Category: Communications

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I’m hot for your spam

I just received this spam in email and it is so bad that I’m actually tempted to reply!

hello
My name is tessy.I saw your structuretoday and became intrested in you, I shall like to know also you more, andI want, that you have sent e-mail to my e-mail address, thus I can give you mypicture for you, that the nobility, whom I. Here – my e-mail addressI believe, that we can move from here. I wait for your mail to my e-mailaddress above. (Remeber the distance or color has no value, but
business oflove alot in a life),Please my love sends you an e-mail address to this my e-mail .kiss and love please contact me in is my mail

My reply should be something like:

hi.tessy
you are emailtoday generated me hot.for you. Please sends mypicture for your mail to my e-mailaddress above.I wishes to use my .tongue of imtaciy inyer arm puts of arousal zones, and massages you of my eyebals .kiss nd love please contact me is my mail.

What in the world do these spammers expect?

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Aardvark is compatible with Firefox 3!

Aardvark is a Firefox extension that I frequently use before resorting to MODIv2. Both of these tools outline elements in the browser and reveal the underlying CSS. When CSS is being mystical and you have keyboard shaped dents in your forehead, these tools can pull the man out from behind the curtain and help bring on that a-ha! moment which solve the problem. Aardvark needs to be installed from the developer’s site as its review for addition in the Mozilla Firefox Add-ons is not complete. I highly recommend Aardvark!

Oh, the Web Developer Toolbar also has similar functionality under Information->Display Element Information. (cntl+shift+f) The Web Developer Toolbar is the absolute most essential Firefox add-on for us Internet junkies!

Update: Like MODIv2, Aardvark now comes as a bookmarklet! That means Aardvark can be used with Internet Explorer and Safari also.

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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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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.

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WordPress Support on IRC is on Freenode

For those looking, WordPress.com support on IRC is on the Freenode servers at #wordpress.com while WordPress.org support is on the Freenode servers at #wordpress. #wordpress.com is primarily WordPress.com developers/employees and staff of Automattic while #wordpress is the open source community.

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Outlook Dim

I am retiring Outlook as my email client and moving entirely to GMail. I’ve used numerous clients over the years including Fidonet and the other BBS packages (my first email experiences), sendmail at the command line, emacs, cc:Mail, Lotus Notes, Thunderbird, Outlook Express, Outlook, and others I can’t remember. Outlook express isn’t bad if you are simply checking email. If you are doing scheduling, group collaboration, todo lists and the works, then you should be using Outlook (not Express). As much as it goes against my philosophy of "be in control of your content," I think that using an email client and downloading email to your desktop is old school. Collaboration is moving to portals such as BEA’s Plumtree and Microsoft’s SharePoint. Meetings are done online now with Webex, GoToMeeting, Skype (I am djuggler), Adobe’s ConnectNow, and even Microsoft’s instant messenger using ShareView. Communication is being accomplished through instant messengers and in some cases instant messengers are being replaced by services such as Twitter. Text messaging is frequently favored over a voice call as it reduces the urgency of the conversation and can provide additional benefit such as retention of information (if I give you a phone number via voice you have to memorize it or write it down..in a text message the number is stored). I can make argument that email is in its death bed. Much like snail mail and fax, it won’t go away completely but is bound to be ignored in favor of better technologies.

The way we communicate is changing rapidly. Video conferencing over mobile phones was promised by AT&T last fall in the Motorola RARZ v3xx and looks to be delivered on July 11, 2008 with the new iPhones will come sooner than later. Collaborative tools are far more powerful than hording information on single machines. And using third party or server tools to store information makes the information portable and available to you from any computer and any location. A couple of decades ago Bill Gates said the personal computer would evolve into a terminal and all software and data would be managed on network connected servers. He was right.

ps. I didn’t forget IMAP but that’s for a different post.

Note: During my transition from Outlook to Gmail I may overlook some email. If you have emailed me and been ignored, please resend your message as I am having to adjust some email habits in light of the different way Gmail handles email.

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Hillary is going out..why is she following me?

Like The Whispers on LOST, I’ve heard hushed chatter all day long about how Hillary is dropping out of the race tomorrow. Naturally, I raised an eyebrow when my email informed me that @Hillary2008 was started following my Twitter account today. Back before October of last year, I started following presidential candidates wise enough to be using technology to their advantage. Edwards, Thompson, and Obama used it the best.

Now I can’t remember which one but one of the candidates even opened Twitter up for questions while he was on CNN (or some other live show); unfortunately I was walking out the door and didn’t get to fire off any questions nor watch the program.Joe Biden opened Twitter up for questions while he was on a live chat with The Washington Post. What a powerful way to use the Internet! Putting Twitter ahead of the reporters and phones!

Early on, it became evident that @Hillary2008 was not the real Hillary Clinton. Today Hillary2008 follows 787 people and is followed by 829 people. The real Hillary Clinton appears to be @HillaryClinton and follows 0 people with 4,140 people following her which means she doesn’t understand Twitter. (Randy, are you listening? 0/66) Barack Obama at @BarackObama is following 35,777 people and has 34,765 people following him; his updates are frequent and does not read like a staffer is trying to impersonate him. Seems early on in the campaign that @BarackObama even sent @ replies to followers (but I cannot find an example right now).

