Is social networking Web 3.0?

My friend Gordon Dalgleish and I had an email exchange today about social networking, building off a New York Times article from over the weekend. ("Social Networking's Next Phase")

I'm a believer. For a golf outing I'm attending in late March, I set up a Google Group for the guys who are coming in order to communicate to and among them. Eighteen of the 19 other attendees have signed up, and the smack-downs and trash talking are already starting to appear on the site for all the others to see.

Gordon is curious about the phenomenon of social networking, wondering if golfers traveling to the UK and other Perry Golf spots might participate. I believe so ... for several reasons:

• Many have not been before, and they would likely welcome advice about what to take, where to eat and the like from friends and strangers who have taken similar trips.
• Many have made the trip before, and in addition to sharing their experience, they likely want to live vicariously with others who have been to the same places, different places and so on.
• I believe they'll share photos, anecdotes and other information, both with those they plan to travel with and others planning trips now or in the future.

If "Web 2.0" is all about using the Internet to share data, "Web 3.0" is about community. The "social networks" that have been built up around dating and other topics will surely extend to golfers, who naturally want to share their rounds. (How many times have you been through all 18 holes of a friend's recent round?)

To see how far beyond "meeting up" social networking has come, visit Ning. I think this is getting serious.

OnBeing

This is so cool, I could just hang out and siphon off the expended energy from OnBeing to fuel my own ideas.

It started innocently enough. Our own Eric Gordon passed along a link on Apple's site about how The Washington Post is using video to tell some of its stories. ("About 50 of our reporters now have cameras with them," the profile says.) It's a cool story, using an interesting cinematic technique that combines stills with motion video and a staccato editing touch that suggests the passage of time.

So I go to the url Eric suggested, I watch the Apple profile, and I learn about something else altogether. In this, the era of user generated video content - of YouTube - there's still art in the simple set-up. Go to OnBeing (click on the title of this post to be transported), and prepare to be captivated.

The morning's obits...

My early morning usually starts with a quick scan of the email box, and the morning's email always includes a summary of the day's New York Times. Today's news brief included an obituary for Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., the great, if liberally biased (admittedly so, I'm sure), historian of our age. Here's the photo that accompanied the Times's obit (article by Douglas Martin; photo by Jack Manning).

In fact, along with William Manchester, Edmond Morris and Stephen Ambrose, Schlesinger was among the most readable historians of our age. "Readable history" is what I call what happens when a scholar steeped in the movement of events of a time or era is also a writer looking to transmit character and interpretation. It's my favorite read, and it includes, at times, great biography (Taylor Branch's MLK series, for instance) and, sometimes, fiction (E.L. Doctorow's The March comes to mind).

Schlesinger was 89. To honor him - besides reading and saving the obitulary - I think I'll pull down and give a fresh read to one of his books. Any recommendations?

Early Spring?

A beautiful day today, hitting the mid-70's. I had a meeting on Johns Island (between Charleston and Kiawah) at Briar's Creek, and, fortunately, it involved 18 outdoor locations.

Is Spring here? Felt like it was just 'round the corner today. And with Daylight Savings set to begin a bit earlier this year (a national holiday, that day should be), I'm thinking shorts instead of sweaters, Softspikes instead of socks and sensible shoes.

So it's a pretty good day today. Good news from a client or two, a couple of good project prospects moving closer to starting ... think I'll have a cold beverage...

Thoughts upon watching Oscar

I watched The Oscars last night because I couldn't sleep. Amazing that the show itself didn't put me under. I gave up around 10:45, I think, long before most of the "big" awards were handed out. But this morning's New York Times filled me in. One photo from the Times is remarkable for the star power: Here are Coppola, Lucas and Spielberg handing over The Oscar to Scorsese for "The Departed." A quick run-down of some of my favorite movies of all time are reflected here, from "The Godfather" and the Indiana Jones series to "The Conversation," "Raging Bull," "Schindler's List," "Saving Private Ryan" and, yes, "Jaws."

Here's the thing, however. I watched "The Departed" on Saturday night (yes, the DVD is now available), and I think that the big-small screen - the 40+ inch TV in our home - I believe TV now offers more time for better character and plot development than the 2 or 2.5 hour film.

Is this crazy? Yes, maybe so. I need to think about this some more...

"In a word": Marty Kaufmann's wrap-up of Golfweek Resort Marketing Conference

"Resorts must define themselves," writes Golfweek's editor of "The Golf Life" in the February 24 issue of the magazine. Marty Kaufmann sat through almost all of the one day Resort Marketing Conference the day before the PGA Merchandise Show, and his editor's perspective is clearly evident in his wrap-up.

"Why did a golf resort on a remote, desolate stretch of Oregon coastline quickly become America's St. Andrews, the most desired of domestic bag tags, while perfectly pleasant resorts convenient to major cities stir feelings of indifference among visitors?"

In a word, Kaufmann says, Bandon Dunes is "pure." And that's the secret sauce of its brand.

I moderated the panels, my friends Gordon Dalgleish and Frank Sanders spoke, and overall I think the 40+ attendees got way more out of it than they dreamed. Will their brands benefit? We'll see.

We'll see.

Blogging can be lonely...

But Seth Godin, in his blog says to be humble and aware of why you (I) blog in the first place. A quick post worth reading. (His, not mine.)