In Charge of The World, a poem

ShareThis

Fly Away Home
______________________________

the moon drifts behind clouds
and shuts off its light.
he waits.

the moon jumps out
then back in,
teasing him like a firefly
floating in the dark.

the road bends.

(dere dit is!) he cheers.
he lights up.
he’s found silver.

(touch) he says (moonah?)
(ooooh reach)
Too High, I Say.

headlamps show only a few feet ahead.
we turn again.

(oh no! moonah!)
It’s OK. I Say.
Tomorrow.

(no, mooonah..)
Rest Now. I Say.

the exit comes
and we change direction
once again.

(moonah! dere dit is! oh, yes!)
(winnow? downah?)

i press the button.
the smooth whirr of the motor
sinks the barrier away.

(mama, yook moonah touch)
he pushes against the restraints
to stick his tiny wing
out to coast on
the summer highway winds.

Ooooh. Mooooonah. Touch.

he has forgotten me
he is flying.

ShareThis

Here are some of my ‘in-progress’ definitions of different types of media to help define our growing world.

Basic Terms:

Media: any form of communication: speech, video, audio, pictures, art, written words, animation, webcast, etc.

Content: any piece of consumable media posted on the internet.  Used in reference to one instance or the whole of a person’s or group’s work.  E.g. “I read her blog.  I really like her content.”

Content generation: the act of making consumable communication for the web.  Eventually this term will be generalized to mean the act of making any media.

Content generator: Any person who makes media, but currently it refers almost exclusively to blogging and videoblogging people.

Consumer: Any person who reads or watches media on the internet or off-line.

Media snacker: colloquial term (sometimes derrogative) for people who visit many media sites to read or watch small amounts of media quickly.  E.g., clicking on a website and reading only headlines or post titles, then moving on to another site to do the same.

Various Types of Media:
Traditional media: (also known as Mainstream Media, initialed as MSM): the content that comes from recognized news sources like newspapers, TV news channels, etc.  Traditional media is generated by large or small organizations that hire professional journalists and video crew staff to generate content.  That content is then mass-distributed on a regularly timed schedule.

Citizen media: media that serves a political or journalistic purpose.  Citizen media may be the product of citizen journalism.  Usually produced and distributed on the internet on no particular timed schedule. [Citizen journalism: when “regular” people (i.e. unpaid or untrained journalists) report on current events.  The citizen journalism is the investigative action, the citizen media is the content generated when the investigative action is finished.]

Public media: this is media that the general population generates.  Public media doesn’t serve a specific purpose like citizen media.  Public media can be consumed and/or interacted with by masses of people.  This can also be called “Common Media.”  E.g., YouTube.

Private Media: public media that has been hidden from public view.  E.g., private sets on Flickr.

Corporate media: any media that is made for or used solely by a business.  E.g., training videos.

Ad media: any advertising media, including viral media.

Viral media: media that appears public (that may be public or corporate media) that gathers the attention of many consumers.  Media usually isn’t considered ‘viral’ unless it has garnered attention internationally and has been seen by hundreds of thousands of consumers.

Technology

Social media: This is a confusing term.  Social media isn’t media as defined above and should not be listed under the category of “Various Types of Media.”   Social media isn’t media, it is technology.  Social media refers to an ever-growing set of communication tools and website and mobile applications on that focus on sharing public media and connecting people who share a common interest in that public media.

Social site: a website that concentrates on forging connections between people.  A place where people can share media.  E.g. Myspace, Facebook.

Live stream: a technology that allows a person to generate content and post it practically simultaneously on the internet.

As I said, this is a list in progress.  Let me know what you think.  If you know of a phenomenon that has yet to be defined, please comment and we will think up something together.  If you take issue with my definitions or want to tweak them, please comment.  This is a collaborative effort from this point forward.  Thanks!

ShareThis

PodCamp Philly 2008:
Scheduled for September 6th & 7th

Podcamp Philly 2008 will be held this year on September 6 & 7th, at Temple University’s Tuttleman Learning Center (http://www.temple.edu/tuttleman/).  In addition to our usual high quality content covering blogging, podcasting and all things new media, this year we’re pleased to partner with SearchCamp Philly, which offers valuable instruction and insight into the world of Search Engine Optimization and Marketing.

