We know it's been snowy this winter, and it was certainly very snowy last year. The two combined have made for a record. For the calendar year of 2008, a record was set for the most snow in one year. MBS [Midland Bay City Saginaw] Airport near Freeland had 102.5 inches of snow. To do what I attribute this large amount of the white stuff? I believe we are in what I call a cyclical stormy pattern caused by the temperature pattern of the Pacific Ocean. I'm talking about the north half of the Pacific. This pattern is thought to last over 20 years by researchers. That doesn't mean every year is going to be snowy, but we may have above-normal snow for another 10 years or so.
Twitter or Facebook? Or Both? In this post Steve Thornton (follow him at @stevethornton) explores the decision.
Twitter or Facebook? Or Both? In this post Steve Thornton (follow him at @stevethornton) explores the decision.
The phenomenon of social networking is still in its infancy and it remains to be seen exactly which network might become the 800-pound gorilla in the space. It is reminiscent of the dotcom 90s, when I worked in the search industry; dozens of venture-backed search firms battled for dominance and search appeared to become a commodity, with limited monetization potential, or so we all thought at the time.
There are now so many social networks vying for users that even the most elite “Digerati” have trouble keeping up with the ever-shifting landscape. And most are still struggling to find effective monetization strategies, casting doubt on their long term survival and pointing to massive consolidation at some point.
In the now-infamous dotcom era, Yahoo, Lycos, Excite and others evolved into portals in a desperate attempt to find ways to make money, since nobody had really found effective ways to monetize search. That was, until companies like Goto.com (which became Overture and was eventually bought by Yahoo) and Google invented the concept of paid search and contextual, pay-to-click advertising models. The rest is history and we all knew who won the war.
So it seems today that applications like Twitter and Facebook, while attracting new users at astounding rates have not fully defined their business models and the 800-pound gorilla has yet to emerge. It is still early in the game and, as with search in the mid 90s, the eventual winners in the social networking space may not even yet exist, but I would argue that Twitter and Facebook are emerging as potential contenders to dominate.
The differences between the two networks are substantial and in some ways a direct comparison between the two is actually difficult to make. Twitter is simple and feels like Google did in 1998, while Facebook offers a portal-like interface somewhat reminiscent of Yahoo.
Facebook appeals to people looking to reconnect with old friends and family members or find new friends online; the mashup of features like email, instant messaging, image and video sharing, etc. feels familiar, while Twitter is a bit harder to get your arms around at first.
Most people can very quickly grasp how to use Facebook to connect to friends and family, using it to share thoughts, images, etc. Like MySpace but more geared to adults than teens, Facebook is a social networking Portal; beckoning you not to leave but rather to stick around and communicate within the network.
Twitter on the other hand, encourages you grab ideals in byte-size chunks and use your updates as jumping off points to other places or just let others know what you’re up to at any given moment.
Facebook appeals to social animals and can be very addicting to people who have an insatiable appetite to stay connected with friends and make new acquaintances. In fact, some people report they rarely use email or IM tools anymore in their online social communications anymore, relying almost entirely on Facebook for email, chat, image and video sharing.
Facebook addicts prefer the social portal model versus having to log into AIM, Yahoo Messenger, Gmail, Hotmail, Flickr, YouTube, MySpace, etc. Instead, Facebook gives them a single alternative to all these applications, with one login and interface to manage their online social interaction needs. This largely explains the explosive growth Facebook continues to experience and why the company reportedly invested $200 million in data center upgrades last year to keep up with demand!
The usefulness of Twitter is not readily as obvious to some people as Facebook; although it may be more addictive once you get the hang of Tweeting; you get more immediate responses and it seems to live somewhere between the worlds of email, instant messaging and blogging. Twitter encourages constant “linking out” to anywhere and, in that respect, is more analogous to a pure search engine; another way to find people and content all over the Net.
Twitter has quickly built brand awareness and a loyal following, especially among the technically adept; bloggers, online marketers, evangelists, basically anyone with something to promote seem to find Twitter extremely valuable.
