Jay Leno’s blind spot – the most surprising revelation of the Oprah interview [video]

January 29, 2010
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Jay Leno has a large blind spot when it comes to dealing with humans, which Oprah revealed during her interview with the milquetoast comedian on Thursday. It even caused Oprah to catch her breath, making her circle back and confirm Leno’s answer.
What is that blind spot? He seems to have a hard time dealing with his [...]

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Who was the master live blogger of the Apple iPad announcement?

January 27, 2010
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I just finished following the live blogging from 3 different sources: MacWorld, the NY Times, and Engadget. Why is this important? Well, if you’re interested in the live blogging of events, this is a good hint at where to look in the future. Until now, I was never sure myself; now I know who’s got [...]

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Pope wants priests using social media, but probably not THAT way

January 27, 2010
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Did you know the Catholic church had something called “World Communications Day“? Me neither. Seriously, who would have thought the church was such a proponent of communication when they’ve been pretty much mum about their priests raping boys and girls around the world. Go figure.
[An aside: if you go to the link above you'll find [...]

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Interview: Morriss Partee on PodCamp Western Mass

January 26, 2010
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Coming up on February 6, 2010, a camp is taking place … no, not the kind of camp where you take swimming lessons and drink “bug juice“. PodCamp Western Mass is taking place at Westfield State College, where people will get together to talk and learn about all aspects of social media. PodCamps have been [...]

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Why UMass should improve the brand, then worry about the message

January 26, 2010
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I had this thought: what would happen if an organization, instead of using a lot of effort to improve their brand message, instead did better work that would improve the brand itself? Instead of creating better messages about your product or service, you improved your product or service. Wouldn’t that be a more efficient use [...]

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Using anonymous sources to rehabilitate a mobster’s image

January 25, 2010
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This past weekend The Boston Globe published a story about Boston-based gangster James “Whitey” Bulger and his son (deceased) a girlfriend gave birth to in 1967. In terms of advancing the saga of Bulger’s life (reported to include 19 murders), it doesn’t do much. In fact, the story boils down to an attempt by the [...]

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Wouldn’t you love to watch April baseball in Minneapolis?

January 21, 2010
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The Red Sox are the opening day visiting team at the new Minnesota Twins stadium, which appears to be a great place to watch a game, just not in April (this dude loves the Twins so much he doesn’t mind the cold!).
How does this grab you: they average 3.1 inches of snow in April, with [...]

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Google’s Eric Schmidt imitation of Ed Grimley [pic]

January 20, 2010
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I saw this photo of Eric Schmidt (next to Steve Jobs), and with his pants jacked up near his arm pits, he reminded me the character Martin Short created, Ed Grimley. With his arms doing a Ed Grimley turn, Jobs looks a little shocked.

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Little fish gobble-up dead skin in Bali [video]

January 20, 2010

Call this an all natural pedicure: little carp eat the dead skin off your feat. What about the rest of the body?! We’ve got dead skin all over. If you can’t dunk your whole body in a tub of these fish, you’re soft.

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The worst top 10 lists

January 19, 2010
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I’m sick of it. From now on I’ll be boycotting any “top” list when the content is spread over multiple pages, just for the sake of increasing page views. Because, that’s what it’s all about folks: getting you to view more pages on a site.
Creating lists on Web sites is a popular and proven trope; [...]

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Could You Stomach Seeing Dead Bodies Moved With A Bucket Loader?

January 18, 2010
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Watching 60 Minutes last night, the first story was a report from Haiti. The people who’ve responded to this disaster are steely eyed; considering the scale of devastation, the doctors wanted to only put their heads down and work.
One bit of the story, that a doctor wanted the reporter to see, was how dead bodies [...]

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Fill You Up With Smarts – Weekend Links For January 16, 2010

January 16, 2010
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Looks like a good coffee maker, but not entirely environmentally friendly – do we really need to fill up the planet with unrecyclable trash, just for a tasty, convenient cup of coffee?
Funny photos of Jack Nicholson at basketball games. For Jack Nicholson, going to a Laker’s game isn’t just an event to watch. With seats that [...]

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Employers That Appreciate Capitalism: Child Therapist

January 15, 2010
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In these troubled economic times, it’s not surprising that employers will try to exploit people; after all, with unemployment reaching above 10% nationally, the pickings are easy. Why pay a living wage when keeping employees in poverty will do just fine?
What’s the best place for employers to find a cheap work force? Craigslist, of course! [...]

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Here’s How I’m Doing a Better Job Getting My Followers To Read My Tweets

January 15, 2010
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One of the hardest things about communicating on the Web is trying to both be effective (and affective!) and not annoy people taking the time interact with your content. If someone is interested enough to read your blog posts or tweets, watch your video, or listen to your podcasts, you shouldn’t annoy them. Corporations and [...]

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Stupid Humans Talking – Pat Robertson Edition

January 14, 2010

Pat Robertson is a funny fellow. The more horribly tragic an event, the more likely he is to say dumb shit. This time, as you can imagine, it’s about Haiti:

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5 strategies to build enthusiasm in your organization for blogging

January 14, 2010

I’m working with a small educational institution, helping them develop a blog that covers their specialized approach to educating students. It’s a great project; worthwhile, their blog could be a hub for writing and resources that I haven’t seen on the Web.
There’s one problem (so far!): finding and motivating regular contributors among the ranks of [...]

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One Book Can Improve Your Writing For a Lifetime

January 14, 2010

I was first introduced to John Trimble’s Writing with Style: Conversations on the Art of Writing 25 years ago, when I was an undergraduate English major. The book is still on my shelf, in its second edition; I refer to the book often, and recommend it more often.
What makes this little book (fewer than 200 [...]

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Google Goggles View the Eclipse

July 23, 2009

On 22 July 2009 there was the longest solar eclipse of the century, mostly viewable in Asia. Guess who gave out glasses in Beijing to help view the eclipse? I want some of those Google Goggles!

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Wingnuts unite and carry birth records in a Ziploc bag!

July 20, 2009

Wow. Sometimes wingnuts really surprise me even more than usual. I guess I haven’t keeping up with the whole Obama birth certificate conspiracy, so the passion it’s bringing out in the “birthers,” as some are calling them, has slid by my radar. The argument goes something like this: Obama does not have his original Hawaii [...]

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