jms928

"Enthusiasm for tweeting about everything that goes into, and comes out of, your body" = my favorite part.

I don't have a problem with LinkedIn's endorsement system. I think users think they're doing something nice for their friends by endorsing them. But employers and clients probably don't really take the endorsements seriously, so they end up being online noise (like YouTube and newspaper comment threads, which is one of the points you're making here).

A very well-written post with practical, concrete advice--the best kind!

I have my own business and don't have a business plan. I think that it's hard to come up with a realistic plan when you're just starting out; you just don't know much about how things really work in your market. I've learned a lot, mostly about what doesn't work, in my 2+ years of being in business. Maybe I could use that knowledge to write a plan for the next year.

I have a small business, too, and this made me think of the importance of building and sustaining relationships with clients by doing good work. Each project I do for a client is not just a one-time, finished-and-it's-done assignment; it's a building block in my relationship with that client. In order to keep clients coming back, I have to think from a "built to last" perspective. I suppose most small-business people do--particularly those of us who are very small service providers.

I work from home, and when my family does not interrupt me (as they are wont to do), I am able to get much more done. I think there's a caveat to the first lesson, though: you can get lots of work done in a short period of time if you're not interrupted, but it is hard to keep up a steady pace, working long days, for more than a few days at a time when you're doing creative work.

Also annoying are people who post 10 tweets in a row, especially if the tweets are not of general interest. These people are usually the same ones who tweet 50+ times a day.

I think people who post the kinds of statuses you discuss, as well as the overtweeters, think of social media as a way to vent or communicate with select individuals. They're not focusing on the fact that all of their followers can see their updates. It's a very self-focused, as opposed to audience-focused, approach. Which is not always wrong, but can be aggravating.

Very interesting post! I've found that my priorities when it comes to spending and saving have changed drastically in the last 10 years. I still enjoy shopping for clothes, but I do it far less often these days and spend a fraction of what I used to because I'm saving for a down payment. Having a house is far more important to me, for emotional and practical reasons, than having an updated wardrobe, eating at nicer restaurants, or traveling.

I can't help but be jealous of the ease which which today's students can find not only good deals on books, but just about any information they might need online. Everything was so much more manual and time-consuming when I was in college.

I have the Vornado fan you discuss. I agree that the design of the dial doesn't make sense, but the fan itself is reliable and high quality. Sometimes you have to overlook interface issues if they don't affect the overall usability of the product.

Good metaphor. This sounds like when I was in high school and built a whole fantasy around a boy I only went out with once!

Not directly related, but this post made me think of our evolving "need" for ever more technology in our everyday lives. When using apps becomes as mainstream as having a mobile phone or having internet access at home, even those of us who think we get along fine day-to-day without apps will, I think, come to believe we need them to function, just as I now think I could not live my life without reliable internet access.