Posts (page 2)

Listening to an IT Conversations podcast of the Prosumer Media session at Web 2.0.  Among other things, I hear Mena Trott talking about Vox (nee Comet).  One thing she's talking about are the benefits of small and intimate audiences for one's communication.  This echoes another presentation given by Anil Dash, about social networking and audience reach. 

I've certainly been looking around for a closer-knit blogging community smaller than the whole blogosphere for awhile now.  I had that for awhile at LiveJournal, and still might - but I've fallen out of the habit of posting in that neighborhood.  And, as I just linked, I found another small community over in OPML-space.  But, again, I've wandered away from there a bit - this time mostly due to recent major life events, overhauls, and happy disruptions.  What's my point?  Not sure, but I have found a lot of reward from smaller venues.

Another thing Mena was talking about was the importance of keeping people who've signed up engaged.  In relation to that, again, I seem to wander away from communities after awhile.  I'm sure a large chunk of it has to do with my personal combination of early adopter and serial enthusiast.  So, maybe I'm hard to keep around in any case.  But, some things I do like around these Vox parts include site-wide memes like the Question of the Day.  These things get strong legs on LiveJournal and parts elsewhere.

But, what occurs to me this afternoon, is that I'd like to see more writing prompts.  Not memes, per se - and I'm definitely leaving if Vox fills up with cut-and-paste quizzes.  But, I'd be interested in more invitations to self-disclosure or plain old interesting writing.  Hell, this might sound cheesy or annoying, but I wouldn't mind hooking into some half-serious "assignments" ala English classes I've taken.

Actually, now that I write that, I'm also kind of looking for some creative writing prompts in shared blogging form.  Flash fiction, character sketches, etc.  I wonder if something like that would fly around here?  I've been getting finally serious about pushing some finished fiction out into the world is something I'm trying do, lately to the exception of my usual hacking sprees.

Anyway: rambling now - time to post.

What's your favorite way to keep in touch? Phone, snail mail, email, text message, Vox, _____ ?

I'm best with IM and email, with some lurking in IRC.  I've been picking up text messaging over the last few years, but otherwise I'm no good on the phone.  My wife and my mom are pretty much the only people who hear from me on the talky-talky part of my cell phone, and even that's a bit rare.

How can anyone be goth in California?  There's dry air, cloudless skies, and a decided lack of gloom.  With the exception of some pretty gigantic spiders spinning night webs near our apartment, certainly none of these things evoke visions of mouldering tombs or rot, per se.  I suppose one could ignite such sentiments with a decent kindling pile of teen angst - but it just really doesn't seem like a sustainable state, no matter how much Robert Smith and early Sisters of Mercy you've got on hand.

I thought I was in for an overcast day earlier this week, but that cloud cover burned off by 10 am.  It was just long enough to get a little homesick, listen to a few moody songs on the bus, and then it was all but dispelled. 

Being an avowed SAD case, I really wonder how winter here will treat me?  I wonder if I'll still have the January/February Blues and write bad disposable poetry and journal entries - or will I be somewhat chipper and write even worse stuff?

She Wants Revenge sounds a lot like the son of Bauhaus and Sisters of Mercy. Cloudy day reminds me of michigan.

What was the last wedding you went to?  Were you in the wedding?

The last wedding to which I went was my own, this past June 9th.  And, of course, I was in it and deliriously happy to be there.  At this point, though, my lovely bride and I are waiting for the video to arrive once the videographer has finished her editing - because neither of us remembers much at all of the event itself.  We have photos, but the whole night sped past in an unbelievable blur.

How well do you know your next-door neighbors?

I don't know them at all, having just moved a month ago.  But then again, I've never known my neighbors very well, anywhere I've lived since college.  I knew our neighbors about a block away at the last place, but then they were already friends who helped us find the place to begin with.  I was very good friends with all the surrounding neighbors in my college dorm.  Of course, we all used to keep our doors open then, and we played euchre and Magic the Gathering in the hallways then.

Listening to The Writing Show podcast.  They're talking about The Networked Book.  This excites me.  Now I just have to get back to more writing that can be networked.

What's your morning beverage of choice?  Coffee, tea, juice?  Homemade or store-bought?

Coffee, of course.  That's the boring answer for a guy who's got a blog at decafbad.com.  I make a pot at home most mornings, drink at least 2 cups.  Then, it's off to work at Yahoo!, where the coffee is free.  So, here I bounce between plain house coffee and triple-lattes.

Yes, my entire adrenaline system is completely shot.

Vox needs more memes.  And cowbell.

Would it be a scandal if it turned out that duran duran was lip synching in second life?

Always look a gift horse in the mouth. You will need to know how much it eats before you get it home.