The Un-Friend

Somewhat related to my last post, lately I've reconsidered a number of "friends" on Facebook. I've always been a pretty conservative Facebook-er, not one to rack up "friends" in the hundreds. I find Facebook to be incredibly fun and useful in catching up with extended family, far-flung friends and even geographically close friends who I don't actually see very often.

I'm a Facebook Friend with most of my colleagues at work; but that's the extent of my professional use of Facebook. It's really just a place where I can visit with real family and actual friends.

To that end, I've un-friended a handful of people in the last few days. Since Facebook doesn't send a notice to the un-friends telling them I've un-friended them, they probably won't even notice I'm gone (or they're gone).

If you're not family, or if I've never actually met you, or if I haven't communicated with you in the past few months, you've been un-friended. It doesn't mean I don't like you; it just means I'm choosing to focus on the core group.

If, on the other hand, you're reading this message, you're likely in the core group.

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It's not the technology, it's the dialog.

One of my biggest fears is, and always has been, opening my mouth and letting people know exactly how much I don't know. So, most of the time, I'm a listener. Today's WSJ article, "Playing Catch-Up, the GOP Is All Atwitter About the Internet," made me chuckle and cringe. In it, Mike Duncan, chairman of the RNC, acted on my own worst fear.

First, (and this is not partisan AT ALL, because Democrats do this all the time) someone needs to tell Mr. Duncan that Twitter is not a verb (as in: "I do not Twitter"). The correct phrase is: "I do not Tweet" or "I don't use Twitter." Someone also should tell him that a building does not offer the capability to Tweet (as in: "But we have the capability here in the building."). A wireless device with an Internet connection is the only thing needed, inside or outside of a building. And when grilled by a like-minded talk-show host about a perceived "tech-gap", Mr. Duncan should not cite usage of an Amazon Kindle as tech prowess. Yikes.

Second, and more important: it's not about the technology, it's about the relationship. It's not about the number of followers, or "friends," it's about meaningful dialog. Call me old-fashioned, but I never could have a meaningful dialog with anyone, online or offline, if I didn't know that person, or at least believe that we had a very specific common interest.

But the bigger issue is that Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn won't do anything for anyone if they don't already know what they want to say and to whom they want to say it. It's all about finding your audience, whoever and where ever they may be, and communicating with them (not at them) in the medium that they (the audience) prefer.

Candidate Obama used social networks to his advantage, but it already was his forte: he was a community organizer. Also, his audience was eager to hear from him in an online medium. Will GOP voters be eager to communicate with their leaders on Twitter? If not, then they're all atwitter about nothing.

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Progress Rocks

A young woman in my office sent around a link to this video yesterday, with this message:

"Considering what most of us do all day, I thought this was hilarious."



I'm assuming it was "hilarious" to her, b/c she--like most of us at Imagination Publishing--sits around all day creating custom content for websites and blogs and magazines, most of which is produced for consumption in a Web browser. It also shows someone using a rotary-dial telephone and placing the handset into a weird-looking cup-holder in order to receive information from another computer far, far away.

The whole thing is funny to me for a different reason: I actually remember all this stuff. (I also remember Atari, Pong, Jane Fonda fitness videos, and rainbow-colored toe-socks.)

As a part-time sports reporter at the Arkansas Democrat in the late 1980s, I used the same computers seen in this S.F. Examiner newsroom, and I used the same kind of cup-holder for the handset in order to transmit breaking news from the Saline County fair back to the Democrat newsroom.

I also remember a job at a public affairs firm in 1996. We all had computers on our desks, and we all had separate, dial-up modems we used to access a service called Lexis Nexis for research. We did not have email until one of our clients (AT&T) insisted we sign up, so we could transmit documents between our office in Little Rock and their office in Dallas.

And, here I sit, 13 years later, embedding a YouTube video in a blog post, like it's nothing.

I ask you, what is more exciting that progress that moves so fast, you actually know you're witnessing it, and even making it happen just by participating?

It's awesome.

