Author: Brian J. Noggle

Users, Consumers Find Web Technologies To Be Mere Tools

Brian J. Noggle

In a stunning turn of events, the components of the Web 2.0 phenomenon are seen by users as mere tools, and those users have very little loyalty to particular tools:

Study results show that social networkers have little loyalty for any specific social networking site. Almost half of all social networkers use more than one site and one in six uses three or more.

Interactive marketing agencies better keep this in mind that spending client budget on building/hooking up all sorts of “community” (read: users build the content for the client for free) will have wasted that budget when another company comes up with a slightly cooler set of technologies to do the same thing. You must differentiate the brand using existing Web 1.0 techniques and build that community with good promotions and content instead of hoping “users” will do your job for you.

James Joyner (past client of my company Jeracor, just so’s you know) sums it up thusly:

Not only is this unsurprising but the premise behind the question reflects a deep misunderstanding of the Web 2.0 concept. Social media aren’t about loyalty to sites but rather a means of self-expression and growing and communicating with one’s network.

That will remain true with fickle consumers, so if you’re building a consumer-facing Web site, don’t forget the fresh content when adding expensive technologies to the bill of sale.

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One Fewer Check or Balance

Brian J. Noggle

A legislator tells an unelected member of the executive branch to change the law:

“It is outrageous that companies can get away with revealing what prescription medications New Yorkers have taken and not even notify the customer,” Schumer said. The senator is calling on the federal Health and Human Services secretary, Michael Leavitt, to immediately change the law to require pharmacies to notify patients before selling or transferring their records and allowing patients to opt out.

No, senator, you as the legislator should change the law. As a member of the executive branch, Leavitt should implement it as written.

That was the whole point.

But if you cede responsibility, you can cede the blame. So long as you keep the fat paycheck and the “prestige” (single digit approval rating), I guess.

(Link seen on Dustbury.)

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Book Report: Suspension Bridge by Rod McKuen (1984)

Brian J. Noggle

Spare the Rod and spoil the child, that’s my new motto. I continue reading Rod McKuen poetry at my son (at because he’s often only in the room when I’m reading poetry to him these days; he’s at an interim age where he’s too engaged in moving around and his own projects to sit quietly on one’s lap for reception of book knowledge or storytelling). I do so even though I’m really unimpressed with most of McKuen’s work past the middle 1960s, and my positive impression of the remainder of his work only moves him from bad poet to mediocre poet in my estimation, but I’m not Allan Bloom, so you don’t have to take my word for it. There’s so many Rod McKuen books floating out there you can probably pick one up for a quarter somewhere. I wouldn’t be surprised if you could find them for free in a mass landfill buried with old Atari E.T. cartridges.

This book refers back to Stanyan Street and Other Sorrows with the additional reflection of fourteen years’ elapsing. The poet has endured a number of relationships moving on in that time, so all the poetry is extra-sepiaed. A particularly devilling tic in the book is its name-dropping; a large number of the poems are dedicated to someone and many more use names as shorthand for the passage of time. Frankly, it doesn’t work for me because I don’t know who he’s talking about.

Unfortunately, McKuen suffers additionally from my recent reading of Carl Sandburg. McKuen comes out better when I’ve just bitten off a chunk of Emily Dickinson than when I read someone who’s enjoyable and deep.

One more down, several more to go. I also have this weird sense I am going to try to get a complete set of McKuen’s works just because I can. That, friends, is the drive of a diseased book collector.

Books mentioned in this review:


 

 

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A Clarification and Defense of Masculinity

Brian J. Noggle

When my wife came home from a recent evening event, she saw that I was watching Alex & Emma on DVD. “You’re watching a chick flick!” she said.

“I am not,” I defended, “It’s an author flick.”

Allow me to justify my behavior.

Although I concede that it has all the earmarks of chick flick feminine wish fulfillment:

  • No-nonsense working woman
  • With a lot of opinions, with which she is forcefully forthcoming
  • And “quirks” identify her as high-maintenance and probably controlling when they exist in a woman in real life
  • Meets a flawed but cute man
  • Whose initial impression and silly bachelor ways she overlooks
  • And they fall in love.

