From SXSW - Austin
Jennifer Helm

We always hear that it is the young are who are leading this journey into the technology age, and in particular, when it applies to marketing. This panel discussion was from the mouth of babes and what they respond to, how they use technology in their daily lives, and what really drives them nuts.

The speakers were a group of kids ranging in age from 12 to 17. They described their core needs online were socializing and expression. Their favorite sites were the obvious: Facebook, Myspace, and music sites, but what I found interesting is that game sites were an afterthought. Yes, they all go to the game sites, but only when they had time to waste. From the sound of it, they were too busy with homework, sports, and friends to really spend a lot of time gaming. Ruinscape and Swinky came up with the younger kids, and Halo with the older crowd, but those were only explored when they had extra time.

Even though I've given up on challenges, I've gone ahead and signed up for another. This one is the brainchild of Dewey, and it seems relatively easy for me to fulfill. That is, for now.

This week's challenge is simple: find some new bookblogs to read. Sounds simple enough for me!

My first new find was Rhinoa's Ramblings, and I immediately liked her because she apparently likes the Legend of Zelda and we seem to share similar tastes in music. She's also mastered the three-column layout, which I ef up every time I try it. My envy waxes.

My second find was This Book is For You, whose review of Twilight pretty much confirmed everything I had suspected about it. Thanks for saving me from that one!

My third is TigerMel over at Cynical Optimism. She's reading books with a "save the Earth" theme, which I found intriguing.

I also found Bookworm. I admit she found me first, so I technically found her via Technorati, but I'm enjoying her posts on parenting as much as I'm enjoying her bookish posts.

No time for a full review today (although a review on a literary thriller is forthcoming, don't you worry), but I had to pass along this great article I found courtesy of Jacket Copy, which linked to this Granta article about the Web Habits of Highly Effective People.

Unfortunately, instead of inspiring me to surf less, I've added more links to my Favorites folder. Great.

This lead me to ponder how I spend my online time. I, of course, am NOT highly effective, so don't expect me to surf "an hour a day" like some of the people featured in the article.

Here's how I'd respond to Granta's request:

offline community
Originally uploaded by redbarrenI enjoyed some regional footy today once I finally found the Frankston vs Rye game that was at the Baxter ground I hadnt been to, rather than one at Franger (that I think had a stand burn down over summer?) - Anyway, so Bendigo Bank own local footy as well a whole range of sponsorship with strong community programs, values and reinvestment of profit. So Facebook in the online world have the same plans, albeit with a bit more evil added to the mix.

amerykah

As we expand UH into a resource for the talent community exploring the creative and business aspects of new media, we will post bits of news about what's going out there. Comment, question, send us posts about what you know and what you're doing, and look for the new UH: Artists l Audience l Business in the coming weeeks. -TES

NewTeeVee writes today about UNDER THE ARCHES, a "reality" show that began as a series of short videos online and is now being turned into a "pilot" by a company called Madwood Entertainment.

NYU student Sean Patrick Murray, who created the show, describes it on Facebook as "8 college kids in NYC, the real "Gossip Girl." You can see the 7-minute pilot there or get a taste here on the Gawker post, which described the show as "reality schtick - [all] about the fast-moving-cloud shots, the angsty Z-100 soundtrack and the whiny blond chicks" and creator Murray as "either a complete genius or a total tool."

Have you bought food, driven anywhere, or been out of the house in the last few months? If you have I'm sure you noticed that prices are a wee bit up. I practically fainted the last time I bought a loaf of bread.

With the cost of food so high, how can any of us afford to emphasize fresh, healthy fruits and vegetables? When times are tough it's tempting to stick with foods that are cheap, calorie-dense, and comforting (like starchy American junk food) instead of foods that have fewer calories and might go bad before you finish them.

But fruits and vegetables are good for us! Eating healthy foods will save us money on medical expenses in the long run, and if you're a savvy shopper they might not cost as much as you think. Here are some of the cost-saving ideas I use and would like to share.

1. Don't stick to organic.

Readers are begging for more about the Massachusetts health care reform legislation. Okay, not begging, but they have expressed mild interest. You can get a one page overview here, and the authority responsible for administering the law, called (weirdly) The Connector, provides links to the actual legislation and associated regulations here.

