You can’t follow yourself on Twitter.
In conversation, I often hear about or think of something that I want to remember. I’ll exclaim “Oh! Let me write that down.” and then I’ll whip out my cell phone to furiously tap-tap-tap a text message to myself. This happens to me a lot. People find it hilarious that my cell phone has entirely replaced the need for a paper and a pen.
Inbox for Information
When I chat with people online, they often ask me what I’m doing, and I feel like my answer is almost always the same: I’m reading in Reader.
I’m really passionate about RSS (that’s “Really Simple Syndication,” for the uninitiated). I’ve been using an RSS reader in some form or another for, well, basically since they existed. But my reader of choice is Google Reader. Not only because I’m a Google fanatic in general, but also because it most closely mimics the feel and format of Gmail, which is what I use for email. (Hey, I already gave my Google fanaticism disclaimer.)
Loyalties aside, the fact it resembles the inbox is actually very important. For those who haven’t used a reader before, that’s basically what it is: it’s an inbox for information.
It’s a twit, not a tweet, you twits.
I’m glad to see at least one other person, Mathew Ingram, is on my side in one of the great Twitter debates, otherwise known as what to call an individual Twitter message. That is to say, he agrees with me that the word “tweet” sounds incredibly stupid. I think it sounds like something from out of the ’50s, or worse, like a bodily function. I understanding that “retweeting” is shorter than “retwittering,” and that with a 140 character limit, every character counts… but c’mon, guys.
Incremental to Avoid Monumental
When I moved to NYC, I went to Macy’s to buy a set of new towels, because I didn’t bring any with me. I bought two towels, one in chocolate brown and one in a camel shade of tan. I always joke it was at THIS very moment I knew I was officially an adult, because I had successfully managed to buy towels that were a color other than HOT PINK or LIME GREEN. Or better yet, hot pink AND lime green.
Don’t get me wrong. This was a conscious, deliberate decision. I still desperately wanted to take home a set of obnoxiously bright-colored towels, but I figured the earthy shades would somehow fit in better with My New Life in New York City.
Stalking 101
This post is how to avoid being befoogled, which I have defined as not having the time to Google somebody before you meet them in real life.
It’s obvious that the moral of the story is to Google before you go. But what is the story here?
Befoogled
In both recent and non-recent conversations, I’ve noticed a distinct need for a new term, so I’m going to go ahead and coin it here. (I always did dream of becoming a lexicographer!)
Befoogled: Not having time to Google somebody before you meet them in real life.
Inspiration Cafe
The internet is amazing place. As a result of my long-time participation with TheRoot42, I have had the opportunity to get to know a relatively large group of highly talented, creative people. One of them is Thierry Blancpain, who is a student of Visual Communication in Switzerland.
Thierry recently did some branding work for a friend of his, Fabian Pfortmüller of Sandbox Network, which aims to connect ‘the most active and ambitious people under 30 from all over the world.’ If you know me, you’ll know that this goal is very close to my heart. Continue reading »
Twitter-me this.
Twitter is intensely polarizing. It’s undeniable.
If people “get” it, they LOVE it. And if they don’t, they HATE it.
Note that while I define the latter as those who “don’t” get it, I mean that this group is primarily made up of people who *think* they get it and in reality, they grossly misunderstand it. As well as the people who vehemently swear it off before they have ever even given it a chance.
Work=Life
In the equation of work-life balance, I’m an outlier. Worse, even. I’m off the map.
I simply do not bleieve in the notion of ‘work-life balance.’ For me, work IS life. Work is where I invest all of my time and my energy… and all of my passion. So, when the pre-ordained “work day” ends, I do not and cannot suddenly turn off and become a non-working being. To me, work is never done. Success is like the horizon, an imaginary line that recedes as you approach it. Success is not an end point, but rather a fluid pursuit towards an ideal.