Friends, I agree, those are the earmarks of a chick flick. However, this particular movie plays upon those conventions and, although they sucker women into thinking the movie is directed at them, it’s not. It’s every author’s fantasy fulfilled:

  • An author living in a comfortable loft downtown (Boston, not St. Louis)
  • Tricks an innocent stenographer to his lair
  • Where he dictates a potboiler novel,
  • A follow-up to a wildly successful debut novel,
  • Pausing only to nail a woman who looks like Kate Hudson
  • And when he completes the draft in 30 days
  • The publisher loves it without a single jot of revision required
  • And immediately pays the author a six-figure advance.
  • Meanwhile, the author tells the stenographer he “loves” her
  • And she buys it
  • So he will get to nail her again.

You tell me who gets gratified more from this movie.

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Ho Hum: Art, Curator Expect to Make Squares Uncomfortable Again

Brian J. Noggle

Another art exhibit exalts itself in making the hoi polloi uncomfortable. Just like the last untold number of “art” exhibits:

A risqué, homoerotic art exhibit will open this weekend on a stretch of street in St. Louis best known as a haven for antique-seekers.

Gallery owner Philip Hitchcock expects the “Body/Building” display to unnerve a few people, but he hopes to accomplish more by challenging the status quo.

“If people are uncomfortable with those images, and they ask themselves, ‘Why? What chord does that strike in me?’ If they go that far, then as an artist and a curator, I have done my job,” Hitchcock said.

I doubt I’d be uncomfortable with those images; instead, the whole concept strikes a chord of “Why bother?” in me.

I prefer art to be evocative and uplifting. That sort of thing takes insight into the human condition and talent. Shocking me only requires the artistic equivalent of a Taser. And guess which sort of thing I buy.

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The More The Merrier

Brian J. Noggle

On the other hand, the netroots activism of the Democratic party might be better for the Republicans than expected. I mean, look at the potential Nader ponders run, calls Clinton ‘coward’:

Ralph Nader says he is seriously considering running for president in 2008 because he foresees another Tweedledum-Tweedledee election that offers little real choice to voters.

Coupled with this news, it’s looking like a great race:

  • Any Republican
  • Any Democrat
  • Michael Bloomberg
  • Ralph Nader

Come on, you don’t think Michael Bloomberg is going to steal from the Republican votes, do you?

The only way this could be better would be if Markos Moulitas himself ran, too.

The Republicans could almost elect Mark Foley in that field.

(More on Instapundit and Outside the Beltway.)

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Litigious Culture Imperils Doctors

Brian J. Noggle

The litigious nature of our society is again imperiling our access to health care and doctors: Mo. doctors to sue over midwife law:

Legislation allowing midwives to deliver babies at home in Missouri will probably be challenged in court by doctors’ groups.

The measure was approved by lawmakers last month as part of larger health insurance bill signed June 1 by Gov. Matt Blunt. Most of the bill won’t take effect until January, but the section on midwifery becomes effective in August.

Opposition to the midwifery provision is led by the Missouri State Medical Association. The organization’s lobbyist, Tom Holloway, said the group expected to file suit to block the provision next week in Cole County Circuit Court.

Oh, sorry, my fault; this is actually a bill about doctors suing to prevent access to other health care providers because the doctors know that they should be the only ones legally eligible to receive tax money for delivering babies.

Doctors suing to keep health costs up so that they can continue to receive their rates for delivery and hospital stays or whatnot.

I’m not going to argue about whether it’s better to have a child in the hospital surrounded by expensive scientific instruments unneeded in most deliveries or at home, chanting in a Gaia circle with a midwife. You know, that’s where freedom comes in. People can choose the stupid or the merely less ideal.

But not if this collective of Missouri doctors has its way.

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Republican Party Improves Slightly

Brian J. Noggle

NYC mayor leaves GOP amid White House speculation:

After some six years as a Republican, the 65-year-old former CEO announced Tuesday that he has left the Republican Party and become unaffiliated in what many believe could be a step toward entering the 2008 race for president.

Face it, Bloomberg belongs to the Bloomberg party and puts on or takes off party designation like baseball hats. He only became a Republican so he could ride Rudy’s coattails into the New York Mayor’s office.

Frankly, that the Republican Party would have him in spite of his political views was an early indicator of its ease of sacrificing principles just to have one more official with an (R) behind its name.

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Headline Offers Cheap Psychological Evaluation

Brian J. Noggle

Paranoia grows over Google’s power

Reuters headline writers were unavailable to surmise how people concerned about the reach of Google’s data depth and related data mining actually went crazy, but Reuters headline writers did not have the time to work up a complete mental profiles. They had only time to diagnose that those people suffer from a delusional disorder or perhaps schizophrenia.

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Post-Dispatch Finds A Land Developer To Dislike

Brian J. Noggle

The front page of the Sunday St. Louis Post-Dispatch and an Flash-enhanced online rendition finally take a land developer to task.

Well, no, not “finally,” since this land developer is only guilty of urging lawmakers to pass a tax incentive package that he’ll take advantage of.

The Post-Dispatch wets itself in joy whenever a developer throws citizens out of their suburban homes using eminent domain or when a developer strong arms the city into co-signing a loan from which the developer can (and often does) walk away. To say nothing of tax incentives, which the Post-Dispatch thinks is a good idea to lure any private retail, condominium, or sports endeavor to the city.

I don’t know why the paper decides to unload on this developer who acquired all the properties legitimately, although not obviously. Because he’s one man who’s white buying land in poverty-stricken areas? Because he live in St. Charles and hasn’t made the proper show of buying a downtown loft?

Who knows? All I know is that it makes all other Post-Dispatch pieces that laud crony capitalism absurd and hypocritical.

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Caption Contest

Brian J. Noggle

Normally, I don’t do this sort of thing because the paucity of responses is bad for my ego, but here’s a photo begging for a quip:

Patch

Here’s my best shot:

Dude, we know where your treasure’s buried.

Think you can do better? Leave it in the comments. Remember, if there are no comments, I will win by default! You don’t want that on your conscience, do you?

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All Right, All Right, I’ll Post It

Brian J. Noggle

That’s the sound of me finally giving into myself. I saw this video on Ace of Spades and have watched it over and over:


It’s a nice tribute to Bob Ross of The Joy of Painting. I recollect catching Bob in his early years (ca. 1986-1988) and watching him on the local PBS station, broadcast over the air if you damn kids can believe it. I was twisting the knob, which was how we changed stations between the three to seven stations we could get with antennae, and I found his show early in my late middle school to early high school period, watching the grainy television from the top bunk in a bedroom in a mobile home sized to fit only a television, a bunk bed, and a dresser.

I liked how easy he made painting landscapes look, and I watched it a couple weeks running. He tempted me to try some painting on my own, using stray watercolor paint set gift packs and the only canvases I had handy–the glazed tops of doughnut boxes my mother brought as our special Sunday treats from the local U-Gas. The doughnuts were the treat, not the boxes, you dang literalists. Man, I can picture one of my self-portraits in my head even now, wherein a rudely-depicted blond young man reclines under a tree. Fortunately, that picture reclines in a landfill somewhere now. Even if I could post it, I probably wouldn’t; let’s leave it at that.

The year after I graduated, I was shipping/receiving clerk for an art supply store, and the shop carried a small set of the Bob Ross line of products. I remembered him fondly and probably caught an episode or two of his show for the then-kitsch value. He died while I was working there, a stunning blow that no doubt the sales staff, local students in art programs, brought to the back room with a combination of sadness and smugness. Based on the quality of my art work, I didn’t have youthful superiority to spare, so I was only sad.

The aforelinked video touches me with nostalgia and a hint of that sadness, but also pleasantly amuses me with the music and with the sense that maybe, yes, Bob Ross would have felt that way about the message his laid-back style conveyed.

