How Far Is Too Far?

A dubious report claims the CIA has created a new hit squad to track down terrorists and kill them. Firstly, don't you assume the CIA got the idea to kill terrorists a long time ago? Secondly, continuing the sarcastic and naive approach on this topic, isn't the CIA officially banned from carrying out executions? Um... yessir! So this news report is either 50 years too late or completely wrong.

May the Shwirtz be with you

A must view video from the Conan O'Brien show where Triumph, the insult comic dog, goes to the premier of Star Wars and proceeds to insult every geek in sight.

Now if we can get some of that humor, minus the geeks, over to the Orgy of Creativity at GAZM.org.

Discrepancies are like stale popcorn

As I've said many times before, I really enjoy West Wing. I am now only beginning to catch up on the videotapes my family was kind enough to make of my favorite shows while I was away in Cannes. I feel compelled to point out a very silly plot point in this season's second-to-last episode. CJ's bodyguard informs her that the person seeking to kill her has been able to read all her emails - because he emailed her "a trojan horse virus which gives him access" to her computer.

Hmmm.... that is pretty damn silly. First of all, we don't need to know just how the assassin is tracking her so well (it makes him more "powerful"). Secondly, the concept is total bullshit! Is Aaron Sorkin being taken in by a chain email from 1995? Does anyone out there still believe you can be infected with a virus by having it simply emailed to you? If all it takes to get infected is knowing someone's email address then the whole world would have been destroyed by now. What a weak, sad plot point.

On a similar note - does anyone know what cell phone service Ben Aflac uses in Sum of all Fears? If he can casually make cell phone calls from ground zero of a nuclear bombing then I gotta think of an appropriately dismaying and sarcastic joke. So sorry that a joke of proper sarcastic magnitude eludes me now. Any ideas? Keep in mind the bomb crater and fallout extend over a 25 mile radius and his cell phone is not one of those huge satellite devices.

The Next Step

What has always pissed you off about radio?
What about online radio?
If you were creating your own radio station, how would it be different?
How would it have to be different to attract and keep your attention?

What do you think - please email here.

Sorry for the focus group nature of my blog these days. Lots of exciting projects going on - hopefully projects that will entice you, my most honored reader. I am about to get all Yoda-from-the-end-of-Clones up in this twizow!

Psychology and the Urge to Splurge

I guess the best way to get back into the swing of things is to not take 5 days between postings. I apologize. Let me show you the depths of my apology by asking for your help.

What does it take to get people to...
...read my blog?
...visit GAZM.org (the communal blog that welcomes postings and uploaded creations from anyone)?
...create free accounts on GAZM (necessary for rating, uploading, commenting, etc.)?
...respond to content others post to GAZM?
...contribute their own original thoughts, philosophies, wit and creative endeavors to GAZM?

I have no answers for those 5 questions. Each one, except the last two, although not answered effectively, is at least a reality. People do, amazingly, read this blog. People do visit GAZM.org (tens of thousands every month). People do create accounts on GAZM. Only a handful of people take the time to respond to an existing posting (similar to commenting on someone's blog). This is not a big surprise since even popular blogs rarely get many replies to most blog entries. There are, of course, many exceptions.

The question I would like to focus on is the last - What does it take to get people to contribute their own content to GAZM? The site is mind blowing, an orgy of creativity, a center where people are welcomed in anonymity and asked to contribute their passions and imaginations. Very little is off limits.

Yet why don't those who create accounts ever take the time to post something?

Some possible answers include inklings of the following concepts:
-People need direction.
-An "anonymous anarchy of art and opinion" is an intimidating proposition which holds people back from posting.
-Giving people more direction will increase postings exponentially (i.e. the Mirror Project's success with requesting only pictures of people's reflection in mirrors).
-The website sucks - it doesn't convey its goal or the process to achieve that goal in a powerful enough way.
-No incentive is given for contribution.
-Since lots of people don't post lots of things lots of times it seems as if no one will read your new posting - so why take the time?

All of those points are right to an extent. I have tried tweaking the site in response to all those points. I am blogging on this topic because it is an issue faced by many sites and I'd love to get some input on the matter. Please help me overcome this hurdle by communicating your take on it. Please ignore the fact that I am asking you to do exactly what I am identifying as my hurdle - getting people to take the time to contribute their ideas. The irony is thick and so is my sweat (caused by the lack of air conditioning in my NY abode).

I had to disable commenting on blog entries because of some technical difficulties (yet another irony for you to politely ignore). I will re-post comments emailed to me in new blog entries. I know that a bunch of GAZM users read my blog and hope you will also take the time to reply.

In other news...

I must give big props to Braun for creating the coolest shaver ever. It was given to me as a gift for being the best man at my brother's wedding. The damn things actually cleans itself. The shaver is powerful, has good features and, did I mention, it cleans itself! Check it out here. Ignore the aggregate rating Epinion users gave the shaver for battery life. It has unbelievable battery life. I took it with me to France and Miami for 15 days, shaved every day, and still had battery power left over.