wonder of me x 100

Kristen knows she can get me to post when she tags me on a meme, although this time around she acknowledged that she might be pushing my aversion to "wonder of me" posts a bit too far.

Boy, did she ever.

I started this one the other night and needed to abandon it because it was just too gross. And, well, it's still pretty gross.

100 Amazing Things I've Already Done

This list is meant to be in response to those lists that are often generated about the things you want to do before you die to justify your time on the planet; the kind of list that will inevitably make you feel like sh*t as you look at your watch and realize that time is ticking and the top of Mount Everest isn't getting any closer to sea level.

So, yeah, this is a list of 100 thing that I have already done. Some are more impressive than others, some are about what has shaped me as a person, but all are things that I can pull out as story fodder ("Did I ever tell you about that time . . . ?"). There is a bit of starf*cking going on in here, so excuse me.

Enjoy. I tag everyone who feels the need for a little self affirmation. You can write the list in your notebook if you feel like it.

I have . . .

1. Surfed in Oregon
2. Won the gold medal in the National Latin Exam
3. Climbed the Acropolis in four-inch red heels
4. Salsa danced with Joan Baez and Desmond Tutu — at the same time
5. Been given ride home by Jackson Browne — from his concert
   
6. Talked to Maura Tierney in the bathroom at a movie premiere
7. Earned my master degree from Harvard
8. Driven cross-country — three times
9. Run Rock the Vote
10. Published a zine
11. Published a blog — for more than three years
12. Been a Salzburg Seminar faculty member
13. Traveled to South Africa – twice
14. Visited Nelson Mandela’s cell on Robben Island
15. Dipped my toes in the Indian Ocean
16. Met Al Gore
17. Met Ted Kennedy
18. Taken a class from Michael Ignatieff
19. Done an independent study with Samantha Power
20. Developed the strategy for the first-ever Cabinet member blog
21. Kissed a Heartbreaker
22. Met two members of Nirvana — and kissed one of them
23. Seen a woman take her clothes off in front of the presidential palace in Prague
24. Maintained a friendship with Chris for 20 years
25. Survived and overcome
26. Been a guest on Loveline
    
27. Avoided financial ruin after a medical emergency that occurred when I did not have insurance
28. Celebrated New Year’s Eve in Edinburgh
29. Moved to London with no job and no place to live when I was 24
30. Visited the Lower 9th Ward post-Katrina
31. Written and read an original essay on NPR
32. Walked through Sherwood Forest
33. Trained young political leaders in Cambodia
34. Sat in a green room with Ted Nugent
35. Appeared on CNN as a regular political commentator
36. Contributed to fighting the global health crisis
37. Created a career out of doing “good”
38. Visited Bonnie Raitt back stage
39. Seen Badlands in a movie theater
40. Managed to avoid ever going bowling
41. Dropped out of college for a year and a half — and gone back to school
42. Moved to San Francisco (from Connecticut) on a Greyhound bus when I was 20
43. Met Bill Clinton
44. Trained youth organizers in Mexico
45. Been on the merry-go-round near the Eiffel Tower
46. Been John Hughes’ pen pal
47. Stayed in David O. Russell's guest room
    
