bobbymokie

[bobbymokie]

Not Convinced

Do I really need a personal brand? It feels... artificial. I’ve never been very interested in what other people think. So creating and maintaining a personal brand, which boils down to trying to manipulate how and when other people think about you, just feels totally fake. Maybe it’s just so new, or maybe It’s that I’m doing it wrong, I dunno. But we all know those people with all the pics of them doing tons of cool stuff, looking like some awesome adventurer or thrill seeker, when in reality they were more concerned with getting the pics to show off than actually having fun. 

how I feel posting an update

So how do I make a personal brand that works for me, and doesn’t feel like I’m putting on a show? I should better examine how I would like people to see me. Of course, that’s not all that easy of a question, when I’d just as soon they not see me anyway, but oh well. I really just want people (small business owners) to see me as professional and competent enough to create a website for their business. Do I even need an online brand for that, or just a simple online portfolio?

I’ve got 5 kids, man. And a wife. And friends. And hobbies. My brand is there’s no time left, my plate is full.  

#cis2341s17

[bobbymokie]

Sooo, have we thought this through?

You may have seen this in news 

@realDonaldTrump can't distract us from this - Mike Flynn offers to testify in exchange for immunity https://t.co/hJUPKe86BH via @WSJ

it’s kind of a big deal. Like, going to replace Watergate as the go-to reference for scandal kind of big deal. But I wonder, going on the assumption that all kinds of dirt is dished and Trump ends up impeached, will the American public be happy with the results?   Here's an explainer of the succession to the presidency, and we’d need to move pretty far down that list before finding anyone that I’d be comfortable with leading the country. Maybe we need a law that says if a president is impeached within a short time of his election, we get a do-over? 

Made this for a client yesterday, website still under construction. She’s an amazing aesthetician (also a great wife). Try her out, you’ll be glad you did! 

#CIS2341S17

[bobbymokie]

I know what you browsed last summer

Privacy. BTW that’s the British privacy with the hard i sound. Right, privacy. Sounds much cooler that way. It’s kind of a big deal. Until recently, our friends at the FCC (that’s the Federal Communications Commission) were interested in protecting our privacy online, viewing the right to privacy as a natural human right, and had enacted rules that made ISP’s take care not to share our info without our permission. Too bad the U.S. Senate doesn’t agree, as they just voted not only to stop the FCC’s privacy rules from taking effect, but also to prevent the FCC from enforcing future rules to protect us. How nice. Looks like a party line issue, with Democrats voting in favor of consumer protection and privacy, and Republicans voting in favor of ISPs profiting from the sale of our info. So if this is an issue that’s at all important to you, vote accordingly.

Side note – Most of the time having lots of kids is both entertaining and rewarding. When they all get a stomach bug at the same time, it’s more like a vomit apocalypse.  I need a hazmat suit and a tanker full of bleach.

I tweet stuff!

#CIS2341S17

[bobbymokie]

She’s dead, Jim.

It’s never good news when your site or app is actively embarrassing the nation. Oh hi there, Twitter. Speak of the devil. What’s that? You weren’t actually intended to be a platform for ignorance and trolling? Are you sure?  Well what did Mr. Dorsey think would happen when people are given only 140 characters to express themselves, in-depth, well-reasoned and articulate conversation? Or this: 

Ok, that may be an unfair example, but the deftness with which it demonstrates ignorance and bigotry in so few words is just stunning.  My point is, maybe limiting people to a sentence or two results in encouraging people to talk about things that don’t involve much thought. Trolling people, for example, takes very little thought. Like Milo, who might not even exist in national consciousness if not for his use of Twitter to harass and troll people, and finally got himself permanently banned from the platform. OR, of course, our current president, who boils entire arguments down to SAD/BAD/FAKE!!!! while promoting hair-brained conspiracy theories . Maybe that’s why no one wants to buy Twitter.

[bobbymokie]

A new me!

No, I’m not going to brag about some diet I’m hooked on. Does a box of Girl Scout cookies for lunch even count as a diet? Also, anyone ever notice that there’s actually an expiration date and a serving size on the box?  What a waste of ink. But back to the new me. Well, the improved me. I’m officially cutting back on my sarcastic replies to the ridiculous stuff I see posted online. So I guess it is a diet of sorts. 

See I have this powerful urge to point out people’s failures of logic and/or critical thinking. Usually in an abrasive, smart-ass way. It’s totally an addiction, and I feel the lack of support groups for this issue is a real blemish on society. No matter! I will forge a new path, not just for me, but for all the people not smart enough to understand my super valid point... Oops. There I go again. It’s a long road ahead.

Anywho, I read some stuff about engaging people online and generating interest in what I have to say. So the first step would be not actively offending people and driving them away. Even the ones seriously asking for it (you know who you are). Going forward I will engage in discussion, present logical points of view, and generally not act like an online a-hole. No no, no need to thank me. The look on your profile pic is thanks enough.

ps - Here’s a lovely blog I stumbled across. Have a look. Or not.

pps - My first follower!

[bobbymokie]

In the midst of the great Dion's ranch crisis, this is what I find in the cupboard.