“It seems to me that the great thing about the flag is that it symbolizes something inherently indestructible: the concept of freedom. You can burn the flag as many times as you want and the concept of freedom is not only still there – it’s stronger. I like that about my flag. I would go so far as to say it’s my flag’s best feature.”
Heading for Destin
We saddle up and head for Destin tomorrow for a week in the sun with friends and family. (Thanks to Vince and Mike with the JCPD SWAT Team for sitting with the dogs.) Not sure what the wifi situation will be at Amberjack Landing but it won’t hurt me (much) to be off the grid for a few days. I plan to spend some of the time dancing the with Mac Book.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Long-time readers might recall I’m fond of Frank Capra’s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. It makes me nostalgic for a time and a government that probably never existed. Usually leaves me depressed because it reminds me how venal our real-life congressmen are. I’ve posted clips from the movie going back years and decided to put them all in one post. Just watch the movie.
Five minutes ahead, five years behind
Every year I come back from Gnomedex with a sense of perspective. A better understanding of where I am on the technology continuum (for lack of a better term).
Future: That space way out on the edge of what we already know about and what the smart kids at Google and Amazon and eBay et al. are dreaming up.
Present: This is what I think of as “state of the art.” People and companies in this Present have a good grasp of all the current technologies and tools and are using them every day. Everybody fully in the Present has a clue and is standing on tiptoe, peering into the mists of the Future.
Past: Where we’ve been. Valuable only in terms of how it helps us understand our place in the Present and the Future.
There were some very bright people at this year’s Gnomedex (and a few of us got in because we had $500) and as I listened to the discussions, I began seeing the image above in my head.
Learfield –the company I work for– is very successful. We are primarily a marketing and sales company with strong ties to what is frequently referrred to these days as “old media” (Radio and TV). Like all companies, we use the Internet extensively and we’re searching for ways to use it more effectively. But we’re not in the Present I described above. How far back up the road are we? I’m not sure. Perhaps we’re like those NASCAR drivers that get in behind the leaders and draft along until we see an opening.
And I’m only about five minutes ahead because this is all I think and read about. And even that small gap is narrowing.
Attending Gnomedex is like cresting a hill and –for just a few minutes– I can see some of the smart kids way off on the horizon, running toward the future. I won’t catch them, but it’s nice to get a glimpse every now and then.
The Long Tail (Book)
If you loved Chris Anderson’s Wired article (Octoboer, 2004), The Long Tail… you will love his book (same name). I’m just a couple of chapters in but finding “hmmm” nuggets on every page.
Most of the top fifty best-selling albums of all time were recorded in the seventies and eighties (the Eagles, Michael Jackson), and none of them were made in the past five years.
Anderson provides a deeper understanding of why Amazon and Netflix, et al. are so popular. This might be a two-highlighter book.