331) This Is My Friend 1:33 PM

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. 6:48 PM

329) Fountain of Youth 5:06 PM

(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 7:20 PM

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 8:12 PM

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 6:04 PM

(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 8:05 PM

(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?