Entries from October 2008 ↓

To twist a line we often use on Chattarati, this post is not satire.

First, this was not an easy choice. There are numerous policy areas where I part ways with Senator Obama, as there are with Senator McCain. Rather than hashing through all those disagreements like some sort of legal disclaimer, I’ll jump in to the reasons why I chose to vote for Obama.

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In case you missed it, the photo above is from a New York Times article about the differing business models of Twitter and Yammer.

Don’t get me wrong. I love Twitter and I use it every day. And if pressed, I’d probably be willing to pay a small subscription in order to keep using it. However, the caption absolutely cracked me up: “Mr. Williams is chief executive of Twitter, which has no revenue.” As a true fan, here’s hoping they find a revenue model before all the cash from Jeff Bezos runs out…

I’m slowly reacclimating myself to the so-called real world after an amazing weekend on Prince Edward Island. My journey to the unconference known as Zap Your PRAM took me through Atlanta, Toronto, Halifax and Charlottetown before I settled in at the charming Dalvay-by-the-Sea Hotel. By now, the weekend has been summarized, memorialized and philosophized across the zaposphere, but here are a few of my broad impressions.

Food
There’s something deep about sharing meals with friends, and our hosts (of silverorange and reinvented fame) were well-attuned to this fact. We had two hours allotted for lunch and another two for dinner, allowing us to linger and enjoy great conversations long after the delicious, artfully-presented meals had been devoured.

Focus
…or the lack thereof. This is one of Zap’s biggest strengths, that it was not merely a “tech” or “design” event. It was simply–and broadly–about interesting people talking to one another. Stephen DesRoches has a comprehensive recap, but to say my mind was expanded would be an understatement. In a truly head-spinning moment, I spoke on a “design matters” panel alongside Paul Kim (Mozilla), Peter Sikking (openUsability), Jes Sherborne (ZS Associates) and Matthew Domurat (Dow Jones). I have a feeling the near-overdose levels of intelligence and insight I encountered at Zap will be working their way through my brain for some time.

Friends
What I think (hope?) will last longer than the interesting tales are the new friendships which began over this long weekend. While I didn’t get a chance to talk with everyone, I made an effort to step outside my painfully shy nature and get to know as many of the amazingly cool people as possible. And what’s been interesting in the last couple days is that rather than rushing to connect on LinkedIn, we’ve been busy finding each other on Twitter, Facebook and Last.fm. Scotch tastings (Ian, you rock!) and fireside chats over live music have a way of encouraging that, I suppose.

One More Thing
A couple of choice quotes related to my standing as the southernmost attendee and the associated cultural assumptions:

• Dan James: “So, I’ve had a few people ask me this — since you’re from the south, are you a Republican? We’re hoping to have a token Republican.”
• Alan McLeod: “The sound of your voice makes me hungry for barbeque.”
• Keith Burgoyne: “Okay, I have to know — Sarah Palin, hot or not?”

Y’all are welcome down south anytime, y’hear?

Given the season, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about politics and this weekend at Zap Your PRAM (more on that later) also brought a surprising number of political discussions. The train of thought continued on my travels home as I tried to finish N.T. Wright’s Surprised by Hope. As he talks about the role the resurrection should have in our thoughts about our work here on earth, he mentions two specific issues: the cancellation of third world debts and ecological responsibility.

Now, if you know me fairly well, you know I have a general libertarian slant. This is partly rooted in my belief that man is fallen and therefore prone to selfishness and lust for power. A question occurred to me as I read Wright’s discussion of these issues, though: Why do I trust the “free market” (i.e. individuals and, largely, corporations) to protect or steward the environment more than I do the government? That is sort of the implicit statement I’m making by leaning libertarian, right? Of course, ultimately the answer is that I should trust neither one, but practically speaking, what difference does it make to choose one over against the other? This, then, broadens the question to other arenas as well…

I have more questions than answers tonight about politics.

In related blogging, check out Brett McCracken on “Green Christianity”