Deborah Schultz

Please stand by...

   I know it has been awhile.

   I have not forgotten you.

   I could make up some lame excuse but truth is

   I have been researching and curating new inspiration

   I have been meeting and speaking and learning

   No excuses.   No resolutions.

  

I continue to be humbled by every person who  chooses to subscribe to this feed and support my work.

So, please stand by for a new design, new ideas and new long form posts coming soon.

In the meantime, my stream of consciousness is readily available over on twitter to prove that I am alive.

I will also continue to bring you posts from around the net that I feel are out of left field and/or are not in the mainstream and deserve to be shared more broadly! Please let me know what resonates with you and what you are curious to hear me rant more about..;)

[photocredit: Voidmstr]

Snackbyte: It's all personal

In preparing for my upcoming "Death of the Grand Gesture" talk at Web2Expo, I've been deep in my usual observational analysis of the dynamics impacting the social web meets "big bidness".  I've also realized [thanks to Mario] that my blogging has become a sad chain of "weekly links".   

I have always found it difficult to juggle "big thoughts", getting stuff done and ensuring I make the time for posting my observational nuggets as they occur to me.  I admit it, I  enjoy real world back and forth conversations more than the more solitary skill of writing [probably why I will never write the great American novel]. 

Which leads me to my recent personal observation. Gasp - I have lost touch with why I fell in love with blogging in the first place - a blog post does not have to be a fully formed argument or a perfect pearl of wisdom - it just has to be.

So in the spirit of it spontaneity I am rededicated to providing both in the future.  I won't promise a schedule or a minimum number of posts or even where they will be posted [she hints at future news], but I do promise to not sit on the nuggets and personal observations till they are all well crafted and wrapped in a bow.   

Today's nugget:   

No matter how you slice it - everything is personal.  Not personal as in taking things personally [tho there is plenty of that taking place], but personal as in this is 'personal to me'.  Social web tools are just that social and personal. They are a reflection of their creator - without a personal voice and tone there is no "there there".  And they are changing the dynamics of how we interact, relate and do business.

The challenge for a business or political campaign is how do you infuse the personal without over-sharing and how do you find the balance of what is appropriate? 

Navigating this landscape of "personal" is tricky 'bidness'  - some words to keep in mind - respect, context, and empathy.

If you want to attend Web2Expo you can use my "personal" discount code: webny08mc23 for $100 off registration fee.  Hope to see you there!

A rose by any other name ....

 

The recent flurry of posts on "the death of blogging" or blogging versus twitter versus [insert latest cool tool here] are mute. It is the motivation behind the effort that is interesting - our human [and business need ] for connection and expression and the impact that micro-connections have on our memory, analysis and objectivity.  There is a big difference between living in the moment and stepping back and analyzing an event, business or feeling.

There is benefit to both - and they are not interchangeable.  Living & communicating in the moment serves one purpose and so does thoughtful analysis.   More varied media creation adds layers and multiple facets to our experiences and personalities.   The important distinction is when personal crosses into professional without full disclosure - i.e the impact on journalism, promotion, PR and marketing.  This is not about whether it is a blog or "an official newspaper" - it is knowing the role of the individual communicating and understanding whether the 'content' is analysis or spur of the moment observation. 

As blogging and social media grow up, tools as labels are less important. 

Am I a "phoner" because I use the phone?  No.  A phone can be used for an interview with a journalist, to order cable service to phone sex.  It is the role I play in each, who I am communicating with and the objective of the call that makes the difference.

The same holds true for blogs or tweets or videos - the tools is simply that a tool.

Related posts [in case you missed em]: 

Fred on real time blogging - well said - the distinction between sharing experiences later versus during. Just compare the difference between sharing your recent vacation with non-connected friends and family to the ones who follow your flickr or twitter stream - BIG difference - not better or worse- just different.

Scoble on Tech blogging:  What Robert taps into here is the blurring of the lines. He got into blogging to learn cool stuff and share his experience then he got an audience and then somehow the lines got blurred and is he now journalist, PR shill? There is a value in both professional formal analysis and observational discussion - we just need to know the role the communicator is playing.

