Crumpled Notebook

At some point today I’m going to break down and upgraded to the new wordpress 2.5 release. Apparently there are plans to make some changes to the write page in the 2.6 release, so as long as I know it going to happen, I think I can deal with it.

However, as with most wordpress updates…something might break, so if it looks strange, bear with me while I fix it. It didn’t break on this one last time, but majorly messed over tsamonterey, and took forever to fix.

Ignore this post as I’m helping Melanie test something out on her blog.

I know I said I was going to change my theme/layout. I’m still considering that, but I really like what I’m currently using, I just feel the need for a little wider sidebar, or 2 of them. And, I keep adding to my web projects. In addition to the 2 projects I’m currently working on, I’m also starting a new one next weekend, and have been working on updating my work website.

However, I have made some changes here that you might want to know about. The first thing is that I added my Twitter box. I don’t think I explained what this is for those who don’t know. Basically, I just type in what I’m doing. So whatever it says, is what I’m doing, or at least was doing when I typed it. There is a little up and down arrow at the bottom to see previous Tweets (that’s what they are called). It also posts it to my Facebook account’s Status Update. Yes, it’s silly, I know. But I thought you might like to know that I’m getting ready to leave my house, buy a bagel and a bottle of Mt. Dew.

Okay, after that, I took out the Category list and made it what is called a Cloud. All my categories are still there, just jumbled, and the ones I post to the most are bigger than the others. Mainly, it was a space saver without removing it. One of the things I’m working on is a navigation just under my header that links to my category pages, but I like the cloud, so I’ll probably keep it.

Next thing, I already explained, but in case you missed it, is my Google Reader shared items. Basically, I subscribe to a tone of blogs or websites and sometimes I find something interesting enough to share it with my friends (or website), but don’t necessarily want to do a blog about. Google Reader is hands down my favorite thing Google other than Gmail…and trust me, Reader is thisclose to Gmail. It may even be my favorite web thing period.

Okay, so below that is a YouTube Video section. Basically, it randomly shows 6 of my Youtube videos (currently I only have like 8 or 9, so you’re not missing much). But the cool part is that you should be able to click on one of the videos and it should kind of pop-out (not a new window) in your browser and play from there without you having to go to YouTube. If you do want to go there, once it pops out, just click anywhere on the video basically and it’ll take you to that page on YouTube.

Sorry, for all the explanations to the people who know what all this is, but surprisingly, not everyone spends their life on the internet like me (and you too maybe).

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how, for me at least, that recently I’ve really used the internet as a way of connecting with people. Now, I know that’s always been a great use of it, but what I mean is I’ve been connecting with and talking more to people I wouldn’t normally talk to in everyday life. It’s always been good for keeping in touch with people, but if it’s people you would normally keep in touch with, it just makes it easier. I specifically mean people that I’ve either re-connected with or just plain may have forgotten about.

I understand people do this all the time. I just have been more aware of it in myself lately and thinking about it. Part of it is that I’ve had a couple of conversations with people from an older generation about everyone’s fascination with knowing what everyone is doing all the time, or making sure people know what you are doing (i.e. Twitter, or Facebook status update). I admit I sometimes feel like I have to update my Facebook status. Not because everyone else is, but because it’s there. If I say “I’m working” and then I come home I’m not exactly working anymore, so I feel the need to update it. I know. It’s silly. But, that isn’t the point of this blog post.

Here are just some examples of how I’ve felt more connected to people or things recently:

Today, I needed some help coming up with gross food games for the teens tomorrow night (Fear Factor Food Night). I send a quick Facebook message to people I know work with kids or that might have some ideas. Within a couple of hours, I have plenty of ideas. Most of the responders were other Salvation Army youth workers (or former SA youth workers). I know them, but I wouldn’t call them up to ask them, or even really email them for that matter. I just posted a note and tagged them in it.

A girl I went to high school and college with, Melanie,  and I converse on Facebook or IM about stuff. Usually computer stuff. The other day, she needed help with Wordpress, so we IM’d until she got what she needed to know. Before we connected on Facebook (or maybe MySpace first) I hadn’t talked to her in years, but we have common interests now, so it’s nice to know what’s going on in her life.

I have become a frequent reader of The Muckraker’s Blog. Rob does most of the posting. I’ve just recently got to where I’ll comment on things…usually baseball related. Rob is a baseball fan, so I usually comment on those post. The other day, he commented how he was jealous of my baseball trips I have planned this year. But anyway, his blogs are usually funny and light-hearted. Sometimes, even inspirational. It’s just cool for me because it helps me connect the music to who a person actually is, rather than a stranger.

I emailed a guy who runs a Church Tech blog to ask about a Computer workshop ministry they do at their church. I emailed him before on something, and read his blog, am connected on LinkedIn with, but obviously never met him. However, it was cool just being able to send a quick message and know that whether we know each other or not, it doesn’t really matter in the blog world.

So, I think I lost my point somewhere in there, but all to say, there is definitely a different level of connecting with people that I am at. Whether I do it a lot or just every now and then with a random person, I much more likely to do it than if I had to randomly email someone not through a social network, or heaven forbid, actually call someone. Now, if I could just transfer that over to real life….

I’m told this video explains the whole Twitter/Facebook status phenomenon pretty well…by someone who didn’t really get it to begin with.

I use Facebook. Most people I know under 30 that I know use it. They have a fairly recent feature on the home page called “People You May Know.” It’s actually quiet a good feature and I’ve used it to find people that I do indeed know, but maybe wouldn’t have thought to connect with otherwise. I do have one caveat with it though. Every day pretty much since it launched, every few times I log in (which is several times a day), I am greeted by the face of an ex-boyfriend from college (who’s name I won’t disclose here, but shouldn’t be that hard to guess). Now, I don’t really mind. I don’t have any ill feelings toward him and I doubt if he has any toward me (his wife used to though…before she was his wife anyway). But I’m not going to be adding him to my friend list anytime soon, and would guess that he’s not going to be adding me either, if for no other reason than to keep said wife from killing him–or me. Okay, I joke about her. I don’t really know her, and don’t know if she would care or not. Just saying that just because we have mutual friends doesn’t mean we want to be friends. Oddly enough, all of our mutual Facebook friends weren’t our friends when were dating. We didn’t even know them at the time and became friends with them separately, after the fact. It’s actually quiet a funny story of how we all kind of collided. You should ask if you don’t know it.

My point here is that Facebook needs to add in some feature so that I can say “don’t show to this person to me in the future,” “don’t show me to this person,” “I don’t know this person,” or “I don’t want to know this person.” You get the picture. I’m not the only person who feels this way either. It’s not just cases for exes either. I mean, it may be an old friend, a co-worker or just plain someone that you know and you don’t like. Just because that person and you have 10 mutual friends, doesn’t mean you want to be Facebook friends with them.

Something Facebook needs to consider. It could be worse for me. It could actually be someone I really disliked a lot and not just an ex-boyfriend from years ago.