Netizen

Sunday, May 03, 2009

Stand Up Comedy: Thinking On Your Feet: 2.0

What would be the 2.0 version of thinking on your feet? Thinking on your feet is having something to say. But it is not like your friends on the other end can tell. Ah, you looked at my status update for 50 seconds before you could press that Like button. That does not count.

The first thing that would count is being in the loop. You might have been my college roomie, but are you on Facebook? Sure we met at that party two months ago, but do you have my Gmail address? If you are not on Twitter, I am not going to hold that against you, but you are no friend on the bleeding edge, are you?

My enthusiasm for the various social networking sites comes from reading about stuff in the news. LinkedIn showed up, and I signed up, although I have never used it the way it is meant to be used. Friendster showed up and I signed up. I got my invite to Gmail from Google itself when Gmail came out. There was at least one smart relative I could not convince to switch to Gmail back then. Hotmail gives me more space than I need, he kept saying. It is more than extra space, it is different, I said. Not listening.

My own enthusiasm for the various social services has had its ups and downs. For example, right now I am kind of lukewarm on Twitter use. I still "get" it, don't get me wrong. But these past few weeks I have been more into blogging. I blog and then I send the blog post links down the Twitter stream. Because my blog posts automatically show up in my Facebook stream, I find myself logging into Facebook after a new blog post. Is it there yet? Is it there yet? I guess it is not real time. The delay can be anywhere between a half hour to several hours.

Recently I have found a whole new use for my blog posts. I put out a blog post. And wait until it shows up in my Facebook stream as a note, and then I tag a whole bunch of people to any particular note. I think 30 are allowed. You show up in all of their Facebook streams. Cheesy. Yes, I have been thinking about you.

Like my most recent blog post/Facebook note: Is Reading Socializing?

I decided to tag all my black/African friends from college days to that note, or at least those that are on Facebook with me. Let's have a little reunion here. Yesterday I created a few different groups.

Reimagining The Office (High school classmates)
My Relationship With Ashton Kutcher (A whole bunch of women from the college days)

I like the idea that when one of the tagged individuals will click on the note, they will meet a whole bunch of other people that they know. Happy Reunion!

Now think on your feet. Say something funny.

Is Reading Socializing?

Reimagining The Office
Stream 2.0: The Next Big Thing?
Microfinance, Nanotech, Biotech, Software/Hardware/Connectivity
Define Social Media
Peter Thiel: Primitive Mind In The Tech Sector
The Stream, The Lifestream, The Mindstream
David Gelernter: Manifesto
Blogging: Monkey Business?
Content Is Queen
The Human Is The Center Of Gravity In Computing

Strictly speaking, not. Reading is not socializing. Status updates are not the same as saying hello in person. 2.0 socializing is make-do.

One consistent theme at this blog has been that the human is at the center of computing. Face time not only matters, but is central to the equation. But when I say face time, I don't mean just the caricature of it. As in, don't look at the screen, look at me. I mean group dynamics, I mean the larger human affairs, I mean staying in tune with the big political developments of the day.

But where 2.0 is indispensable is that although 5.0 is key and central, that 5.0 can not stand alone. (Web 5.0: Face Time) You need a rich 2.0 environment to give that 5.0 the best possible shape.

Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal
Pakistan Is Where The Fight Is, The Fight Is Not Military
Barack's 100 Days:Cool In The Face Of Big Challenges
Genocide/Ethnic Cleansing Of Sri Lanka Tamils

Friday, May 01, 2009

New York City: Transformed Forever?

9/11 happened here. But that was the work of the Al Qaeda. America and the world were transformed forever. The financial 9/11 happened. But that was not the work of the Al Qaeda. The bungee jump phase has already lasted nine months. I think we are about to hit the plateau phase. (That Plateau Feeling) How long will that last? When will we see the take off phase? How soon?

The pain of the bungee jump has been very real. It has been across the board, it has been across the country, it has been across the globe.

There's death to disease, there's death to accident, and there's death to crime. They don't fall in the same category. Children dying to diarrhoea do not fall in the same category as people dying to genocide. Two investment banks falling to the global financial crisis does not fall in the same category to the two buildings falling to 9/11.

This city has lost tens of thousands of jobs that will never come back. The challenge is to create tens of thousands of new jobs. The challenge is to create new jobs, companies, and industries. The basic greatness of this city has not changed. This city still attracts the top graduates of the top schools in the country. This city still attracts people from every town on earth. This city still has money, and people, and the infrastructure. This city has the capacity to create.

This city has the option to reimagine itself, and claim an even more central place in the planet's imagination. (Silicon City)

Pages

Sunday, May 03, 2009

Stand Up Comedy: Thinking On Your Feet: 2.0

Is Reading Socializing?

Friday, May 01, 2009

New York City: Transformed Forever?