Wednesday, November 15, 2006
How do you get the short list from 74?
Never Eat Alone - Keith Ferrazzi
You can subscribe to the Tip of the Week.
I like the posting on the SpotMe gadgets for use at conferences.
He posts on building the mind body relationship and links to a podcast by Rob Notter.
You should consider add this site to your RSS Reader of choice and stay in touch with Keith.
Technorati Tags : hitchhikers, hike, trail, blog, Never+Eat+Alone, podcast, SpotMe
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Hot Points - Bob Parsons

Not exactly the long tail but when a CEO blogs, you might want to check in once in awhile to see what's going on.
Especially when the CEO is the head of GoDaddy
and he writes about their new commercials
and he writes about Danica Patrick
and he talks about his 16 Rules.
Check the site out, and then consider adding it to your RSS Reader of choice.
Technorati Tags : hitchhikers, hike, trail, blog, GoDaddy, Bob+Parsons, 16+Rules
Jeremy Zawodny's Blog
adword advertisers,
and
cool pictures of planes
have to do with anything?
You can find them all in one place: Jeremy Zawodny's blog.
Don't believe me? Go see for yourself!
Technorati Tags : hitchhikers, hike, trail, blog, planes, chili, slow+cooker
Monday, November 13, 2006
Customer Service
On our last adventure I left Christine Kane talking to Dorothy and Toto began to follow me down the Road. Christine uses the time she found her dog to explain experiencing creativity. For me, this is a perfect example of trying to find my place in the universe. So far the dog hasn't come home, but I feel one is following me. I even named it, RadioBack.
Starting today, our primary method of travel for Six Degrees will be the Starship Cruiser. The speed in which she vaporizes the boundaries of status-quo and flirts about the fringes of the universe is beyond human comprehension. The music piped on board originates at The Loft.
A short time in hyper-drive places the Starship outside our solar system and in the beautiful city of Des Moines, Iowa. (Thanks to Starbucker for these coordinates) Thea Gilmore is just finishing "When I'm Gone" as Tom Vander Well of QAQNA greets us at the Space Port. Tom doesn't just instruct when writing about customer service, a very dear topic of mine, he orchestrates. Before leaving, Tom takes us ten miles past the city's edge to a Mail Pouch barn. Inside we find this absolute beauty. Tom directs us to the West and CustomersAreAlways.
Dar Williams barely lays down "Echoes" before California re-entry. Maria Palma hands us an aromatic Breakfast Blend as we de-board. Maria injects heart and soul into positive customer service experiences. Thanks so much for your hospitality Maria! She says, "if you enjoy my stories you'll be delighted with Mary's.
The Starship elevates and rockets toward New Mexico and Mary Schmidt. Lindsey Buckingham picks a beautiful guitar on "Down on the Rodeo." The very first impression that leaves an everlasting one with us about Mary is that she's a professional - her writing projects this most clearly. While showing us around Albuquerque, Mary points toward Service Stars & Snafus. We found this inspiring tidbit there. Mary talks about sound, positive business practices, but she didn't hesitate to tell us about something Broken.
Screaming eastward across the U.S., Gold Frapp plays "Beautiful." Ordinarily we wouldn't be visiting someone line Mark because he has no blogroll. But Mark is one of those cats out here doing good things. His work, This is Broken, is a most constructive vehicle that businesses and folks should pay attention to. Here's what else Mark is up to. I recommend Uncle Mark's Gift Guide. We contact Mary from New York and ask, "who else has passion out here?" "Go Down Under guys."
Sweet! We can crank up the Starship. We might be able to get two songs in before arriving in Adelaide, Australia. Evanescence jams on "You" as we revel in our good fortune in meeting really good people today. Lee Hopkins greets us with most south of the equator warmth. Lee writes about blogging, communications and tools to help your personal growth. We can't help but to notice the sincerity and human voice that he weaves into his work. Lee says, "you guys look pretty tired, but try stopping in Winter Haven, Florida, before taking Route 4 back to Tampa."
