Welcome to an experiment in social technology.

March 2009

The old economy of gimmicks

Cross-posted from my burgeoning business: SocialSustenance.org. Image by net_efekt

Why would we trust in the "fundamentals" of the old economy? Filled with gimmicks like unfunded mandates, employer-paid health care, and tax breaks for corporate offshoring, why should we believe that a familiar budget will be the solution to these problems? When jobs are being lost, smart loans turned down, and families choosing between heat and gasoline, isn't it time to acknowledge that the old economy of gimmicks isn't working?
The new federal budget brings forward some bold ideas for improving the transparency of the market, but some criticize it as being anti-capitalism and spending too much. Obama says his budget accounts for things that were being left off the books by the Bush administration, and isn't one of government's roles is to make sure the free market's invisible hand can make decisions with access to all of the data? After all, without transparent accounting, creating long-term economic prosperity just isn't possible.Read more of this post.

Local politics. (Oh, and Twitter.)

Note: If you're trying to get a handle on this Twitter thing, I've written a plain-language explanation.
Years ago, it was nerdy to be obsessed with tech, but now, being obsessed with social media is actually considered progressive, at least by some of my constituents. I guess all of us [former] tech nerds need to celebrate, and even though we see so much self-aggrandizement in the Twittersphere, I'm joining in the fun by making my opinions and live Council meeting updates available via email, RSS, text message (coming soon), and the web.Read more of this post.

Twitter fail whale

Twitter: the very basics

You know how some things are so simple, everyone is confused by them? Twitter is one of those things.
People who sign up for Twitter get a blog, blogs on Twitter have some rules. Here are the rules of the blog:Read more of this post.

Twitter Logomap