Google Buzz, Pip.io - they are Simler, but can they Friendfeed?

Tech blogging: that's not me.
It's a crowded market these days and I prefer to consume tech content rather than create it. Mostly I use Friendfeed as a means to keep abreast of things. I follow some pretty cool people over there and if there is tech news (or any news, actually) afoot then I pick it up quickly. My go-to person for tech news is Louis Gray. I check his Friendfeed a couple of times a day because not only does he blog in his own right, he has shared his Google Reader picks in Friendfeed, which serves as a great filter. So Louis and the other 565 people I subscribe to keep me in the loop for everything (go and look at the people I subscribe to: they are AWESOME. I can't name them all so for everyone who pouts because I didn't name them, I suggest you #blamedrewscancer. And Louis.).

But Friendfeed: it's not forever.
In August 2009 the announcement came that Friendfeed had been acquired by Facebook. There was a massive surge of emotion from people on Friendfeed about this news, many people taking the stance that it spelled the end of Friendfeed - if not immediately, it would inevitably. Since then the community has gone through some cycles of change. Apparently some people think all the geeks have left - but obviously that is not the case. My feed has never been more vibrant. Which makes the thought of Friendfeed going away harder to countenance.

Following the crowd
As I see it, there are four main things that a replacement for Friendfeed needs to have:

1. An intuitive UI that allows you to add contacts easily from other places.
2. An easy way to track/filter your comments, likes and shares.
3. An easy way to share your activity elsewhere.
4. It needs to make community the heart of the endeavour

That last point, about the community, is key to any Friendfeed future. The panic people felt after the Facebook takeover was often because they realised they might lose contact with friends they had made - friendships that were only possible because of Friendfeed. People connected on Facebook and Twitter and other places to make sure they stayed in contact.

Lead on, Macduff

Since then other solutions have come and gone. I like Simler but I don't spend much time there. I couldn't find a way to use some of the others. Yesterday Friendfeed was excited about Pip.io and I signed up there to see what that was like (and yes, because I'm a sheep). It looks interesting but is not there yet. And today we have Google Buzz. Again THIS is supposed to be the one, the one that will turn out to be the long term solution.

Lifestreaming to me is how to organise and control disparate and multitudinous data streams. I want to be able to aggregate, sort, comment on and export my activity in the easiest way possible. I have a few Google accounts with two that I use for the majority of email I send. Now I am looking to see how best to use this. I've already managed to get myself in a jam when Blogger switched and I linked the wrong Gmail account to my Blogger account. Whether Buzz or something else replaces Friendfeed, I hope I keep in contact with all the people that make it such an exciting place to be. In the meantime I have another matter to deal with.

Now I have to decide who I am again. Who Am I?

Is this really me?

Or is this more like it?

Or am I actually.....?

Reviewing "Songs the Brothers Warner Taught Me" by Megan Lynch

UPDATE!

From now until September 8th 2010 YOU decide what to pay for the album - here's all the details! Please be generous :)

Where to start?

I've been friends with Megan for some time now. We met online through a shared love of Whedon and The Guild and we chat regularly. When Megan started talking about an album she was putting together I was really interested. Having recorded my fair share of music and put together a couple of albums I had an idea of how hard it is to organise - never mind actually perform - when you have limited resources and time. The result of all her work, though, bears testament to determination and sheer talent - and what talent.

A Smorgabord of awesome

"Songs the Brothers Warner Taught Me" runs through a range of styles and Megan does each justice, and more. From the bluesy, woozy vocals in "Blues in the Night" where you can feel the humidity, to the touching harmonies of "It Can't Be Wrong" and the sultriness of "Blues in The Night", the emotion and musicality shines through. It goes without saying that the musicians play a very important in the success of the music, too, and there are some excellent performances.

Listening to the album really takes me away from the here and now.

When I was talking about it to hubby I told him that in places it reminded me of Bladerunner. At one stage I had the Vangelis soundtrack to Bladerunner and I played it over and over - not because I really like synthesisers (which I don't particularly), but because I loved the fusion of old and new. "One More Kiss, Dear" was my favourite and I'd love to hear Megan do a version (hint, hint!). And it's that feeling of old and new that I particularly enjoy in "Songs the Brothers Warner Taught Me". Many of the songs are familiar to me but I've not heard them performed in this way before. There is an intimacy about the performances that really evoke a response as if they were live. That and the sheer joy of listening to someone revelling in their talent - Megan has an amazing voice which she uses to great effect - makes it hard to not be moved.

What sort of music is it?

If you have no concept of what music the Warners Brothers might have taught anyone, think of old-school cartoons like the Merrie Melodies "One Froggy Evening" or better yet - go to meganlynch.bandcamp.com and listen to the album. You can buy it from there or from iTunes, or CD Baby. I highly recommend you checking it out. It's probably not something that you've heard before and you just might love it as much as I do. Happy holidays!

Megan on Twitter (as may_gun): http://twitter.com/may_gun

And on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Megan-Lynch/37368889021

My First Writerly Review!