As with any PodCamp, we have some good social events lined up in addition to the sessions. Friday night, we have scheduled the Welcome Party for North Bowl (www.northbowlphilly.com) and it should be a blast. We’ve got the 2nd floor loft, complete with four private bowling lanes. Video here: www.podcampphilly.com/node/34.  Saturday night, PodCamp returns to Old City’s Triumph Brewing Company, so get ready to meet new friends and reconnect with old ones. More information here: www.triumphbrewing.com All in all, it should be a lot of fun.With a new year comes a few changes, too. From the programming standpoint, we’re trying to offer more content to experienced participants, while still including beginners. Of course, participation and interaction are still a main component to the event. In addition, we’re charging a modest $21 registration fee, with all proceeds being donated to Philadelphia’s Science Leadership Academy (www.scienceleadership.org/).

With a state-of-the-art facility, broad programming and fun set of social events, PodCamp Philly will once again offer  a great experience that shouldn’t be missed. You can register here: www.podcampphilly.eventbrite.com.

If you’d like more information: www.podcampphilly.com

Thanks and we hope to see you soon.

Whitney Hoffman, Lead Organizer
Bill Rowland, Lead Organizer
Podcamp Philly 2008

Address: PodCamp Philly, 105 Beach Ln. Chadds Ford, PA 19317, USA Phone: (302) 562-6507
Send this newsletter to friends! Received this from a friend? Sign up now!
Copyright © 2006 Company Inc. All rights reserved.
This newsletter is sent using Newsberry.

ShareThis

You posted WHAT?

Let’s pretend it’s the morning of a new nationally recognized holiday.  It’s called Idea Day.  On Idea Day anyone can announce their intentions and have free Gallup-type polling from the masses.  This can be wonderfully supportive and encouraging if you have a good idea.  But if your idea is thought of as morally repugnant or just generally idiotic by the crowd, your soapbox is kicked out from under you and the noose tightens around your neck.  Obviously, only suicidal bravehearts take the stage on Idea Day.

Well, this morning, Generation Y’er new mom Jules is excited.  She is wrapping up the Cutest Baby in the entire world (whose level of extreme cuteness has been documented on international TV and news outlets) to take to the Idea Day celebration in the local town square.  Jules isn’t particularly brave, just sure about her idea of starting a blog about Cutest Baby.  After all, CB is already world famous and there are tons of unofficial websites dedicated to him.  Surely Jules will hear waves of cheers.  It’ll turn the day into one big party.

CB has, of course, some irregular sleeping patterns.  This morning he was up by 5 a.m.  By 7 a.m. Jules is pushing the stroller by out the front door.  Noah, Jules’s husband, groggily kisses her and CB goodbye and says he’ll be there after his shower.

Jules skips along; it’s a wonderful morning.  The town square is pretty full.  Members of the high school band are playing in the rotunda, coffee kiosks are mobbed and there are what seem like miles of vendors set up on the outskirts of the park, selling cookies, cakes and t-shirts.  It’s already festive.  The sun peeks through the trees and promises a happy day.

Jules waves at the older neighbors she recognizes, maneuvers the stroller through the crowd, finally finding one other new mom who was the instructor for Jules’s pregnancy yoga class.  Yono has a famous blog, a very personal and very detailed account about her own pregnancy.  Yono is holding her newborn Umi.  She comments to Jules that she thinks they are the youngest adults here, besides the high school band members.   Yono is suprised that Jules will be speaking this morning.  She uneasily agrees to sit with Jules’ stroller while Jules carries CB up to the stage.  Once on the stage, Jules can see Noah jogging up to the square.

The elderly community board member Eustice says to Jules that no-one has used the stage yet this morning.  “Would you be talking about motherhood today?” she asks.  “Yes,” Jules says.  “How lovely,” says Eustice.

Eustice waves to the crowd and announces Jules and CB.  The crowd applauds, as they know their town’s world famous darling, CB.  The band plays a soft tribute of “rock-a-bye baby.”  “Go ahead, honey.” Eustice says as she sets up the microphone in front of Jules.  Jules steps up on the box.

“Thank you everyone!  It’s nice to see you too.  Seems like Yono and I are the only young moms up this morning!  I’d like to use the stage today to announce my own inspired-by-you Idea.  CB has been lucky to have so many websites constructed about him, and so much news coverage, and it’s all been so wonderful, that I thought you may want to hear the official news about CB.  Soooo,” Jules takes a breath, “I thought I’d start a blog!”

The band kicks up a celebratory burst of music.  But then it’s over, and Jules hears nothing.  Just silence.  The crowd is staring at her, agape.  Then the people start whispering.

