After a busy day yesterday with PodcampEDU 2007 and the “Cut Loose the Body” poetry event, I appreciated the day of worship at church today.
Things started off a little rough with soundboard issues, but everything smoothed out as the service started. Beautiful worship and a great message by Pastor Dan.
The time of reflection got me thinking about priorities in life and the importance that I need to put on my family and my work. I love my media life, but it does not come close to producing the joy and peace that I get from my faith and my family.
Also, today’s Veteran’s day observations brought a special importance to the day.
Thanks to all of you who serve and my brothers and sisters in arm who continue to serve today.
This exclusive invitation-only event features presentations and discussions of how digital media is altering the way campaign contests are waged and covered from the November state/local elections to the 2008 presidential and congressional campaigns.
Gathering of political officials/staff, pundits, campaign officials/staffs, columnists, bloggers, media executives, digital media experts, marketing and campaign managers who are involved in utilizing the digital media world and understanding its effectiveness.
There was an astounding level of new media presence and genius there and I feel so much more educated and motivated by having attended.
Thank you so much Peggy for bringing so many great minds together. I’m looking forward to the next event.
The recent travesty with the Aqua Dots product recall has just sickened me. To think of a child going comatose by simply putting the product in his mouth is just mind-boggling.
Sad.
I highly recommend subscribing to their feed and browsing the previous recalls to ensure your family is safe. I recently returned an electric leaf blower because of a safety issue I discovered via the feed alert.
See all recalls at this page. They even have a podcast, but at last listen it was simply someone reading the recalls. Very dry.
Cloudy Day Art (iTunes - Feed - Web Site) similarly involves interviews, most recently with former US Poet Laureate Ted Kooser, but with a different focus. A home-produced show by Washington DC resident Will Brown, the aim is to draw out of those he interviews thoughts, tips and advice for those who, like the ever-enthusiastic Will himself, are writing poetry, for publication or just for themselves.
I did an interview with Don back in September on an episode entitled “Tips For Reading Poetry Aloud“. Check it out if you are interested in learning how to improve your recitation of poetry or any other written work in public.
With so much talk about Getting Things Done and time management, I’ve come to realize that it can all be summed up into one, short phrase:
One thing at a time…
Multitasking is a myth. It is a time-waster in and of itself.
Most people cannot quickly move from one task to another without having to bring some type of closure to the first, some type of ramping down of the “Go! Go!” furor of the current task at hand. Then you have to use mental resources to remind yourself of where you left off, so that you can come back to it later.
Then to start another task, you have to ramp yourself up to a mental rhythm. If this is a continuing project you have to remember where you left off and what can you do in the time you have at hand, while still bearing the weight of the other tasks you are juggling.
Do one task. Do it to completion. Check it off your list.
Sigh…I was hoping for a bit more from today’s Google announcement about it’s foray into the mobile phone biz. A part of me was hoping for the much rumored gPhone. No luck.
Truthfully, part of me was hoping that it would be all rumor, so that I could stop researching and go ahead and make a decision on buying a new phone. My two-year Verizon contract is finally up and the market is wide-open. But I don’t want to be locked into a single phone for the next two years either and then the next must-have phone comes out four months in and I’m stuck for another year and a half.
My current plan is to downgrade to one of those pay-as-you-go track phones until I decide on my permanent carrier. I don’t need anything special. Just a number to be reached at by friends and family.
So…then why do I need a fancy phone you ask? Good question.
Maybe its just the consumerist in me. The gadget freak.
Here are the key features that I “need”:
Phone (duh)
Good web browsing experience
Better than average camera
Google Map integration
Sure, that sounds like an iPhone, but I don’t want another MP3 player. I want my Zune 30 and Zune 8 to handle that. Having another MP3 player would seem like such a waste.
I came across a great search tool built specifically to search postings within Twitter call “Terraminds“. (hat tip to Shashi)
This is a great research tool if you’re looking for specific resources for a specific project. For example, I’m always on the lookout for poets to showcase on my poetry podcast “Cloudy Day Art“. I do a simple query for “poetry” (click to try it) and lo and behold I get tweets like (real finds):
I just saw your reply on Nov2. Thank you ^^; I used to do some slam poetry competitions so sometimes maybe it comes out.
i need some poetry that conveys the general message of ‘go aftwr what you want.’
So I came to Starhucks to handle a few clerical things…but it turns out hat I came on poetry night. Poetry night is just a subtle way to stand on a soapbox. Annoying!!!
It can also be a great tool to use to find Tweeters to follow who share your same interests. Looking for fellow kayakers to follow? Search for “going kayaking“. “58 finds in the last 2 months”. Cool.
Tonight I received an e-mail from my friend, and Cloudy Day Art interviewee (here and here), Marcus Amaker. He was letting all of us know about his new book of poetry and art and about the redesign of his website.
I couldn’t help but think about how easy simple it is for niche markets and interests to come together and build a community. Being a poet and a poetry podcaster these last two years I discovered how tight our community is. Those of you who have no interest in poetry are oblivious to this…and that’s ok.
Social media is about discovering and getting involved with what interests you and your group of friends, artists, etc. Its about building your niche community online and offline and connecting with others who have yet to join, but are looking for that connection.
Thank you, Marcus, for reminding me of this. Check out this video of Marcus performing his poem “Jazz”, and…oh…buy his book!
I saw the new Zune ad during the previews before Lisa and I went to see Tyler Perry’s “Why Did I Get Married” tonight.
And, as I mentioned during my NaPodPoMo post, I’m really excited about the potential for the Zune. Not since the iPod have I seen such community build around an MP3 player. The iRiver community built up a lot of steam a few years back, but that seems to have subsided some, but that may be because I’m not as involved anymore.
Or it can be the whole concept of “if you desire something, then the more that desire manifests itself in your life”. Like when you start researching a new car–suddenly they’re everywhere!
Well, here’s the new Zune ad. Welcome to the Social!
I blog. I podcast. I Digg. I Tweet. I burn feeds. I tag. I trackback.
All this socializing has drawn me out of the “real-world” into the virtual.
I read a blog, that I can’t remember the location of, earlier this week that offered that this removal from the real-world is not actually a withdrawal from society, but an evolution of the way we interact with the world. Gone are the images of nerds sitting in a cold, dark corner of the basement isolated from society.
This is part of the new society. The new media.
Everything in moderation is my continual mind-set in this thinking.
I came across a great search tool built specifically to search postings within 
