Garrett Fitzgerald

Mark: I don't buy into the reciprocation thing. That's only 1/3 of FF. The other 2/3rds? 1/3 is that it's an aggregator. No participation required other than you follow them (that's why TechCrunch is my favorite feed here, even though those guys don't participate here). The other 1/3rd? It's a search engine for the live web. No participation required there, either. FriendFeed does a lot, and that's why you get confusing advice. - Robert Scoble

Reciprocation builds corroboration and credibility. However, you'll create a useless echo chamber if you do not include your own take-- your own analysis of what someone posted. - Glenn Batuyong via twhirl

I also think it's all about participation, but I have a different rule than you on subscriptions. I generally don't subscribe to someone until I've interacted with them and they have proved entertaining or informative. I get subscriptions from people who don't participate in FriendFeed much if at all... I don't see a point in reciprocating. Mainly I just find new people in my FOAF . Eventually, that way, I end up subscribing to most of the people who subscribe to me. - Lindsay Donaghe

Because of the Friend-of-Friend flow, I'm much less likely to directly subscribe to folks that i don't actually know, either reciprocally or not. I generally only subscribe to folks that i've either shared a drink with IRL, or that i'de like to share a drink with. :) - Chris "Iceman" Hollander

Lindsay: I agree long term that participating does matter. I know I'm building new structures here because I'm subscribing to participants. - Robert Scoble

I don't feel a requirement to follow those that follow me. I have email notifications on though, and I do usually check a new follower out to see if I think their stuff will be of interest to me. If I think so, then I add them. I never have a problem with noise really, I'm good at skim reading. - Ian May

Robert: that type of contradictory flexibility gets me wondering about the overall value of FriendFeed: if a large portion of the people are expecting one thing (that this is a news dump), another large portion of the people are expecting another (that this is a big reciprocal party), nobody winds up being happy with the service as a whole. Almost like how spam is a necessary evil of using email: for FriendFeed, if you want to use it, prepare to spend a good deal of time filtering out everything you don't want regularly. I know you've called for it as filters, but man, what I wouldn't kill for SpamAssassin for FriendFeed: the problem is, spam is almost universally hated. A lot of the content that I can't stand stand is loved by a great many people. And I'm sure everyone has a similar situation. - Mark Trapp

My mantra: Friendfeed is what you make it, what you want it to be. Anybody who says different is trying to sell something. - Michael W. May

Amen, MWM! - Lindsay Donaghe

Mark: now you know why I've been quite consistent in asking for a much more full-featured database here. I saw this problem immediately back in February when I started showing FriendFeed to other people. When I can say to the database "show me all items that mention the word 'economy' with two or more likes and three or more comments" then I'll know we're getting someplace. - Robert Scoble

+1 Robert - I echo your feature request above :) - Susan Beebe

I wish I could "like" Robert's comment above, instead of just the main post... - Garrett Fitzgerald

I don't understand the concept of reciprocity at all. I subscribe to people I find interesting. After I interact with them for awhile, they may end up subscribing to me, or they may not need to because we may have a friend in common so they will at least see any post of mine that is commented on or liked, due to the FOAF feature. Honestly, I could give a rat's ass who is subscribed to me. - Laura Norvig

I can't pick just one, but for purposes of discussion, the Porsche 959. http://tinyurl.com/4p4qdy - steplow is Steve

1965 GTO white convertible, the car I learned to drive on. - Denise

2009 BMW M3 Sedan - Daniel Miessler

Aston Martin DB9 - AJ Batac ♘

Renault Espace - marcantonio severgnini

R34 or R35 GT-R - Mo "Killer Bee" Kargas

78 Trans Am would be fun to have: http://www.chooseyouritem.com/... - Yolanda

Veyron - Mark VandenBerg

A Limo with a driver. - Paul via twhirl

One that has a gas tank filled for eternity. - Michael Kogelman

Bugatti Veyron or Merc Black - Stephen Pierzchala

1953 Lincoln Cosmopolitan http://tinyurl.com/3nesne - Joey Gibson

The New Chevy Camaro - Jaemi Kehoe

One that doesn't need gas. - IAmGHOSTBLOGGER.com-BradW

Either the Bugatti Veyron or an Aston Martin Vanquish - Kol Tregaskes

'69 Convertible Shelby Mustang, really it's not too much to ask for damn it! - Damien Franco