48. Gone from growing up on AFDC/welfare to now earning more than xx percent of the population (too tacky to actually write)
49. Been offered a job by Mary Robinson
50. Spoken at my grandmother’s funeral
51. Had an essay published by the Carnegie Corporation of New York
52. Attended a presidential debate
53. Met Bono
54. Met — and been quoted by in a speech by — Sting
55. Seen Wilco in concert (at least) 10 times
56. Climbed the Wicklow mountains in Ireland
57. Gone on a road trip to the Clinton Library
58. Talked on the phone with Katherine Hepburn
59. Shaken hands with John Edwards
60. Stood outside the Cambridge City Hall at 12:01 am on May 17, 2004 to congratulate the first-ever same sex couples to be married in Massachusetts
61. Voted in every local and national election since I turned 18
62. Attended the International AIDS Conference — in Barcelona and in Toronto
63. Maintained a database of everyone I have met for 10 years
64. Watched Taylor give birth to Victoria
65. Called John McCain a “wuss” on CNN
66. Received flowers from Martin Sheen
67. Managed to convince foundations and companies to give projects I am working on tens of millions of dollars
68. Been linked to by Jeff Jarvis
69. Had one of my ads used as set dressing (Zoey's dorm room) on The West Wing
70. Had another one of my ads used as an example of ad agency star Helen Hunt’s work in What Women Want
71. Overcome my fear of cockroaches
72. Had an essay published in How to Get Stupid White Men out of Office
73. Seen Edward Norton and Catherine Keener off-Broadway
74. Seen John C. Reilly and Philip Seymour Hoffman on Broadway
75. Gone to an Ozzy Osborne concert — minus adult supervision — when I was 10
76. Seen Nation of Ulysses in concert
    
77. Seen Circus Lupus in concert
78. Seen Lungfish in concert
79. Seen Beat Happening in concert
80. Advised three presidential campaigns on young voter outreach
81. Managed to have the most perfectly 80’s iconic first make out session ever: behind the Space Invaders game; at the roller skating rink; wearing sneaker skates, designer jeans, a velour Izod pullover and a turtleneck with a whale on the collar; while Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust” played in the background
82. Interviewed Heather Armstrong and Robert Scoble
83. Saw Jawbox in concert in London
    
84. Worked on a diversity project that was cited by President Clinton's Initiative on Race as a “Promising Practice”
85. Had Carrie Fisher/Princess Leia ask me who she needed to f*ck to get into the VIP section
86. Exchanged emails with Pierre Omidyar
87. Met Walter Mondale
88. Gone to a rave in Southampton, England
89. Visited Angkor Wat
90. Shared "guest" status with Billy Baldwin on an ABCNews.com web chat
91. Served as an adviser on UNAIDS project
92. Attended four of five True False Film Festivals
93. Become a connoisseur of single malt scotch
    
94. Eaten dinner at a table next to Donald Rumsfeld
95. Served as a BBC political commentator on that fateful 2000 election eve
96. Worked on a documentary film project with Frances Reid
97. Organized a mayoral debate for young people in Kansas City
98. Driven the 101 from Los Angeles to San Francisco
99. Stayed at the oldest hotel in Savannah, Georgia
100. Attended one of two Dismemberment Plan reunion shows
     

wrapping things up

Kristen posted her annual End of Year meme and tagged me to do it as well. I have been posting these now for a couple of years, always prompted to do so by Kristen.

1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before?

• I convinced a Cabinet member to blog.
• I traveled to Greece and went to the Acropolis.
  
• I became confident in my skills as a manager.
  
• I saw The Dismemberment Plan in concert.
• I became a scotch drinker.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I don't make new year's resolutions. I make resolutions every day to take care of myself physically and emotionally. There is a reason I make these resolutions every day: I don't keep them.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

A whole bunch of folks had babies these year, but the person to whom I am closest was Amy, who gave birth to Jonas Aidan -- who resembles an old Chinese man more than most babies do -- on November 8.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

no

5. What countries did you visit?

I did less international travel in 2007 than I did in 2006. I spent a few days in Switzerland (Geneva) and a few days in England (London) in March and, in October, I went to Greece. All trips were work related and two out of three of those trips were with the great Johnny B.

6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?

• a social life that extends a little bit further than drinks at Smith & Wollensky
• patience, but I'm not holding out any hope
• hope for the political future of our country
  

7. What date from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

I have a few . . .

I'll always remember June 16, the day I visited my grandmother after her apartment fire, because it will be difficult to ever get the sight and scent of her apartment out of my mind, as well as the sadness of seeing her on the balcony of her temporary living space, looking lost -- and old.

