My favorite lunchtime pizza place went out of business a couple of weeks ago. I knew it was too good to be true. They had the best pizza in town (New York style thin crust), and the prices were a steal.

I had a hunch when I first stepped foot in the place a little over a hear ago that they would most likely end up like the majority of newly established restaurants, and go out of business within the first few years. Sad story.

One of my first real jobs during high school and college was working at a local pizza place, in the small town I grew up in. To this day, it was one of the most rewarding jobs I’ve ever had.

I started out dressing pizzas and graduated to running the ovens, and then on to pretty much every aspect of the place. I loved it, and I’ve always wanted to open a pizza joint ever since.

I know the odds of winning at the restaurant game are NOT good. So for now, I’ll put that distraction aside and just morn the loss of good local pie.

R.I.P. New York Pizza

I’m also haunted by the fact that once you put something online it has a way of sticking around and defining your future to a degree – even if the moment that you captured was purely a moment and nothing more.

So I find myself looking for something “professional” to write about, because writing about friends who bail on you, struggles at work, questions about religion, or some other random “conflict”, all seem to create a negative space around you that just gets glued to your ‘digital self’.

For me, the ‘social web’ has turned into a mechanism used, for little more, than defining your online persona. It tires me out, after all, I’m an introvert by nature.

I think part of the success of the social web is that it feeds our inherent desire to be known. It lowers the threshold for most people to share just because they want their voice to be heard.

I think it’s a bit of fools gold though – at least it was for me.

The litmus test was to just stop talking and see if anyone notices. I had my hunch – which was confirmed when I stopped writing “meaningful” blogs and closed my Facebook and Twitter account.

Virtually no one noticed – which is probably more of an outliner than I would like to admit. Either way, it’s telling.

If you work in an office, watch (listen) to this!!

Further inspiration:

• 43folders
• Personal URL

I work for one of the largest media outlets in the US (albeit a sub-sub-sub company) and I know there are a lot of great minds dealing with the subject, but I thought I would toss in my 2 cents.

I love The Wall Street Journal. I’ve always considered it a publication worth paying for. I know they have taken a lot of heat because they have locked away pieces of content that’s been reserved for paying customers. I’m not here to debate whether or not that pay-to-play is the future of the internet (37 Signals seems to be doing just fine with a pay-to-play model). What I want to offer up is a different approach to the established subscription model.

I’m not going to dive into what I think is wrong with the age-old model of media subscription. Instead, here is an idea that might be worth kicking around.

News the iStockphoto.com way – but less complicated.

Option one: Give me unlimited access status. Charge me a monthly fee or even annual. Give me a discount for doing so.

Option two: Let me buy news credits in quantities of 10, 20, 30, etc. Each “locked” news story is 1 credit. The more credits I buy, the cheeper the price-per-credit becomes.

Option two explained

iTunes pioneered the “buy only what you want” way of doing business online. I think one of the driving success factors behind that is because the experience is controlled in iTunes. Each micro transaction is pretty seamless – which would be harder to pull off when consuming news. Do I really want to hit my VISA or Pay-Pal every time I want to read a news story? Maybe?

BUT, if I could set myself an allowance, or buy credits, I could still be in control of the news I was willing to pay for! I could see my available credits and choose whether or not the news item I’m about to click on is worth the money. I am in control!

While I’m there buying news, be sure to keep track of the news I’ve purchased so I can refer to it later. Oh, and make sure it’s easy for me to gift a story to someone too!

Once I’ve used up my credits, make it easy (like iTunes and iStock) to get more.

Take it a step further

What if I could buy an unlimited subscription across news networks? OR what if I could buy credits I could use across news networks? I have 50 Fox credits and can use them on Fox News, Fox Business, Fox Sports, etc. (maybe even local news?)

I would pay to get quality news, and I think there are a lot of people that would be willing to do the same. The threshold has to be low; both with commitment and cost.

Kick it around.

First of all, how long can an ecosystem support that amount of spam and narcissism? At some point, I think the emotionally mature will abandon that environment for something a little more authentic. Or maybe not. Personally, it seems hard to maintain.

Of course, there are those that say it’s a great source of timely information. Which may be true. I can’t help but wonder though, why do we put our trust in the mob (crowd, masses, etc). Just because it shows up on Twitter doesn’t mean it’s important OR true. Not even if it gets retwated 1000 times. How many celebrities have died and then not died and then had a death do-over on Twitter thus far? It tiers me out.

It’s a lot like Macaulay Culkin; entertaining in the early 90s… and then you realize you’re not 12 anymore, and neither is he, and you just want it all to stop… before you hurt someone.

Until the Fail Whale eats us all: @kedrhodes

Johnnie Walker is pioneering more than just a brand of scotch. This ad, if you can even call it that, is entertaining, creative, intriguing, as well as a micro history lesson. To top it all off, it’s 5 minutes long – and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Cheers!

If you’re apprehensive about reading something in the Buddhist way of thinking, then this book is the perfect book to dip your toe in the water. Mr. Ferrucci doesn’t dive into the afterlife or higher powers or anything of the sort. He simply walks you through 18 chapters of learning/living the aspects of kindness. It aught to be required reading for every man, woman and child.

If you only read one new book this year, I can’t recommend this one enough! Read. Enjoy.

My own world view would replace the word kindness with the word love – kindness has less contextual baggage to unpack, but the point is the same.

