FlickR: The modern emoticon

Not to get all 'Zarathustra' on you, but word on the street is 'blogs are dead'. At least according to Paul Boutin's recent article in Wired Magazine. Boutin contends that Twitter, FlickR and Facebook are in, and blogs are 'so 2004'. Sounds like something a spawn of Meal Girls and WoW would suggest?

So where does this leave the average business or entity with an online presence? Confused, I'm sure.

FlickR just celebrated the inclusion of the 3 billionth image uploaded to its 4-year-old site. Their platform is engaging, and it is no wonder they have experienced such exponential growth (perhaps one of the only growth areas in Yahoo's portfolio of investments).

Over the past year, I've started to appreciate the value of FlickR as a social and cultural tool. With a museum client of ours, we became aware of the utilization of FlickR as a tool to develop more engaging exhibits. A specific example at a national level is the Library of Congress' FlickR site. They've uploaded their photography archive online and encourage people to 'tag' images with their own comments and memories of that moment in time. Although many of the anecdotes are intriguing, other comments are reminiscent of a transcript of Beavis and Butthead (moderators are needed - badly).

We're also seeing integration of FlickR with map tools like Google Maps to bring historical moments to life w/ a geographical reference point. Later in '09 I look forward to sharing more information on a specific website project that will accomplish this in a very engaging manner.

I suppose the bottom line is, FlickR - you might be the 'it' kid in school at the moment, but what does this mean in context with how people are evolving and adapting to the Internet culture?

Are web enthusiasts getting more expressive or getting dumber? Has the blogging form of narcissistic rants evolved into truncated blogging on Twitter in conjunction with including an image to express oneself in as few words as possible? Is FlickR the sophisticate's emoticon?

As likely suggested by my often incorrect grammar and misspellings, the art and desire for eloquent writing as a form of expression might be behind us and the current replacement is fragmented through several different sites/platforms focused on imagery, video, short-handed mobile blogging, and social networking. Will an ultimate tool or site be developed in the near future that takes all these ways to express oneself and funnels them down?

Twitter: Fake Sarah Palin

The past few weeks have been such a political blur. I feel such a loss with both the DNC and RNC wrapped up. For now I can look forward to a Palin interview later this week, but it will be with Charlie Gibson so I'm not expecting many racy questions to say the least.

Speaking of media - I am waiting for the media to get real with adequately covering Palin as the Republican VP candidate. It utterly baffles me that McCain's camp has the audacity to threaten the media for being sexist when it is evident that McCain chose Palin for her gender. I can't get over accounts of Palin as a member of the PTA (AKA a 'community organizer') trying to ban books in her children's school library because they didn't align with her personal religious beliefs. That Republicans are 'nation first' yet they choose a candidate that is associated with Alaska separating from the union. She denies mankind's role in global warming, is anti-choice and pro-abstinence (something that apparently didn't work well within her own family), and her son's deployment to Iraq on 9-11 wreaks of public relations. Her stance on the environment as a whole is questionable (although great decorations in her office of carcases - picture at right) and the spin re: natural gas pipeline is off the charts. Oh, and the 6 colleges in 6 years to receive an undergrad degree? I guess this VP candidate choice will appease the masses - 'She is one of US'. Nascar, Jeff Foxworthy, Larry the Cable Guy, NRA, bible beating nation unite!

'Fake Sarah Palin' not only has presented personal entertainment within my fellow liberal friend group, but it has received coverage recently in Media Shift's blog. The Twitter profile popped up the day of Palin's nomination and is worth a peek if you aren't following it already.

A couple of recent gems from Fake Sarah Palin on Twitter:

• Liberals, I changed colleges 5 times in 6yrs BCZ CONSERVATIVES BELIEVE IN SCHOOL CHOICE. I'm so smart HA! http://bit.ly/1p5LdI
• Why do people keep calling me antagonistic? I BELIEVE IN GOD THERE IS NO QUESTION
• John and I will work tirelessly to stop the alabamans from attacking Georgia again. NEVER AGAIN!!
• And I've gutted a moose with my pinky, I'll tell you what
• You wanna step to SARAH PALIN, Code Pink?!! You can't handle a hockey mom, I'll tell you what

Obama's Nuts, URLs, and Blog Shout out

Check out David Berkowitz's most recent blog post on advertisement targeting on Facebook. There is a shoutout in the first paragraph to QuirkyABQ (Jennifer Marshall) for an example I provided from Facebook.

