Geoff Fox: My Permanent Record
Back when I was in school teachers would always scare me with stories of how my exploits would end up in my permanent record. I believe this is it! – Geoff Fox
You can look at the tag cloud and almost instantly figure out what’s breaking news. That’s part of Twitter I didn’t think would be made useful this easily.
An interesting facet of Twitscoop (a site which massages Twitter data for a fuller Internet experience) is its tag cloud. As words get more mentions on Twitter their relative size grows.
You can look at the tag cloud and almost instantly figure out what’s breaking news. That’s part of Twitter I didn’t think would be made useful this easily.
Unfortunately, when you compare–equals aren’t always equal! For instance with tonight’s announcement Brooks and Dunn are splitting, look at the font.
I suspect he is the customer service guy because he understands how important customer service actually is… and because his name is on every page.
I find Craigslist fascinating. It is the perfect example of a game-changing company. Not to be a Luddite, but Craigslist has something to do with the sorry of state of newspaper finance–one of the games it’s changed!
Stef, in the midst of looking for a job, has been scanning Craigslist. If you haven’t looked for a job in a while, it’s a ‘don’t miss’ spot.
Today she saw something that looked interesting. On the Craigslist posting was a link asking her to click to apply. Instead of the link taking her to the job listing’s particulars she ended up on a page promising her more info on this and other jobs if she paid to join the site.
Basically the company making the posting was using Craigslist to bring traffic and revenue to their site. That doesn’t seem right. I can’t imagine that’s how Craigslist was meant to be used, so I wrote them. Actually, I wrote to Craig himself via Twitter.
Craig is Craig Newmark. He could be fabulously wealthy… if he’d only ‘monetize’ his website. That’s not who Craig is.
Craig doesn’t run Craigslist. He does handle its customer service. I tweeted.
geofffox @craignewmark My daughter, looking for job. http://bit.ly/uyqb5 has “apply now” button which leads to pay site. Is this Kosher on ur site?
I used each of my 130 allowable characters! A few minutes later Craig responded
craignewmark @geofffox doesn’t sound right, will take a look.
I don’t know Craig, though we’ve traded tweets in the past. I tried to help him with a weather problem while he was flying from New York City. I suspect he is the customer service guy because he understands how important customer service actually is… and because his name is on every page.
Unlike E!, Bravo or more entertainment oriented channels C-SPAN shows the video with no commentary.
We are on the sofa. We are watching C-SPAN. I have never watched C-SPAN wth Helaine before. It is the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner. C-SPAN had a camera in the lobby as the glitterati arrived.
Unlike E!, Bravo or more entertainment oriented channels C-SPAN shows the video with no commentary. I actually like that.
Lots of Hollywood types. Denis Leary, Demi and Ashton, Tyra Banks, Rick Schroeder. “Since when is it Rick and not Ricky?” Helaine asked.
I saw Al Roker with Ariana Huffington… or maybe they were just nearby. Al is still thinner. Al Sharpton was notably thin.
The president walked in to Hail to the Chief. Does he like the tune? He will hear it as much as Rick Springfield hears Jessie’s Girl.
The guy playing clarinet has shifty eyes.
Star Spangled Banner. It’s not often heard as an instrumental. Is C-SPAN signing off? Sorry, old broadcasting reference.
Wanda Sykes is the emcee tonight. Will she be tough to watch like Steven Colbert and Don Imus have been in the past?
Helaine likes the president’s tux.
Helen Thomas is shaking Michelle Obama’s hand. They could do the female version of the Shaq/Ben Stein Comcast commercial.
Bill Scanlon on C-SPAN now reading Tweets from Twitter. No! This is like my parents getting into T-Pain.
I am often followed and have no idea why! Is it OK to ask what they see in me… in 140 characters?
I am active on both Twitter and Facebook. Yesterday my friend Jon Wolfert added this note below a photo I’d posted:
I think this is why I’ve tried to limit my Facebook friends to real friends. When you are Facebook friendly with 3,000 or 4,000 people (Yes–I work with someone who has 4,000 friends on Facebook!) how do you see anything but noise. My 300 is more than optimum. Facebook allows you to secretly silence some… and I have, though not yet enough.
I’ve about had it with the “Top-5” and other lists on Facebook. I’m with Jon on that.
The discourse on Twitter, though limited to 140 characters at a time, is much smarter than what I read on Facebook. Maybe it’s because the people I read on Twitter don’t have to approve of me! Seriously–I mean that.
Recently both services have seen the amount of spam or other miscreant content rise rapidly. This morning a Facebook friend ‘s account was hacked and everyone on her list got an email sending them to a site which asks you to download a Flash plug-in which is really a trojan!
With Twitter its emails from people following you who turn out to have nothing but a URL for a spammy product on their profile page.
Speakng of Twitter, I am often followed and have no idea why! Is it OK to ask what they see in me… in 140 characters?
