Author: sarajarjoura

Categories
future

The Future! (BETA)

If the future were a website, would it be one of those that perpetually has the sign up “Under Construction”?  When are we going to get some closure on these “Beta” web applications that are down every other week, or the software that will be compatible with my operating system “in a few months”?

 In a “Web 2.0” world, the future amounts to a collage of constant upgrades and updates.  Growth is version-bound, incremental, in the style of a digital clock.  Rather than a cycle, change is a linear spectrum.  The old isn’t old, it’s outdated, and the new is what outperforms the old.  Never stagnating or repeating, if you don’t like the way things are, just wait a minute.

This perception of time is an technology-driven, impatient one.  But if I think really hard I’m able to remember another one, when once upon a time, the future was the gently flowing dream of a life we’ll eventually get to, a la “Row row row your boat.” 

Remember the swell of the shadow on a garden sun dial, or the sweep of an analog watch?  In the natural world, growth is cyclical, based on the rhythms of the body and its environment.   Change, rather than being the end of the old, is its renewal. 

I would argue that the integration of the two systems of thought is an optimal framework, allowing the human mind to find continually fresh content, and the body to find stability in the ebb and flow of the daily routine. 

So take the nap, but set the digital alarm, and let the future come to you.

Categories
life

Try the Frivolous Google Search Game

While amusing myself by typing phrases in to Google and seeing what pops up, I discovered some intriguing results. It is a challenging time-waster to find a phrase that produces mostly content on a Google search rather than the name of a company, a movie, or a song, and diverse content at that, like blog posts. Try it – see how many phrases you can come up with that produces more than a collection of Wikipedia entries, IMDB listings, Amazon books, and other name aggregators. When you do come up with a good phrase, the results can be intriguing.

Here are some highlights …

“the art of”:

  • The Art of the Prank
    Insights, information, news and discussion about pranks, hoaxes, culture jamming and reality hacking.
    pranks.com/ – 72k –
  • The Art of Demotivation
    A text so historic deserves art of equal import. Kevin Sprouls, the celebrated creator of the Wall Street Journal Portrait Technique, lent his pen and …
    www.despair.com/artofde.html – 37k –
  • How to Change the World: The Art of Schmoozing
    Schmoozing is both a skill and a fine art. Tech guru Guy Kawasaki has posted an excellent piece called The Art of Schmoozing in his blog Let the Good Times …
    blog.guykawasaki.com/2006/02/the_art_of_schm.html – 137k –

“top ten”:

“how not to”:

  • Bicycle Safety: How to Not Get Hit by Cars
    Ten ways you can get hit by cars (with pictures) and meaningful ways to avoid them. Not your typical lame Bike Safety page.
    bicyclesafe.com/ – 72k –
  • How Not To Get Laid
    How Not To Get Laid – How Not To Get Laid, A Compendium of Coitus Rejectus.
    www.hownottogetlaid.com/ – 54k –
  • How to Not Be Annoying – wikiHow
    If you laugh loudly at everyone’s jokes, even if they’re not all that funny, read up on how to avoid laughing at inappropriate times. …
    www.wikihow.com/Not-Be-Annoying – 36k –

PS I also found out that there are weird HTML tags embedded in the code of Google search results – they make it look pretty on the Google page but when you lift it it can be annoying.

Categories
newbie

Unconference.zip: Speed Mentoring

At NewBCamp I gave a presentation called Speed Mentoring. This was a 45 minute session divided up into smaller 6 minute segments during which geeks answered the specific questions of newbies on a one-on-one or a one-on-three basis. Basically your robust version of the high school “study hall” but without the bespectacled school marm telling you to tone it down.

My expectation was that all the newbies would float from geek to geek learning a little here and a little there, having a few questions about this and that, moving when the gong was sounded. Far from it. The newbies had questions about particular processes on the internet – how do I upload photos, how do I create a blog, how do I install a Paypal button. Yet more surprising, it was the intermediate users who were most in demand. I had asked that several ‘super-geeks’ – really advanced users – be available for questions. I sat around with them trading NewBCamp observations while the rest of the newbies and intermediate users went at it. The gong was hardly heard as the people who had partnered up stuck together as they exchanged information and at the end, contact e-mails.

Based on my observations, I would say that this session is conceptually analogous to the unconference packed into a single zip file: spontaneous self-organization, collaborative conversational model, participant driven. One word of caution – I organized this session with 20-30 people in mind. More than that and one might have to have an honorary bespectacled school marm to ensure that all the newbies can find those geeks best equipped to help answer their questions. Some form of personal tagging might be appropriate (a sticky label that says, “Ask me about social media!”).

Categories
personal branding

Bad Resume

Human resources managers, if you’re looking for my actual resume, try the About Me page.

BAD RESUME
inspired by Steve Yegge
http://steve-yegge.blogspot.com/2007/09/ten-tips-for-slightly-less-awful-resume.html

Objective: I am seeking a position as a self-employed executive.

