Le Bon Mot: Exhibitionistic

def: compulsively attracting attention to yourself especially by public exposure or exaggerated behavior

Heh. What a great word. I think it could lead to all sorts of directions but I guess I'll discuss social media. I find it fascinating that we've become so exhibitionistic a culture. Facebook, Twitter, MySpace all allow us to reveal ourselves to the world in a way that our parents would never have. I wonder if it's a smart thing sometimes. Is it really a good move to be so revealing? People have gotten busted for lies and crimes great and small because of it. That's a good thing. It's hard to cover up a web of lies on Facebook when the inclination is to be honest. Maybe that's the point. Honesty is usually the best policy.

I've become gradually more revealing over the years. This blog is a demonstration of that. It's been a lot less painful than I thought it would be.

MMS

So the big iPhone news this week was the rollout of MMS by AT&T. Finally! Of course it came with the appropriate law suit for not arriving soon enough and other grousing. But I had to think to myself – does it matter?

I've been emailing pictures more often than not. Most of my friends have email devices capable of handling it and MMS is really no faster. I can count on one hand the number of times I needed to log into that 'view my message' site that AT&T forced you to log into in order to view them.

Maybe it's a big deal for some but to me it's a non-event. We'll see if that changes in the coming weeks.

Font Joy – Siruca

This unique stencil font is being used in the Al Hamra business complex in Kuwait. I haven't seen a stencil font so contemporary. It was designed by Fabrizio Schiavi. I really like it.

Hat tip [Typography Served]

Le Bon Mot: Sampling

def.: the selection of a suitable sample for study

It was a total wash yesterday, brain wise. I pulled up a bunch of words and was not inspired by any of them. Thankfully this word came up today.

There's the statistical definition, mentioned above. I typically deal in sampling and samples as I am a market researcher at the moment. But there's also a non-stat application that I can discuss in relationship to blogging.

The number of articles I read in a given day would astound anyone. I'm truly a news junkie. I blog about a fraction of the number I read. The word 'sampling' incorporates 'suitable,' and therein lies the rub. It's hard to chose just the one or two articles that illustrate everything I want my blog to illustrate - my mood, the mood of the nation, the mood of the blogesphere, the mood of the various communities I follow.

It's the art of being an editor. A skill I am developing. It's harder than it looks.

Font Joy – St Transmission - Free Download

St Transmission - Free Download: ""

Nice font. Get it. May start using it.

Le Bon Mot: Learnedly

def: adv., with erudition; in an erudite manner

One ironic and irritating aspects of American politics is that the more learned one speaks, the less likely one is to get into office. We saw that in the decimation of John Kerry and there was a worry that Obama would fall to the same fate. The vast majority of voters in this country wants to know that the guy/gal at the top is someone they can drink a beer with at the bowling alley.

I've never quite understood this. Why would you not want someone smarter than you running government. After all, governing is a complex job. If it's all the same to you, I'd prefer someone with smarts doing it. At least there's a chance they will get it right.

P.S. This is the start for what I hope to be a recurring series, if not a separate blog - 'le bon mot' or the choice word, in French. This series serves two purposes – 1. to build my vocab and 2. to have something less bloggy to drive deep thought and reflection. I will be getting my word from the iPhone app Wordbook, which I believe gets their words from Wikidictionary. Sometimes the commentary will relate to current events. Other times it will just be musings from me. Look forward to the journey.

Evolution

What can I say about life that I haven't already said many times. We're all busy.

Lately I have been less interested in adding to the noise of the blogesphere. I read a lot of blogs and reposting can be fun. But at the end of the day, I want to contribute something more than just commentary on what other people say. That's why I haven't been as active on here, even though I think I contribute something noteworthy and meaningful.

I think what is happening is an evolution of this blog in a direction that is more focused on first-person content vs. third person re-blogging. More stories of my own. More pictures of my own.

We'll see. Blogging has been an interesting chronicle of where I am as a person. That alone has made it worthwhile.

Andrea: Naturally Purified Air Filter

Andrea: Naturally Purified Air Filter: "

Andrea is a plant-based air purifier. Looks nice and I like the organic side of things. Available in October for about $200.

Hat tip [Cool Hunting]

VMA's

I've never been a huge VMA person, mainly because the focus is pop music and I tend to listen to more obscure, or at least non-American, stuff. Last night illustrated I was not missing a whole lot but I enjoyed it well enough.

Janet's tribute number was pretty awesome. It was completely natural. I remember when that song/video came out and it was great to see the two together. They have always been connected in my mind and it was great to see them connected on stage for the last time. I'm looking forward to the rehearsal footage/movie.

Of course, everyone is talking about Kanye West's poor behavior in usurping Taylor Swift's moment. It was appalling and deplorable. There's a time and a place for everything and hijacking another artist's moment is beyond the pale. Beyoncé made up for some of it by sacrificing her own moment so that Taylor could have hers. I also think Beyoncé's music number was amazing. It was truly an extravaganza.

