You didn't need a visual to get the not-so-subtle message sent to both parties in Iowa.  But while we're at it, we might as well face the reality that this one word may define the future of the world's largest superpower.  And while the candidates try their best to use the word to their own advantage—the prize will most likely go to the one who actually embodies it.

Change.  It's just a word.

Wait.  No it's not.

I got married young—age 24 to be precise.  In a couple of weeks, we'll raise a glass to toast year 12 of our time spent as husband and wife.  But it might have never been if we didn't spend a little time apart.  Not that we broke up—but we did spend a summer in different states.  By the end of that summer, after substituting e-mail for touch—we realized that distance had indeed made out hearts grow fonder.

And sometimes I feel the same way with blogs I read regularly.  Those who leave blogging for a while only to come back to it with a passion make me realize how much I missed it while it was gone.  Some choose to get others to fill in for them while they are gone (it's not the same thing).  Nothing wrong with this—but there's something about a favorite blog that goes away—only to come back bigger and better that makes me realize how much I appreciated it in the first place. 

No one can replace the personal brand of you.  If it's valuable—we'll come back with stronger feelings than ever.  If it was a relationship of convenience, chances are we'll forget about each other and find something else to fill the void.  Distance can make the heart grow fonder—or it can end the relationship.  Either way, it's a road-test on a street named loyalty.  And that's a two-way road to everywhere.

If you are still a regular reader here, I want to thank you for your time, attention and encouragement.  I can't believe we're heading into 2008.  In February, I'll be celebrating the 2 year anniversary of this blog.  Time flies.  2007 was an important year for me.  One of the highlights was participating in the Age of Conversation book.  Together, we helped raise over 11k for Children's Variety Charity.  This was a good thing.  I'm honored I was a part of it.

In 2007 I changed jobs.  I am understating the significance of this.  I really made an important career move and truth be told, I was contemplating leaving the agency world all together prior to the change.  But moving to Critical Mass was also a good thing.  While I am quite familiar with the business, the people here are fantastic and I feel like I fit in.  We sometimes jokingly call this place an "un-agency" and while you won't find the phrase in our marketing material, I think there is a grain of truth to it.  In addition to feeling like I have a "home"—I also think I bring an "outsiders" perspective based on how I see things.  And I really enjoy being in this type of position.  Most importantly, my vision is aligned with the people above me.  I'm at a point in my career, where this may be the single most important factor of my professional relationship with an employer.

Just like in 2006, I've met many new interesting people.  We correspond through e-mail, phone and sometimes in-person.  I've had the privilege to speak in front of high quality audiences.  This was a new experience for me.  One I enjoy and take very seriously.  Sharing ideas publicly in front of a live audience is like being given a gift each time you do it.  Thank you.

Lastly, some of you may have noticed that I'm less visible in the comments of your blogs and even here.  I want to be honest with you.  I have a limited supply of "extrovert" activity which I can support and much of it now happens on Twitter.  If I spend too much time talking, it takes away from my creative rerserve which I have to guard.  So please forgive me for my shortcomings here, but know that I am reading every word you write and not only that—it helps shape my thinking.

And this brings me to 2008.  My tradition is to never make resolutions, nor promises I cannot keep, but there is something I would like to do in 2008.   I would like to produce a non-digital artifact that pieces together a cohesive story about something I believe in.  Some people call this mysterious object a "book".  So, maybe that's what it will be—but I'm yet undecided on the final output.  I've got a topic in mind (Visual Thinking)—I even have a title and chapter outline.  Next week I'll flush this out a bit more and send out the outline to some folks I know with expertise in this area.  We'll see where it goes.  My #1 priority will be to produce something I feel good about having my name on.  It has to be something I believe in and feel comfortable talking about.

For me, if 2008 were to me captured in single word—it would be this.

Discipline.

It's an unglamorous word.  Gritty maybe. But one that produces results and helps maintain balance.  If I'm to keep up things here, while writing something more ambitious and being the father, husband, friend and employee I want to be, I'll have to familiarize myself with discipline on a daily basis.  This will include lots of choices and making priorities.

So that's the thought I will end on for 2007 as I look toward a new year.  It's not very sexy—but for me, it's real.  Here's to 2008—I wish you all a very happy, creative, and hopefully innovative new year.

