Todd Lyden

Image via Wikipedia Trajectory is the  path a moving object follows through space as a function of time. I got to thinking about where I might want to be after watching " Scott Pilgrim vs. The World" the other night. Partially because it's lead star apparently has NONE as I discuss here . But largely due to one of the bit players in the ensemble of the movie: Chris Evans . You MIGHT remember him for his first big turn in the spoof "Not Another Teen Movie." I certainly remember him. I did not realize he had some TV roles behind him, but he left them far behind once that movie hit. He carried the suspense actioner "Cellular." This film relied on his ability to communicate only through a phone and he pulled it off. However, it appeared he might be stuck in a typecasting hell of playing a sort-of bumbling California boy (ironic as he is from Boston). This seemed confirmed when he was chosen to play the hot-headed Human Torch in 2005's "Fantastic ...

Image by Dan Coulter via Flickr This is part movie review, part business advice. I just watched the latest Michael Cera flick, " Scott Pilgrim vs. the World ." I never read the original comic, but based on what I have heard- it is fairly faithful. I enjoyed the movie immensely. It's original with it's throwback "pow-whams" like the 60s Batman TV show. The story is not particularly original but the implementation is. Definitely worth the watch. I was however disappointed to see Michael Cera (who looked more like an alien with a bad haircut in this) playing the same character. I truly believe that Cera is not an actor now and that he just shows up to a movie set and does whatever the director tells him to do. He is not acting. He is just doing the same thing in everything he has been in. You probably saw him first in the TV show " Arrested Development " like me. He was great as the milquetoast character trying to get with his cousin. His next major...

Image via Wikipedia New Year 's or ANY resolutions are pointless. I love @ambercadabra 's take on resolutions here: http://www.brasstackthinking.com/2010/12/the-brass-tacks-of-resolutions/ It needs to go that one more step. Don't make resolutions, make PLANS. She reminds us to have resolve EVERY DAY and that if you want change, you have to want it bad enough. Both true and the last step? MAKE A PLAN. It sounds ridiculous and trite. But it's true. This New Year's or any other time of the year, if you want to change something about yourself, your life or how something is within your control, MAKE A PLAN. Now, where are my index cards? Related articles Don't Make Another Resolution Before You Read This (socyberty.com) Resolutions to Make 2011 A Success (ybpguide.com) How to Stick to New Year Resolutions ( Self Development Blog ) [Dr JOY Madden] (ecademy.com)

I know you have seen the signs at different banks, retail locations, etc where they ask you to stop your cellphone conversations to do your business. I just took my daughter to the pediatrician and I SWEAR they had one of those in the waiting room. It not only ASKED but said your usage would result in canceling the APPOINTMENT. I remember when Bluetooths (Blueteeth?) became the rage and it SEEMS to have died down. People walking around with hardware in their ears hasn't stopped but the texting and playing on the phone has seemingly taken its place. I just could not believe that people have to asked not to fiddle with their phone when they are taking their kid to the doctor! But that's the world we live in now apparently. If you want a few reasons to STOP, check here: http://collegecandy.com/2009/08/10/why-you-should-stop-texting/ We live in a world where you have to be ASKED to be polite and pay attention. When we live in that world, what does it mean for how you are going to b...

Not that people care too much, but I've decided to finally make the break between my more personal stuff and the  social media  stuff I've been posting here. I had the domain name for a while, but you will start seeing my stuff OVER here at  www.socialmediawannabe.com . Toddlyden.com is going to become more personal and might be self-referential with links over to the other website, but I'm trying to make the distinction.  Too much of what I would like to talk about ISN'T social media, but at the same time I would never want to stop writing it. I envision Toddlyden.com as being more lifestreaming, but haven't determined if I am keeping it at  Posterous . I find the site overlimiting.  Other's love it, but the interface is even harder to work with and customize than  Blogger . I've found it wonky lately with posting to other places like Facebook . And, it doesn't play well with most other blogging plugins and addons like Wordpress ...

  Are we really watching the slow inevitable death of Myspace? With the integration with Facebook complete and  the push towards what appears to be a mobile only function , isn't it time to call this one? One report says that Myspace is making $200 million less this year. They are functionally giving up on Myspace Music , which was always their bread and butter. Without the music tie in, why would people BOTHER with Myspace? I'm talking about it because my wife's band has used every medium known to mankind to promote themselves online and Myspace has been nothing but dead weight from the very beginning. Only bands and their most ardent fans go there. The rest are on Facebook.  There is talk of selling Myspace, but who in their right mind would consider it? This will have some interesting implications for bands down the road. Many use Myspace as their de facto website, just pushing their domain name onto the customizable site. Now apparently, Reverbnation , a North Carol...

