BeckBlogic

My ten year old just came downstairs and asked me, “Mom, what’s cocaine?” What?! We’d just come back from lunch and a museum. What did I miss?

Well, the kids were all playing a game after we got back–a game called “Apples to Apples”…doesn’t that sound wholesome? I bought it at the neighborhood toy shop (whose target market is young kids). They play the game at school (they must have a different version–bait and switch?). Kids love it. Sounds great. Maybe not.

Am I crazy or is it a sign of the times? My kids heard about cocaine from a board game? Does Mattel think that’s okay…hip? Not for me. Who knew that I had to check out games like I check out movies or songs. Caveat emptor. It never occurred to me to restrict board game usage, “Sorry little ones, you can’t play a board game with your older siblings.” Ahhhh, family fun! Apparently, the game is for ages 12 and up. Is that okay for 12 year olds? For teenagers? (And, how many teenagers are really buying or playing “Apples to Apples?” Or is this “party” version meant for a different group–in which case, what is Mattel’s goal?) Perhaps a label or rating, similar to movies and song lyrics, might be helpful here.

Guess I’m old fashioned. This shift in the “times” (or markets) isn’t working for me.

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On a lighter note, here are some other cards from the game:

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Jack strikes again. My son found another Firefox translation add-on. This one appears as a toolbar called FoxLingo. It offers more features than I can name–and translates 45 languages. Tremendous.

Jack slaat opnieuw. Mijn zoon vond een andere vertaling rand Firefox. Dit één verschijnt als toolbar called FoxLingo. Het biedt meer eigenschappen aan dan ik nameâ € “ kan en 45 talen vertaal. Tremendous.

Jack frappe encore. Mon fils a trouvé une autre traduction de Firefox ajoutée. Celui-ci apparaît comme c toolbaralled FoxLingo. Il offre plus de dispositifs que moi “ de € de nameâ de bidon et traduit 45 langues. Tremendous.

Gato pulsa otra vez. Mi hijo encontró otra traducción de Firefox adicionada. Éste aparece como c toolbaralled FoxLingo. Ofrece más características que mí “ del € del nameâ de la poder y traduce 45 idiomas. Tremendous.

Jack schlägt wieder an. Mein Sohn fand eine andere Firefox übersetzung Zusatz. Dieses erscheint als toolbar called FoxLingo. Es bietet mehr Eigenschaften als ich Dose nameâ € “ an und übersetzt 45 Sprachen. Tremendous.

Translations courtesy of FoxLingo.

I got this poem from a friend in email today. I was so grateful for the reminder that my children are always “looking.”  And Mom, thanks for all you did when you thought I wasn’t looking.

LOOKING
Written by a child, now an adult.

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator,
and I immediately wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I saw you feed a stray cat,
and I learned that it was
good to be kind to animals.

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I saw you make my favorite cake for me,
and I learned that the little things can be
the special things in life.

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I heard you say a  prayer,
and I knew that there is
a God I could always talk to,
and I learned to trust in Him.

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I saw you make a meal and take it to a friend
who was sick, and I learned that we all have to help
take care of each other.

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I saw you give of your time and money,
to help people who had nothing,
and I learned that those who have something
should give to those who don’t.

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I saw you take care of our house and everyone in it,
and I learned we have to take care of what we are given.

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I saw how you handled your responsibilities,
even when you didn’t feel good,
and I learned that I would have to be responsible
when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I saw tears come from your eyes,
and I learned that sometimes things hurt,
but it’s all right to cry.

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I saw that you cared,
and I wanted to be everything
that I could be.

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I learned most of life’s lessons,
that I need to know to be a good and productive person
when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn’t looking,
I looked at you and wanted to say,
‘Thanks for all the things I saw
when you thought I wasn’t looking.’

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.

This post is for my kids. Thanks for your enthusiastic support this semester. I just love you guys!

I’m posting a few of our “theme songs” to remind us what really matters…and that, it’s not about the curve-balls.

Always try. Learn from failure. Trust the reason. Be graceful in victory. Celebrate life and people. Stay thankful. Help. Forgive. Dance. Laugh. Most importantly, remember who you do it for.

I guess by now you figured out a couple of things about me. I love to laugh and I am sentimental (Alan and Rosie, I’m open-sourcing here–learned that from you guys!) So for my final class post, I’m leaving a laugh and a sentiment.

For my laugh… Here is a video that reminds me of the semester (oh yeah, I like analogies too!). You started out thinking “Social Media”–how tough is that?! But then, along came Garrett who took us on a journey of Web 2.0 “consumption”…at lightning speed. And the more we consumed, the more he passed along!

And now I shift gears. For the sentiment…

To my classmates, thank you. I have learned a lot from each of you. I have enjoyed and looked forward to your blog posts. You have shared your lives, perspectives and opinions–your blogs have been a pleasure to read. Jenny and Rosie–and all who keep writing, I will keep reading…I am a subscriber (thanks to RSS and my Google reader)! Yes, I’m a geek and I subscribed to all the class blogs.

Lastly, one of my children’s teachers would read this poem on “Parents’ Night” to illustrate her hopes for our kids for the year. I love the poem…however, I never thought it would refer to me!

Garrett, thanks for the wings!

