I feel so ashamed as a blogger, here is yet another post where I find myself apologizing for being a bad blogger. I’ll forgo the long spiel, but I’ll outline some changes to try and get me off the blogging wayside. First up, minor excuses - it’s been a busy year. Visited Boston for a week, probably will never get around to writing that up. Nice city, would go back - didn’t have enough time to explore. Also took my first trip over the Pacific to visit Australia - I will definitely get around to writing up the trip because I felt deeply changed upon my return. And I’ve been trying to spend less time in front of a computer. More on that later.
So.. As for getting off the wayside. My blog up to this point has been unsatisfying to me and likely to any readers. There’s no content, but apparently a number of YouTube clips for Neil Young and Ted Leo. So I am banishing such minor content from the blog, instead I’m going to funnel my chitter chatter into Twitter - see the handy sidebar widget. I also posted links, those are now banished as well - with an exception. I use Firefox everywhere I go, so I’ve installed the delicious extension and religiously use it for all my bookmarking. So instead of posting links, I’m going to post daily summaries of the links I post to delicious. The idea is to centralize around the blog, integrate it into my day-to-day… which I’ve sadly failed to do in the past. Blog content from this point forward should be semi-substantial tutorials or thoughtful reflections. My long running complaint about blogs has been those that lack content and offer only white noise (or worse) to the community. Somehow I’ve become what I hate. So consider this a manifesto of sorts. It’s a brave new world of blogging!
Finally.. I need to be less of a perfectionist - and just write. It’s why I’m slow writing papers… emails… anything. I obsess. So I’m going to endeavour to loosening my verbal bowels a little… maybe a little diarrhea isn’t so bad.
What can I say, I’m terribly inconsistent. And this post won’t be any better. I just feel the need to come here and say *something* since I’ve been completely absent. Haven’t read my RSS feeds in ages. Feeling disconnected from the blogosphere - which may not be a bad thing, but I don’t think it’s good either. Need to find a good balance, like all things in life. I promise I’ll try and post more regularly for you, my small (if not non-existent) audience. In the interim, more YouTube to hold you over. I love (a) Massey Hall and (b) Neil Young. So, here ya go.
So I’ve been invited to Facebook several times… and of course it’s the bees-knees on every campus, and increasingly in high schools, organizations, anywhere there’s a loose semblance of community really. I remain conflicted as to whether to join. As a promoter of social networks and a believer in the ability of technology to connect, I think Facebook is an example of explosive community growth… but is there any substantial content? Does it not seem a tad egocentric to setup a profile, post a picture, and wait for your network to grow? For that matter, has it not become an over glorified Classmates? Lost touch with someone in high school? College? University? Well just wander over to Facebook. Post your profile and wait for everyone to surround you. Or if they don’t, you can seek them out instead. I just don’t know. I frequently wonder about people from my past… but to what degree am I remembering them and to what degree am I remembering *my* perception of them? Are they the same person? Is my perception distorted? I have contact info for many people in my past and if the need arises I can attempt to re-establish the connection. And if someone wants to seek me out, a quick Google should do the trick. I don’t really know if I have a need for Facebook… I’ll continue to grapple with this one… My question to the average Facebook user: what do you take away from the community? What do you contribute?
My YouTube consumption is increasing. I really enjoy live music and typically I can find many a great bootleg at the Live Music Archive over at Archive.org but now I’ve realized YouTube’s potential for audio and video bootlegs. First it started out with some Death Cab for Cutie at Massey Hall:
And then it was into some old school Creedence Clearwater Revival:
And do you see any similarities between CCR and Ted Leo?
So what the hell am I driving at, rather than regurgitating my favs from YouTube… Well, I’m amazed by the sheer amount and variety of content available on YouTube and the connections that it allows people to make. For me, I’m able to connect with a live concert that may have occurred miles or years from where I am. I think this is the essence of the Web 2.0 video clip I posted a few days ago. Technology enabling social activity. At this moment, I’m steadfast in my belief that technology does *not* isolate. It certainly has that potential, but swinging the other way, there’s considerable potential for it to connect the world.
Haven’t been feeling well for a few weeks…. but I’m beginning to wonder if this more in my head than I think it is… Spent 5.5 hours at a clinic the other day, but my pains appear to be the result of some nasty coughing earlier this month. I think I’m falling victim to the culture of fear.
And speaking of falling victim, I just stumbled upon GoogleFight - a very basic battle between two keywords, but still pretty neat. Check out a few:
Entries (RSS)