You got Yelp, Urbanspoon, and many other review sites that are offering a way to lodge a complaint or place a nice compliment about a service provider. I've got to say I was impressed with Gripe as a new entry in the "review" niche of apps/sites. Their blog highlights the effectiveness of the idea: One complaint got turned around fast. This is ENCOURAGING companies to take control of the word of mouth found on Facebook and Twitter! It is also a great way to measure your "influence." Look at Whole Foods on Gripe: The other thing I like about this system is that while it is mostly complaints it also allows for compliments. I posted one and look at how many people, conceivably (apparently) would see it: That's right- half a million people! Unlikely, but OK- it at least gives you the idea. They are trying to distinguish themselves from the review sites by resolving complaints as a better business bureau would and considering the problems they are having latel...

Image via Wikipedia " QR codes looks like a solution looking for a problem to solve." Could NOT agree more with Carl Gunell over here: https://storify.com/gunell/the-evolution-of-qr-codes2. Others think they are the bee's knees : " Forrester estimates that 1% of all internet users and 5% of smartphone users have scanned a QR code in the past three months."  The Gadget Guy thinks they can be useful but only if used properly. There are examples of different large campaigns using them, but are they really that effective? I've used Scanlife a few times with my new phone, but honestly- doing it was no less simple then to just type in a short URL in the web browser.  Here is a great discussion on the usage of codes via survey here:  http://2d-code.co.uk/how-many-would-scan-a-qr-code/ The other day I saw an ad with the QR code right about the short, extremely short URL. Does it REALLY save that much time?  Dave Boike expressed this well o...

Looking back again at 2010 from Social Media Today in 2009: http://socialmediatoday.com/SMC/146209 1. Augmented Reality Applications Will Start to Go Mainstream Really? Where are they? 2. Location-Based Applications Will Dissolve Into General Social Networks "Location-based applications like  Foursquare  and  Brightkite  will not be the darlings of social media as some predict, but will instead turn into features and dissolve into general social networks like Facebook and Twitter."  This is probably half-true. They haven't taken off as gangbusters as everyone thought, but have they been completely assimilated? Not close. Are they generally only effective because of Twitter and Facebook, YES. Will they become more important to the mobile world? Definitely.   3. Enterprise Social Software Applications Will Become Commonplace "Large software providers like IBM, SAP and Oracle will launch, or announce, the first enterprise-grade social net...

  Let's look back at some predictions for this past year and how good or bad they were- First Techcrunch:  http://techcrunch.com/2010/01/01/ten-technologies-2010/ The Tablet -  definitely, iPads are the rage and with others making the moves in the last year, they are the netbooks for the next year. Geo:  Sadly, not as much as you might want to think.  Techcrunch REALLY pushed this as far back as 2009  and it is still not as prevalent as folks who use it think it is versus those that don't. Realtime Search-  There is real-time searching? Yes, but do people really care? Chrome OS  It only took another year and they are finally doing it. Try again in 2011. HTML5  Yes,  but again- another slow burn. Seems to be a theme? Y Mobile Video-  Seriously? Augmented Reality-  Huh? Mobile Transactions -  Wha? Android-  most definitely. This past year and in the last few months saw a huge uptick. 2011 could be a huge year for Googl...

I wasn't going to do this, but as a learning experience on blogging, commenting and just communicating in general, I thought this might be constructive and educational. I've had one dust up with a blogger over on his website(The original comments are now off when the blog was switched, I guess.) My gist of the article and I think the original discussion in that case is that sarcasm and satire online are HARD. Very hard to understand. I think it hurts REAL communication.  Does it stop people from trying? No. But does it mean things get taken wrong, YES. Now, I've had another dust up where I took umbrage with the way a government agency's twitter and blog were portrayed and was able to illustrate so.  I was contacted directly after ending the commentary on the blog post and told that arguing in that forum doesn't make anyone look good.  I'd post comments over there, but after being painted as a nasty troll, a-hole, bully, and someone who pisses all ov...

