Gov2.0 and data mashing

Looking for key scenario and matching data sources for a compelling mashup case study/project.

Goals

1. Increase transparency
2. Expose data
3. Discover trends

Visualization

1. Map e.g. Google Map, Earth
   
2. Graph e.g. Many Eyes
3. Cloud e.g. Wordle
4. Mobile
   

Data sets

1. Data.gov
2. Intellipedia
3. A-space
4. Gov on socnets
   

Citizen concerns

1. travel
2. real estate
3. health
4. weather
5. money
6. news

Conferences

1. DOD IIC (??)
2. Capital Connection Conference
   
3. Web2.0 Expo NY
4. Government2.0 Summit
   

Explore

• nextgov.com
• programmableweb.com/government
• data.gov
• zdnet.com tagged intellipedia
• Time: Wikipedia for Spies: The CIA Discovers Web 2.0
• http://esenai.com blog on intellipedia and A-space
• NY Times: Logged In and Sharing Gossip, er, Intelligence
• navy on twitter
• congress on twitter
• whitehouse.gov/newmedia
  

Summer summer summer time

I need a better event planning process with calendaring + mobile + blogging... suggestions welcome. For now, here's a list... links etc. This is a mix of my planned travel, tech, music, social and whatever else I can think of. (Many of the local tech events are listed on SocialCarolina.org)

• Social Media Club - June 4
• Jenny Lewis concert - Cat's Cradle - June 12
• Delicious Skate Camp (kids) - Wake Forest - June
  
• HeroesCon - Charlotte - June 19-21
• Enterprise2.0 - Boston - June 22-25
  
• Luau - July
• NC Wine Tour - July TBD
  
• Triangle Tweetup - July TBD
  
• Ignite - Lincoln Theater, Raleigh - August 5
• Social Media Club - August 6
  
• BarCampRDU - Raleigh, Red Hat - August 8
  
• The Avett Brothers concert - Charlotte - August 8
• Social Fresh - Charlotte - August 24
  
• My b-day bash - TBD - September 4
• Government2.0 Summit - DC - September 8-11
  
• NC BBQCamp - September 19
• Blink-182, Fall Out Boy concert - Charlotte - October 1
• Triangle Tweetup - October TBD
• U2 concert - 360 tour - Raleigh - October 3
• Internet Summit - Raleigh - November 4-5
  
• Web2.0 Expo NY - November 16

Last Night's Playlist

After Decks of Summer, Kim, Rox, Debbie, Kari, Adam and I went dancing at Ess Lounge. DJ Vegas was pumping out a power 80s jam remix set. Here is a sample...

1. Bell Biv Devoe
   
2. Da La Soul
   
3. Poison
   
4. Whitney Houston
   
5. Def Leppard
   
6. Lady Ga Ga + Eurythmics
7. Notorious B.I.G.
8. Bobby Brown
9. A-Ha
10. AC/DC
11. Joan Jett
12. Boys II Men
13. Rick Springfield
14. Aretha Franklin
15. Marvin Gaye

And the more current stuff mixed in for good measure...

1. Shakira
2. Black Eyed Peas
3. Beyonce Knowles
4. Sir Mix Alot
5. Erick Morillo
6. Britney Spears

Star Trek

10 point review - Engage!

1. Boldly Go. James Tiberius Kirk is a stud. This is essential Kirk.
2. That alien mechanic assistant guy of Scotty's is a funny little thing.
3. The big bad wasn't lame and had actually had some emotional depth and character motivation. Even if it did smack a bit of that Star Trek: Nemesis (X) fringe Romulan guy.
4. "Time Travel and self contained story arcs sprinkled with deep references while not completely bound by series continuity" is a must of any good Star Trek epic. This is one of those. (So does this break the odd-even curse?)
5. The enterprise feels like a real ship. Shields are down to 23% after 1 direct hit from a torpedo and it's time for plan B - tactics and smarts and grit. This is old school Trek. No reverse tachyon reflector beams or other such TNG nonsense. 
6. Ah the old emergency transport gimmick is born. And Scotty makes it fun not contrived.
7. References and Old quotes abound with this original crew; reborn in their new origin story. The characters feel natural and fun as we discover their mission from a fresh POV. Seeing the cadets start to figure things out on their maiden voyage, and become a crew, is magic.
8. Scottie and Bones are quirky charming fun. Kirk and Spock are intense. Uhura and her green-skinned Orion roommate (Rachel Nichols from ALIAS!) are sexy. Sulu and Chekov are geeky neato. Spock Prime and Spock's Mother (Winona Ryder - I didn't notice!) are motivational.
9. Warp factor 3. Dodgey Transporters. Old heat blast Phasers. This tech is retro fantastic. Trekkies are going to be ga ga.
10. The uniforms are cool. There I said it. They are sleek and functional and still form-fitting. Look for lots of Starfleet geeks who can't really fill them out sporting these come Halloween this year.
    

