Life On the Wicked Stage: Act 2

Scoble and the Noise System

Noise. It can really bog you down. I know it does me at times. It's warm weather here in the Shenandoah Valley and when warm weather comes we frequently hold some small (one on one, one on two) meetings outside in front of the theatre to enjoy the weather. Unfortunately that brings noise with it. I'm not just talking about the cars and loud trucks that sometimes pass us by. Other employees and even some of our neighbors see us standing around talking and assume they can just walk up and chat. A polite, 'please excuse us we're in a meeting', usually does the trick, but the noise as already jumped into the conversation and interrupted the meeting flow.

Now, this isn't the passersby's fault. It is ours (or mine) for holding the meeting outdoors.

In my view there's a certain similarity here, though there are differences, with Robert Scoble's search for a noise reduction system whether it is brought to you by Twitter, FriendFeed, or pick your social network. Yes, I'm sure there will be some sort of noise reduction system in the future for these kind of things. The early adopters who have loads of followers will demand them, and the companies that build them don't want to see the Scoble's and the Calacanis's saying they've moved on because of too much noise.

But eventually, even with noise reduction systems, the only way to reduce the noise in any of these circumstances is to acknowledge it and know when to shut it off, whether it is Tweets, replies, comments, email, or what have you. It isn't easy, I know for a fact. I'm not talking about Scoble's first point here (choosing to remain ignorant) because that's a one way street to shutting yourself off, and as Scoble points out, all too well, can lead to those who do choose to swim in what's going on controlling the conversation in an ever decreasing cycle of cultural doom. I guess I'm suggesting that the best way is some sort of personal control and selecting when to swim and when to keep yourself on the beach, (or upstairs in the office.)

As my grandfather used to say,

"Just because the phone rings, you don't have to answer it. You do have a choice."

Technorati Tags: Twitter,Friendfeed,Robert Scoble

Doc Searls on Branding and Social Networking

Doc Searls usually nails the coffin shut on whatever issue he's talking about and once again he does it here. Talking about branding and social networking, which is still a hot topic of late, he says:

Fourth, the thing companies need to do most is stop being all “strategic” about how their people communicate. Stop running all speech through official orifices. Some businesses have highly regulated speech, to be sure. Pharmaceuticals come to mind. But most companies would benefit from having their employees talk about what they do. Yet there are still too many companies where employees can’t say a damn thing without clearing it somehow. And in too many companies employees give up because the company’s communications policy is modeled on a fort, complete with firewalls that would put the average dictatorship to shame. If a company wants to get social, they should let their employees talk. And trust them.

I just dealt with one of the world's craziest and most hated companies, Comcast, on a customer service issue. I got zero satisfaction from the front line employees I first dealt with, and in fact found the way I was treated very insulting. No surprise there. It is Comcast after all. I didn't stop there and ended up getting communications sent to the customer retention department and the local regional office late last night. I got calls from both this morning, assuring me that they would work out the issue. And the issue was resolved. But you could still sense the script and not a real communication attempt happening through the phone.

When you ask someone a question that takes them off the script you can hear the pause and the wheels turning. What I loved, though was one off the cuff comment that was made by one of the troubleshooting reps, and it echoes Doc's point quite well here. The guy said, "sometimes we have to break through a department's firewall to get things done here."

Apparently that's his job. I guess from a business standpoint, when you have to set up a customer retention department or some other kind of troubleshooting mechanism, then you've missed the point somewhere. All the branding and social networking can't save you once that happens. Because sooner or later the script will run out and there are no answers.

Technorati Tags: Comcast,Social Networking,Branding

Senator: Waterboarding "Is Like Swimming"

Here's a Quote Note for you. Senator Kit Bond says:

"There are different ways of doing it. It's like swimming, freestyle, backstroke. The waterboarding could be used almost to define some of the techniques that our trainees are put through, but that's beside the point."

Someone once said, we get the bozos leaders in office we deserve. In this case, I'm not so sure that holds up.

Is Blogging Dead? Hugh MacLeod Says No.

I just finished the Sunday Morning Reading post, headed over to Twitter, and saw that Hugh MacLeod posted this on GapingVoid: Blogging is Dead? According to Whom? For some reason, the things Hugh is writing about lately are resonating strongly with me and this continues that streak. I'm not sure if I'm scared by or attracted to that, or both.

In any event, he's correct. The only light is a greenlight. Those who keep running helter skelter to the next big thing unfortunately mistake the green in that greenlight for quick piles of cash.

As my grandfather used to always say, if it is a Human Race, what the heck does the finish line look like?

Surgeon General Says Santa Claus Too Fat To Be A Role Model

The Acting US Surgeon General, Rear Admiral Steven Galson says that Santa Claus is too fat to be a good role model.   

“It is really important that the people who kids look up to as role models are in good shape, eating well and getting exercise… Santa is no different.”

  This will ignite all sorts of War on Christmas flurries all over again and I'm sure there will be a lot less treats left under Christmas trees this year. 

Just don't say Ho-Ho-Ho, when you're laughing about it.

 

Via Wonkette

State Senator Sues God

To prove a point about the ridiculousness of frivolous lawsuits, Nebraska State Senator Ernie Chambers has filed suit against God. His suit wants God to cease harmful activities, like floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, plagues, famines, droughts, and wars. It also acknowledges that God is omnipresent but even so, it is difficult to serve God with a copy of the suit.

But here's my favorite quote:

In the face of calamity, God "has manifested neither compassion nor remorse, proclaiming that defendant will laugh."

If they ever do succeed in serving God, I bet he'll try to steal OJ's dream team away, as they look like they will be busy.

Tony Kornheiser on Michael Vick

There are many reasons not to listen to announcers when watching football games. Tony Kornhesier is one. I'm watching the pre-season game between the Bears and the Colts (Rex Grossman is just atrocious.) The announcers decide to go off for 3 or 4 minutes on Michael Vick agreeing to plead guilty to the dog fighting and gambling charges.

Tony Kornheiser offers this advice on a possible Vick comeback, "America is a forgiving country. We love an underdog story."

So, Tony, you want mustard on that foot in your mouth?

Technorati Tags: Michael Vick, Tony Kornhesier

Chicago Alderman Wants To Tax Bottled Water

Saying that bottled water (a phenomenon that still amazes me) is costing the City by the Lake water revenues, Chicago Alderman George Cardenas wants to tax the offending containers of aqua. Got to love this quote:

“People enjoy jogging or driving with a bottle of water. There’s a cost associated with this behavior. You have to pay for it”

Marc Orchant on Taking Sides

Or is that Marc Orchant on agnosticism? Anyway, the title of his new blog is Platform Agnostic and Marc blogged recently about the ongoing platform wars that seem to have heated up again about the time Bill Gates and Steve Jobs sat down on a stage together at the D: All Things Digital Conference. (Does it ever cool down or just simmer?)

Marc's points are well taken, and regardless of your religion, would be a wise course to follow, in my opinion. Only problem is that darn human nature thing just keeps getting in the way.

Unfortunately, we feel the need to create enemies, or other sides, or opponents, or adversaries, or rivals, in order to motivate ourselves. I'm not sure if that is for fun, laziness, or insecurity.

My grandfather used to always say, "any man who has to define himself by beating his opponent is a coward who doesn't like to look in the mirror."

Roger Ailes Compares Fox News To Al Qaeda

Well, at least that’s how the Fox News Channel would spin it. Apparently Roger Ailes is a bit miffed that some of the Dem candidates for president turned down an opportunity to debate on his channel. So, at a social function he said this:

“The candidates that can’t face Fox, can’t face Al Qaeda.”

Well, I guess it is fair and balanced.