Ben Lee closes out our trip today with "Catch My Disease." The Starship lands in one of the many lakes surrounding Winter Haven and we transport to shore. Josh Hallett welcomes us. Josh is a true Internet and Social Media consultant. I am veering off course just a tad here because I am familiar with Josh. The intent though, is to highlight Josh's vast experience on blogging - click on his blogging category and settle in for a fresh, educational adventure. Josh leaves us with a post on our topic of customer service today.
Once home, I see Rosemary attacking her computer. She's been averaging over 3,000 words a day for the last month on a book and it reminded me of a couple of posts on customer service that she wrote for me when she was still a bank manager. Mr. Fiorucci's House and Roger. Be advised, these stories are touching. Besides being one of the best managers I've ever seen, her customer service skills were almost better!
Man! What a fantastic day! Thanks for riding along in the Starship.
26.2 miles vs. Noami
What happens when an unathletic anti-runner completes two marathons? This one moved to Africa. Stay tuned for the hijinks sure to ensue...She writes about the differences between the US and Senegal
Looking just at gender relations, there are some major differences for women born here versus women born in the states. For one thing, polygamy is widely practiced, so many woman have to get used to the idea of sharing their husband with as many as three other women.
In poor families, when there isn’t enough money to keep all the children in school, education for sons is often prioritized over that for daughters. As a result, women are much less likely to be found as skilled laborers (tailors, electricians, plumbers)
which can pay a lot more than unskilled jobs, like being a maid or a cook. And the birth rate is very high in Senegal, on average more than four children per family, so most women spend a lot of time taking care of babies.That being said, Senegal is not the worst country in the world to be a woman. Women hold key government posts and jobs at various levels in private business. In cities, at least, women can wear whatever they want, go wherever they want, and do what they want. The more remote villages tend to stick to traditional dress, which isn’t any more or less restrictive for women than for men.
Read the full posting on Hear me roar
She writes on
My favorite thing about having seasons is the changing over between them. Because after a long, cold, gray winter, that first moment of sunny, green, warm spring is a revelation. And after months of heat, humidity and tank tops, who doesn't love pulling on a brand new sweater in September or October?
So okay. There's not quite the same range of difference between winter and summer around these parts. It's November, and I'm still wandering around in tank tops and shorts, and sleeping with the fan on at night.
Read the full post on Dreams of fluffy blankets and frozen toes.
And then add Naomi's blog to your RSS Reader and follow along.
Technorati Tags : marathon, senegal, change, life, hitchhikers, hike, trail
Creative Generalist - Steve Hardy
Steve Hardy is the founder of Creative Generalist, a popular weblog for curious divergent thinkers. He is formerly the Business Director of 2004's Magazine of the Year Maisonneuve (eclectic curiosity) and is currently a Creative Producer of wireless media at Airborne Entertainment. .... A proud generalist with a knack for observation, synthesis, and sensible ideas, I've had the good fortune of working with a number of exceptionally talented people on many wonderfully exciting projects in a wide range of industries. I've actively participated in both creative and strategic roles (effectively blurring the distinction) and have experienced business from the perspectives of management, agency, client, supplier, intern and student. ... I started Creative Generalist partly as a notebook for my varied finds, partly as a tool to force myself to learn something new and different each day, and partly as a reminder that ideas are important and a generalist outlook on life -- all of it -- is the best way to discover them.
Not bad. Good first name (we agree on that).
Last name reminds me of The Hardy Boys, a book series I loved when I was growing up. You're not related are you? No, can't be, they were fictional.
"A notebook for varied finds". That's pretty much what this is. We're exploring the long tail here.
You do find a variety of things:
- An interview with Alan Wiggan
- An intro to Andy Nulman
- A link out to the art of Peter Callesen
Technorati Tags : hitchhikers, hike, trail, art, creative+generalist, variety
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Peter Callesen
This site is not a blog but the art found on this site is amazing.
