Final Post (Here)

So… if you are… one of my 4 visitors… and you want to still follow my blog posts, they won't be here.

I will continue various musings on my tumblr.com powered blog: blog.geoffmax.com

See you there!

Thanks
Geoff

The Myth of Privacy

At the risk of sounding over simplistic (or out of context) I'll assert that privacy on the internet is a myth. Average citizens on the World Wide Web neither comprehend the amount of data other individuals can access about them, nor the major companies and government bodies with access to it.

I agree with Lawrence Lessig's analysis (video below) that efforts to redefine online identity, ID 2.0, present interesting and complex opportunities. Who stores what data about you should be the focus of the discussion, we're past debating if the data will  or won't exist in public.

Virtually Augmented Life

Lowell Cremorne is right to suggest the proliferation of mobile computing devices (like the iPad) will forever alter the face of virtual worlds.

However, I wonder if we will see the growth of Virtual Reality or Augmented Reality. Why purchase virtual advertising in a virtual world when google will sell you virtual advertising in the real world.















(Image Via Jen Robinson)

As augmented reality blends social networks with the physical world, it will be interesting to see what place virtual universes hold.

All About Me

I studied design as an undergrad, and now work for American University's Career Center. I've read numerous articles and blog posts on the topic of Your brand. Yet none top the collection of spot-on advice in Tom Peters's 1997 Fast Company article, The Brand Called You.

I wish I read this piece about 4 weeks ago. I've been struggling to relaunch a personal Web site, define what I do, and successfully brand myself. I soft launched geoffmax.com in the midst of DC's snowpocalypse last week. Here's to hoping today's discovery refocuses my efforts.

A Phone Who Has Everything

Andy Remeter is a brilliant illustrator whose poignant Techno Tuesday is a welcome critique and day.



(via Techno Tuesday)

Of course, if using your phone to chronicle your every move isn't quite your pace, the only logical alternative is to write a novel. In fact, I think it's time for a break out American mobile novelist.

Barry Yourgrau writes (though likely not on his cell phone) an overview of this Japanese phenomenon. And be sure to avoid the mobile novel-writing pitfalls that ReadWriteWeb believes keep the form from catching on stateside.

The Kids These Days

(via NotQuiteWrong)

The NY Times best summed-up  The Atlantic's cry that we are all growing dumber:

Google makes deep reading impossible. Media changes. Our brains’ wiring changes too. Computers think for us, flattening our intelligence.

What is someone to do in this crazy mixed up world? I'm with Merlin Mann on this one, First, Care.

I'm Providing Better Customer Service

It's interesting approaching similar topics from different professional vantage points.

Marketer Vicky Tamaru writes how Conversational Marketing via social media requires systematic business change. Design Professor Victor Lombardi recently asked Who is Advising Executives on Customer Experience? (Cliff Notes version: No one).

Customer service is vital to success. Businesses possess an array of tools with which to interact with consumers. The greater number of interactions with which they allow social media to improve such activity, the better.

I took my stab at better customer service last night. I've implemented a new disqus.com commenting system. Hopefully disqus will provide you with more tools (I know you've been dieing to share my posts on twitter). And it lets me track any and all interactions with my posts across multiple sites (like my tumblr blog). Let me know what you think.