If you’ve ever wondered what the help desk folks really do (and deal with) all day long then watch this video (thanks Nathan).  It is about 10 minutes but worth every minute.  Also, check out the site http://thewebsiteisdown.com/.

This is comical on one level and extremely disturbing on another.  Cynthia McKinney has “wrapped up” the nomination of the Green Party to run for President of the United States.  Thanks Michael for sharing this nugget with me as I had not been tracking the goings on in the Green Party this election year.

If you don’t know who McKinney is, well, then spend some time on Google and prepare to be appalled, confused, and entertained by her speckled political career.  I was fortunate enough NOT to live in her district during my time in Atlanta but did get a great deal of exposure to her antics.

Good for her.  I wish her well.  Especially with the stellar choice of running mate.

This is all good news for me as I eye a run for the White House in 2016.  Yes, I am [mostly] kidding…

From Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken“

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

I have this part on a nice wooden piece that my Mom and Dad lugged to Seattle from St. Simons Island a few months ago (thanks again for that).  To me, this reinforces the choices we can make and embracing the challenges that come with those choices.

Interesting tidbit via the Wall Street Journal about a recent Forrester Research survey of corporate blogs. 

Big surprise – those that regurgitate PR and press releases suck. 

Forrester found that most B2B blogs are “dull, drab, and don’t stimulate discussion.” Seventy percent stuck to business or technical topics, 74% rarely get comments, and 56% simply regurgitated press releases or other already-public news.

Most B2B bloggers publish irregularly, don’t stick to it for very long, and rarely inject personality into their posts. That’s a formula for failure.

Blogs are a vehicle for conversation and exchange not for a one way stream that adheres to core corporate messaging pillars.  Stick to themes but have an honest and personal discussion about the topic otherwise you will quickly be ruled irrelevant.  At least that’s my two cents.

This just isn’t right.  How can you have a party without something fried?

This is pretty funny (via Jason Mendelson) and underscores the challenges Facebook will have to turn the corner and make itself broadly relevant for more business-oriented communication and collaboration.  If you haven't tried Facebook out yet, this is a pretty good parody of the types of things you can do with it.  You'll have to figure out if they are meaningful to you.

I spent last weekend and a bit of last week in Franklin, TN visiting with my folks.  We try to gather as a family every year at this time for the annual Relay for Life event held on the campus of Battle Ground Academy (BGA).  I was fortunate enough to attend BGA while growing up in Nashville and am proud to see the school offering up its track and facilities for such a great cause again.

Although the weather turned out to be a bit sketchy later in the evening, the event was a great success and underscores both the hope and determination of so many to keep up the fight against cancer.  If you are interested in learning more or want to make a donation, shoot me an email (robertcpease at gmail dot com) and I'll get you connected.

I first came across My Morning Jacket on a late night viewing of Austin City Limits and I was hooked.  Amazing sounds hailing from Louisville, KY.  They just released a new album and I highly recommend it – Evil Urges

If you haven't picked this up yet, Tim Russert of NBC News and Meet the Press passed away today from a heart attack.

I am a bit of a Sunday news show junkie and always appreciated Mr. Russert's direct and non-partisan approach to interviews and questions.

In a media age of screaming pundits blathering on based on talking points provided by their respective political party's communciations team, he was truly a breath of fresh air.

I will miss him and my thoughts are with his family.

Good post by Stu Phillips on internet noise and how many of the current approaches to "social networking" have increased "noise" but not "signal quality" and in many cases weak "signals" can't be heard above the noise. 

I think this gets at the heart of practical usage of all these platforms now available to connect and share with others.  We all have large numbers of contacts but only a handful (15-20) of highly frequent contacts, some larger number of contacts we interact with less frequently, and a significant number with no recent contact activity.  The challenge is to separate out low frequency contacts that you desire vs. those that are of passing or even no interest.