I think you'll agree it is worth a special posting!
Check out Peter Callesen
Technorati Tags : hitchhikers, hike, trail, art
Friday, November 10, 2006
The Yellow Brick Road
Many thanks to Steve and Troy for letting me join in on the exploration of the Long Tail...
Today's journey will be magical, mystical and liberating. First, I need to instill a thought about our preferred method of travel and then quickly instill a more dominant one.
Do you remember how Dorothy returned to Kansas? Ok, hold that thought. Because I can no more wear women's apparel than drink a glass of battery acid, we must overlay the visual of soft, worn and comfortable red leather boots onto the screen. Whew! I feel much better.
Other than early Clint Eastwood movies, no movie has touched my heart over the years more than The Wizard of Oz. It has provided so many personal metaphors and has been such a source of inspiration that, "Oz is the Yellow Brick Road," became the mantra for the journey of my life. So, come along with Toto, Dorothy and I and lets explore the Yellow Brick Road.
Man on the Silver Mountain by Rainbow is playing on our iPod as we click our boot heels three times. There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home.
Fog lifts from the yellow cobblestone and a gentleman appears. "Welcome to the Nest!" Tony Clark greets us with warm enthusiasm. He then asks, "Why Settle for Just One Path?" This question and the ensuing conversation captures my attention and holds me spellbound. Toto's ears perk. I thought I was the only person in the world who could not zero in on a clear understanding of passion and work!! Toto nods. There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home.
Ronnie James Dio belts out Catch The Rainbow, rainbow, rainbow... on the iPod as Chris Cree talks about work and passion. "I’ve been doing quite a bit of introspection these days. It’s not that I’m narcissistic or anything. I just keep hearing folks say over and over again that you will be most successful career wise if you work where your passion is." Yep brother, I hear that too! Chris mentions that we should check out another Chris. There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home...
A bit further down the road and we meet Chris Johnston from Chris's Blog. Chris relays the question, "Is this job for the money or does it give them fulfillment in life?" Chris is actually referring to Noah Kagan's post at Okdork.com, The Paycheck vs. The Life. The discussion that follows this post is quite lively. There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home...
..." Danger, danger the Queen's about to kill
There's a stranger, stranger and life about to spill..." more iPod, more Rainbow, more Yellow Brick Road. ..."Therefore, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Universitartus Committiartum E Pluribus Unum, I hereby...change directions." We can do that in cyberspace, really, we can. I can't seem to continue via links with the passion/work discussion so I throw out a few sandbags and change course. Chris talks about Adriana so Dorothy takes hold of my elbow and we stroll down the Road to Orlando and I Heart Tech. Adriana swims in a river of which I have no connection with. That's good. Travel is part of her work and she writes a post here on Travel Tips and the Internet. Adriana gazes down at Toto and then back at us, "you guys need to see Kevin Kelly's Cool Tools." I'm thinking that Dorothy has seen it all but she humors me. There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home.
Ritchie B jams on Cold Hearted Woman as we read Kevin's post - Consensus Web Filters. Kevin, who was the founding executive editor of Wired has a very interesting site and it is well worth spending some time exploring. The connection to Wired magazine strikes a chord of ironee today. I just started reading Chris Anderson's The Long Tail this morning. Chris is the editor in chief of Wired. Toto notices my expression and barks, "you're not in Kansas anymore David." There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home.
The three of us swirl round in circles through cyberspace. Cows, barns and flying monkeys pass us by. (Didn't those flying monkeys creep you out?) The iPod is gone but music begins to fill the cloudscape. Jimi Hendrix picks a few strings as Judy Garland eases into Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Dorothy smiles. Tota barks. I cry. Judy and Jimi are beautiful man. My soul lifts as we descend. We are back on The Yellow Brick Road, right where it intersects with Rt. 66. Christine Kane stands there holding her guitar. She looks at Dorothy eyes wide open. They start to talk. I start to walk down the Road. Toto follows me.
