Telephone

I dedicate this post to the FANTASTIC AND AMAZING LADY GAGA and her new music video for her song "Telephone", featuring Beyoncé, who plays a significant part in the video. It's more of a movie than a video, and is worth checking out even if you're not a fan. Go to http://www.ladygaga.com/telephone and be amazed.

On a less than cheerful note, I'm currently fucking depressed because literally and truly as I write this, Lady Gaga is singing her heart out for her concert, "The Monster Ball", in Auckland right now! And guess which GIANT monster/fan is missing it? ME! My life is well and truly, considerably very miserable - and that is a sad, sad time. Just really hasn't been much of a week and very tired, cranky - at least work was good today, nice and busy and the new staff have grown on me - they're cool! The manager I'm used to is also back on for Saturdays for a while which is exciting. Kinda.

Nothing really happening in my life apart from school. This is my life:

• Monday - School, Vinnies Meeting, Run
• Tuesday - School
• Wednesday - School, Run
• Thursday - School
• Friday - School, Vinnies Meeting, Tennis Lesson, Run (Maybe)
• Saturday - Work
• Sunday - A day off, usually doing nothing. (because I have no friends)

The only things I missed out were things like showering, eating (which is frequent, I'm fat), being depressed - you know, the usual. Anyway Sunday is tomorrow and I am home alone on a Saturday night, that's a bit pathetic, I'm not just imagining it. Right? Sunday I have no plans, apart from retrieving my PS2 games from my friend Lisa's flat who is moving to Ruby Bay - so far away, so sad! (half hour drive)

Well thanks for wasting your time reading this, and I apologise for linking to it via Twitter, and also for it being automatically posted on YouSayToo.com. Give me money. Thank you.

My Favourite Sites

I think it's time to stop writing random shit about my life that no one actually cares about, and attempt to give some credit to some websites that are exciting enough for me to get absorbed into. I'll give you the "insider's scoop" into my internet life. I can sense your excitement and joy.

http://www.hotmail.com

Obviously, I use hotmail because... like I can afford a pay-for web address?

http://www.twitter.com
I don't know why I love this site so much, but I do and I'm an addict and it's a great place to chat with someone if you're bored, it's like texting online and it's just cool. Plus, when you get followers you feel like people like you and you feel popular which is quite a bonus.

http://www.facebook.com
I know this is against the grain... but I think Facebook's shit and Bebo is a million times better. I know it's not nearly as popular as FB and Myspace, but FB is boring and Myspace is too complicated for me to deal. Anyway, because all my friends are on Facebook, I feel obliged.

http://www.jade-nation.com
This is the greatest fan site ever for Jade Valerie (ex singer of Sweetbox, how many times must I say) and also singer of ETERNITY∞ and Saint Vox. She's my favourite singer in the world and hence, is worth recognition. The forum on this site is a pretty active forum about Jade and all the works/projects and names she works with. Love it.

http://www.thefashionpolice.net
I literally love this site! They showcase ugly, ridicules and funny outfits (and of course the occasional GOOD thing) but it's really just funny because they demonstrate just how STUPID designers can be trying to be "unique" and they honestly make me LOL with with the commentary sometimes.

http://www.trademe.co.nz
It's New Zealand's version of eBay and is good for me because it deals with NZ dollars and NZ people so things aren't to expensive to buy and ship, hence why I love it. VERY popular in New Zealand.

http://www.perezhilton.com
Look, I hate this cunt and I really don't want to give him any credit... But the facts are, he has a good, quick-to-read blog with all the latest celeb goss which I soak up like you wouldn't believe... so I guess I gotta give the guy some credit for getting this site together. Still, I hate him.

http://www.bebo.com
Ok well I don't really use this that much anymore, but I used to as Bebo was "the craze" in NZ a few years and everyone had it, but now it's totally neglected but I admit... I still use it for the occasional look around, and I have some cool "Group" pages I made that people still go on occasionally.

http://www.formspring.com
For some reason, getting and answering anonymous questions is very exciting and hence, this is why Formspring exists. Simply, for that reason. If you have an account you can choose to reveal yourself, but considering you're probably just asking inappropriate things (to which, I am guilty)

http://www.yousaytoo.com
This site is a great site to bloggers as you can link up your own blog to the site and your blog's feed (posts) will be posted on YouSayToo for all bloggers to see. It's a great way to get your blog out there and have a chance at an audience. Also, there's tonnes of other blogs to look around at and lots of reading material to be had for the deprived.

There you have it, I probably forgot somewhere really huge but generally, that is where I am at! (and I didn't even link to my own pages, talk about selfless!)

YouSayToo Can Suck It

I am offended! I had a +25 rating a few days ago and now it's slumped down to 22. Do you know what that means? That means someone gave me (as if I am Jesus) a negative rating. Who the christ would do such a thing & deter readers from viewing my oh-so-witty material. It's a sad day for human kind.