Unfortunately, in my view, this legislation has become the model for the leading Democratic national proposals. To answer Kathy A.'s question, the law provides sliding scale subsidies for low and moderate income people to purchase insurance. To answer Roger's question, it provides for fairly stiff fines for individuals who don't get insurance, although less than the cost of actually buying it.

As we expand UH into a resource for the talent community exploring
the creative and business aspects of new media, we will post bits of
news about what's going out there. Comment, question, send us posts
about what you know and what you're doing, and look for the new UH: Artists l Audience l Business in the coming weeeks.  -TES

NewTeeVee writes
today about UNDER THE ARCHES, a "reality" show that began as a series
of short videos online and is now being turned into a "pilot" by a
company called Madwood Entertainment.

NYU student Sean Patrick Murray, who created the show, describes it on Facebook as "8 college kids in NYC, the real "Gossip Girl."  You can see the 7-minute pilot there or get a taste here
on the Gawker post, which described the show as "reality schtick -
[all] about the fast-moving-cloud shots, the angsty Z-100 soundtrack
and the whiny blond chicks" and creator Murray as "either a complete
genius or a total tool."

I thought about disclaiming off the bat that I am a diehard Radiohead fan, but then realized that's like saying I have two arms and two legs--describes nearly everyone.

Radiohead has built itself into a category of untouchables through decades of unbelievable work. It's one of the few bands ever to evolve with changing times and produce drastic evolutions from album to album.

Now, Radiohead has turned the inner workings of the music industry on its ear. Today, Radiohead released an album that you can buy for whatever price you like. On its own site--not through a record label. Name the amount and you will own a digital version of the new album. By cutting out the middleman and eliminating physical products to distribute, Radiohead keeps most of the money. In theory--the site is so overwhelmed with traffic that I can't get it to load.

It's the time of year, with holiday bills still coming in, taxes not far ahead, not to mention the market going down like a deflating party balloon, that money is on the minds of us grownups more than we'd like.

Dana is hosting The Chunkster Challenge this year. I didn't get to participate in last year's challenge because it had already started by the time I found the book-blogging community.

This fits right in to the books I have already planned for 2008 so I am going to play along.

The rules are that you must read 4 books that are at least 450 pages(750 large print) between January 7th and December 20th, 2008.

Apparently some of the mega-corps that make up the AMPTP don't need the same three year study they offered the WGA in order to figure out how they can make money in the digital age. A lot of money.

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, NBC Universal's president of Integrated Media Beth Comstock said she expects her company to hit $1 billion in digital revenue by the end of

In "real life," I'm addicted to facebook. Why? For the life of me, I can't tell you. I'm a grown woman, dammit. I have like 10 friends on the stupid thing. And yet...I'm so addicted. Obviously, it was only a matter of time until I set one up for Bibliolatry.

Don't judge me.

Oh, and, while you're at it, feel free to friend me. Everyone knows that virtual friends are the best.

Another blogger alerted me to this article on Etsy and I just had to laugh and roll my eyes a bit. Cheating buy buying one non-handmade item? Sorry folks but I am not going to wear a hairshirt and flog myself for buying some people items from Amazon. Some people may not want or need something that can be purchased online. Handmade or not most people don't want socks for Christmas (except for me if they are super cool stripy knee highs).

I need your help.

See, I love to read. I also like to shop. And I reallly like to shop for stuff to read.

Put them together and what do you get?

The Amazon Kindle.

I want a Kindle. I need a Kindle. First, it will help me read and shop. Lots. Only -- and this is nice -- I won't have to find storage space for all the books I'd buy in paper form. (I'm running out of bookshelf room, as I've already filled three large bookcases and have not room for another.) Even better still, the Kindle's sneaky: my husband would never know that I spent another [insert dollar amount here] on books. I'd be spending less anyway, not only because Kindle books are cheaper but also because some sites even offer free e-books.

There are so many beneficial reasons to buy in bulk, so this simple green practice is easy and rewarding to implement. Living an hour away from the nearest grocery store, buying our food and personal products in bulk is a necessity of mountain life. The survivalist in me does not feel comfortable unless my pantry is stocked with staple goods bought in bulk. Not only does buying in bulk make life more convenient by saving trips to the grocery store, it saves money and environmental resources as well. Bulk good prices are cheaper than individually packaged goods, and fewer trips to the store means less fossil fuel burned and more leisure time for you! The following five ideas will help you make the most of buying in bulk.

Don’t limit bulk purchases to food items only!

