This new thing by Facebook — Open Graph — I’m in two minds about.
As I’ve said previously, this sort of data capture is really a marketer’s dream, assuming we’re smart about how we turn the data into information and what we do with it. On the other hand, I like my Web experience to throw up real surprises, to find things I never knew existed or agreed with. If this Open Graph concept takes hold and becomes mainstream, our web experiences are going to become more limited.
I’m not bothered about the privacy thing — embarrassingly, I’ve been an online ‘entity’ for long enough that anything I want to keep private I simply keep offline. I am conscious, though, that I’m really discoverable online, which is a weird realisation to have!
cf. How Many Books Do You Read Each Year? — approximately 50, plus a few manuscripts here and there*. One good thing about working for a publisher is that I get to read stuff that isn’t published yet. It’s also bad because some things don’t get published as soon as I’d like so I can recommend them.
Of course it helps that I’m a bona fide bookworm anyway. I probably averaged in the high 30s or 40s before 2007, and these days I still buy at least 20-30 books a year, along with whatever I read with work.
(I’ve seen some people on BookCrossing claim to read at least 100 books a year. They mustn’t have jobs, or they work at the library.)
But y’know, if Kottke ain’t doing it, it’s not worth doing!
* I don’t work in editorial, otherwise it’d be hundreds a year.
We’re meant to keep our personal and work lives separate — it’s for our own sanity, right? If we mix personal stuff with work stuff we’re likely to get in trouble with the boss. So why is it expected of you to use your personal reputation and relationships in order to get your job done?
I went lindy hopping this week. I am in no way intending to improve on my basic knowledge and I think my main reason for going these days is because the music is great to listen to. Some relaxed social dancing without trying to apply some newly-learned step is what I’m after — emphasis on social. Plus it can get the heart rate going if the beat is really fast, so I think it counts towards Urbathon training, right?
Older employees ‘happier at work’ — those in their thirties, faced with pressures of starting a family, feel most shit. Wow, it’s nice to know that after several years of work, what I have yet to look forward to is feelings of unfulfillment and being undervalued. w00t.
… reading about sex and burn victims. But not at the same time.
I’m a bit of a control freak and a bit of a perfectionist. But I’m not a workaholic. I have been known, however, to work for 12 hours straight and forget to eat or go to the loo (I didn’t wet myself or anything).
(I don’t own a Blackberry, although I have been seriously considering buying a mobile broadband modem so that I can bring my laptop and work on my own stuff while commuting to and from work.)
Yeah, I am. Oddly enough, a publisher publishes books all year round and I’ve got to work on them all-year round. How inconsiderate.
My mum, who was just here, tells me she prefers to window shop now, not shop shop. I like to look at stuff too, but since I have less stuff than her, I don’t mind buying now and again.
Spend, spend, spend. It’s no way to happiness:
Greed and consumption addict people and they spend weekends trawling shopping centres chasing the next hit.