DISQUS

and black licorice ... especially when they put it in Vodka Ga Jol http://www.calle.dk/pi/Ga_Jol_Grøn_Lakritz_Shot...

Gosh, I just love Chris Brogan :-)

Hey Chris, I'm also 39 this year! ... again :-) Happy Birthday... and my editor @gerardmclean says hey too...

@billycripe Actually, neighborhoods are not virtual. What "virtual neighborhoods" do is create value for human touch and IRL conversation because it is becoming more rare. I crave a a reality experience and a couple hours of kcik back time with my fellow dogs over a beer is far more satisfying than any Twitter conversation could ever be.

Technology changes, people do not. Just because technology enables me to reach out, doesn't mean the guy I'm reaching to will let me touch him. More often than not, he will have a stiffer arm out because technology enables him to do that. Quit drinking the Kool-Aid until you sober up :-)

@Mike do you need a dog on your payroll? I'll work for food :-)

Yes, we do want that neighborhood feeling back, but we also want our Wal-Mart prices, McDonalds speedy drive-through and CNN Headline News. Ultimately, we pay with our wallets and our wallets scream that we would much rather pay for things that are cheap, fast and shallow. Follow the money, Chris; it always tells the real story.

@Jason Finch Well, you have obviously never been to the Krispy Kreme donut shop in the underground walkway between the Luxor and Excaliber in Las Vegas! A glass wall, crowds pressing their faces and attracting more people... heck, I tell it better here. http://www.dogwalkblog.com/2005/10/05/donuts-an...

Just read this from a link on a later post. How did you EVER get away with calling her wife the "junior person" in the following? How long have you been married to this woman and why has she not left you after this blog post?

"When you introduce two people, it’s customary to introduce the lesser-known or junior person to the senior person. If I introduce my wife to the President of the United States of America, I’d say, 'Honey, I want you to meet Mr. Barack Obama.'

Every married guy knows that his wife is NEVER junior or lesser-known to ANYONE, not even the President of the United States of America. Sorry, Chris, you got that one wrong :-)

No line is bad, but a long line is worse. http://www.tourneycentral.com/long-lines-equal-...

@Leslie Like "buggy whip" :-)

I guess my point is perhaps more micro-niche about business blogging (See Shanon Paul's blog http://veryofficialblog.com/2009/03/06/this-is-... some valid points and convergence to this topic in her post) rather than "hobby" blogs.

At some point, if my micro-niche has no market value, I may have a whole bunch of people who care and I have a very long tail, but if I can't pay the electric bill with the passion and my expertise is not "arc-able" I'm kinda screwed (reference to "screw the pooch" ... I just like saying that, even if it take a while to build up to it :-) )

Everyone who is passionate about "Barking" please visit my Buy a Bark page on DogWalkBlog.com. I will record a bark and send it to you. Really? Yes, I will. Arf. Wonder how many I will sell? I wonder how passionate my audience really is about "bark."

@Chris if we should take this exchange to another playground, speak up... but hopefully the exchange is ok with you! Buy a bark!

@Leslie I ran out to Tim Horton's to get a coffee and while doing so, listened to an NPR piece on what creates value for "things." They used Gandhi's sandals, eyeglasses, etc. auction as a backdrop to this argument. I'm sure the audio will be on NPR.org if not already.

This argument led my mind drifting to think about the value of aluminum (Al). Before it was easy to make, a single ounce of Al was far more valuable than gold (Au). But, when Al could be made cheaply and easily, the price of Al plummeted, gutting those who invested in Al. the reason AL was valuable is because it was rare, not because it was useful.

If you equated Al to your micro-niche and became really good at something (or owned a keyword as you say) you are only as valuable as the marketplace views the rarity of that keyword.

Be careful that you don't end up owning "aluminum."

The smartest man (or woman) in the world can write a book that is the EXACT roadmap to getting us out of this recession and NOBODY will buys it or read it unless he first becomes famous for writing a book about economics.. like a dog chasing its tail.

I wonder how many people would read a blog if Jesus wrote one? Yet, millions follow him and live by his teachings. But, if he showed up today, he couldn't make a dent in the Twitter stream or Google Page Rank or anything that we consider a mark of success without using his God powers. And leading that charge would be the Christians declaring him the anti-christ (or the anti something if this was his first go-around.)

WWJD? I dunno, but he wouldn't spend time blogging to start a religion cause Chris Brogan already has his audience. ;-)

Circular. Like a dog chasing his tail :-)

I like futuristic stuff and it is interesting, the more things go "digital" the more they seek to emulate and interact with our "analog" vision of what things are supposed to be. For example, newspaper are supposed to be big sheets of paper, read at the breakfast table with a cup of coffee. Even the digital one, though it wipes clean and repaginates, does that.

