The Plan

The 9 Per Week Project

2011-06-13T14:03:00.000-07:00

Today I'm excited/nervous to launch my next blog, the 9 Per Week project.

9PW is a 6 month game, by the end of which I will be a better Natalie. I received so much support from The Plan readers, so I wanted to update you guys first on this new project.

Read more and follow along here.

Thank you!

2011-06-11T12:06:00.000-07:00

There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.

-Anais Nin

Had a bit of a personal revelation this morning and found the trigger for my next project. Still working out the details, but have never felt more strongly that something needs to change.

#30DaysofCreativity

2011-06-01T07:46:00.000-07:00

@createstuff Have courage, be brilliant. Worry only about your own expectations of what is awesome. Make something. You are changing the world. #day1

Today is June 1. I’m participating in a crowdsourced creative exercise called 30 Days of Creativity, which is exactly what it sounds like. In short: create something every day for the month of June.

I’ll be posting my daily output on nataliefoundit. Excited to push myself, as I don’t usually “create” on the regular. To free myself of expectations and just ship.

Here goes.

PS - Hi to ex-Plan readers! Though life is less stressful sans The Plan, I do miss writing in here. Sometimes I'll find myself composing long-form emails that sounds a little like posts, and I know it's a manifestation of withdrawal. This 30 day exercise isn't my next blog project, but an in-the-meantime exercise.

365) The Very End

2011-04-16T05:53:00.000-07:00

First, watch this message from me. (If you don't have Flash 10, you can watch it in the very first panel of natalie found it.) Again, how flattering is the still image? Tried to upload it directly to Blogger, but it keeps giving me an error message. (Lesson 0.5) For the record, Tumblr is a better blogging platform than Blogger.

It's here. Number 365, the last day of The Plan. I was going to write a normal post, but there's so much to say about this project itself.

The Plan

Last April I told myself that in a year's time I would be a planner. I remember writing a note to myself in huge, all caps letters, double underlined in my journal. In a nutshell, I told myself that YOU HAVE THE POWER TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN FOR YOURSELF (sounds very Captain Planet, in retrospect).

Part of what came out of that note was The Plan. I realized that while I might still be working in management, I could (and very much needed to) practice my analytic thinking and writing skills. I needed something that would push me to be more curious, to observe more, and to coherently express myself.

I'd been keeping another blog, natalie found it for over a year at that point. And while I still love it as a catch-all of things I think others should see, I would go weeks without posting anything. If I was going to blog, I needed to make a firm commitment to it (Lesson 1). I think this is true for any blog. Your commitment doesn't have to be every day, but there needs to be some sort of posting schedule to which you hold yourself.

When I started, posts could take up to a few hours to think about, craft and write. On good days I would have thought about an idea or topic throughout the day. On the bad ones, I'd get to my computer at 10:30PM with not a single meaningful thought in my head. I used to fret about shitty, short posts I pulled out of my ass. But eventually, (Lesson 2) The Plan taught me that there's good and there's bad, but in the end, it's all good as long as you just do.

Posts got easier as the year went on. I can't believe where this blog has followed me - LA, Barcelona, Seoul, Beijing & Shanghai, Palo Alto, Austin and now New York. When I started The Plan, I had no idea how much change the year would bring. In that sense, The Plan now serves as a neat little thought trajectory of the year in my life where everything changed.

Thank you

As my awkward turtle video said, THANK YOU so much for reading and for supporting this little exercise of mine. It was such an added bonus to receive comments and emails from some of you. Thank you to those who sent blog fodder - you saved my ass more than once. Thanks to the international readers - I have no idea how you found me, but your little dots on the analytics map reaffirm every day the big world outside of my little world. And thanks, Mom and Dad, for reading every day, being the best PR team ever (I have a legion of readers who are friends of my parents). Dad, thanks for being my number one spell checker.

What's next

The short answer is, I don't know. But here's what I do know:

1) The Plan was an incredible experience, and a huge part of the last year of my life. While it's gotten me to where I wanted to go (for now), I'm ready to move on to something else. So no Plan year 2 plans.

2) I do want to keep writing and blogging. Not every day, and not necessarily about what I've been covering in The Plan. I'm toying with the idea of more personal and more creative writing.

3) Whatever it is will have to push me. Maybe this means looking outside of writing, incorporating other creative media.

As you can see, there are a lot of vague question marks to address. While I'd love to continue the momentum from The Plan, I hate the idea of starting another blog just to start another blog. So I'll be taking some time to think carefully about what the next project will be. In the meantime, I'll still throw things up on natalie found it, and will be sure to update The Plan once I figure out what's next.

If you want to keep in touch in the interim, you can reach me at natalieyoungkim(at)gmail.com or peek at what I'm up to via twitter.com/natalieykim. I would love nothing more than to say hi to each and every one of you individually.

That's it for now.

Onward and thank you,
Natalie

364) Accent Awareness

2011-04-15T18:27:00.000-07:00

French Learning English. Watch more top selected videos about: Inspector, Clouseau

A coworker of mine (well, several) is from Australia. We were working in a small war room when another coworker looked up from what she was doing and asked whether she hears her own accent when she speaks, or if it sounded like we Americans were the ones with accents. While American English is notoriously "flat" and seemingly accentless, the Australian responded that she doesn't realize she's speaking differently than everyone else, and that we were the ones with the accent.

"What does it sound like to you?" we asked.

She proceed to mimic an American accent. The accent (not the imitation) sounded awful, completely crude and unrefined. Oh god, we said, that's what we sound like?

By the same token, the Australian said that whenever someone imitates her accent, she gets self-conscious and vows never to speak again. It got me thinking - does anyone hear their own accent and think, "Man, I sound awesome." Granted, an imitator is usually exaggerating in their effort to come across as authentic. Some of the ease and naturalness of the accent is lost. But there is some truth to it. Perhaps it's just startling to hear our accents, since we are usually unaware of them.

And have you ever noticed that people change the tone of their voice when imitating other languages? I grew up learning French and whenever my dad prompted me to say something, he'd always repeat me in a voice an octave higher than his normal one, his mouth delicately puckered. It's the same reason why people imitating German often resort to a deeper, guttural voice.

I'd love to come up with a study to differentiate and explain how we hear ourselves versus the way others do.

(Mini aside - the penultimate post!)

363) Dear Crunchy Leaves

2011-04-14T20:32:00.000-07:00

A friend posted a link to Dear blank, please blank on Facebook today. The site is a collection of short, quippy, user-submitted letters. Some are reflections on pop culture, others are clever jokes. I was reading through some of them and realized that they are, in essence, a bunch of little crunchy leaves. They're funny because they're true.

If you get the following reference, you might be my soulmate.

You can rake through the leaves here.

(Mini aside - Thank you, thank you for all your kind support these last few days of The Plan. Your Likes, emails and notes of congrats mean so much to me. Two days, guys!)

362) Sway Just a Little

2011-04-13T16:36:00.001-07:00

They say to write what you know. Tonight, something I know nothing about.

I had a long catch up conversation with a girlfriend of mine the other day. She has a boyfriend of several years (who does not read The Plan) who recently moved abroad (disclosed with permission, of course). Despite the commonly known and accepted fact that long distance relationships are difficult, they decided to stay together (there's a great Sex and City line that gets to the heart of it - "And then Trey told the lie that all parents to be tell themselves to procreate. 'We will be different.'")

Should she decide that for whatever reason she doesn't want to be in the relationship anymore, a cause and effect dynamic has been put in place that makes any initiation of split that much harder. Clearly, her boyfriend wouldn't have left behind a good relationship if it wasn't to pursue something important to him. But a split initiated from home will inherently make him feel like he had made a mistake, that chasing his dream was wrong - that it's the direct cause of this heartbreaking effect. And who wants to be broken up with while on foreign soil? The guilt of knowing his lack of support system abroad is enough to keep her in it.

It doesn't matter if long distance itself is the culprit, or if the distance is simply a window through which certain things about the relationship become clear - it will be interpreted the same way. It's a difficult position to be in, for all parties involved (including me, who has no idea what advice to give).

This is certainly not meant to pass judgment on those who do choose to do long distance. And clearly, not all long distance relationships are doomed (this one included). I've had plenty of friends who are doing it, have done it, and come out the other side, still together - strong, if not stronger than before. The physical separation of two people with an emotional connection is powerful, for better or for worse.

And as much as I shake my head and back away from the very thought of long distance, my friend put me in my place. "But Natalie," she said, "if it's worth it, why wouldn't you?"

(Start at 1:45. Trust.)

(Mini aside - 3!)

361) Game Frame Fork

2011-04-12T19:13:00.000-07:00

Games and play have exploded. If you've been following The Plan, you'll know I've written about it multiple times in the past. It seems that everywhere I look, someone else is talking about gamification, or the game layer. Jane Macgonigal at TED, Seth Priesbatch at SXSW, and Aaron Dignan at the PSFK 2011 conference (see trailer for Dignan's book above).

One distinction Dignan made at the end of his talk at PSFK was that there are two paths we can take when it comes to applying game mechanics to the real world. The first path uses game mechanics to sell things, using incentives such as points, badges or coupons. These carrots, while beneficial to us in the short term, will be meaningless and unsustainable in the long term.

The second path uses games for learning skills, focusing on the mechanics behind things. By employing game dynamics we can be motivated and engaged enough to not only better ourselves, and to actually have fun doing it.

I like this notion that not just any type of game is the right one to employ. As games continue to race towards their tipping point and people jump to be part of it, this will be crucial measuring stick to keep in mind.

(Mini aside - I am mentally fried. Trying to put together something special for my last day. Four more.)

360) But What If?

2011-04-11T19:27:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to snag my friend Jesse for brunch while he was in town (check out his music project, Imaginary Friend above). We caught up on things, and ended up having a discussion on deal sites like Groupon (spurred by a very inappropriate text message I received from a gentleman at SXSW - another story for another blog). I've written before about deal sites, and my personal barriers to purchase.

And yet, I still wake up to an inbox of at least three different deal sites, Groupon included. Why I don't just unsubscribe is simple. It's just like trying to clean out your closet. Sure, you haven't worn that sweater in three years, but what if the perfect occasion arises and you've tossed it? It's the "what if" that keeps the sweater snugly tucked away in the bottom drawer. (I ashamedly held onto a pleated plaid skirt for years in the off chance I'd need it for a themed party. No joke. It's gone now.)

The same applies to deal site emails. Sure, I've never actually bought into a Groupon deal, but what if there's a killer deal on something I'd actually want someday in the future? The psychological what if hump is hard to get over.

(Mini aside - 5 days!)

359) Untitled, Apparently

2011-04-10T18:25:00.000-07:00

The Bolt Bus wireless is failing me, so it'll have to be a cell post tonight. This is made even more tragic by the fact that this is my final week of The Plan.

We were eating brunch this morning and one of the assorted dips that came with someone's fries tasted a little like baby food (#firstworldproblems). It was some sweet brandied tomato concoction that no one could quite handle.

The comment about baby food set my brain in motion. Back in our primitive days, mothers had to physically chew up food before feeding it to her child, much as our animal and bird friends still do. Once we had tools they were able to mush up the food by hand.

For some reason it struck me that today, there are companies who do this for us. They process fruit and veggies and pipe them into cute little jars. There is this whole industry that is simulating motherhood to make the modern woman's life a little easier.

Just something I was thinking about. Not meant to pass judgment, and certainly not meant to suggest that mothers should be chewing up their food and spitting it out today. It does make me wonder what type of mother I'll be (in the very distant future). Will I be filling my cart with pre-mushed food, or will I try to cook and food process it myself?

(Mini aside - much fun in DC. Sleepy, and to my delight, slightly flushed from sun exposure.)

358) A Very Important Person

2011-04-09T12:11:00.000-07:00

When it comes to events, clubs, etc. is there anything worse than "the list" culture? The anxiety over whether or not you're friend actually put you on the list, or whether you can get in without being on the list. Being denied in front of a whole line of people, dealing with the bouncer's power-trip attitude. And waiting in a long ass line, only to watch VIP slip in unhindered.

Unless you yourself are VIP. All you can think about is how great VIP is, how much fun you're having, how privileged you inherently feel. You don't, for a second, think about the riffraff who are still waiting outside, while you're already three drinks deep and have had your way with the dance floor.

But though it never crosses a VIP's mind, one cannot fully appreciate the VIP experience without having known the other side.

(Mini aside - currently on a bus down to DC for the weekend. Looking forward to my cousin's bday party, the cherry blossom festival, and slightly warmer weather.)

357) Emotional Design

2011-04-08T19:56:00.000-07:00

I was fortunate enough to attend PSFK's annual conference today. It was a day full of insightful speakers, and my head is buzzing with the interconnectedness of everything. I have pages of notes, but wanted to pull out one point that really struck me for tonight's post.

An associate professor at Georgia Tech's College of Computing started noticing pictures of people dressing up their Roomba vacuum cleaners (yes, people do this), and decided to study the phenomenon. Her 2007 report suggests that we can become emotionally attached to our gadgets and forgive them for not picking up all the dirt on the floor.

“They’re more willing to work with a robot that does have issues because they really, really like it,” [she] says. “It sort of begins to address more concerns: If we can design things that are somewhat emotionally engaging, it doesn’t have to be as reliable.”

This idea of "emotional design" was touched upon at a panel today called What's Next: A Panel on the Future. One panelist made this very important point: artists and designers should be involved in making technology, not just skinning it. Artists understand engagement, entertainment, and self-expression, which can help solve more nuanced emotional issues - something that computer science and engineering hasn't been able to crack.

Totally unrelated photos. I went to the Highline Ballroom right after the conference ended to see my friends Jesse and Kina play a show. Jesse got me a pass so I was able to sneak in early and watch him sound check. Was so good to see familiar faces from LA.

(Click click for full-size glory.)

356) Youthfully Ignorant

2011-04-07T19:29:00.001-07:00

We've all heard that youth is wasted on the young. We all have things we wish we could tell our 13, 16, 18 and 21 year old selves in order to avoid mistakes and truly appreciate the past. Generation after generation grow old, and still we are unable to "teach" the youngins how to make the most of their prime years.

I myself frequently think back on things that I thought were so important and so serious five or ten years ago, and laugh. This too shall pass, I mentally inform all the lovelorn teenagers. Things are not as serious as you think, so just enjoy, I whisper wisely.

But for all my sagacity, there's a great probability that I'll look back on my 20's when I'm 50 and still feel a small sting of dang, I wish I had...

For what is youth, if not the unknown, if not the reckless optimism of naivete, if not the subject of a lesson learned? And what is aging, if not making those mistakes and figuring it out for yourself along the way? "Youth is wasted on the young" is a faulty, regretful and almost bitter sentiment. Youth isn't wasted on the young, because youth is the young (duh), in all its misguided awkwardness, freak outs over nothing, and pining for the impossible (heck, I still do this...still got it!).

(Oh, college. I look like a baby. I distinctly remember what's happening in this picture. My roommate was packing for a weekend trip home, and we discovered that I fit in almost all of her luggage.)

355) Is This a Poem?

2011-04-06T20:12:00.000-07:00

Caution.
The beverage you
are about to
consume
is very hot.

I took a creative writing course at the local community college the summer between my freshman and sophomore year in high school. The very first class, the teacher wrote the above - taken off a Starbucks cup - on the board and asked whether or not it was a poem.

