I now want to play Sim City 2000 again...

A few years later my family got our first computer connected to the Internet. But instead of AOL, we went with a local provider that took us straight to the web without having to jump through any third party’s hoops. I had complete access to the information of the world without the need for silly keywords and could pull up anything that a 56kbps modem would allow. I was living the high life.

With this new found freedom came the desire to claim my own piece of cyber real estate. This desire grew until a Geocities account was procured and HTML became a second language. At this point I became able to bend the Internet to my very whim and developed a sense that the Internet was created to be used in any way I saw fit. The Internet was mine for the taking and no one could tell me how I was to use it.

But as the Internet continued to develop a funny thing happened, it became social. I can’t put my finger on when exactly this pivotal moment occurred, but I do remember being a junior in college when a little website sprung up that was only accessible by people with college email addresses and even then only to a small group of schools across the country. That’s right, I was on Facebook before Facebook was cool.

Facebook was this new and wondrous place where I could connect with friends as close as the room next door and as far as the other side of the country. I could interact with them, share pictures and even poke them if I felt so inclined — though I still have no idea what the purpose of poking really is. It was like the opening of the wild west for the digital age.

As Facebook grew and expanded so did the social web. Comment boxes showed up on everyone’s blog and even some mainstream websites. Message boards become more active and, at times, heated. The web became something demanding interaction and I dove in head first. The Internet became, and still is, all about bringing people together.

But in this new social web something was lost, at least initially. The glory days of bending the Internet to my whim was lost to writing on friends walls and commenting on their blogs. I became stuck in this construct of using the Internet the way it was presented to me. It was ten years ago looking at AOLs gateway access and keywords all over again. I was being tied down and I didn’t even realize it. That was until I started using the star.

I first saw the star on Twitter some two years ago. It was this funny thing that sat next to every post waiting for me to click it. There was a list of “Favorites” that corresponded with the star but no instruction or explanation was given. The star could be anything I wanted it to be. I started staring posts that were funny, overly pointed, or that I agreed with spot on so that I could return to them whenever I desired. The star was the start of my social web awaking.

@ebertchicago

Before long I started using Google Reader to manage my extensive RSS collection and it too had a star feature. Instead of “Favorites,” Google collected the stars as “Stared Items” and again came with no explanation. So I used it in much the same way, collecting stuff I might want to read again or things that I didn’t have time to read while going through all the feeds. The star allowed me to break the construct of using the social web as it was provided. It gave me another option, one that was open ended and unique to me. My staring philosophy is probably different from yours but that’s ok, in fact, that’s what makes the star such a wonderful addition to the social web.

But it didn’t end with the star. I went through a brief period with Tumblr awhile back which allowed me to discover the heart. Like the star, Tumblr allowed marking posts that I found interesting or enjoyed or just wanted to save with a nice little heart. However Tumblr merged the open ended nature that I loved about the star with the closed construct that I didn’t like about the social web: it referred to the heart as “Likes” and also notified the poster that I “liked” their post. I was again being thrown into a box of sorts. But Tumblr’s heart wasn’t the only box a “Like” system would attempt to throw me into as Facebook’s thumbs up would be much worse.

Facebook, the pioneer of the digital frontier, created a “Like” system that gave no control over the information to me and instead only notified the poster that I “Liked” their contribution to the Internet. Ironically Facebook’s “Like” system reminded me of everything I disliked (pun intended) about the social web. I could like it but once that was done I couldn’t ever do anything about it again. Once again, Facebook was forcing me to use the web the way they wanted me to do so.

I don't like this.

And that seems to be their mantra. Their “Like” system is showing up all over the Internet now in an effort to force use of the web in the way they see fit. No stars, no hearts, just arbitrary thumbs ups that ultimately connect everything back to Facebook. I simply have to hold onto hope that, just as Facebook’s creation marked the first major Internet renaissance so too will it’s “Like” system. Though instead of a renaissance that gears my Internet usage in the direction they see fit, I hope the next major revival is driven by a refusal to adapt to Facebook’s will and returns open ended control back to you and me.

Coming soon, Oprah's must-follow list.

The number one rule is that if you claim to be some sort of “social media expert” and you follow me, I will block you. End of story. This may sound a bit harsh, but deal with it. First of all, you are by no means a social media expert. No one is. When I see “social media expert” on someone’s one-line bio I actually read “social media whore” or “lame spammer.” I don’t want to be one of your five thousand followers in the hopes I’ll follow you back just to inflate your own digital ego.

That brings me to the second rule: If you follow me, don’t expect me to follow you back. Twitter doesn’t work that way. There’s only so many different people I can keep track of and while I’m flattered you find my mindless drivel interesting, don’t count on my following you back.

