Liz: January 2008 Archives

Today was International Delete Your Myspace Account Day.

My MySpace account is still in tact. In fact, today I decided to resurrect my last custom MySpace profile design, seen above. I designed this almost year ago (geez, I am getting old). It was my ode to the overused design elements of Web 2.0, but with a Pink & Green twist.  This was my second  attempt at hacking  my own  design, and was an interesting exercise  for Photoshop and MySpace hacking.  It was fun the first few times. I ended up hacking another design at my old job (original header had to be removed, but it is here), however, designing for MySpace quickly became a pain in the neck. It is the most backwards mess of code I have ever had to accommodate for. There is no logic. Nothing makes sense. It's  a very messy piece of code when you get down to it.

Anyway, as much as I hate and love to hate MySpace, I am stuck with it. I have friends and family who only e-communicate to me via MySpace. Not e-mail, not IM, not Facebook---just MySpace. There are loose tie relationships I maintain on there as well. As much beef as I have with the site, I am here to stay, unfortunately.  Geeks across the land can start these deletion campaigns as much as they want, but the rest of the real world still lives with MySpace-colored glasses on. I'll keep mine on for now.

At least, until everyone leaves and goes to another site.

As I begin blogging at work, I just realized something: I have been blogging for almost five years. Back in March 2003, I started my very first blog on one of those blogging services, and....just kept it moving. It feels a little odd knowing that a hobby of mine eventually turned into somewhat of a career move. I get to  blog at work. I get to manage blogs at work. I'm seen as a blogging expert on the job. Actually, combined with having to redesign a website for my sorority chapter in school, blogging is probably what got me where I am today. It pointed me in the right direction, whether it be blogging as a blogger, or becoming engrossed in the blogosphere and exploring it for  knowledge and connections with people I would not otherwise connect with.

I don't have the most extensive archives available for the public, but I have saved  every post I've ever written. I often switched psuedonyms over the years, starting new bogs, and killing them only to start a new one all over again (there was a method to this madness, but nothing I'd care to go into right now). Part of the reason why I don't show my archives now is because it was full of young woman, quarter-life crisis angst. I still have some of my quarter-life angst to rid myself of, but for now, the archives will remain private. Honestly, I am just too busy to go through and decide what should be public, what shouldn't, and correct my punctuation mistakes. Maybe one day, I'll share.

Either way, go check me out on Correlations, where I blog about science, technology, and other things. This is just one of the many blog projects I have going on  in 2008.  I'll  write about my others later on. 

Last night I went to Twiistup 3, which is an event for startups and the people who love them. It's a chance for LA tech people to get together, mingle and check out the featured startups of the night. I've never been to an event like this before, as I've been keeping quite the low profile in the LA tech crowd. I think this year will be my year to get more involved and meet people. I don't have an agenda behind this, I just think it's important to get to know your peers. 

A run down of how the event went:

• I got there an hour late, mostly because I like to be fashionably late to events sometimes. That, and I was at the salon getting my nails done earlier and you can't rush perfection ;) 
• Valet was SLOW. I ended up not using the free valet because the line was so long, I wasn't sure they were still taking cars.
  
• I got a swag bag upon entrance, and they asked me to take a picture in front of the step and repeat wall (which was low on the step, high on the repeat), but I declined. No flash photography, please.
  
• The place was packed when I arrived. I went looking for my APOC friends and thought I would never find them, but luckily they found me.
  
• The drinks at the bar were strong.
  
• I started to walk around and look at the showoffs (those startups showing off their product that night) with one of my startup partners from my program. It was difficult getting info from the people because it was loud, and really packed. But, we got some one on one time with most of the booths, and it worked out eventually. I really liked the guy Dan at the SpeedDate.com booth. He was pretty friendly and informative, and I snagged a free webcam from him. If you haven't seen this video of their product, check it out:
• 
  Perez Hilton was in full effect. To be the main dude in about 80% of the official photos from the event, I sure did NOT see him as much as the gallery suggests. He came on stage to say a few words once, otherwise, I found him posted up in a booth on my way out. My friend wanted to take a picture with him, but he looked wrapped up with these people interviewing him.
  