(click for larger image)

When we think about social networks—we tend to focus on the connecting nodes.  The links that bind us and what makes a network, a network.  But the less frequently told story is the one where we spend countless hours building and maintaining our own little "social solar systems".  In these "social systems" we have multiple planetary ecosystems revolving around us. 

We are the center of our own micro-universe.

The related concept of a "social graph" is difficult to explain, but social systems is easy.  Many of us are now managing multiple social ecosystems.  If you think of these as planets—some rotate in closer proximity to us.  We "warm" them with our attention frequently.  Others may orbit at further proximities—but they are still in our social systems.  When we abandon a social ecosystem that we can no longer sustain, it drifts away from our orbit and dies.  Many of us have had these experiences.

But when we find ourselves as the supplier of light in our self-created microverse, the implications become clear.  There are only so many ecosystems that we can meaningfully sustain.  And I suppose if you were to zoom out of this specific "social system"—you might encounter others.  The number could be infinite.  And maybe it would look a little like this.

Update:
I'm having a real-time Twitter conversation with Adweek's Brian Morrissey who, as an avid runner is not a fan of the site and offers this opinion:

"the content is one-size-fits-all lame, the redirect to forums sucks out loud and it's still nike talking at me."

It's a really interesting observation as this is what Nike is probably trying to avoid.  I still believe the strategy is sound, but Brands will need help when trying to establish "credibility".  Morrissey goes on to say:

"it's hard b/c authenticity doesn't come naturally"

Given Brian's background which is more informed than mine (as a non-runner), I'd say the missed opportunity may be the "one size fits all" approach.  As I mention below, it's the Niche perspective that presents the real opportunity.  Maybe Nike can help facilitate by aggregating content from sources more credible than themselves?   I still see serious opportunity here if brands can figure out the delicate balance.  See Fiskateers for similar concept, different execution.

In 2007 Nike + took the marketing world by storm and made the advertising world re-think the industry, as the online meat of Nike + is basically a Rich Internet Application with community features built into it.  Now I come across Inside Nike Running, which as far as I can tell offers a content rich experience equipped with RSS feeds and multiple message boards.  I haven't had a chance to really dig deeply into it—but I can't help admire the strategy.

For one, Nike and running naturally spells community.  Runners are like bikers.  It's a sub-culture that only runners totally get and there are all kinds of levels and types of runners.  Secondly, content site are extremely search engine-friendly.  Many of the keywords are provided by the users themselves in the form of comments or participation in message boards.  And lastly, content is sitcky—your typical product-based micro site at best provides a one time experience.  Sure you can build in "pass it along" functionality—but the bottom line is that if there isn't a steady supply of new, quality content—then users really don't have a reason to come back and engage.  Plus, consumers are becoming increasingly wary of "marketing speak"—IE content written by copywriters who may not know much about the lifestyle they are speaking to and come across as contrived or inauthentic.

I'll be spending some more time at Inside Nike Running as I've been recommending similar solutions to clients myself.  I'm willing to bet my money on the idea behind tactic as I don't think it's a trend.  Brands really need to figure out if investing in content is worth it for them.  It might not be right for all brands—but for some, it could be a no-brainer.  There is risk involved, if there's no real commitment to providing good content that is worth a user's time—then maybe it's better to pass on something like this all together.  The last thing you want to do is have people come to your site only to dismiss it as a joke.

Still, I think there's something here to really think about.  So, in 2008—if you think this is a direction you want to invest in, here are a handful of skills/people you may want to look for.  Keep in mind, these are not actual titles, they are more skill sets.

Digital Information Designers
Not all designers know how to design lots of content in the online space.  One you get into scrolling pages with lots of content, multimedia and features—you need people who know understand the art and science of information design.  More specifically, you need good digital information designers—there's a difference.

Content Analysts/Architects
Content-rich sites require content analysts who can organize and categorize large amounts of content in their sleep. While flashy micro-sites relied heavily on talented flash designers—content sites rely on content analysts putting some deep thought into the best ways to display, distribute and serve up content (think multiple devices, feeds etc.).  These individuals will also understand how to integrate and aggregate content that may be coming from the "outside" also known as "user generated content".

Community Facilitators/Curators
People who understand the nuances, cultures and social etiquettes of online communities will be in high demand.  Those who can moderate, facilitate, create and maintain conversations will be critical to adding life to site experiences like this.  In addition, people with skills in this area understand how to reach out to existing communities and can help extend brands into this space without being too heavy handed or contrived. 

