The Almighty Status Update

Six words. One question. "What are you doing right now?" It's staring you in the face, almost mocking you. That's right, mocking the fact that it's been three days since you've updated your circle of friends with a catchy status.

They're dying to know what you're doing this very second. Maybe you're "going through pictures of a schizophrenic poet" or you "will not be taking up rollerskating as a back up profession anytime soon." And if nothing comes to you, there's the all encompassing "is." It's the postmodern take on "Cogito, ergo sum."

To find the origins of this microcosm of monologue, you have to reach way back. I'm talking old school...or at least high school. Back when you first discovered the instant messaging phenomenon.

You would run home from school in order to dial up America Online, wait for that annoying tone, and before you knew it you were conversing with the same friends you hung out with all day long...without even picking up a telephone.

Back then, status updates were known as Away Messages. You might be sitting three feet away from your computer, but you had to tell the world something clever to sustain them while you were taking a hiatus.

Flash forward back to today. Twitter, Facebook, SMS, FriendFeed, and yes IM. We have a nearly unlimited number of tools at our disposal to instantaneously apprise the world with our every thought or action.

This newfound freedom is a double-edged sword. If you're a very interesting person with a healthy dose of humor, the internet is your oyster. If however you lack either one of those. Don't fret. You too can have award winning status updates. It just means you have to work a bit harder.

What do you think...are status updates the greatest thing since AIM or a thorn in your side?

Twitter Me This...

Barack Obama does, Don Lemon does, heck you dad might even dabble in it. Twitter was the Facebook of 2008. By the end of next year, most of you're friends will be micro-blogging their most intimate moments to you through tweets.

There are a handful of different kinds of Twitterites, but the way I see it there are three main types:

1. Yaks - You're addicted. In fact, you're probably twittering about this post as you're reading it.

2. Wanna Be's - You post anywhere between once a day and once a month.

3. Foreigners - What's a tweet?

There's nothing wrong with any of these three categories. I think there are a thousand different ways to use it, and to each their own.

Do you tweet? If so, which one of the three are you? (I'm just beyond the wanna be stage currently.)

Friends that tweet together, stay together. Follow me on Twitter.

My Predictions for 2009

It's several days into the new year, and no doubt you have read a whole host of predictions for the year ahead. Some serious, some hilarious, and some downright useless.

I decided to combine all three in my predictions for 2009...

10. iTunes U puts community colleges out of business
9. Facebook grows to 500 million members worldwide
8. Mike Tyson vs. George Foreman
7. Chysler/GM merge to form even worse business model
6. Spirit Airlines will begin service to Cuba!
5. Larry King finally admits the truth: he's Elvis Presley
4. Reality TV will outnumber all other TV shows 2:1
3. First black President will take office (oh wait, check.)
2. Oprah bails out 100 million Americans

1. Your mom will began following you...on Twitter


What do you think will happen in 2009, any predictions?

Tune in to see how my predictions play out over the next 361 days, subscribe to john blog.

Get Unplugged

Sometimes our "always on, always updating" culture is a good thing. It can re-connect you with friends you never thought you'd hear from again. And it allows us to be closer than ever when it comes to knowing the intimate details of our friends' lives.

But sometimes it can become a little too consuming. You've just completed your fifth Tweet in the last 6 hours, added your 2,000th friend on Facebook, and blogged about how you're saving the world one micro loan at a time via Kiva.org.

The ironic thing is that the very tools that aim to connect us can often offer a pale substitute for the real thing. Sometimes what we really need is to put down the laptop and connect with other human beings (wait for it) in the real world.

Enter Meetup, the "world's largest network of local groups." It's a great way to find people that live in your neck of the woods who are looking to connect around a common interest.

Here's a great ad from the guys and gals at Meetup that reminds us that it's good to unplug every once in awhile.




h/t to Servant of Chaos

I'm So Totally, Digitally Close to You

Twittering, blogging, life-streaming, checking your Facebook multiple times a day...it's become an obsession for many, but what is it exactly and what causes it?

New York Times has a very interesting article about this "Brave New World of Digital Intimacy." Clive Thompson takes a look at our hyperconnected online culture and how social media is changing the way we communicate and interact in the real world.

From Tumblr to FriendFeed, many tech saavy individuals have up to the minute newsflashes on the most minute details of their "friend's" lives. Chances are if you're reading this blog, you count yourself among this growing community.

As much of a buzz that social media is today, many have predicted in the not so distant future social networks will be as ubiquitous as air. Your entire online experience will be a part of one giant social network.

To be sure, we're only beginning to see the impact of publicly displaying our social graph online for the world to see. I for one and pumped about how it can enhance our day to day interactions.

Think about the next time you attend a high school reunion. Rather than asking what your former classmates have been up to over the last decade, you'll already know about their trip to Europe.

Instead of awkward conversation starters, you'll anxiously ask them to fill in the details behind that crazy night in Prague who's pictures showed up in your Facebook News Feed a few months ago. I digress.

But back to Thompson's article. If you're reading this, I think you'll really enjoy reading that.

You Are What You Blog

In follow up to yesterday's post, I came across this article in Ad Age about your online profile. Most of you reading this blog probably have a Facebook profile and maybe even experimented a little with Twitter. If you're a working professional, chances are you have a LinkedIn account as well.

Those are all good things, but why not blog too? It's a great way to establish your online presence and personality in a way beyond listing what movies you like and bands you follow on Myspace. Blogging is the best way I know to establish an expertise within your industry, document your hike on the AT, or opine about your day to day happenings.

Blogs are blank canvases on which you can paint any picture you wish. So come on, what are you waiting for? After all, you have something to say. Why not share it with the rest of us?

Looking forward to it.

It's official: I have a twitter

Confession: I set up a twitter account while I was out in Phoenix working the Super Bowl earlier this year...and I liked it.

I'm not saying that I'm going to use it a ton.  But if I'm ever away from a computer and get a sudden urge to post a one liner, I now have the means to do so. 

(In case you didn't already notice it, I added the twitter widget to the right hand column of this blog.)

If you're on twitter, connect with me at: twitter.com/johninorlando

Happy Tweeting!