Lately I've been tossing GlobalGrind.com around to some of my friends, asking their opinions and giving them a few observations of my own about the site. These particular friends of mine are Black, web-savvy individuals who run the gamut of designers, content producers, and/or backend developers. They know their stuff when it comes to the web, especially Web 2.0.

My observations:

• GlobalGrind.com was in alpha phase testing during the summer of 2007. I registered for an account back in July, and began setting up camp because I beta test everything whenever I can.
  
• In its alpha phase, the site was nothing more than a thinly designed startpage, with default feeds consisting of urban websites like XXLMag.com, allhiphop.com, etc.
  
• Russell Simmons backs the site.
• It raised $4.5 Million in venture capital in September 2007.
• A thin and paltry post from the site's blog claims they "redesigned" the site, when in fact, they switched up business models. It now looks like a digg clone, only the labels have been switched out for more "urban" audiences.
  

Needless to say, looking at the final product, my friends and I were less than enthused. In fact, we're confused as to what is going on over at Global Grind headquarters.

Global Grind Presents... Clones
The site claims they recently redesigned, but it appears as though they passing off a digg-clone as a redesign. Anybody with half a brain on the web knows they went from the startpage model to a digg model. This is not switching out CSS files, or fancying up some XHTML. Everything is different on this site. Where is my startpage that I spent time putting together on the alpha site? Gone, and without an e-mail to let me know it would go AWOL during this "redesign." Global Grind does not care about its users.

I'm not mad at them for jumping on the startpage fad. That was somewhat of an interesting idea, and startpages have some way to go before they get played out. But don't insult your users by claiming a "redesign," especially your beta testers. Your beta testers are some of the most important people you want to listen to, and it's important to keep lines of communication open at all times.   

Design
Why does the design look derivative? It looks as though they bought a generic template, and filled in the blanks. The logo doesn't connect the product (alpha or beta versions) to the name for me. Frankly, the site design is tacky and has poor UI, UX, IA, and OPP. This applies to the previous design too, though I may have given it a pass because most startpages have wonky design elements.

Show Me The Receipts
The greatest thing about the Facebooks and Googles of the world is that you can start out with very low overhead and make millions. Global Grind raised $4.5 Million from Accel Partners, with Russell Simmons adding his own undisclosed investment funds to the project. Where did all this money go? In a recent episode of Run's House, Russell pitches the site to his brother, Rev Run, and asks him to invest in the company. Russell retorts that he spent a lot of money in "Schmuck Insurance," which sounds like he just asked someone to write up some hefty NDAs and Non-Compete paperwork. Did this so-called Schmuck Insurance cost $4.5 million? Because looking at this site, I have no idea where else the money went.  Copy the digg concept (people copy digg all the time *cough*MySpace News*cough* and it doesn't seem to catch on), switch out a few category labels.....what else is there to spend $4.5 million on? Definitely not design. Is all of the money going to marketing? Did they take out a Super Bowl ad? Open up a new office building? I'd like to note, Digg raised its first $2.8 Million in VC funding, ten months after it launched. Meanwhile back at the ranch, GlobalGrind has $4.5M+ out the gate and this is what they have to show: a broken site, cloned and derivative to the max?

Think Different
The lack of innovation on Global Grind is disheartening. The switch from startpage to digg model isn't the disappointment, as much as it looks as though they tried to create a Black/hip-hop version of something else with poor execution (BET, anyone?). Flickr started out as a MMOG, and managed to flip the business into a photo managing/social website. Startups flip the script all the time, that's part of startup culture: chaos, uncertainty, and constant revisions. GlobalGrind copies the ideas of others, throws some Black people/hip-hop in the mix and then asks for more money. Where is the innovation? Aside from the startup mindset of innovation and creativity, what about hip-hop's element of innovation, being different, doing your own thing?