On a happier note, I'll remember April 8, the day Andrew and I met up at the Sackler. He was giddy (as much as Andrew can be giddy) about the pottery and I was giddy about spending time with him again.

Finally, I'll remember October 6, the day John and I explored Athens with Michael Darragh. I knew I was getting ready to move on, but I loved seeing something new with John, who has helped me to see so many other new things, often inside myself.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

I really do think I grew as a manager. I wasn't always "nice," but I was always incredibly invested in giving my team the opportunity to strengthen their skills and, therefore, their value to the group. I think that's rare. Rarer than it should be.

Beyond that, and despite the fact that not being able to work with John every day SUCKS, I see the new job I will be taking on in 2008 as a big achievement because it is getting me back into advocacy work.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Folks, I ate like a pig.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

This year, it became pretty clear to me that I am getting old. Everything is falling to pieces. No major illnesses or injuries, but a general state of decay has set in. Lordy, it ain't pretty.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

I love the brown jacket I bought at Anthropologie, but my Nikon D40x makes me swoon. Just ask Wyatt.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Al Gore for keeping up the fight, John Edwards for his populist message, Elizabeth Edwards for telling cancer (and her critics) to f*ck off, Wayne Coyne for continuing to have more fun than the rest of us, Jon Corzine and Martin O'Malley for fighting the death penalty, Heather Armstrong for her persistent honesty and humor. There are probably others. There are some good folks out there.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

How about appalled and angry? Ann Coulter is, and always will be, scum. She's just embarrassing.

14. Where did most of your money go?

eating out and clothes

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

I don't think I got excited enough this year, but I got excited when I got the invite to go to Greece and I got excited when I met the folks with whom I will be working in the new year.

16. What song will always remind you of 2007?

Don't give me a hard time, but Not Ready to Make Nice by the Dixie Chicks had the right amount of righteous indignation to get me to sing along every time I heard it. It was released in 2006, but I bought the CD this year.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you

• happier or sadder? sadder
• thinner or fatter? definitely fatter
• richer or poorer? richer

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

I wish I had taken care of myself more: emotionally and physically.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

• read about Britney Spear's persistent downward spiral
• updated my status on Facebook

20. How will you be spending New Year’s?

I think I will be at Julia's.

22. Did you fall in love in 2007?

I was already there.

23. How many one-night stands?

zip

24. What was your favorite TV program?

I love How I Met Your Mother, although Kid Nation was a sincere source of fascination.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

I don't hate people. I dislike a few, but they're irrelevant.

26. What was the best book you read?

Homicide By David Simon and The Assault on Reason by Al Gore

27. What was your greatest musical (re)discovery?

I love Grinderman. That's damn good car music.

28. What did you want and get?

a reason to leave where I was

29. What did you want and not get?

a reason to stay where I was

30. What was your favorite film of this year?

I don't think I went to the movies the entire year. I just don't enjoy it anymore. But my favorite rentals were a cheery group: Little Children, Dogville, Half Nelson, The Chumscrubber, In the Heat of the Night, Sherrybaby, A Scanner Darkly, The Baxter, The Statement and Inside Man.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I honestly can't remember (what I did -- I am well aware of how old I am.) I'm at the point where I'm not a big fan of birthdays.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

I could have used some more time with friends and less time working.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?

This was the year of the headband.

34. What kept you sane?

That's awfully presumptuous of you . . . I guess Steve did the best he could.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

I watched every episode of Homicide this year and I fell in love with Kyle Secor (aka Baylis). Someone needs to give that man (and Andre Braugher) a job.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?

There's no one political issue that stirs me. I get riled up pretty easily day to day and there have been points throughout the presidential campaign where I was ready to impale myself, usually because of some ridiculously folksy thing Mike Huckabee said or because I can not believe that anyone would give serious consideration to Rudy Giuliani as President of the United States. But, I was thrilled with the recent Supreme Court decision to enable lower court judges not to follow federal sentencing guidelines for crack offenses, addressing the longstanding disparity between sentencing for crack cocaine and powder cocaine offences. That was one of those, "Wait, someone actually wants to right an injustice?" moments that comes so infrequently.