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Love the New Website

I love the new http://www.whitehouse.gov/ website.



So far, I don't see any sharing or rating functionality, which would be really interesting here, especially in the blog content. Maybe they'll add it later.

But the content is great, and the designer and information architect definitely know their SEO (search engine optimization).

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HDTV: Cheap

I'm beginning to understand why Circuit City is going out of business. I was there yesterday with about 1,000 other people who dropped by to pick the bones of the erstwhile electronics retailer.

It had been a long time since I'd been there. Not because of the selection; I think most retailers have exactly the same stuff, in similar price ranges. I never went to Circuit City because it was generally an unpleasant experience. The store is sort of dark and it is laid out funny. A cross between old and new, sort of 1980's RadioShack meets 2005 BestBuy.

Yesterday, for probably the first time ever, the parking lot was full. I entered the store and saw a line of customers waiting to check out with all sorts of merchandise in their carts and in their arms.

(Kudos to the Circuit City employees working yesterday who couldn't have been more polite or helpful.)

I stood in line with my bargain under my arm (a 19" television that weighed about 7 lbs. - amazing!). I was there for about 15 minutes before I realized that: a) there were only two cashiers working, and b) the line was not moving AT ALL.

So then I began to notice that each transaction took 4 to 5 minutes. Four to five minutes to scan, swipe, sign and pay for each and every transaction. What the ... ? There was a lot of scanning and keystroking and talking. A lot.

When it was finally my turn, I saw that this was the most manual-labor-intensive checkout process I've seen from a modern retailer in a long, long time. A scanning gun must be used. More keystroking. An ID is inspected with each credit card (that's good, I think). A phone number must be given. A street address and ZIP code must be given. The paper register receipt had to be manually slid under a thin strip of plastic before I could sign the credit card receipt. The receipt then was pulled out from under the plastic signing pad, and the register tape had to be manually stamped, twice, with an inky stamp that said something-or-other.

It was all coming back to me. I remembered exactly the same process the last time I was there, which was Christmas, 2004. Nothing had changed.

Why would a customer subject themselves to this if they didn't have to? It seems minor, but it's really a pain. And you could just go somewhere else (Best Buy, Target, Amazon) and get the same merchandise for a lot less hassle.

I subjected myself to it in order to get a Sharp HDTV for $260. But that's the only reason.

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Saturday Diary

6:30 a.m.
Enter sons' room. Notice oldest son is covered in poop. Both socks. Outside of underwear. Sheets. Shirt. Oh, and poop on the floor. Son is playing with matchbox cars.

6:35 a.m.
Sheets, socks, underwear, blankets are in the washing machine. Oldest son is in the bath.

10:35 a.m.
Youngest son completely wigs out at the indoor gym we attend on weekends. Seriously. He's freaking out. I literally wrestle him into his coat and out the door. In front of about 35 other people.

10:51 a.m.
McDonald's drive thru. I order a Happy Meal. They won't even let me order Happy Meals until 11 a.m. I wait 9 minutes and drive through the drive thru again.

2 p.m.
Youngest son wakes up from nap and cries. I let him cry for a few minutes. Hey, I'm drinking a cup of hot tea, and he can wait.

2:03 p.m.
I go to get my youngest son out of his crib, and notice his diaper is around his knees and he has two handfuls of poop.

2:05 p.m.
Youngest son in the bath.

2:30 p.m.
I hear water running. Well. Dripping. Uh, oh.



Yes. Pipes froze this week when we had 40 straight hours of below zero weather. Today, Chicago reached a balmy 18 degrees, and the pipes that were frozen solid thawed. All over my bedroom, bathroom and hallway.



6:30 p.m.
I open the mail and find that I've been called for jury duty. On February 13. That's Friday the 13th.



7:30 p.m.
This is my bathroom ceiling, after a four-hour visit from the plumbers.



Tomorrow will be better. Right?

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Cook County (non-) Elected Officials

Pure class. http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/1383355,CST-NWS-bird17.article

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Sometimes, A Dougnut is Just a Doughnut.

