Emily Nussbaum on teen blogging

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“…a generation of compulsive self-chroniclers, a fleet of juvenile Marcel Prousts gone wild. When he meets new friends in real life, M. offers them access to his online world. ”That’s how you introduce yourself,” he said. ”It’s like, here’s my cellphone number, my e-mail, my screen name, oh, and — here’s my LiveJournal. Personally, I’d go to that person’s LJ before I’d call them or e-mail them or contact them on AIM” — AOL Instant Messenger — ”because I would know them better that way.”

— Emily Nussbaum[via Dave Winer]

What the Internet Is

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“World of Ends: What the Internet Is and How to Stop Mistaking It for Something Else”

There are mistakes and there are mistakes.

Some mistakes we learn from. For example: Thinking that selling toys for pets on the Web is a great way to get rich. We’re not going to do that again.

Other mistakes we insist on making over and over. For example, thinking that:

…the Web, like television, is a way to hold eyeballs still while advertisers spray them with messages.

…the Net is something that telcos and cable companies should filter, control and otherwise “improve.”

… it’s a bad thing for users to communicate between different kinds of instant messaging systems on the Net.

…the Net suffers from a lack of regulation to protect industries that feel threatened by it.

–Doc Searls and David Weinberger

Re-imagine! Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age

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From Tom Peters’ wonderful book, Re-imagine! Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age:

* Getting things done ultimately is not about “power” or “rank.” It’s about…PASSION and IMAGINATION and PERSISTENCE.

* The biggest waste of time in the world: trying to sell and idea “up the chain of command.”

* A Cool Idea is by definition a…Direct Frontal Attack…on the Holy Authority of Today’s Bosses.

* The power of the “powerless” lies in “Boss-Free Implementation.”

* You don’t need an Officially Big Project to attack a Very Big Opportunity.

* Volunteer for Crappy Jobs: crappy jobs that let you take independent charge of things quickly—and early in your tenure.

Rolla sunset

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Rolla SunsetEight hours in the car was rewarded with the image above, taken just North of Rolla with. I never realized sunsets were so fleeting. Lunch with my old friend Bob Fox and his beautiful wife Connie and oldest son, Steve (my namesake, I’m told). I don’t see Bob and Connie often enough. I took the scenic route back with XM Radio providing the soundtrack. Richie Havens doing “Just Like a Woman”…and a really pretty version of “Fragile” by Cassandra Wilson. If you’re still relying on “KISS 103-whatever” for your music, you just just don’t know what you’re missing.

Faith Popcorn on future of advertising

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I’m looking for an interview with Faith Popcorn that appeared in the Wall Street Journal. The question/answer that I found most interesting was:

WSJ: What do you think about the advertising business today? How will it evolve?

Ms. Popcorn: I think it’s on its way to extinction. In three to five years you will see consumers rejecting advertising-which will cause agencies to scramble as they try to make a living. Right now, they are opening trend departments, public-relations arms and viral-marketing departments. It’s about trying to reinvent themselves — but they are very late to the game.