Random Thoughts: Only On MySpace

So I finally joined MySpace. I had a Friendster page already and I really had no desire to go and create new profiles on other social sites. However with my job, being a user experience designer, I found myself more and more intrigued with the whole idea of social networking. What drives traffic? Why do people comment? What exactly is and isn't online social etiquitte? There is so much going on and I finally took the plunge and created a MySpace profile years after they have launched.

The first thing I noticed is how open people are on mySpace. This site by far has the least barrier of resistence when it comes to linking to other people. Total strangers will add you and invite you to join their networks. It's amazing how open this community is. I think the person who represents this attitude the best is Tila Nguyen... okay... Tequila, the crown princess of MySpace. Much like stopping by the Vatican in Italy, I had to make a stop by her page and check things out. It's crazy, she has like 2 million friends and is releasing a CD... WTF!? ... only on MySpace.

It's such a powerful marketing tool. For example, at work, There is a girl who leads a band of female DJs and she has like a fan base of 20,000 plus people. It's crazy. My mind is going crazy with how I can use this to drive traffic to my personal projects. Like, can I create a fictional character and have people add him as a friend and then eventually use his public exposure to endorse products, points of views or even create a sub-culture like Obey Giant? There so much you could do.

The other thing is that really amazed me is that I had the ability to reach out to people you'd normally would have no access to. Sandy and I have been watching The Search for the next Pussycat Dolls and I was rooting for Chelsea Korka, the once teased, overweight, halo playing (she grew up super close with her two brothers), X-Men comic reading girl (calm down fellas) with bangs who can belt out notes as good as anyone I've ever heard. In any case, she made it to the finals and didn't end up getting picked and man, you just gotta feel for her because she has the whatever it takes attitude.

When we were on the message boards, we learned that she just created a My Space page and it's one of those things that just amazes you because it's really only here where you can reach out to somebody who has or hasn't made it yet and send out a word of encouragement.

I can't wait to get a couple of days of open time and go and create something in this new virtual sandbox. It seems like a ton of fun and I can't wait to see what I dig up.

Life Matters: The Virginia Tech Massacre

I've been thinking and praying about it all the last few days. Just letting it all sink in. It's seriously a lot to take in from a distance. I can't imagine how I would react if I was actually there. I think you just handle like everyone in Blacksburg, VA. I seriously feel for them. It's damn scary and not to freak anyone out, but it could happen anywhere.

Please allow me to first say that my thoughts and prayers go out to all who were effected by the massacre. The following words are just trying to help out with the situation in the smallest way that I can. They are not in any way to be disrespectful to the victims of the massacre in any way. Please read it in that light.

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So I've been reading all the articles about how to fix or prevent this for the next time. It a necessary conversation however I just can't help thinking that it's all knee jerk solutions and not really hitting the heart of the matter. What can we really do about this? Let's look at some of the current conversations.

Locking people up at first signs of distress: OK, so anytime somebody has an emotional outburst, is depressed, or is having a bad day we're going to lock them up. We all have emotional moments and many of us have a hard time growing up. Not all of us were jocks, prom queen, part of the popular crowd or the even the smart kid in class. Frankly, the majority of us weren't. And those of us who are picked on, well, it's not hard to see that it doesn't do a lot for your self esteem and people need to vent sometimes.

More guns: OK, stop right here. To me, this is the silliest arguement I have ever heard. More guns is not the answer. If anything, banning guns makes more sense. The arguement that "if we ban guns, then the only people who have guns will be criminals" is weak one. We can get guns now and I have to ask, if you were to be assaulted right now, where's your gun? How many of you would know what to do with it? Better yet, how many of you would have to ability to shoot to kill?

The gunman (I will not honor him by mentioning his name) walked into a store and bought not one but two guns. If guns were banned, the worst it could have been was a knife and in that case, people could have defended themselves with any number of things (pick up a stick, throw a desk, pretty much anything).