If Markoff really is the Craigslist killer, said the technology blog AppScout, he may have been “fingered by his own Crackberry addiction
I wonder if I’m spreading my writing too thin. I post here and on Appscout and Gearlog. I tweet on Twitter and write on Facebook. Do I really have that much to say?
I try not to replicate material. It’s unavoidable sometimes.
I like when I turn a phrase–when the words become more powerful because of their choice and order. It doesn’t happen all the time. It never happens on a first draft. Everything is rewritten (though errors still get through).
That’s from the website TheWeek. They’re quoting me. I like that.
No figures seen, but I’ll bet more people are reading than ever before because of the Internet. Certainly more people are reading me.
I was so foolish. Stefanie was so right. I have a Blackberry now… a Crackberry… and the experience is magical
For the last year and a half I’ve been using a Samsung Blackjack. i wanted to be digitally complete. When I got it the word was it was a pretty good smartphone.
I was so foolish. Stefanie was so right. I have a Blackberry now… a Crackberry… and the experience is magical¹. The Samsung was so clunky in comparison.
Transitioning from one phone to another isn’t easy. Here’s where Google gets involved. I set up a new email account gfthrowaway@gmail.com. I then sync’ed the Blackjack with Gmail. My phonebook flew through the air and into the Googleplex. Next I re-sync’ed, this time sending my contacts from Gmail to the Blackbery. Painless!
I wanted to continue to keep a calendar, but now I had a problem. The calendar and contacts had to be associated with the same email address. A little mumbo jumbo and the new Gmail account was incorporating the calendar from my main account (if there can be such a thing for someone who truly has around 2-dozen email addresses!).
Everything seems to be working fine. The email/SMS setup on the Blackberry is quite well thought out. In fact everything seems quite well thought out. I can’t get Pandora to work–a problem they admit is theirs. Shozu is also a little recalcitrant at the moment.
I pulled the micro-SD card from the Blackjack and inserted it into the Blackberry. How can a billion bytes of data get squeezed into a space so small?
The Blackjack is now, sadly, on the table top upside down, battery, SIM and mini-SD card removed. It’s like the carcass of an old subway car getting ready to be dumped in the Atlantic as an artificial reef. It’s sad really.
On Twitter Jim Heem said, “I’m really surprised this is your first blackberry.” Coolmoomama chimed, “.i REALLY want a blackberry.” Stef is just gloating.
A few days ago my friend Peter said researchers who’d asked about the iPhone and Blackberry got surprisingly different responses. iPhone users talked about the coolness while the Blackberry crowd kept mentioning utility and usefulness.
I’d like to say it’s not that big a deal, but I think it is.
¹ – I have added Crackberry to the spell checker in my browser. It is now officially a word for me.
A friend with a Blackberry 8320 smashed its pretty face against something. Cracked lens! By the time I told him he could fix it, he’d replaced it! Now it’s mine. Fixing the lens was easy–and I’m a major klutz.
It was originally on T-Mobile. It’s been unlocked, so it can go on AT&T and the phone and texting works fine.
It mostly works OK for Twitter and Facebook and some other apps, but when I go to use the browser I’m told: “This is a Wi-Fi service. Please ensure your device has an active Wi-Fi connection and try again.”
I have a plan from AT&T which includes data, though I haven’t moved this to their Blackberry plan yet (for my daughter, there was no cost differential). I see “edge” not “EDGE” which I believe enters into this.
Anyone know how to fix this?
I thought I’d look at what tweeters were saying, just for fun. Here’s a brief sampling.
I have a little Twitter applet open alongside my email program. A few moments ago I saw tweets from Michael Buckley (Buck Hollywood) and Aaron Barnhart (KC Star) screamed out in the tweets concerning The Bachelor.
Michael and Aaron were virtually SCREAMING. “SAY NO! RUN!!!!!!!,” was Michael’s line.
I guess there was a proposal, breakup and proposal to a runner-up in short succession. Oy!
I thought I’d look at what tweeters were saying, just for fun. Here’s a brief sampling.