Somehow this little demonstration always stuck with me. The idea of manipulating words, line breaks and structure to create meaning outside of the literal. I've always had an appreciation of poetry, and have been on an extra kick as of late. It's poetry month over at Knopf, which means I get a poem in my inbox every day in April (sign up! it's lovely).

All this has made me think about online conversations as potential poetry. As wonderful as they are, face to face conversations are lost unless recorded. Online - whether it be a chat log, email chain or Facebook comment thread - provides a wealth of words just waiting to be worked with.

354) Fear of Subject Syndrome

2011-04-05T17:55:00.000-07:00

The other day, a friend of mine commented that he sometime wondered if our conversations were research fodder for me, in an unconscious way. How terrible to feel like you're being studied, when you're just trying to shoot the shit.

Therein lies one of my fears in being a planner. I don't want to use the lines, "it's hard to turn off" or "I'm always on," because it makes me sound like a robot. But there is something to be said about the researcher-subject role, and being able to keep that dynamic separate from life outside of work.

But where does one draw the line? I do pull inspiration and anecdotes from encounters with friends, things I've read on Facebook and Twitter, etc. I try to keep personal conversations out of The Plan, though many are the jumping off point for a particular topic (tonight included). Clearly, I don't operate in a vacuum, but can think of nothing worse than friends succumbing to subject syndrome, changing their natural behavior because they know they're being studied (there's an official name for this syndrome, but I can't find it).

(Mini aside - 11 more days! Having trouble wrapping my head around April 16 and what happens next. Also, ladies (and gentlemen?) - do you ever have days where you just have to take pictures of yourself? I'm not sure why I've been all self-portraity lately. In my head, lame/vain, but could also be a reflection of how attractive I'm feeling on a particular day. Ack, now I'm studying myself.)

353) Missing Bling

2011-04-04T15:57:00.000-07:00

Warning: slightly morbid post ahead.

I don't typically wear a lot of jewelry, but have an appreciation for rings. On days when I'm feeling festive, I'll wear bunch of them at once, and on more low-key days a solitary one will do.

Some rings I buy on an eye-caught whim (never over $20 - too easy to lose), and others carry special meaning. Without consciously meaning to initially, I formed a habit of purchasing a ring in every country I visit, and at every significant period of my life. Each is a small reminder of another time, of somewhere else.

The four shown above are what I like to call my "missing girl" rings. I'm usually wearing one if not all of them on any given day. Morbidly, I imagine that this is the jewelry the police would use to identify me, if real life was like CSI. From left to right:

1) Bought at the Brooklyn flea market last May when I came to NY to feel out the city before committing to move. "Shift Key" has not only served as a great conversation starter (especially in interviews - I've been asked three separate times whether my ring says "Shit Key"), but it's also become a bit of a reminder to shift perspectives and try to look at things from a different angle.

2) Bought at one of the jewelry stands along Bruin Walk at UCLA. I'd been looking forever for a ring with these dark, black stones all clustered together.

3) My rabbit ring. My brother bought it for me when we were in Seoul last summer at one of those crazy street markets. I love that it looks like Frank from Donnie Darko.

4) The ring that started it all. I bought this plain, sterling silver band during my first abroad program to France, back at the beginning of high school. I'm amazed it hasn't been lost.

I wrote once about paranoidly checking the backseat of my car on dark nights, or imagining someone waiting under my car to slit my Achilles heel. As weirdly graphic and specific as it sounds, I received a couple comments from females who said that they have the same fears. Is this another one of those? Do other females think of the jewelry they wear every day as potential identifiers, should something happen? Or have I just been watching too many episodes of Law & Order: Special Victim's Unit?

352) Self-Denial is a Slippery Slope

2011-04-03T15:27:00.000-07:00

Something a little different tonight.

One of my favorite weekend activities is browsing the $1 book stacks outside of The Strand. It's like a treasure hunt, sorting through piles of random topics, unedited advanced copies and outdated how-tos. And there's nothing more thrilling than paying for three books with change.

Yesterday, I walked away with a few books, including one entitled, Going Hungry: Writers on Desire, Self-Denial and Overcoming Anorexia, which I've been poring over all day.

Let me qualify my choice and put my parents' minds at ease by saying straight out that I've never had an eating disorder. What drew me to hand over the $1 for it is the concept of want and self-denial, which I think is one of the most fascinating things to read about. The idea that we are constantly checking our true wants in order to appear socially appropriate, or in this case, as a means to an end.

What has surprised me most about the book is how much it's made me evaluate my own eating habits, the way I think about food, and my body. I've actually been thinking about posting on this topic for awhile, but never knew how to approach it without sounding like I was generalizing about a serious issue. I've decided that the best way is to just write about my own experience.

Another reason why I've always hesitated about putting down my thoughts on the topic is that I have this image of males responding with this: "Groan, another broad with body image issues." I'm not quite sure why I paint the worst, most insensitive response in my head, but I suspect it's a reflection of my own reaction. How cliché, I think.

Here's what I believe, based on me: it is a slippery slope between fairly normal, acceptable eating/body concerns to a full-blown, diagnosable eating disorder. There is no definite line to cross, and starting at the harmless end can quickly and easily lead to the other extreme. It's just a question of whether you get there or not.

Here is what I know to be true about my relationship with my body and with food. You, dear readers, can judge (well, hopefully not judge) where I toe the line.

1) I've always been fairly comfortable with my body. I'm 5'4", petite, normally developed and proportional. Up through high school, I never thought about my body and was generally at peace with the way I looked. I swam competitively, maintained a normal diet, and never once thought about what I should or should not be eating. I graduated high school at 110 pounds.

Then in college, I gained the stereotypical freshman 15. Erratic exercise habits, all you can eat dining halls and late night, after-party Puzzles runs (fond memories of this on-campus burger, pizza, fries, everything-terrible-for-you joint) - all of your typical elements for initial weight gain. I was by no stretch of the imagination fat, or even overweight (healthy weight for my height is 120. At the worst, I was 122), but to me the extra weight showed on my small body. This has always been a tenet for me - my small Asian frame makes any seemingly negligible amount of weight gain more noticeable.

These days, I've come back down to around 115. While I feel like I'm hyper-alert to minor changes in my body, on the whole I appreciate my form. The only part that really bothers me are my thighs. To me, they are disproportional to the rest of me. What's truly silly is that when I see pictures of my legs, they look great. But from my perspective, looking down at them, they don't. Clearly, there is something at play.

2) In my mind, I've never seriously dieted. Of course, I go through phases where I'll watch what I eat more carefully. This has only gotten more frequent as I've gotten older. But I've never put myself on a strict regimen. I hate the idea of deprivation, of not being able to eat what I want. I'm a wannabe foodie, and discovering new restaurants, dishes and cheap eats is one of the things I adore about living in a big city.

Instead, I try to make smarter choices (at least, that's what I tell myself). Eat less meat, especially red, opt for veggies, try not to overdo it on bread and rice (wheat and brown, respectively). The only liquids I drink other than water are coffee, tea, milk with cereal and the occasional alcoholic beverage. If I have a snack attack (every two hours - for whatever reason, I feel like I'm constantly hungry at work. I think a lot of it is procrastination/stress eating), I'll reach for fruit instead of chips in the kitchen. I try to be portion conscious, as I'm convinced that we need way less than we're usually served.

But I struggle with a couple things. The first is my sweet tooth. I inherited from my father, and if I had my way, I would always say yes to dessert. I love strolling new neighborhoods and popping into small bakeries and confectioneries to sample this and that.

The second is that given the right circumstances, I have little self-control when it comes to food I keep in my apartment. I've eaten a whole bag of grapes in one day, and an entire box of Blue Diamond almond crackers in one sitting. This compulsive (dare I say) binge habit (again, I suspect procrastination/stress at fault) forces me to keep only healthy food in my kitchen. You'll find no secret stash of chocolate here.

3) Case in point. Here's what I ate today. I walked to Whole Foods and invested in one of those small containers of pre-sliced berries for breakfast. For lunch, I stopped for a chopped salad with a slice of 9 grain bread on the side. I was out and about all morning, and by the time I came home, nothing sounded better than one of the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies I'd bought at the green market on Saturday on a whim. Except that one sizable cookie (about the size and thickness of my hand) became two. To make up for it (a common, and often misguided theme in Going Hungry) I had a large, fresh-pressed carrot/apple juice and about half of a cold sesame noodle appetizer for dinner. Finally, I've been munching on a large bowl of grapes as I write. (In retrospect, the dinner sounds ridiculous, and completely unbalanced. Actually a little ashamed of it.)

I realize this has been long-winded, and kudos if you've made it this far. I'm not sure what I'm trying to accomplish by disclosing all of this, other than to illustrate the point that there is a fine line between "normal" eating/body concerns and an eating disorder. You start to see common themes and beliefs that are shared between the two. This isn't a cry for help or pity - again, though I know my body and food habits aren't ideal (in a perfect world, I'd find something active that I love so I don't have to make an effort to exercise, and could eat whatever I wanted), I am nowhere near as drastic as some of the writers in the book.

Most anorexia stems from some emotional distress, neglect, abuse or aesthetic pressure during childhood, and becomes the way of exerting control over one's life. I'm thankful to report that I had none of those things. I received plenty of love from my family and friends, enjoyed enough attention from boys, and didn't hang out with those obsessed with their weight. I have no seeming reason to worry about eating habits, other than plain old vanity, or if I'm rationalizing, to be "healthy".

Not really sure how to end this, other than to say: Mom, Dad, please don't freak out. I'm happy and healthy. Promise.

351) Genuine Flash Mobs

2011-04-02T18:32:00.000-07:00

Quick post tonight, as I'm heading out in a bit.

It's really uncomfortable when a video tries too hard be viral instead of just letting it happen naturally. I'm convinced that there is no formula for viralness, and that the unspoken power of viral lies solely in the hands of viewers.

By the same token, there's nothing sadder than a flash mob gone wrong. About a week ago, a couple co-workers were buzzing about a flash mob that was happening at noon in Union Square, right by our office. A few of us went down to grab lunch and to check it out. The "flash mob" amounted to a group of cheerleaders performing their routine while people carried in water jugs to celebrate World Water Day (just checked - it was a Levis-backed stunt). It was little more than a ripple, a flash in the pan, and definitely not a mob.

Cut to today.

(Video is of the same event last year.)

It was National Pillow Fight Day, and Union Square hosted one of the NYC ones this afternoon. I walked by earlier as it was winding down, but there was still a joyful energy in the air. The ground was covered in feathers and fluff, and everyone had little bits stuck in their hair like snow. I took a few pictures which I'll post later.

Like the viral videos, there's something to be said about the organic nature of flash mobs. Mobs for the sake of something fun will very often prove to be more successful than brand-backed gatherings.

350) The Cost of Being Fooled

2011-04-01T17:27:00.000-07:00

One year when I was in elementary school, my mom sat me down and told me that I was going to be transferred from the school I loved to a boarding school on the east coast. I can still remember exactly where we were. We were visiting my grandfather up in Sonoma for the weekend. She sat me down at the kitchen table, looked me straight in the eye, and delivered the news. I started to cry and stammer in protest - I distinctly remember saying, "But...I'm really happy at Pinewood..." as if trying to make a case against the idea.

Of course, it was an April Fool's joke. While I must have been vaguely aware of what day it was, the news was so terrifying (and well performed) that I couldn't not react as if it was true. It would be too costly if I assumed it was a joke and it turned out to be true.

Fast forward to April 1, 2011. Three separate Facebook acquaintances got engaged today. They changed their relationship statuses, sat back and awaited the reactions. Initial ones were purely congratulatory, and included a lot of exclamation points. Again, to not react accordingly to big news, even on April Fool's day and especially given our not-unheard-of-to-be-engaged age, is costly. Eventually, one commenter will gently question whether it's an April Fool's joke. Once the seed's been planted, once one person makes it okay to cast doubt, everyone follows suit.

It's as if it's better to react appropriately and be fooled, than to question and be wrong. Though everyone should know that anything done today would be cast in a shadow of doubt. And then there are those who use that fact to their advantage, so that their crazy news is even crazier because it's true on April Fool's day.

(Google's oft looked forward to annual April Fool's prank. While the movements themselves are silly, I feel like the concept itself isn't that far off. How great if they released the real Gmail Motion tomorrow or next week? Oh, and PS - cue card reading, much?)

349) Beauty in Data

2011-03-31T15:03:00.000-07:00

(Beautiful nonsense infographics from Datavisualization.ch)

I was just writing something when I stopped to google "collaboration synonym" in order to find an alternate word. Then a data idea hit me - what if we could see the frequency of words that were searched in junction with the word "synonym" over time? Not only would this be a reflection of how much certain words were used in a given year, but also which ones we wanted to replace. (My top 2 - interesting and fascinating.)

The imagined end result would be this gorgeously designed graph of word popularity over time (a jargon map, perhaps?), as well as connections between these words and their most popular replacements. The outer layer would be this rich data set of synonyms.

(Clearly) I've become such a data nerd. It's mixing wonderfully with my word nerdom.

348) Lick, Lick, Lick

2011-03-30T17:53:00.000-07:00

First, play the video and do what it says.

The viral gods are abuzz over this Skittles ad that has been making the rounds online for the past couple of days. There's something to be said about reframing the idea of interactive video, of simply taking a step back and putting an analog spin on it, and thereby separating oneself from the clutter. There's a small, delightful sense of satisfaction in being a part of the video in that way (I challenge anyone not to smile while a fuzzy cat licks your finger).

Brava, Skittles.

347) Don't Forget the Humans

2011-03-29T19:23:00.001-07:00

(Image from PSFK.)

Sci-fi headlines like this one - "Mind Scanning Gadget Enables Emotional Browsing Of Flickr" - have been popping up more frequently on my feeds lately. My first response is to always look for the preserved humanity (if any) in these high tech, futuristic innovations. As we move toward a world where computers and algorithms can beat us in Jeopardy and provide us with emotional comfort as virtual girlfriends, I think the brands that can maintain an element of real humanity will continue to bubble to the top.

(Seems like it would just be easier to navigate Flickr the traditional way...*shakes head, blinks furiously*)

(Mini aside - I'm not sure if it's knowing I only have 18 more posts to go, or that my mind's been elsewhere, but I'm finding it difficult to write these days. Pushing myself to finish strong. Thanks for sticking it out.)

346) Pieces of Posts Past

2011-03-28T17:29:00.000-07:00

I have massive writer's block tonight, so I'm stealing a few excerpts from an old online journal I used to keep. It's still very much public, but I keep it under wraps because 75% of it is embarrassingly emo and mostly about boys. But I can't bring myself to delete it. It's a nice record of the way things were, how I thought, and how I wrote back then.

A few random excerpts, and some retrospective commentary. The first one is a little heavy, apologies.

March 1, 2005
Today as I was walking to French class, a horribly cruel dream that I had last night came rushing back to me. I don't know if I've ever had such an emotional dream, and it hurt so badly to remember it. I dreampt that he was alive, that it was all a joke. I was walking down a sunny sidewalk with random friends and all of a sudden I see him walking toward us. Just him, smiling, there, with short buzzed hair like he had in jr. high. My heart seizes up because it's as if I've seen a ghost, but he's there in front of me. I fall on my knees on the sidewalk and start gasping and sobbing, while at the same time I've never felt so incredibly glad in my life. I remember vaguely hearing one random friend say, "Oh yeah, Natalie didn't know..." like I was the only one who hadn't heard yet that it wasn't true. I got up and gave him the biggest hug ever, sobbing incredulously, babbling about how hard it had been to deal. He smelled like he did at dances, when he used his special cologne. He showed me a large scar on the back of his head, but shrugged it off as if it was nothing. I was so incredibly relieved.