Buying shampoo, laundry soap, dish soap, toilet paper, etc. is also beneficial to the environment and your wallet. Even if an item is not available in bulk at your local co-op or health food store, buying the largest size possible will give you similar savings financially and environmentally.

Planning For Good (PfG) - strategists donating brain power to good causes. 1100+ members strong. Across the globe. In only a few short months, we've successfully briefed Idea Village in New Orleans, and Unicef. Now Live Earth.

Caught a post over on adverblog about the launch of a new social networking site for your virtual self, Koinup. The site allows you to connect all of your virtual world experiences in one network- your activities from Second Life, World of Warcraft, The Sims all in one location, where you can post content of your adventures (video of a recent SL trip for example) and browse through the virtual lives of the sites other members.

Well, I've finally found a way to combine all of my blogs and web content onto one site. Sorry for the confusion here, folks, but I'd encourage you to check out the "new" Brand Central Station by clicking here.

I won't be posting on this blogger site any more. It's been a great home while it lasted, but I'm moving to a new location where life will be a little easier to manage. All of my

Yesterday was a bittersweet day of baseball for me. I was rooting for the Rockies to beat the Red Sox and try and make a series out of things. This was obviously a disappointment. However, upon finding out that Arod had turned down the Yankees, I was ecstatic and almost proud of him. I thought it was so cool that he was turning down the evil empire to go and play somewhere else. The only problem is in the way in which he did it.

Title: The Road
Author: Cormac McCarthy
ISBN: 9780330448628
Publisher: Picador
Pages: 307
Rating: 5/5

WSJ today gives overview of social networking sites getting into business of producing online video. Article features three shows:

- Kate Modern, a mystery on social networking site Bebo.
- Roommates, a soap opera on MySpace TV
- Special Delivery, a hidden camera reality show on MySpace TV.

It notes that while MySpace and Bebo push into original content, Facebook hasn't and other internet companies - AOL and Yahoo, specifically - are backing away from it.

Article doesn't disclose budget for KATE MODERN but says Bebo sells sponsorships at $400,000 for six months.

Claims production budgets for Roommates and Special Delivery are about $1000 per minute.

Article also notes that the shows themselves aren't very profitable to their writer / producers, who are portrayed as doing internet stuff to build assets and relationships "in a bigger entertainment medium."

What else do you do with your leisure to pass the time? Walk the dog? Knit? Run marathons? Construct grandfather clocks? Collect eggshells?

I do knit (I started last year), though I try to combine the two hobbies by knitting while listening to audio books and reading knitting books. I adore Ravelry and think it is a fantastic resource.

I'm also into BookCrossing, a book tracking site (here's my bookshelf). I do lots of BookCrossing-related stuff and attend meet-ups in Oakville, ON (monthly) and Rochester, NY (occasionally).

Now here's an interesting challenge! In 2008 I'll be reading some books about planet earth. See the challenge page for more information. List to come.

Just to stress -- check the tag, which says "Member Opinion Piece." Below are the thoughts of a noisy screenwriter who writes movies with explosions, decapitations, gunfire, swordfights, and the occasional disembowelment. This isn't offical WGA anything. It's me. -LK

When Nikki Finke published about the group of WGA writers who went around the NegComm and leadership to "negotiate" on their own

sunday 2pm
Originally uploaded by benbarren I'm guessing every site will have the same "social features" ie Facebook to start with, and then in 2008 some meta-widget which automagically distributes to the bebos of this world, as Google News announced end of week. It's in my wishlist for Santa (and I know alot of clients are asking for it too) Maybe Tuesday there will be more info.

Today's find comes from Jacket Copy, which featured storySouth, an online literary journal of the new South.

In their own words,

storySouth's most important mission is to showcase the best fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry that writers from the new south have to offer. Special emphasis is given to finding and promoting the works of promising new writers.

In addition, storySouth aims to prove that the internet is not just a medium of flash and style; that excellent writing can attract attention without programming gimmicks and hard-to-read fonts. To this end, storySouth practices clean, simple web design.
I appreciate its clean design, but even more important to me is its inexpensiveness. Many online literary magazines offer only a taste for free - just before you're prompted to pay for the full meal. Not so with storySouth. Here you can get it all without paying a dime.

So if you find yourself in work today with nothing to do, browse the selection of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, and blogs offered up by storySouth.