37. Who did you miss?

I missed Chris. But I took care of that, didn't I?

38. Who was the best new person you met?

I really like Cooper. He tells great stories (I like stories involving his son in which he adopts a voice that sounds like Beavis -- or Butthead, I can't tell -- with a lisp) and, in general, is just a f*cking charming guy. Plus, he was apparently a rock star in a former life. I hope we stay in touch . . . and I wish him the best.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007.

Sometimes doing what's right for you hurts more than doing the wrong thing. (I think I knew that already.)

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

I try to keep the house nice and neat
I make my bed I change the sheets
I even learned how to use the washing machine
But keeping things clean doesn't change anything
("Hate it Here" by Wilco)

I'm tagging Kaitlyn, Qui and Samantha, although I am not sure any of them will do it.

del.icio.us tags 10.21.07

While on the road in the country, Debbie Weil has pulled together her list of the "Best Links to Learn about Blogging, Social Media, Web 2.0 and Technology in China."

I don't have a Moleskine because I don't quite buy the pretentious "cooler than thou" aspect of owning one. I have an aversion to the idea of belonging to any club whose members demonstrate their uniqueness by owning/doing/wearing the same thing. (It's like punk in the early 90's.) But I should own a Moleskine because I'm a notebook fetishist and because I have fallen prey to more than my share of, "I will buy this thing because it is cool -- at least that's what they told me." The folks at The Moleskine Project don't share my hang ups and are asking folks to send in their best Moleskine doodles.

my favorite so far from The Moleskine Project -- from lapin at les calapins de lapin

Bob Garfield is using his anger toward Comcast -- and their less than stellar customer service -- for good through ComcastMustDie.com, providing the cable company's clients with the opportunity to air their grievances via the blog's comments and calling on the company to, in response, reach out to these customers and resolve their issues. So far, everyone's playing their part.

Doonesbury's Garry Trudeau has been collecting content from members of the military deployed in Iraq in Afghanistan via The Sandbox (housed on Slate.com) and has now published a book of some of the best stuff.

According to The New York Times, young people in Poland are attempting to turn the political tide in the country by using social media to engage their peers and turn out the vote, comparing efforts like the "I Choose" campaign to similar efforts -- like Rock the Vote -- in the U.S. Update: Looks like the kids have had an impact. Overall voter turnout in the election was higher than it has been in nearly 20 years and the Civic Platform party -- which had more support among young voters than the party currently in power (Law and Justice) -- came out ahead in this weekend's parliamentary elections.

The folks at TechPresident launched 10 Questions last week in partnership with The New York Times and MSNBC. At this stage, they are gathering questions from voters, with the aim of identifying the top 10, which will then be shared with the candidates, who will be expected to respond via video. Two thoughts -- will the site be dominated by liberals and progressives? And, by this stage in the game, how much do the candidates regret ever having said this election is about conversation?

Mashable has a new list of 20+ "sporting" social networks, whether it's fishing, biking, golf or NASCAR. Presuming of course, you want to spend any time with these people.

del.icio.us tags 07.08.07

The Myth of the MySpace Generation - Research from Synovate suggests that young people (18-24) in Europe are not all that "techno-savvy" after all: 76 percent have never used MySpace, 90 percent have never blogged, 94 percent have never downloaded a ring tone for their cell phone.

But There's Hope - Facebook use is on the rise -- 89 percent in the past year -- and the new users are in the 12-17 and the 25-34 year old age group. So says ComScore, via TechCrunch.