But it was all a dream. It's so cruel the way memory comes back and attacks when you least expect it. I don't want to forget his memory, but it hurts to be teased like that.

(Thankfully never had another dream like that again. This was the one white squall in an otherwise calm-sea childhood. I still wonder where he'd be and what he'd be doing.)

December 9, 2004
Oh my goodness.

I just came back from my last Intro to Communications lecture. The subject of today's lecture was advertising. I've figured it out: I LOVE advertising. THIS IS WHAT I WAS MEANT TO DO. The whole lecture I was sitting up, leaning forward in my chair without even trying, and every five minutes I thought, "wow, this is so interesting". Now I'm so anxious - with so many talented people in the world, how can I make my mark in the advertising world? But I want want want to do it. I want to flip through a magazine and be able to say, "I created that". I'll never forget the advertising project I did sophomore year in Mr. B-something's (my memory is failing me) Communications class at Gunn. We made a black and white commercial filmed at Juana Briones for a made up perfume/cologne. It was basically Tupy and I running around but it was so good and so much fun. I want to do that for a living - not be in commercials but make them. Definitely switching to a Communications Studies major. I still want to study literature too though...and French....hmm can I double minor? It's so crazy how excited I am. I can't explain how good it feels to actually be so interested in something and want to do it so badly.

(It's nice to have career affirmation from my 19-year-old self.)

July 2, 2004
It has finally hit me that hey, no more high school, it's time to move on to college. God, it seems like only yesterday (yep, I sound like an old fogie) I was wondering if that day would ever come, if I was ever going to be old/smart/cool enough to be a college girl.

(And now I'm 25. Holy hell. Sometimes I still feel like I'm just playing adult.)

(Carefree in college.)

345) Relics or Resources

2011-03-27T14:39:00.001-07:00

(Image from TIME.)

"Robotic Clouds Will Provide Shade During Qatar World Cup."

We see it every time there's an international event. The host city will bust out some crazy technology or build complete infrastructures seemingly out of thin air in order to put their best face forward. Money is never an object (where does that phrase come from?), and no timeline is too quick.

These robot clouds ("...essentially massive blimps, filled with helium, and will be floated above stadiums. Four onboard solar-powered engines will allow the clouds to be controlled from the ground, shifting along with the sun's zenith, serving as a huge umbrella in the sky to shade spectators and athletes.") come in at $500,000 each, which is "pocket change" for the Middle East nation.

While I understand the the investment made for these events is meant to come back to the host country through tourism revenue, I can't help feeling like there's something wrong with pulling out the stops only when the world is watching, especially if the cost is chump change. The other half of this is the integration and use of said infrastructures after the world has gone home. Are they woven into the fabric of the city (ex - the swimming facility built for the '92 summer Olympics in Barcelona is now a public pool)? Or do they stand as separate tourist relics, too big for community use (see: Beijing Bird's Nest - an interesting case study to watch. Unclear what it will become.)?

I love the idea of these infrastructures being repurposed to benefit the local community. TBD what will happen to these robotic clouds after the World Cup champion is crowned. Will they be relics or resources?

PS - Not to go all doomsday, but does floating giant robotic cloud blimps over millions of spectators/athletes sound like a disaster waiting to happen to anyone else?

344) That Changes Everything

2011-03-26T18:29:00.000-07:00

Around the world in 2000 pictures from alex profit on Vimeo.

“We travel because we need to, because distance and difference are the secret tonic of creativity. When we get home, home is still the same. But something in our mind has been changed, and that changes everything.”

- Jonah Lehrer, The Guardian

It's back. The travel bug. Three things happened. First, I talked with one of my best friends who is living in Colombia for a month via video chat. Second, I was sent a series of achingly gorgeous images from faraway cities by a friend who is much better-traveled than me. Lastly, I was sifting (digitally) through my photos from Barcelona, which have the uncanny ability to make me a little emotional. Bitten.

I posted this quote almost a year ago in a post about traveling, expanding horizons, etc (before Spain, before Asia). What amazes me this time around is how important life in New York can feel - how all-consuming the city is as one's whole world. But all it takes is a few photos from a couple Google image searches, and the sheer amount of unseen begins to overwhelm.

Can we ever shake the urge to travel? I've had friends talk about, "getting it out their system" before life's commitments become jet-set preventative. Truth be told, I was a late bloomer when it came to the want/need to travel. As much as I enjoyed family vacations to exotic corners (my parents were good about exposing us to different parts of the world), I didn't have the urge to strike out on my own until, well, last year I suppose.

If our biological instincts tell us to reproduce and raise offspring (implying a state of settlement), then the urge to travel is something wrought of...what? Our human curiosity? The want to expose ourselves to as much unknown as possible in order to be culturally and intellectually fit?

Bottomline: Need to start formulating travel plans for 2011.

343) The Sharing Economy

2011-03-25T19:33:00.000-07:00

Another SXSW recap for you tonight. I sat in on a panel called, "The New Sharing Economy." (We're talking physical sharing, not information sharing.) While sharing practices aren't new (movie rentals, the library), the internet has enabled an economy of sharing (Netflix, Airbnb, Rideshare, etc.). Motivated by altruistic (good for society, the environment) and selfish (saves money) benefits, this co-consumerism has the opportunity to increase the value of and the meaning behind objects.

Buying something from a retailer is individualistic. It's a one time transaction. Sharing, on the other hand is communal. It changes the commerce model to a more cyclical system, as objects are transferred among people. The opportunity lies in retailers/brands adopting the same cyclical model for traditional retail,which not only helps builds community among customers, but also extends the value of each item.

The second piece is the meaning within objects that are shared. Often, our attachment to things has to do with our experiences with them, not the physical properties themselves. One panelist was the founder of Itizen, a platform that allows users to create barcodes that are attached to shared objects. The barcode tells the story behind the objects as they are passed along.

Hand cramping. Last day of non-internet existence - tomorrow I can get back to laptop posts with pictures.

342) The Virtual Date

2011-03-24T19:17:00.000-07:00

My Airbnb host in Austin has a fiance that lives in Cambridge for grad school. I asked if that was difficult - being apart for what sounded like an indeterminate amount of time. Because to me, that sounds like a nightmare.

In his adorable French-native-speaking-English accent, he told me that it was hard, but that they found ways to be together without being together. He told me that just last week, they tried watching the same movie on Netflix at the same time, while connecting via Skype. Both were skeptical about this "virtual" movie date, but in the end, it was a lot of fun. No matter that they were individually sitting alone in their respective rooms - for a couple hours they felt like they were together (cue collective aww).

Huge duh that technology and the internet allow us to be better connected, but I love the idea of these platforms creatively packaging and positioning themselves as tools for those who can't physically be together (ex. Netflix simulcasts to linked accounts with Skype widget built in). Not just long distance gf/bfs, but also faraway friends and family.

341) Racism in Anonymity

2011-03-23T15:56:00.000-07:00

One of the panels I attended at SXSW was called "E-Race: Avatars, Anonymity & the Visualization of Identity." It looked at how racism plays out online, particularly in relation to avatars. A few notes from the talk which I found really (insert word other than interesting here).

1) Visible Racial Profiling. A study was conducted on Craigslist, in which ads selling an iPod were posted. In the ads, the photo of the product showed just the iPod and the hand holding it. One ad featured a white hand, one a black hand, and one a tattooed hand. Not only did the ad with the black hand receive 32% less offers than the white hand, but people tried to bargain more, offered lower prices, and even tried to barter objects.

2) Voice Activated Racism. Female gamers on Xbox Live are profiled by the sound of their voice. On that note, the panelist mentioned a blog called Fat, Ugly or Slutty, which allows female gamers to chronicle all the sexist comments they receive while playing. Definitely worth a look.

3) Racism Against Avatars. The whole point of avatars are to mask your true identity. But studies are consistently finding that a decision to choose a minority avatar exposes you to more hate. Even usernames that sound like minority names are targeted.

We think of online gaming as largely anonymous, yet these themes of racism still find their way in. On the flip side, the fact that perpetrators are also anonymous creates disinhibition, and an exacerbation of the problem.

340) The Bruised Ego

2011-03-22T19:13:00.000-07:00

I didn't get a chance to post at work today, and seeing as I don't have internet set up at my new place (and no open connections from unsavvy neighbors - torture!), I'm forced to cell post tonight. At least I'm home cozied up on my bed and not in the middle of a bar typing away.

True story. About half an hour ago, I was walking home, when I caught my heel on some uneven pavement and went down in the middle of a crosswalk. It was one of those slow motion falls, where you try to catch yourself halfway, but the momentum causes you to go ahead and fall anyway.

It hurt. But not physically (yet). My face flushed and I tried, despite my increasingly throbbing knee to keep walking at a brisk pace, like it didn't happen. I didn't look back, afraid of the looks of pity and/or amusement behind me. The embarrassment, and the need to save face was so overwhelming as a first response. No matter that my left knee, which caught the brunt of it, had been scraped hard enough to draw blood (which I discovered only after I got home. It's not pretty.)

If pain is meant to alert us to harmful things to our bodies, then what does it mean when a bruised ego hurts most?

Ow.

339) Offline Privacy

2011-03-21T19:59:00.000-07:00

(Photo from art.com.)

I spent my first night in my new apartment last night. It's coming together piece by piece, but the one element I do not have yet is curtains. My bed is situated right by a window, and given that I live in a studio, I've been feeling rather exposed lately. It's made me realize how much we think about virtual privacy these days, but how little we worry about who can see us without our knowing in real life.

Granted, I'm on the other side of creepy too, and have done my fair share of window watching. Voyeurism in the real world! Again, I love appreciating the off and online versions of things.

(Quick post, as I'm still at work. Living the dream.)

338) The Power of Spoken Word

2011-03-20T07:24:00.000-07:00

Watch the video. Do it.

A friend posted this to their Facebook wall the other day, and it was too powerful to keep to myself. The power of read words on a page (paper or virtual) is undeniable. The very thought of moving someone with static words that can be interpreted and inflected in someone's head any which way is every writer's dream.

But something is added to poetry when it's spoken aloud. The intent is there behind their voice. You can hear the passion in Sarah Kay's voice in her execution - it sounds like her words are so excited to get out, they tumble over one another, crowding to escape and be heard, leaving her almost breathless.

I also love the ending of "Hiroshima".

337) History: Time vs. Space

2011-03-19T20:16:00.000-07:00

(Mini aside - I feel brain dead and frazzled, two things I do not like feeling. Moving is such a pain in the ass. That's all I'll say, no more whining. Stealing a post from the blog I kept during SXSW.)

I heard a really fascinating talk at SXSW on telling visual stories using time and space, the mapping of which is typically mutually exclusive.

One of the panelists discussed events as a third way to represent historical data. While space and time are abstract concepts, events are real. They are the products of the stories we tell.

A recent example is the Egyptian revolution. If we think about it (especially remotely), there are as many Egyptian revolutions as there are individual stories about the revolution. The large event is made up of singular representations.

The speaker’s point was that the Internet allows us access to richer data models for events. Essentially, we are able to move from a shared experience to a more nuanced history made up of the aggregation/visualization of individual itineraries (via tweets, uploaded photos, etc.).

336) For the Love of Seasons

2011-03-18T19:30:00.000-07:00

(Photo by Andrew Prokos. Enlarge this puppy. Can't wait for the cherry blossoms!)

Today, I was finally able to appreciate what it means to have seasons. After a seemingly endless string of consecutive bone-chilling days, gray skies, sometimes rain, sometimes snow, at the worst times wind, it felt like spring. Not only was it a comfy 70 degrees out, but you could feel the energy change in New Yorkers as a collective. Everyone emerged from curling into themselves within their big coats and scarves, and this new exposure lifted and projected everyone's spirits.

I walked the 11 or so blocks home from my new place to my old place tonight, and was filled with this balmy happiness. And while I've probably experienced thousands of similar days in California, it never felt as special as this one. It's the juxtaposition of seasons, the hard endurance through the winter that had everyone smiling today.

(Mini aside - Long night of packing in front of me. Yearly pilgrimage to IKEA tomorrow, movers tomorrow night. Pumping myself up for a jeans-and-old-tshirt-and-backwards-cap day of productivity and manual labor.

Also - a little less than a month left of The Plan! Madness.)

335) Fake Money, Real Good

2011-03-17T18:53:00.000-07:00

Here's a thought I had today. With the millions of online and social media gamers, there must be a massive amount of virtual currency out there. What if we could turn that virtual currency into real aid for Japan? Could Farmville, Cityville, World of Warcraft, Sims, Neopets, and any other online game in which currency must be earned (in the case of some, people actually exchange real money for this virtual money) allow their players to donate their online dough to fund a real world donation?

This would serve as a nod to their own success, a comment on the power of online worlds affecting the real one, and of course, an altruistic gesture. I love the idea of taking something that already exists online, something of "dormant" value, and pushing it into the real world for good.

EDIT: I should really research, before I write. Check out efforts by Zynga and Ngmoco.

(Mini aside - Getting ready for a night of packing up my life into suitcases, yet again. Moving on Saturday. Helloooo, East Village.)

334) Global Problem, Local Action

2011-03-16T11:59:00.000-07:00

Seth Priebatsch from SCVNGR gave one of the key note speeches at SXSW on the Game Layer, and how the next decade will be the Decade of Games. The finale was a game that involved the thousand listeners in the room. Each person was given a random colored card (yellow, blue or green) when they sat down. In three minutes, each row had to organize themselves into one color by trading their cards with the people immediately around them. If they could accomplish this, SCVNGR would donate $10,000 to charity.

The success of the game (it took less than 180 seconds) illustrated the power of communal gameplay in solving a tricky problem with local action. All the elements of a global problem, such as global warming, were there:

1) lack of communication
2) different trading patterns
3) different “countries” i.e. rows
4) different wealth (some people had more than one card to trade)
5) restricted movement
6) decentralized leadership
7) countdown
8) joint goal

A powerful demonstration. Priesbatch pointed out that the countdown, as well as the joint goal of getting the money to the charity, infused the "game" with epic meaning, making the players "blissfully productive".

(Mini aside - Flying back to NY tonight. SXSW felt like spring break, and the trip makes me want to travel to more places I've never been. Though, I have missed the NY hustle. Up next - moving this weekend!)

333) What is Web 3.0

2011-03-15T17:28:00.000-07:00

(Mini aside - I'm staying at my friend's hotel room for my last couple nights in Austin. Instead of eating out tonight, I opted to come back and spend some time with my laptop and room service. SXSW has been great beyond words, but I am so exhausted. The Interactive part of the festival ended today, so tomorrow will be my chill out in downtown Austin day. Hoping to find and snap some street art, and other Austin oddities.)

6th St., Downtown Austin.

Quick note: If you want a peek at what I've been up to in Austin, you can visit my other blog, nataliefoundit.

I heard a really interesting (worst. word. ever.) talk by Reid Hoffman, the CEO of LinkedIn. He discussed Web 3.0, and his vision of what it will be. A couple points that stuck:

1) We are inventing and creating the future. Back in the 50's and 60's, we envisioned a Jetsons future - flying cars, robot servants. But just because we don't have either of those doesn't mean we're not in "the future." Instead of flying cars and robots, we entered into an information future.