My second WTF post this week.

The content of this article is why I hate politics. Not because (some) politicians are corrupt; no, I still believe that most of them really do want to be public servants (excluding our Governor, obviously). Not because money pervades the process so much that only already-wealthy individuals can run for office. Not because people I disagree with are elected from time to time -- hey, that's just a fact of life.



No, I hate politics because too many people and groups look for any excuse to use divisive hyperbole. (Actually, there is never a good excuse for that.) And I blame their mothers; the ones who didn't teach their children any manners at all.

Think about this article the next time you "choose" to use the word "choice," in any situation at all. Apparently, the very word now is verboten now in these United States. At least according to these rude jerks who turned a doughnut giveaway into an excuse to talk about abortion. Since when do they control the English language?

In short, Krispy Kreme, like so many of us, is using next week's Presidential inauguration as a "hook" for a promotion: a doughnut giveaway. They're giving away doughnuts, people.

Similarly, The American Life League also is using next week's Presidential inauguration (and Krispy Kreme's promotion) as a "hook" for publicity.

But that's where the similarities end.

I feel bad for the poor guy (or girl) at Krispy Kreme who thought they had a great PR idea. Because he (or she) used the word "choice" in a press release, the company (and probably a PR firm and surely a couple of lawyers) now is dealing with loopy phone-callers and boycotters and the like, and trying to figure out how, or if, they'll respond to a group that is upset because it's been out of the spotlight for a while.

Ridiculous.

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The Bammer

Freeze nails. Pound a banana with a hammer. From a FOX news interview this morning. Yep, it's really that cold here. The Bammer.

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Compare & Contrast

Yesterday, driving home, I listened to the CNN radio report of this Reuters story: Obese Americans now outweigh the merely overweight. Apparently, more than 34 percent of Americans are obese, compared to 32.7 percent who are merely overweight. Amazing.

This morning, a friend emailed me a link to this CBS news "Sunday Morning" video: A Meal to Die For.


Watch CBS Videos Online

WTF?

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Crazy Sunday

Trying to watch Obama on "This Week," fix a Thomas the Train lunchbox, wipe noses, do laundry and comment on the ejshea.com blog. Just a regular weekend for me.

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Snow Days

It began snowing this morning around 5, and nearly nine hours later, it's still snowing. Not a blizzard at all; in fact it's beautiful fluffy stuff.

We have more than 6 inches of snow now and we're supposed to have about 10 inches by the end of the day.

Here's a pic from the courtyard just a minute ago:



I started thinking about what a 'snow day' meant to me, as a kid growing up in Little Rock, Arkansas. Basically, if the sky looked like snow, school was cancelled and there was a run on milk and bread at the grocery store. Any kind, or any amount, of freezing precipitation meant we were staying home. That was a great feeling, but I'm glad my kids won't have the same experience.

A foot of snow in Chicago just means it will take about 30 minutes for my wonderful husband to shovel my Freestyle out of the snow so I can take the kids to school before I drive to work.

As it should be.

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CNN/Facebook Will Stream Inauguration

My boss, Jim Meyers, and I were discussing over lunch this week the idea that we might need a television in the office at Imagination so people can watch the inauguration.

Not so much.



In what is surely a license to kill a little (more) time in front of our desktop, CNN.com is partnering with Facebook for an application that will allow Facebook's users to watch President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration on January 20 while interacting with fellow social networkers.

I've already RSVP'd.

I don't know if there's anyone at Imagination who isn't on Facebook. Just like a whole bunch of other companies. I love this. And I'll be extremely interested in the numbers:

• How many will watch?
• How many conversations will flow through Facebook during the event?
• How many people will watch both their computer and their television set at the same time? [It happens. I had a roommate (Hi Paula!) who'd listen to/watch NASCAR races online while watching the actual race on TV.]

So cool!

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Breaking Bad News with Baby Animals

My colleague, Doug Kelly, just showed me a copy of this book. Sick humor, if you like that sort of thing. I do. http://ping.fm/gqcEq

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