Archive for the 'That's Life' Category

Better than the Telly: Enemies of Reason

Published by Amitai Givertz on July 7, 2008 in Research and That's Life. 0 Comments

I guess these days I am easily distracted as evidenced by this post, one thing leading to another…

On researching cognitive bias I came across Enemies of Reason by Professor Richard Dawkins. The program originally aired on Channel 4. This discovery coincided with my browsing around on YouTube this time researching, um, YouTube. As a result I now know how to create a playlist and have the series of five YouTube clips roll in one continuous play. Another coincidence perhaps, but this could be what I was looking for for another project of mine. My God, that’s it! Eureka!

Ahem. Sorry ’bout that.

If you don’t have an hour now, bookmark the page and come back to watch Episode One later. It’s very good.

[Don't see anything? Watch it on YouTube.]

So, having watched it again I’m wondering why these questions remain unanswered:

Is “being distracted as evidenced by this post” itself a cognitive bias, or is “one thing leading to another?” Hmmm…once again, I’m buggered, daggit!

Gifford Pinchot: A Gift That Keeps Giving

Published by Amitai Givertz on January 2, 2008 in Business Matters, Research and That's Life. 0 Comments

It has been a good many years since I first got my hands on a copy of Intrapreneuring: Why you don’t have to leave the corporation to become an entrepreneur by Gifford Pinchot. Few books have had such a lasting impression on me. I have kept a copy close to hand in every office I’ve worked in since 1986.

If I had a dollar for every time I quoted from the book: “It is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission,” or warned a friend, “You don’t want to trigger the ‘corporate immune system,’ Bud,” I would be quite a few dollars better off than I am this morning. Of course, it would hardly be as I had billed it then, free advice!

Anyway…

I have been busy researching open source values and various concepts that fly in the face of my traditional upbringing. It is a struggle to reconcile what I have learned in a career spent leveraging competitive advantage with what I know is a better model given a whole new set of circumstances and the proliferation of enabling technologies.

Reading up on The Gift Economy I bumped into Mr. Pinchot again, writing on the very subject in In Context: A Quarterly of Humane Sustainable Culture. Once again what he had to say resonated with me in the same way as when I first picked up Intraprenuering.

Read the rest of this entry » ‘Gifford Pinchot: A Gift That Keeps Giving’

Praying for Rain, Oh Yea of Little Faith!

Published by Amitai Givertz on November 16, 2007 in That's Life. 0 Comments

Like most of the southeast, Georgia is suffering from one of the worst droughts in living memory.

In a state with such a large population of believers it should come as no surprise that one popular response to this disaster of near-biblical proportions is to take it to the Lord in prayer.

Atlanta, Georgia: ‘Gov Sonny Perdue stepped up to a podium outside the State Capitol on Tuesday and led a solemn crowd of several hundred people in a prayer for rain on his drought-stricken State’ [Greg Bluestein, AOL]. The Governor was joined by other State elected officials [James Salzer & Jim Galloway, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]. Here is man in trouble, forgetting that he himself has declared the separation of his Church from his State.

The age-old debate about God and State aside, as one who frequently stumbles in his own walk I found it disturbing to watch the Governor lead the gathering in prayer. I wondered, “Why don’t any of the faithful have umbrellas? You would think at least one of them would have turned out with a raincoat on, wouldn’t you?”

Read the rest of this entry » ‘Praying for Rain, Oh Yea of Little Faith!’

Blog Action Day: Searching for Answers

Published by Amitai Givertz on October 15, 2007 in Blogging and That's Life. 1 Comment

Blog Action Day is designed to raise the collective voices of bloggers in a single refrain, this year about the environment.

Hmmm…If 15,000 or so bloggers who are taking part in this day of “mass participation” represent a pathetically small percentage of the total number of bloggers who regularly publish then the 15 million or so readers who could be potentially reached should not be overlooked. For some reason the cynic in me thinks it won’t be.

For my part I don’t want to create more waste in the blogging ecosphere by writing about something simply because everyone else is doing it, not really having anything to say except to note my wariness of anything that smacks of groupthink.

Besides, there will be so much to choose from that it seems the best I could do is find those posts I like best and comment on them, list them here perhaps. That and suggest you stop wasting energy too.