I realise it's unwise to bash YouSayToo.com considering that is where most (aka. all) of my readers are coming from, unless you're the occasional Twitter stalker but I don't think there's too many of those around.

If you didn't come from YouSayToo or Twitter, I literally have no god forsaken clue where you came from. Whatever. I have nothing to blog about because I have done nothing today. Except for watching Kathy Griffin's "Strong Black Woman" on YouTube. Yes, I linked it for you. Considerate, I know. Yes, you should be grateful. And also for my labelling/tagging my posts.

And yes, you're welcome.

The Tweet Heard 'Round Tehran: A New Channel of Public Diplomacy

Guest post by Jessie Daniels, a Truman National Security Project fellow:

As we watch with interest the events unfolding in Iran, one of the major stories dominating the headlines is the Twitter effect. Twitter, and other new media, have given a global voice to the angst over the elections and have made the intensity of those marching in Tehran palpable to those sitting on the couch watching halfway around the world. Most importantly, the social networking phenomenon has undermined the Iranian regime’s attempts to isolate its country from the rest of the world and has, perhaps, opened a new chapter of informal public diplomacy efforts.

Despite the regime’s efforts to prevent the outside world from witnessing the post-election ramifications, new media sites continue to provide the most up-to-date information on the events in Iran. Moreover, these sites have become forums not only for reporting but also for advocacy. For example, tweeters on Twitter have been urged to turn their avatars green in solidarity with the Iranian protesters.

The increased attention has also highlighted the complications faced by the regime as it tries to effectively counter the public reaction to the election results. The regime’s dismissive rhetoric, which often plays well when denouncing the West, has instead stoked the flames of internal dissent. After Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad compared the protests to the “passions after a soccer match,” members of the Iranian national soccer team wore green armbands during a World Cup qualifier in protest. Efforts to blame the United States and Israel for improper meddling seem to fall on deaf ears as the protests continue to resonate.

Events in Iran have sparked a debate here at home about what the U.S. should be doing in response. Some assert that the administration should openly and actively encourage the protesters in Iran while others believe that we should stay out of the process. Regardless of where one falls on this spectrum, though, these events already illustrate the power of a new public diplomacy channel present in new media venues.

As opposed to formal public diplomacy measures, such as educational and cultural exchanges, social networking sites like Twitter provide a way to informally connect people. These small-scale efforts could have long-ranging benefits. Right now, the American public is getting a glimpse of the Iranian public and gaining an understanding of what drives them, what they are fighting for, and how they are expressing their dissent. The Iranian protesters are also aware that they have a global audience, including those watching in the United States. Although the Iranian and American publics have been kept apart for three decades, new media may be helping to debunk stereotypes in each country that have been built up since the 1979 revolution.

In this paradigm, government works best when it works to ensure that free and open dialogue continues. Doing so can help to pave the way toward increased support for further engagement at higher levels. There will likely be opportunities for the administration to capitalize on this situation as it pushes forth with direct engagement. Already, however, social networking has gone far beyond allowing high school buddies to keep in touch. With a significant percentage of the population in Iran younger than 30, this method of connecting the Iranian and American publics could eventually lead to a level of engagement and understanding that is beyond the realm of formal public diplomacy.

Originally posted on The Moderate Voice and The Reaction.

Photo by Sinistra e Liberta.

Ethical Proprioception from Twitter?

Clive Thompson writes in Wired magazine this week that Twitter can give people an ESP-like ability to know what their friends and community are up to. Read "Clive Thompson on How Twitter Creates A Social Six Sense" here. With this knowledge, people can sense patterns in their community.

By the way, Twitter's tag line is the humorously simple, "What are you doing?"

In the article, Thompson uses this wonderful word: proprioception (Merriam-Webster defines it as the reception of stimuli produced within the organism). He predicts that Twitter technology will be embedded in many websites and applications. I wonder if we can develop not only a sixth sense but an ethical sense from Twitter community's social proprioception.

Here is an excerpt from the Wired article:

It's like proprioception, your body's ability to know where your limbs are. That subliminal sense of orientation is crucial for coordination: It keeps you from accidentally bumping into objects, and it makes possible amazing feats of balance and dexterity.

Twitter and other constant-contact media create social proprioception. They give a group of people a sense of itself, making possible weird, fascinating feats of coordination.

For example, when I meet Misha for lunch after not having seen her for a month, I already know the wireframe outline of her life: She was nervous about last week's big presentation, got stuck in a rare spring snowstorm, and became addicted to salt bagels. With Dodgeball, I never actually race out to meet a friend when they report their nearby location; I just note it as something to talk about the next time we meet.

It's almost like ESP, which can be incredibly useful when applied to your work life. You know who's overloaded — better not bug Amanda today — and who's on a roll. A buddy list isn't just a vehicle to chat with friends but a way to sense their presence. Are they available to talk? Have they been away? This awareness is crucial when colleagues are spread around the office, the country, or the world. Twitter substitutes for the glances and conversations we had before we became a nation of satellite employees.