Niche Editors
Going up against content-rich providers on the internet such as Web MD is probably a waste of time, however the internet thrives on highly specialized niche content.  People who understand how to edit and serve up this specialized content—making it both valuable and convenient will be in demand.

This is an incomplete list—there are probably more.  And in reality, the micro-site isn't going away.  But micro sites that don't give us a compelling reason to return may find themselves struggling in a world where people will only reward you with their time if you provide them something of value.  The idea that someone will visit a site after seeing a URL on a television commercial doesn't reflect the reality of online behavior where Google acts as the ultimate remote control.  As online residents become more sophisticated and demanding, they'll demand that you make it worth their time.  If you can't do that—you may succeed in getting a visit to your site, but that's no guaranteed that they will ever come back, or worse yet—tell a friend about it.

Bruce Tempkin of Forrester and the Customer Experience Matters blog has gift-wrapped a nice little stocking stuffer in the form of "Customer Experience Resolutions".  They are:

1. We shall focus more on our customers and less on ourselves
2. We shall get to know more about what our customers really need
3. We shall formalize a voice-of-the-customer program
4. We shall incorporate personas in our experience design processes
5. We shall clearly define our brand in terms of promises to customers
6. We shall judge every interaction on how well it fulfills our brand promises
7. We shall engage front-line employees in improving customer experiences
8. We shall get the executive team to collectively own the customer experience
9. We shall establish a multi-year journey towards customer-centric DNA
10. We shall give customer experience the attention that it deserve

It's a great list.  I would add one:

1. We shall revive a company culture who's core purpose is to serve people.

That's the foundation of it all.  Great experiences that are customer/people-centric are extremely hard to achieve.  If you are working for a company that doesn't have a culture of customer-centricity baked into it, then it will be difficult to achieve any of these goals.  If your company never had it—you will have to figure out how to build that culture.  If you had it and lost it—you'll need to "revive" it.

You can hire all of the customer-centric consultants that money can buy.  But at the end of the day, the best results come from a culture focused on serving people.  In this case, the people just happen to be customers.

The big news in the Design world is that John Maeda, author of the "Laws of Simplicity" has left the MIT media lab to become president of RISD (video) (Rhode Island School of Design).  What a great move.  RISD, which is a excellent school will be lucky to have him.   In an Interview at BusinessWeek's NEXT blog, John says:

"I know that a great deal of my start up phase will be spent learning and listening about RISD’s unique strengths and using that base knowledge to figure where it could possibly go. Where can it go? Really the sky is the limit because it RISD is perfectly grounded in the perfect traditions of the past."

Right on.  John, if you're listening—I have a thought:

Would you ever consider opening up the RISD blog to the outside world?  How cool would it be to have academic discussions that transcend the halls of RISD and include perspectives from all over the place?  I dunno.  I could be wrong.  Maybe it's a dumb idea.  As a Pratt graduate, one of the things I loved about that school was that it's location in Brooklyn was the best of both worlds.  It felt like a private Oasis in the middle of an urban jungle—but on the other hand, you could get to NYC in minutes and expose yourself to a universe of experiences.  It provided an interesting mix of seclusion and exposure.

Design school was one of my favorite times in life.  But I often reflect back upon it, and realize how many new skills I needed to learn once I joined the business world.  I hope that 2008 promises more interaction between the worlds of academia, business and even design.  What a great year it will be!

Tip 'O the hat: Bruce Nussbaum

Want to change the world?  It only takes one random act of kindness at a time. It's pretty simple really—what this is all about. As most things on the Web, it starts with people and then more people.  In this case, someone shared a story.  That story spread and through Blogs, Twitter and e-mail and people began to show support through peas of all things. 

Susan Reynolds is undergoing surgery today as part of her fight against breast cancer.

She shared a story of how she used a bag of frozen peas to soothe herself after her biopsy.  Then the news came.  But there's hope in the form of community and a symbolic gesture of adopting the pea.  Changing the world is hard because nobody wants to start with just one person. Where's the glory in that?

But it only takes an act of kindness.  So before you leave, pleas consider doing the following:
1. Go here
2. Do something.
3. Spread the word.

Because peas do help.

I'm being interviewed for a book on blogging.  I was asked "What are your quick and short five best tips for blogging?"

I said:

1. Find your voice
2. Do something different
3. Be true to your brand
4. Provide value
5. Only write what makes you happy

Damn.  It's amazing how succinct you can get when someone asks you a question like that.