I won’t use #hashtags unless I’m at a conference or trying to get on some sort of TV program, like Current’s debate coverage. I think #hashtagging is pretty silly for daily use, but if I’m at a conference then I’ll tag away. Expect to see #orange09 appear very soon.

While I don’t post as much as some people do, I will go through bursts where I post often, especially while at a conference — see above. Having said that, I do tend to use @replys an awful lot. If you have all @replys turned on, well, you may find me annoying. Oh well.

Speaking of @replys, if you follow me, feel free to drop one on me from time to time. My favorite use of Twitter is as a means of communication; which is why I heavily use @replys. So answer the random questions I ask from time to time or just say hi.

I don’t retweet anything, unless it’s some sort of contest or freebee deal and even then it’s very rare. it’s not that I don’t find things funny or interesting or insert adjective here, it’s that I don’t think retweeting makes any sense. I don’t need to copy someone’s exact words. I didn’t do it while in college and I’m not going to do it on the internet. Maybe I’ll pass on a link and give someone credit for it, but I’m not going to copy the entire tweet. Seems silly.

Basically I use Twitter the way that I like to use Twitter and it may or may not mash up with they way you use Twitter. If it doesn’t, and for whatever reason you can’t deal with it, well don’t follow me. I don’t really care. But if you’re down with all the above, then jump on it.

How do you use Twitter? Do you have any hard and fast rules you use? Let me know in the comments.

What do you get when you search 'Twitter' on Google Images? iJustine.

• David Crowder
  David Crowder, of David Crowder*Band fame, is a very funny and poignant writer. His book, Praise Habit, was a very fun and insightful read. His witty humor would fit well into my Twitter feed.
• Kevin Smith
  Silent Bob Kevin Smith is one of the funniest writer/directors working in the business. With such fine specimens as Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and Chasing Amy, how could 140 character quips not be good?
• Sir Richard Branson
  What could one of the worlds most eccentric billionaires and smartest businessmen say in 140 characters or less? I don’t really know but I’m sure it’d be interesting.
• Yogi Bera
  Come on, how could this not be a good thing?
• Conan O’Brien
  I’ve always liked Conan and thought that his show is the funniest of all the late night TV, but after seeing him on Inside the Actors Studio I’ve decided that Conan is basically a genius. 140 character quips from him would be pretty much awesome.
• Zach Braff
  The guy is a great writer (see Garden State) a fan of really great music (see Garden State soundtrack or any episode of Scrubs) and probably pretty funny. A Zach Braff Twitter stream would probably be pretty cool.

As a bonus, here’s someone who actually is on Twitter but hasn’t said anything: Joel McHale. Host of The Soup. Need I say more? Granted, this might not really be him, but according to LeVar Burton, it is. He really needs to say something now and then.

Is that legit or what?

The full text of my tweet is:

@ricksanchezcnn These people in positions of power just think they can do whatever they please. Kind of sick actually.

and was in reply to two tweets about Ted Haggard and Portland’s mayor, both who had illicit.

So there you have it. I’ve now been published (can I say that?) on CNN. What have you done today?

Best Olympic Moment Not Involving Michael Phelps

The Olympics were two of the greatest weeks of 2008 and there were dozens of amazing moments ranging from the incredible Opening Ceremonies to the unforgettable I Love Beijing theme song. There were so many great moments this year it’s hard to choose just one that stands out. Ok, that’s a lie. There’s one moment that was far better than any other and is, quite frankly, the greatest moment in aquatic sports history. The Justie for the Best Olympic Moment Not Involving Michael Phelps goes to Jason Lezak’s amazing comeback in the 4×100 relay which won the USA a gold and created one hell of a story. There has never been a comeback quite like that nor has there been an instance of shear determination. Way to go Lezak, way to go.

Greatest Thing on TV

All in all, it’s been a pretty crappy year for TV. The Writers Strike cut a lot of seasons short and seemed to affect the quality of TV for this season as well. So the pool to draw from here is obviously pretty slim. But there were some stand outs. The Office and 30 Rock have been stellar and new shows Fringe and Life on Mars have been entertaining. But one show has been better than the rest, so the Justie for Greatest Thing on TV goes to Chuck. Chuck is consistently entertaining and just quirky enough to be endearing but it was “Chuck Verses Tom Sawyer” that pulled it in. Twin Galaxies, arcade games and Rush? Can’t get much better than that.

Best Unintentional Use of Keywords to Drive in Search Engine Traffic

People search for funny things on the internet. Some people spend tons of money and time trying to figure out the best combination of Julianne Hough, Will Smith, Taylor Swift, Britney Spears, Tom Cruise, the Jonas Brothers and Wil Wheaton to get their search engine ranking high enough for people to notice. Around here I do things a little different. I write things and then see how people find them. If a Miley Cyrus mention gets slipped in, well, so be it. It was earlier this year while perusing my site logs that I came across this category’s winner. The Justie for Best Unintentional Use of Keywords to Drive in Search Engine Traffic goes to this post about Chinese food and Kevin Smith’s Zack and Miri Make a Porno. I’ll let you figure out what people were searching for.

Crappiest Thing to Happen to Someone Other Than Me

A lot of crappy things happened in 2008 including hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, fires and a new Rambo movie. I jumped off a cliff and blacked out in the water, but I’m exempt from this category for obvious reasons. No, there was one crappy thing that unfortunately deserves this Justie; the Crappiest Thing to Happen to Someone Other Than Me Justie goes to the economy. Sure, I’m affected indirectly, but whatever. The economy pretty much sucked this year and have put hundreds of thousands out of work. Unfortunately it looks like it may get worse before it gets better but one thing is for certain, it will get better. Here’s to hoping that the economy earns the 2009 Justie for the Greatest Thing to Happen to Someone Other Than Me.

Most Addicting Social Media Outlet

Hello my name is Justin and I’m a social media addict. This year there were plenty of social media sites begging to earn an addiction: Facebook, Shelfari, Strands, and Last.fm just to name a few. But there was one that stood out far above the rest — possibly combined. The Justie for the Most Addicting Social Media Outlet goes to Twitter. I wasn’t the only one addicted either. Not only did twitt rank as one of the years ‘buzzwords’, but now CNN even takes comments — and in some cases breaking news — from Twitter.

Strangest Nuance in a City I’ve Traveled To

This one is a tough one to call. I’ve been a number of places this year including Seattle, The Bahamas, New Orleans, Key West, North Carolina, Georgia and Utah. In those various places I’ve seen a fair share of strange things, like the odd traffic lights on the highway in Seattle, but by far the Strangest Nuance in a City I’ve Traveled To goes to Utah. Why Utah? Their numbering of streets is absolutely ridiculous. Everything is laid out in a grid, which makes sense, but that grid is far too large. For instance, we had to turn from S 700 E onto E 10600 S. Does that make any sense? Then, thrown into the middle of that was State St which does make sense. I don’t get it. Way to earn that Justie, Utah.

Coolest Thing of the Year

Despite all the crappy things that happened, 2008 had it’s share of some pretty cool things. Myron Rolle won a Rhodes Scholarship and I read Snow Crash, both pretty cool. The Dark Knight made a ton of money while the Devil Rays won the American League without any. Tiger Woods had the comeback of his career and Bill Gates ended his. All of these things are pretty cool, but only one can win the Award. The 2008 Justie for the Coolest Thing of the Year goes to The Olympics.

It was going to be pretty hard to beat the summer games. They began with the coolest Opening Ceremony ever performed (no video links available, stupid NBC) and included some unforgettable moments, a lot of which occurred in the pool. Michael Phelps won a record setting 8 gold medals, which will probably never happen again. Countless records were broken, smaller countries shined and for a few weeks in August the world actually came together and enjoyed each others company. You can’t really get much cooler than that.

All the Justies have been handed out and I’ve got nothing left for 2008. The ball will soon drop and bring in 2009. Let’s see what happens.

One such link, recently served up by @Overshee (evidently originally offered by @DrHorrible), is so cool that I had to share it here. It’s so cool, in fact, that my feeble writing skills won’t do it justice. Check this out this excerpt from Where the Hell is Matt:

A few months into his [post-qutting globe trotting vacation], a travel buddy gave Matt an idea. They were standing around taking pictures in Hanoi, and his friend said “Hey, why don’t you stand over there and do that dance. I’ll record it.” He was referring to a particular dance Matt does. It’s actually the only dance Matt does. He does it badly. Anyway, this turned out to be a very good idea.

As is the case with the internet these days the video ended up making Matt somewhat internet famous. Then, in a very bizarre turn, Stride Gum found Matt and offered to send him around the world so he could film his little dance at the far corners of the earth. Why Stride Gum? Who knows but Matt isn’t stupid and took them up on the offer. Crazy? It’s not even done yet. Again, from Matt’s own website:

In 2006, Matt took a 6 month trip through 39 countries on all 7 continents. In that time, he danced a great deal.

The second video made Matt even more quasi-famous. In fact, for a brief period in July, he was semi-famous.

Things settled down again, and then in 2007 Matt went back to Stride with another idea. He realized his bad dancing wasn’t actually all that interesting, and that other people were much better at being bad at it. He showed them his inbox, which, as a result of his semi-famousness, was overflowing with emails from all over the planet. He told them he wanted to travel around the world one more time and invite the people who’d written him to come out and dance too.

The Stride people thought that sounded like yet another very good idea, so they let him do it. And he did. And now it’s done. And he hopes you like it.