I contrast that with Lady GaGa's number, which I didn't get. I really like Lady GaGa; her frequent costume changes were entertainment in itself. There have been many claims to Madonna's throne and while Britney is definitely up there, I don't think Britney has the same imagination. Lady GaGa has that imagination without feeling derivative. I'm sure her career will be filled with ups and downs but it will be interesting to see where she goes.

Back to Taylor, her performance was fantastic. There's nothing more NY than the subway and for her to take over an entire car was awesome. I can't imagine what it must have been like to be one of the teens that sang with her in the car.

On a communication's note, I thought the Twitter trending was an interesting twist, particularly the 'OMG, Shakira and Pink are wearing the same dress.'

Around the country in 30 days

Today marks the start of JetBlue's All You Can Fly pass that they sold in August. I'm not sure why I didn't think of it but many people are using it as an opportunity to fly on behalf of a cause.

Which is why I'm annoyed I didn't think of it. I could have flown on behalf of Multiple Sclerosis, a condition from which my Mom suffers. Of course, I'd need to raise a lot of money to cover the cost of the ticket combined with hotels and the all important dog care. But it's something I can do. Next time.

End of Introversion and Extroversion

One of my many blog subscriptions is PR 2.0 where the author, Brian Solis, breathlessly calls the increasing 'socialization' of our society one reason for the end of the polar opposites of extroversion and introversion. And I quote:

I do believe that we are becoming an increasingly social society. It could very well be the era of introversion to extroversion. With this evolution and transformation, we’re concurrently subject to a greater set of distractions. And as such, we are sidetracked by choice and free will. But, as this is the dawn of the great attention economy, and new tools such as PeopleBrowsr, Seesmic, CoTweet, Facebook, and TweetDeck become our attention dashboards, those of us active in the real-time Web must experience an evaporation of attention span and our ability to digest and respond to everything that moves us.

The problem here is the definition of extroversion and introversion. The two relate to energy, not degree of socialization. Someone who is extroverted craves the energy of people. They need to be surrounded by people or else they feel 'off' in some way. An introverted person is the opposite; they need alone time to recharge their batteries. That doesn't mean they don't enjoy socializing; it's just that too much of that one thing makes them tired.

I'm an introvert. Although I have taught myself to be good in social situations, after a day of socializing I want quiet more than anything else. I don't see anything in 'social' media that rewrites that definition. I bet that most people who are extroverted never tire of telling the world everything. My most extroverted friends update their Facebook status constantly. Introverts are more likely to engage with social media more sporadically or in a more planned fashion.

Of course this is conjecture but it would be an interesting study to analyze the difference between the two personality traits and their engagement in social media.

Office observations from Stephen Fry

If the actor Stephen Fry's blog isn't on your reading list, I highly advise it. It's smart, funny and quite insightful. He's a tech geek like yours truly and I find his observations a breath of fresh air.

Below he compares the executive today vs. yesteryear, the main difference being staff. Any executive worth their salt had a secretary who managed all of the crap that we have to manage ourselves. There's much about the past I don't want to repeat but there are days when I wish I had a good right arm as support.

"When I watch an old TV sketch or drama set in an office it takes some time to spot What’s Wrong With This Picture. Most business people didn’t have computers on their desks until the mid-eighties. Desks had intercoms, pads of paper, an electronic calculator and executive toys like the Newton’s Cradle and the 8-Ball Decision maker. You look at a busy police incident room, a buzzing news room or any kind of office from the pre-digital age and you realise that there are no computers and you try and remember how work got done back then.

Well, there were people called secretaries. They would file documents, pay and send out invoices and arrange meetings and run diaries. They would type up and send letters that were dictated, sometimes personally, often into recording machines.

“Can I use your dictaphone?” “No, use your finger like everyone else”

The computer revolution that has set us all free has actually come close to enslaving us. Executives who once relied on secretaries to do their typing and their admin now have to do it all themselves. They even have to get their own coffee and pinch their own bottoms.

I suppose it’s good for the soul, but it doesn’t half give one pause."

Hat tip [Stephen Fry]

TSC Brand materials

TSC Brand materials: "paralleling a national rebrand of Tractor Supply Company, a rural supply chain, an internal campaign was also launched to get all employees on board with the concept of ' The Stuff You Need Out Here' and what it means to be a TSC employee. These are the materials that were handed out to all employees prior to launch"

This is nice solid typeface with a bit more character than the standard Arial.

Hat tip [Typography Served]

Nice office

Dinning room that's cool

I'm trying to decide on chairs for the dining room. This is not a bad idea.

dear blogger, I miss you

I miss Blogger.

Well it's not the interface that I miss but I miss my entries. I spent months building what is a chronicle of my life and thoughts and it is hard to just throw that away for a flashy new model. Blogger is like an old boyfriend or girlfriend that you still have feelings for even though both of you have moved on.

I don't know what to do.

Maybe I'll date both and see.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]