Jules tries to spark their memories.  “You know, a site, on the internet.  Where I talk about CB’s daily doings.  Like an afternoon newspaper, but on-line.”

More whispering.

“You know, his funny faces, I could post pictures, and I can tell you about how he smiled at the cat and..”

“Is this going to be where everyone can see it?” someone shouts out.

“Why yes -”

“Aren’t you afraid of kidnappers?” another man yells from the back of the crowd.

“What, why -”  Jules catches Yono’s eyes.  Yono looks away.

“CB will HATE you!”  “Have you no decorum?”  “You’ve got mental issues!”  “Someone call child services!”  “Hang her!”

Jules is shocked.  She clutches CB to her chest and looks frantically for Noah. The band is yelling now, not at Jules but at the crowd.  Chaos ensues.  The executioner is holding the noose in his hands at the left of the stage.

Noah, huffing and puffing, gets up on the stage and grabs the mic: “Calm down, calm down, she isn’t starting a blog!  She’s been up for three days straight with our beautiful CB and she’s not herself!  I’d never have her do something so crass and disgusting and dangerous!”

Noah holds up a hand to the executioner and guides Jules with the other off the stage.  Some of the larger band members form a tight security circle around them and escort them back to their house.  “We thought it was a great Idea, Miss Jules,” one says.  They all barely escape with their lives, and Jules dreams of joining the CB blogger ranks are crushed forever.

*********************

Let’s come back to reality now.  Lots of people are ‘mommy bloggers’ (I’m not one of them).  There are dozens of sites that rank mommy blogs.  There are entire conferences, marketing plans and outreach initiatives all centered around the phenomenon.  But that’s not in ‘reality,’ exactly.  That’s in a place we social media folk like to call the bubble.

In the bubble, most people are under 40.  The most active bubblers are under 25, although their bubble is blown up by mobile computing (using cell phones) rather than machine computing (using laptops or desktops).  The bubble is up 24/7 and most people in it treat ‘content’ like oxygen.  So a mommy blog would fit right in.  Stepping outside the bubble is the problem.

Outside the bubble are unconnected folks and the majority of people over 40.  Now, you will probably balk at my age limits because you are over 40, you are in the bubble and you’ve been getting high off FriendFeed for months.   If you ever find yourself in electrical-storm-forced rehab, you may wake up to see that most of the human race over 40 year of age, even in western society, thinks, on some level, that the internet is evil.

And, like from bars and cults, b-movie horror flicks and pictures of your boss in a speedo, children should be shielded from all things evil.  People who believe this will let you know it in no uncertain terms.  They will tell you internet predators have a national service they subscribe to that alerts them when any new mommy blogger appears.  They will remind you that nothing on the internet never EVER disappears, naturally, so posting your child’s baby pictures will only educe hate when said child turns 15,  etc.  So you shouldn’t be one of those reckless, crazy people who put their children out for the slaughter, right?

Wrong.

Privacy is changing.  Media outside the bubble bemoan the myspace pages of millions of teens across the world, yet somehow millions more are signing up daily.  These kids post the most embarrassing pictures of illegal activity you could imagine.  When asked whether they think this content will harm their chances of getting a job, they shrug and say they hope to apply to companies with a young CEO.  Why?  Because eventually every CEO will have once had a myspace page with silly pictures on it.

Internet predators come in many different shapes and sizes.  I wouldn’t worry about the kinds you see on tv news shows.  Your baby needs to be using chatrooms to attract those.  The child porn types may eventually find the cute pictures of your baby naked, so I’d probably skip posting the bath time collage.  You can always make your blog password protected.  Almost every website has some sort of password option on it.  For example, I only let friends see my family pics on the photo-sharing site I use.

These warnings remind me of my ears.  When I was 18, I got the second holes pierced in my ear lobes.  “Now you’re going to look silly as a 40-year-old with two holes in your ears,” my mother admonished.  “Me and all the other 40-year-olds,” I said.  I haven’t hit 40 yet, but I still enjoy having more ear estate for my bling.  In fact, many of my peers pierced profusely and still sport their studs.  It’s now a common practice for kids of both sexes to have multiple piercings.  For my mother, this was on the same level as a regrettable boyfriend tattoo.  For Gen’s X & Y, surplus holes are normal.