Ok, so the Groupon/Redbox came and went. I got the text as a loyal Redbox customer:  Friday, Saturday and Sunday ONLY! Go to  www. redbox .com/ groupon  to get 3 one-night  Redbox  DVD rentals for only $1. Txt STOP 2 quit. And what did I get? A notice like others, but then quickly a deleted page. The reaction was as immediate as mine online: You can see that updated here . I'm going to be VERY curious to see how this plays out for these two giants. A great idea for BOTH of them, might have HURT both of them. Not sure what Groupon limited the deal to, but loyal customers of both might feel VERY slighted. I did not get my Redbox text until at least two hours AFTER the deal went live.  Which tells me that Redbox was trying to reach more customers, but why share with THEIR customers. For Groupon, this could be a nice win. Redbox fans who love the cheap movies will now know THEIR brand but who got the Groupon emails? Groupon sends weird deals to different plac...

#Reverb10 #10 What was the wisest decision you made this year, and how did it play out?  Now this I can play with. Sorry about the last one.  I don't make decisions. My wife and I do. We might take input from the children if it concerns them, but we still make the decisions. The wisest one we've made in a while is one that actually happened several years ago, but culminated this year. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to be home a great deal for the first two years of our youngest's life. It has turned her literally into daddy's girl. My wife felt some of the slight, but in large part because she was working not too long after she was born. Not too long after, opportunity and chance made it so that my wife could stay home full time and we agreed that she would so long as the youngest was not in school full time. Well, she entered kindergarten this year, YEAH! And my wife was back on the job market.  It's worked out GREAT for us. Related articles #reverb10 ( b...

Dear #Reverb10 folks,  I've enjoyed writing posts for the other prompts thus far, but have seen backlash against different ones. Consider this mine for day 10's: December 9 – Party Prompt: Party. What social gathering rocked your socks off in 2010? Describe the people, music, food, drink, clothes, shenanigans. Seriously? I find myself hard pressed to deal with this. I guess someone else can see the value, but I am not. Consider this my break day... 

I've tried being a good Twitter citizen. Following those that follow me. But the incessant ebb and flow of people following me OBVIOUSLY just to get their numbers up is beyond annoying. I follow those that I find add the value that I want to SEE in my stream. If you want to follow me, I've given up on figuring out WHY. I would hope that you see value in what I have to say, but honestly, I know that 95% are just doing in the hopes that I follow back and pump those numbers up for you. Here is a GREAT example of the problem. Now, I have no IDEA why "Blockbuster Mexico" would CHOSE to follow me.  I certainly WOULD NEVER look for them to follow them. I have no issue with their stream but I am not fluent in Spanish.  I'm sure there are VERY targeted people and institutions on Twitter that would LOVE the follow and would follow them back, but NOT me. But that's the problem! They seem to be operating on the old idea of just getting the numbers up,...

  Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. Reflect on all the things that make you different – you’ll find they’re what make you beautiful. I remember the book distinctly. I wish I could find it. I read it when I was 15 and it talked about the  "four temperaments." This was before the Myers-Briggs thing REALLY hit big and before personality testing was used for everything from hiring to finding a babysitter. This one focused on the ancient idea of the humors of the body: you were phlegmatic, melancholic, sanguine or choleric . Guess which one I was? Give up? Choleric, which Wikipedia describes as such: A person who is choleric is a do-er. They have a lot of  ambition, energy, and passion , and try to instill it in others. They can dominate people of other temperaments, especially phlegmatic types. Many great charismatic military and political figures were cholerics. They like to be leaders and in charge of everything. I...

7th in a month long series: Community.  Where have you discovered community, online or otherwise, in 2010? What community would you like to join, create or more deeply connect with in 2011? Obviously the blogging community has been huge for me this year. I've met FANTASTIC people who are willing to share and show the ropes. However, blogging has become something of the excuse for being on Twitter. I think many avid Tweeting folk will admit it. They blog maybe once/week, but they engage Twitter as much as they can. Twitter has enabled me to discover the ROBUST community of social media users in Nashville, TN. I've talked about a few before  here . And if you follow me on Twitter at all, you will find me RT'ing the heck out of a few of those folks and more. Why Nashville?  Nashville, if you forget, as many people have, was hit by a huge natural disaster this last year.   http://www.youtube.com/v/pFjaQoOdJvI&hl=en&fs=1 However, in one of t...

