One of the things about blogging I never understood is networking. What’s up with every one always networking and losing valuable time building their profiles? Why do people whore themselves out on sites such as Facebook, Linked In and many more?

If I were a blogger, I’m sure I would have other things to do than poke, stump and throw food at other bloggers on Facebook.
Admitted Linked In actually can be useful, but honestly… building profile just takes too much time away from the important things. Activities such as learning how to blog, monetize, leverage new blog launches, improve SEO knowledge (PDF) or leave insightful comments on other blogs. And obviously reading the whole echo chamber collection.

But networking? Honestly, I couldn’t care less. Quality always will come out, sometimes it takes more time than one had hoped, but I’d rather be an unknown blogger with 4 regulars than a$$ kisser.

The only thing I need now, is quality.

I came across this interesting read on degreetutor.com about why libraries and librarians are not obsolete–and are in fact still extremely important–in this Internet age. Will Sherman gives 33 reasons, and one of them, #20 says “Wisdom of crowds is untrustworthy, because of the tipping point.”

In a vacuum, crowds probably are very wise. But all too often we see the caveat to James Surowiecki’s crowd wisdom in Malcom Gladwell’s “tipping point”, which, in this context, explains that groups are easily influenced by their vanguard – those who are the first to do something and who automatically have extra influence, even if what they are doing is not necessarily the best idea.

The highly social nature of the web therefore makes it highly susceptible to, for example, sensationalized, low-quality information with the sole merit of being popular. Libraries, in contrast, provide quality control in the form of a stopgap. Only information that is carefully vetted is allowed in. Libraries are likely to stay separate from the internet, even if they can be found online. Therefore, it is extremely important that libraries remain alive and well, as a counterpoint to the fragile populism of the web.

True, true. I’ve been a fan of social media from the start, including social bookmarkers (like del.icio.us and Stumbleupon) and social news sites (like DIGG, the new Netscape and Reddit). However, I have also been skeptical of their value per se, particularly with what people truly consider important.

For instance, is it just me or do you also notice that about half of the news items that get to frontpage on DIGG is junk? Sure, there is a “consensus” within the set of users, but then again, there’s the tipping point. To better illustrate, I usually ask the question: do items get on front page because they’re DUGG, or do items get DUGG because they’re on front page?

Sure, the fact that an item is already on front page means a lot of people have already DUGG. But because they’re on front page, there is a higher tendency for more people to DIGG–perhaps because frontpage items are more visible, and perhaps because people are influenced to believe those items are indeed of value.

Short of calling most Internet users (or at least users of these social media) lemmings, I would think the wisdom of the crowds does not exactly produce something wise.

This is why I prefer those social tools that don’t rely on popularity, but rather on the interaction between contacts (“friends” if you may).

[Image source]

Many bloggers have celebrated the election to Person of The Year 2006, each in their own style. But does it really matter? Has the Digital Information highway really changed? Forget it!

This was nothing more than a brilliant piece of marketing by TIME Magazine. ProBlogger Darren Rowse called it linkbaiting, but there is more behind this.

More →

Flickr and Zoomr surely are two of the most popular photo hosting social networks (how’s that for a buzzword : repeat it after me photo hosting social network?)

What differentiates those two sites from other image hosting platforms, like photobucket, is not only their community, but also that both applications managed it to stay primarily photo sites.
Other platforms very often serve as image hoster and free bandwidth provider, but Zooomr and flickr both have almost exclusively photo focused communities. Surely you see the occasional screen shot, but it is all about our photos we want to show. And not host the background of our newest blog design or our MySpace profile.

Does this make both communities untouchable in their niche or could there be such a thing as a flickr killer application? I think the killer app already lurks in the background. And above all, the possible killer application even isn’t a photo site.

More →

We’ve been featuring a lot of Jacks lately, but I don’t think we’ve featured Jack Frost yet. Yes, folks, it’s December once again. And with this comes the holiday season. Okay, let’s not be too politically correct. It’s the Christmas season!

Jack Frost, of course, is the “creature who personifies crisp, cold, winter weather; a variant of Father Winter also known as Old Man Winter. He is a figure some believe to have originated in Viking folklore.” (Wikipedia). The cold weather is coming about and I can’t help but feel the rush both in terms of climate change and in terms of consumerism.

During holiday seasons, consumer spending jacks up (wow, another “jack”). People get their Christmas or year-end bonuses. Shops hold sales. Restaurants and holiday spots are jampacked. Everyone is busy. Everyone is buying–whether it’s electronic gadgets, cars, clothes, furniture, jewelry, or whatnot.

Sometimes it gets stressful.

But it’s the perfect time to try forgetting about reality, even just for a while. Everyone’s in a festive mood, after all, so what’s the point in missing out?

When January comes, that’s when you have to settle back in, tend to real life, and freak out about that huge credit card bill.

[tags]christmas,jack frost,credit card bills,festive,christmas season[/tags]

If you are like me- then you spend way too much time in front of your comp. You have probably let some other part of your life slip- maybe your health or your relationships. A lack of balance usually comes hand in hand with a lack of perspective. Personally I justify it as “temporary” and that I’m doing it “because I have to“, i.e: for the money.

