If you are looking for updates on my wacky hi-jinx in Austin, forget it. My flight was cancelled due to the awful weather we’re having here in New York and I’m home. So SXSW will have to wait until next year.

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Forget the dancing squirrels, Betty White and the Simpsons. What made this work was the element of surprise.

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Image via Wikipedia

There’s snow on the ground here at Casa de Parmets. We’re heading out today for the annual Christmas bash with my sister in Connecticut.

I’ll be back next week with more profundity and what nots. Until then, enjoy the holiday.

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Paris Cafe, originally uploaded by david parmet.

My Grandfather, enjoying a well deserved drink in Paris after slogging it out from Normandy.

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The Internet has changed the way we do a lot of things, from buying cars and books to keeping in touch with friends. One thing that was made clear to me when I read Clay Shirky’s Here Comes Everybody is how the Internet has lowered the barrier to entry and participation and made it so much easier not only for activists, but for would be activists.

Last night we had a textbook example of that phenomena in action. No sooner did Congressman Joe Wilson finish his outburst than did the wheels of Internet activism start turning. Within minutes of identifying the guilty party, his 2008 and presumptive 2010 opponent was identified.  Plans were hatched on Twitter and the left wing blogosphere And through the platform provided by Act Blue, since last night Rob Miller, Wilson’s opponent, has raised nearly $800,000, one quarter of that from folks who found the link to Act Blue through Daily Kos alone.

Only a few short years ago, contributing to a political campaign involved writing a check, getting an envelope and walking to the mailbox. Getting involved as a volunteer meant you had to first find the campaign office, get there, find the campaign coordinator, etc. etc. etc.  Forget even trying to build a movement, you would need an office and telephone for that. Now we have a million strands of connectivity and when something happens like last night, activists find each other and … act.

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twitter, originally uploaded by david parmet.

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And apparently the enemy is us.

An invitation to a two day (TWO DAY!!!) conference on Twitter just popped into my email inbox.

I have no particular beef with the organizers and speakers. But really – is this what people (more to the point, what their employers) are spending money on – conferences on the latest social media toys?  Aren’t we in a recession with budgets being slashed and PR people being turned out of their cubicles?

Aren’t there more important things to think about? Like, for example, smarter ways in which we can help our clients engage with their communities and build the kind of relationships that last longer than it takes to type 140 characters?

More to the point, do we really need two day conferences to learn how to use Twitter?

Twitter is a tactic – it’s a thing people do. Some day it will seem as natural as answering the phone. For some of us it already is. Do you think businesses should spend money on training their marketing staff on answering the phone?

Dumb question, I know.

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I am an astronomy geek. So when I saw one of my favorite non-astronomy blogs posts a link to several videos from ubber-astronomy geek Neil deGrasse Tyson, I had to offer up a link.

I’m presently working my way through Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries, a must read for anyone interested in how we know what we know and what we still don’t know.

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• Who Are the Best Geek Role Models for Your Kids (Other Than You)? (wired.com)
• Neil deGrasse Tyson Lectures us on Saturn V (geeksaresexy.net)
• Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson (time.com)

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• Wrong.

Sorry folks, I won’t be making the trek to Austin for South by Southwest next month.

While you are all twittering, or whatever it is that you kids do, Sue and the kids and me will be in Boston, doing the family get away thing. So enjoy and try not to create any controversies or start any pissing matches without me.

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This has got to be the biggest red flag we’re seeing these days. This idea that you can “get” your customers to do things. Get them to buy. Visit. Blog. Comment. Engage. Evangelize. Own. Get them. Get them. Get them.

So sez Spike Jones of Brains of Fire (Link).

If your success depends on getting people to ‘do something,’ anything they wouldn’t normally do or be inclined to consider doing, you are going to fail. That includes visit your web site, join your proprietary social network, wear your t-shirts, whatever.

On the other hand, if you can create a compelling case, or give people something that makes perfect sense to them so that they naturally want to participate, you just might be onto something.

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