The final post for 2006 has to be a moan at blogosphere’s godfather – Seth Godin for supporting the creation of the blogebrity syndrome via his Zlist post entitled “What to read now/next”
And yet again the list’s flavour is pointedly biased toward marketing blogs. So we must just accept that blogoland is created for marketers? I don’t think so Seth!
More to the point is the language used in Seth’s next post about the list entitled “Zlist Update”. He says, “I’ve been amazed, then delighted and then disturbed by the response to the zlist plexo I posted.
WTF is a ‘plexo’ for crissakes? Why can’t people stop being overly clever and just speak good old fashioned English? Must we always have to look up what is meant or implied in Google or, in my case, the Oxford Concise which I prefer?
Bollocks to that. But I did in this case. See below.
plex·us (plÄ•k’sÉ™s)
n., pl. plexus or -us·es.
A structure in the form of a network, especially of nerves, blood vessels, or lymphatics: the cardiac plexus; the pelvic plexus.
A combination of interlaced parts; a network.
So I am afaraid I have no hope that 2007 will see the emergence of good simple language being used in blogs if the head honcho persists in perplexing his readers. Other drones will emulate. What a pity.
Happy New Year!
Hi there! If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed or email updates to make sure you don't miss a thing from ENGAGE!. Thanks for visiting my site!
The BBC reports the murder of Taliep Petersen.
This is so shocking especially after recently posting the VW adverts that his musical-writing partner David Kramer starred in.
Years ago, I was fortunate to get a ticket to go and see the second night of District Six, written by Taliep Petersen & David Kramer at the Baxter Theatre in Rondebosch, Cape Town. It was superb. I’d like to see it on tour here in UK.
In UK at the moment is Ghoema (see photo above), the latest Kramer/Petersen show. Go see it. Go see it in memory of Taliep.
There is a Stormhoek Geek Dinner in Cape Town at the Redemption Cafe, Hout Bay this Friday 22nd December 2006. Kickoff at 7pm.
If you have not yet registered to attend, then do so NOW! Click on the logo:
Wine is donated by Stormhoek. Such kind guys. Such fine wine. Such a fine time.
Back in January 2006, The Register reported that:
“The US Federal Aviation Authority has responded to the possible threat of terrorist exploitation of the burgeoning space tourism business by drafting some proposed regs to ensure Ossie bin Laden and his mates don’t book themselves aboard Virgin Galactic.
In effect, the FAA says space tourists should be treated the same as airline passengers, with the usual security checks and a quick shufti of the global “no-fly” list to see if the wannabe astronaut has previously been barred from airlines worldwide for attempting to open the door mid-flight in order to have a quick ciggie.”
Read the full article HERE
A new report from The Register states:
FAA: Space tourists must be told of risks
Caution: this could be a one way trip. This is what would-be space tourists will have to be warned before they set off on sub-orbital jaunts, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has said.
Following the successful launch of SpaceShipOne, the X-Prize winning craft designed by Burt Rutan, the organisation has now finalised the US regulations for passengers and crew on commercial space-planes, Reuters reports.
The rules state that passengers, who may not be younger than 18, must be informed that their journey is potentially a fatal one. It occurs to us that every bus journey is also potentially fatal, but the average double decker is not usually rocket propelled, which we suspect does make a difference.
Read more HERE
I am so shocked that Misty over at MontChan missed this juicy news item:
Villagers fjucked off with international ridicule
By Lester Haines → 18th December 2006 11:
The good burghers of the Swedish village of Fjuckby have decided they’ve had enough of being the butt of fjuck jokes and are demanding a rebrand, The Local reports.
The Fjuckers finger globalisation as the principal cause of their woes, which “has led to rude English-language associations that the villagers could do without”. To add insult to injury, Fjuckby also contains the Swedish word juck, meaning “hump” in the local lingo.
Go read the full article here at The Register
Misty please don’t say it…….don’t!
Swedish Village Residents Demand Rebranding
ZDNet reports that a new “botworm” is on the loose seeking out systems that use Symantec products.
See below:
New ‘botworm’ exploits Symantec flaw
By Joris Evers, CNET News.com
Published on ZDNet News: December 15, 2006, 3:12 PM PT
A new worm that uses a known security hole in Symantec’s corporate antivirus tools to spread has hit the Net, experts warned Friday.
The new “botworm” scans for computers running the vulnerable Symantec software and then attempts to break in.
