links for 2008-09-01

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Gustav on Ning

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If you’re looking for a good place to find Hurricane Gustav related information online there’s a good repository here: http://gustav08.ning.com. A guy named Andy Carvin used the site Ning to create a social network for all things related to the hurricane.

This is the second example I’ve seen of someone making effective use of Ning.  A few months ago I witnessed a social network being born on Ning that is related to the practice of competitive intelligence (CI).  I used to work with the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals and while they had ample opportunity to build an online network they never got one off the ground, so in the absence of an "official" CI social network a grass roots network was created on Ning and it is by far the most successful online collaboration that the CI sector has seen to date.

When I first heard about Ning I dipped my toe in the water by joining a small business network that quickly devolved into a kind of lame online version of lead sharing networks endemic to coffee shops in every city in America, so I just kind of wrote it off.  Now that I’ve seen Ning used effectively by a few folks I’m beginning to realize the power it places in ordinary folks’ hands.  Honestly any group can use it effectively and it literally takes zero technical knowledge to use, so I have a feeling I’ll see more and more groups using it in the future.

I’m So Important That John McCain’s Called Me, Twice!

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Man, I’m on cloud nine.  My stature has climbed to the point that John McCain, THE John McCain, called me to tell me what he’s up to and why I should vote for him for el Presidente.  I wasn’t home so he left a message, and he wanted to speak with me so much that he called back again ten minutes later and left another message.  I tell you what he’s so good that his second message wasn’t almost identical to his first message.  It was almost as if he was reading from a script.

Since he couldn’t get hold of me Senor McCain is going to mail me something, I think an absentee ballot, that he said I should receive in the next week or so. I can hardly wait!

links for 2008-08-30

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links for 2008-08-29

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Construction Waste Down 19% in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County; Realtors Will Probably Blame Onerous Codes

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USA Today has an article about the decline in the amount of trash Americans are tossing out, and how that might be related to a down economy.  Winston-Salem/Forsyth County construction waste is one of their examples:

•Winston-Salem/Forsyth County, N.C. The 19% decline in
construction debris in 2008 is "more likely related to economic
factors" said Jan McHargue, solid waste administrator.

Since the Chamber of Commerce and local realtors recently blamed the drop in new development on onerous city development ordinances I’m assuming they’ll do the same here.

Me Thinks This Olympic Gymnast Needs New Media Advisor

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Shawn Johnson won gold and silver medals in gymnastics at the recently concluded 08 Summer Games in Beijing.  Obviously it’s time for her to cash in and help her parents pay off the multiple mortgages they took out to finance her Olympic dream.  I’m thinking she can do better than the Ortega commercial below.  Let’s just say that people online are having fun with her line, "Ortega makes my taco pop." 

City Bus Driver Shoots Man in the Head in Buena Vista Over Double Parking

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If you’re from Winston-Salem you’re probably thinking, "What?!" based on the headline of this post.  Well, I’ve engaged in an age old media trick of getting you to read this based on a deceptive headline.  The Buena Vista I’m referring to is Buena Vista Terrace in SE, Washington DC, a decidedly different Buena Vista than our bucolic enclave here in the Twin Cities.  You might have figured out my trickery based on the fact that it involved double parking, something other than crime also not commonly found in W-S’s Buena Vista.  If this was a radio or TV news broadcast you’d have been able to figure it out because in DC the location would have been pronounced "bwayna vista" rather than our local pronunciation of "byoona vista".

Uh, Gross

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Krispykremebaconcheddarcheeseburger
My buddy Dan sent me the link to that picture to the left.  I love my Krispy Kremes.  I love my cheeseburgers.  I love my bacon.  Mix ’em all together, though, and you’ve got one nasty looking culinary experience.  Even more surprising is that the picture was taken at the Google NYC cafeteria.  Somehow I always envisioned Googlers as the types who wear Birkenstocks, when they wear anything at all, eat tofu and get around town on Segways.

I’m thinking that Krispy Kreme needs to organize a contest and have people enter their craziest concoctions that use their doughnuts in the mix.  It truly would be a win-win for them and their hometown (Winston-Salem of course).  Think about it: they get plenty of PR and Baptist Hospital gets an instant boost in admissions.  Heck they could even have the contest in Baptist’s parking lot.

BTW, this is the second Krispy Kreme burger story I’ve run and both came from Dan.  The first was about the burgers being sold at a minor league baseball stadium, which honestly makes much more sense than Google’s cafeteria.