Quiver & Quill

What do you want? Share the answer or find out at 43things. It’s a web site where people post their wants and are introduced to others who want the same things. You can even subscribe to a want (RSS). I love how communities form around the weirdest little things. Take “Quit Biting My Cuticles,” for example. The group has 6 active members, all of whom share their perspective on cuticle biting.

This is a snapshot of online life. Millions of people forming discuss groups around oddities, broadcasting their strange passions to an equally bizarre online world.

Come join me on 43things. If you want….

Some sample wants:

· talk to my grandfather more often

· own a tail and “kitty ears”

· sleep!

· do one hundred consecutive push-ups

· Be myself

· create a great avatar

· shave my head

· see the northern lights

· draw

· learn the thriller dance

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The best evidence of online life happens in the everyday. Tonight, for instance, I grabbed a magazine at Barnes & Noble and sat near three girls in their early twenties. The blond one wearing hot pink started,

“I showed my therapist my Myspace page today, and she was all like, ‘all my patients show me their Myspace pages.”

Her friend asked,

“What did you show her?” “You know, pictures of people and stuff, oh, I’m in the suicide chat room, and I showed her that.”

Her friends weren’t surprised at all. I wanted to interview her for an in-depth perspective, but I settled for this little gem.

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Dear friends,

I have a treat for you. I discovered a web site with some of the best audio and video podcast content around. Lectures with Bill Clinton, Malcolm X, James Baldwin and Robert Frost. I can’t believe this content is free. Won’t you joint me? Click here.

I’m often asked for my recommendations for quality podcasts. Since we’re on topic, allow me to suggest ten options for you:

1. http://www.nytimes.com/ref/multimedia/podcasts.html

2. http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_directory.php

3. http://feeds.newsweek.com/Podcasts/OnTheNews

4. http://www.podfeed.net/feedburner_rankings.asp

5. http://www.podcastingnews.com/forum/links_tophits.htm

6. http://podcasts.yahoo.com/

7. http://www.podcastalley.com/top_podcasts.php?num=50

8. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/podcastfront.htm

9. http://www.cnn.com/services/podcasting/

10. http://customerevangelists.typepad.com/podcast/

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How often do you change your behavior online, or find a product or service so good that you actually include it within your everyday online experiences? I found two recently, and I’ll share the first with you today.

Check out Stylefeeder. If you’re a del.ic.ous user, you’ll get the concept immediately. Stylefeeder lets you easily tag products you like online and search other cool products too. You can actually tag images using keywords. Identify products that are gaining popularity; and find great gifts for friends and family.

The best part of stylefeeder is the act of tagging itself. The tagging tool enables you to drag the mouse over the picture you wish to save and tag it smoothly.

The implications are tremendous. Hundreds and thousands of people publishing feeds on the products they love. I’ve added stylefeeder to my toolbar and recommend you to do the same.

p.s. here’s the first product I’ve bookmarked in my stylefeeder: http://www.japanesegifts.com/azen.asp

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I spent this weekend in coastal Maine, a small town by the ocean with lighthouses, art galleries and roadside lobster restaurants. I walked into a local clothing store blaring teen bopper music. It wasn’t half bad. The owner of the store, an affable gentleman with a thin mustache and effeminate mannerisms, told me that we were listening to his eight year old daughter sign. Seconds later she appeared, humming to her own song.

She wants to be a star, or her father wants her to be one. Twice a week, the eight year old takes singing listens with one of the best coaches in New York. The coaching session occurs over Skype. Even in this small town in Maine, an eight year old girl is connected to her dream brought to her by voice over ip.

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