My Dealey Plaza Experience: "Who Shot JFK?" - Ask Ron

In my earlier post about coming to Dallas, I mentioned feeling an inspiring opportunity being in this city the day after the election and being so close by to Dealey Plaza. Everybody knows the history around this place, but how many of us have actually been there? I just had to do it. I won't go into rant mode about how modern technology is great at connecting people virtually, but it's rapidly destroying the importance of the physical world. Maybe that's the germ for another blog - I'm game - anybody out there want to sponsor it?

Back to JFK. For a variety of reasons, I haven't been able to prepare this post until now, but if you're even remotely interested in JFK and American politics, I think you'll find the wait worthwhile. Otherwise, you'll be bored to tears, and I suggest you move on to something else or go back to watching Family Guy now.

I'll preface this post by saying I'm not a JFK history buff, but having grown up in the Boston area, and being old enough to remember 'where I was when JFK was shot', the lore holds a pretty central place in my mind. We all know how historic Barack's victory was, and I can't possibly be the only one out there making these instant and profound connections to JFK. However, I sure felt that way during my pilgrimage to Dealey Plaza early Thursday morning. During my travels to get there, two things really struck me.

First, nobody seemed to know where Dealey Plaza was! Armed with a simple street map, I took the light rail train 3 stops from my hotel to the West End stop. That's the old part of town, and while walking in the general direction of Dealey Plaza, I couldn't help doing the Jay Walking/Rick Mercer man-in-the-street interview. I asked a handful of people where Dealey Plaza was - and we couldn't have been more than 3 blocks from it - and not one person had a clue what I was talking about. Wow. It's like asking a New Yorker where Ground Zero is - you're not going to get too many blank stares on that one. I'm not even at Dealey Plaza, and I'm in trouble already!

Second, I thought I would see some signs of life or evidence that others had the same idea as me, and realize what a special time this would be to visit Dealey Plaza. Nada. Granted, this is a Republican state, but still, this was a pretty historic moment. Maybe people's sense of history isn't what it used to be. Tell you what, though - here's a small aside. For all the bravado and outlaw nature of Texas culture, I couldn't get over the fact that nobody jaywalks. Even at intersections where there was no traffic, people waited obediently until the light turned green to cross. Huh? This never happens in places like New York or Boston.

The other interesting thing is that their light rail service works on the honor system. You buy your ticket from a machine at the platform, and simply board any car. Nobody ever checked my ticket going either way. Very civil and very impressive. Of course, I'm sure half the people riding on the train own guns, and I guess that's part of what makes America so interesting, right? Enough preamble - let's get to the pilgrimage.


First stop - the JFK Memorial - designed by Philip Johnson, this is a very reflective experience that makes you feel the emptiness and collective sense of loss from his assassination. The memorial is a cenotaph - an open tomb - to show how his spirit has never left us.

My camera doesn't have enough depth of field to convey the experience, but it's pretty neat. The cenotaph is surrounded by 4 open walls that appear to float; it's very heaven-like I guess. It's quite an effect, and my photos don't do it much justice. As pristine as this memorial is, it was in maintenance mode - another bad omen - so there was a lot of scrubbing and sanding going on. Ugh. I guess they weren't expecting anybody, so there goes my theory about this being a natural attraction to visit after the election. Looks like I'll have to come back another time to get the intended effect of tranquility.







This juxtaposition below came to me out of the blue, and the image links Obama to JFK in ways words can't express. In the background on the face of the cenotaph is "John Fitzgerald Kennedy" - which you really can't read here - and the foreground is my USA Today. The effect is more dramatic if you view a bigger version of the photo, but hey, this is a blog, not a photo gallery (but if you want to see a bigger version, let me know). Yet another point to support my tech rant earlier!

If I'm Obama, and wanted to invoke the spirit of JFK and reinvigorate it for today, can you think of a more inspirational spot to stage a speech from? Where have you gone, Joe Dimaggio?...




Ok, so here we are - the corner of Elm and Houston - the Book Depository Building (now a museum for what happened here) - Ground Zero - and...Ron.







I can be a very in-the-moment kind of guy, and this was one of those times. As I looked every bit the gawking rube, Ron came up to me and asked if I wanted to buy a pamphlet that recounted the whole event. After declining, he offered to give me a personal tour - 'I work for tips'. How could I say no? Let's just say he could sure use the money, and he turned out to be an incredible source of knowledge about what went on when JFK came to town. Either he spins some truly Texas-league yarns, or he's just one of these treasures who has seen it all but nobody pays any attention to. Except maybe me!




Let the tour begin, and of course that means the fabled Grassy Knoll. Nothing much happening here, and if you've seen earlier photos or JFK documentaries, it seems virtually unchanged since the sixties. So peaceful - so...deserted.







Thanks Ron. Gee, he sure is a good sport.




Mise-en-scene. November 22, 1963. See that 'X' on the road? That marks the spot where JFK was shot. The Grassy Knoll is on the left, and the motorcade would have come toward me. Building on the left is the Book Depository. More on that and the building beside it in a moment.

In case you're wondering, yes, I walked out into the middle of the road to take this picture. It's like 9am - rush hour, right? Not a car to be seen - it was like being on a movie set. Doesn't anybody care about this any more?




The official story is that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone and did the shooting from a 6th story window in the Book Depository - circled in black. Well, that's a pretty good vantage point. However, Ron explained that the building next door had an even better line of sight and I've circled the window area in yellow where he explained that other shots were fired from. By whom? Well, that's another story, but he believes that's where many of the fatal shots came from. The plot thickens.




Let's shift locations to get a bit deeper into the mystery. This picket fence - the Stockade Fence - is at the top of the Grassy Knoll, and Ron took me around the back to have a look. Notice all the missing slats. That's from souvenir hunters; but the joke's on them, as Ron explained that the original fence was replaced in 2000.




Lots of graffiti all around, but how about this one? There is no shortage of cynics out there, and the only conspiracy theory that rivals JFK is 9/11. You'd think the people who look after Dealey Plaza would clean this up - or maybe they want it there for shock value.




Not many people buy the lone gunman theory, but if you were looking for the ideal spot to make sure you hit your target, wouldn't it be right here? That's Ron's story and I know he's not alone. It's perfect. In between two leafy trees and behind a fence - nobody would see you. Presuming you had a clear line to the street without endangering onlookers, a slow moving motorcade coming towards you - not going away - would be a pretty easy target - which I've noted with a circle around the 'X' spot.




The 'Manhole Theory'. Am not going to get into the details, but Ron pretty quickly refuted it. He had many other very interesting theories and angles that were far more plausible: the Umbrella Man, the Tague wounding, why the motorcade slowed down, the Zapruder film, LBJ's motives, etc. - but that's another conversation.

