Blog is a Mix Tape

beyond the 140: wherein we bite from anil and think about biting dogs

nobody@vox.com(Jason) — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 00:16:19 -0700

I told Anil I was stealing this idea and now, for you, a new blog feature - Beyond the 140!

home! my short good friday wasn't that short. Now waiting for my sister to come over so we can go see There Will Be Blood at the arclight. about 7 hours ago from twhirl

The verdict on There Will Be Blood - intense. Daniel Day-Lewis's performance was amazing to watch. I get all the "I Drink Your Milkshake" references now and why people have enjoyed the film overall. That said, it is lacking in a clear plot path. I could've used more story and less character study. That would've made the two and a half hours not feel like two and a half hours.

The sisterly time included a lively conversation about what her dream 21st birthday would look like (a trip to Paris with friends from both LA and New York) and what my ideal wedding would look like (taking 20 people - 10 for the bride, 10 for the groom - to the Greek Islands featuring a small outdoor ceremony, a ship, me being named the new king of Santorini and a lot of happy). That said, pretty much any dream party of mine these days involves taking X number of people to Y location (where Y varies from Greece, South Africa, Japan or Hawaii).

This was my favorite article in last month's GOOD. I want the most expensive pizza, like now: http://xrl.us/bh29f about 11 hours ago from twitterrific

It was. GOOD is a very enjoyable magazine and I'm a sucker for decadence. I'm not one for denying myself the finer things in life. I'd probably feel sick after this meal but, you know, I don't desire to jump out of planes or do the extreme sports. The $250 pizza is how I take it to the limit.

hot dog talk: twitter as food pr0n: flickr - put that on your SAT Verbal Exam. about 12 hours ago from twitterrific

a hot dog is most perfect with just mustard. You may add cheese, chili, saurkraut and maybe relish (not all at once). at a BBQ, bbq sce, ok about 12 hours ago from twitterrific

ketchup is *never* okay on a hot dog made for the kid. about 12 hours ago from twitterrific

There was a passionate 2 hour conversation about hot dogs on twitter today. This is why twitter is winning, by the way, despite one of the most wrong-headed articles I've read in awhile. The most perfect dog is the Dodger Dog with mustard. Well, really 3 or 4 of them washed down with a giant lemonade. That said, my number 2 is a chili cheese dog also with a little moustasa. I don't do the LA street dogs and even our recent trip to Pink's was pretty tame on my part. Don't mess with the classics.

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afterSXSW - the julia allison twitter story

nobody@vox.com(Jason) — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 01:37:10 -0700

You know who Julia Allison is right? Well, she came to SXSWi and my twitter feed was dominated by sightings, quotes, and criticisms of the web ingenue. I found it such an odd experience, all probably the worst for her (although this is her own creation), to have everyone marking the every movement of someone who is internet famous strictly because she likes to date tech guys and blogs about it. Hell, I even participated. She became an adjective, a kind of state of being during the event.

Based on the tweets, her weekend at the tech freaknik had a nice little rhythm to it. I'm surprised she wasn't sighted saving a baby, showing her britney, and fighting Mike Tyson all at the same time. Anyway, here's what everyone said:

