goblin cartoons

Now it can be told: in January, my good friend/partner-in-crime Steve Lawson and I were notified by Library Journal that we were among this year’s Movers & Shakers. I was honestly very surprised and conflicted. Of course it’s a huge ego-stroke. And it’s flattering that other people nominated us for this. (Whoever you are, THANK YOU!) But this is also kind of an “establishment” thing, which Steve and I usually set ourselves outside of. And to be honest, I don’t feel like I really did much moving and shaking this past year. (Surviving, yes. Moving and shaking, not so much.)

But it is sincerely flattering, and it’s really nice to be recognized for the work (and play) Steve and I put into the Library Society of the World. And it’s a huge honor to be included among the other Movers and Shakers. Congratulations to all of you! And here’s a public high five with my fellow carping nerdboy, Steve Lawson! I’m so glad I know you and get to make mischief with you! You, sir, rock the block!

Just now, I tweeted: “Dear Google: Opt-in social networks are good. Opt-out social networks are bad. Please remember this.” I was speaking in regards to Google Buzz, the company’s latest social networking release. Buzz is a social aggregator, like FriendFeed, pulling your content from different sites into one stream, where your friends can comment on your content, as well as pulling your friends’ content into the same stream.

I was excited about Buzz and gave it a try as soon as Google bestowed it upon me. It didn’t take long for me to grow frustrated and annoyed with it, though, and I gave up on it after less than a day’s use. Reflecting on it more, I’ve come to see Buzz as a massive screw-up in terms of social networking. Because Buzz is opt-out social networking, not opt-in.

If you sign up for MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, FriendFeed or a host of other social websites, you have to seek out friends. You can sometimes use your email contact list to find other people on those sites, or you have to find people one by one to friend. You also have to go to that site (or a desktop or mobile phone app) for access (and socializing).

Buzz, on the other hand, sits right there in your Gmail. By default, you get any and all updates to Buzz both in your Buzz inbox and in your Gmail inbox. (You can filter the emails out of your Gmail, but it’s not something you can really turn off.) Your Gmail contacts are automatically your Buzz contacts. Following contacts in Buzz automatically adds them to the people you follow in Google Reader (which increased my unread posts in Reader A LOT), even if you disconnect Reader from Buzz (and Reader is pulled into your Buzz stream by default, unless you choose to disconnect it). When you post straight to Buzz, you can choose to make a post private rather than public, but unless you disconnect everything from Buzz, your stream will continue to flow, allowing your friends to see posts and comment on them, even if you turn Buzz off (which you can only do by clicking on a tiny link at the bottom of your Gmail page).

In short, Google Buzz is opt-out social networking, not opt-in. If you don’t want to participate, you have to go through steps to turn it off, rather than going through steps to turn it on if you want to participate. Google has deployed Buzz to everyone with Gmail, causing a number of my friends to wonder what the hell it was and how to turn it off.

Opt-out social networking is a moronic and intrusive idea. Just because you use email doesn’t mean you want more social networking. Just because you emailed someone once or twice doesn’t mean you want to see everything they post to the internet (and it doesn’t mean you want them seeing everything you post to the internet). You might like fish and you might like salty food, but that doesn’t mean people should assume you want anchovies on your pizza, and you definitely shouldn’t have to ask to have to anchovies removed if you don’t want them.

Google Wave and Buzz are making me think Google Labs is some socially-isolated workshop where no usability studies are being done. It’s stunningly bad design. I’m going to be very wary of whatever Google releases next.

I’ve written before about what a fan I am of DC Comics’ Justice Society of America and I’ve made no secret that when I came up with the name and logo for the Library Society of the World, I was heavily influenced by superhero comics, especially the JSA. Right, so…

Last Friday night, the CW showed a two-hour Smallville “movie” (it was originally going to be two connected episodes but instead was broadcast as one two-hour episode), “Absolute Justice.” The episode featured Clark, Chloe and Oliver discovering a secret group of costumed superheroes, the Justice Society of America. It’s quite possibly my favorite episode of Smallville so far. Geoff Johns wrote the episode and he really groks the JSA. The Justice Society wasn’t just portrayed as a team of superheroes, it was stressed that the team members considered each other friends and family. They didn’t just fight crime together, they socialized and celebrated together. They included their spouses and children. They considered the younger generation their students and heirs.

That’s one of the driving forces behind the Library Society of the World and, I think, the biggest reason why people continue to involve themselves in the LSW. We’re not just professional library associates, we’re friends and family. We don’t just work together, we play together. We learn from each other, we support each other, professionally and personally. We’re not a league, we’re not a professional association, we’re a society.

“Absolute Justice” has stuck with me in a way few TV show episodes do. In part because it hit a lot of my superhero fanboy buttons. But more importantly because it struck a chord regarding the Library Society of the World.

Excelsior!

I finally got to sit down at a friend’s house and watch the three most recent Doctor Who specials, “The Waters of Mars” and “The End of Time” parts 1 and 2. I want to talk about them, but I want to avoid spoiling them for people who haven’t seen them yet, so…more thoughts after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

For the past 3 or 4 years, I’ve ended the year by saying, “Boy, the past year sucked! I hope the next year is better.” It’s gotten ridiculous, yet I still maintain my optimism that the next year will be better than the preceding year.

In keeping with this tradition, I have to say, 2009 was a really difficult year. If you regularly follow this blog, you have an inkling why. If you know me personally, you have an even better idea as to why this year has been…well, sucky as all get out. The good news is, it’s ending on an extremely good note. I know it’s tempting fate/karma/Eris/whathaveyou to say this, but I really do think 2010 will be a better year for me and the people I close to me.

So, with all due respect 2009, fuck off and die in a fire. And 2010? You’re on notice. If this isn’t a good year, we’re going to have words? Got it?

Happy New Year, everyone!

This is it. Forty. The Big 4-0.

In a lot of ways, I don’t feel 40. I haven’t found any grey hairs. I still get pimples. I get back pain, but that’s been true for at least the past 10 years. I still read comics, I still watch cartoons, I still play with Legos, I still daydream about being a superhero or a mad scientist.

But I also feel like I’ve been going through a mental and emotional growth spurt lately. I feel like I’m seeing myself and other people with clearer vision. Dammit, I feel like I’m growing up–in a very good way.

Change is inevitable and unstoppable. You can run alongside it and dance with it or you can let it drag you along, kicking and screaming. Me? I’d much rather dance.

Light a candle against the darkness. Now we all start heading back towards the light.

Most of the time, I think my optimism and enthusiasm is justified, because life regularly turns out to be at least as amazing as I expect and imagine it will be. But sometimes…not so much.

I was really, really excited about Google Wave when I first learned about it. I snagged an invite to start playing with it as soon as I could. And after two months of experimenting with Google Wave, I have to say…meh.

I’ve tried using it for conversation, but it doesn’t facilitate conversation any better than email, IM, Twitter or FriendFeed. I’ve tried using it for collaboration, but it doesn’t do that better than Google Docs. I appreciate that it’s in beta, and I’m prepared to believe that in a year or two or three, Google Wave will be where it’s at. But right now, it’s a lot like Second Life to me: flashy and interesting, but ultimately kind of boring and of little real use to me.

I think it’s pretty obvious that I’m an optimist, I love advances in science and technology, and I’m generally excited about the future. Which is why I love the graphic novel Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow? by Brian Fies. It looks at how optimism and attitudes towards technology changed over the 20th century, seen through the eyes of a boy and his father. The characters age slowly in “comics time” as the century goes on, beginning with the boundless enthusiasm and optimism of the 1939 New York World’s Fair and moving decade by decade to the jaded apathy of the 1970s. In each decade, the boy reads an issue of a comic, included in the graphic novel as if it were an inserted artifact, that brilliantly mirrors the comics of that era (down to the advertisements!).

Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow? gets more somber as the century moves on, but it ends on a terrific high note of optimism for both the future and the present. It makes you appreciate what we have and where we can be going. It’s a lovely piece of work.

This is kind of a strange Thanksgiving for me. Lots of change going on in my life. Because of that, I feel it’s especially important for me to give thanks and acknowledge all the good in my life.

I’m thankful for my daughter, Morgan. She’s the light of my life, always in my thoughts and my heart. I’m the luckiest guy in the world because I get to be her dad.

I’m thankful that Julie and I have been so patient and supportive of each other in this crazy time. We’re both doing our honest best to reevaluate our relationship without blaming ourselves and each other for things that aren’t anyone’s fault, while also taking a good, hard look at ourselves. It isn’t easy, but we’re doing it, and I’m honestly glad we have each other in our lives.

I’m thankful for all of my amazing friends and family, both near and far. You all enrich my life in so many ways.

And I’m so incredibly thankful that I get to live in this crazy, colorful, cool, wonderful, mysterious universe. It’s a strange and beautiful world. Let’s keep it that way.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!