My point is, if you want to start a mommy blog, go ahead.  Your children will expect it.  They don’t see privacy like we do.  They are growing up on the internet’s stage.  Everyone’s mom will have blogged about them at some point before they turn 18.  “Most embarrassing baby pron blog pic” will be a standard category in the senior yearbook. These kids will need the skills to survive when the bubble houses everyone, not the self-chosen few.   If you are worried about bad guys, on your blog change your kids’ names, change your state, and don’t use your last name.  Avoid blogging about specific places or your local people.

The warning that is more appropriate for the potential mommy blogger is this:  Blogging isn’t what you think it is.  A very tiny few bloggers get any kind of recognition.  Most blogs have less than 20 readers.  You need to ask yourself why you want to blog.  Is it to keep a record of precious moments?  Why does it need to be kept on-line?  Is it to share pictures with family and friends?  Why not collect email addresses and send newsletters?  Fame and fortune will not come to you and your precious offspring.  You may connect with other moms just like you, which would be the best realistic outcome - and a huge benefit, of course!  Blogging is fun and you don’t really need a reason to do it, but just be prepared for the Eustices and the Noahs and the Angry mobs that think otherwise.  Make sure you are solid in your thought process so you have the confidence to tell them to eff off.

Happy Blogging!

ShareThis

Poetry at the 2012 Olympic Games? There’s no rhyme or reason why not

If they had poetry and rhetoric in ancient Athens they can have medals for slam performances in London, says Fanny Walker

ShareThis

You can get an idea of what the book is about by checking it out on Amazon; I won’t waste your time here reiterating a synopsis of a 7-year-old work.  I’ll simply give you some of my observations.

Ms. Ehrenreich doesn’t mention her upbringing, but judging by how she seems to be rubbernecking the poor as if they were a 3-jalopy-pile-up on the interstate, I’m assuming it was solidly middle class.  She details the daily struggles well, but she only touches on the culture of the poor.  She is always on the other side of the divider, peering in.  She seems to concentrate only on the money and survival.  Her tone is more political than condescending, but it seems like she found no solace in anything, anywhere.  About halfway through the book, I was feeling a bit defensive.  You see, until I was 13, I grew up in that car wreck.  Ms. Ehrenreich deigned to stop and watch for a few short months, but my formative years were trapped there.

In my life, I’ve been exposed to ridiculous wealth, depressing poverty, and middle class struggles. I have to say the most generous people are the people who have the least.  You can start clicking frantically to bring up theories for this ranging from John Stuart Mill’s to Ayn Rand’s, but don’t bother to post them here.  I’ve heard ‘em all.  The fact remains: the poor are the most generous social class.  You don’t see it because you are not in it.  They don’t have piles of money; their charitable deeds are invisible to the accountant’s eye.  A meal here, a place to stay there, clothes for the baby, pots and pans, furniture, beds.  Goods and good deeds exchange hands on a constant basis in the lower ranks of society.  Ms. Ehrenreich’s situation was very real for many folks, especially displaced immigrants without a community, but she only alluded to the lines of help and grace that regular people supply everyday.

Don’t get me wrong.  There wasn’t enough ‘help and grace’ to sustain anybody in the tenement complex I grew up in.  Unions are still relevant and the minimum wage needs to be raised to at least 10 dollars an hour.  Decent daycare must become more available, as well as elderly care.  Anyone who spends 2 hours living at poverty level could see how these improvements could empower masses of people.

Ms. Ehrenreich does well to point out the ironic inconsistencies and hypocrisy of welfare and aid agencies.  For example, most poor are working at least two jobs.  That leaves odd times to pursue aide from government offices, many of which close their doors at 5 p.m.  Poor working people don’t have hours to spend waiting in line as an underpaid and grumpy government worker wades through paperwork, only to be told they made 12 dollars too much to qualify for food stamps.

The author’s observations helped to change my mind about faith-based programs.  At one point in her travels, the author is given advice by a woman who was a poor single mom in a new city.  She told the author to “find a church.”  The logic of it astounded me.  Churches are usually open 24/7.  They have food banks and thrift shops, free supplies and support.  They are usually within walking distance or a short bus ride away.  Government agencies can’t offer what churches can offer immediately and directly to the people who need it most.  They have a structure in place that can be utilized.  I’m sure some senators can come up with some government guidelines that would make the situation palatable to the religion-weary of us.  Faith-based programs are a band-aid approach, but this book reminded me that such temporary solutions are necessary.