marrina : @taulpaul: Julia Allison will be at the SXSW int. conf. I have no idea why. Would you please slap her on the face for me? << (2008-03-06 23:09:42)
melissagira : OH: "It was I who deflowered Julia Allison." << (2008-03-08 22:59:22)
ekai : Just saw julia Allison line jump straight to the front at 16bit << (2008-03-08 23:02:58)
bustermcleod : I just saw Julia Allison. << (2008-03-09 00:15:52)
davemorin : Bike Taxi Caravan to the Marriott for werewolf with brittany bohnet, leah culver, julia allison, and daniel burka! << (2008-03-09 01:06:24)
ms_sloanev : Marriot party is sick! Thanks @briansolis. Met Julia Allison, word. << (2008-03-09 01:30:48)
biznickman : Standing with Julia Allison at the Omni Shorham << (2008-03-09 04:22:12)
thinkpol : @ailie uh... to tell you the truth, I had to Google Julia Allison to find out who she was. :-/ << (2008-03-09 10:23:11)
taulpaul : Off to the first MXMW panel of the day. Why Kevin Rose dumped Julia Allison. << (2008-03-09 11:40:59)
mkstump12 : Btb julia allison is here. whats the deal? this chick is everywhere. << (2008-03-09 12:40:21)
misterjt : Also, loved the "I'm Internet Famous" discussion. Julia Allison is living it and hating it, people!! << (2008-03-09 13:39:56)
centernetworks : julia allison just walked in << (2008-03-09 14:21:16)
cinevegas : In Ballroom A for the Zuckerberg convo, Julia Allison is up front trying to direct a cell phone cam << (2008-03-09 14:24:10)
rachelleb : julia allison of valleywag infamy front row @ zuckerberg keynote talking into camera. owen from valleywag also nearby.would pay to see fight << (2008-03-09 14:26:39)
Sarahrahpark : julia allison is here in first row, she just met jeff jarvis << (2008-03-09 14:36:42)
whalesalad : Chilling behind Julia Allison. Tasty. << (2008-03-09 14:37:49)
sco : Sitting next to Julia Allison at the Zuck keynote. << (2008-03-09 14:46:50)
kloudjonas : Julia Allison vs. Valleywag! << (2008-03-09 18:13:30)
ms_sloanev : Julia Allison can't stand that she wasn't on the gossip panel and has wedged her way on. << (2008-03-09 18:14:58)
kloudjonas : Julia Allison: "I'm writing fucked up things, about fucked up people" << (2008-03-09 18:16:16)
noor : am i supposed to know who julia allison is? << (2008-03-09 18:16:59)
shellen : Julia Allison was invited onstage to scratch Owen Thomas' eyes out. Awesome. << (2008-03-09 18:20:45)
hc : julia allison is on stage arguing with owen thomas. for context: http://tinyurl.com/3axrzt << (2008-03-09 18:32:08)
fraying : Julia Allison derails gossip panel. << (2008-03-09 18:37:13)
hc : julia allison defends lacy: "it was mismatched communications" << (2008-03-09 18:41:33)

ddemaree : @voodootikigod Yeah, because an event where Julia Allison is a panelist is totally vital to my well-being. << (2008-03-09 18:53:46)

atesttechstory : Julia Allison: crashes SXSW, explains it all [SXSW] - Professional funnylady and amateur gossip Heather Gold jus... -> http://g8l.us/42x << (2008-03-09 18:55:37)
anildash : confessing my sins to julia allison << (2008-03-09 19:01:16)
banky : Julia Allison coming across as a victim of her own life. << (2008-03-09 19:07:53)
noel : Does julia allison twitter? << (2008-03-09 20:19:12)
alexandermcmath : One day I shall be interviewed by Julia Allison, Sarah Lacy, and Scoble. ALL AT ONCE. And yea verily, Valleywag will spontaneously combust. << (2008-03-09 20:30:23)
kenyatta : missed zuck, loren @ black bloggers, and the julia allison debacle at sxsw today. I'm soooo okay with that. << (2008-03-09 21:31:11)
funkybrownchick : At Gawker party. That looks like Julia Allison. Don't know why but I'm slightly surprised she's at SXSW. << (2008-03-09 23:42:32)
michelleoshen : Just got off the phone with @1938media He and Julia Allison had a run-in at the Gawker party... All caught on video going up soon! << (2008-03-10 00:14:27)
misterjt : @aliciarenee thanks! I dont wanna do a Julia Allison << (2008-03-10 01:22:40)
misterjt : Im so Julia Allison right now << (2008-03-10 02:44:23)
misterjt : @mellemusic "who is julia allison?" wikipedia it. or come get internet famouser with me at the A-List parties </snarking on sxsw> << (2008-03-10 04:01:58)
cinevegas : #sxsw Rumour of the night: Kevin Rose and Julia Allison having a late nite rendevous at the Omni << (2008-03-11 01:05:29)
meowrey : At JFK taxi stand. Julia Allison just cut in front of 700 people & 4 dispatchers! (Sike! She said cabs "smell like B.O." & took a town car.) << (2008-03-11 11:27:54)

------

Fascinating, right?