  Days six of the #reverb10: Make. What was the last thing you made? What materials did you use? Is there something you want to make, but you need to clear some time for it? A few weeks ago I discovered a local restaurant that makes a DYNOMITE lemon chicken soup, Greek style I believe.  I killed myself to find a comparable recipe but found one online that I think approximates it  here .  My favorite part? It is ridiculously easy. And fun to mess with! I've made several batches now and now are quite the same. I experiment each time- in part to see if I can replicate the original soup (impossible!), but also because I like the variations. The lesson here? Catching lightning in a bottle is hard, but trying to catch it CAN be just as worth while so why not at least try? The other thing I made from this is a happy wife. She LOVES the soup concoctions and is a willing guinea pig each time. You never know what you might be doing that will make someone else happy! What wou...

Fifth in the series. Let Go. What (or whom) did you let go of this year? Why? There are people we need in our lives and those that we do not. As hard as we might struggle to keep certain people in, it is sometimes wisest to let them go. Why? We need them. It truly does not get any easier than that. That sounds very utilitarian, but think about it: you don't invite random strangers into your home for no reason. Even if you are helping someone by doing them a favor, if nothing else for that moment, you "need" them.  Yes. I realize this does not fit the standard notion of need. But for the most part, we keep those closest to us that are most meaningful and beneficial to us. Again, it sounds VERY self-serving, but relationships are two ways streets. Or at least, good ones are. If you are on a one way street, you probably need to get off it- at least in terms of relationships. Photo:  osde8info Related articles What philosophy tells us about the happiness index | Clare Carl...

Number four in the #Reverb10 series:Wonder.  How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year? I'm doing it. Blogging on a regular basis has REALLY amped my questioning, wondering, and curiosity this year. A while back I promised that I would post at least once/day and this series is forcing me to ramp it up. I am SEMI-counting this as part, but if I have something that ABSOLUTELY needs to be said, I will post it anyway. Double dip! I think one of the benefits of this series is that I am going to discover some new bloggers to check out. Think I am going to head out now to do that, join me by checking out the #Reverb10 hashtag on Twitter or Delicious! Related articles #Reverb10 Day Two: Writing.  (sydneyowen.com) Reverb10: Wonder  (eemusings.wordpress.com) Three Acts to Make 2011 a Wonder Year  (psychologytoday.com) Zemanta  helped me add links & pictures to this email.  It can do it for you too.

Third in the #Reverb10 series: Moment. Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors). My moment I felt the most alive was fairly recent. Last month, in fact. I was in a group setting with my daughter. If you met her, you'd know that she does her own thing. We were in a small location where I was at the opposite end of the room  about 30 feet from her. I was busy, engaged and talking with someone. Her scream of pain hit my feet before it hit my ears. There is no other way to explain how I was able to be moving before I could even think. I know I was holding something, but I either dropped it or laid it down as I rushed quickly, but determinedly against a group of people to where I had heard her cry come from. This was clearly not a moment of joy- it was a cry of pain. The last thing any parent EVER wants to hear from their child. Thankfully, the other adults present did not overreact. My daughter ...

Second in  the #Reverb10 series: Writing. From  Leo Babauta:  What do you do each day that doesn’t contribute to your writing — and can you eliminate it?  I'm going the cheap route. Nothing. I dare say EVERYTHING you do contributes to YOUR writing. Sure, the question implies that you can prioritize your life and cut something out like a dead limb. This might be true for a lot of people. And YES, I can prioritize, but cut that limb? I don't think I can see it. There are moments of slackadastical behavior I have no doubt that I could eliminate, but who doesn't need down time? There are moments of sheer do-nothing, but those usual involve my kids- those aren't going anywhere. I am sure I could crystalize some truly WASTED seconds, but I doubt it would RADICALLY improve my writing. Would it any more than reading a myriad of blogs, newspapers, magazines, books that I enjoy? Probably not. Would it any more than the radio I enjoy listening to? Probably not. If you can elim...

Ok, you've probably seen the story about the New York online eyeglass retailer who uses negative sentiment online to increase his Google ranking. If not, jump over here really quick . Pretty lame right? Google has a response:  http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/being-bad-to-your-customers-is-bad-for.html Here is the meat of it: Instead, in the last few days we developed an algorithmic solution which detects the merchant from the Times article along with hundreds of other merchants that, in our opinion, provide an extremely poor user experience. The algorithm we incorporated into our search rankings represents an initial solution to this issue, and Google users are now getting a better experience as a result. Apparently, they do sentiment analysis , but somehow can't find a way to use that for online business? REALLY? Elsewhere, they are guessing that they will be using the merchant reviews that Google has already amassed as part of the algorithm. ...