You can now throw out your TV - 2006 in review

Why do we all want to buy a Willi Waller 2006? Why did Time Magazine choose YOU as the person of the year? The answer: Web 2.0.

This year, we saw the rise of sites like www.youtube.com which also coincided with the rebirth of lip-syncing. We all share our pictures using www.flickr.com. Google has become a verb. BitTorrent or iTunes has become the way to get TV shows, allowing you to watch what you want, when you want it. We no longer go to Tower Records (Closed) or any other CD shops to buy music, we go to iTunes. Podcasting (or Netcasting as Leo Laporte started) has become my listening choice in the car (plus, I have two shows on iTunes myself: Outside The Artist's Studio - The podcast that would have saved Van Gogh's ear! and Cuddle Podcast - bedtime stories with daddy). A community has gotten together to form a knowledge based called www.wikipedia.com. Sites like www.digg.com allow you to choose which stories are relevant and should be placed on the front page.

In terms of entertainment, Web 2.0 is changing how we consider the media. I can laugh out loud for a good hour just watching Tetes a Claques, which is funnier than most sitcoms! One of my clients - www.twistimage.com prepared a nice little review of the best viral videos of 2006.

>>http://www.share2006.com/<<

Take the Evolution of Dance as an example. It was viewed 37,545,830 times so far. Obviously, people are watching. Web 2.0's best and worst quality is that it lets anyone have a voice. Leo Laporte quoted someone saying that if you recognize that there is a small percentage of excellence in everything, then more quantity would bring more excellence. Basically, just because anybody with a digital camera can make a movie, some will actually make something worth watching, that otherwise would not have been able to do before Web 2.0.

So, instead of watching uncreative TV, throw it out, download the few series worth watching, and look for those that produce something worth watching!

Mozart VS Marilyn Manson Part II

Well...I stand corrected. Zeke, one of the most prolific art bloggers in Canada, has corrected me, and informed me that there is indeed room for interpretation in Classical Music.

Elevator music aside, he makes a valid point.

Check out his blog at http://zekesgallery.blogspot.com/.

Bell Sym-pathetic High Speed

In the last month or so, I have been involved in two client moves. The first one went fine, as far as phone service goes, but guess what? No Internet on the promised date. We were told 24-48 hours would be the standard waiting time to get it resolved. A few weeks later, Internet goes down again. I spoke to one of the most knowledgable techs there, and we figured out that the modem was defective. I actually asked to speak to his supervisor (He wasn't around) to let them know how pleased I was with the service (Oh...suddenly, the supervisor is sitting right next to him!). I was promised a new modem and I left confident that the next day, all would be fine again. Two days pass, we call...no record of our request for a new modem. They will now ship within 24-48 hours...

Today I went to another client who moved, and all phone/fax lines have been transferred, but guess what? No Internet. It will be moved one week later? Doesn't make sense. Four business days is the best they can do.

Come to think of it, I have another client with a new office. They sent the modem, but the office was under construction, so they left no note, and eventually sent the modem back to Toronto, without letting us know...

Pathetic. Sym-Pathetic.