Fine Print

[Dedicated to Randy Pausch. Oct. 23, 1960 - July 25, 2008]

I was looking for inspiration for today’s post, so thought I’d do the blogging equivalent of Whose Line Is It Anyway? … I’d write about the subject of the first updated post that popped up in my RSS reader after a set time. No pressure.

The winner was: http://moblogsmoproblems.blogspot.com/2008/07/plurkshop-9-recap-downsides-of-social.html

Mack Collier’s post talks about Plurkshops — a way of having a conversation on Plurk around a set topic and at a set time. He says that “most average around 400 replies an hour.” This is more tightly defined than the recent Twebinars (although they do have pre-recorded video interviews on a set subject) as people can specifically choose what topic is to be discussed, and tune out what doesn’t interest them.

I haven’t actually attended a Plurkshop yet, but am still deciding if these “micro-conventions” are useful or not. On one hand, I do tune into webinars and conversations if the subject matter is relevant to my job, or personal interests. It’s a no-brainer to keep up with what’s going on, to impart some wisdom and to learn much more from smart people.

But, on the other hand, some of my greatest ”lightbulb over head moments” have come from conversations that have absolutely nothing to do with social media, Web 2.0, online issues and the like. So, if I had not joined a conversation about, say … cats … the TTC … or real estate (real examples) which forced my train of thought into a new direction, then I might have missed some really useful ideas and solutions. It’s like exercise for the brain.

And I won’t use the phrase, “OK people, let’s all think out of the box on this one!” Have you ever put yourself in a box in the first place? Hope not.

It’s good to test yourself sometimes. Here’s a task: think of five ways you could promote carrots using social media. (I picked that as I’m heading to a veggie restaurant tonight.) I will look around, make some observations, and see what I can come up with too.

Have a great weekend!

~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada