Saturday, January 31, 2009

Like herding cats -- what was on your Christmas List?

I've come to the realization that running multiple blogs in an attempt to compartmentalize my thoughts is akin to herding cats.



Of course it was a good idea, but in order to do such a thing effectively, at some point the brakes have to go on and the shift into organization must be intentional. That said, I have posted recently on the educational retrofitting blog in response to a post by Jason Alba (and elsewhere on the academic side of my life).

Christmas time (sorry, we don't call it the Holiday Season here in the South -- that will happen long after the second amendment gets changed :-) was good, and I just learned that it was good for publication as well. Our book The Emergence of The Relationship Economy (more here & here) apparently sold well in December. I must say I wonder whether it was more for enlightenment or necessity.


It took most of 2008 for much of what we were suggesting to catch on and be (slightly more) mainstream, so that could have been part of it. The other possibility is that we as a society, especially after the tactics used in the election, are realizing that social media doesn't just have a place in the world, it is a huge opportunity for many people who are stuck in the void between having time to reach out to established friends and making new ones and the need to maintain a massive productivity level.

Not being able to determine which is more important, I'd like to get your opinion(s).

Is social media "catching on" in your life and the lives of those around you? Do you still get that look from people when you mention Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, and the like?

What do you think?