Year: 2008

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Tweetup was a whale of a time!

Aubrey’s management eyeballed them suspiciously. Fifteen silence people taking broad steps toward the restaurant with heads hung low, each holding a device in one or two hands with their thumbs making rapid movements. One of these characters held a device in each hand. "Quick! Open the patio. These guys look like trouble." The group settled in around the table, and, wordlessly, began pecking on their phones and palm devices. Occasionally one would look up, point and laugh. These are the Knoxville Twitters!

What is Twitter? Probably the most common question asked of anyone who admits to their texting addiction. Followed by: I don’t get it. Twitter is a microblogging platform which you update from your phone and receive updates through your phone. You can also update Twitter with special programs, instant messengers, websites, and email. Basically, people choose to follow your updates and you choose to follow the updates of others. When you send a message, all your followers receive it. It is like shouting into a crowded room. Some people use if for vanity/voyeurism/exhibitionism, some use if for marketing/spam/self-promotion, some for utility, some for news and so forth. The possible uses for Twitter continue to be defined as it is truly a new frontier in the electronic wilderness.

Right now Twitter is known for having frequent outages. People are irritated but the simplicity of Twitter puts it ahead of its competitors. The fact that Twitter has a strong community puts it ahead of the other services too. Twitter is going through growing pains and it will overcome the scaling issues. Twitter is well worth the wait!

Today’s Tweetup (a meeting of people who otherwise may only known each other online by their Twitter nick names, like a blogfest) was a lunch at Aubrey’s off of Papermill. Fifteen people attended and we all had a blast. In attendance: @djuggler, @zane_hagy_z11, @knoxgirl75, @mwoodvols, @whodini, @suzytrotta, @cocoholder, @kmberlylauth, @bballentine, @utfcu, @bobmissy07, @ashleystravel, @alanstevens, @mjstone, and @stuboo. Topics ranged from "what’s up (or down) with Twitter?" to careers to funny antidotes. We managed to stay out of politics I think. It was a lot of fun! I look forward to the next.

Update: Every needs to follow @thecadillacman so that he gets the next announcement.

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McCain Doesn’t Use Gas

Ok. McCain uses gas but doesn’t know the price of a gallon of gas. Is it relevant? I would think so but then again, in a leadership position, it is not so much what you know as much as what your advisers can tell you.

WISCKOL: When was the last time you pumped your own gas and how much did it cost? 


McCAIN: Oh, I don’t remember. Now there’s Secret Service protection. But I’ve done it for many, many years. I don’t recall and frankly, I don’t see how it matters. I’ve had hundreds and hundreds of town hall meetings, many as short a time ago as yesterday. I communicate with the people and they communicate with me very effectively.

Source, The Huffington Post, John McCain Doesn’t Know the Price of Gas/Can’t Remember the Last Time He Bought Any]

I had the unique pleasure of being called "a flaming liberal" by a relative a couple of weeks ago. I have never really applied a label to my political beliefs so it actually took me a second to process; that is until he said, "I’d vote for W a third term!" Who has those flaming liberal t-shirts? I’ll wear one.

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Writer’s Strike Part 2

Is SAG trying to kill television? Don’t they know the second in a series is almost always bad?

The contract between the Screen Actors Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers expires Monday, and negotiations have dragged on for weeks with no apparent headway…A strike in July…could delay the return of many fall TV shows. [Source, MSNBC, Strike 2? Hollywood braces for actor walkout]

Seen on Shavar’s Blog (which has music that autoplays).

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Pleasure Island and Adventurer’s Club closing

If I had the ability, I’d make multiple trips a year down to Disney World’s Pleasure Island. It is an innovative and unique entertainment experience primarily made up of different themed night clubs. Every night at midnight they celebrate New Year’s. The had comedy clubs, discos, country and so forth. All clubs were within a gated area separated from the parking lot by a moat. Under 18 could be on the island until a certain time then it because an adult only party. I always thought it was very well done.

My favorite part of Pleasure Island was The Adventurer’s Club. Oh what was the word we members used? Bangalosh or something.KUNGALOOSH!!!!(Thanks Missybw!) The Adventure’s Club is one part alcohol, one part animatronics, one part puppeteering, and one part improv comedy. You entered the club from the 2nd story which had a balcony overlooking the activity below. Downstairs the actor’s were dressed in costume as 1930’s adventurers some pompous, some safari attire, etc. They would tell stories of their adventures (despite some clearly having never ventured outside the club much less the wilderness) and statues and other adornments on the walls would chime in to share commentary. You never really knew what would speak next.

When I was there once, some pyt came into the club and glanced over the rail at the activity to watch. One of actors saw her and addressed her. "‘Ello Missy! Ave ya ev’r been to The Adventurer’s Club?" The entire room turns their attention to her as she leans on the rail, shakes her head and blushes. "Well, you really should come down here and join us! Since you’ve arrived, things are looking up!" She was a wearing a very, very short skirt.

I seem to recall a bell too. Often an actor would enter one of the rooms (there was a study, a lounge, and a couple of others if I recall correctly, all just off the center room), ring a bell and make an announcement. The Adventurer’s Club was always jovial and unexpected activity. Instead of closing it, they should be copying its model in every major city and college town across America!

According to the Pleasure Island FAQ:
"By September 28, 2008, all of the nightclubs on Pleasure Island will close. It will be last call for the last time at 8 Trax, The Adventurer’s Club, Mannequins™ Dance Palace, BET Sound-Stage™ Club, Motion and The Comedy Warehouse."

They’re replacing the nightclubs with outsourced restaurants.

Annual passholders get to play a round of golf instead.

Great. Thanks for shutting down the single most creative attraction at Disney World.

[Source, Gobo, BoingBoing commenter]

BoingBoing notes an online petition is going around to save The Adventurer’s Club. Somehow I don’t think that will hold much weight with the Disney execs.

Update: The PI FAQ makes it sound like Pleasure Island will become more like Disney Marketplace.

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Twitter going down in flames

So is Twitter going down in flames or just hitting heavy turbulence? Personally, I think it is just having a rough patch. Shoot, even Jon Stewart mentioned Twitter last night! (although the way he conveyed it and the look on his face was more of "my writers are insisting I reference this but what the hell is it?") That’s practically main stream!

The API is being limited. Twhirl, which has been great since it catches the @ replies that Twitter isn’t showing right now, is useless today due to Twitter pulling back on the API. So with Twitter handicapped (or not responding at all), and Twhirl useless, I feel disconnected from the world. I am having a little trouble remembering just what it was I did before I had my Twitter aha moment (because no one gets Twitter when they first start using it).

Have you given up on Twitter? Not I. Are you using another service permanently or in the meantime? I’m thinking of toying around with Pownce. Just not in love with anything else at the moment and don’t really have time to experiment. I’d say that Twitter is dealing with its growth and after it gets over this spurt things will be much better.