My Inconsistent Blogging

I just realized that I blog so little that my wife has taken me off of her list of blogs she reads. I'm probably still in her Google reader though. But can you blame her? I'm still pretty involved with Facebook, at least enough to keep up with the friends updates. I'm also a little enthralled with twitter right now, so maybe that's my new outlet. The content I do get to read I usually share through Google reader or comment on in either Facebook or twitter. So my web 2.0 usability just seems to come in waves. I really only keep up with 1 to 2 things at a time. We'll see if I can keep up with anything long enough where it is considered a sustainable hobby.

How to Make Friends and Influence Air Travelers

So, I'm currently sitting in the Rochester Airport waiting for a 5PM flight. Now, what do I do with my 4 hours of time before I'm ready to board. I could buy a book or a magazine. I could grab a bite to eat. I could people watch (I don't think I'll ever stop doing that in an airport). Or, I could take my laptop out and get some work done or surf around on the internet.

Here's my dilemma. Why do I need to pay $9.99 for 24 hour time slot to get on their network? I'm not paying for the internet at that point. I'm really just paying for the convenience of using their connection to the internet. As a result, I actually found a wireless network called "linksys". More than likely one of the offices or vendors in the airport have a router opened up.

Right now you're probably thinking I'm either really cheap or I'm stealing internet. Well first, I am cheap. I'm going to look for a bargain when I can. If I really wanted to get on the internet, I'd probably pay the $9.99. On the other hand, why isn't their competition? Why should 1 company have the right to charge? Secondly, I'm not stealing anything. Whoever owns the router decided it wasn't important enough to keep the public off of it.

So vendors, want to get on my "companies I like" list while I'm traveling? Open up your network so I can get on the internet. Even better, let travelers know you have free wi-fi and they just might stop in for a bite to eat. And to the airports who think it's a good idea to sign a monopoly contract with these ISP's. Don't. You'll have happier travelers and less complaints. Trust me.

Are Annoyances on the Internet Worth It?

I wanted to see what the top stories were over at the Detroit Free Press web site, and an animated flying bee went over the page and eventually landed on a banner ad on the right of the screen. Thank you to the programmer who just pushed me to never come back again. I'll go ahead and use Google Reader from now on. Try going to weather.com without some animated pop-up on your screen or having to see some animated dancing silhouette. Thanks to Firefox, I can now block them with ease.

Do you want to know why I use Firefox and RSS Readers like Google reader and I hardly have any applications added on Facebook? Because I think the internet is really annoying sometimes. Things like unsolicited pop-up ads, invitations, and busy sites just don't appeal to me.

I guess those are the things I will have to continue to deal with on a "free" internet. It's one of the biggest reasons I won't come back to a site. Unless I really need the info, I'll look elsewhere.

I understand ads (as you can see some of the ones on my own blog), but give me a reason to come back to your site or I'll continue to use tools that make my experience with the internet better.

Viacom Not Playing Nicely on YouTube

So, here's an interesting story. Viacom is claiming copyright infringement from a user on YouTube for posting a show from VH1. You ask yourself, "So? What's new?" Well, what's new was, the user had posted something original to YouTube, and VH1 took the clip from YouTube and put it on their VH1 show. All he was doing in return was posting the show on YouTube to show his original work. I know, that's a lot to take in.

Let's put it in perspective. I video myself and put it on YouTube. VH1 finds my video, then puts it on their show and calls it "Fair Use". I in turn, put the show that shows my YouTube video, back on YouTube, and they tell me I can't do it.

It looks like there is a legal battle over it all. Go check out the story for some more info. All in all, you say potato, I say patato. You know?

Elton John is Not A Fan of the Internet

Apparently, Elton John isn't a fan of the internet. A post on cnet's news blog reported on an article in The Sun where he states he thinks:

"...it would be an incredible experiment to shut down the whole Internet for five years and see what sort of art is produced over that span."

While I understand he's advocating the arts can be so much better when there's physical collaboration, I think it's a bit close-minded to believe the Internet should be shut down because it has changed a medium of expression. Think of the information and convenience we would lose if we no longer had the internet. I mean, are you saying I would actually have to talk to people in person that I couldn't communicate with on Facebook?

Update Aug. 12, 10:09PM: Elton John has a pretty nice website for someone who hates the internet.