Porsche 911, any model or VW Karmann Ghia, early 70's models. - Carmen

GL -- "big bang fundamentalists" is an oxymoron. Big bang theories are based on the latest and best empirical data, and are subject to endless revision and outright discarding in light of the continuing stream of new data. Science uses more rigorous truth standards than religion for understanding the structures and processes of the physical world. - Sean McBride

yes i understand that sean ... i sometimes park out in the future about 500 years and look back, and realize how dumb we will appear to that time ... and already cracks in the big bang theory are starting to show up, at least in the area that there was something before, and even empiricism is not going to last forever ... "knowing" itself will change as we understand the relationship between consciousness, individuality, mind, matter, reality ... - Gregory Lent

Imagining all kinds of things is great fun, but doing science requires a bit more discipline. Science requires moving one careful step at a time, and testing all your beliefs against reality. I'm a full-spectrum kind of guy -- I respect both left-brain and right-brain approaches to understanding the universe. But pure imagination, ungrounded in rigorous method, is not science. - Sean McBride

I don't think that there is such a thing as right brain or left brain thinking. Your brain filters everything through the emotional processes at some level, which is why you get a feeling in your gut when doing a math problem for instance that tells you whether it is right or wrong. And most of the brain you have no direct control over anyhow. - Alex "Maverick" Scoble

Alex -- all cognitive processes may be emotional at the root. I was using "left-brain" and "right-brain" mainly in a metaphorical way to refer to the polarities of hard science and engineering on the one hand and arts, literature, humanities, etc. on the other. Great scientists use the same intuitive, imaginative and emotional channels that drive great art and literature, I think. Textbook definition: "left brain/right brain: logical/random, sequential/intuitive, rational/holistic, analytical/synthesizing, objective/subjective, looks at part/looks at whole." - Sean McBride

Gregory, don't you think the kinds of knowledge are different? Understanding "consciousness, individuality, mind, matter, reality" won't produce the periodic table and it won't reveal the ultimate nature of energy. Insight and deduction hit a wall that empiricism leaps over for material understanding. - todd

Alex, did you watch "Jill Bolte Taylor: My stroke of insight"(http://www.ted.com/index.php/t...)? My understanding is the brain creates a synthesis between the two sides. Specialized networks link and the same stimuli is analyzed by many brain regions for specific tasks and results are selected by competition. The synthesis/weighting can be influenced by training, situation, genetics, and brain damage. The brain is pretty programmable. - todd

Science differs from other types of knowledge because of reproducibility. Given the right books, some basic materials from Radio Shack, and enough time, you and I could also directly witness the cosmic background radiation that supports the idea that the Big Bang is the most plausible cause for the creation of the universe. - Victor Ganata

In the case of many "mystical" states of consciousness, it is difficult to reproduce what was unable to be measured the first time around. What a great concept: reproducibility. - Sean McBride

Victor -- if I may be purely intuitive for a moment: I sense something huge and vast surrounding the big bang and this particular universe. Sense = feel very deeply, with near certitude. But of course that is not science. - Sean McBride

Contrary to popular belief, intuition is probably quite widely used by scientists. It's probably how most hypotheses are generated. The entire theory of General Relativity was almost entirely crafted through intuition. But intuition is useless if you can't turn it into an actual experiment that can be readily replicated by other people. Einstein would simply be another eccentric wacko if not for the thousands of other scientists who crafted experiments that found corroborating evidence for his theories. - Victor Ganata

a mystic accepts science, because mysticism is broad and all-inclusive .. a scientist does not accept mysticism because of the characteristics of the discipline that you all mention .... it is like a person who can accept all religions as true, but a fundamentalist within any one of them cannot, and despises the broad-minded ... science is fundamentalist by its nature, structure, codes, adherence to certain fundamentals ... nothing wrong with that, but good to recognize it .. reality is larger than science - Gregory Lent

religion needs belief, science needs proof, mysticism needs direct experience ... - Gregory Lent

No, science is not fundamentalist, nor does it exclude any kind of experience or aspect of reality. It also puts a high priority on direct experience and observation. Science focuses on that area of reality that is subject to the scientific method, measurement, testing, reproducibility, etc. It turns out that science has been a highly productive and interesting human endeavor. If there are more advanced civilizations out there in the universe, no doubt they have bootstrapped themselves to that position through the discovery and application of science to the physical universe. - Sean McBride

You see, guys, I've blocked Gregory, so all I see here is sane thought. It's much more relaxing that way. - Alexander Carlill

sean you exactly make my point ... "Science focuses on that area of reality that is subject to the scientific method, measurement, testing, reproducibility, etc." ... what does it do with the other areas of realtiy? - Gregory Lent

at how many places a person can be there at a same time ? before it was twitter then friendfeed and now identi.ca :) - Abhishek

Don't worry, they'll catch on. - Louie

They'll be on there, too, before you know it. ;-) - Cathryn Hrudicka

two-timing bastid ;-) - JodyC

Abhishek: you gotta get Twhirl, then you can be in four places at once! - Robert Scoble

If only you didn't crosspost to FF (which nullifies your assertion). ;) - l0ckergn0me

l0ckergn0me I wish you would spell your name in some way that's easy to type. But, yeah, you're right. I forgot that my identi.ca messages are brought into FriendFeed. - Robert Scoble

Except that it posts to FriendFeed - so it's kind of like hanging out someplace with a 2-way mirror ;) - Lucretia Pruitt

LOL - I was thinking the same thing. My wife knows everything I do because of Twitter. She's going to be clueless if I stop posting there. - Jesse Stay via twhirl

Robert, when are you not yourself? heh - Daynah

Try ping.fm. You can say the same thing at the same time at a lot of places. - Rutger Blom

never heard of identi.ca, what is it anyway?? but, being on FF and Twitter at same time using one program is more than enough, I guess.. - Sebastiaan van den Akker via twhirl

Sebastiaan, identi.ca is another microblog. http://identi.ca - Daynah

Yeah, just checked it out, kind of like twitter without the fail whale issues? - Sebastiaan van den Akker via twhirl

Yes.. and without the user database too. It seems to be working well, but personally, I only post on Twitter, Friendfeed, and random stuff at Plurk. - Daynah

I hear ya!! One good thing about having a small userbase :) You can worry less about all of the eyeballs. Unless of course you add the identi.ca account to Frienfeed :)) - Danilo da Silva

LOL - fbrunel

Talked my wife into not blogging three times so far ... Whew :) "Why does my husband sit in front of that thing for hours every day .... Does yours?" - Charlie Anzman

:) - mhmazidi

So you're honoring your word to stevegillmor to bring everyone on over? ;) Well, everyone except said individuals. - Dr. Apps via twhirl

lol - right http://tinyurl.com/scoble-iden... ;) - mike "glemak" dunn

@robert - so you aren't being yourself at all other times? - Jeremy Toeman

I'm debating linking it to FriendFeed actually - Sarah Perez

Here we go. identi.ca is next. - Andrew Baron

I can hang out on Jaiku. No one knows me there. :) - Morton Fox

there goes the (identi.ca) neighborhood [Scobleizer will drive down property values] <g> - ron k jeffries

Well there goes identi.ca . If Leo Laporte gets on it too, we're going down. *snickers* - Candace Holly

I super-like this. It's quite amazing to see that large mass of people in front of Barack Obama. - possible248

Mind if I say that this people most probably aren't "his" people?! (btw he was born in Austria, if we'd only knew *SCNR*) - Michael Klier

Reuters is reporting 200k came to the speech. - Rex Hammock via twhirl

@Ranjit, sorry, but that was a rather stupid comment, +1 to what Michael said - Gina Häußge

if @Ranjit's point is that it's great to see how far humankind has come in terms of racial/ethnic equality, then I agree. But regardless, kind of an insensitive way to put it. - graham mudd

Amazing! - Bill Sodeman

I don't care what anyone says. Both McCain and Bush have to be wicked envious. - AJ Kohn

Have you seen the original size? Almost everyone has a camera! Whoa! - AJ Batac ♘