My take on all this future stuff, however, is to look at future films of the past -- even as recent as the 1980s. Nobody got the 16:9 television. Even when screens were larger, wall-sized, the 4:3 format still reigned.

Hey Camden, welcome to Twitter. I can't follow more people and I don't know why and Twitter won't tell me, but just wanted to drop you a note anyway.

On the Internet, if everyone knows you are a dog, they will follow you anywhere ;-) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Internet,_n...)

@Maria Lavis Godot :-)

:-) I just had to work the price in there to get to the "Priceless" tag line.. a bit contorted, but it was early in the morning .. thanks for playing along and thanks for not judging me :-)

The economy will bounce back. The organizations that have been doing SM right will have members craving for human contact. The ones that do it exceedingly well will have stoked value into the equation and will profit nicely early on.

Jason, do you have any opinions on how social media can help dogs out in this recession?

My opinion on all this social media is it is creating value for human touch. A handshake will be worth $1,000, a smile $3,500 and a hug; priceless. (Sorry, you can't by your way into scratching me behind the ears, but we can still talk :-) )

On the business side of things, I think we will see a resurgence of the trade show for organizations that can weather this economy. But, since they will have a new-found value, they will not be for the unwashed masses. Will be interesting for trade associations who are on watching all this and on the ball.

@alekhouse Of course there are cliques on Twitter! I'm part of a clique, though not the one Chris hangs with and probably not one that matters a whole lot to the SM crowd. I'm not terribly bothered by it because I am successful in other things that interest me more. Because Twitter is made up of human beings, all those things that defines human beings comes with it; pride, jealousy, lust, envy, etc, etc. Just because the medium changes, it doesn't make Twitter less of a human model.

The "social media" crowd is a clique, especially among the "veterans experts" who have "created" and "defined" it. I don't fault them for that. And they deserve props for doing that. It is just human nature to protect what you have, even though they all say it is open, all about the connections, you can connect with whomever you want, the world is flat, yadda, yadda, it really isn't. This statement is an observation, not a value judgment, but I'm fairly certain there will be comments about it. I can live with that.

Why are you on Twitter? Why do you blog? If your goal is to get in with the "SM plastics," then you are probably aiming in the wrong direction. You are too late. There are too many requirements to join the club. If your goal is to further your own interests or further the interests of some things that you are passionate about, take what Chris and others are willing to give if it applies and forge your own path.

What I take from Chris that he is willing to give me? This small space of interaction on his blog between you and me. And his insight into some things about SM that I don't have the time to discover on my own. And, his tolerance of me expressing ideas that he doesn't necessarily agree with, but he keep on his blog anyway.

@Mary N You may be also interested in two very timely blog posts that I'm pretty sure Chris won't mind me pointing to.. Shannon Paul's http://veryofficialblog.com/2009/02/02/resource... and DogWalkBlog http://www.dogwalkblog.com/2009/02/03/is-there-...

@Ryan Miller If you agreed with everything I said, than one of us is unnecessary :-)

Continuing with an argument from a previous post, I'm liking Mr. Kim's statement: "I was struck by the severity of the opinion, even if written by an 'anonymous coward' with poor spelling and grammar skills." Hmmm. It would seem that poor spelling and grammar skills DOES determine the authority of someone who has an opinion on your opinion. Interesting.

All that aside, just because you have an opinion on something, doesn't necessarily mean you have all the relevant facts or even that you know what you are talking about. An example in point is the seemingly endless discussion of newspapers going digital. There are many on the Web who have a myopic view of newspapers (Seth Godin, http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/01...) and then there are those who have more facts than the average blogger wants to know. (Alan D. Mutter, http://newsosaur.blogspot.com/) On this account, I trust Alan's opinions far more than I do Seth's.

Before trusting an opinion, first look to make sure the person who has it is an authority on that which he/she speaks. If not, exchanging opinions is simply a parlor game.

@Brian Martin I love the airline tray table concept because it is not intrusive. Anyone who has been caught on an airplane sober without anything to read will either read ANYTHING, including the napkins or engage in conversation with whomever is sitting next to them... sometimes not entirely welcome ;-)

Crumbs is more like it. The serious guys pay for print, pay for LCD screens, pay for video editing. Case in point about the social media position in the WSJ today. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123309277668321...

Quote the Joker in The Dark Knight (more of a paraphrase) "If you are good at something, never do it for free." I only do two things for free that I am good at and one of them is writing my own blog. I'll leave you to guess at the other one, but I suspect you probably already have the answer. ;-) Have a happy, "free-filled" weekend.

@Chrisbrogan Thanks for letting @bill and me pee in your playground for free ;-)