Increased School Security: How are you going to increase security for a university? I have no clue on how they are going to do something like this for something that huge. They talk about IM messaging the student population and pre-recorded messaging and I think it's great idea to prevent further loss like in this situation like this. But this is something from within, by surprise, and by self sacrifice. This is bigger than a defense issue, it's a cultural issue.

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OK, so it's easy to criticize and even to myself, I'm saying "OK man, if you're so smart, what would you do?"

Well, we need to stop putting this shit on the front page of the news papers and replaying everything a thousand times. We are making a celebrities out of tragedy. If anything, we should do what it takes to improve things but not to the point where we are encouraging things. And rather than talk about the gunman, the victims should be in the spotlight and we should be focusing on them.

The gunman was reported to have been constantly mocked and picked on. I've been on both sides. Frankly, I never felt that good about making fun of someone and I definitely never felt good about being dissed. We need to stop tearing other people down. Stop making fun of people. Stop trying to make yourself look better. You're really not. When you see someone you know who's bummed out. Smile. Say "Hi." Do something. And if that's not within you, then at the very least, don't put other people down.

I do know this doesn't solve everything. There are many aspects I'm not aware of but I do know it really helps stop this vicious cycle from both ends. Not publicizing it won't encourage this kind of act and reaching out to others (at the very least leaving people alone) will help prevent it.

What are your thoughts?

Ping Pals: Verbal Affirmation

So I have to ask, have you been verbally affirmed today? You know, complimented for the sake of being complimented. "Hey man, nice pants!" or a "You look nice today." The benefits are amazing. You laugh but it's true. Benefits include reduced stress, improved mood, higher self-esteem and improved confidence. Lesser known benefits include feeling an inch or two taller, the urge to give high-5's and an undocumented sensation called the "warm fuzzies." No joke.

Well for the hell of it, James, a college buddy of mine, and I shared a few moments of verbal affirmation via IM. Here's how it went.

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ME: verbal affirmation time!!!!

JAMES: YAY!!!

ME: James.... you are a scholar and an athlete

JAMES: You, John are very kind and caring

ME: James your skin has the glow of a healthy, young woman

JAMES: John, your eyes radiate with the light of a hundred suns

ME: James... women want to be with you and men want to be you

JAMES: John, even the greatest scholars in the world can learn a thing or two from you

ME: James, you are a prodigy of goodness

JAMES: John, you are the paragon of style and class

ME: The Dalai Lama is to Sea Bass as James is to Bottlenose Dolphin

JAMES: Men run from John, women run to him

ME: Hehehehe... OK, enough verbal affirmation for today

JAMES: ok...

ME: *feels all warm and fuzzy on the inside*

ME: oh, one more

ME: James... you make Spartans look like out-of-shape teenagers.

JAMES: *blush*

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Give it a go. You just might like it.

Prayer: It's Tough... Really Tough Sometimes

I've come to be very thankful in the latest portions of my life. But things weren't always so good. I wanted to share the little prayer I made everyday during those times.

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Dear God,

On bended knee I've come to pray
Give me strength to face this day

Wisdom in things I have control
Peace of mind with things I don't

Patience with others and others in me when we put up a fight
A good a natured heart to do what is right

In fragile times grant me gentle hands
And a sweet tongue that never reprimands

Lion hearted courage when times get tough
Poise, make me rock steady in my faith, when the oceans get rough

All these things I ask of you
Because the path I travel, is traveled by few

Amen

Random Thoughts: The Mating Habits of Humans

I used to watch nature shows all the time... Ya, ya... shut up. But I have to say it's seriously engrossing. You learn show much about the life of an animal: What it eats, what type of environment it likes, and of course, it's mating habits.

For example. Male horses fight amongst each other to establish who is the dominant male and the prize is well, the herd of female phillies that he gets to mate with. By winning, he's essentially established his own Horsey Harem. Swans on the other hand, mate for life (And contrary to popular belief, lobsters do not mate for life. Damn you Friends for misleading us!!!). Tigers mate and then go their own ways. So there's a lot of mating habits and a bunch in between and not so in between. Animals are weird. Maybe that why Animal Planet was so interesting.

