Postcards From Myself

Just a brief system note that I have upgraded this blog to WordPress version 2.6. Not a huge difference that readers will see, but some good stuff behind the scenes for people like me who administer blogs. If you are a blog owner running WordPress, you owe it to yourself to check out the new version 2.6 and what it has to offer such as theme previews, WIKI style revision tracking, and separation of enabled and disabled plugins. WordPress has also started some initial development with Google’s Gears technology to implement a “Local Server” to cache or keep a copy of commonly-used Javascript and CSS files on your computer.

A warning - back up your site before doing this or any other upgrade. I have heard of a few people having problems with this upgrade. Most of those issues involve some cookie problems and perhaps Internet Explorer’s cache. I did not have any of those issues, but be forewarned and make sure you have a good backup.

Anyway, now back to our regularly scheduled program. And please let me know your experiences with this upgrade, both from a reader and a blogger viewpoint!

My daughter loves to tell her brother, “you should pick flowers, not fights.” In addition to that, she constantly gets on him about the video games he likes to play. In addition to the normal shoot-em-ups he plays on the PlayStation, he really enjoys military strategy games like Age of Empires on the PC. So, it really isn’t just the shooting and weapons that interest him, but the strategy and thought processes involved also.

Wouldn’t it be nice if he could put that brain power to use in a game that didn’t promote warfare? Well, enter Peacemaker. According to the game’s website, “PeaceMaker challenges you to succeed as a leader where others have failed. Experience the joy of bringing peace to the Middle East or the agony of plunging the region into disaster. PeaceMaker will test your skills, assumptions and prior knowledge. Play it and you will never read the news the same way again.”

This game is not only promoting peace, but it is fun and interesting. Yes, kids young and old really want to play it. Much like other simulation games, your really get into it and your decisions and actions make a difference. Do it wrong, and things go wrong. Do it right, and things go well - at least for a while. There is a downloadable demo and a trailer so you can try before you buy.

Oh yes, another great thing? It is also available for both Windows and the Mac! Now that is building a bridge. Give Peacemaker a look and let me know what you think.

Well, with all deference to Amy Winehouse, they haven’t said that I need to go to rehab - not yet anyway. But, after see this drug treatment center, I am seriously considering it! Cliffside Malibu is one great looking place. Think I can go there for just a vacation?

Not only are they a full drug rehab center, but they also have a beautiful ocean view, a pool, gourmet meals, laundry service, transportation, scheduling of appointments, and Internet access. I have been to very expensive hotels that didn’t have these kind of facilities. So, while you are in their drug treatment program, you can be pampered and live like a rock star. Well, maybe not too much like a rock star because that is probably what sent you to treatment to start with.

They say that, “Cliffside Malibu is a residential drug rehab, alcohol rehab center and extended care facility for adults suffering from alcoholism, drug addiction, eating disorders, depression, and other co-occurring disorders. Their drug treatment philosophy incorporates a variety of clinical components to create a comprehensive and effective addiction treatment program. The components of alcohol and drug rehab include detox, individual therapy, group therapy, depression treatment, and alternative medicine.” I am sure all of that is true. All I know is that, unlike Amy Winehouse, I wanna go, go, go!

There is a new affiliate network on the scene, at least new to me, that looks quite interesting. I saw the PepperJam network on ProBlogger the other day and decided to give it a try. Not only because they promised a $10 sign on bonus, but because they also have some excellent advertisers. Some of those include 1&1 web hosting, Angie’s List, Cartoon Network, Vista Print, and a lot more. Not just advertisers, but advertisers that I know people use and are interested in. Why host ads if you know people aren’t interested?

The sign up process was very easy and the response times from them have been excellent - especially since this all was done over the 4th of July holiday weekend. The site is very easy to use also. If this early exposure to them is any indication, I think they will do quite well.

I am still not totally sure about running ads on this site, but I have other commercial oriented sites that have ads on them and those ads are producing. I will let you know how PepperJam works out. If you are currently using them, I would love to hear your thoughts about them and any results you are willing to share.

Twitter and services like it, including FriendFeed and others, are becoming more and more popular. Many combine the ease of use of instant messaging with the more widespread broadcasting ability of a blog. What’s more, they are much more timely and succinct. When you have only 140 characters to get your message across, as with Twitter, not only do you cut out the extraneous, but you are also likely to post more often than when you have to come up with 500 to a thousand words for a blog entry.

But I am beginning to think that therein lies the danger - at least it does for me. When I can say what I am thinking and let off that mental steam quickly and easily, it takes the burn away for me to do blog entries. Anyone who looks at the history of my entries on this blog can see that the frequency has gone down since I began using Twitter. Think of it as text messaging versus the telephone call. If I can send a text message to my wife telling her I will be home late, there is much less pressure on me to actually pick up the phone and make a call. And sure, she gets that bit of information that I needed her to know, but what we aren’t doing is really conversing. We don’t hear the tone in each others voices and we don’t drift in to other topics and find out more information. Some might say that is a good thing, but it can take its toll.

And that, I fear, is what is happening with this and some other blogs. The fast and easy is replacing the longer and more thought out. Don’t get me wrong, I think that services like Twitter and instant messaging have their place, especially in today’s fast paced attention deficit world - and I intend to keep using them. But, I also believe that we need to make sure we don’t give short shrift to the fuller and deeper message. We need to take the time to have the full conversation - with all the give and take and feedback that entails.

What do you think? Do you Twitter? Has it changed the way your other communications go?