Honestly Reflecting
I thank people like Tiffany B. Brown and Cyde Smith for stepping up and offering some trained analysis on the disappointment that is Global Grind. I think Global Grind boosters are nothing short of those following the Simmons brand, going off of Russell's business savvy. To a certain extent I can't blame them, however, Russell himself knows that everything he blesses doesn't turn into gold. I can't hate on Russell Simmons, and I'm not. I greatly respect the man, and I can identify with him. I just finished reading his last book and loved it, I like Rev Run & his fam, and I especially love Kimora (read & loved her book too). Nobody loves the Simmons fam as much as me, trust. I just need Russell to take a good look at who he has on his team, because right now, this looks sloppy and unprofessional. I hold Russell to a high standard, and I expect him to look like he knows what he's doing--especially with $4.5M+ in hand.

I do not know where to begin when it comes for my disdain towards Bob Johnson (and BET), however Jia explains the situation over Obama fairly well.

It's that time of year again: the beginning of another academic semester. For me, hopefully this will be my last semester in school for a long time. Emphasis on long. I'm wrapping up a Master's degree, and I don't believe in having multiple Master's degrees, so the only other option would be to get a Ph.D. I am in no mood for Ph.D. talk right now, no matter how good of an idea it is.

Seriously, don't let me go to school again. I know I said that when I was done with MIT, but I mean it this time.

I've got two classes and an independent research course on deck for the term. One of my classes is about building web startups, and the other is about social dynamics of the web/internet/whatever. I know who the professors are and I know the syllabi, so I think this will be a great semester. I still have my research class proposal unconfirmed, but I have an idea of what I want to work on.

And thus begins my third consecutive semester as a full-time graduate student and a full-time employee. Can you say burn out? Lately people have been asking me why I am not doing bigger things, when it comes to my job or career. They see all my potential, and previous accomplishments and don't get why I am not doing XYZ instead. The answer is I can't. I'm trying to finish this Master's program of mine without failing or getting fired from my job. My personal projects and ambitions suffer, if only to maintain partial sanity for my day to day activities. It's all good though. I sincerely believe that I am exactly where I should be right now when it comes to my career and education. Everything in my life feels like it is aligned perfectly, for some odd but interesting reason. It feels good, so I don't worry about it for now.

This post is brought to you in part by the Navajo Nation, which helped pay my way through Graduate school. Danke.

 

I admit I am somewhat addicted to Twitter. Maybe it's better to say I am a "heavy user." Either way, my habits are fairly contrived, so I thought I'd give a rundown here, if only to document my habits and revisit them again in a few months.

Technique
I twitter using the web interface, Twitterriffic on my laptop, and Snitter on my desktop at work. I set up my iPhone to send messages to twitter, and I receive SMS tweets from @5oh7, @panamajackson, @wiredscience and any direct messages to me. I also track some keywords, which I'll talk about later.

Slow Beginnings
I think I joined Twitter in March or April 2007, at the suggestion of my girl J. Boom. I let my account sit and collect dust for a few months. In May or June of this year, I went head first and never looked back.

Following You
I started following people I knew, like Jen and BK, but I still didn't get the picture as to why twitter was the proverbial hotness. Since I already know these people, and these people are heavy internet users like myself--I already have about 27 different modes of communication with these heads. Why did I need to twitter with Jen when I have all 6 of her AIM screen names on all 9 of my AIM buddy lists? I don't personally know BK, but I got him covered on Facebook, Flickr, Vimeo and MySpace, how was twitter going to benefit the mix?

It's 2008. I'm closer to being old. The only cool thing about 2008 is that it's the One Hundred Year Anniversary of my sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the first sorority founded for Black college women. Oh, and The Wire is back. Other than these two points, 2008 had nuthin' else going for it, as far as I am concerned.

My thing for '08 is going to be work it, hustle, just DO it. I've spent many a month now, not doing the projects I want to do, not pursuing my goals. Confusing myself.  But '08 is my transition year. Part of my problem is I can't seem to keep  my behind out of school. I swore off school once I was done at MIT, but somehow found myself in this grad program at USC. I promise I didn't plan this, this was totally accidental. Either way, I wrap up the master's in May, and I plan on hitting the ground running. I am going to take it easy these first two quarters, quietly planning my execution come summertime.


And now, I leave you with my favorite hustle lyrics of the moment, by the esteemed Jay-Z:

"Hustle cane, hustle clothes, or hustle music/But hustle hard in any hustle that you pick."