As they always do, new Facebook changes have brought with them a load of complaints along with some praise. One big complaint is that this new “Ticker” (a realtime stream of all activity by friends, including their interactions with other friends) has a lot of noise in it.
“I don’t care what my friends do with these strangers,” go some complaints. “It is irrelevant to me. It clutters up my stream.”
I have over 1,000 friends on Facebook, so I can sympathize with the desire to have an orderly news stream. However, I find the noise and static to be a small price to pay for what, I believe, is ultimately a public good: serendipity.
One of the pathologies driven in part by our narrow-casted lifestyle is that we never (or only rarely) have any reason to come into contact ideas unlike those we already hold, arts different than those we already like, politics unlike those to which we already adhere, or even people unlike us in any way. Bill Bishop has described this phenomenon in detail in his hugely important work, The Big Sort.
While the Big Sort is not caused solely by Internet effects, the online world enables and acts as an accelerant for some of the problems that it poses for public life. Therefore, I am in general in favor of things that might increase the chance that I will encounter something I would not have otherwise sought out. By slightly opening up the “Facebook firehose” of data, I see interactions between people I don’t necessarily know. Some of those may interest me enough to dig deeper and engage. Some may not.
I feel the upside is good enough for public life that I can put up with the downside of a certain amount of irrelevance and noise.
As many friends know, I often do yoga, four or more times each week. The style I practice involves a very hot room and a lot of motion — not as hot as Bikram yoga but much more energetic. Result: buckets of sweat (if you are me).
I have been on a quest to find the right implements to practice with. Yoga mats that are billed as “absorbent” get overloaded very easily, and the standard “YogiToes” towel is quickly soaked through.
Then, I saw a guy with a yoga rug and things clicked for me.
I recently purchased an inexpensive rug and all has been joy.
The yoga rug is exactly the width of a standard yoga mat, and just about 2 inches longer. Best of all, it is absorbent as anything. I get through an entire class without needing an extra towel.
If you practice hot yoga and are looking for something that can handle the sweat, check out a yoga rug. They are inexpensive (about $25) and a joy to practice on. It feels very natural. Note that you do need a mat underneath, but even a 3mm one should do fine.
For some reason (an intersection between tech-geek tendencies and narcissism, no doubt), I have been an early adopter when it comes to the self-publishing elements enabled by the Web. I started blogging before the word had been coined, was an early adopter of Twitter (March 2007), Facebook, and more. The advent of the Social Web has been particularly interesting to me. I already had been “public” about my day-to-day life, writing a number of essays for publication on various aspects. But the Social Web (especially Facebook) amped things up and — as it has for many of us — forced the question: How do you present a face that is at once authentic, personal, and professional?
In other words: How do you live in public?
Recent changes announced by Facebook (“top news,” the “ticker,” “timelines”) have people quite worried about their privacy. People are worried about how they will live in public. One of the effects of the new Facebook interface is that more of what we do online is easily accessible (it was always visible, but we could pretend it wasn’t there because it was a bit buried.) Some are threatening to quit Facebook, but with 800 million users it is likely that as many people will quit as actually followed through with their threats to move to Canada if their favored presidential candidate did not win.
No, people will have to come to grips with living in public.
Over the past few years, based on trial and error, I have developed a simple set of rules that help. They are common sense, but they may be useful to you:
Never assume something on a social network is truly “private.”This is the cardinal rule. Many social network services provide privacy controls. Use them, for sure, but assume they will fail. A policy change may invalidate them, the company may get purchased and the new owner will have no obligation to uphold previous privacy deals, or — most likely — you will make a mistake and make something public that you thought would be private.
It’s like the advice communications professionals give to people when talking to reporters: Never go “off the record.” Sure, maybe you can trust the journalist you are interviewing with, but once something is in his or her notebook (or even just in their head), they might make a mistake later and forget what aspect was private.
So, what do you do if you simply must (for creative or personal reasons) publish anonymously. It is simple: build an alternate identity and only use that identity in ways that do not connect with your current social networks. (It is easy. First, install a new Web browser that will be your “anonymous only” browser. For instance, if you use Chrome, install Firefox. Using the anonymous-only browser, set up a new email with Gmail. Use that email and the new browser to subscribe to a standalone blogging service that you do not currently use, whether it be Posterous, Tumblr, WordPress, or Blogger. Blog to your heart’s content under your alias. Never, ever interact with your anonymous material using your usual browser.)
Get comfortable with your work colleagues knowing you have a life outside of the office.Once you have come to grips with the idea that “privacy” online is an illusion, everything else flows from that. Assume you are always in public. This will drive you insane unless you get over the anxiety. For many people, this anxiety centers around work colleagues. People will think less of me professionally if they see me in nonprofessional settings, people think.