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Merry Reduction Day

nobody@vox.com(Jason) — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 00:33:58 -0800

It is important to remember that sites like Facebook are pieces of software that we can choose to use or not use, just like we choose to use Firefox or Safari or neither.

-If all your friends jumped off of a bridge by Ben Brown, Internet Rock Star, 01.02.08

At one point last fall, I realized I was trying to run five blogs, two Flickr accounts, and a del.icio.us page, all the while keeping up a constant patter on Twitter, IM, and email. Only two of those things were strictly necessary for my work; the rest just made their way into my life somehow. Sure, I was doing a lot of it because it was fun, but I knew I had to scale back or else I was going to end up speaking only in 140-character, hyperlinked sentences.

-Re-evaluating Your Online Commitments by wood.tang, 43 Folders, 01.01.08

I'm deeming the first Monday of this new year (and possibly subsequent years) Merry Reduction Day. Having already celebrated Happy Introvert Day this year, I'm all about unrecognized holidays in 2008. The point of Merry Reduction Day is this - reduce, re-evaluate, delete (not quite as alliterative as those greener Rs but what are you gonna do? </revrun>). I feel like I'm everywhere on the web and I'm realizing I don't need to be. I've come to dislike Facebook (after digging it for not being myspace) but now that I have a relatively large network of people there and it is this mixture of work and friends and family, I feel like my chocolate is getting all up in my peanut butter. Plus, I don't think I can take one more super wall post or werewolf invitation (the irony of this, of course, being that I was often the one inviting others to these stupid apps a few months ago). So, on Monday, Facebook is gone.

Also on the potential chopping block:

Most of these don't cause the time suck and brain drain that Facebook does but I maintain them (or let fester) just because and doing so prevents me from doing other important and necessary work or fun. To be honest, the only social network I need is twitter. 140 character bursts from intelligent people I like is so best and I love that the conversation is going 24/7 (but we'll revisit twitter in a later post). Last.fm and twitter are where I spend most of my web social time and there are a few other services I use more for functionality than community but what I'm saying is I don't need all this nonsense. Ben Brown likens Facebook and myspace to Costco or Wal-Mart and he's so right.

I don't want your 60 rolls of toilet paper, free samples, or deals that aren't really deals. I just want to feel connected in meaningful ways with the people that matter to me in the contexts that make the most sense.

So, get ready Monday, it's going to be a great day. Oh, and if you're playing scrabulous with me on facebook, we better hustle and finish and find a fitting alternative to the cool way (facebook does do some things very well) that scrabble is played there.

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Best Random Finds of 2007

nobody@vox.com(Jason) — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 12:10:25 -0800

Lay Your Head Down

Keren Ann

I've noted -- probably on twitter since I rarely post things longer than 140 characters these days -- that I have way more music released this year than I have in years past. With podcasts, music blogs, my emusic subscription, amazon.com mp3 downloads and monthly amoeba runs, I'm awash in music. Hell, I even tested out urge for 6 months this year. As I do chores this morning, I'm listening to my Best of 2007 playlist in preparation for my end of the year music posts (yes, I might actually write things here in full interesting sentences that you may even care about). These two finds, Keren Ann, above, and Big Sir, below, were both random podcast finds. I'd never heard of either artist before and, in truth, I haven't sought out other music of theirs since but, today, I was reminded why I gave each 5 stars.

Blutrausch (Smooth Interlude)

Big Sir

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danah's Twitter Questions

nobody@vox.com(Jason) — Thu, 03 May 2007 08:18:19 -0700

danah's asking. I'm answering.

First, the practical question. Can i quote you?
[ X] Yes, and you *must* use my real name.