While you're still looking at this picture, I can't help but see it as a symbol of the U.S. right now - going down the drain and decay all around - it's hard to see, but there's an empty beer can and a crushed up Marlboro package. Obama sure has his work cut out and is going to need all the help he can get channelling JFK's mojo.



Another perspective taken from a spot most people wouldn't normally get to. The road - Elm Street - slopes down at this point and goes under the bridge upon which I'm standing. Ron took me up here to show another spot where a gunman might have considered shooting from. Train tracks cross the bridge and if a train came by while the motorcade was there, the sound of the shots would have been muffled. While this provides a great sightline for a shooter, it's too public and there's really no place to escape. Besides, the Secret Service and police no doubt would have staked this space out for themselves.




Here's another juxtaposition I couldn't resist. This city worker was blowing leaves off the sidewalk onto the road, exactly over the 'X' spot. He didn't think anything of it and I'm sure most people around here are pretty blase about Dealey Plaza. All I could see in this was turning over a new leaf and the changing winds of history ushering in a new era of hope - for the U.S., for the world, and especially for African Americans. I'm just happy he was so obliging!



Plaque at the base of the Grassy Knoll across from the 'X'. Very interesting language here: 'this site possesses national significance in commemorating the history of the United States of America'. How generic can you get? No mention of JFK at all, and I know Ron has some views on this. It's pretty clear to me this is still a very touchy subject and Washington isn't ready yet to totally come clean. An apologist would say - no - this plaque is about Dealey Plaza, not JFK.

As I learned that day, this is where Dallas was founded, but somehow, I don't think this city is of such 'national significance' to warrant this level of recognition. America sure is filled with contradictions. Oh, interesting aside - I'm a big fan of urban history and there's always a good story behind major cities that are landlocked. Turns out to be pretty simple for Dallas - they settled there because it was safe - hardly any Indians around. Ok....



Believe it or not, this excursion barely took an hour, but I sure learned a lot. As I left the West End, I saw these ads for some local BBQ and seafood restaurants. Boy, did these look good, but at 10am it was a bit on the early side. Next time I'm back I know where I'm going for dinner.



This post is a bit out of the norm for me, but I hope you enjoyed it. I'd love to hear your thoughts, and like Ron, I work for tips too, so let me know if you want to hear more. :-))


Technorati tags: JFK, Jon Arnold, Barack Obama, Dealey Plaza

A Good Day to be in the USA

Call it luck of the draw, but I got to be in the U.S. today. I'm not that politically inclined, but the election was pretty special, and everyone senses we're living important history right now. It's a good day to be an American, it's a good day for America, it's a good day in the eyes of most people outside America, and it's a good day to be in the USA. Smiles all around for me.

Obama is in the House now, and hopefully the honeymoon will be a long one. If you remember JFK and MLK, it's a good feeling to see so many dreams finally realized, and it's a great reminder of how special democracy can be.

I kind of thought I'd see or sense a noticeable mood of joy here, but I really haven't - strange. The airports - both Toronto and Dallas were unusually quiet, and there hasn't been any visible sign to say today is different from any other day. To be fair, I'm deep in the heart of Texas - GWB country - and their GOP stripes didn't change in 2008.

With today being such a special time, and being in Dallas, I just figured out what to do about this. This is a short trip for me, but the hotel is not far from Dealey Plaza. I've never been there, and I couldn't imagine a more appropriate time to make a quick pilgrimage to see it.

In many ways, Barack Obama's journey started there. The dreams of equality didn't die with JFK, and they didn't die with MLK. Clinton was a good JFK wannabe, but Barack may end up a better successor to his spirit of hope, change and youth. Like JFK, he is a true breakthrough in his own right. Time will tell if he's the real deal or if he'll just be learning on the job, but it's pretty clear that the world hasn't felt this good about the USA in a long time. Things are much easier to accomplish when people like you, and we have nowhere to go but up now that the Bush era is over.

I'll get off that soapbox now - photos coming tomorrow. Back to work. I'm in Dallas to attend the Korean Tech Showcase, and so far, it's been just great. I'm virtually certain I'm the only analyst here, so I'm getting to see stuff most of my peers won't likely see for some time yet if at all. Lucky me.

I've had meetings with companies with really interesting technologies, and am looking forward to more of the same tomorrow. It's too early to blog about the details, but as I get to know some of them better, I'll bring you up to date.

Nice tie-in at the airport. CNN's 24/7 election coverage, and a TV display stand by Samsung, Korea's most famous tech company.



Sidebar... I had one of those only-in-America moments here at the airport. While waiting for my ride, I heard this announcement over the PA system: "the post-election noon day prayer will be held in the chapel in Terminal 1". Praise the Lord and God Bless America... who said Church and State were separate? :-)






Couldn't resist. Remember pay phones? They sure are becoming an extinct species in the U.S., and I see this scene at almost every hotel/conference center I travel to. Ugly. Virtually everyone seems to have a cell phone here, and there is simply no rhyme or reason to use a pay phone these days.




Technorati tags: Korea Tech Preview 2008, Jon Arnold, Barack Obama, Dealey Plaza

We Won't Get Fooled Again....Canadian-style - VOTE!!!

Well, you know how that song goes - meet the new boss....

I'm not much of a political pundit, but as the U.S. election looms, I just had to share this goodie today. Canadians are well thought of for being so damned polite - we don't win many wars being this way, but we don't start any, either.

Anyhow, if you can't get enough poking fun at Sarah Palin, you'll just love this piece of satire, Canadian-style. It's big news up here, but for those of you outside Canada, this may not have crossed your transom yet.

Here's the story. A couple of popular Montreal DJs managed to convince Sarah Palin to call them on Saturday, under the guise she would be speaking with Nicolas Sarkozy, the President of France. The premise was that he wanted to wish her well on the election, and she took the bait. These guys are infamous for pulling stunts like this - aka the Masked Avengers - and it worked like a charm.

This is too funny, and if you're having second thoughts about jumping on the McCain bandwagon, you might want to check this out. Tina Fey couldn't have done it better, and if a couple of Canadians can fool the VP-to-be, let's not think what could happen if the real bad guys tried this. No moose on the loose would be safe....

Anyhow, here's the article from today's Globe & Mail about the interview. Embedded in the writeup are links to the audio version of the interview, along with some associated video clips.

All kidding aside, this post is a great excuse to encourage people to get out and VOTE!!! It's one of the few things left that matter in a democracy, and we all know how much is at stake this time around. I'm pretty certain the new boss on Wednesday won't be the same as the old boss, and that should tell you whose side I'm on.

And just to show you how clever I am, if you saw the front page of today's Globe & Mail you'll be all smiles. There's a nice big photo of Barack and his wife shaking hands with The Boss himself, Bruuuuuuuuce and his wife. Too bad he's not the VP - how cool would that be?

As a coda, I just have to say that for all you techies out there, this election is going to be really special given all the real-time tools we're using now. Hardly any of this stuff was around in previous elections - YouTube, IM, Twitter, Facebook, etc. As a society, we've never been so connected, and this has all kinds of implications for the media, the democratic process and the role of privacy in our lives. That's good news for people like me who make a living trying to understand these things, but more importantly, these are the tools of the Net generation, and if this gets them engaged in the real world, and brings them to the polling booth, then I'm the first to say technology is helping make the world a better place.



Technorati tags: Sarah Palin, Jon Arnold, Barack Obama, Masked Avengers, Canada, Bruce Springsteen

DNCL - Canada's Answer to the Scourge of Telemarketers

Been trying to get this out all day - just one thing after another.

This post is more of a public service announcement instead of the usual trail-blazing thought leadership you find here - but still of interest, at least to Canadians! :-)

So, we finally have DNCL - our Do Not Call List - to keep those pesky telemarketers away. This just came out about two weeks ago, but it really only popped into my mind yesterday.

It's funny how I spend most of my time with emerging technologies and following trends that may disrupt the world of telecom as we know it - but something as pedestrian as DNCL in my own backyard completely eludes me. Why is that???

I've seen this mentioned here and there in the news and the blogs, but never gave it a thought for what it means to me as a consumer. Yesterday, though, I happened to catch a tiny item in the paper about it, explaining DNCL and how to register. Duh - well, OF COURSE I SHOULD DO THIS. It may get lonely working from home, but it's not so bad that I look forward to hearing about the latest time-shares or home security deals or adult dating services, etc.

So, it took all of about 2 minutes to visit the National DNCL website and register our number. Done. Seems like a good use of taxpayer dollars to me.

They say it will take about a month for this notice to take effect, so I'm hoping these calls will tail off by then. Working from home, I have to tell you, we get about 3-4 of these every day. For those of you working in offices, you have no idea what you're missing, and what goes on during this quiet time at home. Thanks to the magic of call display, any time I see a toll free number calling, you just know it's from one of those people. I always let it ring through to VM - I wonder why they NEVER leave a message??? Hmm.

However - and here's the rub - the DNCL only protects us from Canadian telemarketers. No surprise there. Did you know --- that a lot of these stupid calls come from the US? You know, those area codes from places you barely recognize, like Colorado, Idaho or South Carolina. Nobody I know is calling our house from these places - ever - and the DNCL isn't going to catch them. Not much you can really do there, but DNCL is definitely a step in the right direction.

So, for those of you who didn't know - and need to know - now you know - and I'd encourage you to sign on ASAP. Happy Thanksgiving!


Technorati tags: National DNCL, Jon Arnold, telemarketers

Mardis Gras World - a Little Fun, N'awlins Style

Not only does MetaSwitch put on a great customer event, but they know how to have fun, and there's no better place for that than New Orleans. Last year's Harley-Davidson party was a blast, and this was even better and way more colorful. If there's one word to describe New Orleans, esp at night, it's colorful. Here's a taste of what I mean....

Crossing the Mississippi River Bridge from Riverside to Algiers, where Mardis Gras World is located. It's quite a bridge and really dominates the local skyline.

Mardi Gras World - site of the party. Having never been there before, I had no idea what to expect - I don't think anybody did. Nothing prepares you for how colorful, fun and so N'awlins this place really is.

Mardis Gras World is actually a 3rd generation family business that's world famous for designing props and floats for parades. Before getting too caught up in the good times, though, we were just a stones throw from where the locals live. This is actually quite a respectable house, but I can tell you it's much nicer than most of the houses we saw as the bus meandered through the sidestreets once we got off the bridge enroute to the venue. I don't hold any morbid fascination looking for remnants of Katrina, and no doubt, with a few detours we would have found much worse. This house is a very plain reminder that New Orleans is a huge bundle of contradictions and constrasts, with race and income being right up at the top. It was literally on the other side of the tracks from where we were, and you don't have to look far to see how our party is not their party. I'm being both figurative and literal here, as there is a live set of train tracks embedded in the road running right by the front door of Mardis Gras World, and this house was on the other side of the street.

Once inside Mardis Gras World, this kind of goes away, and you're immediately overwhelmed by an endless stream of garish, oversized heads and figures - some more famous than others. Call it what you like - macabre, tawdry, honky-tonk, folk art, surreal, circus-like - once you see it, the spirit of New Orleans make so much more sense. Reminds me of the chase scene in Broadway Danny Rose which takes place in an abandoned old movie studio on Coney Island, I think. While that was in B&W, this stuff is what color photography was invented for...

Not quite done yet. This is N'awlins right? What party wouldn't be complete down here without a parade? We got one, alright - never seen an INDOOR parade before. What a riot - complete with a police escort motorcade, blaring police sirens, kings and queens, festive floats, and of course, a local high school marching band...

Thanks to all the folks at MetaSwitch who worked so hard, no doubt, to put this together. Not sure how you're going to top this one next year, so we'll just have to wait and see!

Technorati tags:

MetaSwitch, Jon Arnold, New Orleans, Mardis Gras World

Broadband Not Working in NY Hotel - Ugh!

It's times like these that you realize how dependent we are on broadband. You'd like to think having broadband service - and paid, by the way - not free - would be a non-starter in NYC. I'm at the Dialogic analyst event and we're at the Millennium Hotel in Times Square. It's a pretty upscale place - very New York.

Well, last night I was all set to catch up on my posts, as I had been on the train all day and couldn't post the night before. Keep trying and trying, and then I called the front desk - the service was out for the whole hotel. Ugh! Nobody could get broadband. I finally gave up a bit after 11, and figured I'd just get up extra early and hope things were back to normal.

Well, I'm posting now, so they are. But for someone who tries to post daily, this was a bit of a setback yesterday. Am sure I wasn't the only one trying to get online last night. In the big scheme of things this is no big deal, but it's not something you'd expect to run into here in mid-town Manhattan.

I'm hardly a road warrior, but my minor inconvenience brings me to share a post from uber-blogger Andy Abramson the other day. He's a major league traveler, and his post sheds a lot more light than mine on the trials and tribulations of maintaining connectivity while on the road. Seems to me - and Andy no doubt - that American hotels are definitely lagging the needs of the market, and as an industry vertical, this sector is ripe for innovation. Am sure it's happening, but not quick enough!

Technorati tags:

Dialogic, Jon Arnold, Andy Abramson, broadband

Are Bloggers Smarter than Backpackers? Find out Sunday Night!

I recently posted about how getting on TV was a nice benefit of blogging. Well, it's coming - this Sunday night - 8pm on CBC television. The show is called Test the Nation, and if you live in Canada, you can watch it then - it's live, coast to coast. It's a quiz show using a team format and I'm on the Blogger team! Don't ask how or why - it's happening, and it should be fun.

So, there are 6 teams squaring off - Bloggers, Backpackers, Celebrity Look-Alikes, Flight Crews, Cab Drivers and Chefs - and beyond that, I don't have much else to say.

Well - the only downside is I miss the Patriots/Chargers game - we need to be at the studio in the afternoon to prepare. And there's no live blogging onsite, so there won't be any posting on the fly.

Somehow, I think we're gonna win. Why? Well, the show has its own blog page and a Facebook Group. These are tools of the trade for us bloggers - not so sure about all those other folks - and the CBC people are pretty smart, and of course they look to us for all the latest in modern ideas...... hmmm, let me re-think that one...

Well, don't listen to me - you can vote any time for which group you think will win - the poll is on their site and blog page. So, speak your mind, tune in, and watch us prove what know - or don't know.



Technorati tags: Test the Nation, Jon Arnold, J Arnold & Associates, CBC TV

Is Facebook killing blogs? The conversation continues....

I really wasn't planning on posting much at all this week, and just got on the PC now for a quick scan of email and blog stuff before heading off to the same family get-togethers all of us are about to start doing.

I see that Jeff Pulver posted a nice follow up today to my post from Friday about this topic.

Sure glad to see the dialog continuing, which really is the point of blogs in the first place, right?

For anyone following this topic - and I really think I'm hitting on something here - it's clear from Jeff's experiences that the conversations are shifting from the blogs to the social media sites, namely Facebook. What's a blogger to do? Jeff has built up a fantastic network of engaged "friends" on FB, and by rights, he should be getting great conversations going there. What's really amazing is not how big his network is - and lots of avid FB'ers have large networks too - it's how quickly he's done it. Again, nothing unusual there in the FB world, but I'm sure Jeff would agree, he's built up a large following there much faster than it took on his blog.

I don't know about you, but I'm still not sure what to make of all this. I still stand by my position that FB could well be killing blogs, but of course it's not so simple. FB is just another forum for communicating, but it's much more social, whereas blogs are really all about the writing - and for some, the photos too. That's the primary reason we go to blogs - to read what the thought leaders are saying. That's not why we go to FB - we go there to be social, and if we happen to see something interesting to read, well, we'll do that too.

It really doesn't matter where the conversations are taking place - as long as they're happening - that's what I think is important. So, again, Jeff's posing a valid question about why the comments have fallen off at his blog, but at least people are still talking - so no harm, really.

All I can say from here is that as this trend continues - and why shouldn't it? - blogs are going to just look so 1.0. For me, it doesn't matter, since I don't anticipate becoming a rabid FB user. I'm pretty old school, and the blog is where my public writing goes, and I don't see anything changing that.

For Jeff and all the others who are big on FB, no doubt this has to be creating some dissonance, and I guess you just go with the flow. As Jeff says, some posts he duplicates on FB, but only a few - you just have to experiment and see what happens. Nothing wrong with that.

The ones I worry about are those who are trying to build businesses around blogging, where the name of the game is attracting sponsors and/or advertisers. Social networking sites will only continue to fragment readership, so if eyeball and page counts are materially important to you, I suspect you have a bigger problem on your hands than what Jeff has been sharing with us.

That's my piece on this for now, but I'm all ears if you want to keep this dialog going. I'd love it if you did, but in my case, you'll have to do it here, not on FB! :-)

Over and out for now. No idea when I'll be blogging next, hopefully before the year is out.

All the best for the holidays!


Technorati tags: Jeff Pulver, Jon Arnold, blogging, Facebook

Is Facebook killing blogs?

Real interesting post from Jeff Pulver yesterday. Titled 'where have all the comments gone?', Jeff raises some troubling points about the impact that Facebook is having on where the best conversations are taking place. It's a valid lament for any high traffic blogger who regularly generates a healthy flow of reader comments - which I think is the true measure of what a blog is really worth.

This isn't a problem for me, as I don't have A-list traffic, so I don't get the volume of readers that usually yields the stream of comments that make blogs a much more interesting read. To some degree, this is by choice, as I don't take advertising or get into the SEO game, so as a matter of course, my blog will never show up on mainstream radar. However, I'm happy to have a small core following, and I get my share of reader input, both online and offline. Of course, Jeff doesn't take advertising either, but he's a globetrotting icon who attracts attention wherever he goes.

And that's the dilemma Jeff is sharing with us. The blog has been his soapbox for years, but since he's become enamored with Facebook this year, he'll be the first to tell you that's where his day starts now, and that's where he's spending his online/public time. So it's no surprise that that's where the conversations are happening now. His post touches on many facets of this issue, and as anyone who has taken the Facebook plunge knows, its pervasiveness has basically changed our behaviors. It's become the hotspot to meet, be seen and see who's doing what. It's a lot more fun, sexy and less work than a blog, and the expectations certainly aren't very high for what goes on there.

The blog is still a much better forum for articulating ideas, but sites like Facebook really are more engaging, and certainly have a great sense of immediacy. At any given time of the day, the chances of finding your posse are far great there than on your blog, so that's where the comments are going.

I can totally understand Jeff's issues, and others do too based on the comments he's received on this post. Interesting that a post that asks where have all the comments gone, is in fact, generating lots of comment for Jeff. That aside, it addresses some of the realities of trying to maintain an active, engaged presence in multiple places, whether real or virtual.

The big takeaway from all this is that FB is not really built for this type of dialog, and there's pretty good evidence from the threads running through Jeff's post that fixing this would be a good idea, making FB that much more powerful as a central meeting place. On the other hand, that may NOT be what FB has in mind as it might introduce elements that take away from what's already working so well. That's their problem to solve, and I have no doubt that the mashup community is coming up with all kinds of ideas/widgets/add-ons/whatevers.

I'm more of a casual FB user, so it's not keeping me up at night, but it sure will be interesting to watch if Jeff's dilemma is the catalyst for some potentially disruptive change with FB. The title of my post is more likely to keep me up at night, and I'm sure it holds true for any blogger who is living multiple online lives via FB, Myspace, Twitter, etc. If this is where people are really investing their online energies, it doesn't bode well for traditional blogs like mine.

Makes you wonder if blogs are going the way of print media and other 1.0 media. I sure hope not, and would like to think the world still needs forums like these for personal expression that runs longer than IM-style messaging. Much like the way LinkedIn is becoming more social media-friendly to stay relevant, Jeff's post is a wakeup call to say that blogs need to evolve too. Interesting times, no?


Technorati tags: Jeff Pulver, Jon Arnold, blogging, Facebook

Blogging Has Some Side Benefits - Being on TV!

This is a fun post, really. Just sharing with you one of the payoffs that can come from blogging. I sure don't do it for the money - don't know anybody who does. The only monetization scheme of note that I participate in is with Newstex, who has been tracking me for almost 2 years. If you scroll down the right margin of my blog page, you'll see a blue Newstex box. Just click on that, and you can learn more about it.

Anyhow, I recently got my current royalty report, and I've earned a whopping $28.42. As you can tell, my blog doesn't carry ads, and I don't really take advantage of the web tools you need to build online traffic, so I have no expectations of turning my blog into a money machine. If that was my business, I'd be doing things very differently, that's for sure.

That aside, I'm happy to say that my blog does generate regular inquiries from people/companies wanting to know about my services and the things I do to make a living as Principal of J Arnold & Associates. And a good portion of those have turned into paying clients, including two this week already. So, if you're wondering if blogging is worth it, that's a hands-down yes, at least for me.

I'm posting now to tell you about a nice side benefit that's come from blogging. I get to be on national TV, but not to tell the world about VoIP. Get this - our national broadcaster - the venerable CBC - has been airing a show since March of this year called Test the Nation. It's an IQ-type quiz show that originated in Holland back in 2001, and the format has been used in some 40 countries, although I don't think it's in the U.S. yet.

The show works on a team concept and 2 teams face off against each other. So, guess what - one of the teams for the upcoming series is.... bloggers. I've been back and forth with CBC on this for a bit now, but I'm on the team. The new series airs on January 20, 2008, and the overall theme is 21st Century knowledge. I'm pretty solid aside from up to the minute stuff, so I'll be leaning on my kids to make sure I'm schooled in all the latest cyberknowledge.

This sure should be fun, and for a change, blogging leads to something totally unexpected, and something I wouldn't be doing otherwise. It's one thing to be on business TV talking about telecom, but an IQ quiz show? Why not, right? So, if you have aspirations of getting on national TV, blogging might be your ticket. I've got no idea what kind of questions they'll be asking, but I sure hope they have something about VoIP - I'll be ready for that! :-)

Technorati tags: Test the Nation, Jon Arnold, J Arnold & Associates, CBC TV

Deloitte's "State of the Media Democracy" Highlights

Earlier this week, Deloitte hosted a really engaging webinar titled "State of the Media Democracy", and I listened through the whole thing. The webinar featured extensive highlights from primary research conducted for Deloitte earlier this year. I'm not exactly sure when the research was done, as I've seen highlights of this study published as far back as August. However, it's reasonably current, and with a base of 2,200 U.S. consumers, it's a pretty solid sample.

As far as I can tell the webinar was done for the Canadian market, and given that the research findings were very U.S.-centric, I'm sure Deloitte has done similar webinars in the States for their American clientele.

Anyhow, this webinar was hosted by Gary Gluckman, the leader of Deloitte Canada's Media and Entertainment Practice. I've cited Gary on some of my posts, and have done several others around other Deloitte initiatives that touch on IP communications.

Sorry for the long preamble, but I think it's pretty likely that I'm sharing new information for my readers, and that you probably weren't on this call. So, if you have even a faint interest in how consumers are engaging with the media and technology these days, you'll want to read on.

I'm just going to share some high level takeaways, as I'd be here all day doing justice to the research. I'm privy to the full slide set from the webinar, and since Deloitte spent a lot of time and money to get this great research done, I'm not exactly going to give it away here. Same for me - I don't make a living blogging, although a lot people seem to think so. Anyhow, even a taste is worthwhile, so here we go....

- Big idea #1 - yup, we've finally crossed the line. Overall, consumers are spending more time on the Internet than watching TV - 16.6 hours per week vs. 15.2. We knew this day would come - and it's probably the biggest shift in media consumption habits since TV supplanted radio. Aside - the research sample is segmented into four user groups - Millennials, Xers, Boomers, Matures - and I'm sure you can draw your own conclusions about how each one consumes media.

- User generated content is very popular. For every two hours people spend on regular Web browsing, they're spending one hour engaged with user-generated content. It's not clear to me how much of that hour is spent creating their own content vs. watching YouTube-type videos, but it's still significant. Not surprisingly, the mix was 50/50 among Millennials. They spend as much time with user generated content as they do with everything else on the Web.

- Reading books still rocks (hoorayyyyyy!). I'm so old school, and damned proud of it. When asked what 5 things people expect to spend more time doing next year, reading a book rated the highest aside from socializing with friends and family. Even more interesting - and encouraging - is how this finding held up pretty steadily across all age groups - not just with Matures. Actually, I think this may be the tip of the iceberg for a backlash that's coming against multitasking and media/technology saturation. I can definitely see that happening, with people getting zoned out on virtual living, and just wanting to do simple, singular things like read a book, go bowling, baking bread. Remember those days?

- Big idea #2 - TV is just background noise for doing other things. Only 10% of the sample just watch TV when watching TV (I'm in that camp). Everybody else is doing other stuff while "watching" TV - Web browsing, snacking, homework, email, talking on the phone. Talk about a medium that isn't very engaging. This is why going to the movies is such a powerful experience - you can't do all this other *hit - you actually have to pay attention and watch the movie. And - we're happy to pay for the privilege of doing so. What a great business model. I can see a whole bunch of other businesses that could be started based on the same premise. Gee, I can think of SOO many things to talk about here - I see a book coming. Don't get me started, unless you come running with a publishing contract or a cable TV show.....

- Big idea #3 - the advertising-driven model to support Internet content doesn't work for everyone. No surprise there, and the data shows that more than 1 in 4 (28%) would be willing to pay for online content that was free of advertising. Hey, that's good news for my blog, which is so Stone Age on this front - it's no wonder nobody can find me. I'd rather have a handful of engaged, loyal readers than thousands of strangers any day.

- People prefer to read print materials than online. Overall, the sample spends more than twice as much time reading printed newspapers and magazines than online versions of these - 4.3 vs. 1.8 hours a week. And, practically nobody reads online magazines - just 1/2 hour a week on average. Advertisers beware.



That's all I can tell you for now. There is a 3 page summary doc that Deloitte has made available, so by all means, get a copy here if you want any more detail. Beyond that, you should call me, and I'll be happy to get you in touch with Gary.


Technorati tags: Deloitte, Jon Arnold, social networking, Millennials

I'm on Facebook Now!

People have been leaning on me to get on Facebook for a while now, and I've finally succcumbed, just before VON.

Well, I'm also doing it now in honor of the founders who have an incredible goldmine, now that Microsoft is investing dot.com kind of dollars for a tiny sliver of this thing. It's an amazing example of the power of a good idea and being in the right place at the right time.

So, with 200,000 people jumping on this train every day, I'd better get on before I start to look like more of a Luddite than I already am. If you do the math, that's 2.3 sign-ups EVERY SECOND of every day. That sure is a nice curve to be riding.

These are Skype-like growth metrics, of course, and it will be interesting to see how Facebook's trajectory unfolds, especially now that Skype and MySpace are hooked up, and Microsoft has skin in the game.

I mention Skype for another reason. It's all about ease of use. Took me about 10 minutes to set up a basic Facebook profile last night, and right away I had friends, and a bunch more in my inbox this morning. As I recall, it took my son Max about the same amount of time to set himself up on Skype. To me, more than anything, it's ease of use and simplicity that make these things successful. From there, it's all about who can build an engaged community, and of course, laying the foundation for the advertising that will inevitably monetize this and make billionaires out of the founders.

So far, I just see one glitch in the ease-of-use department, but I know it's there for a reason. Want to find me on Facebook? Go to the site, and try.

What do you get? 144 Jon Arnolds. Yup - I'm certainly not alone. Good luck finding me, especially if you're not yet a member. The site only lets you search through the first 3 pages of "Jon Arnold", and I'm not there. So, I guess resistance is futile - you will be assimilated. If you really want to find me, you've gotta join up. So, join up, and let's be friends. Or, drop me a line and I'll send you an invite!


Technorati tags: Facebook, Jon Arnold, Skype, MySpace

Blogs, Baseball and a Bloody Sock - Why Not?

Just a quick post about a news item that combines a few things that I really like - baseball and blogging. Not so sure about the blood part, but just like Tommy Lasorda bleeds Dodger blue, it's only fitting that players for the Red Sox bleed red - right?

So, there's been a bit of a story brewing in the sports media that the fabled "bloody sock" from Curt Schilling during the 2004 ALCS Series against the Yankees - perhaps THE defining moment in Red Sox history - was bogus. You don't have to look far to find this story, along with the subsequent denials from the Red Sox to discredit this ridiculous claim. The more I think about it, this is sounding a bit like Verizon's patent claims - I digress.....

Well, this could be a lame excuse to talk about the Red Sox, who are off and running, and have a golden opportunity this weekend to stick it to the Yankees right in George's house - weather permitting. I won't deny that, but what I really want to post about is that the protagonist in this story - Curt Schilling - who we all know is outspoken and very media friendly (he's a regular on the Boston sports talk show scene)- also happens to have a blog. It's called 38 Pitches, where he blogs not just about baseball, but his personal life and his activities outside of baseball. If you're a gamer, you might already know this, as gaming is one of his passions, and 38 Studios is a venture he started up to develop games. It's all there on the blog if you want to poke around.

Back to the sock incident - they picked the wrong guy to accuse for a sensational story, and Curt has wasted no time putting up his personal take on the matter. Today's post, titled "Ignorance has its privileges", provides his rebuttal to this nonsense, along with his some criticism about the media in general, especially when the media itself becomes the story, as opposed to getting the story.

I've scanned the major U.S. sports sites, and while everyone is talking about this story, outside of the Boston sports media, Curt's post isn't being picked up. Either they're steering clear of it because they don't like the message - or they don't know what to make of jocks who blog (which may well be true). Or they don't know he's got a blog - which I would be surprised to learn. In any event, if ESPN was smart, they'd get an RSS feed going to my blog, at least for my Red Sox posts! :-))

There's a whole can of worms here around sports stars and celebrities who blog, since they're going to have a built-in following, and you never know what their real agenda is. That's another discussion, but I just wanted to tie in a few themes here, since this story just emerged the other day, and it happens to focus on a guy who blogs, and is pretty articulate in the first place, and just happens to play for the Red Sox.

I'm done - back to work...


Technorati tags: Boston Red Sox, Jon Arnold, Curt Schilling, baseball

Jim Courtney in Support of New Presence

Fellow blogger and colleague Jim Courtney has a very thought provoking post today on Skype Journal, and I've been meaning to post about it all day.

For anyone who has concerns about the intrusiveness of always-on communications - myself included - this is a great read. Jim is a technophile for sure, and has been trialing all kinds of leading edge IP services and apps, so he's got a very good handle on all this.

Through all these experiences, Jim is bringing us around to the virtues of Web 2.0 applications, and more importantly, a more refined approach to Presence to make the always-on world a good thing. On its own, Presence is really more beneficial to the sender than the receiver, but we all know how annoying that is.

Alec Saunders is no stranger to my blog - and I'm sure to many of you - and he has articulated this thinking more extensively, and calls it New Presence. I'll steer you to his blog post about this, and that will really tell the story about how Presence really can be a good thing for both the sender and receiver. Alec's company, Iotum, is a pioneer in this regard, and they are one of the companies that Jim talks about in his post that is bringing this idea to market with applications you can use today.

Andy Abramson added his informed take on Jim's post earlier, and is another good read on these ideas.


Technorati tags: Jim Courtney, Jon Arnold, presence

Apple - Got to Get You into My Life

"Say we'll be together every day..."




Image courtesy of ECommerceTimes




How much do you want to bet - how much do you want to bet - that this will be Apple's new tag line, now that they've made peace with Apple Corps?

It's not such a big leap - think about how nicely it would fit, giving the Beatles estate yet another generation to pass its great music along to, and in such a cool, accessible, youth-friendly format. How can this not happen? All together, and slowly now..."All we are saying..... is give this a chance........"

I'm in Apple overdrive right now, mainly due to a couple of posts from Andy Abramson's blog. Stick with me here, and I'll try to weave all these threads into something good.

Let me first get to Andy's post about Apple and Cisco, and then I'll come back to what I just started. I think this was posted Sunday night, and when I read it, I said to myself that I need to leave a comment on Andy's blog. It really hit a chord for me, as I've been writing/commenting recently along similar lines. Andy - I tried twice to register so I could leave a comment there, and twice I just couldn't get this to go. So I was going to email you about this, and then I get wind that your post is getting some nice attention, and this great citing in NetworkWorld.

Well, with all that out there, I figured my own post would be the best way to support you. In short, I basically agree with Andy's position - both Apple and Cisco are oil to Microsoft's water. So, they have a common purpose - on a number of levels. Apple, primarily for the hearts, minds and wallets of PC users, and Cisco for both control of the enterprise and our TVs at home. And yes, the iPhone could be Apple's entree to the enterprise market, which Cisco could really help fast track. But I'm not so sure iPhone can really compete against RIM et al.

It's also interesting that both companies have recently done some repositioning of their monikers, with Cisco dropping "Systems", and Apple dropping "Computers" from their respective names. Both are very savvy companies for sure.

Regardless, I think there's another layer to this story, and one that will help get the iPhone trademark issue settled so the universe can unfold as the cybergods wish it to be. And it has little, if anything to do with the iPhone.

There's something bigger that Apple has that Cisco craves. It doesn't come from picking up a Linksys router at BestBuy, and it doesn't come from watching John Chambers hold court. And it's getting more valuable by the minute. It's the cool factor. Apple is cool - always has been, and they're cool with the audience that matters the most long term - the youth market.

Cisco will continue to make tons of money with routers and switches, but they paid a lot to acquire Scientific Atlanta, and the real prize is control of the digital home. And Apple owns the youth market, well, just like Cisco owns the enterprise market. My view is that Cisco wants to make nice with Apple not for the iPhone, but for Apple TV. Remember - that was the other announcement they made at MacWorld. Apple understands how to create the kind of end user experience that wins markets. Cisco can enable some of these pieces, but Apple is what makes it cool. And cool is what kids buy.

No doubt the iPhone gets everybody talking, and sure the Apple stores and the broad Linksys presence in big box stores would give them a huge footprint. And sure, turning your Linksys router into an iTunes jukebox to play your music anywhere in the house is fun. These alone could be enough. But I think video is the bigger - untold - story that's really bringing Cisco to the table. What Apple has done with music, they are now poised to do for video. It won't be easy, but they're in as good a position as anybody. And it doesn't hurt to have the Beatles on your good side. And Cisco has way too much at stake to be cut out by Apple. I think they need Apple in a big way here.

To close out this mode of thought, I wanted to come back to the image that's at the top of this post. I think it's really neat, and for me, it nicely captured what I was thinking with these two Apples.

Just as much, though, it's quite similar to the image that came to mind for me when commenting on AT&T's Unity plan. It just struck me then that the Apple and AT&T union - via Cingular - sure put Apple in pretty high company.







I'm just mentioning this because it could become another piece of the puzzle, especially if the iPhone/ATT&T relationship goes well, and moves beyond voice into IPTV. Then things could really get interesting.

Enough for now.

One last quick thought on the iPhone, and why they launched when they did. Aside from upstaging CES, it set the bar real high for the vendors announcing their new models this week at 3GSM. After all, being a GSM phone, iPhone is a global product, and ultimately they want to play on the 3GSM stage. North America is not the end game for iPhone, and by launching so soon, it buys Apple some time to see what's coming from Europe, and possibly re-tool. Andy gave a hint of what's being announced at 3GSM yesterday, and I'm sure all the GSM vendors are wondering how much a threat iPhone really is.

And just before I go, and to bring things full circle with Apple and the Beatles, I wanted to comment on yet another Andy post - one that's been getting a lot of attention. This is Ted Wallingford's post about iTunes.

There's definitely merit to the idea of using iTunes as a platform for launching new music, much like YouTube is doing for home-grown - mostly crappy - video. To some degree I agree with Andy, Ted, Alec and others, and with music being my biggest passion, I should probably have a separate blog for stuff like this. Basically, all the pieces are there for iTunes to do this, and if Steve Jobs has his way in dispensing with DRM, then there's nothing getting in the way.

Well, except for the most important ingredient - the music itself. And, as Andy points out - the old guard. They're not about to give up on their PSTN and legacy networks, so to speak. That's a long term transition. That aside, it's about the music. When things are free or almost free, and self-produced - you get what you pay for. It's a bit like the hangups that journalists have with bloggers. They would say we're amateurs, we're not objective, we don't check our facts, we're not accountable to editors, etc. It's the same with music, and it's exactly what you get with YouTube.

If you remove all of the professional infrastructure and know how of the business, I don't think you'll get a very good product that will hold the public's imagination. Yes, you'll get tons of very niche music that appeals to a very narrow audience, and no doubt there will be good music in there. But ultimately, if you create a free-for-all, that's what you'll get. Most people just don't have the bandwidth to wade through all this just to find some new hot tunes. It won't take long for Google to come up with search algorithms that will guide us through this new universe to help identify songs or bands we think we may like.

I think you can see where I'm going, and I'd better stop. The Grammys on Sunday have put me in such a bleak mood about the state of popular music, I'm having a hard time seeing how iTunes can be our savior. Believe me, I sure wish it would. Thinking about the music giants we lost last year - Ahmet Ertegun, the Godfather, Ruth Brown, etc. - and what's out there now - it's just hard to see if there's a corner for music to turn. Ever since MTV, when we stopped listening to music and started watching music, the experience has completely changed, and music has really become a visual medium.

And on that note, I'll just say one more thing related to Ted's post. While iTunes could help reinvent - or even reinvigorate popular music, if I'm Steve Jobs, and if I had to choose between investing in this path, and making a deal with Apple Corps to license their catalog on iTunes, it's a no brainer to me. Maybe he'll do both, but judging from the music that's out there today and the enduring quality of the Beatles ouevre, I don't think the indie approach stands a chance. The Fab Four is safer, surer, better and after all, he's in the business to make money, not music. We all love music, but making money at it is another story.

"When I find myself in times of trouble..."



Technorati tags: Andy Abramson, Jon Arnold, Apple, Cisco, Beatles

Deloitte's Crystal Ball/Guy Kawasaki - My Busy Day, Part 2

Before attending last night's blogtv.ca launch, I was at a really great breakfast session put on by Deloitte. This was their annual Predictions event, and is my second one. Last year featured Jim Balsillie of RIM, and this year's guest speaker was Guy Kawasaki.

The market researcher in me loves these events, as it's a great showcase for Deloitte's research on the big trends they think will shape TMT - Technology, Media, Telecommunications - in 2007. I've maintained a dialog with their London-based research practice, and really appreciate all the work that goes into this. In total, they produce 30 key predictions - 10 for each TMT sector - and there's a lot of output behind these. I'm not going to get into it here, but if you want to explore this further, please drop me a line.

Nick Foggin, one of their Senior Researchers, did a great job highlighting the top 10 TMT trends overall in terms of impact on Canada. We could have been there all day, and I'll just give you the key takeaways now. Basically, the uber message is "power to the people". As we all know, IP has a lot to do with enabling end users to get whatever they want, wherever they want, whenever they want, etc. Sounds like Homer Simpson to me, and if aliens came to visit us, they'd think the planet was full of 2 year olds who only understand instant gratification. I'm being a bit cynical here, and maybe showing my age, but hey, that's reality, and it's tough to swim up the IP stream. So, as consultants would say - and as John Ruffolo noted in his opening remarks, the focus has shifted now from product functionality to the end user experience. No argument there.

