Find Me
Anal Organization
Oldies But Goodies
More Stuff
Nonsense Notes
Whiskey Notes and Parachuting Fish
the ups-and-downs and sides-to-sides of the little things that make up life
Hits vs. Mashable
I had the pleasure of sitting in a “special” presentation today. It was one where the presenters had intimate knowledge of some key audience members and yet, structured their deck to go above every one’s head. They talked social and search. They threw in “scary” graphs with steep trends both up and down. And, they threw out names of people that no one in the room understood the connotations of. Except me. The wild card of the presentation. My favorite part was when their Executive VP of Social Strategy said, “I live and breathe Mashable.” Clearly, it was true. Everything he spewed out in the presentation was a direct thought or idea from Mashable.
The comments got me thinking… the easy way to tell if someone’s full of social BS? They mention Mashable in a bow-down-to-the-all-seeing-all-knowing-god. Yes, I read Mashable. But, I sure as hell don’t live and breath by the thoughts in that BLOG. In fact, I take most of the articles with a grain of salt.
Think about it.
Sadly, even today, an easy gauge on how much someone knows about interactive can be based on whether they use the term “hits” or “visits”. While the terms seem to mean the same thing, they are in fact drastically different.
I’ve long said I don’t trust anyone who uses the term “hits” in the wrong context. Today, I’ve added to that philosophy. Today, I still wouldn’t hire an interactive person who uses the term “hits” when really meaning “visitors”. But, I also have no intention of turning my social media strategy over to someone who “lives and breaths Mashable.”
Posted in Interactive Media, Rant, Social Media, Work
Where Am I
I look at my “blogging” from the past few months and I have to wonder, Where Am I? I can always look back at my posts and frequency and see patterns – patterns when I was busy, unhappy, ecstatic, loving it all, reflecting, etc. To me, it’s a pretty cool representation of the “ups-and-downs and sides-to-sides” of my life.
To me, looking back at the pattern of the last two months speaks volumes.
And I have to wonder, why am I torturing myself? When and why did I compromise the one promise I ever made to myself? Both personally and professionally I feel like I’m right below the surface, not drowning, but right below. A bit like a perfect storm between the two parts of my life. And, no matter how hard I try, struggle and fight, I just can’t seem to break the surface for more than a few seconds.
I hope I start blogging again soon. Not these lame picture posts, but real ones, with real opinions. I know that when I do, it’ll mean that everything’s okay again.
Alone and Holding On
Time is going by so much faster than I…
You’re never gonna be alone from this moment on
If you ever feel like letting go, I won’t let you fall
You’re never gonna be alone, I’ll hold you til the hurt is gone
Posted in Personal, Photography
Celebrating One Year on Tumblr
This morning, I received the below email. How fun! And my goodness, I can’t believe I’ve been using Tumblr for a year. There must be many more quotes there than I imagined.
Oh Yeah
From work to boys to friends. I just wish I knew how to make things right.
Posted in Personal
My Back Alley Friend
Four years ago this week my one night stand became my Back Alley Friend. Funny how life works out, huh? It certainly didn’t turn out how either of us planned 🙂
To the man who filled a void when I needed it most. It was one hell of a roller coaster ride!
Macbook Air vs. iPad
I bought my first Macbook this weekend. It was a bit of a puzzling experience. I walked into the always-packed store and went straight to look at the Macbook Air’s. I was pretty sold on it, but wanted one last chance to play around. A sales associate came up, answered a few of my questions and asked what I wanted it for. I explained that I had a PC and wanted it as a second laptop mainly for travel. I said that I had been looking at netbooks, but the Air was either lighter or I liked it better than other netbooks. I also explained that I would mostly be using it for browsing online and remoting into my work computer to do email, use Microsoft Office, etc. After hearing what I was going to be using the Macbook Air for, he asked, “Have you tried the iPad? It might be a better fit.”
Me: Huh? Really? And um, isn’t that $1,000 less expensive than the machine I was just about to buy? Do you get a special commission for selling iPads or what?!
The Sales Associate went on to explain that you could put the iPad on a docking station and use a wireless keyboard with it. However, you couldn’t use a mouse. To me, that seemed like a lot of extra work and parts, but I said I’d take a look and think about it.
Luckily, there was a free iPad because I hate waiting in line 🙂 I played around with it for a few minutes. And, I still didn’t understand how this could replace a netbook. Here’s why:
- I’m a neat freak. The thought of having fingerprints all over my screen was the nail in the coffin
- The thought of having to always remember to cart around a docking station and wireless keyboard didn’t seem very easy to me. While the iPad might fit in my purse, the other two items would be awkward.
- Here’s the other kicker to me – websites recognize the iPad as a MOBILE device, not a computer or netbook. What does that mean? Well, it means it serves up the mobile version of sites first. While that’s great for on-the-go, that’s not what I want for a second screen. I want the full version.
- Don’t worry, I won’t mention that flash doesn’t work nor that there’s no built-in camera 🙂
- Being a PC and Blackberry person too, I’m still not an expert at all the pinching, rotating and touchscreen typing that the iPad requires.
- Holding it was uncomfortable. It’s a bit too heavy to hold it upright for too long. At the same time, holding it on your lap puts unnecessary strain on your neck. Maybe okay for short periods of time, but not for long stretches of work.
- Unfortunately, my biggest question – would my VPN work – was left unanswered. I didn’t know the url and sadly had not yet saved it to my web bookmarks.
While the iPad might have a purpose, in my mind, it in no way, shape or form is a replacement for my newly bought Macbook Air.
Perfect for Everyone
One day soon I’m going to write a real post. I think about it every day. I write one in my head. But then, writing it here, the words and ideas seem silly (sillier than my usual ideas 🙂 ). I think I may have writer’s block.
Posted in Advertising, Creative, Photography, Work