Doing the Right Thing - Fast Company reported on the recent Geneva gathering for the UN Global Compact, including the release of three new studies that all suggest that corporate social responsibility is good for the bottom line. This may repulse those of you who think we should all do good because it's the right thing to do have my sympathy. I wish the world was ruled by justice, but, alas, it isn't. By the way, my former advisor at the Kennedy School, John Ruggie, designed and oversaw the Global Compact as Assistant Secretary General and chief adviser to former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan for strategic planning.

A Higher Power - Speaking of the good ol' days in Cambridge, I found this Men's Vogue article about another one of my Kennedy School profs, Samantha Power via sk*rt (a site that I mentioned in passing recently, but which I have grown to love). I'd like to say that I would like to be Power when I grow up, but I think it's too late. I enjoyed the article, but I am feeling devastatingly mediocre right about now -- and it's not because she gets to play basketball with George Clooney, I assure you.

Google (Rules the) Earth - Mashable documents Google's efforts -- some successful, some not so successful -- to take over the world (or the market) for search, advertising, video, blogging, mobile, start pages, communications, social networking, photo sharing and office suites.

del.icio.us tags 06.25.07

Breast Cancer Ain't Easy - Over the weekend, Houtlust shared this social marketing ad about protecting yourself from breast cancer -- done by Saatchi & Saatchi for the Breast Cancer Welfare Association Malaysia. I started off as a fan because of the simplicity of its message, but am wondering now if it's a little too "blame the victim" versus empowering women to take steps to ensure their health. I'd love to hear your opinion.

George, I am Your Father - John shared this latest bit of research from Harris Poll about newspaper readership in Europe, Australia and the U.S. Guess what? It's down, with folks saying it's everything from not having the time (yeah, let's talk about that) to thinking that the paper is too biased (big in Spain and the UK). Me? I'm still getting the paper seven days a week. Does anyone want to talk about the series in the Post about Vice President Cheney? It's like watching Episodes I-III of Star Wars to discover what the hell caused Darth Vader to become such an evil prick.

del.icio.us tags 06.9.07

CoCreating CSR - Working Assets has been doing it for years -- asking its customers to tell them what they care about and then putting the funds behind the cause. It's a great idea (I unsuccessfully pitched a similar idea to an unnamed client a year or so ago) and something that American Express is currently undertaking through The Members Project. If you are a Cardmember, you've got eight days to weigh in with your idea for what "will do some good for our world." On July 3, an "expert panel" will pick the top 50 ideas and then throw it back out to members to vote on the best, which will receive up to $5 million in funding. Cause related marketing -- and corporate social responsibility -- should be in line with your customers' values (as well as your core brand values), so why not just ask them?

No Thank YouTube - YouTube is launching in China, but like the comments generated on the Mashable post sharing the news suggest, Western companies need to do more than provide translation -- and acknowledge that there is already a thriving world of homegrown web 2.0 sites that are doing fine without them, thank you very much.

Global Mobile - The world's top mobile web users live in the UK, the U.S., South Africa, India and Indonesia (via 901am).

If You Threw a Party and No One Came - MiGrito, the bilingual (Spanish/English) social network, has launched Tu Grito 2008 to allow presidential candidates to communicate with members. Unfortunately, so far, only Hillary Clinton has bothered to create a profile. Wait, I take that back. George Phillies has created a profile as well. But can someone tell me who Phillies is, please?

Putting Good Will in the Bank for a Rainy (Snowy) Day - Former CEO Dave Neeleman may be out of a job, but Jet Blue is still flying high. Despite the spanking the airline received earlier in the year when they left customers stranded on tarmacs in the name of weather delays, Consumer Reports says the company is still considered to be one of the best for customer service. As Spike at Brains on Fire points out, companies that start out with a good rep -- but encounter a little turbulence -- can pull themselves out of it if they continue to rely on their reputation for honesty and transparency and putting the customer first.

del.icio.us tags 05.25.07

Pretty Pictures. Flickrvision is like Twittervision (also from David Troy) except that, instead of inane comments that say absolutely nothing about what people who have too much time on their hands are doing, photos pop up. Still not as hot as the Flickr Related Tag Browser -- which is desperately in need of a better name.