2) Web 1.0 was about searching files anonymously. Web 2.0 incorporated our real identity and relationships. As a result, we started generating massive amounts of explicit (profile info), implicit (I signed onto Facebook X times today) and analytic (trending) data. Hoffman believes that Web 3.0 will answer the question - what are we inventing out of that data?

3) One of the barriers to Web 3.0 is privacy. But instead of an Orwellian dystopia, Hoffman is more wary of a Huxlian Brave New World. Because we're generating all this information, it becomes harder to discern truth from falseness, harder to quality control. And there's a ton of it. The fear is that due to information overload, we will be reduced to just holding onto our own opinions.
This was really powerful to me - I'd never thought about it that way.

332) Social Media Managers

2011-03-14T18:48:00.000-07:00

The official SXSW trade show opened today. What struck me the most was the number of social media management companies there were. So many (but not all) of the social media experts out there are just glorified regulars who have Facebook and Twitter profiles, and capitalize on the older generations who own the brands and companies that need to be on social media.

When the younger, grew-up-with-it generation starts to take control of these brands/companies, will these social media management companies become irrelevant?

Written in line. My trip was extended by a couple of days, so I'll be in Austin a little longer! Having a lot of fun.

331) This Is My Friend

2011-03-13T13:33:00.000-07:00

I thought my posts here at SXSW would be more tech/social media/digital focused, but I keep having to do cell posts since I'm out sans laptop all day. Which is not at all conducive of complex and deep topics. I have a little break right now so I'm sitting at the PepsiCo lounge typing away with one finger.

Last night I was out at The Blind Pig on 6th St., the third stop of a long night (not cut out for marathon parties. So sleepy today, zzzzzz). I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"Hi, I'm Andy," says the tapper. I introduce myself back.

"This is my friend, Josh." He pulls forward a sheepish-looking pal.

STRIKE ONE. Fellas, if your friend has to introduce you, it's an instant red flag. You've essentially been set up to look like a chump by your extroverted, gregarious friend. I get that some people are shy, but your friend really isn't doing you any favors by opening for you.

"Josh really needs to get laid. He's on the way to becoming the 40 year old virgin."

As if I wasn't already sold. STRIKE TWO. At this point, no one feels comfortable, except for Andy, who thinks he's hilarious.

"So, can he buy you a drink?"

Um, no. Because that was the worst opener ever. You just made Josh sound like the least desirable charity case in the world.

This was the worst one I've heard, though I've encountered the friend-intro before. Never say never, but it's never worked.

330) Check comment section of last post. Technical difficulties.

2011-03-12T18:48:00.000-08:00

329) Fountain of Youth

2011-03-11T17:06:00.000-08:00

(Taken earlier today. I cannot tell you how much I love this picture.)

Day 1 at SXSW!

I have never overheard so many people bragging about their check-ins before. While the success of Foursquare (especially at SXSW, where it was first announced) and Gowalla are no secret, to actually hear people articulate the fact that they checked in somewhere boggles my mind.

Think about it. In real life, check-ins would be like getting to your destination and announcing out loud, "I'm here! At the Starbucks on 17th St. and Union Square West!" It would be ridiculous. Because it is the audience that matters. In real life, we proclaim our current location to strangers in the vicinity. Online, it's a more selective group of friends, acquaintances, etc.

I understand that the purpose of these check-in platforms is to facilitate "serendipitous" meet ups in real life. And while that's an admirable purpose, I can't help but feel that most just check-in for the sake of checking in - that the frequency of actually meet-ups caused by coincidental geo-location is low.

We (or, many of the people I encountered today) place value on check-ins. ("I checked in to like four places just last night." No joke. Word for word.) This in itself feels lacking in meaning. It's self-validation, a waving of our arms, saying, "I'm here! I exist! I do things that matter!" This sentiment is often attributed to teens, as self-validation in their formative years is treated like crack. But clearly, this older demographic is enthusiastically following suit.

Granted, not all do. Aside from tech savvy, I'd love to see the psychology behind people who feel they need to check-in and the ones who don't. At a certain point, do we "grow out of it"? Is it like a late or extended adolescence? Perhaps we've found the newest way to remain young - like checking in to the fountain of youth.

328) The Unlearned Lesson

2011-03-10T19:20:00.000-08:00

I had a bunch of errands to run after work, and this weather was not helping. Seriously, eff the rain, it was so miserable. So ready to escape to Austin for a bit.

I still have to pack and finish up a couple things before bed tonight, so I'll make this quick. Ladies, tonight I re-learned a lesson that I can never seem to retain. Never pay someone to paint your nails. Sure, it looks great. But manicures are the most ephemeral things in life. No matter how long you sit under that little dryer thing or the UV light, they always get nicked and smudged before I get home. Just reaching into your bag to get your keys is a landmine waiting to go off. It's one of the most frustrating things.

Getting picked up at 4:30AM tomorrow morning. Sunshine, here I come!

327) Live the Language

2011-03-09T20:12:00.000-08:00

EF - Live The Language - Barcelona from Albin Holmqvist on Vimeo.

I discovered this commercial for EF International Language Centers a little while ago, and it flooded me with warm memories of Barcelona. Their tagline, "Live the Language" is the perfect end to their collection of city-specific videos. It hits on the insight that there's the vocabulary that you learn in class, and there's the language you pick up on the streets, when you're out going through the daily life. You can watch the rest of the spots here (viewer beware - the travel bug will bite).

Getting excited about my next travel adventure! Yes, Austin counts. (Living the language - wearing cowboy boots and eating BBQ?) Heading to bed early again tonight.

326) Big News Bearer

2011-03-08T18:04:00.000-08:00

(Photo from Loveolio, by Max Wanger.)

Increasingly, we are receiving big news via social media.

Just this morning, I learned that a girl I went to elementary school with recently got married from the pictures of her dressed in white posted on Facebook. A few minutes ago, Twitter gently broke the news that Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr has died. And more soberingly close to home, in the past few years I've learned of two high school classmates' passings via Facebook memorial announcements.

Engagements, college acceptance, weddings, babies, deaths. Sure, we still do the in real life relay of good and bad news, but now we also broadcast it to our networks, including our weak ties. And while this keeps us more informed (I would have never known, had I not seen it on Facebook), it also feels somewhat misplaced amidst the stream of mundane details. Sometimes it feels like it dilutes the specialness of the message, which is contrary to the idea that the more people who know, the better.

While the Internet is the great enabler that makes our lives easier, are there certain things that just shouldn't be delivered online? Marriage proposals via iChat? Eulogies as Facebook Notes? As everything continues to be digitized, are there some territories that, in order to maintain their essence, should stay offline?

(Mini aside - I'm chugging Emergen-c and heading to bed. Cannot get sick before SXSW. Body, COOPERATE.)

325) How the Mighty Have Fallen

2011-03-07T20:05:00.000-08:00

(Mini aside - When I first started The Plan, the daily posting used to stress me out like crazy. I'd stay late at work just to finish it for the night, or would spend hours before bed fretting and typing. It definitely took some getting used to.

Suffice to say that posting has now become routine. Case in point: it's 11:08PM in NY, I've just started writing, and I'm not freaking out. Also, this morning when I woke up, I momentarily couldn't remember whether I'd posted the previous day. A little sad to think that my entry was that forgettable, or that crafting each one has lost some of its specialness. But also a testament to what one can get used to, what habits we can pick up if we just keep at it.)

I've been thinking about our societal love of seeing those in power fall. Goliath taken down. A politician shamed by scandal. A CEO caught embezzling. The celebrity going bat shit crazy, put in rehab, or sent to jail. Oh, how the mighty have fallen, and how we enjoy watching it.

Like or loathe her, I think Gaga's theories on fame are pretty insightful. Start at 7:08.

"Everyone wants to see the decay of the superstar...isn't that the age we live in? We want to see people who have it all, lose it all."

And why is that, exactly? Is it simply comforting to know that those in power are at their core, just like us? By some weird transitive property, does their failure imply that we are able to achieve the same kind of greatness they did? (If we can fail the same way, does that mean we can succeed the same way?) In some quasi-sick, voyeuristic way, does the suffering of others bring us comfort about our own situation? Or do we believe that there's an unspoken sense of balance (karma?) that must be maintained?

324) Great Expectations

2011-03-06T14:58:00.000-08:00

(Totes unrelated, but neat nonetheless.)

I consider myself a rational person. Most of the time, I can separate emotion from the equation, and focus on the realities of the situation. But for some reason lately, there have been two things about which my irrational imagination has been running wild: first dates and apartments.

In both cases, I'll start thinking way too far into the future upon first meeting. Like, embarrassingly ridiculously far. And while my brain knows how ridiculous it is (I swear I'm not one of those girls who is raring to get married and pop out babies. It's actually quite the opposite), it can't help itself, at least momentarily, indulge in the most optimistic of vision of what could be.

The most recent example (and the reason for SO much stress lately): I've been apartment hunting, as my temporary sublet term is coming to an end. I've been at it for a couple weeks now, and finally saw one that pleased me in a killer location yesterday. I hadn't even submitted an application, when my brain started to mentally furnish every inch of it. I imagined what my house warming party would be like, what hosting NY visitors would be like. In my head, I'm growing old in an apartment that I don't even have yet. (CROSS YOUR FINGERS AND TOES FOR ME. SERIOUSLY.)

323) Train Anticipation

2011-03-05T18:24:00.001-08:00

My friend who is visiting from LA commented on people who lean over and peer down the subway track while waiting for the train. He said, "What do they think that will accomplish? It's not going to make it come any faster."

Just as the watched pot infamously never boils, the train never comes if you're eyes are glued to that dark tunnel in anticipation. My trick is to watch the tiles on the wall, to see any small changes in light reflection. As the train comes around bends to finally emerge in the station, its headlight dances, fades and eventually grows brighter on the wall. It's sort of like monitoring the lights in a movie theater when you're waiting for the previews to begin. I'm constantly wondering if the lights are actually dimming, or if it's just wishful thinking and I'm squinting my eyes to compensate.

Another trick to train anticipation is to stay very still and be conscious of the air flow in the station. When a train approaches, it pushes air in front of it. It starts as a faint breath and then builds, culminating in a whoosh of air as the train speeds by. When you feel the slightest of breezes start to push past you, the train is a minute away.

322) Close Your Eyes

2011-03-04T17:32:00.000-08:00

(Photo from Glasses Ocean.)

Have you ever been in a group setting - in class, at camp, in a focus group - and were told to close your eyes and imagine something? Have you ever felt slightly self-conscious doing so? And then squinted your eyes open so you could see everyone else with their eyes closed? (Which is why you felt self-conscious in the first place - the fear of someone doing just that!) Everyone looks so vulnerable with their eyes shut, imagining away.

Crunchy leaf? Or just me?

(Mini aside - Getting ready to go out with some friends from UCLA - mini Ad Team reunion, wheee. I need it after today, I felt like I was being pulled every which way.)

So eXcited SW

2011-03-03T20:57:00.000-08:00

Exciting news - I'm going to SXSW next week! Work is nice enough to send me for the interactive portion to soak up as much digital/tech/mobile goodness as my brain can handle. I've never been to Austin, or Texas for that matter, so I'm excited to explore. I'll also be traveling solo, so I'm sure I'll meet some interesting folks.

It'll be a lot of conferencing, a lot of networking (ew, hate that word), and not a lot of sleeping, but I can't wait to see what kind of posts come out of it. And hopefully I can sneak in some pictures and insightful tweets.

(Note - that has to be the worst post title ever, and it was actually the third anagram-esque version I came up with. My tired little brain couldn't come up with anything better.)

321) Data-Informed Behavior

2011-03-03T19:44:00.000-08:00

(Image from AdAge.)

I love archetypes, as a means of explaining behavior. Yesterday, Leo Burnett unveiled a new framework (wheel), a "data-informed way of organizing behavior" based on more than 10,000 behaviors. That an archetype chart like this is based on actual data instead of speculation/stereotype is not only impressive, but quite valuable to the planning community. Still trying to wrap my head around all the tensions displayed (while helping my friend Justin, who is staying with me for a couple nights, get ready to go out).

You can read more about the new tool here.

320) DIY Insights

2011-03-02T19:36:00.001-08:00

Thought of You from Ryan J Woodward on Vimeo.

(A completely unrelated video that I thought was neat and wanted to share.)

I've had a lot on my mind and a lot going on recently, and as a result, I'm at a complete loss of what to write tonight. I've been posted up on my bed staring at the cursor.

[Blink...blink...blink...]

This Mashable article caught my attention a couple days ago. GutCheck, a do-it-yourself qualitative research company took home the People's Choice award at DEMO's spring conference. For those not in the biz, focus groups are generally pretty pricey, what with the recruiting, moderating and facility fees.

GutCheck customers draw from the service’s pool of five million participants for targeted questioning. Then they interview respondents in a traditional question-and-answer survey format, or something more free-form. Interview transcripts are stored and can be shared with co-workers.

Its low price point — $40 per qualified 30 minute interview — makes it affordable for even the smallest of businesses and startups.

I love that of all the emerging mobile app, social media and group communication companies out there, DEMO chose to recognize a company that makes learning about people and getting at those golden insights more accessible.

Zzzzz, brain is asleep. Exciting news about the next week or so, coming soon!

319) Crazy in Context

2011-03-01T17:58:00.000-08:00

One of my planner friends back in LA made this acute observation today on Facebook:

"Golden Voice, Charlie Sheen, Glenn Beck... America is currently obsessed with crackheads."

Of course she's referring to the homeless man with the radio-God voice who exploded on YouTube and then disappeared back into oblivion exactly fifteen minutes of fame later, Charlie Sheen's recent self-committing antics and interviews, and Glenn Beck being Glenn Beck.

While I'm not trying to legitimize any of the three's actions, it's interesting what context can lend to someone's seemingly crazy talk.

For example:

(Warning: vagina allusions.)

I'm not suggesting that Lady Gaga is crazy or a crackhead. But the fact that she can say,

"On G.O.A.T, a Government Owned Alien Territory in space, a birth of magnificent and magical proportions took place. But the birth was not finite, but infinite. As the wombs numbered, and the mitosis of the future began, it was perceived that this infamous moment in life is not temporal...it is eternal,"

...and not be labeled a kook says a lot about context. (Not just not labeled a kook - heralded as a visionary artist.)

(Side note - this might be a whole other post, but there seems to be a trend in music videos of the celebration of ugliness. That is, pretty singers making themselves look uglier for art's sake. The above is a good example, as is Britney Spears' latest, which also feels like one long commercial. Product placement abounds.)

318) Do Gooder

2011-02-28T18:30:00.000-08:00

(Screen shot from this morning.)

It may be a little hard to read, but the headline of the banner ad on the right is, "Change your morning for the good'er."

AS IF WE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH TROUBLE TEACHING KIDS PROPER GRAMMAR.

In all seriousness, grammatical errors, especially in published copy, have always been a source of annoyance. I went to a private school from K-8 where we spent hours reciting vowel charts and learning the nuances of Mae Carden's teachings. I'll be the first to admit it wasn't the average American education, but I left with the misguided belief that everyone respected the rules of grammar. Wrong.

The banner ad reminded me of an interesting post on OkCupid's OKTrends blog. Say what you will about online dating, but the site does a fantastic job gathering information from its users and making insightful correlations.

This particular post was about the best questions to ask on a first date, without actually asking the direct question. For example, the best way to determine if your date is religious (without directly asking) is to ask, "Do spelling and grammar mistakes annoy you?"

