Smart Mobs

Smart mobs, a bunch of wise guys. I had heard about these groups a year or two back. I was told about Improv Everywhere, a group that performs theses flash mobs and freeze mobs. They have been spotted all over the world doing dances or "pausing" real life. There isn't much of a purpose other than for entertainment for this group. However, these massive groups as a whole can be very persuasive and very powerful. Jaw dropping numbers showing up randomly at places can have an incredible effect on the event they are protesting.






Back home, a group of us almost got one of these organized. There was a farmers market downtown and we were all going to perform a dance or try the frozen approach, there were about 40 of us. But we got the dates wrong on the market, so we missed out. 
Oh well. Maybe next year?

Networking

I watched the Social Networking War video recently that was on Moodle. It was very interesting. It was well done and clever.




There was a lot of truth put into this short little skit. Social Networks temporarily take over the world. The way Xanga dominated 7 years ago, followed my the ever-so-popular Myspace 5 or 6 years ago, and currently Facebook. It seems like everyone wants to be the next big tool to interact with people technologically. They all seem to start well, but eventually become too overrun, too complicated, or too unorganized in an attempt to continue to put out new things or add on. Myspace became a place for "skanky pictures of skanky people doing skanky things" in addition to the reckless amounts of pointless bulletins, Myspace hit a wall. However, Facebook seems to be doing much better. There are people who claim addiction, and in some cases it seems true. I like this video's ending because it shows the ease at which you can release yourself from the virtual world. Simply logging off will take away all the distractions, all the things popping up, and all the people that are virtually your friends. The video suggests moving to the real world once again, and I think there is a need for this. Hooray for facebook, its a great tool. But some people never log off. Sometimes, there are better things you can do with your life. 

Like prepare for the next Nathan's Famous July Fourth International Hot Dog Eating Contest!

"There's no crying in baseball!"

So what is it with crying in athletics? I'm an athlete, I know how emotions rise real high in competition. I understand losing and shedding a tear as you come up just a bit short especially at the olympics. 4 years of training to just come up a few points short? I even understand crying when you win a big game or event. The overwhelming power of emotions that overcome you. The realization that all the hard work and all those people involved have paid off and you have reached the pinnacle. But What is this Danish Girl's problem? Get a tissue honey, and step off the ice.


So the fans try to mess you up a little on their turf, while your competing against their countrymen? What did you expect? a standing O when you do well? I don't care if it is curling or golf or football, at this level, you should be able to deal with some crowd noise. There should be a level of concentration where you can tune them out or at least focus primarily on your next move rather than worrying about the mean old fat man said from the 12th row.

Ok, he might be a little distracting. But this is an Eagles fan, not a Canadian curling fanatic. Call me crazy, but Miss Danish Lady, you are at the Olympics. Be happy you made it. Be happy you have that ability. And have the composure not to let a couple knuckleheads get you so worked up that you miss two potential game winners. You had two opportunities, don't blame the fans for you not being mentally prepared. GO CANADA:

--A Canadian bloke is walking down the street with a case of beer under his arm.
His friend Randy stops him and asks, "Hey Dave! Whatcha got that case of beer for?"
"Well, I got it for my wife, you see?" answers Dave.
"Wow," exclaims Randy, "Great trade."--

Temple Grandin

Temple Grandin is an interesting woman. I have not seen the movie, so I am not all too familiar with her life other than what was said in the presentation and from the murmurs I overheard while there. I think there were two main points I really took away at a personal level from her presentation:

1. I learned a little about myself. Now I'm not saying there is anything life altering in this, but she spoke a lot of visual learning, seeing pictures and watching movies in your head. That is how I am. That's how my brain works. So a lot of what she said, I could relate to. Some of the things she suggested, I can use to train my brain as well.

2. Problem solving with the application towards learning. When she was answering questions, there were a couple about how to get disabled children to learn, and she simply said have them learn in relation to their interests. I figured, just because they are mentally handicapped, we are not that much different? So if I need to learn something, why not relate it to basketball? I think she had a point. And i think that if done correctly, with practice, it will only be beneficial.