Hitler identified with the Germanic people, Stalin identified with the Russian people. to me all such definitions are kind of stupid, what with us being 5% removed from the chimpanzee. but such people have always tried to establish boundaries and a monolithic identity within such boundaries. a picture/event like this puts a lie to such separations. i wish people, like Hitler, could see how far the future is from the "truth" they saw - Ranjit Mathoda

graham, i don't think people have come that far in terms of racial/ethnic equality if they are still defining separate races/ethnic groups. i do think we are happy being mostly nicer to people of "other" groups, but that's not quite the same. check out an online dating site and see how many people prefer to date people of a particular group. - Ranjit Mathoda

Throughout the speech there are jabs at the Germans. I'm surprised they were still clapping when he mentioned "Never Again!".... in Darfur. - Sam Pullara

Amazing. looking at it in larger view, and THEN in original view. The reduced views don't cut it at all. - Susan A. Kitchens

Susan is right. Amazing photo and love all the digital cameras. - Robert Scoble

great photo, and EVERYONE was taking a picture of Obama. - Baard Overgaard Hansen

I see a guy holding out a laptop lol - ani625

The laptop guy is amazing! Great picture. Funny to see most people looking at the screens of their camera's and not straight at the stage - Peter van Teeseling

Laptop guy did it for me too - Toby Graham

Looks like he's already won the election then. - Sam via twhirl

Incredible! If only Americans felt this passionate about our global image. - Shawn Smith

And then 100000 + people uploaded the same picture from their point of view to Flickr. It would be interesting to compare them all. - DivemasterDoug

Obama campaigning in the 58th state. I think that he forgot that we live...over here. - Kreg Steppe via twhirl

Great photo - Jamie

it would be really cool if those 100000 + people uploaded their photos into Photosynth :) - Jeff Douglass

I would like to think that these politicians feel humble when they stand before a sea of humanity. I hope they remember that they are supposed to be working for our greater good. I can't imagine standing where he's standing. - Yolanda

Absolutely! A Photosynth database of that event would be awesome! - Soulhuntre via twhirl

@Shawn: If all of us Americans had speechwriters like Obama, we could make it look like we were as passionate about our global image as he does ;-) - Kirk Kittell

@Rex Hammock: Yeppers, i was there and the officials said, that about 250.000 people were there. It was really a very awesome event, hey - 250.000 people came to the Berliner Siegessäule and Barack Obama isn't even yet the next president :-). Don't know what happens after the elections ;-) - Ronald

Man, the brush-lipped Fuhrer is finally gone...this is a sign. - Metta (Kamath)

most Americans want a president of America, not a president of the world - that's why Kerry, Gore and others have failed - they fail to understand that it's only a minority of people that give a lot of weight to America's profile in the rest of the world. Obama can't lose sight of this in the coming months - Jan Dawson

Of course Obama is popular out there - he is telling them exactly what they want to hear, no matter how much he has to contradict himself or "flip flop" to do so. Anyone who is willing to tell Europeans that the US is flawed, divided and broken can get huge crowds. However he is wrong, and his pandering to them will not win him many friends here. - Soulhuntre

Interesting point, Jan, and quite true (though, for the record, I count myself among that minority). Would the world unite to erect Barack Obama as benevolent dictator of earth? Absolutely not. But, as with many highly popular (populist...tee hee hee) politicians, he manages to strike a chord with a diverse cross-section of humanity. - Derrick Burns

According to the latest C.I.A. World Factbook, Cuba is one of 41 countries that have better infant mortality rates than the U.S. - Indio Apache via twhirl

Though, after the FISA 'compromise', I almost wish Al Sharpton was on the ballot, - Derrick Burns

The United States has the highest documented incarceration rate, and total documented prison population in the world. - Indio Apache via twhirl

In fact US is flawed, divided and broken. Obama is popular because he speaks the truth. - Indio Apache via twhirl

He's popular, Steve, because he speaks truth, true enough; he is and will continue to be a successful politician because he speaks the right truths at the right times. - Derrick Burns

And by way of counteracting the cynicism of my previous comment, I will ask Soulhuntre: since when did admitting and taking responsibility for imperfection become synonymous with pandering? Would we be better served by a leader unable to acknowledge (or to perceive) that imperfection? - Derrick Burns

