i’m here this week for the internet ministry conference with several of my current and former colleagues and some other folks i’ve worked with in some capacity along the way. cool!

looking forward to spending some time this week reconnecting with my web 2.0 mojo. this being my 4th time, i always find the week to be an intense time of sleep deprivation, overcaffienation and inspiration to continue to strive for using the interwebz for more than just an online brochure.

anyway, that’s all i’ve got for now. i’m stuffed with a chicken quesadilla right now and looking forward to frivolity later this week involving my coworker Liz’s birthday and the giant water slide aimed at a tiny pool which sits just outside my window. should be a real bang.. or splash.. not sure how deep the pool is..

hot tub here i come..

What Happens to Our Social Profiles After We Die?

Strangely enough, this article brings up some questions that I’ve often wondered about myself. What would happen to my various accounts if I died?

I’ve seen Facebook groups started to remember various people who have died, but never have I come across an active profile port mortem.

The blog above also makes mention of a site, which is sure to be hours of fun for my dear friend TJ, who obsesses over the deaths of people he never even knew. If you’re feeling a little bit morbid, check out MyDeathSpace. Creepy..

So all this is really morbid and a little creepy.. but it’s an interesting subject to think about, although maybe for not too long.

Here’s a few things that I wish Apple had considered:

1. A smaller MacBook Air. That’s smaller, not lighter. Maybe a 10″ or 11″ widescreen would be absolutely perfect for me, even if the weight stayed the same. I’m sure I’m not the only one craving a smaller Apple laptop. Many questions have been asked about the possibility of a tablet, which tends to go hand-in-hand with the smaller form factor, but this is a feature I am much less concerned about, and certainly wouldn’t influence a decision for me to buy it.
2. Firewire on the MacBook. It may be uncommon for devices other than camcorders, but Firewire is definitely a much safer bet than USB for many purposes. Though I don’t find myself using Firewire alot these days, the opportunities still arise, and when they do, I’m always glad that the connection can be made with something other than USB. For video editing, I’m not sure how users will cope. OK, so you don’t normally buy a MacBook for video editing, but iMovie is included. How does Apple expect users to capture from their cameras without Firewire?
3. Option of matte screen. This isn’t a huge deal for me, but as I work opposite a window everyday, I do appreciate the non-reflective finish of my office MacBook Pro and Cinema Display. It’d be nice to have this choice.
4. The old MacBook (white plastic) is still in the lineup at a slightly reduced price. This just seems weird. I would have rather seen a lower spec for the white MacBook and a larger drop in price, down to the 800 range.

Those are the major concerns I have. I find myself leaning towards one of the new aluminum MacBooks as my next computer upgrade, which I plan to hold off on, until the jury comes back on how they do.

Though I may not necessarily hold the same stance as this subset, it’s not the beliefs and values with which I take issue. Rather, it’s the reaction I’ve witnessed to circumstances which clearly deviate from those beliefs and values, a reaction which is indicative of a complete lack of preparation to cope with these scenarios.

One such person that I know holds the belief that tattoos and piercings are inappropriate. OK, fine, we hold a difference of opinion, and if that is what he believes, I can accept that.

The problem begins when this same person thinks it’s funny to talk about going to South Street in Philadelphia to get tattoos and piercings, and when bringing up the topic, expects the entire room to laugh with him, as if nobody in their right mind would do such an absurd thing. Mind you, the piercing in my left ear was done on that very street.

This really bothers me. I truly do not understand how a person can be so sheltered or deluded to think that their worldview is the majority worldview, even in a room full of other Christians.

As a society, I think we are all guilty of holding this sort of biased view, representative of our own worldview, but we also recognize that there are other worldviews out there that we may not know of.

It seems absurd that these Christians do not recognize the existence of other views, especially in areas that there is debate over specific beliefs.

Let’s end the rant here and start talking about solutions. What does the Church need to do to prevent this from happening? And what are the benefits of doing so?

How about a multi-faceted approach? I think back to a course I had in High School on world cultures. It was quite risque to discuss in a school, but the teacher explored the tenets of many of the world’s major religions, side-by-side.

Teach about other religions in a Christian church? That’s insanity! Blasphemy! People could choose to believe the wrong thing!

This idea may be a bit far-fetched, but is it really that crazy? I don’t think so. If those attending truly hold the church’s beliefs, then educating them about others’ beliefs certainly won’t sway them away. I feel the same could be true for other more political issues where the Church holds a clear stance. Avoiding the issues is not doing anyone any favors.

What am I trying to get at with all this rambling? I think the point is this. People need to identify with their beliefs, and without having a basic understanding of the competing mindset, it is impossible to do so.

