LinkedIn = Monster.com + Facebook?

That pretty much explains it all, right?  I mean, what else is there to say?  It’s not exactly breaking news, and if you did a Bing search, we’d probably find that someone has made a similar claim.   Who can say for sure?

All of that aside, what is the point of LinkedIn, and who out there is actually pay for its services.  I’ve been a quote-unquote user of the site myself for quite some time, but mostly in the passive sense.  It wasn’t until just yesterday, after receiving an email requesting I authorize a link request, that I allowed the site to read through my Google contacts to find folks I know.  What I found is that I, for some reason, have a bunch of email addresses for folks I don’t actually know.  Strange, to say the least.  But I went ahead and sent link requests to all of them.  We’ll see who responds.

Even as I’m thinking it over and writing it out, I still can’t understand the need for such a website.

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Obama’s NPP, Merit Non Gratis

Look, before we get all carried away with my grammar games, let’s take just a few seconds to talk about what everyone else has been griping about in days passed, because, surely, if _everyone_ is talking about it then it must be worth talking about.  Oh my, I’m so tired.

To anyone with an opinion on the matter — who have clearly claimed a right to — vociferously opine that the President of our United States of America is neither worthy of, nor has earned, his Nobel Peace Prize, please share with us your nominee.  Tell us who, through your diligent research, is “the person who shall have done the most or best work for fraternity between nations.”  I would much rather enjoy your argument, however weak, for a potential recipient than I do care to hear your regurgitated radio rhetoric .

We’ll give you a minute to think it over and, in the meanwhile, we’ll also enjoy to mock your emotive plurality.

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Facebook Fail — Parents?

If you would have asked me a month ago, I would have without hesitation told you, “parents will be what brings Facebook crumbling to its knees”.

Like many others, I have been mulling over ideas for a while as to how Facebook is ever going to make enough money to stay in business and started thinking “surely now that parental units are signing on to the service to engage their peers while monitoring progeny” that Facebook had definitely found its way to ultimate fail.  Because, when has it ever been cool, or acceptable, for any adolescent to admit, not only enjoying, but actively engaging in the same activities as their parents…and publicly!?  As the adult-like folks were joining more rapidly, surely the kids would slowly leave and find a new stomping ground.  Even if your own parents weren’t playing web 2.0 with you, your peers would already be moving on so there would be no need to stay.

A mass exit of these young folks, who by the way don’t have income, creates a huge problem because Facebook has a better chance getting into a parent’s wallet by way of the child’s wants than the direct willingness of any grown-up to dole out funds for some seemingly useless service.  Think about games like Rune Scape and WoW.  These games are making loads of cash because kids everywhere are dipping into their parents’ cash stashes.

Kids abandoning their accounts doesn’t mean Facebook is completely out of the monetizing game.  It could change its plan to better target an older audience and sell dating services, or adult content.  Something older folks might actually pay for online.  But this is a huge reach and would probably upset a lot of investors who didn’t plan on buying into a glorified version of adult friend finder or “where are my exes now?” type products.  (Although, why should they be upset if they’re getting some kind of reasonable ROI?)

Seriously, though, it seemed as though Facebook was done for.  No way they could find real revenues now.  Except, then a tiny little game like FarmVille comes along and every Farcebook clown in town is signing up, sending neighborly invites, harvesting crops, and mom and daughter are exchanging ducks for cows.  A common ground, which according to The Business Insider, FarmVille creator Zynga is pulling daily revenues over $500,000 for these types of online social games where real human beings spend precious moola buying virtual goods.  (How now brown cow?)  Zynga then turns around and spends a supposed $50MM annually buying advertising spots on Facebook.

It isn’t adding up for me just yet, but maybe I’m missing something.  Perhaps Facebook has found it’s money maker.  Perhaps it will be the social network that brings families closer together, or what have you.  Or maybe it really is still just a passing fad.

There are three things to take away from this, if nothing else:

  1. While FarmVille seems like a ridiculously silly game, it’s necessary to remember that it’s really no different than any of the Sim (city, earth, ant, etc.) games so many of us enjoyed in the 90s.  Which is to say, “you were once silly too.”
  2. While Facebook seems like a ridiculously silly platform, it’s important to accept that it has awesome potential.  Not just for its creators, but for third parties, to capitalize upon.  We cannot just brush it to the side, and to do so would be small-minded and stupid of us.
  3. There were a lot of “F” words in this post, but there are two more we need not exclude because when combined they concisely describe the overall sentiment — fucking fascinating.