I personally belief that either the people behind Hillary2008 gave the account over to the campaign or decided to start working it as true Hillary fans that actually understand the technology. What’s to understand about Twitter? It’s bi-directional. We use our feed readers and RSS for push news and headlines. If all you are doing is using Twitter to push your urls and try to get people to your site, then for all practical purposes, you are a spammer. Even news sites like @Knoxnews responds to its followers. If you listen to them, they’ll listen to you! @SantaClaus is a hoot! Not only does he work the Twitter account around the holiday, but he responds to almost everyone that mentions him and he does year round! Interactivity is the key to Twitter. Of course, Leo Laporte breaks this theory by following 441 people and having 39821 people follow him. He’s this anomaly I just haven’t figured out yet. Of course, as much as I can’t figure out why you would want to follow him (and his ego), I find myself that compelled to follow more of him. Long and short of it, if you have a zero in either following or followers, you are using Twitter poorly.

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I like digital billboards

A good friend of mine and I disagree on this topic. There is a digital billboard at Lovell Road and I think it is far more attractive than the traditional billboards. That said, I think billboards in general are eye sores and blemishes to the landscape; however, they serve a purpose. Without billboards, the alphabet game would take forever! Without billboards, South of the Border would be just another Mexican restaurant. Without billboards, who would buy pecans at warehouses with plantation like facades?! If we aren’t going to make billboards disappear altogether, and I wish we would, let’s give them some utility.

I have a vision for billboards that is in conflict with my normal anti-big brother stance. My vision is right out of Minority Report. If all our billboards were digital, when an Amber Alert happened, every billboard could instantly change to be the same message showing the abductor’s picture, the child’s picture, and a description of the car. If you were driving down the interstate and saw such a message extending from horizon to horizon I think you would be much more aware of that car on the road. The abductor would certainly be moved!

Additionally, I think if cities approve digital billboards, that they should come with an easement that gives the city the right to scroll traffic alerts on the bottom or top of the billboard. We have expensive digital signs across our interstates that warn of traffic times, congestion, detours and so forth. But how many times have you passed the sign to ask your passengers, "Did you catch that?" With an easement on the digital billboards the same message could be presented for miles upon miles and the expense is already being made by the billboard company. I believe it is very win-win!

See also Knoxnews: Digital billboards get several endorsements and Knoxviews:Scenic Knoxville Needs Your Help to Stop Digital Billboards and Knoxvoice:Lights On.

Update: Digital billboards in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina push Amber Alerts but are so bright that they are blinding and damage night vision. Sounds like a road hazard to me but also sounds correctable through standards for brightness or perhaps color choices. Thanks Brettbum!

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Twitter gives power to the people

I once walked into a McDonald’s yelling, "I want to see a manager and I want to see a manager NOW!" Granted, they probably had the right to get the police involved but in seconds I was in front of the 30 or more other grumbling customers shuffling their feet while waiting to get to the registers. I had the power of voice. I was not afraid to speak loudly and clearly.

I explained, courteously, loudly, and with a tone of agitation to the manager and every person in the restaurant that I was working at a software company nearby, on a tight deadline, and had sat in their drive-thru for nearly 30 minutes to receive a small order of french fries and a cheese burger. Upon returning to my office, I found the fries to be terribly cold and the cheese burger was nothing more than two buns with cheese and a pickle. How is a cheese burger a burger without the meat?! Before I finished, people started lining up behind me saying, "Mine is missing the meat also." "Me too!" etc.

Everyone heard my message and by the time I left, each person in line received their food with the cashier opening the paper on the burger to prove that there was meat between the bun. Not only did I have a voice that got heard but I had an immediate impact on the lives of other people.

Twitter gives us that same voice on the Internet. Twitter connects disaster victims to family and friends. Twitter connects businesses to clients for sales and support. Twitter keeps us out of traffic jams. And Twitter helps free people from jail!

James Karl Buck helped free himself from an Egyptian jail with a one-word blog post from his cell phone. [Source, CNN, Student ‘Twitters’ his way out of Egyptian jail]

Has Twitter made a difference in your life yet?

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Video Comments Now Allowed

Thanks to the power of Seesmic, you can now comment on any Reality Me post by simply using your webcam. Below the regular comment box, you will find a link "add a video comment"
Video comment
If you have a Seesmic account, you can log in and post a video. I have also opened comments up for anonymous comments which means you don’t have to have a Seesmic account. Try it out! You will be prompted to allow the plug to use your webcam and nothing gets installed on your computer. I have heard that there may be a problem with the video commenting and WordPress 2.5.1 but I am sure that will be addressed rapidly.

Update: If you add Seesmic video comments to your blog, be sure to immediately add yourself to the wiki. It takes only seconds. I could have been within the first 100 but ended up being like 187 because I waited to look at the wiki.