Novocain for the Brain

I think now is the appropriate time to tell my followers that I actually dislike Facebook very much and now is a relevant time to explain so with the premiere of The Social Network tomorrow.

I think technology is great and should be embraced. People should be eager to learn when access and availability make it possible. I see technology as wings humans fly with, not the crutches to walk with.

It's impossible to say that our wings will never become our crutches. Even thought I consider myself to be a low maintenance guy, I still wonder how I would survive or enjoy my week if I couldn't watch football on TV. Or even a channel to publish these writings. Can't exactly have a blog through a newspaper these days (and those are actually called "columns").

I don't hate Facebook, I hate what it represents. I see it as a barometer of how dependent and absent-minded society is becoming with regard to technology. When I see people on Facebook "liking" everything under the earth and every childhood memory, I can't help but wonder what being excluded. Will conversations about the fads and phenomena of yesteryear just be "yeah, I liked that" "oh, I like that too." It's fun to talk about these things. It's a different level of engagement when you're on the phone (cellular or pay) and when the conversation glides to talking about these things. Or visiting a friend and somehow the words "I remember when…" gathers everyone's attention in earshot. People stop what they're doing to talk and engage with each other.

I don't mean to say that that's not what Facebook is doing. Facebook's mission is "to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected." I think that's what every social network should strive to do. The very definition of social media should be to empower the individual.

It's a shame only a fraction of that empowerment is utilized. It sickens me that in order to get people to market anything party, a Facebook event is a prerequisite. It hurts when I see that boys and girls cry or scream when relationship statuses change. Facebook is a great way to make a presence. Its universality is amazing and evident when people say "oh, just look me up on Facebook." People could use these tools to network, to keep in touch, to collaborate. But I see it being wasted on people playing games like Farmville and spamming my inbox with buy this and buy that campaigns. I think the only positives that I can think of from this are that people are less shy towards being a start-up and hopefully being immersed in these marketing clichés, they will learn that those tickets are NOT really selling that fast no matter who sends the message.

For every inspiring piece of photography that I see from an amateur, I see 5 questions answered about someone in a random social interview (and these answers aren't really worth repeating.) For every new start up that is trying to do better than someone else, I see people inviting me to share my phone number because of a lost phone. In fact, Facebook is approaching mass commercialization joining the ranks of Christmas cards and Valentines. Yes, Facebook is committed to being free but is the experience just as rich while we're facing ads for everything that we like? That now more and more businesses are trying to profit from people hanging out with their friends on the digital sphere. Maybe Facebook should offer a Lite version and offer a paid subscription free of ads. Maybe I should just quit Facebook altogether. But that's what I hate: if I want to engage with my community, with my peers – I have few other options than Facebook. It seems to be the standard. Face it, the social network is our crutch to reach out, engage, and do what people like to do. If we're going to have a crutch, it needs to be useful, it needs to be effective. I can accept having that the only information to my party is a Facebook invite. But I can't accept it when people mark off they'll be attending and don't show up. Or stick to a middle ground with a "maybe". I can be stuck in that limbo with live engagement, I don't need a social network to do it for me. Maybe we need a higher standard either from our social network or our society. Maybe I just need some fresh air from the dust and cobwebs.

Facebook is just one giant laboratory. It's a testing ground for people to try everything – from learning how to socialize to learning how to spam. I can accept that these are lessons that today's generation will have to learn albeit I don't believe it's the best place to learn. I've dipped my hand in the well and gotten what I need from it. Don't commit yourself to one classroom though (and who hasn't heard the notion of learning outside the classroom.) Today you're the student; don't forget that one day you'll be the teacher. How embarrassing would it be to prove that you don't know anything?

Bugged Out

A good friend once asked me what my pet peeves were. I gave her a really shitty answer. I usually enjoy conversations with her a lot so typically, I dwell on the topics and then I figure out a more correct, cogent answer:

Pet Peeves:

1. When people waste my time. I dislike walking behind slow people and I hate when people are so unaware of their surroundings that I have to say "excuse me" multiple times to bring them back to reality. Get to the point.
   
2. Repeating myself.
   
3. Exclusivity. The world is a place for learning, loving, and living. And in that order as far as my wisdom dictates. You can't learn with an exclusive setting. Involving the participation of all people who are interested is the first step to saying "I want to learn. I want the best." As with the California spirit, you'll have to pick up 100 rocks before you can find a nugget of gold. Think about it.

Poem Sharing #1

Dream Variations Langston Hughes

To fling my arms wide In some place of the sun, To whirl and to dance Till the white day is done. Then rest at cool evening Beneath a tall tree While night comes on gently, Dark like me- That is my dream! To fling my arms wide In the face of the sun, Dance! Whirl! Whirl! Till the quick day is done. Rest at pale evening... A tall, slim tree... Night coming tenderly Black like me.

More than Battle

I find myself facing a rite of passage that not many people like to discuss. Well, what makes it a rite of passage in the first place? First, every time I tell people of the task at hand, I receive well wishes and good luck on my endeavor. If that's not enough, it fits the exact definition by James C. Livingston, author of Anatomy of the Sacred.

What is this horrid journey before me? Finding a job. Yes people, finding a job is the next rite of passage in America. There's Bar Mitzvah, then there's college which has multiple passages in itself (e.g.: fraternity membership, binging, turning 21, walks of shame, etc.) but I believe the job hunt is being forgotten when it's becoming the most important and difficult passage today.