When asked why they love Twitter, users say like “I can ask a question and get an instantaneous response”. They crave the ability to “tap into the collective consciousness” of others on the network, bouncing ideas off others with whom they would otherwise have no means of connecting. Twitter addicts claim it’s like the old fashioned water cooler, where people can gather to shoot the breeze on whatever topic is on their minds. Twitter is like a communications stream you dive into for an invigorating swim.
Let’s say you go to a wedding or other social gathering where lots of people know each other. The style and tone of communication there will be more like using Facebook; you chat with old friends and acquaintances, mixing and mingling in an intimate manner. In this setting, people tend to feel more relaxed and “in their element”. Conversations are familiar and center on shared experiences and connections.
Now, when you go to a large party or social event where you don’t know most of the people in attendance, you will use a very different style of communication, more like Twitter; you want to meet people and somehow make yourself known, stand out from the crowd, make an impression, self promote and make new connections. Twitter is like getting the podium and not everyone feels comfortable or knows how to stand comfortably in the spotlight.
In fact, almost all of us, when first approaching Twitter, tend to use it to post useless updates like “Going to lunch”, thinking of it as a another tool to communicate with friends, when in fact, it is more like stepping on to a stage, where you are communicating with an audience and quickly find that you need to find a voice and say something useful and interesting or quickly lose the attention of your audience. People refer to Twitter as a mini or micro blogging platform.
While zealots will immediately point to either Twitter or Facebook as being superior, the truth is that each has its advantages and disadvantages and will tend to appeal more to different types of people and for different reasons. Each can have great or little value to anyone; it really depends on what you are trying to accomplish in a given situation. Consider some of the pros and cons of each network:
In the end, both Twitter and Facebook are simply communication tools; both will continue to evolve and morph as users find new ways to extract value and either network may or may become a long term winner in the rapidly evolving social networking space. Ultimately, the fact remains to be seen whether either application has a profitable, scalable and sustainable business model or whether the exit strategy is simply to be acquired.
As we learned in the search space, consolidation will eventually prevail. Unless they can find a way to turn all those eyeballs into profits, social networks will lose relevance. It does seem obvious that the venture capitalists are betting they will not only continue to enjoy tremendous growth but will also successfully monetize all that traffic.
But, will either Twitter or Facebook become the next Google or will they fade into the rear view mirror of technological and social evolution? What do you think?
The version we know best was written in Scottish by poet Robert Burns. The first stanza seems fairly understandable:Makes more sense now, doesn't it? Remembering the past while looking forward to the future: a good way to start the new year!Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And days o' lang syne.For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne
We'll tak a cup o kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.Those words seem fairly straightforward and familiar, but they get a little tricky after that:
And surely ye'll be your pint-stowp,
And surely I'll be mine
And we'll take a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syneWe twa hae run about the braes,
And pu'd the gowans fine
But we've wandered mony a weary foot,
Sin auld lang syneWe twa hae paidlet i' the burn,
Frae morning sun sill dine
But seas between us braid hae roar'd,
Sin auld lang syneAnd there's a hand, my trusty feire,
And gie's a hand o' thine
And we'll tak a right gude-willie waught,
For auld lang syne
Of course, few of us speak 18th-century Scottish, although you can use this to impress your friends. Here is the translation of the entire song:
Should old friends be forgotten
and never brought to mind?
Should old friends be forgotten
and the days they shared together?
For days now in the past, my dear,
For days now in the past
We'll drink a toast of kind remembrance,
For days now in the pastYou can pay for your pint tankard and I will pay for mine
We'll drink a toast of kind remembrance,
For days now in the pastWe two have fun about the hillsides and pulled wild daisies
But now we are far apart in distance,
From those days now in the pastWe two have paddled in the stream from morning until noon
But oceans now lie between us since those days now in the past
So take my hand, my trusty friend and give me your hand
And we will take a hearty drink together,
In memory of those days now in the past.
'WINTER'
...............................
SHIT, it's COLD!
The End
Error interpreting blog templateThis means that to edit my layout I have to remove the related code from my template, update the layout, then post the code back in so I don't mess us the expandable posts. It doesn't take long but I find it annoying, which is why I haven't updated my summer reading list until now.
