Falling Through the Net

This fabulous new web page, called StumbleUpon.com, has got to be one of the most addictive browser plug-ins I have ever had the pleasure of using.

Essentially what you are doing is joining the stumble upon community, and marking what areas of the Web you are interested in. After setting your specifications, you download the StumbleUpon tool-bar for your browser. Once installed, all you have to do is click the button that says 'Stumble!', and your off.

Pulling from a rated database of sites from its current users, you travel through some of the coolest, and most fulfilling web pages you probably would have never found otherwise.

I got so addicted so fast that I stumbled for approximately 3 hours straight. Just surfing through new content, and none of it was something I had come accross before. Like I mentioned before, there is a rating system for displaying what you think of the page you are viewing, thumbs up, or thumbs down.

Riddled with options, and features you would expect from a community based site, I suggest everyone should install this bar for your bored time when you stare at your homepage for five minutes wonder where you want to go today, use StumbleUpon to find yourself something new!

To Give Thanks

I am one of those loner people who doesn't have much family around, and even if they were, there wouldn't be much of a Thanksgiving. Besides, ever since my father passed away, and I have been living on my own, I appreciate the ability to sit in my living room, on my laptop, and cook dinner for myself. Then I just relax, enjoy a bottle of wine, and reflect on life.

But what does inspire me, is the adamant nature of everyone surrounding me in this life that are so thoughtful to always invite me to thanksgiving dinner. These holiday times bring the best out of people. Everyone from my best friends, to my co-workers, to others are just associates, and all of them so adamant to keep me from being alone this Thanksgiving.

It is so inspiring, and refreshing to see such a generous attitude from these people, and replenishes that strung out feeling that humanity is an all consuming organism, and that no one really cares. Then these times don't necessarily fight against the consumption point, but does remind me that most people are pure hearted souls who genuinely give a damn about all those people near them.

So I suppose that in the end, I am giving thanks to all those out there who went out of their way to give a lost soul a family home this holiday. Thank you for reaching out to a less fortunate, and being what we all know we can be.

To Blog, or Not to Blog

As a new convert to the blogging revolution, I am having some fun adjusting to this online culture of people who love nothing more than having their thoughts, feelings, and judgements posted online for, potentially, the worl to see. It's a fascinating world of people spreading the seed of knowledge. The question still remains, how many people are actually interested in all of these mindless babbling's that travel through the digital ethers of the Internet.

I would say that the responsibility is on the blogger to be offering content that people may actually find valuable. Whether it is the way you write, the sources you cite, or the place you do it, I would suggest to formulate at least two of those three options. I unfortunately rarely have the patience for citations, so I assume I can rely on the other two options. I would only change my perspective when enough feedback forces me to adapt.

Although my time on the blogoshpere is short at best, I am learning a lot of valuable ways to get that extra exposure that is needed to become a valuable resource for some people.

For those of you out there looking for some practice in article writing, you should definitely look into a web site called Helium.com. Its free to join, they have a great interface, and the articles you post have the possibility to be published for profit. A great learning tool for anyone. For the rest of you, I hope you find blogs useful, rather than just signs pointing at the fact that most people don't care about spelling and grammar.

Online Community Sites and You

Social networking sites have enabled so many in the world to be able to connect with people in ways we have never dreamed of before. The space between you and your social life gets smaller by the second. With all of the options available from more sites than just Myspace and Facebook, you can now become submersed in a world of your interests, your friends(online and off) and connect with so many people at once, it nearly boggles the mind.

Of course Myspace & Facebook are the moguls of the social networking world, but with so many other huge companies trying their hands at this growing fad, the possibilities are going to become endless as far as how we communicate with each other from across the world. I am particularly fond with this new site with a large European community is Virb.com. Virb.com is a smoothed out, and more graphically enhanced version of Myspace. Same general functionality, and same premise. Unfortunately they still have a couple of navigation issues to smoothed out, I really enjoy their interface, and general look of the site. Still, their functionality seems to be a bit more smoothed out than the rest, yet not straying too far from the original formula.

Another great new site by an online mega-site is Yahoo's 360 beta. They are really trying to bring their usefulness to a new level, and tie in everything with info, messenger, blog, video, pictures, everything. They still have a few wrinkles to iron out, but the whole site is creative, fun to use, and great for the yahoo enthusiasts out there. I do find that, in the traditional Yahoo manner, that they are trying to maybe cram too much into too small of a space, but it is in the beta phase, so its nothing a little feedback cant change.