Happy 4th - celebrating vision

In addition to the traditional sentiments behind today, I like to think of July 4th  as a celebration of the courage of the few who knew in their humanitarian guts that their current situation was simply unfair.  They banded together to execute a grander vision.

"Preamble", by Anonymous on Wordle.com

For me, July 4th is about the transformative power of having the courage of your convictions, a creative vision and how passionate groups of individuals can bring on major change [kinda like the potential for the web, ey] 

Hope you are enjoying a "creative vision" day wherever you may be.

 

Snackbyte: Are we all just being rude?

[Cue voice over of Carrie Bradshaw for this quick post]

I have been thinking a lot lately about the impact the 24/7 social web connectedness has on how we connect and behave in personal and professional settings and the impact it is having on our relationships:

"In an era of increased inputs, ambient intimacy** and weak ties, it is now difficult to remember, react and respond to everything and everyone in a timely manner. Are we rude or do we need to reset our expectations of what is proper etiquette in the era of the Social Web?"

• Is it really ok to not return phone calls? or email? Is there a window when rude sets in?
• Is it rude to not respond to a direct Twitter?
• Is everyone SO busy with outbound expression that no one is there to "catch the proverbial conversation toss?"
• If you know that people are overwhelmed - how do you know when you are being ignored proactively or when are you simply lost in the "inbox"? When do you PING LOUDER so you get attention and when are you ignoring the signs that you are indeed being purposefully ignored?
• If micro-interactions are indeed the present and future, what are our new sets of online behavioral expectations?
• I have noticed an increase in last minute cancellations at face to face events.  Have we gotten so used to multi-tasking online that we think we can be in two physical places at once?

Thoughts?

** totally envious of Leisa's brilliant turn of phrase - as i repeatedly tell her every chance I get!

May 1st - a popular day for the people

It's a popular day this year

[OK - it is probably a popular day every year, but this year I thought to write a post about it, so I could get my lat post with the weekly links image not found off the screen]

Today is RSS Awareness Day - who knew?!   It is also ALL of these days as well [thanks to 10k for doing the linking so I did not have to]

Lastly, it is also Yom Hashoah - or  Holocaust Memorial Day.  This video clip shows how they commemorate in Israel.  I have always wished the US could actually do this for 9/11.  You can fast forward to 1' 35"  - and still get the idea.

Workers of the Web unite

In an effort to allude to the Workers May Day theme, here are some recent Soylent green posts on my favorite theme - IT's PEOPLE, PEOPLE 

[via Chris  - yeah i copied tho whole darn chunk cause I was lazy and did not think Chris would mind]

1) The "networks don't have people...people have networks" concept floated here has become a full-fledged snowball.

• Ross Mayfield - "Here's some related Soylent Green."
• Demian Entrekin - "Individuals create value for organizations through the impact of their Project Network, not through their position in the organization chart."
• David Wallace - "It's about the people, people."
• David Cushman - "When you aggregate personal data in profiles (eg facebook) you risk imposing structural limitations on the conversation and on the way groups form. This leads to severe restrictions on value and growth creation in your network."
• Marshall Lager - "It's why Facebook (for example) has been having trouble - it takes ownership of pieces of you."

2) A point of caution on the "social media divide" from Francine Hardaway (with more here) - "Fellow geeks, we live in a dream world -- a world of Twitter - Twhirl - Friendfeed - AlertThingy - Seesmic. And if you think most people reading this can identify any of those things, think again. Moreover, if you think there's a chance of any of those crossing the real chasm in the next ten years, think again."

A moment in time aka "our little web is growing up"

[Note: this post was originally written on wed evening when I was a bit sleep deprived.  I could have sworn I hit publish - but, oops I guess I did not]

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SXSW interactive is winding down and I am sitting in a hotel room working on a presentation about the Web world I know and love. But I can't focus.  My mind keeps racing around with a flurry of thoughts.  Most importantly I have this one thought I must get 'down on paper' to clear my brain.

We are at a seminal moment in the the world of the Social Web - we are growing up. 

My hope is that this year's SXSW is not remembered for chaos, tribal fighting or as the year "thought leaders" [heh]  outnumbered innovators but for a moment in time that the enthusiasm, excitement and energy of the innovators, entrepreneurs and designers, individuals and companies has led to a rich,  unique and viable industry. 