"Turning Left..." is reviewed in "Always Go Right"

I had the best alert this morning - Google telling me that "Turning Left at Albuquerque" had been typed onto the Interweb somewhere! And sure enough the link took me to a review of the Turning Left podcast.

The sexy librarian

As Karnatos points out, we have known each other for over a year, and that's entirely Felicia Day's fault (so many things are!). We've chatted in The Guild chat, conversed on Friendfeed, caught up via Skype Chat and follow each other on Twitter. When I tweeted I was going to do a podcast of the book Karnatos was interested because he listens to audiobooks on his commute. He is also a blogger of some note on Always Go Right and the subjects he discusses range from The Guild and Whedonverse shows, gamer stuff, Star Wars, Lego, YouTube videos....okay he's a big geek like me! 

Er, what about the librarian thing?

Writing and then podcasting has taken so much of my time recently that I've not been hanging around in my usual haunts or blogging as frequently as I used to. Trying to find an agent and actually working out how I can make a career out of writing is a long process. Part of that process has to be finding ways to promote what I have done. I am really grateful to Karnatos for taking the time to do this review, because it's exactly to sort of thing that will help. I didn't ask him to do it - it's something he has done because he enjoys the podcasts. Knowing that someone enjoys your work so much that they bother to listen to it (more than once!) and then review it is a pretty big boost.

Really - what gives with the sexy librarian?!?

So I hope you'll pop over and read what he has to say. And take a look around while you're over there. There are tons of great articles and probably some things you haven't seen before like  Quake Radio and a staged production of "Once More With Feeling..."

TELL ME ABOUT THE LIBRARIAN!!!

Oh - you wanted to know about the sexy librarian thing? Well....you'll have to ask Karnatos. He's on Twitter and he'll be happy to answer your questions....probably.... :D

Numfar: Do the Dance of Joy!

It's done! First Draft is Complete!

Heh. Just over a year ago I started this blog and my first post was titled 'Numfar: do the dance of shame' . (The wonderful picture is of Joss holding up a custom Numfar figure made by Sasha Powell as seen on her blog) So it seems fitting that now I can post this because I am now a writer - I have finished my first book! Now, let me enjoy this feeling for a little bit. I know there is much to do. A first draft is a long way from a finished book. But, as Joss himself says, the first rule is FINISH IT! And I have :)

What now?

Okay, I have my draft and it's going away for a little bit. Then I will do the first sweep of edits and get it out to some beta readers. Beta readers, you say? Yes. I have some people lined up who are willing to sacrifice some time to read the 140,000+ words in this mighty tome. And then...well, we'll have to see. I want this puppy published but how that might be achieved remains to be finalised.

Er, what's it about, anyway?

Good question. It's a humorous novel about...well, think Tom Sharpe meets Ben Elton during a mid-life crisis and spawns a mutant love-child with him and Grant Naylor. But now with added Internets. Yeah, that about sums it up. It's a humourous novel about a 37 yr old geeky guy, separated from his wife, who loses his job and decides to go to University to get an IT degree. He is a decent guy, hooked on nerd culture but completely set in his ways, bogged down by daily life and acceptance of less-than-best. His gaming addiction doesn't help, either. And when his separated wife becomes pregnant, his life takes on a new turn. 

And now...?

Sleep. And maybe a glass of wine. And much rejoicing. It feels good.

Also, a Thank You

Over the last few months many people on Twitter, The Guild chat, Facebook, Friendfeed and all over the internet have encouraged, cajoled and helped me. A huge thank you to all of you. I can't tell you how much it really helped. You rock!

Angels, Bond Girls and Monkeys

Is Bond a Superhero?
I think not. He's a man. A man with gadgets, sharp suits, changing faces and a mission. But a man. How about Bond girls then? They always filled me with a curious blend of hope and despair. Yes, some are smart and sassy, take control etc etc. But then they always seem to be there only as a foil for Bond. Maybe that's inevitable because it is his show, but still...When watching Bond (in any of his many incarnations) I have to suspend the part of my brain that gets irritated about things like that and just enjoy the ride. Which I mostly do. Enjoy, I mean.

New Bond Girl - Not Hot But Geeky?
So it was with a familiar feeling of frustration that I saw the headline on MSN today 'Gemma: My Bond character is a geek.' I'm sure she really didn't mean any offence but I gritted my teeth when I read the first paragraph: 'Gemma Arterton has denied that girls will be jealous of her role in the next Bond film - because her character is a geek.' Of course. It's all clear to me now. Geek+girl= social pariah. *Sigh* Where's a Pink Raygun when you need it...

Angelic Superheroes!
At least I'm sure that the current auction from Kids Need To Read does actually contain superheroes. And possibly angels! They are auctioning a fantastic "collectible for comic book enthusiasts – Issues 1 through 4 of the Wall of Angels series, bound into a single volume and signed by creator and writer Anthony Garcia....also... a convention favorite – a beautiful, 10″x16″, full-color Wall of Angels poster drawn by artist Paul Cartwright." The artwork is stunningly sumptuous and the reviews I've read of the comics are very positive. You can also try the Twentytosix.com website for more details. Another great auction on eBay that closes on the 25th April.