The third and final community site I will talk about is a fairly new organization that is starting a Television and online community, is Current.com. This free interactive website is a community of people discussing and working with current events ranging from alternative arts, to international politics, to sports. Its take on the new, and current events is just the most innovative I have ever experienced. Every hour you get an update on the most popular video searches and google searches on the web, and you can submit your own videos to be aired on TV. Aside from all this it is also a community styled web page, with tons to talk about, people to meet, and groups to follow. If you dont have the Current Channel on TV, you can watch all the shows on your PC. I really enjoy this site, and everything these people have to stand for. the bar has just been raised.

The fact still remains, that Myspace and Facebook have the largest number of people that you will probably either already know, or did know on the web right now. Yet if you want to take a stab at meeting some new people, having different outlets for your creative passions, and broadening that social network, try some of these new options, and spread the love.

Can I Go Home Yet?

One of the worst feelings in thew world for me, are those few moments before I have to actually get up, and get ready for work. And then, the whole time I am there, I am waiting to go home. I cannot be at peace at my job. It just is not a reality.

I see all these other folks who work two jobs, never stop moving, and work 14 hour days. Here I am on my 6 hour day going,'Man I'm tired, is it time to go home yet?'

What can I say, I have never had a strong work ethic when it comes to a restaurant. I have tried. I've been a manager before. I've worked my two jobs before. I think now I am just burnt out. At this point in my life, I would rather sit here all day, and write, than go into the vortex of energy, and sit there while I feel my livelyhood stolen away from me every second I spend standing behind that god-forsaken bar.

Writers Block

So, as a new blogger, and fighting the sense that no one is going to understand my words, it holds me back from assuming I could get anyone behind me with my thoughts. But you know, its a process. Nothing worth while happens instantly. I enjoy what this window to the world offers people, but sometimes, you have to look at it and go, what the hell am I going to write about?

Its fun, its challenging. After enough times, it makes you start getting a bit more creative and critical with how your writings are displayed to the world. Your topics can become much more appealing, and much more concise for the reader. (except this one)

Which brings me to another point. Its not just the information you have for people, but how you display it. It is your responsibility as a writer to make people WANT to read what you have. You cannot just throw up some words with some personality and assume people are going to be curious to just want to know more about you. Cause I know I am not.

As I travel through the blogs, and see what some people figure as 'interesting', or appealing really astounds me. You see how well their intentions are reflected in their words. they showed up, wrote down some words, and threw them onto a web page, assuming that people would just read it and be blown away. Punctuation errors and all.

In my belief, it takes much more care, and personality then that to make a lasting impression on a reader, and their intellect. I think blogger should also offer daily topics, for community writing, or such. Things encourage structure, and concise layouts of thought.

Anyways, until next time, I will keep chiseling at my writiers block, working on my statue.

Interpersonal Meltdown

As the days and months just fly by, and the realization on a daily basis that I am not getting any younger seeps in, I feel pressured to be more involved with people. At 24 & a 1/2 I am starting to see a bit of a transformation towards the understanding of impermanence, and how to open up to people that I generally would never open up to before. I have found that I learn so much more from these few people I have met in the last year, then almost anyone I met through school.

I suppose it is because, a couple years ago, I would have not given them the time of day because they do not share my opinion on things, or have much different behavior, and interests. Yet this is what makes them so interesting. Maybe it was my immature view towards relating to people, but when you only associate with people who think and act much to like you, that is what will seal you off from any real sense of community or understanding. Much like your frat house, or church groups.

Through opening up to these people, I have in turn learned a great deal about myself, and just what it means to compassionately care enough about anyone, and everyone. Two years ago I would have never seen these people in my life, but now, I can't see myself without them.

Thus, the meltdown is the transformation of myself, and moving into another realm of thought and understanding on the ways people are, and what it means to be 'friends'. And I look forward to having this perspective change and grow into the future, and fuel many other fascinating journeys into the interpersonal world.

Revelation

So, I have been doing much pondering on the usefulness of blogging, and what it can do for your average human being.

It is a recent thought of mine to wish that every human being should be made to write an autobiography on their deathbed. The thought of sharing in that persons life, and death, is quite a tantilizing thought. And to think of the positive effects of that person for knowing that their last words would be heard by someone, and the realizations they had in their life, could be made known to all those who might be willing to take advantage of them.

So, all this brings me to the new fad, such as blogging. I wake up in the morning, and think about my blog. As I go to bed, I think about it, and when I'm at work, I think about topics. How has such an addictive activity taken over the world?

In my opinion, it shows that every human being needs an outlet, and a blog gives your words the ability to touch an entire planet, and let people participate in ways "real life" would never allow. It hands you the ability to put more significance in the words you say, and thus let these words resonate into the world, and let people respond accordingly.

In my opinion, the devolopment of the blog, is a world saving recource. Yesw, that is a bold statemement, but think of the tension available to be released by an individual, when he knows that his/her words will be recieved by people, that otherwise, wouldnt care. A beautiful thing.