Details? Well they’re right here.

It’s not that I don’t care. But with the wife back at work I’m doing a lot more Daddy duty these days. That, coupled with a pretty massive project at work (planning and architecting an intranet for 20,000 people is a wee tad daunting) leaves me a little spent mentally, ya know?

I’ll be better though. I promise. Thanks for sticking around.

The blog is only slightly less scattered than my Twitter feed, by which I mean there are fewer rants about hockey, or my kid (those are here!), or music, so if you actually wanted to know what I thought about social media and strategic communications you’d have to dig around.

Let me save you some time.

Here are a few posts that might give you an idea of what to expect should you come out to the workshop (did I mention “plug?“)

• Twitter: On irony and the elephants in the room (October 2010)
• Rock star? We can do better (August 2010)
• Social media career advice (July 2010)
• Where’s the ROI in making someone feel stupid? (March 2010)
• How abuse of the English language paved the way for snakeoil salesmen masquerading as social media consultants (October 2009)

I also write periodically for the blog of my employer, non-linear creations:

• Blocking social media: It’s time to stop (October 2010)
• Social policy: It’s about the journey, not the destination (May 2010)
• ROI and social media; carts and horses (March 2010)
• Ethics and social media: Could a good strategy mitigate the risks? (January 2010)
• Social media: What you might be able to expect from NLC (November 2009)

Hope this helps.
photo credit: canonsnapper

Clearly, the literal answer to the titular question is no.

Unless you’re reading this in an RSS reader or some such, you’ve probably noticed that things look a little different around here.

The new theme is called i3Theme, by Mango Orange. It’s a variation of a sleek (but two-column) theme called iTheme by N.Design Studio.

Not only is it inspired by Mac OS (which in and of itself makes it worthy, in my books), it has some really cool features.

• Dislike the way in which I’ve arranged my sidebar widgets? Click and drag, baby. Move them around for yourself.
• Hate one of my widgets entirely? Click the green dot and watch it disappear.

I’ve also taken the time to install some new plugins – namely “Sociable” so you can share any of the content you find here and “Chat Catcher” so I can track any comments on posts that end up on Twitter or somesuch place (‘cept I think I borked it on install).

Feel free to comment and let me know what you think. I’m hoping to keep this theme for a little longer than the last one.

But I’m seeing some trends and habits forming online that rub me the wrong way and I’m in the mood to call them out. If you see yourself in any of the below I hope you don’t take it personally; I’m just trying to get people to think critically about the way they work online. And I’m sure I’m guilty of doing some of these too so if you do take it personally, feel free to scroll back in the archives and call me on my shit.

So, without further ado, things that really grind my gears.

• Crowdsourcing entire projects – I like crowdsourcing. I think it’s a cool idea and it’s something I’ve done on many occasions. Like many others in my circle, I’ve cultivated a diverse professional network and, when the opportunity presents itself, I tap the knowledge in that network. All of that being said, though, I think we’ve all probably seen the people on Twitter that take it a bit far.One minute they’re “getting started on presentation on web trends for new non-profit client.” Then, a few minutes later, they’re “looking for stats on latest web trends.” Followed quickly by “looking for case studies of non-profits using new web tools,” “looking for aggregate data on web trends for non-profits,” and “wondering if anyone has a good graphic representing non-profits online.” Next thing you know they’re “finished that presentation – thanks all!”At what point does tapping into your knowledge network become faking your way through a client presentation

• Popularity contests – I follow a lot of agency-side communications and PR types. The vast majority of them have, at some point, vented about the challenge in convincing clients that traditional metrics don’t work when measuring the efficacy of online outreach. “It’s not about how many hits they get, it’s about building relationships with their customers! Why can’t they see that?”A valid, valid argument. Weakened only by the surprising number of these very same people who wig out when their Technorati rank drops, stress about their Twitter Grade and panic when Feedburner miscounts their RSS subscribers. Rightly or wrongly, it makes it sound like they don’t practice what they preach.

This post is getting long (and after only two entries) so perhaps I’ll sign off and save some for a future post. In the meantime, feel free to leave a comment and tell me what grinds your gears.