Blogversity - An Attempt at a Meme

Published by Amitai Givertz on July 28, 2007 in Blogging and That's Life. 0 Comments

A little while ago I came across Blogversity - An Attempt at a Meme in my reader.

I followed the posts soon realizing that the recruiting bubble and the librarian bubble have [or had depending on your point of view] much in common. The blogs, the personalities, the relationships, the tensions, the idealism, even surviving the space — The NextGen Librarian’s Survival Guide, sound familiar? It all resonated with me. More, they write, read and link to really good stuff!

To the extent that I have gotten so much from following this meme I wanted to share it with you! Enjoy.

Social Media Brain Busters!

Published by Amitai Givertz on July 8, 2007 in Research, Social Media and That's Life. 0 Comments

You wouldn’t know it from my posting frequency but I have been quite busy in my research. In an effort to develop an understanding for the recursive nature of blogging and its value, and reconcile Pierre Proudhon’s notion that “property is theft” with the persistent nuisance of walled gardens — or is it the perennial nuisance of persistent identity? — I am in danger of missing out on the increasingly popular YouTube gimme-juice phenomenon. Phew!

I came across this example from Cisco which illustrates the point — take your pick from any one of those above:

Ah, the human condition and the human network are becoming indistinguishable. What a bummer.

The Runner

Published by Amitai Givertz on February 17, 2007 in Blogging and That's Life. 1 Comment

Julian Seery Gude is running his first marathon tomorrow. While that is a personal milestone in of itself, not to overlook his dedication of the run to remembered family and friends, what is most interesting to me is that Jules has managed to connect with people – drawn from both his birthday list and Rolodex – on a number of levels, most importantly perhaps, on an emotional level. More, Jules connects people in a way which nicely blurs the line between personal and business associations.

Admittedly, I’m not sure that this could have been achieved without the juxtaposition of a business and a personal blog but in any event, Jules illustrates one simple truth: blogging is a medium that if committed to with integrity, and managed correctly, can transcend the dichotomy of personal and professional self.

Dave Taylor posts When is a blog too personal? on The Intuitive Life Business Blog and makes some interesting points on the topic of personalization in a professional blog, suggesting that there is a line to be drawn. Perhaps there is. By contrast, Jules illustrates how blurring that line by choosing the time, the place and the topic to get personal can connect an audience in ways that can enhance one’s reputation at home and in the office.  

For sure, 26 miles is a long race to run. Whatever he hopes to gain from the experience physically, emotionally, spiritually – whatever – in elevating his personal reputation and professional brand through his blogging, Jules is already ahead of the pack.

Talkdigger, Digg, Delicious.

A Shot In The Dark

Published by Amitai Givertz on January 8, 2007 in Blogging and That's Life. 7 Comments

For me, one of the absurd things about blogging is that as easy as it is to post and comment, tag and tinkle, everything else – I mean like the mechanics of blogging – is mind-numbingly hard. For example, I found New Tools for Social Media Optimization on the Online Marketing Blog which makes a compelling case to follow the incredibly simple step-by-step instructions for creating social bookmarks and assorted iconic blog-bling on one’s blog. Okay, I’m sold, now what?

Four hours after completed the first step – a thirty second process I might add – I’m still staring down the barrel of my WordPress blog, dashboard loaded, the theme editor fully cocked. I simply can’t pull the trigger. Cut and paste that code to where? The source code? The template? Bugger it! One way or the other I’m going to end up shooting myself! Where’s the Video Professor now, now that I actually need him? [Note to self: Add John Scherer to the The NewPR Wiki: CEO Blog List, he's a blogger.]

Ahem.

So, my blog remains un-optimized and antisocial. Like the blogger himself, a baby boomer who cannot boom. Pathetic. Yes, I know everything’s documented online; everything has a freakin’ forum, busy-bodies and know-it-alls. But all I want to know is where do I paste the code and what happens after you press the button that follows the ominous message:

“Are you sure you want to do that, Boomer? Changes cannot be undone. Go ahead, Boomer, make my day.”

Looking on the bright side, this blog is currently ranked 1,582,199 on Technorati with just one blog linked here – oh, yes, it’s this one – which means the likelihood of anyone arriving here and wanting to bookmark anything is so remote that it hardly matters. So, now that’s two absurd things about blogging. What a blast.

Talkdigger, Digg, Delicious.