According to stats from user profiles, if your date answers 'no'—i.e. is okay with bad grammar and spelling—the odds of him or her being at least moderately religious is slightly better than 2:1. I won't go in to whether this is a matter of being more tolerant or less educated...

Along the same vein, last summer the blog analyzed the profile text of half a million user profiles, comparing religion and writing-level. For every one of the faith-based belief systems listed, the people who were the least serious wrote at the highest level.

(Click to view larger, I know it's tiny.)

317) Choose Your Own Ad

2011-02-27T18:37:00.000-08:00

When you watch something on Hulu, there are typically two types of ads that you see. 1) Ads that start playing automatically - you have no choice but to watch. 2) One brand will give the viewer two or three version options from which to choose. The idea is to allow the consumer to self-target by selecting the version that's most relevant (ex - Honda for moms, Honda for young adults, or Honda for the silver foxes).

Today I saw a third type of ad for the first time. I was presented with two ads from which to choose, each from a different brand. One was for Geico, the other for Red Lobster (wish I had grabbed a screen shot). I selected Red Lobster, because if I'm going to have to watch an ad, I'd at least like to drool over incredible, albeit completely inaccurate, food footage. (Side note - having worked with quick service seafood restaurant footage in the past, all I can think is, "Biscuit break! Butter dunk! Tilapia fork!" when I watch.) The above ad is just a representation - it's actually Lobster Fest right now, not Fresh Fish.

This choose-your-own-adventure ad approach is interesting. If you have to watch a commercial, it's nice to at the very least dictate which one you'll see. I don't know the details of Hulu media buys, but essentially someone paid for ad space, but the viewer may or may not end up seeing their spot. I wonder if this game of chance comes at a discounted rate.

316) Street Style

2011-02-26T15:07:00.000-08:00

(Image from PSFK.)

In 2005, Scott Schuman began carrying a digital camera with him around New York, taking pictures of people who caught his eye with their style. He posted them to his simple blog, sometimes with small blurbs.

Today, we see the influence of The Sartorialist on the fashion world. From the legions of street-style blogs started, to the wild popularity of sites like Lookbook.nu and Chictopia, consumer style has become just as celebrated as manicured fashion photography. The attainability, creative crowdsourcing of fashion ideas, and identification with others seen in these photos go a long way.

We even see brands getting in on the consumer-as-stylist approach. Recently launched Uniqlooks and Gap's 1969 Stream let consumers show off their own interpretations and use of brands' pieces.

Of course, this isn't all the Sartorialist's doing. It's a parallel off shoot (is that an oxymoron?) of the democratization of fashion as a whole. As PSFK succinctly puts it, "We can’t help but wonder if the democratization of fashion also involves the ‘Sartorialization’ of fashion retail photography?" That a blog of humble beginnings can now be used as a noun speaks to the power personal initiatives can have.

(A mediocre post after a long day at the office. Self-aware apologies.)

315) Are We All Pervs?

2011-02-25T17:44:00.001-08:00

Ah, the cryptic cell phone post. I wrote yesterday's blurb of an entry while standing in line for an open Absolut bar at the LES Film Festival after party. Hence, brevity.

I've been thinking about open platforms lately. That is, free public communication platforms that allow us to connect with people we don't necessarily know. We all have this innate desire to connect with others (survival tactic), as evidenced by the respective swells in popularity of chat rooms, and Chatroulette upon inception.

Originally, people thought, "Cool! I can meet and talk with someone I don't know." That may sound lame, but in its rosiest and purest form, the idea of getting to know a random someone who might live a totally different life in a different part of the country/world, who could be a potential friend or more than friend is pretty cool. The aspect of serendipity and chance lends some lofty sense of fate, while the exposure to someone outside our world broadens our views.

But inevitably, these open platforms quickly devolve into hubs for child predators, cybersex (does anyone use this term anymore? Sounds so old school), hook up arrangements, and flashes of penis. Which begs the question - are we all just perverts?

Of course, the quick answer is no. But for some reason, these open forums become overwhelmed by pervs, which taints the experience for everyone else. Seemingly, they are the one group that takes the most advantage of these platforms for their purposes.

Here's the challenge. How do we create an open communication platform that doesn't become a pervert's playground? Maybe perverts is too strong a word, but one that doesn't become renowned for its sexual utilization?

(A too funny example. You MUST read the rest of this here.)

314) Meet Up Meaning

2011-02-24T19:20:00.000-08:00

In this day and age - especially this twenty-something age - it can be a little tricky distinguishing a networking meeting with a more social get together. Especially initially.

Liking the latter.

(Yup, cell post.)

313) Copycat Campaign

2011-02-23T18:51:00.000-08:00

(From the Pass on Gas Initiative.)

Question: Do people think that because "I'm a Mac/I'm a PC" was hailed in the ad world, and because Apple is such a powerhouse of a company, that using the same basic format - personifying technology in actual people - will lead to success? Are they hoping for some sort of halo effect of brand affinity? Like, hm, this looks like that Apple ad I like, so by association, I like this too.

The original campaign has been discontinued for awhile now, but it lives on through the copycats.

312) Verve and Vigor

2011-02-22T20:34:00.000-08:00

Today Pantone announced their 2011 Color of the Year. As you may recall, Turquoise, the cool color of escapism and vacation waters, took home the title last year.

(Image from Pantone.)

This year, it's Honeysuckle. I always thought Honeysuckle would be a warm honey-yellow color, but apparently it's this reddish pink hue.

However you feel about the color itself (don't like it), Pantone's reasoning for its selection is interesting:

"Honeysuckle emboldens us to face everyday troubles with verve and vigor. A dynamic reddish pink, Honeysuckle is encouraging and uplifting. It elevates our psyche beyond escape, instilling the confidence, courage and spirit to meet the exhaustive challenges that have become part of everyday life."

So instead of using escapism to deal with all the bad in 2010, in 2011 we're ready to turn and face conflict and tough times head on. That a color can encapsulate and reflect a proposed cultural shift in attitude is just tops.

311) Feline-Induced Disconnect

2011-02-21T09:12:00.000-08:00

(Image from LOLcats.)

Today, a humorous true story about my harrowing night.

I opened the two doors to my building at 3AM last night, and started climbing the three flights of stairs to my apartment. Around the bottom of the second flight, I began to hear steadying meow-ing from above. A skinny, grey cat sans collar was poking its head through the rails, looking down at me.

I made some of those high-pitched, cute animal sounds as I scooched past it in the hall, but otherwise didn't dwell. I'm much more of a dog person, and didn't like the idea of touching a stray right before bed. It followed me to my door, but I slipped inside and shut out the meow-ing.

I threw my stuff on my bed and changed into bedtime attire. All the while, the mewing continued, steadily and persistently outside my door. It started getting to me, because the next thing I know, I'm opening the door to put out a small dish of milk.

Do you ever have those split-second moments you wish you could take back? This was that moment. As soon as I crack the door open, the cat slips in and races past me into the apartment and under the couch. In my panic to keep whatever might be clinging to the cat out of my room, I turn and slam my bedroom door shut.

With the lock engaged. From the inside.

At this point, it's probably 4AM, and I have several problems on my hands, the weight of which is sinking in as I grip and jiggle the door handle in vain.
1) There's a feral cat in the apartment.
2) I have no access to my keys, phone, computer or wallet, as they're safely locked away in my room. I can't leave the building, or I'll get locked out.
3) My roommate is gone, presumably at her boyfriend's for the night and for most of tomorrow.

After half an hour on my knees, alternating between loving clucks and the most offensive of swear words, a can of tuna, a broom and a towel, I was able to get the cat out of the apartment. While the light in my room stayed cheerfully lit, I curled up on the couch and fell asleep.

With no cell phone, watch, computer, or properly programmed microwave around me, I woke up with no idea what time it was (BIZARRE). I turned on the TV, and the news informed me it was 9AM, too early to start knocking on neighbors' doors, especially on a holiday. I spent one hour reading a random book from my roommate's shelf, and the second hour watching Jerry Springer (we don't have cable) for the first time in years. (Random side note - Steve Wilkos, as in "STEVE! STEVE! STEVE!" has his own show now. It's the exact same format, except instead of passively blocking crazies from killing each other, he provides them with tough love.)

After several failed attempts at knocking on neighbors' doors, I heard the buzzer go off a couple floors below me. I flew down the stairs in time to catch a neighbor in a towel receiving a UPS delivery. He was nice enough to let me look up and contact a locksmith. Thirty minutes later, and I'm back in my room and down $60.

Being completely disconnected and trapped in the apartment for about 8 hours was simultaneously stressful and thought-provoking. It was such a juxtaposition from everyday life - it's so easy to take for granted all the things for which I use my phone and computer. At the same time, it made me think - what would I do if I was disconnected?

310) "Good" Men Still Here

2011-02-20T14:27:00.000-08:00

A friend posted this gem of an WSJ article this morning. It's worth a read through, though I've posted the video version above.

As soon as I started reading the article, I knew I had to write about it today. It deals with something I'm crazy about - the analyzing of cultural shifts as they relate to gender roles and social relationships.

But that's where my positive affirmation ends.

Without getting all ranty, I'm here to stand by men in their mid-twenties. As their female counterpart, I think the article paints an unfair picture of a legion of juvenile undesirables.

Author Kay S. Hymowitz talks about males taking longer to "grow up" due to a cultural delay in marriage (that the average age for females to be married these days is 26 FREAKS me out), an increase in choice of career, a more competitive job economy, and the fact that women do not need men to have a family anymore. The flaw in this argument is that it assumes females, despite our rise in dominance in academia and the job market, still ultimately want the same thing - a family. Why else would we be looking for a "good" man?

The reality is that the increase in choice of career and the competitive job economy are gender-neutral in their effects. This generation of young adults do take their time figuring things out, because we can. Wouldn't you, if you had all these possibilities in front of you? We (men AND women) have broken the mold on acceptable and successful careers. There's no need for some of us to "climb the ladder" as Hymowitz states - we built the ladder and seated ourselves on top of it from the get-go.

"Men are kind of confused about what's expected of them."

"Today's pre-adult male is like an actor in a drama in which he only knows what he shouldn't say. He has to compete in a fierce job market, but he can't act too bossy or self-confident. He should be sensitive but not paternalistic, smart but not cocky. To deepen his predicament, because he is single, his advisers and confidants are generally undomesticated guys just like him."

If that's so, call me a man. Women are just as conflicted about what to become, and how to act. In fact, this whole article could be re-written about females.

Even the pop cultural representations in the article are skewed. What about the hoardes of chick lit out there, celebrating single and sassy young females, the most famous of which kept four New York ladies in a bizarre pre-adulthood for decades? The article also assumes that women don't like video games or Star Wars. I won't even begin to go into all the stats that say otherwise.

I think what got me most was that by bashing men, the article implied that by comparison, women in their mid-twenties know exactly what they want. As a 25 year old female, I can tell you that that couldn't be farther from the truth.

And I like guys who are into Star Wars.

309) Social Reconnaissance

2011-02-19T16:43:00.001-08:00

(Unrelated video from last night's LES film festival. I'm a sucker for stop motion.)

I've been thinking a lot recently about how much you can find out about a near-stranger online. Not in the "privacy is dead" sense, but how completely you can get an idea of a person and what they're like, just by studying their online presence.

Of course, you can easily get the basics from LinkedIn, whatever's left public on the Info tab on Facebook, or a professional blog (given you have a full name and one other piece of identifying info - city, company, etc). But you can also add texture by looking at tweets, personal blog content, Facebook statuses (if public), Flickr and/or Vimeo accounts. You start to get a more rounded out idea of the person.

These days, it's not uncommon for employers to gather some preemptive info on an applicant before an interview. But what about purely social reconnaissance? Is being better informed about someone a good thing? We can screen for crazies, and maybe we'll score a few brownie points by bringing up things that we know they like. Or are our creepy, stalkerish ways simply taking away from the magic of getting to know someone?

And vice versa, does knowing that some people's first encounters with us will be online affect what we put out there? I'm trying to imagine the kind of person someone who's never met me in real life thinks I am, based solely on reading my blog, or following my tweets. Ideally it's an accurate reflection, but researchers will tell you that anyone who knows they're being studied won't act 100% authentically.

308) Just Between Friends

2011-02-18T16:50:00.000-08:00

(Taken earlier tonight.)

Answer from last night's post: no hugs for females. According to the video, all of Heineken's 1 million fans are men. Whether or not that's true (it's not), the brand sends a clear message about its target audience.

I'm sitting and waiting for the LES Film Festival to commence, but I'm determined not to make this a typical cell phone post. Oh shit, it's starting.

[2 hours later.]

Ok, I'm home now. This morning I went to my first PSFK event at the Soho House. Repeat readers of The Plan will know I'm a huge fan of the site, so I was little-girl excited when work gave me the ok to go. I won't go into detail about the event's topic, but if you're interested, check out The Future of Real-Time report here - it's definitely worth reading.

The idea of social media backlash came up during the panel discussion. We live in a sharing culture, where personal information made public is a good thing, and openness on the Internet is celebrated. But now we see signs of people wanting to gain back some exclusivity, at least with regards to certain aspects of their lives. Limited, or personal social networks like Path pop up, along with group communication platforms like Fast Society. These effectively strip away the weak ties that populate social networks, the technology working to instead enhance the strong ones.

Expect to see more of these personal and private social media solutions in the future.

307) Heine Likes

2011-02-17T20:38:00.000-08:00

Heineken released this short video in celebration of reaching 1 million "Likes" on Facebook. To give back to Heineken fans in the offline world, models were released into bars to spread a little love in the form of hugs.

Notice anything missing?

Answer revealed tomorrow.

306) Jump To Tweet

2011-02-16T19:42:00.000-08:00

There have been some major cases of tweet backlash in the news recently. Kenneth Cole got into trouble for his insensitive tweet about Egypt:

(Photo from Jezebel.)

And just today, NYU fellow and now-known douchebag Nir Rosen resigned over several completely cruel jokes he tweeted regarding Lara Logan (because rape is HILARIOUS, no?). His response to the backlash:

(From Mashable.)

Rosen's shame spiral via Twitter can be viewed here. (Actually a fascinating read. To see it all unfold! Though, the most tasteless tweets have been deleted.)

"I, of all people, should know the power of words and the power of social media. In a few minutes of insensitive and sadistic banter meant to childishly provoke a few acquaintances my thoughtless words were seen by many thousands, and hurt many thousands."

(Read the rest of his damage control interview here.)

Without excusing either gentlemen from their actions, most of the tweets that incite a backlash response from the interwebs seem to be the result of just that - a thoughtless joke. In an effort to capitalize on a (inappropriate) situation, and prove how witty and clever they are, both jumped to tweet. In the end, whether this is a manifestation of true ignorance or an ill-judged slip matters little - the quickness with which the Internet records and reacts to it brings immediate repercussions.

So without social media, these tasteless quips wouldn't be made public (the fact that they are made voluntarily public kills me - we really have no one to blame but ourselves), and we would know less about people's insensitivity/true nature. If Twitter and Facebook didn't exist and Rosen said his oh-so-inappropriate comments straight to the brosephs for which they were intended, none of us would be the wiser and he would still be an NYU fellow, for better or worse.

305) Deep Reading

2011-02-15T15:23:00.000-08:00

(Image from PSFK.)

Back in March, PSFK covered Instapaper, a free bookmarking app that allows you to turn overwhelming RSS/Twitter information into a manageable, streamlined chunk of long-form content. Just bookmark a page as "Read Later" (a folder in my own Bookmarks tab that is stuffed full of things I intend to read...someday). Once saved, articles are stripped of their design and presented in plain text, eliminating distractions and enabling "offline" reading via phone, tablet or (gasp) paper.

This results in a couple of things. First, it provides one with a gloriously ad-free experience. In a world chocked (choked?) full of advertising, ad-freeness has become a premium. One look at the proliferation of "Plus" services - Hulu Plus, Pandora One, TiVo in its purest form - that allow us to sideline ads for a fee.

Secondly, and more profoundly, Instapaper encourages what they call "deep reading." It lets us consume content in an offline setting - say, curled up on the sofa with an iPad - as opposed to at our desks in front of a computer. It likens our intake of online content with sit-down, focused reading once enjoyed only with books, and takes us away from RSS skimming.

The idea that tech can bring us back to deep reading is one part counterintuitive, and two parts wonderful.

304) A Take on Love

2011-02-14T15:56:00.000-08:00

(From The Oatmeal.)

As usual, The Oatmeal nails it on the head. For the singles, there's a spectrum of reactions when it comes to Valentine's Day. On one end you have the wallowers who see the day as a cruel reminder of their singledom. And on the other end, there are the eff love, independent woman, love yourself crusaders.

In my first single Vday in awhile, I've been trying to figure out my own take on the holiday. I remembered an old Xanga post that I wrote from 5 years ago (insane!), on this very day:

Overall today was like any other. Except that I ate more chocolate than usual. Valentine's Day is a commercial holiday, no doubt. But that's no reason to bag on it - it's a celebration of love in general. And c'mon, if we all had a special someone, we would all relish this day. And though we don't all have special someones (yet), can't we be happy for those who do?

So in honor of the 14th, here's to my past loves. You probably don't read this, but if you do, know that you are still in my heart. As much as I ignore/bitch/cut ties, I loved you and appreciate everything. I wish you all the best with your new loves. And to my friends - here and afar - I probably say this all the time in here, but I love you all, and am so appreciative of your love for me.

Clearly, I was much more effusive back then.

As corny as it was, some of the sentiment remains. I'm on much better terms with all the past loves, and do hold all of them dearly as big parts of my life. I'm grateful for the love I was lucky enough to have. And while Valentine's Day is a reminder of singleness, it's also a reminder that flying solo right now is a very good thing.

(PS - And just for fun and transparency, a list of all the past crushes that never came to fruition, in no particular order: DL, JD, TL, DT, AI, PL, GR, PD, MK, ES, JE, AM, TG, ET, AC.)

303) Revolution 2.0

2011-02-13T16:08:00.000-08:00

"Freedom is a bless that deserves fighting for it."

We've all just witnessed what social media can do for a revolution. To get around the restrictions of state-run traditional media, Egyptian protesters turned to Twitter, Facebook and Google's Speak2Tweet to organize and mobilize. Which begs the question - would the revolt have been a success sans social media?

So often when we think of social media, we think of frivolous socializing, leaving trivial quips for friends, posting pictures of what we're about to eat. We think a distraction at work, a time-suck. We think of being removed from real life by abbreviated social interactions. But the people of Egypt have just proved that social media can be so much more.

So, how else can we use social media to revolutionize? At its best, what can social media change? In other words, what's next?

(Taken at MoMA this morning.)

302) Accent Appeal

2011-02-12T17:28:00.000-08:00

Tonight I'm coming to you from the David Koch Theater. My friend was able to score $15 student rush tickets in the Orchestra section for the New York City ballet. I've already been scolded for taking a picture on my phone, so clearly I don't belong amidst the upper crust. It's intermission, so thought I'd squeeze in a post.

My friend who is in town for work was commenting on accents today. In general, accents are considered sexy. Ladies, you know what I mean. As soon as we hear a British or Australian accent, it's game over.

And yet, there are certain accents that generally don't fall under the sexy category. (Again, I say generally - to each his own.) Comedian Russall Peters has a bit about how Indian accents can ruin the mood, and don't hold up well in serious situations. Likewise, the Asian accent isn't typically regarded as a panty dropper. So why the disparity between accents?

Asian and Indian accents are considered foreign in the not-from-here, English as a second language way, while the Brits and Aussies enjoy the foreign in an exotic sense. There are also themes of colonization, the dominant colonizers versus the colonized "other."

301) Office Culture

2011-02-11T15:21:00.001-08:00

The office is doing after-work drinks tonight, so I'll made this speedy.

This morning, it struck me how much the recent Silicon Valley real estate grab reminds me of the board game, Risk. Google bought out the building they currently occupy in NY, and are planning to move their LA office to the Binocular Building in Venice. In the other corner, Facebook announced this week that it is taking over the massive Sun Microsystems campus in Menlo Park. Land grab, land grab!

I actually had lunch at the Google NY offices today with two friends from UCLA. I got a little walking tour of one of the floors. These "campuses" that completely flip corporate office culture on its head are increasingly common, increasingly aspirational. Everyone wants to say that they have scooters and dogs running around in their office. Think pods with bean bags instead of chairs. Etc.

300) A Trendless World

2011-02-10T19:28:00.000-08:00

A planner mentor of mine back in California sent me this NPR article titled, "The End Of Trends: If It's Hot, It's Over," by Linton Weeks. The article charts the rise of trends as a, well, trend, and its apparent decline.

Excerpt:

"...for decades trends have been set by a few at the top of the pecking order, may explain why there are fewer and fewer trends. Cable television and the Internet have splintered the mass audience that trend establishers and marketers once lorded over.

The Internet has so fractured us globally that we no longer are looking for mass-culture experiences. So major trends have become splintered mini-trends — which are not really trends at all. Trends only work when there is a growing audience that buys into them. And trends can only reach critical mass if the masses are not too critical.

And with the decline in trends comes a decline in the notion of there being such a thing as pop culture. Marketing companies can no longer take advantage of trends. So maybe the last trend we will see is a trend toward a Trendless World — full of surprise and originality."

I'd never thought of it that way. True, as in many other instances, the Internet has democratized trend setting and spotting. But wouldn't these mini-trends, as the article calls them, just be considered microtrends that may or may not ladder up to a larger macrotrend? For example, the re-invigoration of Polaroid, Holgas and Hipstamatic, boater hats and Oxfords, the re-election of those who held office in the past a la Jerry Brown are all microtrends in photography, fashion and politics, respectively. But they all fall under the macrotrend of nostalgia, a yearning for the familiarity of the past in times of uncertainty.

Anyways, a thought provoking article about a topic that I love, and thus, had to share.

(PS - The big 300! Only 65 more posts to go.)

299) The Secret Lives of Politicians

2011-02-09T18:17:00.000-08:00

(Photos from NYT.)

Today, news broke that New York Congressman Christopher Lee resigned. As the story goes, "Mr. Lee’s decision to step down came after a photo of him without a shirt appeared on Gawker along with e-mail exchanges that reportedly took place between him and a 34-year-old woman from Maryland who had placed a personal notice in the 'women seeking men' section of Craigslist. The woman’s posting complained about the lack of attractive men on the Web site: 'Will someone prove to me not all CL men look like toads?'" (New York Times)

The thought of a Congressman perusing Craigslist during a session or in his office tickles me. Maybe because I think of the site as so low-brow, so everyman-esque. While the married Mr. Lee's indiscretion isn't the worst of its kind - politicians have been caught in strip clubs, gay bars (the loudest anti-gay proponents, of course), with a secret lover in Argentina, and worst, abusing an aide - it raises some thoughts on the secret lives of politicians.

We all do things that we don't want others to know about. Maybe not on the scale of cheating or molestation, but everyone has secret behavior, whether quirky, socially questionable, or just plain weird.

The theory is that politicians shouldn't hide anything from the public. That is, because they are an elected official, there is an expectation of transparency - the public wants to know what it's getting. In a world where everyone has a multi-faceted self - a work self, a home self, a friend self, a lover self, etc, - those in positions of leadership and under the scrutiny of the public eye must turn off certain aspects of themselves. Some better than others.

When scandals like this break, we eat it up. Aside from the national gossip, it's strangely satisfying to see the "mighty" or those with power being brought down to the level of a common cheat, or a Craigslist troller. While an extremely minor offense (one shirtless pic doesn't seem that harmful), Lee's role as a Congressman sets expectations of a higher moral code.

(Mini aside - Have been feeling really uninspired lately, and I'm sure it reflects in recent posts. Need a break in routine, some fresh fodder. It's always tempting to write about what I've been working on at the office, but there are confidentiality issues involved, so I shy away from it. Hopefully this inspiration rut passes soon.

Also, THANK YOU to those who left comments and sent emails regarding the job. It really means a lot. Questions about continuing to write after the 365 days of The Plan are up will be answered soon. Still forming a plan as we speak, er, read.)

I Did It

2011-02-08T15:03:00.000-08:00

Big news.

Yesterday, the agency I've been freelancing with since November offered me a job. Today, I accepted.

I'm officially a planner. Still in my nascent planning phase, but a planner by title nonetheless. That an agency that I've enjoyed so much is willing to invest in my potential as a strategist (and a human being in general) is the best feeling.

The Plan and its readers have been such a huge part of all this. Through daily writing and thinking, it's above all helped me figure out what areas within planning I'm interested in. Every check in and comment has held me to my commitment to the blog, even on days where I don't feel like writing (and there are plenty of those days). So thank you, thank you, thank you.

When I started The Plan back in April, I told myself that in a year's time I would be a planner. Ten months and 67 posts to go, I did it.

(Inspiring crescendo goes here.)

298) Acting As If

2011-02-08T14:53:00.000-08:00

(Mini aside - Ack, I cringe when I read cell phone posts the next day. So last minute, grasping and willy nilly. Apologies.)

(Language NSFW - get those ear buds in.)

At my last agency, one of their tenets was, "Act as if." Meaning, even if you're not sure or confident of what you're doing or saying, act as if. It will get you farther than you can imagine. It's not so much bullshitting your way through things, but having a synthetic air of confidence to mask your uncertainty.

It's amazing how much we act as if in life, if you think about it. Act as if something doesn't bother us, act as if we know where we're going. In addition, there's a whole culture of act as if-ers who believe that, "if we 'act as if' we already have something we want, 'act as if' something is already occurring in our lives (even if it's not), or 'act as if' we know how to do something (even if we don't) -- we create the conditions for it to manifest in our life with greater easy and probability." (Mike Robbins) Remember The Secret? Same idea.

"Acting as if" as a phrase gets a bad rap sometimes. It can be likened to one being delusional, or unrealistic, fraudulent, being something we're not. I've been wondering lately whether in some cases it's just better to admit unsureness, or raise red flags of our own shortcomings in a way that's productive.

But suppose acting as if does really lead you to...if?

297) Reading People

2011-02-07T20:26:00.000-08:00

A cell phone post on a Monday night. Yes, this is happening.

Tonight someone told me that he could tell that I wanted to talk to him just by the way I was hovering and the look in my eyes. When I questioned further, he told me that his people reading skills stem from him being raised with two deaf parents.

How interesting, no?

296) After These Messages

2011-02-06T14:12:00.000-08:00

(The crowd favorite so far.)

Ah, Superbowl Sunday. The day when multi-million dollar television ads are embraced as part of the culture. In yesteryears, brands kept their highly anticipated Superbowl ads under wraps until the big day. But more recently, we're seeing Superbowl spots being teased and leaked online in the week prior. Adfreak explains, "Nowadays many want pre-game Internet buzz to stretch their big investment." Indeed, the site was able to collect 21 teasers and full ads three days ago.

Sure, some still use commercial breaks to refill on chips and guac. But the anticipation that is built up around some of these spots - especially brands with continuing storylines, a la Bud Light's office that brought us "Swear Jar" - are taking on a life of its own and becoming a draw beyond the game itself. Likewise, pre-maturely banned Superbowl ads, like the always classy AshleyMadison.com spot, made their own headlines. (Side note: does anyone remember if/when the Britney Spears Pepsi spot was banned? YouTube said it was, but watching it, I can't imagine why. Were we really in a tizzy over her midriff back then?)

The question is, if you've seen a Superbowl ad online once, is there reason for you to want to see it again on TV during the game? On one hand, some of the ah-ha and reveal is lost. On the other hand, it could reinforce a positive, oh-yeah-that-ad-I-liked sentiment. The next step, it seems, is to give viewers a reason to tune into the ads specifically - maybe the TV version is slightly different than the pre-released online one. Do I even dare to imagine the day that viewership actually increases during commercial breaks? Now that would be a feat.

295) Hotel For Rent

2011-02-05T17:18:00.001-08:00

Quick post before I'm out the door for the night. A friend from UCLA is in town, and he was telling me about his experiences with Air BnB. He has a whole, furnished apartment to himself in the East Village, for way less than he'd spend at a hotel.

The start up has been gaining traction and attention as of late. The basic concept is that home owners or apartment renters put their homes/apartments up for rent for travelers. Air BnB builds a community of renters and rentees, who can leave reviews of their experiences.

For those familiar with CouchSurfing, Air BnB is the for-pay version. They've essentially democratized the hotel market - now anyone can be a hotelier, so to speak. And since the barrier to entry is higher than on CrowdSurfing, the quality of accommodations is taken to a higher level (check you their Top 40 Collection - some of these properties are unbelievable.)

Whether this will have a measurable effect on the hotel industry is yet to be seen. Stay tuned.

294) Tardy to the Party

2011-02-04T19:08:00.000-08:00

(Image from Teach For Us.)

I hate being late. Nothing gives me more anxiety than knowing someone is waiting for me. In New York I'm finding that it's much easier for me to be late. That is, it always takes longer than anticipated to get somewhere via cab, subway or on foot.

Here's a question for New Yorkers: Does NY cause more anxiety over lateness, or give us more leeway? Given that the city runs largely on public transportation, something we have no control over, does it cause higher anxiety (because of said lack of control), or give us more legitimate reasons to be late (again, because of no control).

For example, let's say you get stuck underground on the subway due to train traffic, or weather, whatever. Not only is there nothing you can do about it, but there's usually no way to communicate your situation to the outside world. That would seem like an uber stressful situation, especially when your destination is an important interview or first date. (Versus somewhere like LA, where even in gridlock traffic you feel like you have some semblance of control, and can usually give people a heads up.)

But the other side of the same coin is that knowing we can't do anything about it, people are generally more willing to accept lateness. No one at work bats an eye when employees who live out in Brooklyn come in later than the rest. It's understood that weather and the sheer distance one has to travel is the cause.

Just some thoughts I had today, as I was super late to dinner tonight. It was a stressful day at work, so being tardy definitely didn't help.

293) Playing The Game

2011-02-03T18:34:00.000-08:00

Ack, I forgot to slap a title on yesterday's blog post. My heart stopped because I thought the whole entry hadn't posted. Whew.

Let me preface tonight's Plan post by saying that it's meant to be an analysis and not a rant. Here goes.

Recently I've been having a lot of conversations with friends about The Game. I'm relatively new to the whole real world dating scene, as I was able to maintain steady relationships while I was in LA. While most are familiar with those silly, antiquated "rules" (origin unknown) - wait 3 days before calling, etc, I never fully appreciated the modern Game until now.

The Game is very simple. Those playing strive to maintain control over the situation, often by appearing the most aloof. Here's an example. My friend has been texting this girl he met recently. But every time he sends her a message, it takes her half a day to respond. In turn, he feels obligated to also wait to reply to her messages, so he doesn't appear too eager. It's as if texting back immediately shows that you have nothing else going on in your life, that you're waiting around, hanging on their every text.

Given that we are hardly ever more than 5 yards from our cell phones (can't find the exact stat, but it's something like that), it's unlikely that this girl really is so busy that she needs hours to respond. The deliberate holding off on replying is just part of The Game. Also part of The Game is not having the last word in a conversation (leave them hanging), seeming like you have more plans than you really do - in short, playing hard to get.

Here's the analysis part. Loyal readers will know that I'm a sucker for biological explanations. I like figuring out what from our ancestral past is driving basic current behavior. Social/sexual relations are especially pertinent, since so much is related to the goal of reproducing.

It would seem as though playing The Game would actually deter reproduction from happening. Logically, if everyone was straight forward about what they wanted, or what they were feeling, people would be quicker to meet up, to hook up, etc. So why play The Game?

For females, it makes more sense. The fairer sex, as they call us, wants to find the most fit mate that will stick around when the babies are born. By playing hard to get, she puts the male through a sort of test to see if he perseveres and continues to pursue her. If you've watched any nature show clip where the female bird stands quietly watching the male bird flop around and expose his chest only to have her take off, you know what I'm talking about (see above).

But for males the reason is less clear. In the never ending quest (evolutionarily speaking) to produce as many offspring as possible, it would seem that the faster a man can do the deed, the better. But does playing hard to get make him seem more desirable, more fit to a female, more likely to be chosen? Or did the straight-to-the-point approach fail to work on the modern female, and therefore, men became socialized to appear less available as a work-around?

And where does the "thrill is in the chase" sentiment come into play? That the fun of dating is the pursuit, the synchronized evasion dance. Why is non-evasion equated with less desirability?

Am detecting rantiness, so will end it there. (For the record, The Game is silly, confusing and exhausting.)

292) Le Voyeur

2011-02-02T12:44:00.000-08:00

(Photo from You Are What You Eat.)

Today's Trendcentral post was titled, "Just Curious." It served up a new batch of sites dedicated to revealing our everyday spaces - our refrigerators, closets and work spaces.

I've written about our voyeuristic tendencies in the past. The trend touches so much of our online behavior. We silently browse people's Facebook profiles without leaving a trace behind. We pour over intimate blogs of people we have never met, watch video diaries on YouTube. We look through pictures of what's in peoples' fridges, closets, offices, bags.

The Internet has made peeking in to other people's lives that much easier. Before, we had to rely on shows like Cribs, or True Life on MTV. Indeed, the draw of reality television (The Real World, Big Brother, Real Housewives of [Fill in the Blank]) is the chance to watch someone else in their natural habitat.

But why? I read a blog post awhile ago that pointed to our innate need to belong as the driver behind our voyeurism. We want to see and be reassured that there are other people like us out there. On the other hand, isn't part of the voyeuristic fun catching a glimpse of how those different from us live? Or is it that we love being able to safely invade someone's privacy? What drives us to seek and share all those little details about our lives?

291) Egypt Rising

2011-02-01T17:29:00.000-08:00

I don't have solid proof yet, but I'm convinced that coverage of the goings-on in Egypt was lacking until news broke that Twitter and Facebook had been cut off. As soon as social media went down, the agitated murmurings in mainstream press became a roar. People started paying more attention - like, if Facebook is down (can you imagine?), the situation must be serious.

Some trending graphs across the interwebs.

Google searches:

Blog mentions:

And tweets:

290) Doing it Differently (In Bed)

2011-01-31T15:05:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine turned me on (buh dum tish) to Sir Richard's condoms the other night. And by turned me on to them, I mean he showed me their website as we snacked on chips and guac (this is a PG blog that my parents read). It's such a great example of doing it differently, I just had to post about it.

Sir Richard's condoms follow the buy one, give one business model - altruistic consumerism made popular by Blake Mycoskie and his simple canvas shoes. For every condom you buy, Sir Richard's will donate a condom to a country in need. Priced only a bit higher than your drug store variety, Sir Richard's boxes are only sold online or in retailers like Paul Smith and Fred Segal. One look at the package design and you know it's the perfect fit.

Furthermore, the condoms are vegan. Read that again. Apparently, most latex condoms are made with casein, a protein derived from milk. I wasn't aware that vegans cared about things they don't eat being vegan, but there are dozens of vegan condom brands, so what do I know?

My main point is that Sir Richard's does condoms differently. In a marketing category full of ads about maximum pleasure and satisfaction, Sir Richard's breaks through the clutter with their "doing good" angle. It essentially likens sex to an altruistic act. It's not only you and your partner's health and pleasure you are worrying about, it's someone in need's as well.

289) What is the Internet?

2011-01-30T16:22:00.000-08:00

My friend Evan sent me this amazing video a couple days ago. It's a must-watch. To see Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel asking what the Internet is back in 1994 is too good. It reminds us of an inconceivable time - a time without the Internet. We feel like we can't live without it, and that it's such a huge part of all aspects of our lives. And yet, here is proof of a time before Google, before email, IMs, and Facebook. It's akin to seeing footage or images of life before automobiles or electricity.

Couric and Gumbel clearly weren't on the cutting edge of technology when this video was shot. But can we really define what the Internet is, even today? If you were trying to explain the Internet to an alien, what would you say? The explanation of, "it's a giant computer network," just doesn't cut it anymore. Unlike cars or light bulbs, the Internet is this nebulous concept that encompasses so much. And now add apps, the cloud, and opensource. The video reminded me of the Can you draw the Internet? project I wrote about in the past. See creatives and kids' artistic interpretations of the Internet here.

It's amazing that something so vital to our lives can be so slippery to define.

288) Racial Representations

2011-01-29T18:46:00.001-08:00

I had dinner with some relatives who are in town tonight, and the topic of K-Town came up. For those who've yet to catch wind of the show, it's essentially an Asian version of Jersey Shore, centered around LA's bumping Koreatown. It's still making its way through the production process, but given the success of Jersey Shore, I've little doubt that it will make it to air.

I've heard mixed reactions from the Asian American community. Some lament the small, not-so-savory subset of Asians that are represented (check out the cast reel above. 'Roided out Asian ballers! Asian hoochie mamas!). Others see any representation in main stream media to be a step in the right direction. Plus, while perhaps not so flattering, the K-Town cast blows the stereotypes about quiet, meek, nerdy Asians out of the water.

Which raises the question - what would the ideal representation of Asians be? Certainly not the studious, TI-89 wielding, never been kissed one. But also not the hot mess, belligerently drunk one. Why are we stuck with such extremes? (Aside from the easy answer - it makes for better TV.)

What Jersey Shore did was to shine the spotlight on a pre-existing, yet not widely known sliver of Italian Americans. Now everyone knows what a guido is, what the characteristics of a guidette are. And while we laugh and marvel at their antics, deep down we know that not all Italian Americans, and to a lesser extent, not all residents of the Jersey Shore, are like that.

Is it safe to assume that the same will be true for K-Town? What makes it tricky is that there are so many other representations of Caucasians on TV that balance out the Jersey Shore. K-Town will be one of very few representations of Asians (MXC anyone?) in mainstream media. Time will tell whether the show is a regression, or a step forward.

287) Gender Assumptions

2011-01-28T17:50:00.000-08:00

I received a rare 365 Plan request from a friend the other day, and the topic is too good. The email pointed me to Google's Ad Preferences page, where you can see which interests and inferred demographics Google has associated with your cookie. Basically, what categories of ads Google shows you based on sites that you visit.

Here are my friend's categories:
Arts & Entertainment
Arts & Entertainment - Entertainment Industry - Film & TV Awards
Arts & Entertainment - Movies
Arts & Entertainment - Movies - Superhero Films
Arts & Entertainment - Music & Audio - Jazz & Blues - Jazz
Arts & Entertainment - Performing Arts
Arts & Entertainment - Performing Arts - Dance
Arts & Entertainment - TV & Video - TV Shows & Programs
Arts & Entertainment - TV & Video - TV Reality Shows
Beauty & Fitness - Fashion & Style - Fashion Designers & Collections
Books & Literature - Magazines
Law & Government - Government - Legislative Branch
News - Politics
World Localities - North America - USA - Mid-Atlantic (USA)- New York City
Demographics - Gender - Male

Here's the thing - my friend is female.

Thus, the issue is raised. Can anyone really make such inferences on gender? Gone are the days where girls = dolls, pink, marriage, baking, and boys = fire trucks, blue, briefcases and sports. What about my friend's list (which, by the way, is weirdly inaccurate in some ways - politics [I love that it gets as specific as Legislative Branch], superhero films, and jazz and blues don't belong) made Google's algorithm (algorithm = science, right?) conclude that she was a he?

Here's my list:
Arts & Entertainment
Arts & Entertainment - Celebrities & Entertainment News
Arts & Entertainment - Comics & Animation - Comics
Arts & Entertainment - TV & Video - Online Video
Arts & Entertainment - TV & Video - TV Commercials
Arts & Entertainment - TV & Video - TV Networks & Stations
Business & Industrial - Advertising & Marketing
Internet & Telecom - Email & Messaging
News - Gossip & Tabloid News
Online Communities - Blogging Resources & Services
Online Communities - Social Networks
Pets & Animals
Pets & Animals - Wildlife
Reference - Geographic Reference - City & Local Guides
Shopping - Toys

Other than a few outliers (Shopping - Toys? Pets & Animals - Wildlife...I don't watch that many cute animal videos), it's pretty accurate. Heavy on the advertising, media, social networking side with some arts & entertainment thrown in. It's also a very utilitarian list - Email & Messaging (Gmail), Blogging Resources (Blogger), Geographic Reference (Yelp and GMaps about three times a day). I'm proud that Comics & Animation made the cut, but not so much that Gossip & Tabloids did. But notice - no gender assumption. For whatever reason, Google has not yet assigned me a gender based on my categories. Unisex, much?

It makes sense why Google would want to determine the gender of a user. You don't want to be showing dudes ads for tampons, and women banners for Gillette Mach 17, or whatever number they're on now. Valuable dollars were spent to assure that the ads were placed in front of the right eyeballs. But the methodology for figuring out who is he or she is confusingly sexist. Read about another shemale (extra points if you get the reference) here.

And yet, I'm struggling to think of a better way to make that call. Would a direct, one-time survey be more accurate, but more intrusive? Google's computers quietly make the call, often behind the scenes, in order to enhance our Internet experience (and very soon, our real life experiences...but more on that another day). But as a result, they're sometimes wrong. What, then, is the best balance between accuracy and intrusiveness?

Here's my favorite part. If you go to your own Google Ad Preferences page, you'll see by each category a link to "Remove" it. Further down the page, you can select categories to be included. Essentially, you can tailor Google to who YOU think you are, instead of who they think you are (though, no promises that they won't keep updating the list based on your browsing habits). A rare case of power of people over the algorithm.

I'm dying to know what gender assumptions Google made about you, especially if it's incorrect. I'm always wary of asking for readers to respond to a call to action, because people feel bad for me when I'm left hanging. If you're shy, you can email your answer to me at natalieyoungkim(at)gmail.com. Thanks for reading all that.

286) One Photo Every Hour

2011-01-27T19:24:00.001-08:00

Whew. The One Photo Every Hour exercise was harder than I thought. Maybe today was extra busy, but the hours were just flying by and I felt like I was constantly scrambling to get my picture in. But hopefully the set paints a nice picture of my day. For those just tuning in, check out my set up post.

7:45AM
Alarm goes off. I have this terrible habit of checking my email on my phone as soon as I wake up. At my old job this used to spike my stress levels while still in bed. These days, it's mostly force of (bad) habit.

8:30AM
My getting ready station next to my mirror. When I was little, I used to love looking at all of my mom's makeup, bottles of this and that lined up on her vanity counter. I think that's why I keep so much stuff, but use so little.

9:05AM
On my way to the subway station. How beautiful is the snow?

10:44AM
Part of my desk. It's tricky taking pictures at work, because of confidentiality. This is a fairly innocuous corner though. The rest of it follows suit, and is covered in reading and notes. At this point I also realized the challenge of snapping interesting pics for all the hours I'm at the office.

11:20AM
Ran a quick errand close to the office, and took a picture to show just how much snow fell last night.

12:45PM
Picking up Le Pain Quotidien for lunch with a coworker. I usually eat what's provided at the office, so today was a little splurge. It was too pretty to stay inside.

1:54PM
The view from the office. I don't sit by a window, but it's nice to look down once in awhile.

2:55PM
The remains of red velvet cake carnage in the kitchen. (Reminds me of Jim Gaffigan's bit on cake.)

3:45PM
My lifesaver Hunter boots. The only thing I'll wear if there's snow on the ground. The only problem is once you're inside, they get a little clunky. But they're perfect for stomping around in the snow. Which is all I wanted to do today.

4:30PM
This is a great representation of my day, because I feel like I'm constantly snacking at work. Frequency is positively correlated with stress levels. Today was an apple day, so it couldn't have been that bad.

5:50PM
Perusing Mashable, PSFK, AgencySpy, etc.

6:58PM
Almost didn't make this picture within the hour! Waiting for the 6 train to take me home. I love the whoosh of air that gets pushed by the approaching train.

7:25PM
Met a friend at The New Museum (conveniently close to my place) for their free admission night.

8:50PM
My home office pod. I have a ton of those neat postcard takeaways to add to the wall, just haven't. Yet. Looks a little bare from this view.

9:25PM
Eyes out. Glasses on.

10:45PM
Some time with Time Out New York. It's so overwhelming how much there is to do here. I'm really good at circling things I want to check out, but less good at following through.

11:30PM
A little bit of reading before bed. I've been really into short story compilations recently - bite-sized lit for low commitment reading. Would usually read until around midnight or so, but had to save time to post these pics before 12AM!

I highly encourage anyone who enjoyed looking at these to try the exercise themselves. It might seem like your day is boring and not noteworthy, but it's what you choose to represent your day that makes it interesting.

285) Set Up Post

2011-01-26T18:39:00.000-08:00

I'm at a complete and utter loss of what to write about today, so instead, I'll use this post to set up tomorrow's.

Tomorrow I'll be performing the One Photo Every Hour exercise. Basically, I'll be taking one photo every hour from the time I get until I go to bed. In the end I'll have a reflection of a typical day in the life of me. And by limiting it to one photo per hour, it will allow me to examine what (and what isn't) noteworthy.

I'll post all the pictures tomorrow night before bed. I encourage everyone to try it themselves - it's a nice little self-reflection exercise. It lets you step back and look at your life from a more zoomed out perspective. Just bring a digital camera along with you, or use your smartphone. Easy peasy.

Until tomorrow.

284) If You Don't Know

2011-01-25T18:41:00.000-08:00

Not knowing is the worst.

Waiting to see if you got into that college you wanted. Or for test results. Wondering whether or not that cute guy has a girlfriend. When you're in relationship limbo, somewhere between still together and broken up. The reason why a friend stops talking to you. Sometimes, even bad news is welcome, just so that the not knowing part ends.

It's the not knowing that sends our brains into a tailspin. It releases our imagination to a myriad of scenarios. We over think, over analyze, and work ourselves into an anxious knot.

(Mini aside - On a related note, I posted an emo status this afternoon with one person in mind. Social media worked its magic and I instantly received warm messages and emails from (other) people who thought I was just being emo in general. It was a great reminder that a) social media is a broadcast, and not the best vehicle for targeting, and b) that I have truly great friends out there who care.