BUZZBUZZBUZZ

So Google launches this new program- Buzz. Interesting. These social networking tools always seem to start off wonderful. There was Xanga, until that became the middle school place for generating fights and posting awful stories and wanna-be forms of expression. That was followed by Myspace, which blew up until it became a place where boredom became an overflowing amount of questionnaires and too much glitter on each page. Currently, there is Facebook. A network that used to be solely for college students, needing an ID and everything to get access, it is now open to anyone with access to the internet. Now with the increasing popularity of groups and fan pages, feeds become cluttered. Facebook, although it gains members daily- seems to be losing its popularity from its customers, if you will. All these networks have their eventual downfalls because they serve to such great masses. This new idea, Google Buzz, with the technology involved, according to Google, is going to be a huge success. The way I see it, after reading an article on how it works a little, it will soon become commercialized and quickly become a thing of the past. With such technology that it can determine that since you were at the bar last night, it will wake you with articles on curing hangovers, as great as that sounds, I feel there will be corruption. Advertisements will take over. Companies will pay to be that website you wake up to. They will give money to flood your inbox with offers and reasons to eat at their restaurant, shop at their store, or buy their product. Good luck, Google. i will not be signing up.

There can only be one Buzz in my life.

IOC- What's going on?

This Georgian olympic luger flew down the track a little to fast. I'm sure you have heard the story- RIP. However, where should the blame be pointed? I think there are two different viewpoints. Obviously this is a somewhat sensitive subject, but I am curious. I will not find an answer because I do not have the means. But is this murder or suicide? The constant concern around the International Olympic Committee is that they desire for the world's best athletes to test their limits. How big can they go? Can they fly higher? go faster? But at what cost? Obviously the risk is higher. It is like going from a rural road onto a highway. From 45 MPH to 80. For these Lugers, they can reach 100 MPH. There is very little that can be considered safe at 100 MPH. But the IOC, the professionals, the supreme court of the Olympics, deemed this track to be safe. So could it be the fault of this olympian? The man was new to the games, he was inexperienced. He was not favored to win anything.  He had spoke on the phone with his parents a few days before. He spoke of the track and openly admitted that it was scary. He was quoted as saying that one of the last turns 'terrified' him. That turn, in the end, was fatal. So, you be the judge, blame the IOC and their high standards of competition and strive to push the limits? Or an overly ambitious kid with no intent to slow down for safety?

Still Sunday-

Ok so there's a little more about the big game.
Everyone knows about all the problems athletes and sports organizations and leagues have with social networking sties like facebook or twitter. When players take a personal time out at halftime to 'Tweet' their fans to let them know what's going on, leagues usually frown on these programs/websites. These networks usually do more harm than good for professional and college athletes. Collegiate level players are often suspended and professionals get heavily fined. However much the NFL is usually against Twitter, for todays' big game, they will be running a program with the social networking giant during the competition. By following the superbowl and using #SB44 your tweets or Flickr photos may show up on the official Superbowl website or on CBS during the game. Good luck to Chad Ochocino at getting a little more free publicity...

Super Sunday

Who is excited? This guy right here. Super Bowl Sunday is here. Hooray football. A day filled with pizza, wings, the final hours of pre-game analysis, and sappy chick flicks on every channel but CBS. It is pretty obvious what has the internet buzzing today, as well as what will be blowing up the good ol' World Wide Web this whole week- The commercials! Now I am actually one to watch the game for the game, and the commercials are just a little something extra. But for the other 90% that watch the game, call more timeouts! They need to see more beer ads and clever chip commercials and reminders of pizza deals. Who will be this years hit? I personally enjoyed last season's Career Builder spot:




The most interactive brand is Doritos. They will be airing another amateur ad, like they did last year, which was a huge success. They let the fans create an advertisement and then they show the one they feel is best during the Big Game.
Although there isn't 2 weeks of full out analysis and suspense for the commercials like the game, they do have sneak peaks and news the days prior to the showing. The big story is that Pepsi will not be airing a commercial this year for the first time in 23 years.
Enjoy the game!