A turn for the same
Just a thought from 29 September 2004 about Internet.

Is it me, or did Tribe just ape Craig's List?

I used to love Tribe. They were the one "social networking" site I could stand. I liked the way users could create their own tribes. It gave us something to do besides compare the sizes of our friend lists. (You can still create tribes, it's just deprioritized in the new design.)

But this change is awful on so many levels. It reeks of desperation (when in doubt, copy a successful site), is poorly executed (strange mishmash of styles), and worse, it comes with no explanation. They just took a site that many people had a investment in and fundamentally changed it for no communicated reason.

Also, the new logo looks like they poured honey over the old one until it was swarmed with fire ants. Makes me itchy.

Good thing we still have Flickr.

Putting the "purpose" in repurpose
Just a thought from 27 September 2004 about Elsewhere, Writing.

My story of faith and doubt, Wrestling with an Angel, which originally appeared in Fray, has been republished this week in JewsWeek, a fine web magazine for the hip young Jew. Check it out!

And for anyone who missed the end of the story, yes, we were married, and every day I'm grateful.

Speaking of Heather, she's been doing fabulous stuff over on her site lately. If you haven't visited in a while, you're in for a treat.

Also, my dog is cuter than yours.

California Dreamin
Just a thought from 24 September 2004 about Writing.

My California, the book I contributed an essay to, is not only a good read - it's also a good cause. All proceeds from the book are to be donated to the California Arts Council. And last night, the book's backers gave the council their first check for $10,000. The money will go toward writing programs for children statewide. It feels so good to have contributed to something like this. If you haven't picked up a copy yet, buy one today!

Reinfected
Just a thought from 21 September 2004 about Design.

Freelancing is like a virus. Once it enters your bloodstream, it never really goes away. It just goes dormant now and again.

I was a freelancer during the heyday of the web in San Francisco. From 1997 to 2002 I lived the freelance dream. I took meetings on the phone in my bathrobe. I worked when I wanted, and didn't when I didn't. It was wonderful - and not just because I was my own boss.

It connected me to my neighborhood in ways I'd never imagined. When you walk into your local coffee shop at 2pm on a Monday, you're not one of the working stiffs - you're one of those people they wonder about. What are they doing in there at this hour?

Continue reading “Reinfected” »

JPG Begins
Just a thought from 18 September 2004 about JPG Magazine.

They're called "photobloggers" - a sloppy term for sloppy times. They're people who, armed with cameras ranging from cheap to expensive, film to digital, wander the streets documenting their world and posting the results to the web.

In another time they would have been called artists. Personal documentarians. But we have a simpler word for them: Photographers.

JPG Magazine is for photographers like us who fall somewhere in between the strict definitions of "amateur" and "professional." People who, enabled by new technology that makes imagemaking and self-publishing easier than ever, have fallen in love with photography and sought out others with the same passion.

High Five
Just a thought from 12 September 2004 about 5ives.

Five things I would tell my teenage self if I could go back in time (with apologies to Merlin's 5ives):

1. Being depressed doesn't make you interesting, no matter how good you get at it.

2. There's no shame in making money from art. In fact, that's kind of a great goal.

3. Woody Allen is a terrible role model. You'll see.

4. It's not all your parent's fault. Or, at least, blaming them doesn't do anyone any good, least of all you.

5. The only person you should make a project out of saving is yourself.

A Powazek/Champ Production
Just a thought from 6 September 2004 about JPG Magazine.

George W. Liar
Just a thought from 2 September 2004 about Politics.

George W. Bush is a liar. He lied to get us into a war in Iraq. He lies every day about the economy. He lied about the tax cuts helping the middle class. And now it seems he lied about a military medal.

In a story that broke in blogs and message boards and has now spread to partisan news sites, a photo that was released earlier this year by the White House shows a younger George W. Bush wearing an Air Force Outstanding Unit Award which he never earned. This is a violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, in addition to being yet another lie.

As my own personal/visual protest, I've taken the photo, rasterized it, and slapped the word LIAR over his forehead. I'm making a PDF of it available below. Take it. Put it on signs, flyers, t-shirts, stencils, whatever. Just get it out there. And remember to vote on November 2.

» Download 150k PDF

I wanna go to Lance's therapist
Just a thought from 1 September 2004 about Internet.

At the end of a long story about naked cats, book reviews, therapy, and relationships, Lance repeated something that his therapist told him. He asked why he felt this need to reveal things online. The response blew me away:

Everyone needs to ask the universe a few questions now and again. Some people call that prayer, some people call that meditation, there are different words and different methods but the goal is the same. We come to places we can't figure out on our own, and even our friends and family can't really help. So we ask the universe - the larger power, God, what have you. And I think your web page, that act, that place, that's your larger power. You launch the questions out there and sometimes you get a response, sometimes not. It's the act that's important. You've just chosen a unique and very public God to question.

I have been posting personal stories on the web for 10 years, and I'd never thought of it that way.