Wish Jar - Keri Smith
ideas
1. Go for a walk. Draw or list things you find on the the sidewalk.
2. Write a letter to yourself in the future.
3. Buy something inexpensive as a symbol for your need to create, (new pen, a tea cup, journal). Use it everyday.
4. Draw your dinner.
5. Find a piece of poetry you respond to. Rewrite it and glue it into your journal.
6. Glue an envelope into your journal. For one week collect items you find on the street.
7. Expose yourself to a new artist, (go to a gallery, or in a book.) Write about what moves you about their work.
The list goes on, find the rest of it here.
Keri writes:
This week I am forced to slow down due to a cold. while I resist the lack of activity at first I acknowledge that it could not come at a better time. work has slowed at least for a few days. and I allow myself the gift of being sucked into a good novel, one of those where the characters become a part of your life for the time being. you think about them while going about your day and wonder what crazy things they will be upto when you see them next.
I am wandering through the world of Ignatius P. Reilly, and it causes me to uncontrollably laugh out loud and lose a bit of my grasp on reality. (those of you who have read the book will know what i mean.) what crazy hero is this, with his tendency to preach about the ills of modern society to everyone he encounters, while taking no responsibility for the miserably, pitious state of his life? he must be one of the most annoying, insulting, obnoxious characters ever written. yet i can't help but like him somehow.
i can't put it down.
Read the full posting on a brief tour through my neighborhood, followed by a glimpse into the mind of Ignatius P. Reilly
Keri writes:
last week i bought a card with a picture of walt whitman on the front it, (not knowing who it was at first), because he had such beautiful eyes, and for the line "Let your soul stand cool and composed before a million universes."
now i am reading whitman everywhere. today a stranger sends me the most amazing book about corita kent (to which I am eternally grateful) and I open it up and read, "His [Whitman's] favourite occupation seemed to be strolling or sauntering about outdoors by himself, looking at the grass, the trees, the flowers, the vistas of light, the varying aspects of the sky, and listening to the birds, the crickets, the tree frogs, and all the hundres of natural sounds. It was evident that these things gave him a pleasure far beyond what they give to ordinary people." ~John Dewey
every day that i wake up i cannot wait to see what new connections the day will bring.
Read the full posting on a million universes all connected
Keri Smith writes at the Wish Jar. Now, go and add this site to your RSS Reader of choice. It will be a good thing to do for your creativity.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
POW, right between the eyes! - Andy Nulman
In his spare time, Andy is also an engaging speaker (motivating Fortune 500 companies the likes of GM, Eveready/Energizer and 3M), oft-published author, inventive stage director, half-decent snowboarder, hot-and-cold hockey goalie, and controversial pop artist.
Other accomplishments include being named one of Canadas Top 40 Under 40 business leaders by the Financial Post in 1997, voted one of the Top 100 Montrealers of the 20th Century by the Montreal Gazette in 2000, and honored as a distinguished recipient of the McGill Management Achievement Award in 2004.
His major disappointment is that he has only one life to live but hes working on a solution.
I am interested in finding out what his solution to having only one life to live! I have enough to do to cover about two or three myself but anyway...
Andy writes:
Well, if youre Fred, you can give the seemingly flavorless and colorless liquid a personality. Instead of tinkering with the product, Freds stroke-of-genius was changing the packaging from the standard chunky and round to an eye-catching sleek and flask-like.
Now not only does this water slide sexily into the back pocket of jeans, but it overflows with attitude. It even has its own blog and MySpace page(!).
Read more of what he says about this new Fred Water.
Andy writes:
Think about it. Think back to the great Surprise moments in your life, the highlights you STILL talk about. Not just the bargains or exquisite service, but the unexpected visit from a friend, the Surprise birthday party, the time your spouses simple haircut became a high-flying Afro perm, the $100 bill you found in the street
I could go on and on, but the point here is that hopefully, so can you.
Read more about the highlight reel of life!
