so, yesterday on twitter i learned about formspring.me.

it’s a new spin on micro-blogging/social networking, where you ask people questions and then they determine whether they will answer them or not.

here’s how they put it:

Send and receive anonymous questions, and learn more about people you find interesting by following their answers.

i think it’s a smashing idea.

now, i will say that i think that the name/url of ‘formspring’ is going to cause them problems.

i mean…what does that even mean?

perhaps they feel they make up for it because it ends in [dot]me…but…if i was them i’d be looking into new branding.

that said, i like the concept a lot. it takes a portion of what we like about social networking and focuses on one task: questions. it also takes the interactivity ‘pressure’ off since the whole point is for one person to come with questions and the other to come with answers.

this seems like a great avenue for more prominent folks like bands or artists or politicians who already use twitter/facebook/websites well and desire a good back-and-forth with their fans.

then again, it seems like just a fun thing for regular people (like us) to do. yeah?

so, all that to say: i signed up. and i’d love to answer some questions. and if you sign up, i’ll ask you stuff too.

let the sharing begin!

…but it’s not quite plastic either.

if you’re like me, you get emails like this on a pretty regular basis:

just a friendly update that JesusBoatMuseum/Sunset_Plaza/AsthmaWatch (not to mention the morally inappropriate accounts) are now ‘following’ you on twitter.

on the one hand, we’ve come a long way from even just the beginning of 2009 where i would still regularly hear people knocking twitter. but, with its popularity it has brought a host of spam/commercial/not-real-people with it.

now, i love twitter. i think it’s a great idea. it’s fun. it’s engaging. it’s even helpful.

i love reading about what my friends are doing, listening to, driving toward and, yes, even eating.

i also enjoy keeping up with various church accounts from different calvary chapels or friends’ churches. it’s fun to see what people are studying on sunday mornings, what events they’re having on thursday nights, how life groups are going and get messages from the pastors.

i even follow a few commercial accounts (IMDb, DreamHost and Colorburned to name a few).

but the spam i could do without.

because they’re not helpful. they’re not personal. they’re not actually participating in the whole point of twitter.

while one could argue that the commercial/celebrity/church/company/correspondence accounts i follow are not overtly personal either, i think there’s a basic difference between information I’M seeking and spamformation that seeks me.

it’s not the real thing.

just like the stuff you buy in the can.

it’s not quite meat, but it’s not quite plastic either.

let’s end with a suggestion and a question:

here’s the suggestion: though it may feel like it doesn’t make a difference, let’s take 5 minutes every now and then to block every spam account that is following us. at very least those with inappropriate content.

yes, they’re automated.

yes, they keep coming.

but we can do our part to clean house.

here’s the question: does twitter spam bother you or does it not make a difference?

lay it on me.

ht: mr. munoz, as usual.

circa 1993.

like the caption on the youtube page says…an interesting view of the future.

ht: mr. munoz

it’s sunday and that means it’s time for another round of Star Struck, a post series where i share a post that i ’starred’ in Google Reader sometime this week for any number of silly reasons.

today’s installment is, once again, courtesy of the fine folks over @lifehacker, whose post on wednesday the 15th provided a possibly fantastic resource.

it’s called ContactHelp and it’s a web database that gives you tips, helps and techniques to getting through automated customer service lines and connected to a real life person. GOLD!

it was definitely star worthy, so, head over to lifehacker and read about it yourself.

i think i’m going to try something new on sundays, as SOME of you complained about the What Has Your Blog Been Saying post series.

so, in an effort to provide a higher level of content on everyone’s least internetted day, i have decided to share a post that i ’starred’ in Google Reader sometime this week.

today’s inaugural starring highlights a Lifehacker post from saturday entitled: 50 Swanky Icon Sets For Macs.

i’m a sucker for icons and, frankly, any glossy graphics that i can stare at for hours at a time.

head over and check out these swell drawlings, then customize your desktop! you’ll be the envy of your cubicle!

so, it’s saturday. a rare saturday where the Mrs. and i are not hanging out together.

in fact, my dear wife is like…90 miles away…which is a drag, but will soon be over.

in the mean time, i do have a simple saturday question for you mac users (sorry everyone else…) – what secret apps do you love on your mac?

example: a while back i mentioned InstantShot, a screen capture program, in a post. i was talking to Mr. Belmont yesterday about how useful it is and how he was glad that i had mentioned it because now he uses it all the time.

a different Mr. Belmont recently posted and introduced me to Bruji, which has some serious useful potential.

so what mac apps do you love using?

i’ll spill a few gems from my applications folder:

InstantShot (free)

Caffeine (also free)

HandBrake (yes, free)

Dock Library (…free)

Wallet (sadly, not free, but maybe worthwhile security)

so there you go, 5 of mine. let’s have 1 of yours!

here’s a few friends i’m going to be working with today:

what have i learned from this exercise?

well…seems like i gravitate toward companies/products who use blue in their logo.

what’s your company color?

ok. so…i don’t actually know him.

but let me tell you how i had my mind blown by an internet sidebar ad for the first time ever…

i am not a big facebook user. i have one because…well…seems like you should have one if you’re an internet type of person.

that and people kept hassling me to get one.

earlier this week two friends of mine introduced me to a facebook game called Word Twist.

this morning when i logged in to see how badly they had beaten me the night before (i’m really, truly bad), i was struck by the sidebar ad you see at the top of this post.

mr. belt started his musical career (according to said ad) in 2001.

about that time (1999-2001) i was working at a small, local coffee shop here in hanford.

said coffee shop was quite beloved, though not well supported, by the people of our little city.

my employer had purchased the cafe from the original owner and had moved it downtown to the quite lovely civic center.

when you wanted a good cup of coffee, you drove down irwin street, stopped at the Bastille complex, walked around the courtyard and down the steps to the sub-level Wired Angels Coffee Shop.

there, you would be met with a generous menu and a bunch of gangly teens behind the register (my gangliness was legendary and second to none).

yes, this story seemingly has no point.

but, here’s the thing…the owner, my employer, was Jay Belt. the father of the gent in the ad above these words.

i remember hearing rumblings of Jayson’s career starting to take off.

i remember finally getting a copy of Jayson’s album: The Red West.

i remember his father beaming when Jayson opened for Dave Matthews.

i remember thinking, ‘i think this guy is going to be somebody sometime.’

now, it’s 7 years later, and whilst looking at the pummeling i received in Word Twist, i see that mr. belt has a sidebar ad on facebook.

just struck me as cosmic.

of course i understand that a sidebar ad doesn’t mean you’ve arrived at the utmost eschalon of reknown, but i just thought it was really cool.

so congratulations Jayson. i’m glad you’re still making music.

and congratulations Jay. i’m sure your son has made you proud.

if you’ve never heard The Red West or Jayson’s other music, you should go check it out.

listen in

blessings

we got you something…

come and get it