DISQUS

Hear, hear! Your humanity is what enables you to survive all the ups and downs of your wild ride through the blogosphere, Robert. Because of that, you're always traveling first class, Google jet or no.

I try to take a tech Sabbath each Sunday, meaning I stay off the Internet altogether but do allow myself the luxury of longer-attention computer work such as doing a chapter in my Final Cut Express tutorial book.

I picture Twitter as a river that's always flowing, and I stop by its banks once in a while during the day (okay, a LOT of times during the day!), to see what's passing by. I'm content to let what I miss flow by without my attention. I obsessively check "Replies" to see if anyone's responding directly to a Tweet of mine.

Once in a while, I do need to reboot by staying offline for several days at a time, like taking a Zen retreat for a week of silence. Then everything looks new again, and I can go back to the river with new appreciation for what's flowing by.

What terrific news, and a smart move by The Onion. Big congrats! I believe this good fortune was all set in motion when you took the time for an Audio Pod Chronicles interview! :-)

Robert, every time I see your Twitter followees count I wonder why I'm not among them but I've always thought it would be kinda numb to ask directly. But I'd like to tag along before you reach 7k! Twitter user name: LenEdgerly. And BTW, you're right on about email.

It's all about Twitter for me. An amazing set of new relationships has developed from 140 characters. I've felt drawn to certain Twitterers and followed up with in-person meetings that are always fascinating. I find that the real person is recognizable from his or her Tweets, but it turns out that the online text conveys only about 10 percent of the actual person, so there are big surprises when I'm face to face at a Starbucks.

One odd aspect to all this is that I'm kind of an introvert in offline life. I'm not one to strike up conversations with strangers at airports or grocery stores the way my wife does. But with all this Twitter experience, taking risks of self-disclosure with near-strangers, I find I'm slightly more outgoing in real life, too. So it's just the opposite effect that some socnet naysayers like to wring their hands over. Twitter draws me out of my isolation into a more active engagement with the world.

I keep trying to like Facebook and have some friends there and use some apps. But it's always a duty to check it out, whereas Twitter pulls me into the stream with a near-physical attraction. From Twitter, I find new blogs where I like to comment and get to know people in more depth. I listen to quite a few podcasts and have left voice comments on some of them. It's always a thrill to be listening to a podcast while working out or walking and hear my own voice come on. Narcissism? I think not. More the joy of being part of something bigger than myself, and through that connection finding my own voice.

This is all pretty new to me, since joining Twitter in about April of this year. At 57, I feel as if a new world is being handed to me 140 characters at a time!

I'm VERY glad to see this post after listening to an irritating socnet-Luddite named Christine Rosen, author of "Virtual Friendship and the New Narcissism" on NPR's Talk of the Nation this afternoon. What I hear in people like her is fear and ignorance. By comparison, Andy Carvin, with the wonderful title of Senior Strategist for Online Communities at NPR, was sane, calm, and not defensive in his reaction to the sad and silly comments made by her and some of the callers. Folks like Ms. Rosen might as well be sitting in a throne on the beach like King Canute the Great, demonstrating to his courtiers that even a king cannot stop the tide. Chris, you are a terrific example of the benefits of jumping into social networks with gusto and curiosity, a model for many, and I'm glad it's bringing you a living, as well.

Very tempting, and I may yet join you. I got a lot out of a similar discipline for VideoBlogging week, posting a video each day. But a whole month! I admire your commitment...

I love how a child's arrival deepens everything and makes all of life seem so fragile and precious. Thanks for sharing the birth of Milan so generously through Twitter, Flickr, and here. I feel softened and enlarged when I read these words of yours.

Should I go into Q and remove my settings information? Am I risking problems if I even go into the settings? I did that tonight, and afterward my entire Mac Address Book was wiped out. Maybe a coincidence, some other problem, but it spooked me big time. I had backed it up daily, so it’s back. What to do!?

This episode ended abruptly at 20:05 in the one I fetched at iTunes, so maybe there was a glitch of some kind in what you uploaded.

Thanks for mentioning Reactee.com . I set up and bought a shirt for a talk I gave yesterday on ways technology can help art shows and artists. It arrived in time at the hotel in Lancaster, PA (thanks to my wife FedExing it from Maine), and I was very pleased with how it looked -- a nice title, "Tech Future & Art Fairs" with the TXT info that prompted a message back from me with a new tech idea for the art show directors at the session. The first TXT reply I put in was the del.icio.us url that had all the links mentioned in my talk. Several people tried it, and my plan is to send out a new tech idea for art fairs each week or so. I showed off the shirt and gave credit to you for the idea in my latest video podcast at http://blip.tv/file/357366#share . With this tangible benefit of listening, MOC moved to the top tier of my must-listen-to podcasts. Much appreciated!

In #21, I should have written "logos a logos" for "word to word," as opposed to "mano a mano." Logo a logo sounds better, but this is not a case of dueling visual brands. Then again, maybe that's what your detractors are trying to lure you into, each for the benefit of his own logo.

