Moving Forward in 2009

So much change, it’s everywhere you look. From Wall Street to Washington, Detroit to Dallas, real estate, cars, politics, the economy, and more, it’s all changing. I’m getting ready for change as well.

I’ve had this blog for over a year now, but have failed to keep it up to date. My last post was in the summer time and was about the social site Plurk. A few months later I was involved in a MVA (that’s doctor talk for motor vehicle accident) while on my way to work. The SUV that turned in front of me was not paying attention, as the driver never once noticed my car till we collided. The wreck totaled my Scion xA, but the air bags went off, and I had my seat belt on as well, so I made it out ok. I’m still getting treated for my neck and back injuries, but things seem to be improving.

If you’ve ever wondered what a Scion xA vs. a SUV would look like, here you have it.

The accident really made an impact on my life, affecting everything from work to snowboarding. The loopy drugs they put me on didn’t help with keeping work and clients in order, and dealing with the insurance company has been a test in and of itself. To be honest, my head still feels a bit fuzzy at times, and I’ve been medication free for over a month now. The doctors (I have a few now) all say it will pass. To add to the fuzzy head, my vision got a tad fuzzy too, so now I have “computer glasses” to wear. To say the least, I’ve been a bit down about the whole thing.

I find myself holding back. Hesitating to do what I know I have the talent to do. Why? Why do I, or you for that matter, hold back? We bite our tongue, or silence our thoughts, hesitate in action, if any action at all.

It’s self doubt.

The only person telling you that you can’t do something in this day and age is you. The world is changing, now is your chance to change with it.

Jump in, be yourself, you are the only one that can be.

Making Plurk Clique

Plurk is here, and after a few weeks of testing it out, I think here to stay. It’s a wonderful site for getting to know the more personal side of people (esp. in my industry), networking, and some heated debates. Plurk also sports a powerful feature, not yet seen on the other popular social site Twitter, called Cliques.

There are several people that would say Plurk is a time waster, and that Twitter is where the “news” is at. I agree with that, but only because Plurk is still new compared to Twitter, and Cliques aren’t yet being used to their full potential… yet.

Creating Cliques is Quick

• Click on the “My Friends” link at the top left.

• Click on the “Cliques” tab in the new window.

• From here you can name your new Clique.

• Now type in the names of the people you want to add.

What to do with Cliques

Well now that you’ve spent the time to create Cliques on Plurk, it’s time to let the lucky people know they have been added. Cliques are missing the ability to invite your friends to join you, but there is a simple way around this! Check out ShirleyTipy’s blog to learn more about who and what to do with your privates on Plurk.

Google AdBloopers

RealEstate.com why are you showing 1000’s of Portland homes for Camas Real Estate? Don’t you know Camas is in Washington and Portland is in Oregon?

Here is and example of a damn good Ad brought to you by Google’s extended content network on ActionVillage.com. Who ever is running this ad for AllPredatorCalls.com is doing a great job. ActionVillage.com is selling a Ghillie Suit for $79.95 while AllPredatorCalls.com is running an ad for $69.95. I’d send a thank you note to ActionVillage.

The Human Effect on Search

I found out about a new search site today called Stumpedia. It’s based on user interaction and submission. You search for a term, see that there are no results, and add a link to something that you think would fit the bill. Sounds great right, yeah I thought so, I can make my own SERPs page!

Interesting Points about Stumpedia

• Quick and Easy profiles
• Voting system to combat spam
• URLs can be tagged with multiple key words
• Most Recent Activity on home page
• Nothing in place to stop the spam

I made mention of the site to a few people here in my office, and they took to it like wild fire.

The site has alot of potential, but that swings both ways. Will it be overran with Black Hats and White Hats with gray linings? Will real people that are actually searching for things use it? Is Matt Cutts really watching????

Update: TheGypsy pointed out that “voting is global not on a query basis and the default for stuff seems to be wiki”

So if you’ve summited a URL for five varying key words and your site gets a -1 point on KW A, that -1 point will go to the URL across all terms you’ve submitted it to.

It’s a Jungle Out There – April Fools Office Prank

April Fools only comes around once a year, and Office Pranks are just too hard to pass up.  While the most common of April Fools jokes tend to be, “I’m pregnant” and “Joe Died” type verbal banter, I like to go with a more creative hands on prank.  After getting a tip that all of the Directors were going to be in a meeting from 10 to 11, (thanks G) I quickly came up with an impromptu office prank to play on our Director of Customer Service.  Having no rope, glue, tar, or feathers, I had to improvise with the props at hand.

And so I bring to you my office humor loving readers, the Jungle Office.

No Joke, No Kidding

Not everyone seems to be feeling the spirt of April Fools this season.  From Matt’s blog to the people I follow on twitter, no one seems to be in the mood for jokes, pranks, or any other form of tomfoolery.  April Fools has been a long standing tradition among my friends and family.  Epic pranks that ranged from fake car accidents, to by friend’s wife giving birth to a black child.  Not a year has gone by with out something odd in the mail, or a screw removed from my office chair.  In turn, I have not missed the opportunity to prank friends or family since I was 4.  I don’t have any pranks planned for my friends on the net, but I do plan to post any evidence I come across of inner office pranks today.

What’s the best April Fools prank you’ve pulled? If you’ve already posted about it, drop a link in the comments for us to read.

Not much of prankster, or just boycotting like Kid Disco, why?

Your Momma

 This one’s for you Will, and Eric’s Mom.

Thousands Of Words, Not So Many Images

I got tagged over at Shirley Tipsy’s, and I think Angela called me out too…

Directions: Read the question and find the corresponding image and post that as the answer. 

Name:

MSN Docs; Competition for Google Docs?

MSN has announced an open beta for their Microsoft Office Live Workplace. The idea behind the new service came from millions of Office users requesting access to their files via the net.

Could this be due to Google Docs ability to share your personal work with a group or collaborate on a project together, regardless of your OS over the internet? Well if that was what sparked the idea, Microsoft sure buggered it up.

Internet Lessons from Nine Inch Nails and Obama

Most business execs probably aren’t familiar with Trent Reznor’s angst-filled industrial rock. But they could learn a lot from the Nine Inch Nails frontman’s experiments with online business models. Also, the Obama campaign has made available its database of supporters to anyone who wants access to the information, empowering volunteers.

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