Soulhuntre: are you a big fan of John Bolton? - Sean McBride

I don't think Der Spiegel understands US politics very well. I read some of their coverage during the Lewinsky scandal (I was living in Germany then) and it was truly off the wall - Nathan Rein

@Sean McBride - I don't tend to be a "big fan" of people I don;t know personally :) Like anyone else int he public eye he says things I like, and things I don't like. - Soulhuntre

@Derrick Burns - of course we are less than perfect. Of course we have problems. Of course there are things we should and can improve. And obviously a leader who knows that, and acknowledges it is a good thing. The problem is not that he admits error - its that he will admit ANY error he thinks will win him over a crowd. He has no real core... just whatever way the wind is blowing. That is pandering. That isn't helping. - Soulhuntre

Satire: He ventured forth to bring light to the world. http://tinyurl.com/5bgetv - Hudson Barton

Soulhuntre -- with which policy positions of John Bolton do you agree? Pro-Iraq War? Pro-Iran War? Pro-torture? Anti-habeas corpus? Pro-Likud? Pro-neoconservatives? Pro-World War IV? Pro-Dick Cheney? - Sean McBride

@Sean McBride - since none of this is even remotely on the (already wandering topic) feel free to start another FF discussion about it and I will be happy to debate you if I find the time. Then again, looking at how many of your FF links talk about the vast Israel conspiracy you seem to believe in I probably won't be following you. - Soulhuntre

Soulhuntre: It never ceases to amaze me how the neoconservative contingent on and off Friendfeed is so shy and evasive about announcing its real agenda to the world. I've gathered the impression from your posts that you are pro-Iraq War, pro-Iran War, pro-torture, pro-warrantless wiretapping, pro-neoconservatives, pro-Dick Cheney, pro-Likud, anti-habeas corpus, etc. Feel free to correct me on any of those points. The ideology explains the hostility to Obama. - Sean McBride

@Sean McBride - let's do it this way... go to my political blog at http://www.herdwatching.com and comment there. That would be a good forum for this :) Heck, search for "Iraq" and comment on as many of the posts as you wish. - Soulhuntre

Soulhuntre: Since you don't deny any of the positions I attributed to you, I think I can safely assume that my assertions are truthful and accurate. We know where you are coming from -- essentially the John Bolton faction of neoconservatism, which is your perfect right. - Sean McBride

McBride... I never thought I was a Neo Conservative. I prefer the label Neo Liberal. my agenda is very progressive... but not in the old Obama Liberal mold. I still support Israel and America. Obama is in Germany because he already knows he lost the election and he is trying to get leverage for an international position - AnotherⓃⓄⒶⒽ

Noah: Neoconservatism and neoliberalism are two faces of the same coin: there are no significant differences between Richard Perle on the "right" and Joseph Lieberman on the "left." In any case, you've got the balls to enunciate your real views. Most neocons are evasive and intellectually dishonest shapeshifters who go running for cover when confronted with challenges to their views. - Sean McBride

Barack Obama in the tradition of Walt Whitman: "The walls between old allies on either side of the Atlantic cannot stand. The walls between the countries with the most and those with the least cannot stand. The walls between races and tribes; natives and immigrants; Christian and Muslim and Jew cannot stand. These now are the walls we must tear down." Powerful stuff. Pure authentic Americanism. - Sean McBride

conservative and liberal are values we should all have. I ask people to support the people that support them. In my case I support American, and Israeli troops. ...also nice countries like Japan, Germany, Poland and Italy.... and other regular allies. Also a nice support for France is in order now that they have changed their tune. I would love to call Russia a friend again. I would love to say Turkey or China is supportive... Russia, Turkey and China were against American mid-east interests - AnotherⓃⓄⒶⒽ

the walls that kept the free world from being ambushed by tyranny will remain up. I will see to it Obama. the speech I heard didn't make sense at all. which side of that Berlin Wall do you think Obama would of been on? - AnotherⓃⓄⒶⒽ

so when do you think Obama will take the American election seriously again? I can't wait to see the people's response here to his backstabbing. - AnotherⓃⓄⒶⒽ