Caught on Film. It's like Alberto Gonzales getting pissed at the Democrats for posting CSPAN videos of him testifying in front of Congress on YouTube. Except that Gonzales is the Croatian Interior Minister and the Democrats are the primary opposition party in Croatia. Read Boing Boing. Mrak will explain everything.

Whoever is Reading This. Remember those notes that your roommate posted on the refrigerator door, asking you not to eat their food, which they have now labeled with masking tape and a Sharpie? Yeah, there are more like it on the Passive Aggressive Notes from Roommates, Neighbors, Co-Workers and Strangers blog. Good stuff.

Truth is More Convenient. Mashable lists 10 social environmental sites, some of which have been listed here before. At least a couple of the sites are walking the talk and hosted on servers that are powered by renewable energy. Green is everywhere, folks.

I Meant to Do That. Andrea Learned posts — at Marketing Profs Daily — about new research from Packaged Facts about what it means to be single in 2007. We're older than you think and, yes, some of us actually choose to be this way. And, oh yeah, marketers might want to think about the fact that we have more money to spend than our younger singles and our married and parenting peers.

Fancy Name for Democracy. Business Week has launched a new blog — Next — about trends in innovation. One of the bloggers, Jessi Hempel, is looking for ideas from the crowd, coincidentally, on crowdsourcing. He wants to know which web sites are using crowdsourcing strategies in the most "promising" way. Help him out.

Come All Ye Faithful. MSNBC reported this past week on the new trend of religious social networks, including Xianz (Christian), Shmooze (Jewish) and Naseeb (Muslim).

Small Favors. Marketing Vox reports that China is not going to require bloggers to register with the government. A victory for free speech!

Not So Much. GM's Vice Chairman, Bob Lutz, wants to assure you that, no, he is not bored with blogging. He just has a day job, folks.

del.icio.us tags 05.20.07

Not So Much. According to a new survey from the Guardian, most British youngsters don't give a toss about having social networking functions on their cell phones. Cost is one factor, but they also like the "bigger screens, easier navigation and faster speeds" of a PC.

Americans are Simple. Chris at RedKemp posts about the difference between American and Chinese web design. Chinese sites, says Chris (an American living in China), tend to be "packed full of stuff." When they're not, he suggests, Chinese users think there's nothing going on and nothing for them to do.

del.icio.us tags 05.17.07

She Tells the Boss What to Do. Debbie Weil is an expert on corporate blogging. Check out the About page on her blog, BlogWrite for CEOs, for a list of "Top CEO and Exec Blogs."

It's Good to Be Green. ZeroFootPrint is trying to help individuals, organizations and corporations to reduce their carbon footprint. They have a partnership with Toronto to work with the city to reduce its overall footprint and Toronto Mayor David Miller is challenging other cities to join him in the effort.

Treehugging. Hugg is Digg for environmentalists. Everything is going green. So, if you like something you find on ZeroFootPrint . . .

So Del.icio.us. Web Worker Daily has 8 tips for how to get the most from del.icio.us (and we all know how much I LOVE del.icio.us). I'm adding the capability to add links to del.icio.us via Google Reader and to add to multiple del.icio.us accounts (I contribute to a few work accounts).

British Broads Rule the Internet. According to Nielsen/NetRatings, women Internet users outnumber men in the UK. Sites for parents dominate the top 10 sites visited by women, while social network sites and fashion sites are the most popular with younger women.

del.icio.us tags 05.05.07

According to Motorola (and TechCrunch), 45 percent of Europeans (at least those in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain) watch television online.

And when they're not watching TV online (also via TechCrunch), they're hanging out in Second Life, where Europeans outnumber Americans 3 to 1.

del.icio.us tags 04.22.07

It's spring time. I woke up in the middle of the night with an allergy headache and it's still lingering this morning. Yes, if it could remain 40 degrees all year long, I would be a happy camper.