Education:

  • 12 years of Sunday School
  • Applied to Bryn Mawr College
  • Accepted into University of Pennsylvania’s post-doc program; chose not to attend

Experience

  • Custom Latin motto designer – “semper ubi sub ubi” solum principium erat …
  • Formed a political party for women with the first name Sara (also Sarah)http://sarahsara.wordpress.com/
  • Produced and sold hand-crafted crocheted hats, gloves, etc.

Job Titles

Skills

  • Calligraphy
  • Domestic Animal Calling (specializing in cats, chickens, and pigs)
  • Free Form Poetry Composition
Categories
writing

“Sidedish” Writing

Technology goes hand in hand with content.  Lots of content.  And that content has to be written, and I’ve got to write it – at least some of it.  So where can I find inspiration? 

I would suggest that rather than looking to outside sources for topics, I start with myself – my “sidedish” writing.  That would be all the writing I do incidentally – updates to social media websites, e-mails to colleagues in the relevant field, chats with geeky friends.  I use the term “sidedish” because I think of it as analogous to the sidedish you eat along with your lunch – you didn’t go there to eat it but you do because you’re there.  Tidbits from these casual conversations can be channeled into “main dish” writing , which I would characterize as whatever you’ve committed yourself to write on a regular basis that you hope will impress someone else.

Accordingly, a favor I can do for myself is to increase the quality and quantity of my sidedish writing.  Here are some suggestions on how to do that:

find sites that encourage frequent updates:  I find that Twitter is useful in this regard for the simple reason that it generates a log of all the updates I’ve made.  Since I’m on Twitter, I can go back to that clever update I posted two weeks ago and use it to seed a post.  Any site would work that encouraged me to return to it frequently and write quick notes about what’s on my mind.

make friends with people who like to geek out: I want to write about technology, so I seek out friends who enjoy talking about technology.  Not only are they great resources for answering questions, they bring out my geeky side, and I generate higher quality content when I’m communicating with them.

take advantage of any passionate interest:  When I am passionately interested in something, regardless of whether it is related to my main topic, I research it and write about it.  Writing will come more easily to me if I do it more often.  If I’m already in the habit of following up on my passionate interest, I will be more likely to do the same when I am writing about my main topic and less likely to keep going with something that’s actually boring me.

tag content – email conversations, chats, etc: If I properly archive my materials, it will make finding relevant clips of content that much easier to find.  Gmail allows tagging of email conversations rather than placing them in folders.  I provide myself with an index to my own thoughts so I can draw on them when I need them.

Improving the quality of these incidental conversations is valuable in and of itself.  Properly archived, they will be a source of self-generated leads.  When I am looking for a seed for my serious writing, that can turn my “sidedish” into a satisfying main “meal.”

Categories
unconference

Need Icebreakers? Try Conversation Flint

I have been working on icebreaker questions for NewBCamp, and if I stick with what I’ve come up with, I will inadvertently bog down the beginning of the event.  I’m realizing that it’s not the questions that are the problem, it’s my concept of what people need at the beginning of an event that needs revision.

When I think of “breaking the ice”, I get this picture of two people trying to avoid eye contact in an elevator, and one says to the other “Nice weather we’re having.”  The term “icebreaker” implies there is an awkward silence – “ice” – and that people need help in getting to talk to one another – “breaker.”  I would like to update this concept and propose the term “conversation flint.”  For all you non-Boy Scouts out there, flint is the stone you strike against steel in order to generate the spark that starts your campfire. 

Characteristics of Conversation Flint:

  • facilitates an introduction
  • avoids monopolizing the conversation
  • makes it easy to segue into other topics
  • brief
  • assumes you want to talk to the other person
  • allows for both in-the-box and out-of-the-box thinking – you don’t have to think too hard to answer, but you can be innovative if you want
  • brings up features of your personality

Applied to a conversation, flint is different from an ice breaker in that it doesn’t try to give two people something to talk about, but instead simply acquaints two people who already have something they can talk about.  The analogy of the spark works especially well for an unconference where the participants come to the event motivated and ready to meet people.

Categories
newbie

It’s the Content, Silly!

So what if you are such a newbie that you confuse an apple store where you can buy Golden Delicious and an Apple store where you can get a Mac?  Whether or not you know the specs or even the name for that particular brand of computers, it is my theory that you understand more about what a Mac is for than you realize.  As a newbie, you are highly aware of your real-world needs – like the need to buy an actual apple to eat.  The computer is a tool that may get you the apple more efficiently than you could on your own.  It could suggest places nearby that have them, tell you what’s in season, or even provide you with a place online to trade the money necessary to have someone send you an apple.  However, you as a newbie know that the point was always the apple for eating, not the Apple computer.

As someone actively pursuing geekdom, I have found it refreshing to speak with people who consider themselves newbies because of this very reason.  The newbie isn’t wowed with how many widgets the software has, whether a device can crunch so many gigs of data, or, dare I say it, how nicely does it fit inside a manila envelope.  While usability is important, relevance is key.  Newbies want it to SOLVE THE PROBLEM.  The technology has to answer the question how do I get my Golden Delicious apple.

Categories
social media

Creating Buzz through Social Media

Bzzzz … bzzzzz …. oh no kidding, YOUR_EVENT_HERE is happening?
The above represents the cherished goal of the PR/Marketing type person.
So, how am I doing it?