Some of the themes that caught my eye from Nick's presentation was the greening of technology (where do all those spent iPods go???), analog media isn't dead yet!, and virtual worlds/user generated content are powerful trends from which great business opportunities will emerge. Yes, yes, yes.

Following Nick was Guy Kawasaki, who I have only recently begun to follow. He's certainly a big name and I'd love to read his books. As you can see from his website, he's a VC, author, speaker and one of the top bloggers out there. If you're not following him, you should.

His perspective is really great, and gave everyone food for thought on a few levels. He was particularly well received here as he is an avid hockey fanatic, and told us how he just recently took up ice hockey and just loves Canada. Whoo hoo!

He provided some highlights from his latest book, Art of the Start, and is real big on innovation. I really liked his message of striving not just to be 10% better than before, but to "jump the curve" and redefine your space. Canadians tend to be more conservative than Americans, and hopefully this message was well taken.

I'll say this much about that. As I'm writing this post, I realized that this is exactly what happened today, right here in Canada. This morning, Videotron and Cisco announced their plans to provide 100 mbps broadband service in the next few months. That's a good 5 times faster than any broadband service in Canada, and if that's not jumping the curve, I don't know what is. Of course, it remains to be seen how much bandwidth consumers really need, and if they're willing to pay for it, but no matter - it's here, now. And if I'm Verizon or AT&T, I'd be watching this one closely. Videotron is being bold and innovative here, and the spoils will be theirs in Quebec if they execute right. And if they do, Cisco will have a big green light to do the same with TWC, Comcast, Cox, etc. How's that for a game-changer? You can read more about it here.

Oh - Guy also has a great sense of humor, and had a lot of fun taking jabs at the woeful Toronto Maple Leafs. Best line - "Why do I believe in God? It's the only explanation I can think of for Apple's continued existence." Hah - that was great! Being an Apple Fellow, Guy knows of what he speaks, and gave many fascinating anecdotes about Apple's culture as well as the Silicon Valley psyche. Time well spent.

I'll leave you with some photos from my pocket pal, the Nokia N93....


John Ruffolo, Guy Kawasaki










To think differently, you need to look at things differently....






Q&A panel, w/John Ruffolo, Nick Foggin, Guy Kawasaki and Garry Foster




Hockey - the great unifier....











Technorati tags: Guy Kawasaki, Jon Arnold, Deloitte

Andy on "Instant Journalism" During CES

I wanted to share a thought-provoking piece by uber blogger Andy Abramson as he prepares for the show-of-shows, CES. If there ever was a showcase for new technology, this is it.

Well, Andy is talking about a different type of new. Having been in the communications business over 30 years, Andy has seen a lot of evolution, and his post is a great read on how the new media tools like blogging and video messaging are changing the dynamics of journalism in a big way.

I have no doubt that he and many others will do a great job proving the value of these tools at CES, and hopefully this will elevate new media a little closer to the standards of traditional media, which conventional media types hold as sancrosanct. There's certainly room for both, and all new media wants is some respect. Let's see how the week unfolds.

Andy's post has a nice stream of commentary from readers, which really adds to the mix. There have also been supportive posts today from Jeff Pulver and Alec Saunders.

I'd just like to comment on something Alec said in his post - that for him, newspapers are an afterthought, as he gets his morning news primarily online. Fair enough - I'm still old school about reading the paper, and I rely equally on print and online sources. There's room and merit for both, and it's not an either-or thing for me. Online sources are far superior in some ways, for sure, but for me, a lot of things in the newspaper don't have a 3 hour life, and I just can't read anything that's longer than a page or two online. I'll stop there - this topic has a lot of legs, but not now....

Seems the whole world is at CES, but not me. However, I will get a taste of the show second-hand, and so will you. Jim Harris is a colleague of mine here in Toronto, and he's at the show. He's an interesting author - more on him later. Anyhow, he'll be my podcast guest next week, and he'll give me his recap of the show then.




Technorati tags: Andy Abramson, Jon Arnold, CES

The Human Side of Blogging - Philip Stern

I've known Philip Stern for many years here in Toronto, and was pleasantly surprised to see him in a great human interest story in today's Globe & Mail. Like me, Philip is a consultant in the tech space, and is pretty web savvy. He also has a big heart, and as the story explains, he's struck up a friendship with a homeless man who frequents his local cafe.

Aside from the goodness of this outreach, there's a wonderful tech angle here that should be of interest to anyone reading my blog. Ever the fair-trade entrepreneur, Philip recognized that Tony, his coffee companion, has a lot to say, but lacks a voice to connect with world at large.

So, Philip has recently set up a blog solely for this purpose - HomelessManSpeaks.com. They chat, share stories, and Philip puts it up on the blog, allowing Tony to get his thoughts out there. It's a fascinating window on street life, and what it means to be homeless.

Aside from reading about what it's like to be Tony - along with photos from Philip for a visual perspective - the links on the blog page indicate there's a web-based ecosystem out there around the homeless world. There are links there to both support groups dedicated to the needs of the homeless, as well as other homeless people/groups who have found a way to get on the Net.

This really struck me, and from a blogger's perspective, it's a great example of how the Web works in weird and wonderful ways. It's not just about tech or commerce, that's for sure, and this story says a lot of about how blogs can serve a higher purpose, and is a truly democratic medium that gives a voice to those who usually don't have one. And of course, it's all the more profound in the week leading up to XMas.

Well done, Philip - you're setting the bar high here, and hopefully this will inspire others to find similar ways to use technology for the public good.


Technorati tags: Philip Stern, Jon Arnold, blogs, Toronto

US Thanksgiving - Canadian-Style

How American - is that in-your-face enough for you?

Last night, thanks to my Mother's urging, I did a first, even though I've lived here a thousand years and have been a dual citizen for some time. I attended a U.S. Thanksgiving dinner put on by Democrats Abroad, which does a great job of building community amongst American ex-pats, and in this case, here in Toronto. And yes, it's all about being a good Democrat, and revelling in the recent election wins that give Democrats very good reason to believe they'll be back in the saddle in 2008.

I really didn't know what to expect at this dinner, but it was a lot of fun, and even though I didn't know anybody, there was definitely a nice sense of cameraderie and shared values about a lot of things. Here are a few photos that will give you a better sense of what I mean.

As usual, photos are courtesy of my Nokia N90...


Yes, we're taking over Canada, in case you were wondering...



We certainly have a few things in common...







Good crowd - full house, I'd say. Treasurer Joe Green showing off a bumper sticker if you care or dare to show your true colors on the road! Small world - Professor Green was on the faculty at York University when I did my MBA there. I didn't study with him, but I sure remember him.






Technorati tags: Democrats Abroad, Jon Arnold