The Twouble with Triangle Tweetup

This is my 799th post on Blogger. I follow 799 people on Twitter. The world is crashing in around me. I am the Rab. I organize tweetups. I am however rarely in tweetup photo booths. I retweet a lot. I abuse hashtags. I am sarcastic. I am very meta and/or streaming my consciousness pretty much 24/7/365. I am not a blogger but I play one on the interwebz. I will not fix your computer problem. I do declare that I am. Here is a list of lists. It's what I do. Everything about Triangle Tweetup 2.0 (that really means: the 2nd tweetup of 2009 BTW).

10 Photo Sets

1. official tweetup photo booth by @josh_hofer
2. PICI.ME by @covati
3. flickr set by @base10
4. flickr set by @jreesnc
5. picasa set by @smdempsey
6. brightkite location with photos at @bronto software
7. flickr set by @fullsteam
8. flickr set by bronto
9. flickr set by @theideamechanic
10. flickr set by @theRab

5 Videos or places to find videos...

1. Tweetup Panel: Business, Brands and Twitter, with @theRab, @DavidBThomas, @thorstenkessler, moderated by the @kbodnar32 (many youtube videos by @updownmostly)
   
   
2. a Qik walk through triangle tweetup by @chiatar
3. @fullsteam beer cam - Everyone loves dry hopping
   
4. nbc17 / @mync 6 o'clock news report (i have it tivo'd, where is it MyNC?), by @donaldjones and @ginnyskal

5. Twitterrific 2.0 for the iPhone demo at TriangleTweetup from Wayne Sutton on Vimeo.

6 Hashtags to tweet about this and that...

1. #triangletweetup - a way to tag your tweets at this event
2. #followfriday - a way to tag people you want to recommend for others to follow, a friday meme
3. #hilarityensues - a way to signal silliness and joy and sarcasm, a @abbyladybug meme
4. #musicmonday - share your tunes on manic mondays
5. #ncbbqcamp - BBQ, barcamp, nc, let's see what happens
6. #worlddomination - the team rally cry
   

5 Awesome Tweeple I met... (tweeple are people who tweet. to tweet is to twitter.)

1. @colopy - CEO of Bronto and all around pleasant, sharp dude
2. @ldbaldwin - the feisty organizer of WordCampRDU (register now!)
3. @lruettimann - the small huge force of nature punk rock PR girl, and newly crowned Tweetup Queen
4. @fullsteam32 - the magician craft brewer of delicious IPA behind "the contraption," he rocks the chops. cool guy!
5. @josh_hofer - the chill photog behind the triangle tweetup photo booth, and i still haven't had my photo taken... stealth streak intact!

5 Blog posts to read before mine...

1. ginny skalski a.k.a. @ginnyskal - Here’s what happens when 250+ come together for a Triangle Tweetup
2. chris moody a.k.a. @cnmoody - Three Ways to Make the Next #TriangleTweetup THAT Much Better
3. melba lopez aka @toastysnacks - Tweetup 2.0 Apologies
4. Bora Zivkovic a.k.a @boraz - Triangle Tweetup
5. Caroline Smith a.k.a @brontocaroline - Bronto Hosts Triangle Tweetup
   
6. bonus: stuff tagged 'triangle tweetup' on my tumblr

10 most tweetworthy events...

1. continuing the Social Media for Social Change meme - Charity! - toiletries for the homeless shelter - awesome idea Ginny!
2. awesome new shiny Triangle Tweetup badges with QRCodes! order badges from @rickdrake, history of tweetup badges
   
3. pici.me madness!
   
