Happiness CCLXVIII
Slowing down, breathing deep… there is a calm, reasoned world here if you know how to look for it.
Finding A Path
I’ll warn you up font – this post is pretty much a rant about the blogosphere as it is today. Read on if you want.
I think I have it – the reason I’ve been blogging less these last several months.
It’s the stress. The stress of debate, of the times, of confrontation. That’s what I think I’ve been seeing develop around the blogosphere the last several months. I’d been thinking it was part of the buildup to the super bowl of political events – the U.S. Presidential election.
It’s more than that, however. It’s permeated nearly everything I had been reading and following the last several years. As such, I’ve found less interest in participating in the discussion. Finding most of it to be that very echo-chamber we complain only the A-List participates in. Not true really – it’s top to bottom A through Z.
The same tired topics, the same rhetoric, the same names, the same points of view, the same crap over and over until it becomes nothing more than a manifestation of the joke that the “unwired†population think “web 2.0†is. That makes me both mad & sad.
What’s my point? It’s that I started blogging because it was an outlet for ideas that I couldn’t share at work. It was a way to explore new topics outside the confines of my IT background into new fields of interest. It seems like that period has passed. Perhaps it hasn’t, but to me it appears that way. The tone, while civil, is changing. The conversations among bloggers is becoming debates.
Bloggers I’ve followed for years have developed into just another version of the mainstream media. It makes me wonder if there’s space left to really exchange new ideas and further explore them to the fullest. Instead, I find the same rehashed topics left over from CNN, Fox and CBNC. Oh joy.
Layer the economic issues coming to light in the last week or two and you get a cacophony of “sky is falling†postings from all the usual suspects. What’s worse than amateur journalism without a point? Uninformed, fear-filled, amateur journalism without a point. This point should back that statement up pretty well except that it’s not fear-filled, but rather loaded with disgust. Disgust that people who once came up with and shared new ideas, now can’t help but echo minor variations of the same theme.
On the other hand, some of those same popular bloggers that I used to read with gusto pointed me to the next great resource for ideas and inspiration. Fellow bloggers and writers who labor to share, teach, learn, improve and otherwise give back to their readers. I’m off to the explore and share those ideas and experiences. Bloggers who’ve yet to really get noticed by the who’s who (and maybe one who has) are what I’m looking for, so share some of the ones you know of.
How about you? What’s your take on the state of the blogosphere?
Photo credit: James Gordon (James has an interesting post that accompanies the above photo about the sliding rocks of Racetrack Playa in Death Valley, CA)
Update: Of course, an hour after I wrote this great post I ran across Coarsness Threatens Social Media Growth by Chip Griffin. That’s what I get for not staying on top of my feeds!
🙂
Happiness CCLXVII
Leaves. Rake them up and let the kids jump in the pile – remember that you can too!
Happiness CCLXVI
An inbox full of emails from people I actually wanted to hear from.
True Tools
True Tools. That’s how I think of software & utilities that end up being indispensible. From Microsoft Windows & Office to Google & Expedia, to Gmail to Twitter. These are solutions that simple do what they were supposed to do without any fuss or muss.
We all have our favorite tools that end up work out well for us, some may prefer Linux or Mac over Windows, or Yahoo! over Google, or OpenOffice over Microsoft Office. The point being that once we stumble upon something that simply works and really solves a need we have for a task, we tend to stick with it. There are many good reasons for this, the most important one being that they save time.
That doesn’t exclude us from exploring new options, which is how we find the hidden gems anyway. There’s always going to be a better way, sometimes it takes longer for a significantly improved solution to evolve.
Take office productivity for example. For my purposes, Microsoft Office has no equal. That’s not to say there isn’t competition. Only that for the work I do in the time I have available to do it, there are few viable options. The few options that exist require compromise in one way or another that I simply can’t accommodate at this time.
Social tools are a neat example of continuously experimenting with new ideas as well as technology. For the last couple years, social media types have been watching for that next big, better social network to join. The reality is that there may not be one for some time. Looking at the main options that have any value, it’s clear that Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn are the heavy hitters. Because of the number of people (user base), you can get value out of these networks. It’s likely that you’ll find associates and friends on these networks.
So, while it’s fun to explore and discover new software, new ideas, and new tools, it’s the ones that get the job done with the least amount of effort expended that we stick with.
Photo credit: Jim Frazier
There’s NO valid argument against the SAVE America Act.
My bill would make it easy to vote.
And hard to cheat.
As soon as DHS is fully funded (as it should be within 48 hours), the Senate should resume consideration of it—and stay on the bill until it passes.
Pass it on.
How are Democrats cheating in L.A.?
Let me show you…
There are 26 registered voters at this toilet in Los Angeles.
I’m not kidding. I have the voter records. See for yourself. The only thing here is a stinky port-a john inside an empty parking lot.
No homes. No mailboxes.
As governor, the State Capitol will stand for unity and common sense.
In addition to the POW/MIA flag that has long flown over the State Capitol, we will fly two flags when I am governor: the Wisconsin state flag and the American flag.
That’s it. No politics.