scarymommy: I just threw up in my mouth. #bachelor
less than 20 seconds ago from web · Reply · View Tweet
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PeaceCorpsMeri: Pathetic…Molly & Jason obviously belong together. Gross. #bachelor
less than 20 seconds ago from Tweetie · Reply · View Tweet
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gibsondm: Molly’s about to get punked. #bachelor
less than 20 seconds ago from TweetDeck · Reply · View Tweet
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CarmaSez: didn’t need to see this up close kissing 🙁 staged?? #bachelor
less than 20 seconds ago from web · Reply · View Tweet
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sfwallace: wow, NO CLASS. No class. #bachelor
less than 20 seconds ago from web · Reply · View Tweet
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justicefergie: oh Molly. #bachelor
less than 20 seconds ago from TweetDeck · Reply · View Tweet
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SmallSlice: EWWWWW are you serious? Molly has ZERO self esteem! #thebachelor #bachelor
less than 20 seconds ago from web · Reply · View Tweet
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asexiness: RT @taylor_blue: Excuse me while I puke… #bachelor
less than 20 seconds ago from TweetDeck · Reply · View Tweet
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jennkamienski: Is this really happening?! #bachelor
less than 20 seconds ago from TwitterBerry · Reply · View Tweet
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ShainaBrokken: WOOOT!! I’m so happy for them!! #bachelor
less than 20 seconds ago from web · Reply · View Tweet
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mjjaaska: RT @kevindjohnson: Just goes to show you…sometimes a hot oil massage and dinner aren’t the only keys to a marriage. #Bachelor
half a minute ago from TweetDeck · Reply · View Tweet
Wow–that’s brutal. On the other hand, it is probably pretty good for our news lead-in.
There was a time when snow was fun… then it was an imposition… now it’s hell on Earth.
That little quip came through my Twitter account earlier today after I posted my disdain for the upcoming snowstorm. Why do people find it so hard to believe? Why must I root for mayhem?
I replied:
There was a time when snow was fun… then it was an imposition… now it’s hell on Earth. There is nothing good in it for me. I’m saying this even though I was off last week and have made no public forecast for it.
It’s a natural thing for snow to get worse as we get older. That’s why no one’s retiring to Buffalo.
By the way–blizzard conditions are possible through Monday morning. Great.
I watched until it looked like Pittsburgh had put it away, then fell asleep. I half heard the 100 yard runback with my eyes closed and head on a pillow on the sofa.
Super Bowl Sunday–I never got out of my pajamas. Didn’t shower until after 10p.
We started the day watching the entire “Puppy Bowl V.” OK, I didn’t totally dedicate myself to PB-V but I was in the room. I love Harry Kalas’ voice, but he really isn’t a great v/o reader.
I want the Beagle with lighter brown markings as a family member–Madeline.
We were watching NBC when Matt Lauer interviewed President Obama. Audio problems! Wow. That never used to happen on the network. I’m curious if this was staffed and set-up the same as it would have been 8-years ago?
Was President Obama too casual? No tie. Is it OK for the president to make Inspector Gadget references? Is it OK for a president to be impolitic and take sides in a football game, as he did?
He seemed like the nicest, most engaging and charming president of my lifetime. He makes Bill Clinton seem like Grover Cleveland.
I was uncomfortable President Obama was so relaxed and casual. It’s my problem I suppose. Just not used to it.
Coin toss. Who knew General Patraeus was short?
I didn’t have a lot of interest in the actual game. I watched until it looked like Pittsburgh had put it away, then fell asleep. I half heard the 100 yard runback with my eyes closed and head on a pillow on the sofa.
I did wake up for the exciting conclusion.
One of the best parts of the day was reading Ana Marie Cox (the original Wonkette) on Twitter. Here’s a sample.
A Husky/Beagle mix playing in #puppybowl. That must have been one hell of a blind date.
Will @animalplanet be sued by FCC for showing pussy during halftime of the #puppybowl?
Griffey totally railroaded out of #puppybowl!!! Nipping is the opposite of “un-puppylike behavior”!
Apparently David Patraeus overseeing superbowl coin toss but not the Iraq elections
Are NFL coaches’ headsets the only form of technology that gets *larger* as it improves?
I don’t even really “get” football but even I understand that a 100-yard interception return is bad. Maybe the Cards are McCain after all.
This “Born to Run” song is kind of catchy! I think it could be a hit!
Cheering for the Cards reminds me of how being a Democrat used to feel.
Pitchers and catchers only a few weeks away!
The weather here is awful. We’ve been warming for 15 or 16 hours, it’s raining and there’s slushy snow everywhere. Rain de-fluffs snow!
I follow “PhotoJeff” on Twitter. Jeff, whom I don’t know, is with Microsoft. He just wrote:
“PhotoJeff: …here’s a holiday fashion tip for men. Stop wearing the Santa hats! They look cute on girls and women, but make you look like a doofus…”
Great–like I’m not already guilt ridden. I’m wearing the hat on TV today anyway. Jeff lives in Seattle. He won’t see it.
I used to wince “tracking Santa” with the NORAD animations. Who knows why, but a few years ago it started seeming like more fun and I’ve embraced it. So tonight, in my doofus hat, I’ll be tracking Santa.
I’ve had parents tell me how their kids enjoy the Santa tracking, but the happiest of all are our producers who are working with a skeleton staff and happy to get a full serving of “Newscast Helper!”
The weather here is awful. We’ve been warming for 15 or 16 hours, it’s raining and there’s slushy snow everywhere. Rain de-fluffs snow!