Technorati Tags : surprise, Andy+Nulman, Fred, highlight+reel, life
Sanders Says - Tim Sanders
He writes:
A few years ago, I shared a stage with Dr. Stephen Covey in Salt Lake City at a convention for hospice care workers. In his talk, Dr. Covey urged people to read books as a habit to improve their "emotional imagination". He said reading will increase the empathy you show people. This is true. When you read books (from self improvement to trash novel), you activate a part of your brain that unleashes creative energy. There is nothing more primal and perpetual than creative energy. You want to work out, write a protest song, call your mom. When you feel creative you feel alive.
Read his full posting Readers are Leaders.
Tim writes:
The secret is thinking about your Customer's experience as the sum of several little experiences. Think of it from thought to memory. From the parking lot to the exit. A great example of how one company did this is found in the Sharp Colonoscopy Experience article published in in a publication by Pine & Gilmore. The execs at this hospital found one experience that was bad, getting a colonoscopy, and broke it down into segments. They improved in all the little things and eventually they created a colonoscopy experience so good that their clients were known to run out and tell their friends to go to Sharp "and get a colonoscopy".
Read his full post on Segment the Experience.
I previously wrote a review of Love is the Killer App. The Likability Factor is on the "to be read" shelf so I'll get to it someday and then follow up with a review.
Tim is well worth reading and now that his blog has been found, add it to your RSS Reader of choice and keep in touch with Tim!
Technorati Tags : sanders, hitchhikers, hike, trail, Likability, Love, Killer+App
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Maria Palma
on business with Customers Are Always
and Online Business Resources
on fashion with Beauty is Within
on real estate with Home Solutions San Diego
and her personal blog, The Good Life
You should be able to find something here to suit your fancy. Assuming you, add one of more of these to you RSS Reader of choice and keep in touch with Maria Palma
Technorati Tags : business, beauty, real+estate, San+Diego, good+life, customers+are+always
ConverStations - Mike Sansone
What if your Purple Cow is a Pink Horse? is a good reminder about sticking to your knitting. What is that really separates you from the others? Don't go looking for the purple cow (Seth Godin's term) if you have the pink horse in your backyard corral.
Of special interest will be his new series this month, a Blogumentary, building a blog for a non-profit, Blue Frog Arts:
... a gallery with little web presence, but lots of character and talent. Our goal with the blog is to extend the reach and voice, and showcase the talents of this small, but creative community. The owner of the gallery and her team of artists is allowing us to document each step of building the blog site.
Read the full post here and then follow this as it develops.
Mike says in his about page:
My passion is to build community - offline and online. I've done this through property management, online community programming, volunteerism, and - for a short time - as an assistant pastor at a Baptist church in Maryland.
This is one of two versions. You can read the other here.
Then add this site to your RSS Reader of choice and continue to read and participate in ConverStations!
Technorati Tags : hitchhikers, hike, trail, converstations, business, blogging
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Chelsea Peretti
She provides advice for Lazy Tuesday.
She writes about her brother and liking or not liking Chris Isaak:
When I went to visit my brother in college one year he convinced me to like Chris Isaak. I was reticent to say the least (3rd def). But we drove around listening to his CD and my brother was like: "He's funny. Listen to him, he's funny." I said WELL WAX OFF MR MIYAGI BECAUSE I THINK YOU HAVE A POINT! And then we shared a deep and genuine laugh together over every lyric and every wail.
Anyhow, now I do really love Chris Isaak.
Read the full posting here.
Add Chelsea's site to your RSS Reader of choice and if you are in the New York Metro area, you could catch one of her local appearences.
Way to go Chelsea!
Blogcritics
Blogcritics is an online magazine, a community of writers and readers from around the globe.
The site comes with an attitude. They advertise themselves as a "Sinister cabal of superior writers".
A content network if there ever was one. You can find your fill of Culture, Politics, Sci/Tech, Music, Books, Gaming, Sports, and the list goes on.