Where else but on the web can geeks, designers, artist coders, gamers etc all share a space.   I was drawn to this this industry over 15 years ago because it empowered me as an individual and enabled me to connect with others and exercise my creative side.  I was in college at the time and ran a business where I published a Guide to NY using Pagemaker 1.0.  I flipped on a Mac and voila I was a publisher.  It was and still is a place where even a dabbler has a voice.  As someone who loves to create and connect but does not want to get bogged down in coding - this is powerful stuff! 

The web is a place where creative minds who choose to "opt-out" can mix with "business types", where geeks and techies and graphic designers, developers and storytellers can all mash together to use whatever tools suit their needs.  Whether they are 23 year old "billionaires" [heavy on the quotes] , grown-up companies that gave birth to an industry or newbies who have taken the tools and built a new life for themselves. 

Emblematic of this diversity as I hung out with old friends and met new ones, I was struck over and over by how many people had multiple business cards -- i.e. multiple lives and multiple identities. How many people could not define themselves in a niche and how many people took vacation time to attend SXSW - even if the web is part of their day job.  This is because SXSW [and by extension the Web]  is something very personal to them. 

I had not been to SXSW in years [not sure why exactly - but probably because I had lost touch with that creative, developer side of myself].  So the jump to the grown up SXSW was indeed sharp.  Part of me misses the smaller community aspects of the Web - "back in the day". 

The Web has entered its adolescence [at least as far as SXSW is concerned].  And as it grows and  the community breaks into every increasingly larger and diverse smaller tribes, my hope is we focus on creating even better tools to empower more people to experience that same incredible aHA moment I had when I first got a taste of the power and possibility that is The Web.

[note: the Earnestness of this post is dedicated to Heather Gold and Molly Steensen..;)]

I just couldnt resist

[Update: There has since been a bit of a firestorm around this video, which is why it is no longer available.]

The link to Nat Torkington's post on communication is still mucho interesting and worth a second look. 

Watch this, then when you are done smiling (and feeling all superior),  go read this [make sure to read the comments].  There is plenty of non "me-too" thinking out there, you just need to know where to look.  Enjoy!

[Link crumbs: Thanks to Brian via Nat Torkington]

Thanksgiving - a truly Open Source holiday

Thanksgiving could be defined as the one truly "open" American holiday.  I get sappy around Thanksgiving because it has always represented the best of America for me - freedom, opportunity, thankfulness.  It is the least commercial of all our holidays and centers around family and friends without any specific religion or ritual. There are no gifts required  - just company and conversation.

Thanksgiving is the one holiday that everyone celebrates.  As a kid growing up orthodox in Brooklyn, I spent many holidays with friends and immediate family but distance and different observance levels often kept extended family apart on holidays.  Thanksgiving was the one holiday that brought us all together as a family and a country - no matter race, religion or creed.

It is the one time that we put aside differences and allow for everyone to participate as they see fit and contribute in their own way.  There was a time when Memorial day and Veterans day and even July 4th had similar contexts - but they have been lost in sales and shopping and devalued to long weekends at the beach. 

Thanksgiving is the one remaining event every citizen participates in as they see fit.  The holidays' roots are religious in nature but the ritual(s) associated with it are open and therefore enable everyone to participate and put there own stamp on it. 

Thankfulness is a universal human emotion.

[Note: If you like the image - go check it out on flickr it has some great notes over each of the photos]

 

Graphic designer envy

I have often said I need to brush off my dusty inner geek [yes, there was a time I actually played around with html], so I can build some of the stuff I want online and experiment a bit more.  Additionally, the ability to take a complex concept and explain it visually is a real skill and an art; just ask Richard Saul Wurman.  I am always green with envy at my buddy Dave's ability to take social media concepts and articulate them so beautifully and vividly. Good visuals also highlight the importance and tight link between communication, design and user experience.

No sooner do I finally get around to posting my six month old ecosystem bubble slide, when I hop on over to Dave's blog to see his latest gorgeous articulation.  My 'bubble' visual pales in comparison and could definitely use some Armano love [hint hint Dave]