Drinks With Doug

Dry Sponges

Monday's weather: Day two of steady rain and moist air. Garden soggier than a 40's radio comedy.
Monday's drink: Lamole di Lamole Chianti classico. Robusto!
Monday's song: "52 Girls" by the B-52s. ("And Hazel and Mavis!")

People keep telling me: "Don't worry 'bout your blog! Just write what you want. It doesn't have to be polished or finished or even very meaningful." Well, my use of quotations suggest someone - several someones I guess, by my use of "people" - said those actual words. Which no one did. But the message is the same. Write and post! Write and post! Keep 'em entertained! More! Whoop! Whoop!

Meh. You're on your own for entertainment. I am not a clown. And I do not amuse you.

Hahahaha. Oh, but I amuse myself. Well to the point. Half the weekend was spent at a pod-conference. Podcamp they called it: an "un-conference." (Oh? Does that mean I can wear un-clothes? ) The presenters and attendees ran the range: those professionally focused, those wildly successful, hobbyists, cranks, nutters, and grandmamas wanting to blog and podcast about doilies. Which, by the way, if there is no doily-focused podcast, could be a big hit, trust me. Depends would sponsor it in a heart-beat.

Much was discussed. The presenters were up to the task, some of the discussions provocative (that's a good thing), mercifully few of the attendees loud and long and windy. Almost without exception I liked everyone I met, and save for one or two lumps (no, I'm not linking to that) no-one seemed intent on impressing, which is refreshing. Sorting through it all, two terms came up over and over. The first is "social media and networking" (yes, those exact words were spoken, many times) and the second is "authenticity."

The first annoys me somewhat. It's come to be a term people toss about in conference rooms, Dilbert-like, to show just how connected with the moment they are, and they have no idea what it means. Those who do know what it means may still not understand how it works. And those who know how it works - how many people are we talking here? - are frankly groping about to understand its uses. I think tomorrow I'll link to some of these...assuming I can figure out the link thing. Let's say for now I learned a lot of what the web can do, and what it's doing now. But often I still don't get the "And...why would I want to do that?" thing.

At my final session - New Leadership for a New somethingorother - the webkins around the table were erudite in their tasks and applications and desires for the future. "And how about you?" asks team leader Joel Mark Witt, an affable fellow. "Uh...yeah," I fumble. 'Don't tell them who you work for', I think. 'Don't say dumb shit that will give you away as a giant fake here' follows soon. 'You don't know shit from shinola' I think, rather unimaginatively... 'Don't say you're not on Twitter or Utterz or Qik or GoobleGobble'.

Shhhh.

Yeah, see the thing is: I'm not really one of you. I'm a writer, a story-teller with some good show-biz sense and technical know-how. But I'm not in this bubble of Web2.0 blahzy blahzy. Not that I don't respect it because I do. Genuinely. I'm just, with a few minor exceptions, a guy who tells true stories and tries to make them interesting.

"Well," sez I, "I think my focus is rather different than a lot of you here." Earlier he displayed a slide of a sponge, prompting discussions of how water/information flows through and is held by a sponge/person. "See, it's like that slide. A sponge actually has to be a little wet before it can absorb water. My audience is like a dry sponge. They have the ability to absorb, but often few if any of the resources. You all keep getting wetter and wetter, and much of the world is getting drier and drier.

To his and the table's credit, rather than being waved off this seemed to open up a new, and fruitful pursuit. Because for all my bitching about Work, I believe in the value of reaching out to people forgotten by the narcissistic American machine.

Well. Hurrah for me. But still, if there's a way I can incorporate a few bubbles falling from the hyper-google-mega-bleeding edge I will think this a valuable effort. Next post will be less heady and more homey. Really. COME BACK! READ! MORE POSTS! NEW NEW NEW! Ooops, sorry.

PS: C is out at a fancy dinner tonight with Rupert Murdoch and Tony Blair. I'm at home with STG and re-heating leftover basmati rice and biryani, watching the rain fall. Who's having the better evening? xo to C.