Check out Blogcritics!
Beware of the attitude.
Monday, November 06, 2006
David Bordwell's Website on Cinema
The screenwriter writes: “An office.” But the director and the cinematographer and many others must specify how that office looks, the style of the furniture, the way light strikes the surfaces, the position from which the camera sees the action, and hundreds of other factors that shape the image. No one could write all these details into a screenplay. Even if he or she tried, any item could always be construed in a different way when the image is created. Is the desk the shade of brown that the screenwriter envisioned? Are the lampshades the same size?
Read the full posting here. (Side note, since the argument originally comes from Joe Eszterhas, the screenwriter for the failure of "Showgirls", should we consider the source?)
He writes of getting a video iPod:
... I now realize, I missed part of the fun: picking out what you’ll put on and arranging items into playlists. I also met with frustration. I hadn’t realized the dominance of pop music as a paradigm for all music until I bumped into iTunes. Of course it had no trouble with my boomer tracks (Burt Bachrach, the Drifters, Sam Cooke, etc.). But the program didn’t like art music. It chopped up operas so that little gaps appeared between tracks that should flow seamlessly, and it couldn’t read my old and obscure CDs. At one point, iTunes decided that all my Sibelius symphonies should be arranged by movement, so it grouped together seven first movements, seven second movements, and so on.
Reinstalling and upgrading the program, as well as setting up playlists, eventually solved these problems. Now my Mahler plays seamlessly and my Björk has the right pauses between songs. I still listen more seldom than most podders; not when walking around the world, mostly just in airports or in hotel rooms. More enticing has been the video function.
Read the full posting here.
If this writing tickles your fancy, then add David's site to your RSS Reader of choice.
Technorati Tags : Bordwell, Thompson, cinema, director, screewriter
Totally Wired - Anastasia Goodstein
For any parents or adults who want to communicate with a teenager using technology, don't use email. Teens don't check it that much. According to Extreme Tech, new research by Parks Associates showed that less than one-fifth of the 13-17 year olds surveyed profess to using email to communicate with friends, compared to 40 percent of adults aged 25-54. In fact, when teens do use email these days, it's usually to communicate with the adults in their lives. What they are using, at least to talk to their friends is instant messaging. They are also using text messaging on cell phones and internal messaging systems on social networks like MySpace or Facebook. They'll pick up email again when they enter the work world, but right now, it's the last thing they'll check.
Read her full posting here.
Do you have virtual friends? Anastasia writes:
Read her posting on "What are virtual friends for?"What technology has done is to "power" teen friendships. It's like plugging them in or "crank them up a notch." Suddenly there are many more ways for teens to stay connected. They can instant message or text, and often do even when their friend is in the same room. They can comment on each others blogs or MySpace profiles or share videos and photographs. Instead of having to find a landline to get in touch, they can be in constant contact 24/7. Most of the teens I interviewed for the book drew a distinction between online friends they had never met in person and offline friends who they also corresponded with online. It was rare that they would become friends with complete strangers who didn't share some kind of mutual connection or offline friend in common.
This is Anastasia's second appearence here on the Hitchhiker's Guide. Her other web site, ypulse, was visited almost a year ago.
Keep up the good writing Anastasia!
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Spotlight - Digital Media and Learning
Each week this Spotlight will provide a central focal point for "what's important" in the emerging field of digital media and learning.
But that's not all. This Spotlight is part of Digital Bridges, an initiative to bring coherence and collaboration to the field. Concretely, this site offers the public a first opportunity to get involved by signing up to get notified of major news and collaboration opportunities. This spring we will launch a larger Knowledge Network to centralize these efforts.
This blog is supported by the MacArthur Foundation.
The blogroll contains the likes of Danah Boyd and Henry Jenkins amongst others. These two for some reason have been popping up on my radar recently.
This is ONE place to rut into your RSS Reader of choice if you want to follow digital media.
Technorati Tags : digital+media, learning, MacArthur+Foundation