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Eat Your Art Out!

Maybe you’ve heard, maybe you haven’t — It’s that time of year again, literally, where we gather for an interesting afternoon of eating and drinking in the name of good will and charitable activities — this year, Eat Your Art Out in support of the Sacramento Metro Arts Commission.  It’s this Saturday, the 26th, from noon till 5PM and, as per the usual, we’ll probably be out late into the night; although, that is not a requirement.  So if you have the energy, the time, and a little extra cash, browse on over to http://crawltix.com/eatyourart/ and sign up.  Our team name this year is H-Cubed.

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BlackBerry Tour Replaces My Curve 8310

I’ve been using the BlackBerry Curve 8310 (AT&T) at work for almost two years, and it’s been my favorite smart phone thus far.  It was small, light, feature-rich, stable, and went everywhere with me while on the job.  Not much to complain about.

But as with any smartphone, or any gadgetry, there comes a time in its life when it must be retired for the latest and greatest in replacements, which in this case is the BlackBerry Tour (Verizon).  I’m not totally sold on it yet, but I’m sure I’ll come around.  From what I can tell so far it’s pretty much the BlackBerry Storm, but with a keyboard and a trackball and no rotating screen or YouTube application (two things I don’t miss), and is quit a bit lighter than the Storm but doesn’t lack a solid feel when held in hand.  Perhaps the saddest feature is still the BlakcBerry’s underpowered processor — they always seem to be a bit on the slow side

Overall, I’m pleased with the phone.  It’s nice to have a 3G phone for work.  And now I can drop my Verizon/Storm option for personal use and switch to an Android/T-Mobile setup.  We’ll see how that goes…

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Lilith Fair Gone, Not Missing

Seriously, right? Whatever happened to the Lilith Fair? And why doesn’t anyone seem to care? Are we saying more about the music or the listeners, if we’re saying anything at all, and if so, what? I couldn’t say for sure.

I was reading Jim Gaudet’s post Ani Difranco, I Am Drunk Leave Me Alone and it got me wondering where are the new female vocalists, which lead me down a wondering road of vague ideas to a Lilith Fair of performing females from the late nineties.  Not that I ever cared about the concert event itself, but I was a fan to many of the performers (of which, I believe, one Ani Difranco was not).

Now I find myself, many years later, trying to identify the new women of yesteryear who can write, perform, and sing without the help of a computerized sound, but I’m left with nothing.  Is it that they exist and I’m too far removed to know what’s happening on the scene, or have the true songstresses truly been replaced?

Teeth, Behind The Curve

Teeth.  Mammalian teeth.  My teeth.  Don’t make any sense.  Given the advanced state of technology, where I can have face-to-face conversations with folks thousands of miles around the world with a couple clicks on my mouse and such, why are we (humans) still required to be so involved in the upkeep of our teeth?  Or is it that food hasn’t devolved to a point where we can benefit from it without actually having to interact with it?

Seriously, though, I don’t mind brushing my teeth, flossing, and rinsing with that blue crap that burns, but I don’t understand why we have so many tiny nooks, crannies, and crevices (redundant) that are more than a hassle to maintain.  By comparison, staying physically fit is a walk in the park…literally.

Saliva, on the other hand, is very cool, and seemingly far more advanced.  But probably still a little behind the curve only because we’re advancing tooth-decay products faster than we can reproduce.  (Hardly the point.)

I want to see, in the next couple hundred years, a smooth set of continuous teeth (upper and lower), really a top tooth and a bottom tooth — narrow near the front and wider at the back, just like we have now — without all the gaps and such.  This is more important than going without the little toe, so let’s make it happen.  People everywhere will be the happier for it, eventually.

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Help Is On The Way

I was riding an elevator in a government building when a red light began flashing just above a message that read “if this light is flashing, help is on the way.”  Oh really?

It’s funny for obvious reasons, but the worrisome part (at the time) was that it just seemed to be flashing for no reason, or at least not because of anything I had done.  I definitely did not call for help.  I thought for sure I’d be spending the next couple hours trying to figure out how long I could entertain myself while stuck in an elevator.  Nothing so exciting took place.  The elevator did its part and released me to my desired floor.

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