It irks me that most people take this passage lightly. They refer to it lightly as "the job hunt." Well I'm not satisfied with that. I'm going to take the initiative and let it be known that this is not just a hunt. A hunt whether for job or for game implies a quick kill. One shot here, maybe another shot there, you get what you want and you're momentarily happy. Before you know it, you're out hunting again. No people, finding a job straight out of college is not a one shot kill, it is a battle.

You are armed with an arsenal of resumes and cover letters to get you into enemy lines. This is the only time that espionage and destruction are meant to lead to collaboration. Once infiltrated, you have to use your charm, your wit, and your intelligence, your patience because you will get caught in the interview, the torturous interview. You're so thirsty to finish this battle that you want to be in the interview, let them take your best shot at you where they focus on your weaknesses and twist your answers to something you didn't mean to say. But you can keep your cool. You're a soldier, not just a hunter. Then they lock you in a gripping prison. Will they call? Will they not call? It's a test of the mind that only the victorious know how to pass. But then again, the victorious are much better at avoiding the battle in the first place.

The Valkyries may ride. Whether the battle is won or lost, remember that this is a war for a career. A job doesn't define your drive. Your career path is one of many anchors of success. Do not look back at it as a series of hunts. It is one unified fight. Yes, careers may change but the war is still the same. Are you going to fight to make your productivity the best that it can and will be? Remember, you are not a job hunter. You are a career warrior.

Good Morning Class, Please Log In

Let me tell you class, Twitter is the future of the world. Well, at least micro-blogging. The problem is that nobody knows how to use it. And let me clarify that by use, I mean to use – to turn its potential for productivity into results. The self-proclaimed "techies" that can pick up networks and GUIs with a little bit of clicking here there and (without admitting) pressing the occasional F1 key.

There is a difference between operating and using any type of service or machine. Let's look at a car. The Department of Motor Vehicles in California issues people licenses to operate a motor vehicle, not necessarily drive one. The operation of a car can come down to twisting the steering wheel, stepping on the accelerator or brake pedals, knowing which switch turns on the defrosters and windshield wipers and field test that proves you could probably drive if nobody else was on the road. Driving means knowing how to weave through traffic on a semi-busy freeway, how to efficiently stop (or roll) at a stop sign that leaves everyone on time and unhurt. Driving means knowing how to properly and affordably park your car – anywhere.

Now there are people who know how to operate twitter and more people who know how to drive twitter. If you still want to learn to operate twitter, I suggest you look at their quick tutorial. Now here are some factors to consider if you want to learn to use twitter. Your mileage may vary.

Know who to follow: Twitter revolves around people. By following the right people your stream and inflow of information will be what you want it to be. Think of this as a second chance for you to say "no" to people you don't enjoy unlike accepting everyone's friend requests on other networks. Follow a newspaper or another preferred news source for instant access to current events. Follow your friends because c'mon, they're your friends. Follow some people who are just funny comics like @drunkhulk – yes, The Incredible Hulk does have his own twitter account specifically for inebriated tweets or @English50Cent if that's your humor. Follow dealmakers like @sprinkles or @groupon to find some affordable deals on things you can do around the city. Knowing who to follow is starting to make Twitter work for you.

(In the next lecture, we'll talk about Know who to subscribe via SMS)

Retweet: If people are the heart of Twitter, retweets are the blood. Twitter is about the concise and efficient spread of information throughout a population. What good can knowledge serve its citizens if it is not spread? Nice article by the Journal? Retweet it. Funny posting by @DrunkHulk – retweet it. Somebody asking you where the party is – answer it with a RT. By retweeting, everyone gets a chance to speak the message they want and let as many people hear it as needed. Re-tweets can lead to immense self-discovery as much as discovery.

Listing -
Listing is like being an unofficial follower. You don't need to follow them to list them. Listing has great implications. There is a point where an accounts efficiency in Twitter will drop and listing helps to delay that point. Following all these people to get information or retweeting without caution exposes Twitter to a weakness that every network or website is prone to – spam. Since every post on Twitter is miniscule, it takes time for the junk to build up. But there's a difference in effort between cleaning up a pound of bricks and a pound of sand. One is more tedious than the other. Listing allows you to test-drive a car per se. You may not want your stream filled with random news bits from around the country or world. You can fix this by either unfollowing them or adding them to a list specifically of news sites. Or boring accounts. Or both! A user can customize their lists so to have one for news, one for celebrities, one of family members and filter out unwanted accounts. Of course, managing these lists can be a pain but it's not futile. Imagine having a car specifically for going to work, another car only for the weekends, another car for those special engagements where the valet will be sure to expect something. Now if you have to clean the cars and manage the paperwork, it can be tedious, but you're willing to put up with the work because you enjoy the cars when you ride them.

Develop (a) – Want a challenge? Try developing programs and integrations of Twitter using their API. How cool would it be if a class integrated twitter to their web-based grade books so that every time a teacher updated the grade book, you could learn about it immediately on your Twitter feed and maybe even get it via text message. The possibilities are endless.

Develop (b) – Twitter is for the advancement and enjoyment of the people. It's to keep in touch, it's to spread information, it's to enhance being social. Don't get caught up in Twitter or even the Internet in general. You'll learn, teach, and laugh more from a single face-to-face lunch than you will from a day on Twitter. Think of it as extra credit, or using 91 octane for that wonderful drive ahead.