Nov 11, 2008

Downsizing

Since I've been thinking WAY too much about my online activities or lack thereof, I've realized that I'm nearing the bursting point of my own personal tech bubble, as it were. Don't get me wrong, I'm crazy about the new web toys and tech buzz and all that, but it's getting kind of top-heavy and time-consuming.

That said, some changes are in order. I've decided to make some networking layoffs:
Twitter: I really tried, but my attention span is just too long for this. Or maybe not long enough. See? I don't even know what this service is good for. I don't work for Obama, I'm not in a touring band and I'm not a Mars lander. No one wants to hear what I'm doing every 5 minutes, least of all me. Tweet you later.

MySpace: I honestly can't remember the last time I spent more than 30 seconds on MySpace. I used to go there all the time and it's still great if you're a band that wants a free website, or if you enjoy testing your seizure threshold for Flash banner ads, or if you need to stay current with what [alt/metal/hip-hop/teen movie superstar-of-the-minute] is up to. Facebook's got me firmly under its minimalist, Web 2.0 spell for all my personal e-socializing needs. ByeSpace.
Under review:
This blog: Ha! Just kidding, I could never quit this blog. I mean, unless you think I should. Would you like me more if I blogged less. Or less if I blogged more? Because I can change, I swear I can! This was just a goof. That is, unless you take it seriously, then it's totally for real. Whatever you want, baby.

LinkedIn: The only reason this one didn't get the pink slip is because if my paranoia that I will someday need it to find another job. And LI just sits there until you use it, which is refreshingly unobtrusive. Plus, my dad is on it. LinkedIn stays in for now.

IM: Mixed feelings. I hardly ever use IM (nor am I in high IM demand, truth be told), but there are a few people that I would otherwise never talk to without it. Plus, it's faster than texting and usefully linked to my email. IM on the fence.

Skype: Our home internet sucks, but someday it might not and Ida and I have loved ones outside the US that would really dig the free VoIP calling. Do I believe the Skype?
Staying on:
Email, duh
Text messaging, also duh.
Facebook
Youtube
Flickr
Additionally, you'll find a bit more info over on the sidebar now, as I've deleted the old basilharris.com site and just redirected the URL traffic here. It's like moving in with your parents! If your parents were a website and you were a collection of links to loosely affiliated, narcissistic web accounts and pages.
Which, apparently, I have now become.

So now that ducks are slowly assembling in a row, this should be the last of the blog posts about blog posting. What to talk about now? Fashion? Politics? Opera?

Nov 10, 2008

Greetings from the new vanguard

An excuse explanation has presented itself for my lackluster blogging schedule of late.

Apparently, it's called Slow Blogging and I for one welcome our new web-slacker overlords who're advocating for:
"...a willingness to remain silent amid the daily outrages and ecstasies that fill nothing more than single moments in time, switching between banality, crushing heartbreak and end-of-the-world psychotic glee in the mere space between headlines. The thing you wished you said in the moment last week can be said next month, or next year, and you'll only look all the smarter."
Well, well well. Looks like there's room for a seasonal, roadside, homegrown, variable-hours farmstand in the world of Mega-mart blogging after all. Just goes to show that "behind-the-curve" can quickly become "cutting-edge" once everyone else reverses direction.
It's like that scene in Modern Times where a loitering Charlie Chaplain finds himself suddenly (and literally) waving the red flag at the head of an angry mob that happens to be sweeping through.

Yeah, it's exactly like that, I think.