Though there are areas of faith that may not be understood or even humanly understandable, Christians need to be prepared to come face to face with the very things they are taught not to do and the people who do them. In such a situation a person of strong faith would not sink to the levels of laughter or hatred, but could truly present, debate and defend their beliefs in a way that shows their understanding of the opposing side is clear in addition to their choice to oppose it.

it’s probably been five years since i’ve been on a  bicycle. combined with my lack of height and an overly large men’s bicycle we have a receipe for disaster. i traded that bad boy in for a slightly shorter but still uncomfortably tall women’s bicycle.

results: slightly less disastrous, but still entertaining for the common bystander.

we went for a nice ride along the road, occasionally dodging pedestrians, other cyclists and pesky cars, steering with the highest level of precision, and nearly veering off the road several times. such fun.

anyway. i’m glad to report i made it back to the hotel alive, and unharmed, though undoubtedly a bit shaken from the whole experience.

visiting the london store was pretty insane tho. well actually, oxford street in general was. it was very reminiscent of new york, except for the fact that all the cars drive on the wrong side of the road and don’t stop for pedestrians. i guess that keeps the population from growing too quickly.

on sunday, richard and i began our journey to holland. i must say that heathrow terminal 5 is just plain wonky. for some reason, there are three layers of gates that you must walk through to get to the arrivals, none of which have an opening large enough to allow luggage through. i guess you’re not supposed to bring luggage to the airport?

after we figured out where to meet, we got on the road. a reaching the border, we took the eurotunnel to france. first stop, shopping center to pick up some wine. we got a case of 6 bottles, in fact.

in Belgium we made a quick restroom stop, and i took over the wheel. ACK! i’d never driven a right-hand drive vehicle before, especially on the right side of the road.. not exactly the easiest combination to learn on, but at least it wasn’t the roads in england.

no more than half an hour later, downpour began. not just light rain, but serious torrential downpour. i saw my life flash before my eyes as i tried to focus on the diminishing visibility ahead of me.

finally it stopped. and eventually we made it to the conference center, having just missed dinner. drat.

Check out his blog post:

just because it’s “simple” doesn’t mean it won’t take work

Good work again, Alex, and timely as ever.

Here’s a quote: “Social media platforms help facilitate conversations between individuals, not companies.”

Amen to that. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Anyway, without further ado, read this article, instead of reading about it.

How to Develop a Social Media Plan for Your Business in 5 Steps

The questions was regarding Facebook. The gentleman who wrote the message had just created a Facebook account and had no idea how to use it. Now, see, though I could go on an entire rant about how people should know more about what Facebook is if they live in any part of the world with half-decent Internet access, I am going to take issue with another part of the discussion that ensued. Indeed many replied and discussed how they set up Facebook accounts for their organizations. That, for me, is a big giant screaming ARGGGGHHHHH!

Let’s think back a couple of years. There was a social site, known as MySpace (who uses that site, anyway?). Now as we all know, MySpace turned into a huge pile of Internet trash. Meanwhile, Facebook snuck in, and with it’s strong committment to securing registration to REAL people, built a new Internet social empire. Over the years, the registration requirements have opened up, which is good. More people are able to get on, but now, we’re heading to a dangerous territory. While before you needed an actual university e-mail account or other means of authenticating yourself, now the registration is open.

The problem I see here is that organizations are coming in and creating social accounts for their group. Facebook has done a decent job of creating a Page structure that supports non-people in the Facebook network. It really irks me that people would use anything but that for a company or organizations. It’s truly contaminating my social grid.

My mesage to groups that have practiced this. Do you really know what you’re doing? Facebook is for people. The beauty of the structure for organizations within Facebook is that it ties PEOPLE together around the group. Please please please please please use it for what it’s for and how it’s intended. I will not be  your organization’s friend, and I will have serious doubts about the accuracy of its college education, gender, birthdate, activities and interests.

Facebook is a beautiful organic network of people connected to eachother. Please keep it that way and help to encourage people to use the site for what it is, a social utility.

It’s an impressive piece spanning from the technological to the sociolgical and beyond. It documents the place the World Wide Web currently holds in our society and how it turns the world we know upside down.

I highly recommend this book for everyone to read. For techies, it’ll take your head out of the server room and get you thinking about the real impact the Internet is having beyond the infrastructure. For the luddites, it’ll really open your eyes as to what the Web really is, beyond a flickering computer screen.

I think the key takeaway from the book is that the Internet redefines what it means to be social. No longer is socialization limited by proximity and time. Instead, we can now interact at a deep personal level from any place at any time. That’s the magic of the massive network we’ve built in the past two decades. And it’s cause for us to stop and think and reconsider the parameters we use to try to define our world.