What I used for today’s presentation was one of those lucky cool finds that can lift my from a web 2.0 sized rut. Today I was invited to give an opening keynote back at some old stomping grounds; Scottsdale Community College was hosting their first “TechTools” day, and I got tagged to kick it off. I was asked to touch on new technology and understand students use of technology, which led me down a few paths- one for some Digital Native bashing, but also a chance to delve into two trends I am growing interested in – one being YouTube / video as a communication and its evolving culture. I borrowed heavily from the brilliant videos by Michael Wesch (I am convinced I could make an entire presentation just by playing his videos). And the other the rise of DIY culture and media creativity as a past-time. And for the [...]
CogBlogged from ‘February, 2009’
TypePad = CrapPad
TypePad Can Kiss My Hairy ____ by cogdogblog posted 4 Feb ’09, 11.36pm MST PST on flickr Good &#*$ing grief! Isn’t enough that I login to TypePad’s TypeKey authentication service? Isn;t enough that I monkey type in the letters in the captcha? And it still chokes on a comment with one freaking URL? TypePad kiss my *** And people wonder why comments are falling off. Here’s what wont work. Making people log in to enter comments. Do that, and I’ll never comment. Make me fill out stupid captchas every time. Well, I will try once. But on TypePad, I do both human tests and it still chucks my comment in the side cupboard? I lift my leg on TypePad. Pffffffft.
2009/365/January
How cool it is to see that the 365 Flickr Photo group that went from a group size of 1 (D’Arcy in 2007) to about 50 (me and 49 others in 2008) to 212! There are over 8900 photos in the pool, and we have a good flow of photo shooting tips and friendly conversation in the discussions. I’ll be speaking a bit on this at Northern Voice, the conference that makes February worth living for. But the real beauty is that this has been all organic; it grew by itself. No one is in charge, no one makes the rules (when asked, sigh, I say the only rule is “try and post one image to flickr every day”). Here is my crop from January, using the CoolIris wall embed: The daily challenge and regular practice still engages my interest and pushes me to learn more every day. Heck, imagine [...]
Not Postal
2009/365/33: Drinking and Picking Up Your Mail Do Not Mix by cogdogblog posted 2 Feb ’09, 8.46pm MST PST on flickr On my walk down to the mailbox today I was challenged as I had not found anything near interesting in my yard to make for a Flickr 365 photo. And sometimes, pictures just find their way to you. When i approached where my mailboxes normally are– I found my photo… and my mailbox (and many others’) shattered to bits! There was an obvious tire track that snaked off the road into the empty spot where mailboxes once stood, and twsited piles of metal shrapnel that once held our letters and crappy catalogs. Apparently, according to our post office, the boxes were taken out last night by a drunk driver. That’s my door swung open (no mail was lost, I had emptied it Saturday and this happened long before today’s [...]
Somedays on the Highway of Life, You Gotta Get out of the Car and Talk to a Cactus
Brontosaurus Head Cactus by cogdogblog posted 1 Feb ’09, 11.06pm MST PST on flickr By almost a reflex, this post first urged an emergence as one in the vein of “sorry this is the reason why I’ve not been blogging”. It strikes me when I read such posts (some of them mine) that the only one acutely aware of their absence is… the blog author (and maybe their Mom.. hi Mom!). In thinking about this, I find it curious that we find ourselves imaginatively tuned to the needs of some nebulous audience we never see. We apologize, like leaving them stood up for a date at the theater. So silly. I ended up today driving a second day in a row round trip to take my old high school friend Kevin back to Tempe where he has a meeting this week; I was thankful he tacked on an extra day [...]
