearing up for the game.  And they’ll be tough to play against. (An example of blog portal is 451Press.com.)

5. Blog services will offer more social network functionalities, such as ranking.

6. Bloggers will start integrating “branding” as part of blog culture. (Oh Oh.)

7. Bloggers will learn and try commerce. 

8. Spelling and proper grammar will matter (darn it!). You can only get away with poor writing skills (or should I say lazy) for so long… Oh, I’m already missing the soon-to-be good old days. 

… about what it’s like to have to go into the wired office everyday to work. Not pretty.

…Wired has tried to make the offices look exciting by painting the walls bright pink but the gray office monotony sneaks through all the same. Gray walls, gray desks, gray noise. The first day I showed up here, I simply couldn’t take it. By lunch time I had literally locked myself in a bathroom stall and started crying. I can’t imagine staying sane with someone buzzing in my ear all day, let alone getting any actual work done.

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