Disqus - Friends of kcnicdao

Re: Mythical Design - Blog

Tonista — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 18:14:31 -0000

Comments work!

Re: Prepping For Live Blogging of KDTV Taping

Tonista — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:07:36 -0000

Good luck with the show! hopefully I'll be able to find it on my local PBS station

Re: New Pattern: Cosmopolitan Cowl

Tonista — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 11:04:05 -0000

Very pretty and the lipstick is a lovely shade too!

Re: Top ten things I'd like to see on Ravelry

Tonista — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 15:45:08 -0000

Hee, you mean Casey and his team of alternate personalities? I'm not sure that Casey would be too into the idea of having software consultants, even if it did help whittle down the thousands of things on the list!

Re: phodroid | Neilhimself

Tonista — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 09:48:54 -0000

Wow. And I was complaining about the smattering of snow in my backyard!

Re: Mythical Design

Tonista — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 08:18:54 -0000

Thanks Tess!

Re: Twyla Tharp on Creative Motivations and Failure

Tonista — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 22:04:58 -0000

A bit late to the conversation:

What resonated with me on a personal level was her perspective on the relationship between failure (I quoted that on my own blog) and the balance between being creative alone but still being in touch with others.

Making a commitment to a creative lifestyle is scary because it can involve a level of risk that most people do not feel is acceptable and almost certainly feel is selfish. It's not a lifestyle that favors safety and sure bets and failure is not just likely but inevitable. Unfortunately it's not considered responsible to put yourself in the position to allow yourself to fail. For every icon like Thwarp, whose triumphs will dwarf her failures and as a result make them seem a necessary part of the journey, there are those who will risk it all only to be seen as utter failures exercising poor judgement, their minor success lost in judgement.

It is perceived to be more responsible to care of business, possibly to the detriment of your soul than it is to take care of your creative self to the detriment of your business and have faith rather than security that things will work out in the end. Because the financial rewards are so slight, there is almost definitely a sacrifice of some values that many people feel are sacrosanct. Not just the money, but the basic ability to care of yourself and your family. That's when all the naysayers comeout of the woodwork saying "You can't... you shoudn't... you have to..."

It's hard not to let those people get you down and dictate your choices, but you can't isolate yourself from them either. Creative people have to be communicators and one can't do that alone.

By the way, did you see Twyla Tharp on the Kennedy Center Honors? She looked so grumpy we made a game out of trying to see if the camera ever caught her smiling. (We counted twice I think. They flashed so briefly, it was hard to tell!)

Re: tumb.lemon

Tonista — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 23:25:41 -0000

Yay comments! Chickie's a cutie :)

Re: Private: Norwegian Boatneck

Tonista — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 05:12:18 -0000

Thanks sbl!

Re: Six Signs that Social Media is Dying

Tonista — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:17:51 -0000

I'm a bit torn between saying "it's not dying, it's evolving" and "so what if it dies?"

Your article is interesting but to me, a bit off the point.

I think what's dying is superficial social networking or people networking simply to collect followers and inflate dubious businesses. As well it should. Actually being social is not dying as it's basic to human nature. Given the bidding war over FriendFeed, the possibility of Twitter actually starting to make a profit with the pending release of Twitter Pro and the always increasing social networking technology, I only see growth on the horizon.

What also dies are sites that are cumbersome to use and insular. Twitter and Facebook are popular because the are easy to integrate with other sites, phones and apps that people already use. Anything that forces a user to adapt to their setup rather than vice-versa is wasting its and our time.

I'm not really getting your points here. Becoming mainstream doesn't indicate dying to me, it indicates growth and most certainly change. While some don't like the change that comes with widespread usage and mainstreaming, it's anything but stagnation to keep that sort of growth alive.

The chain store argument is weak. Wal-mart and the like may be huge corporations, but the people who work there are not automated robots. If you want personalized service it helps to talk to them like people. I've had crappy service from the local mom and pop shop. In the end, it always comes down to people. Maybe what's dying is interpersonal communication. People rely to much on tools to help them communicate instead of actually showing a little interest in the other person.

Get a spam filter. They really do work. They even have them for Twitter. (I use Twitspam, I think) Sure, any time something fun comes along, soon after scammers and commercial interests look for ways to exploit the systems. Shortly after someone finds a way to avoid them. Then the cycle repeats. I can't see that changing anytime soon. I don't really see that as a sign of death though, things have been like that since the internet started.