Hmmm. Maybe that’s a load of codswallop. Maybe I can earn less money and have more fun. Maybe I could be happier as a person with a more rounded life if I stopped worrying so much about money. I hate letting anyone down, but just sometimes the darned emails can wait….

Good old Benjamin Franklin reputedly changed the word “profit” to “happiness“, as in “the pursuit of….” while drawing up The Constitution. Point being- money does not bring happiness.

It’s not just a cliché told by the rich to the poor, it’s the truth. For those of you who have not had the chance to witness the irony of seeing rich people you know personally- utterly miserable, or the smiley, innocent disposition of people in the Third World who are dirt poor, there is an excellent illustration of this concept by an old school chum of mine, Alain De Botton, in his book “The Consolations Of Philosophy“. Below, is part of his reflection on the teachings of Epicurus.

1. Identify a project for happiness.

In order to be happy on holiday, I must live in a villa

2. Imagine that the project may be false. Look for exceptions to the supposed link between the desired object and happiness. Could one possess the desired object but not be happy? Could one be happy but not have the desired object?

Could I spend money on a villa and still not be happy?

Could I be happy on holiday and not spend as much money as on a villa?

3. If an exception is found, the desired object cannot be a necessary and sufficient cause of happiness.

It is possible to have a miserable time in a villa if, for example, I feel friendless and isolated?

It is possible for me to be happy in a tent if, for example, I am with someone I love and feel appreciated by?

4. In order to be accurate about producing happiness, the initial
project must be nuanced to take the exception into account.

In so far as I can be happy in an expensive villa, this depends on being with someone I love and feel appreciated by.

I can be happy without spending money on a villa, as long as I am with someone I love and feel appreciated by.

5. True needs may now seem very different from the confused initial desire.

Happiness depends more on the possession of a congenial companion than a well-decorated villa.

Epicurus himself sums it up best:

The possession of the greatest riches does not resolve the agitation of the soul nor give birth to remarkable joy

I swore I would not get political. I think I may have to get a little political, just this once. I hate terrorism and think that we should fight it anywhere, any way, any how.

There. That’s my political statement.

But when I first said this, torture hadn’t even crossed my mind. Is it okay to waterboard someone to find out where they put the bomb in Times Square? Is it acceptable to use electric shock to get a proven terrorist to give up his companions, who may be planning attacks right at that moment?

My gut said no. Pirate or not, I can’t stomach torture. It’s wrong in a way I can’t define. People who torture lose something of their humanity. Data produced is questionable at best. And, well, it’s just wrong to profit on a person’s misery like that.

I even tried to imagine: were I in a position where those I love were going to be killed if the torture didn’t happen, would I sanction it?

I had to admit to myself that I still could not.

But that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t happen.

It’s a decision I could never make. But the men and women in our collective governments who are in charge of keeping us all safe may one day be in a position to make that decision. I could not forgive them, either, if they did not do everything possible to keep their employers – the public – safe. Including torture.

This puts them in a terrible position. My solution: hire men and women who have the guts to take personal responsibility – and credit – for the good and evil they do. Instead of making torture legal – and therefore an easy choice – make it illegal. Those who choose to torture, despite the consequences to them, are making the choice to suffer themselves as well.

It sucks. It really does. It’s also a lot to ask of these people. But we ask our soldiers on the front lines to lay down their lives – and we ask the same of Coast Guard, police, firefighters, and all the other men and women who keep us safe and secure. Asking those who are in the business of extracting information from very bad people to be willing to risk prison for what they believe is right – that is asking no more courage and integrity from them than we ask from our other protectors.

And in the decision to torture or not, I think we need courage and integrity more than in any other fight in this war on terror.

There’s this neat psychological study I just love that demonstrated an effect named after the two psychologists performing it at Cornell in 1999. These gents, Justin Kruger and David Dunning, were trying to figure out whether the perceived phenomenon of Dumb People Thinking They’re Smart was real or just something that we notice and exaggerate.

Their conclusion: it’s real, and it’s annoying. They tested people on several items, then asked how they thought they did. People who were really good – said so, though they tended to underestimate their competency. People who were so-so – said so. People who needed some work – said so.

It was the people at the bottom, the abysmally bad, who thought that they were brilliant. They were in the bottom ten percent – and thought they were in the top ten percent.

Now you know! That ignoramus who thinks he knows everything – is just a normal, ordinary ignoramus.

Think of the fun you can have with this new knowledge. The next time someone says something dumb, toss this one in their faces. Or when that annoying guy starts giving you advice on women that you know to be, um, inadequate, just smile and remember that you’re not down there on his level.

Or are you? You see, if you’re incompetent, you think you’re competent. If you’re competent, you may think you’re competent as well.

Basically, if you think you’re competent, you may be that ignoramus.

I might be that ignoramus.

But I’m not. I promise. Really. I’m totally competent. Just don’t make me sing.