I'm Still Online, Just Not HERE Very Much

I recently read an amusing articel by a German journalist who had, as she called it, commited virtual suicide. The simple idea was to remove as many digital traces of herself from the web as possible. So she went about deleting her social and professional networking pages (German's use Xing.de rather than linkedin.com and studivz.de instead of facebook.com). The repercussions of her actions went much father than she expected. It actually caused many of her friends to get angry. Nowadys, even in Germany, one IM's and SuperPokes rather than meeting for coffee it seems. I've considering somthing similar myself.

Over the wekend I agreed to participate in a telephone survey of my media consumption habits. When the tester asked me how many hours a day I spend online, I was actually a little shocked by my own answer. In my life, the internet and computer usage in general has far outweighed an of the more traditional forms of media, including (embarassingly) the time I spend reading books and magazines (although, an argument can be made for the reading I do online and the audio books I consume daily).

What am I doing? What have I acheived with all this investment in time? That's hard to quantify.

I do know however, that I never really tried to apply those kind of standard questions to myself when watching TV or reading trash publications. There is a certain satisfaction in being "informed" (if that is really what I am after surfing all night) that I get. I also generally enjoy learning, so even if it's trivia or things that used to interest me as a kid, I enjoy these just as much as the things that I learn for my job or hobbies.

So I guess I won't be pulling the plug on my digital life anytime soon. I will, however, try to focus focus focus on that which is most imporant....

Bin Ah Lohhhng Thyme

So I've been head over heels involved in my *other* projects that I forgot to get to work on this one. Actually, I've been really trying to d eliminate the content between what I currently have and what I want to get done.

What the heck am I talking about? OK, here's the plain text:
I have a nice little project called myGermany, who's genesis was in the desire to get a multi-media travel guide about Germany together and up on line. Originally I wanted to do video and perhaps use this as a way to leverage myself into doing travel documentaries.

Wishful thinking I know....but, for cost and lack of skill reasons I decided to start small. So I went with podcasting and started trying to cover topics of interests for expats, students and travelers to Germany. Nine episodes and three months later it has evolved into less of a travel guide and into more about my personal experiences in Germany.

Internet Marketing gurus usually tell you to "niche-down" or get more specific in your topic. In my case that would mean that I should probably not just talk about Germany broadly, rather that I should focus on one or two areas, like the expat lifestyle or German music. And therein lies the rub. I'm torn between all the things that I want this project to be. Ideally I'll some day end up looking similar to Freeway Films - an excellent video documentary site about Houston, Texas.

...and then there are the other projects I'm getting off the ground: the PowerPoint project, the Adult Online Dating project (not live yet), the Homemade Adult Video Project, the cross-cultural family video project and on and on and on... "niching-down" is one thing, focus is another.

He Done Gone Live

..3 live podcasts, a WP-based site more or less the way I want it and even did the show notes. Web 2.0 requires an advanced degree to master. Despite all the blather online about how easy it is to "become the media", the truth is....this shit is hard!
Anyhow, I've finally got a simple workflow down, now it's up to me to start cranking out better qualtiy content and sound. Once I've got that mastered it is on to bigger and better things (like a Flash site and Video!)

gotta love the effort

Getting It All Together: a week before go-live

I decided that at my age and with my responsibilites, stepping out of my current job and pursing a will-o-the-wisp idea about what I wanted to be "when I grew up" just wasn't plausible. So, I would have to find another way to leverage myself into that life that had, somehow, passed me right by.

If you wake to one day find yourself in a passionless job, you should know that you are not alone. That is, of course, small comfort. We are beholden to our lifestyle, our expectations and those expectations of those around us and we know that, for the most part, are friends and relations are too. You can like your job, be good at what you and certainly take some satisfaction in that and the small successes that practicing it brings but still find yourself feeling unfulfilled and not really knowing why.

Realizing that this is my situation and not rellishing the idea of growing greyer not ever having moved beyond the small satisfactions that passionless work brings, I've decided to try to paddle against the stream. I've gathered up the oars of my expereince and skills and have set off to find a different tributary in which to row my little boat.

...and here goes nothing