Who cares about Social Media in a title? That trend is probably dying again as it should, because it's kind of useless. It's up there with "Life Coach". People will always need a way to connect. The kids (and adults) I know use Twitter, Facebook, IM and whatever new network comes on the horizon that makes to easy for them to connect. The only determining factor is what their friends use. That makes sense to me, it's what I do too.

People who do actually use social networking apps always seem shocked that not everyone uses these web communities and apps. While the media, both web and mainstream alike routinely cover its SN's influence, the reality is that social networking super users are still a small percentage of the population despite all the crowing about it becoming mainstream. The media is actively trying to make it mainstream, because unless that happens, it will die. It's in their interest to get the non-believers to sign up. As much as I love Twitter and Facebook and their ilk, the facts are it's convenient to me for what I do. For most of my family it's one more thing they have to do that takes time out of their day. The mainstreaming that people seem to dread is the one thing that has a chance of actually making these social networking sites a viable and useful part of their lives.

I guess I'm not afraid of the social networking landscape being different from what it looks like today anymore than I yearn for the days when Netscape was a popular browser and AOL barked "You've got mail." And I suppose I'm not brand loyal. I use what's expedient, because my time is valuable and life is short. Things change. As they should.

Re: Six Signs that Social Media is Dying

Tonista — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 18:12:28 -0000

I can't agree that it hasn't evolved, but I suppose that depends on
what you are looking for and how you measure it. Wondering about the
next big thing is definitely a valid question, and I'm one of those
people who will try it out relatively early, because it's in my
nature. But I only do that because I enjoy it and I know the risk
involved. The "Next big thing" so rarely actually is for more than 15
minutes.

It's rather telling that you've set 9 mos. as your time frame. While
that may seem like a long time in the web world, in terms of quality
things that last, that's no time at all to develop and build a
following. I've seen and tried many recent new social platforms and
like others, quickly dismiss most. It's not for lack of trying that
there is no new "It" app on the cover of Time, but I submit that
often the It app of the day is more hype then actual substance. I
think it's much more likely that there is no new Twitter because
these days, politics, ponzi schemes, scandal and healthcare are what
sell e-zines, magazines and newspapers at the moment. Eventually the
tide will swing back to software, if the subject is sexy enough.

As for a rise in superficial, again, that's always been true in the
history of the net and complaining about it is just as old. When
things are new, the audience is small and all the content is fresh
and relevant. Then the doors open, everyone comes in, the
conversations get cyclical, spam invades. People get disillusioned
and look for something new. The reality is that life is full of spam
and irrelevant content. The trick is always how to filter the chaff
from the wheat. That however, is not a problem that can be solved by
the next big thing because it's not a problem new things have. Only
established entities have to face that problem. Why do I stick with
the 3 Social Networks I use the most despite trying so many? Because
they are the ones that constantly come up with ways to stay new and
relevant to me without me having to rebuild the wheel, learn a new
interface or rebuild my content. To me that's the future and is a lot
more interesting than something totally different. Now that a
significant number of us have a history of internet content, the most
likely future is in things that help us easily manage it while also
making it easier to create more. I too am dying to know what that new
thing is. I still don't think that the fact that it's not here yet
means social networking is dead though.

(I don't see many radical differences between StumbleUpon, Digg and
Seesmic to be honest, but then I don't make much use of those sites
and perhaps can not judge them accurately. )

Glad I could help you clarify your thoughts, discussions help me
clarify mine too.

Re: "Dayflower" Diagram

Tonista — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 15:14:34 -0000

Hi Jay,
I love seeing all of your diagrams and experiments, Especially the cabled entrelac, though this one especially caught my eye. I have a notebook page drawing out the dayflower pattern in various ways. (I assure you mine are much messier and less logical than yours!) I've been trying to re-chart it upside down for a shawl I'm making. I've had a few contenders, but so far I'm not as pleased with any of them as I am with the original. I'm definitely learning a bit about the nature of lacework. Thanks for sharing your process.

Re: My real-life Yarn Shop

Tonista — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:22:47 -0000

Congratulations on your new shop! It sounds like a terrific idea.

Re: Bringing sexy back?

Tonista — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 15:43:06 -0000

Thank you! There's actually not a pattern for this - at least not yet. No
one's really asked about it so I kind of forgot about doing one. I'll post
it here if I write one though.

Thanks again :)
-T