See full article here.
See example I found here.

If you find any odd examples of 'too close to home' or inappropriate advertisement targeting, contact me.

Who is going to market 'Obama's nuts'?

Mr. Jackson - what were you THINKING? As if Fox News wasn't bad enough, we have to have a liberal civil rights activist slamming Obama with less than eloquent rhetoric. Awesome. If you haven't seen the video yet, go here to check it out. Oy.

The real question is, what marketer can act fast enough to sell cans of nuts marked, 'Obama's Nuts - Made by J. Jackson'. Let me even help, I've made a prototype.

I wonder if Obama is somewhere, drinking a good cocktail, just laughing very hard... or maybe he is making a prototype of a nutcracker with Jackson's head on it.

Big Announcement, Important URLs Purchased Last Night

Two important URLs were purchased last night.

URL #1
I am now the proud owner of www.quirkyabq.com. This address reroutes to the blog (temporarily housed on my imajenart.com domain). Down the road I hope to move all blog files over to this site.

URL #2
For those not in the 'know', pictured at right is my recently adopted pug, Douglas. Douglas is a glitzy boy who doesn't mind rocking a blonde wig, bling, perhaps he wishes he was drinking a martini or two at times. He's a ham in front of the camera, and my creative wheels have been spinning about ways to let Douglas be in the spotlight that an ab fab pug only deserves.

Over the next year, in addition to the art site and Quirky ABQ blog, I will be launching www.dragqueenpug.com starring the one and only, Douglas. A little odd - of course. Perhaps on verge of beauty pageantry mom? Quite likely. For now though, the project is just a big idea for a lazy-eyed little pug with a perfect URL purchase.

Corporate blog entries & free BCP session @ Abba Center for Excellence

By day I am a marketing wench, and I contribute to my company's blog. Please feel free to check out my most recent two posts:

Do good by doing nothing, exploring goodsearch.com I enjoyed writing this piece, because I hope to determine strategic ways for non-profits to better utilize online not only to meet marketing needs - but also fundraising. GoodSearch and GoodShop have a unique product, and I view it as truly feasible for day-to-day online buying trends to be routed through this site to raise money for non-profits. Secondary goal of the blog entry - to increase awareness of Albuquerque Meals on Wheels new pet division that is kicking off this September 2008. I have been working with the amazing team of individuals at ABQ MOW to develop a program plan. With the help of generous sponsors, dedicated volunteers and a little luck - hopefully the program will be a success. More info on this program to come in future posts. Do you Tweet? I am embarrassed that I'm jumping on the Twitter bandwagon so late, but this social networking site fascinates me. Call it microblogging, call it 'haiku blogging' (or maybe I just call it that) - truncated posts in 140 characters or less leave little room for error and lots of room for processing a ton of information in a short amount of time. If you're on Twitter too, feel free to message / nudge me.

In the green arena, I am starting to research and gather articles on green computing / green IT. If you have a specific resource recommendation, please contact me. I am eager for feedback and ideas. On the topic of IT, Abba Technologies (locally headquartered IT systems integration and professional services firm) is hosting a free and open to the public session on Business Continuity Planning. The event will take place at the Abba Center for Excellence located in downtown Albuquerque from 8:30 AM - 10:30 AM on Thursday, July 24, 2008. Space is limited - so make sure to RSVP by going through www.abbacenter.com. This is a great opportunity for local business professionals to assess the risks that threaten their organizations and develop a BCP plan that will ensure continuance of business operations. Also - the event is going to be led by Stuart Prager - a Certified Business Continuity Planning professional. He is one of two BCP specialists in NM with this high level of BCP certification.