Maintain Your Sources of Buzz
Who goes to events unless someone they know tells them about it with enthusiasm. As for me, organizer of NewBCamp that I am, this is a crucial concern, especially since the networks in which I am active place a high value on the source of the information. For example, do they have a reputation to maintain? Are they connected to a larger professional network? Do they personally know the organizers of the event? A big turn-off for people receiving information from a source may be if that source receives compensation for funneling participants to the event. It’s important that hearing the news about an event doesn’t feel like an advertisement. Working closely with a variety of people linked into the social network spreads the enthusiasm for the event. They take ownership and create exposure by integrating it into their own personal blogs and online presence. Hopefully they are a diverse enough group that they can reach their own friends in different venues, reducing the overlap and sharing with a wider community.

Learn from the Best
I met a lot of great people at Podcamp not to mention seeing how it’s done. My event is based on Podcamp, so the more experience and the more contact I have with the model for my event the better. Nik Butler (loudmouthman) had this to say about how I benefited from the “five rules of social networking”:

  • Arrived at Podcamp
  • she Listened to the Sessions and individuals
  • she Asked questions and then Advised others
  • Provided further information and ideas to the group for the benefit of fulfilling her own visions
  • I am working on the fifth one, which is to Deliver the goods

Nov 4 Post – Loudmouthman Blog

Keep it Current
Whatever you do, update people on it. I use Twitter to keep myself in communication with those people interested in what’s going on with NewBCamp. Microblogging is great because it lets you do a few sentences on what is going on that day, and over time it becomes a record of your progress. A weekly “jam session” type activity has helped as well to keep people’s interest. I do a weekly show on Operator 11 that is interactive and discusses the themes I’m promoting in my blog and for NewBCamp in general.

Centralize the Data
This tows the line where the last blog left off – to avoid overwhelming people with all the stuff I’ve posted all over the place, I’m maintaining a centralized site sync’d up through RSS feeds from the various sources that are updating on the event. As I add to the collage of social network sites, I’m updating the main site to keep people in the loop. Keeping the event organized and making sure there’s communication among everybody involved will preserve the organizer’s sanity and eliminate confusion among those who are just getting the idea of the event.

A good event benefits from buzz – but an awesome event will make its own buzz. I hope anyone interested in promotion of any type of event or product through social media can learn from my experiences, come to NewBCamp, and then invite me to their event 🙂

Categories
social media

Scaling The Tower of Babble – Managing Information Overload

Lots of stuff, too little time.  I find that when I am looking for something in particular, either I find it right away – it’s at the top of Google’s list – or I wade through pages and pages of irrelevant material scanning for what I want.  Then there’s reading through feeds in Google Reader – one RSS feed after another that I should have skipped.  Then there are all the e-mail accounts I need to check, one for work, one for school, one for personal/junk, one for personal/private, etc.  Don’t forget the social networks I’m on – need to skim through those and see if anything interesting has happened.  When Robert Scoble was recently banned from Facebook (his account was reinstated after a slap on the wrist), I wonder if he didn’t secretly think to himself “good, one less social network to keep track of”…

Another interesting aspect to this question is how I manage my output of information.  I generate photos, posts, all sorts of login/password/identification info, and somewhere out there that’s all taking up space on various servers.  I know I’m a drop in the bucket as an individual, but every little bit helps.  What can I do to consolidate and “defragment” my online presence?

I recommend applying the 80/20 rule – inspired by Pareto’s Principle.  The idea is 80% of your resources – like your time and attention – are consumed by 20% of your activities – like reading e-mail or RSS feeds.  If you identify the 20% that’s sucking up all these resources, you can narrow down your activities to the ones that give you most bang for your buck – and free up some of that 80%. 

Applying that to my case, I notice that I spend way more time looking at my iGoogle home page than I do checking any of my social networks.  I haven’t looked at my LinkedIn profile, MySpace, or YouTube accounts for probably a month.  Who knows what interesting things are going on there.  Rather than making a special trip here and there to those various social networks, I can funnel them all into Google Gadgets and stick them on the front page.  Ahh, Google.

As for managing my output, it’s all about streamlining.  Consistently using the same user name is good thinking, since it makes me recognizable.  I have a blog, a social network profile, and a personal web page, but I need to merge them and give people a better experience trying to find me.  Taking the time now to do all this will generate time and increase productivity, especially as my online presence grows to be a more fundamental part of everyone’s experience of me.

Categories
logic

Call for Predictions for 2058

In 1938 they took a shot at predicting what it would be like in 2008 – and here we are, so now it’s our turn.  What will the world be like in 2058?  Since that’s so wide open, I’m going to put out a few seed questions:

Will we have figured out how to positively affect the global environment, like patch up the hole in the ozone and moderate, if not reverse, global warming?

Will we have started opting for computer implants by then (I know people are always talking about this jokingly, but might it happen)?

Will telephone poles still be around?

Will we have ID numbers instead of last names? Hi my name’s Sara 902-85396.

What will be the dominant language on the planet, and will there still be lots of different languages?