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Book Report: Harvest Poems 1910-1960 by Carl Sandburg (1960)

Brian J. Noggle

I read this collection of poems at my son. I say “at” instead of “to” because he’s getting mobile and is no longer a captive audience. Still, I pick the book up and read it at him as he plays so he can hear my voice.

Wow, I’ve read McKuen, Cohen, Dickinson, and L’Engle in the last couple of years. I’ve also worked on a small survey of John Donne (yet to be completed). In doing so, I’ve really missed out on good poetry with rhythm. These poems by Sandburg direct your cadence and really are fun to read. The turns of phrases make me pause and remember them so I can say them aloud and sound smart. As a matter of fact, I’ve used several lines from Sandburg as IM statuses, so that indicates how clever and insightful I think they are.

As its title suggests, this book collects poems from over 50 years, but most of them come from before the depression, when the poet lamenting war was still referring to World War I. Sandburg’s themes include a sort of homily to the common man in the Midwest, a distaste for war, and a belief in God. The charged themes are handled lightly enough that they’re observations and not proselytization. So they’re palatable where we differ.

As I said, this is a collection taken from several books, so it’s a step up from the poems from an author you’d find in an anthology (Yes, “Grass” is in here as is “Fog”). So if you’ve liked Sandburg from the anthologies, check this book out and see if you like the rest. Me, I liked this work so much that I’m going to look for the complete collections from which these poems were selected, and I’m also almost inspired to actually write more poetry.

Books mentioned in this review:


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That’s Not A Bug

Brian J. Noggle

Centene ruling may have ‘chilling effect’:

“Getting eminent domain for a project is already tough and this decision is going to make it tougher,” said Jay Case, principal of Chicago-based Orchard Development, which is rehabilitating several historic buildings in St. Louis. He also is developing Trianon, a high-rise residential development in Clayton. None of his projects required eminent domain.

“The decision will have a chilling effect on any community government thinking about invoking eminent domain,” Case said.

Rule of law and the right to private property do so stand in the way of unbridled greed.

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One Thing, Unfigured Out

Brian J. Noggle

I read an article from Bizjournals.com about varied job backgrounds because, brothers and sisters, I was not just born the pestilence onto software that I am. So this article tries to tell me how to use that: A diverse background isn’t necessarily a problem, but two things struck me.

One, this quote:

Remember from the movie “City Slickers,” old Curley holding up his gloved hand and saying, “One thing — and you’ve got to figure out what that thing is.”

Um, no, both IMDB and I remember it like this:

Curly: Do you know what the secret of life is?
[holds up one finger]
Curly: This.
Mitch: Your finger?
Curly: One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and the rest don’t mean shit.
Mitch: But, what is the “one thing?”
Curly: [smiles] That’s what *you* have to find out.

Secondly, dude, your mailto link is messed up and is carrying through the headline and the first paragraph:

Bad mailto link

Well, I guess I have found my one true thing, the story to tell my future interviews and clients.

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Sometimes Blight Means, You Know, Blight

Brian J. Noggle

Missouri courts block expansive definition of blight, disgruntling land-rustling developers and their greedy municipal sidekicks:

The Missouri Supreme Court narrowed the bounds of eminent domain Tuesday in rejecting the Centene Plaza plan for downtown Clayton and raising the bar for taking private property.

The upscale city failed to prove that property in the 7700 block of Forsyth Boulevard was blighted, the judges ruled in a 6-1 decision favoring landowners who fought condemnation.

City officials began the process to take the land in late 2005 as a site for a $210 million office-retail complex whose future is now in question.

Under the ruling, developers who seek to use condemnation to take land from other private owners will have to give proof that the property is not only old or of obsolete design but that it impacts health and safety as well.

This is very good news for property owners. Now they cannot be thrown out for owning uncool buildings or not producing the maximum level of revenue possible (at least, not until another court determines that impacts health and safety means “doesn’t provide sales tax revenue that funds local EMT services.”

And for the kids in the Mystery Machine, this is also good news, since it will force developers to once again rely on the trick of convincing land owners that the property is haunted, and hey, that made for great cartoons.

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