I wam trying to catch up on my saved posts… and came across one written by Soren Gordhamer on 5 ways social media is changing our lives. The things he talks about are kinda no brainers, but they really do hit home. Instead of posting a million comments on his post – I thought I’d add them here.

1. Where we get our news

This is a huge one for me. When I talk about twitter and tell my friends why they should join and show how it’s useful to me, this is the biggest piece. It’s where I get almost 90% of my news. That’s how I found out about the plane landing on the Hudson before the story broke, it’s how I find out about bad weather coming my way, it’s even how I find out if my favorite sports team won the game. I choose to follow the people I do because I know they can provide me with the information I’m seeking. And I’m sure there are plenty more out there who would keep me very much in the know.

2. How we start and do business

It’s very true how easy it is to be able to get your name out there these days. Many of the start ups I know or businesses I’ve worked for don’t do any advertising other than social media. Word of mouth and proof of work. My favorite little Ma and Pop shop out there right now is Aunt Else Aebeskivers. Branding, packaging, communication… all really great. It’s a friend of mine, but I’m very proud of how far they have come from doing only farmers markets.

3. How we meet and stay in touch with people.

As a recent transplant to NYC I need a way to keep in touch with all of my friends from Minneapolis. The best way I’ve been able to find is on twitter and facebook. I can see pics from events or continue to be part of inside jokes real time on twitter. This makes it feel like I am still part of the group. Not missing a beat, which makes my transition easier seeing as it will be 6 months before I actually go back. Not to mention, it’s good to be friends with family because my parents are notorious for forgetting to tell me things that are happening in the family like births or other big life events.

4. What we reveal

This one is interesting to me. You can get a sense of someones personality pretty quickly by reading status updates or twitter feeds. Some people you can tell are definitely glass half empty. Or you can tell they are avid about their work outs. You can use this information to your advantage when communicating with them. In a sense it does make us all a little vulnerable and less walls can really be put up. Some people are highly buttoned up professionally and a less so at home, this sneaks out when they participate in social media a lot, because you can’t always be a hard ass. Just be yourself, I believe that’s good in both business and personally. Like me or leave me…

5. What we can influence

Let’s use this for good, people. It is a proven fact that social media can easily and quickly create crowds dedicated to a certain cause. There have been examples of both good and negative campaigns. Breast cancer awareness and Iran elections… good. Motrin ads and Kanye interruptions… negative. It seems people are using these mediums on both sides. However, it’s always easier to bitch about something then remember to praise it. So, I guess it’s just good to keep that in mind.

It’s interesting to see this change in communication, advertising, etc. come through in my lifetime. It’s certainly an exciting time and I’m glad to be a part of it.

This really sounds like something that is right up my alley. Blogging from the pooper. Who doesn’t love to sit on the toilet and read bathroom joke books or blog about their day? I also love this someecard.com

Okay, so back to the story. Charmin toilet paper is going to pay people to be brand ambassadors for the ‘enjoy the go’ campaign. These ambassadors will sit in Times Square, NYC and talk with bathroom goers and blog about it. How well do you think this will go over? Will America be willing to dish the dirt on their bathroom habits? I think this could go very well and produce some good exposure for Charmin if the bloggers have fun with it.

Check out some of the coolest redesigned logos of 2009.

And after that – check out space150’s 20 something different logo designs since it first opened it’s doors. www.space150.com. There is some cool stuff there, and a friend of mine did the last version.

Glamour girls can now get with fashionable GQ men. The site create by Conde Nast is an International dating site bringing the two groups together in a way other dating sites haven’t… through fashion. If you’re a fashion loving guy/gal; sign up, check it out and see who you get paired with.

More about it here:

http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/daily/091009-truly-madly-dating-site-launched-.aspx

Wow – I can’t imagine being without internet on my phone for a week. Not to mention NO CONTACTS for a week. Our phones have become such a key part of our lives that these kinds of inconveniences are completely unacceptable. Earlier this week people were having issues with their AT&T service. That was only a couple hours, but seemed to last forever! I could not imagine going without important information for an entire week. You can see the article here talking about how it disrupted making ‘weekend plans’ but I believe it is a much larger issue than that. Get your shit together T-Mobile/Danger.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10368709-56.html

Oh – and if you want to see how upset people are, take a read of gossip columnist Perez Hilton. I can imagine this is a most accurate account of how most T-Mobile customers are feeling.

http://perezhilton.com/2009-10-09-t-mobile-seriously-screws-their-customers

Saw a good note today on why advertisers don’t plan to pull out based on the recent discussions/events surrounding David Letterman. I thought there was some good insight into why it’s also not as big of a deal for his viewers either…

Take a read: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/08/business/media/08adco.html?_r=1&ref=media

Okay, So I’m a bit confused. Letterman’s ratings have gone up since he admitted to having an affair with some of his staffers? No judgement here, lord knows I’m not one to speak. But, I guess I’m a tad confused on how he is almost rewarded for his honesty when others, such as politicians, are so scrutinized. Is it because we are already skeptical of politicians? Is it because he said sorry and broke the news himself rather than having it be a large story that he had to react to? What makes this action okay when some people do it, and not okay when others do it?

Here’s a blurb on the ratings: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hG_NJxjVbEDzC1OGFuIK3mtDeEpAD9B5OG6G0

I got the chance this weekend to attend the weekly PS1 event. PS1 is the contemporary art gallery that associates with MoMA. Every Saturday they open up the contemporary art gallery to the public for a small fee of $10 and offer up live music and beautiful summer days.

I don’t think it really matters who is playing; a band, dj, or whatever. The ability to be surrounded by creative contemporary art and structures, outside in NYC is pretty amazing. The outdoor gallery apparently gets a new look yearly. This year it looks very hairy. If anyone knows what kind of fiber is used on the structure, let me know. It looked like my friends and I weren’t the only ones trying to figure out what it was… everyone would go up, touch it and then look at their friends in confusion.

The event begins about 3pish on Saturdays and runs into early evening. I’d suggest getting there early if you want to find a spot to sit or if you don’t want to stand in a long line for a beer as you enjoy the day.

It’s a must see in the city that never sleeps. You can check out more here: http://www.ps1.org/

Our Internet hasn’t been working for a couple days now. After sitting on the phone with Time Warner for hours it looks like a “technician” needs to come out. The only problem is, they can’t do that until next week.

I’m trying to remember a time when nit being able to get online could literally take your breath away. I guess for me probably sometime in high school. But now, it almost seems like the end of the world.

Obviously, there are a lot of other things in life that are hard but what are some everyday necessities that really cramp your style when they aren’t there/available?

Wow, seriously. Did anyone else see that extremely awkward interview between Larry King and Joe Jackson last night?

First of all, the interview itself was a train wreck that I couldn’t take my eyes off of. Joe Jackson saying he didn’t know anything about the private autopsy that the rest of the family has seen, bringing up beating and slavery, and basically answering his phone during the interview. My mouth dropped when he told Larry to “not cut him off”. Not only was that disrespectful in general, I jokingly think it’s not something anyone is allowed to do to Larry King. He’s such an interview icon.

Okay – so now that the obvious is out of the way… my real question. I understand people are obsessed with the passing of Michael Jackson and want to know all they can. But the relationship between Joe and the entire Jackson family has been basically non-existent for some time now. He doesn’t seem to have anything to say, yet he keeps talking, and talking and talking. Is he just excited that he can have a bit of the spotlight back or does he have alternative motives? There are rumors he’s trying to get the children together for a tour of the Jackson 3, which he denies, but what is his real purpose in the media spotlight?