Go read the full report here
New ‘botworm’ exploits Symantec flaw
Below is another tip from my friend Michael to help you succeed at all you do. This time the inspiration is St Franci of Assissi.
THE ONLY THING YOU HAVE TO DO TODAY by Michael Neill
“Start by doing what’s necessary, then what’s possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible” – St. Francis of Assisi
Here’s the tip:
1. Ask yourself ‘If I was only going to do one thing today, what would it be?’
2. Do whatever it is as if it really is the only thing you have to do today.
While I have long been a fan of ’single-tasking’ as a way of speeding up by slowing down, I have never before experienced the sense of ease and spaciousness that comes with doing each thing as if it is my only task for the day.
For example, last Tuesday I decided that if I was only going to do one thing that day, it would be to do a bit of Christmas shopping for my wife. Instead of dreading the trip to the mall
and trying to get through it as quickly as possible, I found myself slowing down to let cars in at traffic intersections, taking the time to really speak with sales clerks, and enjoying
the leisurely process of choosing the perfect gift. Elapsed time from beginning to end: Just under 2 hours. No stress, no fuss, and completely ready to take on the next ‘only thing’ on
my list, a few hours writing for my book.
Now imagine how it might have gone if I had approached it in the traditional way. I would have raced to the mall, checking my watch every few minutes to make sure I got back with plenty of
time to write and cursing every driver who had the temerity to try and enter MY lane at the traffic intersection. Sales clerks – who needs ‘em! Race through the mall, grab the first thing
that doesn’t suck, try and knock off a few phone calls on the way back to the car, realize I forgot my credit card at the shop and have to go back, silently curse the sales clerk (bah,
humbug!), and race to a fast food restaurant and get a cheeseburger because I’m now far too stressed to write anything. Elapsed time from beginning to end: 1.5 hours.
So I may have saved 1/2 an hour – but it would have cost me a few productive hours of writing time, the fun of buying a thought-full present for the woman I love, and about ten points on my blood pressure reading.
Today’s Experiment:
Just for today, do each thing on your to-do list as if it’s the only thing you have to do today. You may find you do a bit less and take a bit longer, but paradoxically get more done and have more fun doing it.
When you finish one thing, take a few moments to ask yourself ‘If I was only going to do one thing today, what would it be?’
When you have completed all the necessary items on your list and moved on to the possible, you just may find yourself doing the impossible – getting everything done and still finding time to relax and play.
Go and get many more Inspirational Tips for a Better Life by clicking on the little picture below!
Copyright 2006 Michael Neill
THE ONLY THING YOU HAVE TO DO TODAY by Michael Neill
Will you be able to maintain your enthusiasm for blogging during 2007?
Will you still be driven to blog each day and seek out that special entrepreneurial niche that will generate millions of dollars for you?
Will blogging be more difficult in 2007?
Will we find it more difficult to get decent rankings due to SOE changes (again!)?
Will you want to carry on blogging during 2007?
Will ordinary blue chip Multi-National companies adopt and appoint podcasting and blogging to saturate blogosphere with their company’s message?
Will the blogosphere as we know it today remain forever burgeoning in 2007?
Will we be censored in 2007?
UPDATE: Don’t say I never asked or thought the end of the blogosphere expansion as we know it today was closer than some experts apparently predicted. Go see what Technorati’s expert reported some months ago here when I asked, “When Will Blogosphere Implode or Contract“?
Technorati reckoned there was no end in sight. But at the BBC site an article summarising a Gartner prediction contradicts what Technorati said. Others like me do think blogging is like any fad and only serious bloggers who stay the course and maintain their momentum will survive. Some blogging devotees, who may blind themselves to facts about fads, remain adamant that blog creation by individuals may continue to double and retain levels for an indefinate period. They should wake up and smell reality. It smells of, once I have said it, blogged it and struggled to find a creative streak and the novelty wears off and no A Lister Blogebrity listing comes along after a couple of weeks and in fact nobody visits my site so what the hell is this craze alll about and who said it was easy……… oh screw it I’ll forget about it for a while…..
Anyway, you can and should read the BBC article HERE and make up your own mind. Mine is made up. Technorati’s facts are old. They iterate figures from 3 months (a quarter of a year) back when allegedly the rise of blog creation was still riding a hang ten on the blogging wave. But like all surfers know – the wave only gives you a ride that lasts so long.
Blogging in 2007