It wasn’t long after Nike hooked up with Apple that they began losing their forward motion on the tech front. You would think that the two companies, both with a strong innovative track record, that they would continue to lead the pack – stronger than ever.

Granted, the Nike+ integration with the iPod Nano was a step in the right direction – more like a baby step in what could have been a marathon of innovative leadership.

At the time, the Nano was a nice option for runners who wanted nothing more than to pound pavement to Lenny Kravitz or the Black Eyed Peas – it was the smallest iPod with a screen.

It wasn’t long after the Nano integration that the online run tracker was only available to those who used the Nike+ system. Personally, I think that was a poor marketing move – who shuts out THOUSANDS of users who are motivated to use a product that is little more than a marketing tool with “sticky” features? Fail.

Yes, I know the Nike+ is only $29, which is not a big jump – that’s assuming you own one of the two supported iPods – Nano, and recently, the Touch.

Since the iPod integration, Nike has invested an untold amount of money into integrating their technology into their shoes, and telling us all how “must have” their little device is.

I’m not tracking their logic with this one at all anymore. I think at first (however many years ago its been now) it was a step in the right direction – sync a pedometer with a media device – love it. But now what? Not only have they locked all of us out who don’t want to buy their gimmicky shoe or strap a gadget to our New Balances AND buy a Nano – we’re 2 versions into the iPhone and STILL no Nike support! Are you kidding me? There are apps on the iPhone that can measure your heart, blood pressure, track where and how fast you ran, and the list goes on – and yet STILL no Nike.

Why Nike? Because you know you’re $29 gimmick has no more value on the iPhone?

Nike has gotten SO far into bed with their own proprietary technology – that USED to lead the way – that they are having a hard time pulling out (so to speak).

Can’t these companies learn from each others mistakes – your proprietary technology, albeit cool, WILL get replaced by accessible, open and piggyback-able technology. Get over how cool you think you are and find ways to share while still creating revenue. It can be done, and for the record, I think Nike can still do it.

The closer your revenue is attached to YOUR technology the more vulnerable you are to technology itself.

Nike, I love you. You were the first running shoe I ever owned. But as a friend, please, you gotta get over yourself. If you want to run with the pack, you’ve got to think about business in a Web+ world and not a Nike+ world.

From what I gather, FB parallels the type of person behind the account – generalizing of course. For example:

Social Spotlight
This user has 300-500 friends on FB. They request a FB connection with everyone they meet.

Introvert OK
The hardcore introverts are barely breaking 50 friends (assuming they are even online), and that’s only because they have family as friends.

Can’t Help Myself
Then of course there are the people that just can’t say no – no to anything or anyone. They end up with far more associations on FB than they ever care to keep up with, but because someone requested the connection, and they couldn’t refuse, they have a FB tumor growing. I suspect that this person dreads getting online.

Pragmatic Please
The pragmatic user is one of my favorite. They are the user who ignores every friend connection that doesn’t personally impact their life. They probably don’t have a lot of friends on their list, but the ones they do have are close and well connected.

Absentee Friend
We all know, and probably are friends with, the user who only has an account because their child or spouse told them they had to have one. They never update ANYTHING. Yawn.

Users we avoid

The needy
Easy to spot with their 1000+ friends. Do they really care to keep in touch with the daily happenings of 1000+ acquaintances? No, probably not. My guess is that this is the type of person that defines themselves by who they know and who knows them – I call them the “Look at me” crowd. When you have that many “friends” non of them feel important – we’re just cattle in your make-believe fan club. Mooooo… I mean boo…

There is an exception for the poor user who works in the spotlight though – they have a million friends because, well, they have to. But just like the rest of their life, the social scene looks a LOT different than the masses.

MMD
Masters in Marketing Douchery – this is the person use uses their personal account to promote whatever they are doing that makes them money or gives them fame. Yeah, you know the person, and if your offended by this it’s probably because you’re that guy. If you want to promote your business, make a group and commit to communicating only to those who, through their own will, subscribed to that group – or just continue to annoy us all with your MMD – we’ll talk about you behind your back though. Promise.

The Preacher
I’m not necessarily talking about the profession as so much as the user who uses FB as a soapbox. The ONLY thing they post is about saving the ozone, ending the war, saving your soul from damnation – or whatever their particular bent is. This is the guy we all avoid when he walks up to the water-cooler. *cough* Sorry, I gotta get back to that TPS report.

Estranged Relative
Are we even related? I haven’t spoken to you in 15 years and now we’re friends on FB? Why? Why? Why? (fading into the distance…)

The Pouncer
This is the guy who, every time you log in to FB he is there – ready and waiting – to pounce! He starts chatting with you the second you log in, he comments on EVERY post any of his friends EVER make and he fills your inbox, well, crap. The last word – is always – HIS!

Which one are you? Which ones did I miss? Do tell!

1. I used to blog under this same title – What’s the Point?. I took some time off (several years) but now I’m back.
2. I think most blogs are a waste of other people’s time – including this one. The majority of blogs function as therapy for those writing them, but apart from that they are nothing more than internet static. There will be a lot of static here.
3. I’m a “creative” by nature and profession – which means I can be melancholic at times (yes, I know I just generalized all creatives). I’m done apologizing for that. With that comes a bit of cynicism and sarcasm – don’t take it all that serious though; I don’t.
4. When it comes to cyber bulling, I have 0 tolerance. So be nice in my house.

Let the good times roll!