Amway Australia...You GET It.

This video from Amway Australia captures in two minutes how social media is the new word of mouth to the n'th degree.

No Turning Off Your True Self When You're Online

Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill

‎"When it comes to technology in general, and social networking in particular, the heart is simply revealed."

--excerpted from a piece by Mark Driscoll in the Washington Post.

While he is responding specifically to one issue of  Facebook and adultery, Driscoll's statement addresses a much broader issue relevant to us all.

‎"Impatient, angry people post flame-throwing statements in haste.

Boastful, narcissistic people post statements and photos constantly to ensure we do not ignore them.

Dissident troublemakers post trolling inflammatory comments, seeking to have the same effect as a hose on a bees' nest.

And the perverted pursue illicit connections, including adultery, as they enjoy posting and seeing sexualized photos and statements."

I can attest to the truth of those words, especially having actively engaged on the 'Net on different platforms over the past few years. My online dialogues with a wide spectrum of people have ranged from MySpace (just who is on there anymore?), Facebook  and YouTube to Twitter  and a wide variety of forums and blogs.

In that time, I've engaged in diverse (and hot-button) topics such as Amway, homeschooling, politics, religion, sports, family and money.

Are we all entitled to the occasional "off" day, in which we respond in a way that doesn't reflect our authentic self? Absolutely. But what is the pattern of how we engage with the world--both online and offline?

Years ago, I thought it was a given topic that caused people to respond in a certain way. But through engaging online with hundreds of people from many different walks of life, I've witnessed undeniable, and all too predictable, patterns emerge.

Driscoll's diagnosis puts into words what I've come to firmly believe: cyber-behavior truly is a matter of the heart.

It's Been Four Weeks??!!

It's been 28 days since I last blogged. I'm surprised the Weblog Police haven't come knocking at my door.

Rather than feel the pressure of attempting to play catch up and do a dozen posts in the next dozen hours; or act like the last 672 hours didn't occur, I'll do a couple of "filler" blog posts.

Brief highlights of the last few weeks. Here we go...

October 30th - Facebook Photo Causes Avalanche of Other Photos, Dialogue, and Memories
On May 31, 2007 I joined Facebook. My second visit to the site was seven months later when I got a "friend request" from one of my real friends. It wasn't until seven months after that--fourteen months after my first log-in, on July 23, 2008, that I visited again and added three other friends who had found me.

Within 24 hours, people were coming out of the woodwork, and my facebook friends were rapidly expanding. People I hadn't heard from in 10, 15, 20 years!

One group of friends are from my high school--The Chicago Academy for the Arts. I posted a picture of Jamie Harrold with the caption "Our playground". That picture had some of the funniest comments from fellow classmates, as they recounted some of our teenage escapades. That dialogue inspired Sean Guinan to upload 49 photos -- 49!!--none of us had seen before. It's been a fun and interesting and moving and rich experience seeing every one's thoughts and their perspectives, prompted by 20-plus year old photos.

October 31st - Halloween. Why?
Now that the kids are old enough to participate in activities, it's become apparent that I'm not really in to Halloween.

Not even addressing the spiritual aspect of Halloween,
I'm not a fan of:
*scary stuff
*knocking on strangers' doors
*candy

I do like:
*dressing up in cute costumes
*parties with healthy tasty food
*fun

Make note to self: Kids will participate in fun costume parties and costume parades, but will skip everything else.

November 4th - Obama Rally in Grant Park
There is much to say about this night. Many different images, thoughts, feelings. I want to mention just one aspect: the realization that Grant Park was the center of the universe that night.

My aunt sent me an email, acting like Charlie from Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory who just received a Golden Ticket. She was so excited that she had received a ticket to the event and she was able to invite someone. And she chose me.

Frankly, I was not interested in going. I was indifferent to the whole thing. Then I got to thinking...I'm an "el" ride away from seeing possibly the next president of the United States, with major implications which could be remembered for generations, and I don't wanna go 'cause I'm not really in to crowds or politics or staying up late or leaving my family for an evening? How lame is that?

So I went and I took photos, kind of with a historian/photojournalist/observer perspective. Here's a 28-second video of the celebratory crowd



a few minutes before Obama took the stage to deliver his sobering victory speech. Interesting juxtaposition.

My first inkling that all eyes were looking right where I was standing, was when I went on to my phone to send a "status update" on facebook. My friends all around the country were on their computers sending updates about their thoughts as they watched this event on television?

And then to see one from half way across the world write: "David welcomes America back to the world. We missed you."

Huh? It took the next 48 hours, as I watched the event on video, read accounts of the event in the newspapers, saw tons of pictures of the event online, to grasp the magnitude of what had occurred and that I was smack dab in the middle of it.

The most overwhelming was to see 700+ front pages of newspapers from around the globe, reporting the events in America on November 4th, 2008.

The world is watching America. Stunning realization, to say the least.


to be continued...