Monkeys?
Yep, of the Terrify’n Space kind, that is! Kids Need To Read are now selling these cute little critters on eBay. They're not signed but they are cuddly!

It's a biege alert

Do fans of 'The Exorcist' have re-enactment parties?
Hubby asked this question today as we cleared the fountain of vomit one of our offspring had hurtled all over the landing. It's an interesting question and one for which we might never have the answer. As for the carrots....

Geek is the word
For light relief I found myself perusing the 'Dear Margo' pages. It always cheers me up to read about the problems of others and I do not in any way feel guilty about that. It's part of the human condition. Some of the questions are heart-felt indeed, and obviously one can hardly not be moved by some of the terrible predicaments people find themselves in, so I don't always laugh. I was happily reading away when I came across a letter entitled 'Computer nerds are people too!' (scroll down the page to find it). In it the writer complains that he knows plenty of great guys in computer-based jobs who fail to find women because once women know they are in that line of work they stop being interested. The letter ends with the writer advising single women to go to a Star Trek or comic book convention because there "are plenty of single men with great jobs who are just aching to meet a nice woman."

Is the word that you heard
Margo, in her wisdom (and I do think her answers are generally spot on), seems to think that it is not necessarily the job that puts women off because even funeral directors get dates. But she does wish the nerds well in their bid to find dates, which is encouraging. I'm going to refrain from any other opinion on the matter for fear of bias, but I'd be interested in what you have to say (and by that I mean for goodness sake someone make a comment!).

The XX factor
But what about the female geek? How do they get on with dating? Clearly having brains and possibly glasses does not always guarantee prom-queen (that's PROM) popularity but I never had a problem finding a date. Maybe because I had brothers and found it easy to talk to boys. I didn't suffer from the shyness say, Willow, in Buffy had. Most guys worth talking to are actually interested in women who have an opinion on technical stuff. This was beautifully realised in the scene in the 'Firefly' episode 'Shindig' where Kaylee (who can be thought of as a mechanics geek) starts out at a posh party (shindig) as the butt of the popular girls' jokes but ends up surrounded by men hanging on her every word as she details the pros and cons of the 80-04 (space craft?). *Sigh*. Joss knows how to tell 'em.

Call me 'yu bun duh'
Anyhoo, got to dash. Need to be ready to deploy the mop and bucket at a moment's notice.

P.S. 'Shindig' is also the episode where Kaylee calls Cap'n Mal 'Captain Tightpants'. Yes, indeed....

404: page not found

Fly casual
Well I should at least get some points for trying, shouldn't I? I mean, how hard can it be to find out what happened in a remote (from me, at least) place nearly 3 years ago? To be sure, there was obviously quite a bit of interest in the 'lineup vs Grauman's/FOX' case at the time leading up the the opening of 'Revenge of the Sith', but what happened afterwards? Did they all troop round the corner to the Arclight and see it there? How do they view what they did now with the mellowing effect of time?

Good questions, I think you'll agree, and ones that deserve an answer. We need to know how it all ended and if indeed it did end for the people involved. Perhaps they are still scarred by the whole event, have become embittered and are even now plotting the downfall of civilisation through the use of viral ringtones. Or maybe some met life partners in the lineup, found a god other than George Lucas and have donated their pristine collection of action figures (see, I didn't say 'doll' - I have few myself, actually...) to charity. Hopefully the charity work they did in the lineup has continued and maybe they still do lineups for other events, too.

Well, I have no idea the answer to any of these questions. But I have tried to find out. I've used my extensive list of insider contacts (i.e. posted a couple of questions on Yahoo Answers) and even used search engines other than Google (don't you miss Webster?) but no joy. Until...I did find a message board that looks like it might be connected to the lineup people. I don't want to say too much but I emailed someone and hopefully I'll get a reply. I love it when a plan comes together.

Star Wars Trek?
The great part about not finding out what you wanted to on the 'net is finding out about lots of other things. Useful things, illuminating things, geek-based things...like HTTPanties. Now, as a carbon-based geek of the female persuasion there are few places on my highstreet that cater for the more discerning geek. But anyone in need of a lastminute Valentine's gift could try 'ThinkGeek' for inspiration http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts/itdepartment/6792/. The 'action' shots are fantastic (and tasteful, so no worries there). It's up to you whether you chose to sport the '200 OK' or the '403 Forbidden'...

No, Star Trek Wars.
And Geeksta rap - apparently it's the new thing. Although I'm a big fan of Weird Al's 'White and Nerdy' I had no idea that it was (nearly) going mainstream, but there are examples on iTunes if you want to check it out. See http://www.wordspy.com/words/geeksta.asp for a great primer.

It's Pasadena all over again...
And I've heard from my local Browncoats. They are still in business and there are some gatherings coming up. I've been to exhibitions before but never a convention or a fanmeet, so I'm a bit nervous. Plus finding a babysitter is a problem. But I'm excited. There will be conversations about favourite episodes, dialogue and characters so I'd better watch the Firefly boxset again (no chore there!). Plus I get to meet some new people. I bet the lineup people could give me some pointers...