4. new tweetup prom king and queen - the @jazzychad and her majesty @lruettimann! (a tweetup prom king and queen retrospective)
   
5. best-dressed goes to - drum roll please... @jennafleur!
6. dino-mania! i think there were 547 inflated brontosaurus roaming the tweetup, approximately; some quite large
7. triangle tweetup twister - in the basement, #hilarityensues (i missed this fun)
8. free Wolverine comics - Free Comic Book Day came early, courtesy of Thor (ironic!)
9. twitter 101: 1 on 1 / 5 minute / speed coaching
   
10. Tyler's - the after party plus X-men Origins: Wolverine - the after after party, the highly anticipated midnight premier (thx Thor!); read my tweet review

4 Applications to buzz about...

1. twitterrific 2.0 (available 5/7 on iTunes) - for iPhone, from IconFactory, @gedeon
2. beak - a mac twitter client, from @mike9r
3. pici.me - a twitter photobooth for social events, from @covati
4. twitpicgrid (son of tweetgrid) - a super customizable real-time twitter search dashboard - now with your photos, from @jazzychad

5 Sponsors I'd like to get a shout-out to...

1. Lone Rider - Betty, a new classic in the triangle. i can't get enough!
2. Fullsteam - the contraption, the sweet potato beer, rocket science IPA (good!), the truck. seriously cool vibe guys
3. Bronto Software - what cool digs, that office space rocks!
4. Raleigh Grande er Thorsten Kessler - the fiery young rock star social media manager of ... your next successful hyper-local biz
5. Chef Ed Catering - The man, the myth, the legend. Ed Sautro is the incomparable and incorrigible chef of your Italian dreams

5 things I mentioned or should have... for your reference

1. Panel Discussion: the IBM Social Media Guidelines came up in discussion of Personal vs Corporate identity
2. Panel Discussion: Social Software Evangelist Luis Suarez is @elsua, champion of thinking outside of the inbox
3. Panel Discussion: My big quote of the evening must be partially attributed to inspiration from Doc Searls (originally from 2005?)
4. What is Ignite? More Ignite videos for you to watch. Ignite Raleigh is coming soon...
5. Twestival update. Watch your charity for clean water, in action.

5 BIG thank yous for my Triangle Tweetup team...

1. Ginny - for filling out the fun parts, being local focused, charity minded and more...
2. Jeff - Mr. Biz Manager, you are the anchor
3. Kipp - Happy Birthday Bro. i hope this made it a great one!
4. Wayne - YTMND, srsly. #socialmediasuperhero indeed
5. Melba - yes you help! (no rebuttals!) it takes many volunteers to pull this off

shout-outs to all my tweeple there, new and old!

they are @chefed44 @bucafett @critter @chiatar @jennafleur @boraz @miss_krista @waynesutton @dgtlpapercuts @fullsteam @kbodnar32 @ldbaldwin @loneriderbeer @xulox @mattrdavis @jasonpeck @jefftippett @jreesnc @jaydolan @eronel @metricula @smdempsey @davidbthomas @lisasullivan @ginnyskal @covati @vix27 @drkashik @lruettimann @kimetzel84 @jazzychad @taylorbarr @kellyduffort

missed connections... (people i wanted to meet IRL or tweeple i missed to say hello)

they include @ashleysue @cammicam @ilinap @jacksonfox @lisam1976 @ppgnc @michaelrowe01 @brontocaroline @beebo_wallace @zachward @damondnollan @skirubbi @cnmoody @swerves7 @instanttaylor @mammalpants @comcipher @base10

Web2.0 Expo SF 2009: stuff i recommend

raw list... context and tagging coming later. list for now.

location-aware

1. w3c geolocation api making websites location aware session
   
2. Adding Where to Mobile and Web Applications session
   
3. Google keynote video
   
4. Nokia keynote video
5. IBM / Kapow / EC2 mobile app for Conference - blog preview, photos

community

1. Tara Hunt - The Whuffie Factor: The 5 Keys for Maxing Social Capital and Winning with Online Communities (video)
   
2. Heather Gold - Authenticity & authority keynote video
   

crowdsourcing
threadless keynote video

social media

1. SM Fail session
2. Social Media Buyers Guide
3. Beyond Buzz: On Measuring a Conversation

enterprise2.0

1. Enterprise2.0 for Down Economy session
2. Read Write Web: Hinchcliffe ties enterprise2.0 to economic lift
3. Hinchcliffe: How to survive and thrive in business today with web2.0

cloud
suggest some links

gov2.0 / public sector
suggest some links

events

1. Monday - Automattic Lounge (photos)
   
2. Tuesday - Tweetup - XYZ
   
3. Wednesday - Ignite SF - Mezzanine
4. Thursday - Cloud Birds of a Feather - Marriott
   
5. Thursday - Tweetup - Minna Gallery

food

1. monday - cpk
   
2. tuesday - cpk, sushi
3. wednesday - cpk
4. thursday - sushi, deli
   
5. friday - sushi
   

everything else - most stuff tagged 'w2e'