Later Thursday, McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds responded to Obama's Berlin speech. "While Barack Obama took a premature victory lap today in the heart of Berlin, proclaiming himself a 'citizen of the world,' John McCain continued to make his case to the American citizens who will decide this election," he wrote. "Barack Obama offered eloquent praise for this country, but the contrast is clear. John McCain has dedicated his life to serving, improving and protecting America. Barack Obama spent an afternoon talking about it." - AnotherⓃⓄⒶⒽ

@Sean McBride - you are welcome to falsely attribute any position you want to me, I doubt anyone takes you seriously anyway. Those who actually want to know my position on such things are welcome to read the blogs where I discuss them at length. The common conspiracy theorist trick of trying to hold me hostage to your accusations by demanding I react to them doesn't work with me. Given the theories you espouse I doubt you need evidence to make assumptions as it is :) - Soulhuntre

Funny how Obama is being accused of victory-lapping when earlier this month we saw this: 'Going to Latin America in the midst of a presidential campaign, [McCain] said, speaks less to his role as a senator than to what he's hoping to achieve if elected this fall. "It's more my ability to govern as president," he said, "my ability to lead as president, to keep up with these major issues."' - Garrett Fitzgerald

Soulhuntre: which false assertion did I make about your positions? Can you be specific? I will quickly withdraw any mischaracterizations of your views. (A bit of background: I have a strong interest in the computer modeling of belief systems in general. That interests me much more than any political debates.) - Sean McBride

McCain went while he waited out Hilary and Obama. Right now the *American* people are the voters and need as much information about the *Values* of the candidates as possible. The American people need to see the differences in their decision. If Obama is tied up with Clinton then the focus of the media went to the Democrats. Now it is a two man race and Obama is running around the world? This is America's president not the UNs - AnotherⓃⓄⒶⒽ

It's so Sad! He made our world richer with is intelligence and good humor. I wish all the best to their kids. - Fernando

I am so happy I got to interview him. One of my favorites! - Robert Scoble

This really hits home. Great guy, great message. May he rest in peace. - Dave

I just looked back on my blog from meeting him: http://scobleizer.com/2006/01/... -- interesting that he had a big impact on me even back then. - Robert Scoble

Really very sad. I saw his last lecture and was very impressed. Always hoped, he would get through this... - Matthias Schwenk

So sad - he gave one of the great speeches of all time and in such an unassuming, selfless way. I'm glad his kids will at least have that to treasure. - JMaultasch

An inspiration to many. He will be missed - Tim Finucane

One of the finest. Some people are great a reminding us how to live, mainly by example. He was one of them. His web page doesn't seem to be loading..does anyone see where we can leave thoughts for his family and friends? - Loren Heiny

A real loss. I never met him (obviously) but I know of him through the eyes of those who did. - Soulhuntre via twhirl

The book was amazing. - Steve Rubel

Fuck. fuckfuckfuckfuck. Randy was one of my favorite HCI teachers at CMU, and I'm so glad that his 'Last Lecture' got the world-wide attention that it did. I can't imagine being as brave as him in this place, and he fought off the cancer for about 6 months longer than the 4 months his doctors gave him. Even though I've known this was coming for months it's still really hard. - Kevin Fox

I keep putting off the book, which is ironically exactly the opposite of what I should be doing: moving forward and living life instead of treading water and letting life happen. Peace to you, Randy. - Kevin C. Tofel

I'm very sad but will always be inspired by the way he spent his last several months. - Dimitrios Diamantaras

I was a huge fan of Randy's; his work will live on far longer than this in the lives of those he influenced. - Aaron Krug

i love the "bedside conversion" line... - Don Martelli via twhirl

Inspirational. Will be watching his video many times throughout my life. Brave, wise man... - Hao Chen

What better way to go than knowing that you made every day count and that you touched the lives of so many people around the world! Even though his departure is a huge loss, we are blessed with the inspiration he leaves us with! - Gabriel Biguria

I'm going to order the book, finally. - Roberto "Maverick" Bonini

We knew this day would come but it's still sad just the same. The way the man approached his death, is an inspiration. My prayers are with him and his family today. - Peter Simard