I deleted the status, so as to avoid any further confusion. Thanks to all who sent love - rest assured, I'm quite happy these days.)

(Completely unrelated photo from The Cool Hunter. New York artist Tom Fruin’s outdoor sculpture Kolonihavehus in the plaza of the Royal Danish Library in Copenhagen.)

283) 140 Character Thoughts

2011-01-24T17:48:00.000-08:00

(Photo from Flickr.)

Hey Millennials - do your thoughts ever take the form of status updates? Sometimes when I'm walking home from the train, I'll think about my day as potential tweets or status updates, editing in my head (that's so sad to admit). Maybe it's the wannabe writer in me, but it always takes a wee bit of crafting. It's not even that I'm super active on social media, but when I do, I'm not the type of person who can just throw up a status on a whim.

It's no secret that we live in a broadcast culture, a bite-sized sharing culture. The fact that it's starting to shape the way I think is a little scary.

Catch Up Post

2011-01-23T17:06:00.000-08:00

Hello, my darling Plan readers. I feel like I haven't communicated via aside in awhile. I'm at the point where posting daily has become routine, so sometimes it's easy to get caught in the rhythm and not look up. Most of you know that I try to keep personal stuff off the blog, but really, that's what makes them interesting, no?

Life in NY is good. I'm still enjoying my job, working on a couple killer projects right now. I've been going out more, making the effort to see people more often. It's definitely a process - I'm still missing those effortless friends I could just call up and meet immediately, as opposed to planning a get together a week in advance. In time.

Being in NY has made me want to travel more. Not that I want to escape the city, but something about it reminds me of all the places I've never been, and how much of the East Coast hasn't been explored. I think LA lulls you into a sort of complacency, because who would ever want to leave 80 degrees in January? Anyways, plotting my next trip as we speak.

That's pretty much the haps for now. I'm handling the cold much better than I expected (mostly I look like an Eskimo, but at least I'm warm). Hope everything's going well in your lives.

282) From Laguna to Jersey

2011-01-23T15:50:00.000-08:00

It's been a hibernation weekend for the most part, and I was able to catch up on a lot of bad TV. I was thinking about MTV and how its programming has seen a pretty significant shift.

Back in 2004, MTV hit teen gold with Laguna Beach. The producer-aided "reality" series was a celebration of teen drama amidst a background of gorgeous sea-side mansions, shopping sprees, luxury cars, lavish vacations, and large, expensive rings. It gave us a glimpse of a different world that only a privileged group are able to experience. They rode the wave with spin-offs like Newport Harbor, The Hills, and The City. In each series, despite the drama, it was clear - life was really good.

MTV Shows

Then in 2005, MTV premiered My Super Sweet 16, a series that documented the extremely extravagant coming of age parties of teenagers with wealthy parents. We're talking billionaires, moguls, and celebrities' kids, who know that money is no object. It's a kind of complete indulgence reserved for very few. Kanye West performance, helicopter entrance, a menagerie of live animals, gifts of a new Benz, or a trip around the world - nothing is off limits.

But today, we see MTV pushing a very different line-up of shows - Jersey Shore, 16 and Pregnant, and I Used to Be Fat.

MTV Shows

Clearly, these shows feature a different demographic than the latter batch. Gone is the air-brushed, aesthetically pleasing lifestyles of the rich. Instead, the shows focus on the rougher, sometimes ugly parts of life. It's a little more real, and a little more everyman. It's less frivolous and more serious (ok, maybe not Jersey Shore).

Just something I noticed today. Needs some more thought as to what caused this shift.

281) That Kind of Friendship

2011-01-22T17:02:00.000-08:00

Quick post today. I was watching Family Guy on Hulu earlier, and thought this bit was a nice reflection of modern social media dynamics.

That being said (watched?), I'm a firm believer that not all online relationships are less meaningful or more distant than real life connections. Social media is just another side of the relationship-building coin.

I love that Family Guy picked up on the awkwardness of "Like"ing certain statuses. One (of many) of that show's strengths is incorporating and poking fun at little bits of current culture.

280) Holler Back Girl

2011-01-21T14:21:00.000-08:00

(Photo from Tage Bjorklund.)

I've been thinking about catcalling lately. For women in New York, it's something that comes with the territory (unfortunately). And yes, not all men do it. I highly doubt that any male who reads The Plan does it.

Let's be straight - it's never the men you'd actually want to get to know/find attractive that are hollering. Quite the opposite, it's usually the gross ones that are the most vocal. The ones you would never in a thousand years actually respond to.

The anthropologist in me looks for an evolutionary explanation. In nature, males employ mating calls to signal to females that they're fit and worthy of being chosen as a mate. It's often a dominance display, and the louder, the better (see above). So it stands to reason that men are just following through with their natural urges. Hypothetically, in the best (ahem, delusional) case scenario, a catcall will lead to sex.

But in modern times, the chances of sex post-catcall are slim to none. So, given that the rate of success is 0.01%, there must be another reason why some men continue the call. I've read forums in which guys insist that catcalls are more about displaying in front of other males, or a bonding ritual. Catcalling in front of other bros reaffirms your manliness (read: heterosexuality), and signals confidence.

Fair enough. And it's not like us ladies are making it any easier. From what I've seen online, women are split in their opinions on the matter. On one end of the spectrum are the women who see it as sexual harassment, and continual objectification of women as sex objects (you'll never hear a man yell, "Woo woo! You look like you're well-read!"). On the opposite end are those who take catcalls as a compliment - one women was in a 2008 CNN study said that when men don't catcall, she feels ugly and dumpy. And the whole range of emotions - annoyance, fright, amusement - in between.

My personal reaction is this. Though I can't quite grasp why some men still do it, I can accept that they do and that for the most part, it's harmless. From what I've read, most men, when confronted, get embarrassed and never believed that a woman would actually respond in the first place. If anything, it's most distressing for me when the catcall is combined with ignorance and mild racism ("Ni hao, baby" or "Konichiwa, hot mama" - I'm neither, thanks).

279) Addicting and Angry

2011-01-20T15:05:00.001-08:00

Let's talk Angry Birds.

The game has become nothing short of a cultural phenomenon. The addicting game that has millions of iOS and Android users hooked has invaded our desktops, and will soon make their way onto our game consoles. Mattel is developing an analog experience with an Angry Birds board game (see also, plush toys).

And the ultimate conquest? An animated series, which is currently in development.

Now, I'm not an Angry Birds player, so I might be the wrong person to brainstorm exactly why Angry Birds is so popular (or maybe some objectiveness is good). What is it that makes it so engaging? It's certainly not the first game where you launch something to break something else. I ask not from a challenging standpoint, but in an effort to understand the ingredients of an addicting game.

It's like the Pac-man of this generation.

Here's a partial list of attributes of an addicting game, as observed in both games:

- Intuitive - it's easy to see what the objective of the game is.
- Graphically simple.
- An "enemy" - the pigs or the ghosts.
- A "tactile" reward - the knocking down of houses or the eating of dots.

Anything else?

278) Pie is an Interrupt

2011-01-19T15:58:00.000-08:00

(Photo from Raymond Chou Photography.)

The always insightful PSFK offered up an article today called, "Making Culture, Provoking Culture," by Grant McCracken. If this sounds dull, keep reading. It involves pie.

McCracken (sweet last name) writes that people settle into a state of statis. We become routine in the way we think (the world operates in this particular way), the actions we go through (ex. - get up, brush teeth, shower, dress, go to work, get lunch, etc.). In a way, we acclimate, and desensitize to our everyday stimuli (much like your eyeball would, if held completely still - the image in front of you will start to disappear).

Therefore, we need to be provided with something new. Something that forces us out of our habitual state of mind. McCracken's simple example is of a group of people who stood on a street corner in Belfast, Maine, and handed hand slices of pie, pecan, pumpkin and apple, to passers-by. For no reason, other to interrupt them out of statis with a little surprise and delight, even for a few minutes.

My favorite line from the article is: "Designers are very good at thinking about provocations. After all, they are in the imagination business. They are trained to look at existing systems, spot where stasis lives, and think of ways to make things new."

I'd like to think good planners are this way too. They look at the way the world is and question it. They ask why we do things that we've always done and have taken for granted. They don't take that's-just-the-way-it-is for an answer. And it's then that culture is provoked (such a great way to phrase it!).

Full article here. Worth a look-see, I barely scratched the surface.

277) A $1 Barrier

2011-01-18T15:03:00.000-08:00

One could say that 2010 was the year of the deal site. Gilt, Blackboard Eats, Living Social, Groupon, along with a slew of smaller, localized pages gained swelling followings. Their approaches varied - some, like Gilt and RueLaLa, curated sales and sold products directly on the site. Others, like Blackboard Eats, offered coupon codes for percentages off selected restaurants. And finally, sites like Living Social and Groupon employed a buy-in-advance for a discounted price - the latter introducing the world to the tipping point/crowdsource/ deal activation model.

It's been interesting to see the landscape of deal sites ebb as the sites evolve to find their niche. Today, I got a distressing email from my favorite of the sites (see above), announcing that previously free discount codes (usually 30% off lunch or dinner), are now $1. The beauty of Blackboard Eats was that it was free money saved that didn't require a commitment, unlike so many of the other sites.

I was watching the Twitter buzz regarding BBE among foodies today. Some were mildly miffed, but most considered the site's careful curated selection of partner restaurants worth an extra buck. And while it seems counter intuitive to pay for a coupon, another way to look at it is just a smaller percentage off - 27.5% off versus 30% off, for example.

I wonder which way people will see it. And whether that $1 charge, while small, will be the hump that drives people to seek other deal sites.

276) Sinister Undertones

2011-01-17T17:48:00.000-08:00

Last night, Ricky Gervais hosted the 2011 Golden Globes. As an always-blunt British transplant who generally dissociates himself from the Hollywood crowd, Gervais was in a position to really let the A-listers have it. Luckily for all of us at home, he didn't hold back. He created uncomfortable moment after uncomfortable moment as he roasted stars right before they came out to present.

But while I was giggling on my friend's couch, some of the Hollywood elite was not having it. Robert Downey Jr said on stage, "Aside from the fact that it's been hugely mean-spirited with mildly sinister undertones, I'd say the vibe of the show has been pretty good so far, wouldn't you?"

And who could forget Steve Carell's stiff-arming after Gervais introduced him as the "ungrateful Steven Carell" for leaving his role on The Office?

(Photo from The Daily Mail.)

Even the Los Angeles Times noted that "a visible contingent in the glitzy crowd was palpably discomfited by the British comic's full-frontal joke assault, which set a corrosive tone for this year's ceremony".

There's something to be said about Hollywood being a community of insecure narcissists who can't take a joke (and yes, there are some that can). But something about Downey Jr's line about mean-spiritedness and sinister or corrosive undertones keeps coming back to me. It makes me think of the general wave of optimism that we've been riding (Obama campaign, Pepsi Refresh, Coke's Open Happiness, for example) since the recession. Perhaps given that mindset, people will react more strongly to anything contrary or "mean-spirited." Maybe Hollywood was expecting a positive, feel-good show and were "palpably discomfited" when they got something else.

275) These Are My Confessions

2011-01-16T19:26:00.000-08:00

Cell phone post tonight. I'm out to late dinner with two friends from college and we're waiting for our food.

Have you ever confessed a past crush to said crush years later? You're both in such a different places now that past feelings are almost inconsequential. If you haven't tried it, it's actually quite liberating.

That's all.

274) The Evolution of Execution

2011-01-15T17:48:00.000-08:00

(Image from A Day In Tha Life Of...)

Do you remember when banner ads were first introduced? Those super intrusive, seizure-inducing, LOOK AT THIS NOW atrocities that started to share space with online content. Then, as we started to understand them better and the way that people (don't) interact with them, they became more sophisticated. And as the technology continues to improve (hello, HTML 5 - not an ad, but you get the idea. Highly recommend downloading Chrome just to watch - screen grab above), we'll see even more clever executions.

I can't wait to see geo-targeted ads go through the same evolution. The obnoxious first attempts from those who are just happy to be here (or wherever you are) to the elegantly executed and ingenious campaigns of the future. The optimist in me might wonder whether we know enough now that we can skip the awkward initial stage. But the realist in me thinks that the growing pains are a natural and maybe necessary part of the process.

273) Memory Lane

2011-01-14T15:58:00.001-08:00

I've been battling some pretty bad insomnia this past week. For some reason I consistently can't fall asleep until 3AM. For someone who adores sleep and has never had a problem with it, it's the most frustrating thing. It's like my brain doesn't know when to shut down anymore.

When I can't sleep, I usually read, or watch a movie on Netflix. Sometimes I'll call a friend who is conveniently three hours behind. Last night's entertainment between the hours of 1AM-3AM was retro toy commercials from my childhood on YouTube.

I started with Easy Bake, which led me to various Play-Doh products (ice cream, then spaghetti), and then to Fantastic Flowers. Queasy Bake led me to Baby Alive, which opened up a whole world of life-like baby doll commercials (frightening things that eat, pee and poop. I know there's a biological reason, but the natural urge for little girls to pretend they're mommies astounds and scares me). I transitioned into Barbie (one of many, many iterations), then various hair manipulation dolls (streak it, tattoo it, cut it!), to PJ Sparkles (which I actually had at one point). PJ Sparkles segued into all the Little Miss dolls - Magic Hair, Magic Jewels, Magic Makeup. And on and on into the early morning.

As an informed adult working in advertising, I can be analytical of these ads. I can acknowledge their now retroness (check out the hairstyle examples of Totally Hair Barbie, the exaggerated way that the little girls in the spots exclaim about the products (did you and your friends ever squeal things in unison?), and the inane jingles. How all these elements worked towards getting kids hyper-excited about the latest and greatest.

But I swear, something deep inside me still gets pulled a little. Maybe it's just the long-forgotten shadow of a past want. Obviously, these are not things I want right now as a 25 year old, but I find myself strangely fascinated by these old ads. Is it just the nostalgia of a simpler time when I had enough imagination that I could accept the gimmicks that made Baby All Gone "eat" her food?

Try it for yourself. Get on YouTube and search for any old toy commercial or infomercial you can remember. Chances are, it's archived and up there. Then, use the related videos on the right to take a stroll down memory lane. Viewer beware: it's easy to get sucked into a long chain of childhood I-want-that's.

272) Green Spaces

2011-01-13T19:56:00.001-08:00

(Photo by me and my Android phone.)

Last weekend I stopped by a great example of the creative urban renewal trend predicted in 2011 by JWT Intelligence. Park Here is an indoor pop-up park at Openhouse Gallery in Nolita. The park, while completely synthetic (except for some tanbark at the entrance), mimics the pleasant openness of a park on a warm day.

For those who live in areas blessed with plenty of green and year-round warm weather, this probably sounds really corny. A bunch of people sitting around inside on Astro turf, surrounded by fake trees and a recording of birds chirping? That was my initial thought too.

But as soon as I stepped through the doors, I and everyone around me bought into it. For whatever reason, we believed enough in this "park" experience to grab a coffee and settle down with a newspaper on one of the benches or on the "grass" up against a wall. People were lying down, listening to music, or catching up on the latest just-between-friends chatter under the trees. There was even a whole group of people playing a board game in the middle of one of the rooms, er, grassy areas. Add heating (it felt like spring), food vendors and free wi-fi, and you have the best park ever.

Our desire to have access to green spaces is great enough that even a simulation will do.

PS - New Yorkers - head over to 201 Mulberry St. to check it out. Open daily 11AM-6PM, free.