[ ] Yes, but please use a pseudonym and don't use any identifying information.
[ ] No, please just use this for your own weird thoughts.

1. Why do you use Twitter? What do you like/dislike about it?

Twitter keeps me connected. Connected to my friends near and far. Connected to people in ways I wasn't before. Via Twitter, some people I would've considered merely online acquaintances, I now consider full-fledged friends. Via Twitter, I stay invested in people's lives.
That said, it sometimes feels a little too present. And, when it's broken? Baby, I'm frustrated.

2. Who do you think is reading your Tweets? Is this the audience you want? Why/why not? Tell me anything you think of relating to the audience for your Tweets.

I'm private so I know who is following me: Friends, SXSWers and Blog readers that don't freak me out.

3. How do you read others' Tweets? Do you read all of them? Who do you read/not read and why? Do you know them all?

I only have 52 friends on twitter and mostly I read everyone but I only truly pay attention to what my friends are saying. I know about 90% of the people I follow.

4. What content do you think is appropriate for a Tweet? What is inappropriate? Have you ever found yourself wanting to Tweet and then deciding against it? Why?

I don't tweet much about other people. I try not to have conversations. I tweet physical, mental, and emotional states most of the time or ask questions or answer questions.
I try hard not to talk too much about work or work specifics on twitter and I try not to vent too hardcore there either. It might feel like private chat but it isn't.

5. Are your Tweets public? Why/why not? How do you feel about people you don't know coming across them? What about people you do know?

I'm private. See answer #4. People who know me need only join twitter for access. People who don't, get the gas face.

6. What do i need to know about why Twitter is/is not working for you or your friends?

I think twitter should explain better the risks of turning on text messaging with the service. I'd like to be able to target messages to reply to but, other than that, I think it works well for my peoples.

Bonus: Twitter Grammar Tips.

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links: Nets and Twits

nobody@vox.com(Jason) — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 20:12:42 -0700

There's still more to talk about about SxSW but, for now, let's link to some things we've discussed before:

I love twitter, but this is some nerdy shit:

Interest in the messaging service Twitter is clearly on the rise (see this Wall Street Journal article if you’re not already familiar with it), and while most people are figuring out how to use Twitter for its intended purpose–social networking–I’d like to share a few notes on my more prosaic experiment of using it as part of my home automation system.

- Twittering Your Home by Gordon Mayer, O'Reilly MacDevCenter Blog, 03.16.17

That we're not playing by the same rules (like these) is why I like namespaces/content places like VOX:

I won’t engage with persons that post inflammatory off-topic messages. I alone am responsible for wasting my time. Besides, I could be encouraging the continued posting of said comments.

-NETIQUETTE (jt. - although, damn, can't we turn the caps lock off?), Dead Men Don't Rape, 02.17.07

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@sxsw: The Ramble

nobody@vox.com(Jason) — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 14:27:22 -0700

I'll come back to a lot of the things I'm going to touch on here more deeply later (particularly twitter, the digital ethnorati panel, and the new "online identity" conversations) but here's what my very tired brain is thinking about:

Twitter:

How did I stay connected to people at SXSW before twitter?
I do have unlimited text on my phone, right?
Twitter is not for your personal conversation. Let's try a one interaction AB conversation (and use the @username convention) and not AB AB AB AB AB AB where I don't know if you're talking to me or not. Remember we don't all have the same friends. We do still have IM and Direct Message and E-Mail for that.
It is not rude to stop following someone.

People:

Samhita and Erica are some of my new favorites. Get Familiar.
Laina and Ms Jen are now officially part of my sxsw inner circle
I'm awfully excited I finally got to meet Rox and RKB in person
It's nice being able to talk work stuff with work friends like Amy and Cruftbox at SXSW
George, Lynne, Tiffany, Lainie, and Tracy are all my ace #1 peoples but you know this

Parties (one word thoughts):

Panels:

Business Side of Web Design

I really need to come up with the "Agency Constitution" for my production team
I really need to form a production philosophy that we'll adhere to. A mantra, if you will (and not negative ones like "No more phases" and "Not a production issue").
I don't have any design/agency/business role models. I should get some.