That’s right, he looked a gift horse in the mouth and asked to do it again, bigger and better than the first time. Evidently Stride Gum has the money to send a happily unemployed 31 year old resident of Seattle around the world twice. The result is pretty impressive. I present to you Matt, dancing, with the people of the world.

During the last mission trip of the summer big waves were made in the internet TV world. Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-Long Blog, Joss Whedon’s latest creation, debuted for free for a limited time. Needless-to-say I missed that limited time. Instead I forked over the $3.99 to purchase the show from iTunes. I figured, based on my love for Joss’ Firefly, that I’d probably enjoy the three act show.

Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-Long Blog

I was right. The show is just about hilarious as it is downright unique — it’s a musical about a super-villian wannabe who has a blog. Anyway, the show is pretty funny so I looked it up on Twitter. The show has a Twitter account (I’m not sure who actually does the tweeting) but I followed it. I noticed the @drhorrible follows two people: @feliciaday, Penny from the show, and @theguild, The Guild (see, I’m getting there). Felicia Day seems to be an avid Twitterer so I started following her. The Guild, on the other hand, has rarely been updated so I ignored it.

Felicia Day is the creator, writer and star of The Guild

A few days later I see that Felicia Day is featured in Penny Arcade’s Comic Con Sketchbook. Turns out that she is also the creator, writer, producer, star, webmaster, ect of a YouTube show called The Guild. Since Felicia Day and The Guild would be appearing at PAX, I figured I’d give it a watch. After all, if I have the opportunity to run into them at PAX (oh yes, I’m going) then I want to check it out.

The Guild is pure hilarity. It’s about a World of Warcraft guild who decide to actually meet. Felicia Day starts each episode talking into her webcam blog (a lot like Dr. Horrible himself). The first season centers around the guild meeting for the first time — and all that entails. You can watch the entire season on YouTube, as well as a few bonus videos (Felicia’s DDR video is pure internet gold). According to the website, which is currently being “owned by Dr. Horrible and Penny Arcade”, the second season will be going into production very, very soon which is pretty exciting.

Have you seen The Guild? What do you think? Let me know in the comments below.

Back in college AIM (and later Trillian) was an everyday staple, constantly running providing a never-ceasing connection to just about everyone I knew. Around the end of my college years, maybe 2005ish, the slow, quiet death of IM began, when a mobile version of AIM came out. It functioned using text messages… which basically defeated the purpose of AIM and only pointed out that text messaging was a far more effective means of communication. Widespread text messaging use provided a constant, always-there connection. Around the same time AIM away messages were slowly being replaced with Facebook status updates. These, along with a few other variables (perhaps a full-time job?) lead to the eventual neglect of instant messaging.

Then came Twitter. I have talked about Twitter before and not exactly in the highest of lights, but since my last rant on their service it’s gotten much, much better in both usability and uptime. When using the @reply system, Twitter is basically instant messaging 2.0. It’s a constant, always-on connection to not just friends but the entire world through pretty much ever medium imaginable: web, text messaging, mobile clients, desktop clients, and yes, even desktop instant messaging clients. It basically takes the original AIM concept to the next level.

So I guess instant messaging isn’t dead per se, but rather it’s evolved away from a simple desktop client to multiple methods of communication that isn’t limited in any way. It’ll be interesting to see what the next iteration of instant messaging will be.

Over the last few days I have decided, despite my better judgement, to give Twitter a try. After reading Nick’s breakdown of the service I figured it might be worth a spin. After all, communicating with people is a good thing. Though after a few days of use I have really only come to one conclusion: whoever invested in this service should be really disappointed.

According to the CrunchBase, Twitter has $5.4 million dollars of investment capital running the show and 17 employees. The question I have, is with all the money and people how can the service be down almost as often as it’s up? Sure, they show a cute little graphic to say their sorry for the downtime, but what’s the point? It has been a nice means of communicating with some people through the @reply and direct message feature and by syncing with Facebook for general status updates. Though the system seems to pick and choose which updates are actually shown to me, which kind of defeats the purpose. I can see how it’d be pretty easy to become addicted to Twitter, as many people are, but it’s hard to keep using it with all the issues. I’ll continue to use Twitter and give it the benefit of the doubt. Surely they are in the middle of some sort of upgrade, or something. I mean, with all the money they have, these issues are just a sign of growth, right?

Zack and Miri Make a Porno is the upcoming movie from the very talented and funny Kevin Smith. I had heard about the movie a while back and finally, last night (or really this morning) the teaser trailer was released. It looks pretty funny, and seems to be about exactly what the title implies. But what caught my eye is the design of the website. It seems the cork board idea is spreading, or hitting the big time, or… something, I don’t know. Be warned, the trailer is intended for audiences of 18 and over and is completely uncensored. If you’re over 18 head over and check it out and just remember where you saw the design first.