If you want an educated white lady’s disenfranchised observations on what it is like to live in the poverty heap, have a read of 2001’s Nickel and Dimed.  The story reads easily and you can get the book done quickly.  Although I feel a bit ‘put on display,’ the hard reality is that most people live and die in the comfy middle class and lend no thought to the people they are stepping on to stay there.  The book tells the story of a car wreck that casual gawkers should be forced to study.

ShareThis

http://www.blogherald.com/2008/07/15/blogging-jobs-how-much-are-bloggers-paid-to-blog/

“As we continue with this series on blogging jobs, it’s time to look at the income a blogger can make by blogging for pay.

The skills and qualities a company or blog owner is looking for from a blogger are extensive, far beyond just writing abilities. As with any freelance job, determining how to put a value on the time it really takes, and the costs associated with the time and production, is really hard when the real cost is in time, not materials. Bloggers should be paid for the time as well as their expertise and abilities. Are they? This is a problem that has been around for a very long time. How much is your time worth?”

ShareThis

Facebook groups provide hours of web-surfing entertainment.  Here are 5 Weird (but active) Facebook groups you will probably never surf into without the help of an internet sherpa.  There are a lot of hilariously titled groups on Facebook, but these 5 have activity, have real life members, and are relatively esoteric:

PHILLIP ZIMBARDO- HE KNOWS WHERE YOU LIVE.  This is just one example of the 12 Facebook groups that center around infamous Stanford Prison Experiment psychologist Phillip Zimbardo.  For those of us who aren’t familiar, the 1971 Stanford Prison study turned squeaky clean undergraduates into ruthless animals in a matter of hours.  Dr. Zimbardo seems to still have his die hard fans!

“I’m a Bostonian and I’ve seen the guy on the bike who makes the siren noise” The title alone is enough to make you click through.  Although the ‘sightings’ timeline hasn’t been updated since 2007, the discussion boards are still active.  What’s great about this group is that its Facebook category is Sports & Recreation.  ‘Boston Broken Toe Avoidance’ will be a a ratified Olympic sport by 2016.

Weird Instrument Lovers Know what mellotrons and duduks are? Do you play watermelons?  Bubblewrap?  How about bowed psaltry, mbiras, or a vibraslap?  No? Then no tibetan signal horn soup for you.

I Tend To Fart In Public. Listed under Philanthropic Organizations, this group is worth looking up just for the first video posted on its page.  Here’s the description: “This is a group for sharing horror stories about farting in a socially unacceptable setting.  It’s happened to all of us and we could all use a safe place to talk about it.”

World Pet Memorial Day (Canada) “This group helps raise awareness of World Pet Memorial Day in a safe and respectful manner” says the description.  There is an unsafe way to let people know about dead pets?  And there are other chapters?

ShareThis

I’m gonna jump on the bandwagon and finally do a “Twitter rant” post.  But it isn’t gonna go the way you  expect.

Do a blog search for “Twitter” lately and your browser will be lit up with all the latest rants about the service’s failings.  Granted, Twitter hasn’t had the best track record to say the very least.  And their ‘leadership’ gave dubious meaning to the word.  And they schedule maintenance at suspicious times.  And they didn’t seem to care about their users.  And they underestimated the popularity of their little bit of code.  And they run experiments that wipe away followers and followees for a day or two.  And they weren’t enforcing their terms of service. And they annoy developers by locking down their API.  And… And… And…

ANNNNND: I’m growing tired of all the winge!  People need to get a clue.  Twitter still wails on any other copycat service.  Twitter is THE microblogging giant.  They are improving.  They are communicating more on their blog, acquiring supportive services like Summize.  I had a swift response by @Jack to a complaint about a griefer user.  My followee numbers are back to normal.  They are making good faith efforts.

I’m not sure what people want from Twitter.  Maybe they are just the giant we love to hate, like the rest of the world loves to hate The States.  Who knows?  But if I hear ONE MORE EGOTISTICAL SOCIAL MEDIA WHORE whine about losing followers, I’m gonna go BOOYAH on somebody’s ass. Cyndy Aleo-Carreira has it right over on Louis Gray’s site, it’s just plain old HUBRIS that drives people to mourn and moan the absence of their ‘adoring masses.’

IT’S JUST AN APP, people.  For fun and maybe a place to share some good recipes.  YOU ARE NOT FAMOUS.  GET OVER YOURSELF.  TWITTER IS FREE.  And with Twitter, you are definitely getting more than what you pay for it in time and energy.  If I were the Twitter guys, I’d be a bit disgusted by this show of the worst the social media crowd has to offer.

/rant

ShareThis