But, think about it. Do you respect your colleagues (or boss) less, after you see a photo of them bowling? I didn’t think so. Same goes for you. Unless you live a double life (in which case this blog post will not help you), it is important to accept that your work persona will coincide more with your non-work persona.
This has been happening inexorably in the professional world for years. Yes, social networks have helped it along but it is a trend that goes beyond the computer screen. Some may dislike that you can no longer say, “It’s the weekend. No one needs to know what I do.” However, it is difficult to avoid the fact that this is true.
What this means in practice is that you will need to get comfortable with the idea that photos of your yoga class may be visible by colleagues. (Don’t like that? See Rule 1).
Choose “iconic” connections and use them as tests.The best way I have found to live with this, and to stay out of trouble, is to create icons. I have three such icons. One is a very straitlaced colleague, one is an older family member, and one is a close friend. It helps if they are Facebook friends.
Whenever I post something, I do a gut check: What if my icons see it? If I have a problem with that, I do not post. (See Rule 1.)
This may sound bogus, but it is truly a filter I use. I include emails in this. If I am typing it on my screen, I review it for whether it passes the icon test. I have written and then deleted many, many emails, status updates, blog posts, and chats.
Learn how your sharing works on each network. Review privacy settings regularly. Monitor yourself. It is critical to really understand what you are sharing. Yes, Facebook makes changes (as do other social sharing networks). You must take the time to understand how it works. This may take longer than you wish it would — but it does not take as long as you fear it might. Take five minutes and understand the tools you use.
Every week or two, you should review your privacy settings. This takes sixty seconds. (On Facebook, go to “Home,” and click the little down arrow in the upper right. Choose “Privacy settings.” It’s all there.)
Most important, periodically monitor yourself. Facebook allows you to see your profile as others see it. Go to your profile (click your own name) and choose “View as…” on the upper right. Now, type in the name of one of your icons from Rule 3.
What do you do if you see something you would rather not have available, even after all that care you’ve taken? Simple. See below, Rule 5.
Do not hesitate to delete past information.This last rule is a little controversial. There is an ethos among social network users that once something is published, it should stay published. I completely disagree with that.
What exists on your profile is a snapshot of you — make sure it is flattering. Delete with impunity.
There are exceptions to this, but they are up to you. For instance, I am a co-founder of a blog (now a Facebook page) called Rockville Central. It is quasi-journalistic, so we do not delete or alter previous posts except in extreme cases of abuse or profanity. That is part of the deal on that site.
In general, though, for my own individual accounts, I maintain and curate them so they represent me putting my best foot forward.
How about you? How do you live in public? Do you have a favorite tip?
This is a little jack that you can plug into anywhere you would ordinarily plug a headphone cord. Press the button, and it pairs with the Bluetooth device of your choice. Simple to use, one button on and it turns off automatically.
Why would you want one of these? I use mine in my car. I have an “aux” jack that lets me play my iPhone tunes through my car stereo. But I hate wires dangling all over, and they often pick up interference from the car’s electrical system.
With the BluBridge, I just push the button on the little sucker and I can hear my iPhone music through my stereo, whether my phone is in my pocket or in the little cradle I use.
I can’t recommend this little device enough. It is inexpensive and does what it is supposed to.
I got these headphones as a birthday gift and I now use them all the time, in situations I did not expect. Not only are they good headphones, but they also have a microphone so they let me make and receive calls too.
I don’t know about you, but those little in-ear Bluetooth thingies always fall out of my ear and I can barely hear them. If I need to be on the phone for an extended period, I will slap the Motorola S10-HD set on and go. The headphone stays on no matter what my head is doing.
They also work great in the gym or on a run. The headphone is designed to withstand sweat, both the earbuds and the buttons. As with all Motorola products, it is solidly put together.
The S10-HD is another product I recommend and use all the time.
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As always, your comments and questions are welcome. Some people disagree with my assessments, and that is cool too.
Each of these Bluetooth products is available in my Amazon Store. The prices there are the same as you get direct from Amazon, there is no extra markup.
(However, please note that these are all affiliate links.)
A report released today by the National Conference on Citizenship, CICLE (the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement), Civic Enterprises, Saguaro Seminar, and the National Constitution Center suggests that “levels of civic engagement in 2006 and 2008 strongly predicted how well states and large metro areas would weather the unemployment crisis of 2006-10.”
This is an exciting report. There is a great deal of research that suggests that higher levels of civic engagement are associated with greater “resiliency” by communities.
The report carefully notes that we cannot tell for sure whether civic engagement lowers unemployment; other explanations are explored. However, the statistical relationships are notably strong and deserve much more attention by economists, policymakers, and the public.