Lots of stuff that I didn't get to this past week. I have finally stopped watching Will and Pearl multiple times per day and can catch up with the other stuff I bookmarked this week and share it with you.

A Battle Worth Waging - Business Week had an article this week about a recent McKinsey survey of corporate execs about their use of Web 2.0 technology (via MicroPersuasion). The suggestion that companies aren't embracing the new technologies because of concerns about control isn't all that shocking. We hear that all the time. But I hadn't thought about the point that "knowledge is power" and that, with internal collaboration tools -- particularly wikis -- some folks just may not want to put their best thinking out there -- at least not without attribution. This bit of insight just makes it clearer how truly revolutionary 2.0 could be but how, with the egos crowding the halls of most companies, it will be a tough battle to wage.

European Invasion - Piczo, the social network with visions of expanding its reach into Europe, now allows for access for French, German and Spanish speaking users (via Mashable).

Over in Australia - Yaro Starak says we shouldn't think of the list as being particularly scientific (you mean, like Technorati rankings?), but if you're interested in dipping your toes into Australian blogs, check out this post about the Top 100.

Do Something - Bryan Eisenberg at Grok.com and Jordan McCollum at Marketing Pilgrim are both astounded by Nielsen/NetRatings' new "time spent" metric. Come on. Does having a browser open for 30 minutes suggest that you're in any way engaged by the content or is it merely, as Bryan says, more likely that you were distracted "by a phone call, a meeting, your kids, or an instant message"? As I responded to Bryan,

"We all know that it matters what the user does while the browser is opened. Do they leave a comment? Participate in a poll? Feel compelled to write a post on their blog in response to the content? Leave behind their contact information? Join a membership program? Participate in co-creation? BUY something?"

Not a Secret Anymore - Open Secrets, a project of the Center for Responsive Politics, has been tracking money in politics for a while. (How long? I can't find that information, but I've been aware of it since, I believe, the 2000 elections.) But they've recently introduced a new feature, Money Web, that let's you see the links between candidates and donors a little more clearly (via e.politics).

del.icio.us tags 03.25.07

Google Blog Rank — Muhammad Saleem outlined the top 10 things that are impacting your blog's ranking on Google Blog Search, improving 901am's ranking in the process. (Nothing like a top 10 list about how to improve your status to suck in hordes of bloggers.)

Search in Ireland — I had the pleasure of conducting a training with my colleagues from some of the agency's European offices, including our Dublin office. I'll send along this link from Mashable to tell them something they already know: the social network Bebo is now the number one site in the country, with 31 million users. (And now for my dumb American moment, I didn't know 31 million people lived in Ireland.)

Shorpy's Pictures — Shorpy was a young coal miner living in Alabama in 1910 and, today, he is the namesake for a photo blog dedicated to depicting life 100 years ago. The photos are amazing, so I've added the blog to my blog roll and the RSS feed to my Google Reader.

Shorpy and his pals.

Niche Social Networks — I have been saying this to anyone who will listen: the trend is toward smaller, niche social networks and this is going to be the most effective way for marketers, politicians and advocacy groups to reach the people they want to reach in a deep and meaningful way (yes, ENGAGE them). Communispace has a self interest in saying so, but their research apparently backs them up.

The Big Guys (Social Networks) — Despite the need to pay attention to the niche networks, SmokeDelux.com lists the social networks that you need to be able to name drop at your next geek cocktail party

Viral Video — The Viral Video Chart tracks "today's top 20 viral videos": those videos that have that magic ingredient that leads them to be remarkable enough to live beyond YouTube.

Getting Attention — Andre recently shared a link to AttentionMeter (which, I agree with him, is a bad name), which enables you to compare traffic stats listed on Alexa, Compete and Quantcast (we are a distrustful lot). It looks like, despite all the hullabaloo about Twitter, it's hardly in the position to overcome MySpace any time soon.