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Kevin Leffler turned the cameras on Michael Moore -- and now he's getting a wider audience to show the results.
In his documentary, "Shooting Michael Moore," Leffler adopts the famous filmmaker's guerilla interview tactics to harp on what he sees as inconsistencies and hypocrisies in Moore's popular and high-grossing movies.
Leffler, a Davison native who attended high school with Moore, said he wants the public to "see the other side of Michael Moore and make their own decisions."
The movie premiered a year ago at the Flint Film Festival and is being shown for the first time in commercial theaters -- from Dec. 5-11 at AMC Great Lakes 25 in Auburn Hills, AMC Forum 30 in Sterling Heights and AMC Laurel Park 10 in Livonia.
Leffler says he is not a right-wing critic or even an indie filmmaker. He's an accountant and Baker College professor who taught himself how to use a film camera and spent $250,000 of his own money to make the film.
When "Shooting Michael Moore" first premiered at the Flint Film Festival in 2007 -- it won an audience choice award -- Leffler said he was a registered Democrat with no political ax to grind.
His motivation was simple. He wanted people to see the Michael Moore he knew.
"Mike is out for Mike. I don't have a problem with him making money, but don't tell me you're fighting for the underclass and people without a voice," Leffler said.
Moore could not be reached for comment, but Leffler's film is not the first to criticize the filmmaker. Another one titled "Manufactured Dissent," was released in 2007 by Canadian filmmakers.
At the time, Moore told The Journal: "There have been about 10 films made against me. I haven't seen any of them. ... I get so used to listening to the stuff people say about me, it becomes entertainment ... like a fictional character has been created named Michael Moore."
Throughout his documentary, Leffler poses as a "Mini Mike," wearing a baseball cap -- Moore's signature garb -- while he interviews subjects and even a cameraman from the Oscar winner's films, reads contradictory quotes from his books and takes a critical view of Moore's movies.
Leffler sometimes interviews people Moore himself previously interviewed and who claim their comments were taken out of context.
In the film, Leffler tries to contact Moore to get some answers.
When phone calls and letters fail, he trespasses onto his picturesque northern Michigan property -- where arrives by boat -- and plants a life-size cardboard figure of President George W. Bush.
He eventually catches up with Moore at the Traverse City Film Festival, where he introduces the famous filmmaker to the parents of the late Sgt. Raymond Plouhar who was killed in Iraq. They tell Moore that his cameramen didn't divulge the real nature of "Fahrenheit 9/11" when they took footage of Plouhar recruiting potential soldiers in Flint.
Leffler also says Moore's stance against corporate America conflicts with his financial practices. Leffler shows a tax return from a nonprofit established by Moore that invests in major corporations such as Exxon Mobil, Halliburton (from which Vice President Dick Cheney retired) and major drug companies.
Leffler also flew to Cuba to dispute Moore's somewhat rosy view of the country's universal health care in "Sicko."
He said he plans to take the film to some of the same film festivals where Moore's films were a big hit. And he's looking for a distributor.
Is Leffler concerned about Moore taking legal action against him?
"I'm willing to accept that risk," Leffler said.
I'm so glad Kevin did this so people outside of Davison can see what Michael Moore is really like. I can hardly wait to see this movie!
4. Get the best price without hassles by knowing price-match and return policies. Many stores offer price-match guarantees (if a competitor offers a lower price, they'll match it). Increasingly, Black Friday sales are exempt from all this. Others have a return policy that, in effect, is a price-match guarantee for the store itself (if they drop the price, the difference is later refunded to you if you ask for it). If you know which product you want to buy, and can find a store with a price-match guarantee that honors Black Friday prices, buy it! When Black Friday rolls around, you can go looking for the best price, and not have to worry about whether the store is out of stock. If a store is willing to refund the difference between its own normal price and its Black Friday price, buy it early for the same reason.Read more at 12 Black Friday Secrets Retailers Don't Want You To Know. Happy shopping!
Audio book: The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, read by Ray Bradbury