Robert, I always feel guilty when I don't watch your interviews with people. I know I would learn a lot, but it feels like eating my broccoli because it's good for me, when what I really want is a juicy burger. Your Sunday videos were an Angus burger w/ cheese. I stumbled on them late via Twitter, and stayed up past when I should have been asleep. Why? Because you were obviously thinking out loud, excited about the thesis you were shaping, passionate, and real. Your guests, by comparison, know they are being interviewed by The Scoble, so they have all shades of caution and appropriate presentation.
The aftermath of your videos makes me even more eager to watch the next time you step in it. I read all of Danny Sullivan's stuff, which you graciously linked to, and learned lots about the history of human search by following the people who were bashing you. So it's great.
The one thing which worries me is the cost these dustups seem to be taking on your sunny disposition. If you're going to stay sane in the eye of the storms you create, you're going to have to be ruthless in going offline, like you did from the blog, hold a baby, do whatever it takes for your equanimity and optimism to return. You won't get there by going logo a logo with trolls.

I am seldom confident, actually. Except when I am making modest progress learning a skill that seems to be of use to the world. Like doing better videos for my podcast, figuring out how to do transitions that are smooth instead of choppy. When I look at them (over and over, sometimes), I feel a bit of confidence and satisfaction. I admire people who seem to have more confidence than I do, but I'm okay with the amount I have. It seems to be pretty constant, ever since I was in my teens--just enough confidence to try the next thing and plug away at it, worried much of the time that I'll disappoint myself and others, surprised and delighted from time to time when things turn out marvelous.

Robert, I'm glad to see you commenting here, but I hope your break from "real" blogging ends soon. I check my NetVibes feed every day, sad to see the latest post is still "Things on my mind..." You were wise to take a pause. I hope its healing effect brings you back refreshed--and soon!

Really fine poem. I'm awake in the middle of the night, trying to make sense of the suicide of a poet teacher of mine, Liam Rector, who took his own life a couple of days ago in NYC. His poetry lasts. Yours will too. And mine. All the lovely words. I had a dream about him the morning after he died, a vivid one, as if he were making a visitation. "This is the first beer I've had in 22 years," I told him, looking at the glass of beer I'd nearly finished. There went 22 years of sobriety, so I woke up relieved it was only a dream, planning to e-mail him, because I knew he had a drinking problem. Several hours later, news of his death. WTF. I have no idea what it means to assert there are no coincidences, but I'm open to learning what this one might possibly mean. Encouragement to continue on in life, a day at a time, clutching AA's beloved cliches as if hearing them for the very first time. Anyway, your poem gave me an opening, so thanks, and now I can return to bed for some more sleep.

I'm procrastinating on a project of my own, so naturally I found time to come up with a possible new draft of your intro. To wit:

Blogs are now widely understood to be way more than self-indulgent diaries, but many companies which embrace blogs and other social media fail to achieve anywhere near the expected beneficial results. Why is this?

Stephanie Booth, a veteran blogger and social media practitioner, will share her insights on how companies can avoid common pitfalls and succeed in social media. Though blogging requires no more technical skill than sending an e-mail, successful corporate blogs operate within a culture of openness and authentic human dialogue that is often at odds with normal corporate communications. Thus, when a corporation starts blogging, it starts changing. And where that change might lead, no one can know with certainty. Not every corporation is ready to take the leap.

Booth will detail successful strategies, such as identifying a particular need or set of problems which can be addressed with social media. She will make clear what it takes to learn the “blogging culture” and how much time it takes to maintain a successful blog.

Her presentation will highlight methods of introducing blogs in a corporation. She will use real-world examples taken from existing blogs to illustrate nuances of the blogging culture, and how your corporation can successfully join it.

I may have heard about this before, but your post made it real, and very troubling. Thanks for taking the time to highlight the tragedy and ask the right qustions.

Amazing story of the O'Reilly video. Can't wait to see it. Thanks for the sneak peek.

Thanks again for the great interview, Baratunde. I played it for my wife today in the car, and she loved it and wants to make sure we catch your October gig in Boston. I also loved seeing the original Tweets dating back to our first steps out of the matrix to shake hands upstairs at the comedy place in Harvard Sq. All in all, this was one of the most fun and inspiring things that my podcast has brought into my experience. You've got a couple of serious new fans out here in the Mile High City.

Wish I were there!

I was surprised the Cambridge, Mass., Apple store let me video my entire time in the store on 6/29 to buy their first iPhone. Never-before-seen footage: http://blip.tv/file/285290

Writing blogger, in that I don't know what I think until I see it emerging to the left of the cursor. Lots of sliding backwards on the delete key, trying again, shaping and crafting the thoughts, letting some slip through unnamed. A blog entry starts like a poem, with something bugging me, a small piece of mind agitation, a tickle, a question I can't answer with yes or now--like this one!

When I'm wandering into a big crowd I say a little prayer to my higher power that I'll be led to someone I'm meant to meet. I sort of believe such prayers are answered, but it doesn't matter. After saying the prayer, I naturally find myself treating the next person I meet as if we had been guided together by big forces. And that makes me open up to them in a way that maximizes the chance that we WILL find a common connection of value to both of us.

Very cool chemistry between these kids, geek and jock creating a formula for fun. Thanks for adding it to my morning!