Emerging Technology and Social Trends

Summary thought: Now that people have developed online identity, they are now seeking a sense of place and that often means at points where online and offline worlds intersect.
We really need to stop thinking about offline and online as separate.
public vs. private is still a huge (and unsolved) issue.
SF nerds name-check plazes all the time but I don't think it has much average user application (or provides a service that people are clamoring for)

Every Breath You Take

New etiquette rules really need to be established for online and mobile communication
Reputation, Identity, Presence, Nameplaces - these are my kinds of buzzwords
How does the desire for someone like me who wants a persistent online identity exist at the same time that many people (particularly young people) like the concept of disposable identity? Are their tools and applications that can make the web better for both types of folks?
What about those who want no online identity but still wants the tools that are increasingly requiring identity creation?

Production 2.0

Short form/online content creators are mostly thinking about how to navigate big media negotiation instead of thinking much about the new challenges they face as their content gets monetized (unions, guilds, talent, production value)
I don't know enough about the VLOG community

User Generated Content

This requires it's own post.

The Digital Ethnorati (questions)

Do we get to self define ourselves as the "Ethnorati"?
When unexpected communities begin using a tool in unexpected ways, is there a kind of "byte flight" where the intended/existing community leaves for other options? (See Orkut, see fotolog, See even Friendster)
I'm not sure I subscribe to the assumption that online access is for all (at least not in the "a laptop in every living room, a broadband connection in every wall" kind of way it was discussed here)
Are there companies thinking about technology tools from ethnic/geographic perspective? Who are they? Who is running them?
Aren't the tools being created from a commerce perspective different from the ones that academia and/or socially progressive organizations need in the communities they service?
Does perception matter in this case?

Dan Rather Keynote

snooze

(This isn't done but I want to get it live. Many many links to come)

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QotD: Thanks But No Thanks

nobody@vox.com(Jason) — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 01:07:14 -0700

How do you handle phone calls from telemarketers?

like I answer the phone.

Now if telemarketers start twittering, we can talk.

Speaking of which, a whole post on twitter etiquette is coming.

When I'm more sober.

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@sxsw: Bridging the Online Cultural Divide

nobody@vox.com(Jason) — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 13:55:09 -0800

I haven't seen many notes online yet about the panel but I think it went well. I met my goals of talking about socials tools that I like (vox, twitter) and why I like them (gating, persistent ID, groups, access levels, moderation). I didn't spill any work secrets but still got to talk about how community apps get thought about or not thought about when they are being developed, the role of setting rules, the difference between how news editors might deal with content and moderation vs. what a blog editor might or might not care about.

Samhita, Lynne and Laina were, of course, amazing and I think we accomplished what we wanted. I got nods of appreciation from Lisa Stone and that's enough for me.

If you were there, I'd love feedback. Via vox, IM, email or twitter.

unrelated: Twitter is THE thing to talk about this year.

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@sxsw: Doin' Dem Thangs (in Texas)

nobody@vox.com(Jason) — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 22:49:34 -0800

Y'all know how to find me: Twitter, Dodgeball, IM, the Hideout, the Onion, where ever my boy DJ Mel is.

Here's what my daytime schedule looks like I think:

The night time then will be left to wherever I can get into the most trouble.

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Blog is a Mix Tape

beyond the 140: wherein we bite from anil and think about biting dogs

afterSXSW - the julia allison twitter story

Merry Reduction Day

Best Random Finds of 2007

danah's Twitter Questions

links: Nets and Twits

@sxsw: The Ramble

QotD: Thanks But No Thanks

@sxsw: Bridging the Online Cultural Divide

@sxsw: Doin' Dem Thangs (in Texas)

Friday, March 9th

Saturday, March 10th

Sunday, March 11th

Monday, March 12th

Tuesday, March 13th