Update:
CM's president of Experience Design, Dan Evans talks about the initiative

Just found out that the company I work for (Critical Mass) is giving 100 Laptops to children in developing countries.  I have to tell you—it feels pretty good working for a place that gives back.  And it's got me thinking about how I can go the extra mile this holiday season.  Whether  Negroponte's One Laptop Per Child effort ends up being a case study for success or failure, at least it's an attempt to reach out to our fellow brothers and sisters in places far away—and what a great way to demonstrate that although worlds apart, we are still connected.  When we're given opportunities, it gives us a great excuse to give back the gift of opportunity.  Thanks CM.

Let me be clear.  I'm not saying we shouldn't have a "creative" group, or a strategy group or a tech group etc.  What I am saying is that the "department mentality" needs to go away—like permanently.  If you watched the series "Mad Men" then you got a pretty insightful view into the creative process as defined by hierarchy, departments and politics.  I always get a chuckle when an episode shows the "art department" slaving away on print ads in a remote part of the building.  I guess it worked back then.  For the creation of messages and ads, this may have been a pretty efficient system.  And though not "science" as one of the main characters puts it—the output could be somewhat replicated even though an amazing advertising campaign is rare to come by.  But having an "art dept", a "copy dept" and high ranking big cheeses who called the shots was the nature of the business back in the day.

Now by contrast, take the famous "IDEO shopping cart" video and compare.   I've seen this video many times and it always inspires and gets me thinking.  Sure there are senior people calling the shots, there is hierarchy—but there is something very different in how this creative process works.  It starts with research, not an ad hock brainstorming session.  Teams go out into the world to discover insights for themselves.  Roles blur and ideas come from everywhere.  Practical ones.  Whacky ones.  Debate happens, but at the end of the day teams begin quickly visualizing and building concepts based off insights + observation.  Prototypes aren't talked about, they start coming together at light speed.  The only thing that resembles a "department" in the video is the "shop" which actually built the finished prototype with real materials, wielding some heavy machinery.  It was organized chaos and collaboration under a shared purpose.  It's a classic example of innovation.  The team set out to design a better shopping cart, but in the end took a decent stab at solving a much bigger problem:

Designing a better shopping experience.

Problem is that many of us are still hooked on the "department" model even though we really want to be more like the "shopping cart model".  If you work in the digital design space, the shopping cart model is more relevant that the "department" model.  We have the potential to create meaningful experiences which influence human behavior—how we shop, connect and do business.  Need proof? Think E-bay, Craigslist, Amazon, Dell, Citi, Apple, Netvibes, Google, et al.  But we have lots of work to do to incorporate this style of working in an industry that was built on departments, messages and making promises.

If agencies genuinely desire to innovate, then it's time to kill the "department mentality".  If they just want to make money, then keeping the department mentality alive and well is OK.  But at some point, the ability to innovate won't be optional—and that's when the department mentality will become a liability.

Several years ago, I created a holiday slideshow of our family utilizing some basic skills in Flash and multimedia.  when CM's Chicago team showed me the holiday greeting they did for P&G, it not only took me back, but made me realize that we're all prosumers now.

Being a prosumer means we're part consumer and part producer.  We don't have to passively watch TV ads, we can make our own.  The original spot that was done for Pampers was hugely popular and now you can customize it and share it with friends and family without ever having to learn Flash or Photoshop.  Happy co-creating.

A while back Stephen P. Anderson asked me if  I could share  "what's in my bookstack".  Well, it's not just books—but here are a few paper products that I reference on a fairly regular basis.

Passage To Liberty
An well-designed book that reminds me of my heritage and the things that my parents faced as Italian immigrants.  It helps me to remember where my roots lie.

A Whole New Mind
An enlightening piece that reminds me to use all the parts of my brain on a daily basis.

Citizen Marketers
One of the most comprehensive books on what the "prosumer" movement is really all about.

No Excuses
The story of Kyle Maynard, a boy born with no arms and legs who became a champion wrestler.  A reminder that I have no excuses in life.

Made To Stick
One of my favorite reads on how to make ideas memorable.

The Myths of Innovation
A great way to look at innovation as a process.

The Brand Gap
One of my all time favorites. A must have for anyone looking to bridge the worlds of design and branding.

The Laws of Simplicity
An interesting read that lays out how complex simplicity really is.