On top of that, last night’s performance from Darlene Love was a disappointment. It wasn’t Darlene as much as it was HDTV! What always seemed like a huge and glittery production on Letterman looked more like a high school pageant on the wider and more highly resolved LCD screen. The studio looked old and worn. Then the show ran long, meaning my recordings (yeah–two) were snipped at the very end.
I’m sure my mood will brighten later. The folks who work Christmas are always in a good mood. Honest. I’m not sure how that works, but they are.
Merry Christmas. Happy Chanukah.
The bigger question is, who has the time to constantly monitor all of these darn sites?
Are you on Facebook? How about Linkedin? Me too. My friend Jon Wolfert responded via email a few days ago after I tried to connect via Linkedin.
OK, we’re “LinkedIn” now, but I really have no idea what to do with this site. A few months ago I played around with Facebook, mainly because I wanted to see some photos Melissa [his daughter] had posted on her page, and I find that is easier to deal with than this place. But even there I have a seemingly incompatible mix of family, friends and business types.
The bigger question is, who has the time to constantly monitor all of these darn sites? -j
He’s right. It’s a fulltime job.
I forgot to mention Twitter. I’m on Twitter too, but when I tweet it’s automatically relayed to Facebook. Two birds with one stone.
Who should be my friend? Lots of strangers ask. I’ve tried to limit my friendliness to people I actually know–but I don’t want to offend.
If you’re not on Facebook I should explain. Facebook has added one thing life has always needed–an ignore button!
I actually find Facebook reasonably useful. I am watching a community of people I know. Facebook cleverly gives me the opportunity to squelch or amplify certain people without their knowledge.
Now I can look friendly without having to actually be friendly!
I guess there’s also the stalker aspect of this. I know who your friends are. I know where you’ve been. I see pictures from your fun times… and your drunk times. I’ve seen pictures of your friends too.
But I am still in a quandary about who to accept as my friend. I want to be friendly, just not too friendly. Maybe I should take the advice of soon-to-be-former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich:
Maybe not.
With this one move NBC guarantees its future going forward. It’s an offensive, defensive and strategic move all at the same time.
This is genius. With this one move NBC guarantees its future going forward. It’s an offensive, defensive and strategic move all at the same time.
No secret here–network television (and local television) is in sad shape. Our business model continues to deteriorate in this horrible economic climate and in the face of increased competition from the Internet. NBC and the other networks have to do something to remain viable.
Moving Jay Leno to 10:00 PM is a cost saving move. The Tonight Show, even with an enlarged budget, is light years cheaper to produce than scripted episodic television. I would guess the demographics are comparable, maybe even better than episodic fare.
Moving Jay Leno to 10:00 PM lets NBC run a program that it controls 100%. There is no one but Leno to deal with. I’d guess he’s getting a long term commitment.
Moving Jay Leno to 10:00 PM is a defensive move. With Conan O’Brien set to take the 11:35 PM slot there were rumors of Leno jumping to ABC. Obviously, that’s off the table. At this moment, NBC ‘owns’ all the established talk show talent except David Letterman–who has seen much better days.
This is bad news for the Hollywood production community. Five weekly hours of high budget TV will no longer be produced. That will throw a lot of people out-of-work.
How this move do anything but benefit NBC? Even slightly lower ratings than what’s being replaced (if that happens) still has the potential to produce higher net revenue. Whether the affiliates benefit remains to be seen. Over the past decade networks have shown less than unwavering support for their local stations.
Tweeting on Twitter, the Times Brian Stelter says, “Leno at 10 would seem somewhat DVR-proof and Web-proof — a smart move by NBC, right?”
I wonder if he’ll do the show live? He should.
I suspect I can still recite the words to both sides of “Waiting for the Electrician or Someone Like Him” and “How Can You Be In Two Places At Once When You’re Not Anywhere At All.”
I listened to the Firesign Theater last night. If you are of a certain age and hung with a certain crowd you know the Firesign Theater. You know them well.
I was petrified Firesign would be like nearly everything else I re-discover from the 60s and 70s–it hadn’t aged well. Fear unfounded. They were ahead of their time. We’re only now catching up.
I dropped a reference to Firesign via Twitter and had a bunch of people respond with lines from one of their records. I suspect I can still recite the words to both sides of “Waiting for the Electrician or Someone Like Him” and “How Can You Be In Two Places At Once When You’re Not Anywhere At All.” Their records (this was the pre-cassette, pre-CD, pre-digital era) were intellectual and silly simultaneously.
Here’s a very short sample from their webpage.
I searched and found Phil Proctor’s email address and sent him a note. His was the first Firesign name that came to mind. I don’t know him. He responded quickly.
I listened to my Firesign Theater records and listened again… and again… and again. These guys were like gods to me. I wonder if they knew?
I’m planning on watching the debate on TV and Twitter’s streaming Election 2008 site.