Thoughts from an Earthy Pearl led me to Chris Anderson’s interview (click on “Free” in her blog post–LaKristen!). Thanks to her ingenuity, I was able to watch Anderson share “pearls” of wisdom and optimism–for free. “Every industry that becomes digital eventually becomes free,” he said. Anderson referred to Google’s business model–free services, software and information–and Wikipedia’s “gift economy” (for free, no advertising). I like this new economy. As Kristen suggested, “it applies to Free online television too.” Like Kristen, I haven’t watched much TV (other than news) in recent years either, but it’s great to know I can watch online–anytime I want to…for free. The digital world is an oyster!

“You know, one of the things about the internet is that people generate all kinds of stuff. In some ways, it’s the democratization of the campaign process.” - Barack Obama (p. 254 “The First Campaign“)

In “The First Campaign: Globalization, the Web and the Race for the White House,” Garrett Graff introduces “a new way of doing politics.” He illustrates ways in which the Internet allows supporters to find each other, to voice opinions, to share information, to collaborate, to comment and to donate (money, time, ideas). And, the results can catapult, punish, or finish a candidate.

Graff says, “2008 is a ‘first campaign’ in another way. The very technology that has transformed the global economy has transformed the campaign process as well, so that the race will be run as much on the World Wide Web as in union halls and town squares and on television.”

Like never before, people are linking to one-another, communicating opinions and consuming information–on a global basis, in split-second timing. The “First Campaign” discusses how politics has become increasingly innovative. Through blogs and other social media platforms, individuals now have more access, more information and a louder voice–and they have networks. There is power in numbers; and politicians need to be proactive, responsive–and tech savvy. Steve Jobs said, “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” In today’s world, leaders need to understand the vast power of the Internet, embrace it and then, run with it.

My son just taught me how to Make a Little News regarding Michel-Edouard LeClerc’s blog. Chapter 8 of “Naked Conversations” highlighted Michel-Edouard LeClerc’s as the quintessential business leader’s blog. Can’t wait to read the blog, right?! One problem…I don’t speak French–and it didn’t translate with Google. Other than reading the great quote Gregg posted on his blog, I was limited.

Until…

My son led me to a Firefox Add-on called “translator” (by Byron Adams) It “is a web translation extension that allows you to translate any web page into nearly any language at the click of a button.” I downloaded it…it worked. Can’t wait to start reading! (Thanks, Jack!)

Minty Musings is so right: Howard Dean “was way ahead of his time.” Dean and his team–Joe Trippi, Zephyr Teachout,and of course, Garrett Graff–really bought “into the value of the Internet,” as Jenny from the Farm aptly pointed out.

The creation of the Open-Sourced “Deanspace” (Zack Rosen) fit perfectly into Joe Trippi’s “Perfect Storm.” Deanspace, Meetup.com and SmirkingChimp.com galvanized Dean supporters across the country in a way that had never been done before…virally. Sociologist, Mark Granovetter, called this phenomenon, “the strength of weak ties.”

From Wikipedia:

“The ‘weak tie hypothesis’ argues, using a combination of probability and mathematics, as originally stated by Anatol Rapoport in 1957, that if A is linked to both B and C, then there is a greater than chance probability that B and C are linked to each other.”

The “weak ties” create a network where “supporters will sign up supporters who will sign up even more supporters, so the growth through group-forming is a social network explosion, and the value is not just in the numbers here.” Ultimately, Dean’s “explosion” of support did not withstand his explosion of passion–but his campaign’s Internet strategy set the new standard.

While doing research for the Social Media Plan paper, I discovered several Social Media SEO tools that I thought I’d share.

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To add the “Fave This Blog” button to my blog, I went to my Technorati account and clicked “[Edit]” (you will be on the “My Account” page). Then I went on to:

• Click “Blogs” tab
• Click
• Scroll down to code. Highlight and right click to copy the code.
• Paste it into a “Text” Widget (in WordPress “Design”).
• Click “Save Changes.

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To add RSS Feed Options (”Chicklets”) to my blog, I logged in at Feedburner and clicked “My Feeds” in the upper left hand corner. I then went on to:

• Click my blog name in the “Feed Title.”
• Click the “Publicize” tab.
• Scroll down to “Chicklet Chooser” on the left menu of Services.
• Choose the “Chicklet” …(code appears).
• Right click and highlight the code; paste it into a “Text” Widget (in WordPress “Design”) .
• Click “Save.”

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To add a Social Media bookmarking and sharing application button, I went to AddThis . I then went on to:

• Open an account.
• Click (do not enter a blog type.)
  

• Choose the button.
• Cut and paste the top code (in the box) into a “Text” Widget (in WordPress “Design”) .
• Click “Save.”

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To add a Digg button to a blog post, I went to WordPress FAQs. I then went on to:

• Register the blog post at Digg.com (clicking “Submit New” in the upper right-hand corner).
• Enter URL for the blog post, click “News Article” and click “Continue.”
• Enter Title and Description
• Choose Topic and “Submit Story.”
• Click “Totally Original, I Swear.”
• Click “My Profile” (upper right-hand corner).
• Click on the “1 digg” button; copy the URL.
• Paste URL into blog post–and put [digg=insert URL] around URL.
• Click “Save.”

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To Digg this post (for example) using the “Add This” button, click (the button is also on the right-hand column of this blog) and then click on the Digg link on the right column of the pop-up page (see copy of page below).

The “Add This” button links to 36 social media platforms (click here to see the platforms).