Color Harmony
Something I reference when looking to communicate with color.

IDEO Method Cards
A wonderful source of inspiration for the creation or mashing up of different methodologies.

Creative Whack Pack
The "Anti IDEO Method Cards", I use this as a counterbalance to IDEO's cards.  The Whack Pack is less about methods and more about good old fashioned inspiration.

Google recently launched some social functionality over the weekend.  Chris Brogan has this to say about it:

"Google slipped a social network into Reader last night while I was sleeping. It’s simple, and unobtrusive, and gently prompts me to add more info, if I want. It’s about sharing your news- for now. But there it is. There’s Google’s simple, easy, I’m -destined-to-use-it social network right there.

Facebook, I hear bells tolling."

Has Google really launched a "people-driven" experience?  Most of us would agree that the best experiences are designed with people in mind. But the fact is that it's still really easy to forget about the end user or person that you are ultimately trying to serve. Here's a few ways we can go wrong even with the best of intentions.

1. Usability Driven
Many of the popular 2.0 Web services have usability issues.  Jacob Nielsen asserts that the space is in danger if becoming "glossy, but useless".   But there are a few facts we need to come to terms with here.  Applications such as Facebook, YouTube and others all have usability issues, but are highly desirable to the people who use them.  Putting usability first, in theory will create a superior experience—but in reality it's only one factor of the total experience.  You can have the most usable tool on the planet which seldom gets used if no-one wants to pick it up, play with it and talk about it to others.

2. Creative Driven
"Creative people" have a weakness. Sometimes we care to much about what our peers think and so if we see the industry awarding bright and shiny stuff that looks great but serves no real purpose, we'll be tempted to produce bright and shiny stuff that serves no real purpose--except maybe to win an award.

3. Technology-driven
Advances in technology let us do lots of things and the fact is that many experiences are designed putting technology first. Why didn't Vista work out as Microsoft would have liked? I've never installed my copy because I've heard from others that the upgrade experience didn't go smoothly for them.  This phenomena is called word of mouth.  If technology doesn't fulfill its promise of enriching our lives then that's not a people-driven experience.




People-Driven
People-driven design starts with real people in mind.  What they do, how they think, what their pain points are, why they like and dislike things and how they'll use what you create for them.  The main purpose of personas is to help large groups of people from diverse backgrounds such as IT or Marketing empathize with the people they are designing for.  Even if the folks at 37 Signals believe that "personas lead to a false sense of understanding at the deepest, most critical levels." they still design with people in mind—people who are a lot like they are.  People driven designs don't end at the drawing board—they factor in feedback through the lifecycle of the design process, which nowadays is infinite.

Most of the successful designs that we use and love are people-driven more than anything else.  Steve Jobs, wanted to create something of beauty and utility for a person—that person just happened to be himself.  So back to Google, if what they did over the weekend is "people driven"—then it has a chance.  Guess we'll find out.

"Design is also traditionally about collaboration and integration. Working with other people across what we call silos these days and integrating information to solve problems has always been a strong suit of design. Now, with the growth of social networks and collaborative innovation, design is ever more powerful. I would argue that the rise of social networks, which combine both user-generated content and user-focussed organization, is a major force today for the new centrality of design in business culture."
~Bruce Nussbaum

In the last 4 months I've seen nearly everyone I know flock to Facebook.  They are now actively participating in a form of Social Media.  But almost none of them are blogging.  That's because blogging requires entirely different investments and commitments.  Providing a steady stream of valuable content is one of the most difficult things an individual or company can do in this space.

When starting a blog, the first thing you must realize is that a gap exists between you and the community you wish to engage.  In order to bridge that gap and you must first provide value and then act as both facilitator and curator.  One of the reasons I wrote the incomplete "Thankful Experiences" post on Experience Matters was to proactively bridge the gap.  Nearly 90 comments later—the blog had nudged the needle closer to not only providing value, but doing it in a personal, meaningful and conversational way.

If you're new to blogging and want to make meaningful connections with the community you are cultivating—think about ways you can bridge that gap.  It's hard work.  But worth it.

I spent two years working on the Chicago Tribune's site—so I have an appreciation for well designed content.  Ask me what some of the best examples of content design are on the Web and I'll tell you that the New York Times is a no brainer and more recently CNN has a strong showing.  But hold the phone—literally, Fox News may have gotten a head start when it comes to designing a desirable mobile experience—which blurs text, navigation and multimedia taking advantage of the tools the iPhone currently has to offer.  If you are no fan of Fox's actual content, I would ask you to read on with an open mind.  I'm less interested in analyzing their programming as opposed to how they are using this medium.