The statistical analysis itself cannot explain why civic engagement may be an important factor in avoiding unemployment, but other research lends support for several hypotheses:
Participation in civil society can develop skills, confidence, and habits that make individuals employable and strengthen the networks that help them to find jobs
People get jobs through social networks (online and offline)
Participation in civil society spreads information relevant to investors and workers
Participation in civil society is strongly correlated with trust in other people, and people who trust others are more likely to invest and hire
Communities and political jurisdictions with stronger civil societies are more likely to have good governments
Civic engagement can encourage people to feel attached to their communities
Real median household income in the United States in 2010 was $49,445, a 2.3 percent decline from the 2009 median.
The nation’s official poverty rate in 2010 was 15.1 percent, up from 14.3 percent in 2009 ─ the third consecutive annual increase in the poverty rate. There were 46.2 million people in poverty in 2010, up from 43.6 million in 2009 ─ the fourth consecutive annual increase and the largest number in the 52 years for which poverty estimates have been published.
The number of people without health insurance coverage rose from 49.0 million in 2009 to 49.9 million in 2010, while the percentage without coverage −16.3 percent – was not statistically different from the rate in 2009.
I created a Prezi that goes through the process I use to frame issues for public deliberation, and filmed a video that walks through it. I thought this might be helpful in talking to colleagues about how I go about doing my work — it is not the only method to frame issues, but it has been working for me.
(It may also help me explain to my friends just what it is I do!)
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The Prezi itself is available for you to play with here.
I am delighted to announce a new issue book developed by the Kettering Foundation for the National Issues Forums titled: A Nation In Debt: How Do We Pay The Bills? This issue guide, authored by my good friends and colleagues Tony Wharton and Noelle McAfee, is the latest in the issue book library of which I am Executive Editor.
Click to download from the NIFI website
We worked very hard getting this guide finished — researching, writing, testing and re-testing. I am really proud of it.
The following is from the introduction to A Nation in Debt: How Can We Pay the Bills?
It’s become apparent to many Americans that if we do not act decisively on the nation’s debt soon, our economy will be seriously hobbled and we will dump an unsustainable burden on our children and grandchildren.
“What’s decided (or not decided) over the next few years will spell big changes for the way we live our daily lives,” write Scott Bittle and Jean Johnson in Where Does the Money Go? Your Guided Tour to the Federal Budget Crisis. “How the country solves or doesn’t solve this problem will affect our paychecks, our investments, our mortgages, our kids’ prospects in life, what kind of health care we’ll get, our chances of ever getting to retire-even whether we live in a country that’s fair, stable and prosperous.”
This 12-page issue guide presents an overview of the problem and three options for deliberation.
Option One: Agree to Make Sacrifices Now - We need to compromise on our differences and act now to reduce the national debt. If this generation doesn’t make needed sacrifices, we’re simply passing the burden to the next generation. It’s time to face this urgent problem. We need to raise taxes and cut spending; neither will get the job done alone.
Option Two: Strengthen Checks and Balances - We cannot just hope that personal discipline and basic legislative safeguards will control the urge to spend. Citizens willingly accept more benefits than government can afford and leaders are too willing to help us dig this hole. Our top priority should be to make systemic changes to increase fiscal responsibility.
Option Three: Invest in Growth First - We need to encourage economic growth and invest in research, development, infrastructure, and science education. Growing the economy will boost tax revenues, make the debt more manageable, and will be better for the country in the long run. Drastic cost-cutting measures would likely harm the economy as it tries to recover.
I’ve seen a man on the street the last few days that has intrigued me. I finally talked to him a bit this morning outside my office building. Since I’m in the middle of . . . yet another downsizing, I’ve been thinking a lot about the jobless, wondering how they will make it.
The man on the street has created a little business for himself that I think is quite creative. [O]ur office is a few doors down from Roseland. Beyonce is the attraction this week with four concerts. There are lines around the block. I’m not sure if these are the actual ticket holders or if they are waiting to buy tickets, but either way, they are out there for hours. Some come with all manner of items to comfort themselves in the long wait; others have nothing.
My street man comes along on his bike with about eight canvas folding chairs at a time. All look new and are in their own neat little bags. He sells lots of them to those people waiting in line. Quite creative, I thought. (I wonder if he has a deal with Roseland to hit their trash everyday where many must be discarded?) He is very well-spoken and otherwise looks like a young executive getting in some time on his bike.
I have over 1,000 friends on Facebook, so I can sympathize with the desire to have an orderly news stream. However, I find the noise and static to be a small price to pay for what, I believe, is ultimately a public good: serendipity.
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