The thing is with all animals, there is consistency within the species. Humans on the other hand, there is none. There is polygamy (Akon & Some Mormons), serial monogamy (Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears), homosexuality (Tom Cruise), love triangles (Brad + Angelina + Jenny Shimizu), partner sharing (Barney & Betty Rubble and Fred & Wilma Flintstone), tried and true couples (a lot more than you think), and like animals, everything else in between and not so in between. Why is that?

Richez 2 Ragz: Starbury Rising

So first off, I gotta give props to my buddy DubbleDubs for making me aware of this through his blog. This has moved me so much that I had to join the "Starbury Movement".

Starbury is a sneaker and clothing line endorsed by two-time NBA All-Star Stephon Marbury and was launched in September 2006. There are many styles, mostly for $9.98, but Steph's on court shoe, the Starbury I and Starbury II, sells for $14.98. The big idea is to offer a well designed quality shoe as an alternative for low income families to the Nike's, Reebok's and Adidas' of the world, which sell for 5 to 10 times as much. Frankly, the big 3 of the sneaker world has made our world into a place where kids get made fun of when they're not sporting the latest 'kicks' that the so called "All-Stars" are wearing (Jordan's costs $200) and robbed or killed if they do.

Hearing, seeing and reading about things like this makes me want to quit so I can go and design for them. Something bigger than myself. Something that really is making a difference in the lives of people who are less fortunate. Something that I wish was around when I was a kid.

My first pair of Nike's came when I was in Sophomore in High School. Before then, I wore a steady stream of ProWings and the occasional pair of Converse (Hexalite BABY!) that lasted me 3 months on average but I ended up stretching them out for about 5 to 6 months until the soles literally would fall off. I would like to think of myself as a pretty decent baller back in the day. And yes, I do remember begging my mom to buy me a pair of $75 shoes (forget the $150 dollar Jordans... are you insane?). In any case, we were not as well off back then as we were now. My mom was more concerned about my education rather than the brand of shoe I was wearing. To quote Stephon, “Two hundred to buy a pair of sneakers, that’s groceries for a week.”

Food, Family, God, Education (just to name a few)... those are the real important things in life. Not how much your shoes cost or how shiny your car is. It's all superficial but somehow, marketers and advertisers have found some way to convince us that is the case. Today’s youth (frankly, everyone) is so brainwashed that they believe paying a C-note and more for shoes, brand name clothes or some gaudy chain equals to feeling better about yourself or superior to others. It needs to change. And from the ground up is as good a way as any other.

So let's check out the current shoe endorsement landscape:
LeBron James: 90 Million / 7 years, Nike
Kobe Bryant: 45 Million / 5 years, Nike
Allen Iverson: 5 Million / 1 year for the rest of his life, Reebok

Even nice guys:
Tim Duncan: 25 Million / 5 years, Adidas
Duane Wade: 10 Million / per year, Converse (Not hating... he still tithes 10%)

And the rest of the NBA: A lot of money to wear hundred dollar shoes that cost $10 to make.

So you have 300+ guys in the NBA who could have started this but didn't. And let's be honest, only a few people could have pulled it off. All-Stars and Hall of Famers really, and the one of the most hated on and most controversial was the only one to do it. Well... two now.

Big Ben (Wallace) is in on the action. As he says: "Kids don't really understand what it takes to go out and buy a pair of $300 pair of shoes. We don't understand the pressure we put on our parents when we're growing up. This is one of the things where I think the parents will appreciate it a lot more than the kids right now because it eliminates so much stress from the parents. All parents want to see their kids have nice things."

So two guys get it. Two guys remember where they came from. Let's hope more remember. We need them to.


FYI... Yes, Stephon has been sporting the shoes the whole season and recently has been averaging 23 points, 6 assists, 3 reb and 1 steal for the month of March.

And if you are wondering where you can buy his shoes, check out the Starbury Site or Steve & Barry's