Right off the bat, the mobile experience seems promising because you are presented with large, easy to read buttons, type and photos help break up the text.  Fox wisely chooses to mimic the iPhones interface which makes it feel like a "native application" even though in reality all of the action happens through the iPhone's browser, Safari.   Main choices are simple: "News", "Media", "Search" and headlines offer clear and actionable starting points.

Like the mobile version of Facebook, search feels integrated and even dims the rest of the content on the page when you are in "search mode"

Text content is easy to read and even easier to share via e-mail.  Clearly labeled "share" buttons at both the top and bottom of articles make them e-mail friendly.

Fox offers "on demand" multimedia content in the form of video.  Audio and Video podcasts require subscriptions.

While video is best served over Wi-fi, you can also view compressed version of it on AT&T's edge network.  But when your in broadband mode, the video and audio are high quality.  Combine this with the size of the iPhone screen and digesting mainstream media video content takes on a whole new dimension.  Video can be viewed in both landscape and portrait mode.

Summary
I can't help but find it ironic that a media company which has struggled so much with their Web experience has actually shown such innovation and potential in the mobile space.  Fox on the iPhone isn't perfect—I occasionaly get pages that don't load and the video isn't exactly seamless when you go back to your last click but overall, it's worth looking into.  If I were ESPN or Sportscenter I would really investigate this. Sports fans are the perfect candidates for high quality mobile content, especially in the form of highlights, and video clips.  With faster 3G iPhones, and the potential for multiple carriers or even less expensive models—I can't help but wonder if this is a sneak peak into a future that may not be as far off as we think.

Related links:
Video demo (requires Facebook account)
Fox iPhone Url

As many of you have felt by now through an increased number of Twitter followers—this past Tuesday was in fact "Twitter Tuesday".  What caused it?

Influence Ripples
Jeremiah Owyang is both connector, maven and salesman all rolled into one.  His invitation to have people add him to Twitter only to have him add them back set off a Ripple effect magnified by Techmeme, other bloggers, Facebook, Utterz and yes—Twitter itself.  There was most likely a flurry of e-mails happening behind the scene as well.  Owyang himself is a large ripple, but it was the combination of both larger and smaller ripples that made many of us feel the effect.  The overlaps of the ripples were numerous, significant and obvious to anyone who participated in this.  The way these ripples spread is both fierce and fragmented:

These concepts may seem abstract to "non participants".  But to those of us who actively participate, we see them happening on a fairly regular basis.  Owyang prefers to use a "fabric + threads" metaphor to explain the dynamics in the space—however you choose to explain the intricate spread of interaction enabled through social networks, it's obvious that a movement is afoot regardless of what tools we choose to adopt.  Businesses, marketers, designers, must understand these dynamics if they hope to exert influence themselves.  That's the bottom line.

When I was a kid, my favorite playthings were simple and sometimes not even toys.  Boxes were spaceships, aprons were capes and oven mits were space alien claws.  My  seven-year-old Max is shown here messing around with Roger von Oech's Ball of Whacks.  The thing I like about it (and I think what Max likes about it too) is how open ended the object is.  It's not like clay since it's made up of geometric shapes, but it leaves much to the imagination.  Roger recently sent me a "six pack" including the new "blue balls".  No really.  That's the latest color.  And there's also a tri-color version(below).  So this year, I'll be giving the gift of creativity in a box.

Lot's of chatter happening round the blogosphere regarding Twitter, between Forrester's Peter Kim and Jeremiah (also of Forrester).  I've described Twitter as a "conversation ecosystem" in places like BusinessWeek and Markekting Profs because of the way it works with multiple touch points.  I've tried to explain Twitter visually:

I've speculated that Advertising could rear it's ugly head (it didn't—not as I thought it might)

And I've even called it the Crocs of the Web...

But I've ended up here:  Explaining Twitter is an act in futility unless the person you explain it to understands the intricacies of social networks (saying conversation ecosystem is a bit abstract to someone not participating in online conversations).  But, then it's up to them to investigate it to see if there is a business or personal application.  Personally, Twitter works for me + so does participation.  If you want to see how I use Twitter—here I am.