1. Web2Expo blog
2. Presentations, and those tagged on Slideshare
3. Twitter (the backchannel via #w2e hashtag)
4. Video and those tagged w2e
   
5. Photos - highlights, by event highlights, by titles, by tags, web2expo group and mine
6. Project Zero blog posts
   

Get some REST

I'm organizing a RESTful meetup. Because I'm an IBMer, I also have to create an acronym to encapsulate this group about that acronym. It is so written somewhere. Therefore, we may end up with TRUG for Triangle REST Users Group. If you have a better suggestion, by all means, drop me a comment.

So far these fine software enthusiasts are interested in forming a merry band of RESTful programmers. If you want to learn more about REST or share your development experience, comment or tweet reply me.

1. Ryan Boyles (um, that would be me.)
   
2. Michael Beaver
3. Jared Petersen
4. Spencer Dempsey
5. Jess Bowers
6. Frank Wierzbicki
7. Chuck Allen
8. Bill Higgins
9. Jason Feinstein
   
10. You!

If you are asking yourself: What is REST? Start here.

If you'd like to propose a place to meet, please leave comments as well. I'll launch a wiki within the week.

Watchmen

Audio coming.... here is the text for now. :)

Watchmen is one of those essential reads. It's on all the top comic book reading lists, and it has lots of awards, honors, mystique, gravity. Now, the "unfilmable" comic series is a film. Our merry band of geeks went to the midnight opening of Watchmen Thursday night/Friday morning at 12:05am.

We were all busy tweeting and brightkiting our geeky fanboyishness. I was ranked as one of the most frequent "Watchmen" twitterers. Go figure. The midnight show was sponsored by Chapel Hill Comics at The Lumina Theater (photo).

There were Watchmen swag bags for every seat in the house. Contents included a 16 oz Plastic Watchmen Tumbler cup, 4" Watchmen "Comedian" Smiley button, 5" Watchmen smiley cardboard drink coaster, 4" smiley sticker and a 2" smiley tattoo.

We got there early and got prime "middle middle" seating. Andy, owner of Chapel Hill Comics, MC'd a trivia contest 20 minutes before the start of the film and gave out more swag from Warner Brothers, including t-shirts, Extra large (1-sheet size?) Watchmen group shot doubled-sided poster, and dozens of 7 poster packs. The poster packs include each character poster plus the group poster. I tried and tried to win a prize and finally won one of the last poster packs. Question: How many issues were in the original comics series of Watchmen? Answer: Twelve!!

Watchmen midnight film premiere "first reaction" video

First a list of disclaimers:

1. I read the original series when I was like 13 or 14, so it was like 22 years ago or something. I have not re-read it since, but I did download the 12 chapter motion comics.
   
2. Adam is a life-long comic book reader but hasn't read Watchmen. Draw your own conclusions. :)
3. John has not read the comic and isn't a comics guy.
4. Jeff is into sci fi etc but isn't a comics guy nor did he read the book.

And now on with my signature bullet point review. Now with 12 bullets!

1. The ending annoyed 1 of 4 in our group, and he hadn't read it so it wasn't for the same reasons that has caught the ire of the comic's faithful. John thought the final scene between mother and daughter made no sense and did not feel like it belonged.
2. I really enjoyed it thoroughly, I ate it all up. To me it was a totally immersive experience with great character development. There is a low-bar typically for comic book movies so Watchmen is in a class of few - such as The Dark Knight natch.
3. From our group: 1 guy fell asleep, 1 guy thought it was 45 min too long, 1 guy loved Silk Spectre in latex and thought there was too much male nudity.
4. Trailers look cheesy to uninitiated but movie is pretty authentic to the book.
5. The clothing from the '80s is hilarious, it is over the top. I'm pretty sure I wore Dan's exact glasses in the 80s.
6. The film is visually very rich, it does feel like an alternate universe.
7. There is a great cheese/camp factor to all the flashbacks that redeem the story and provide a rich authentic feel.
8. This is the most ultra-violent, politically-charged, hyper-sexual comic book adaptation movie of all time. Now, replace 'movie' with book in this equation. Go read it. For all of this, the film is ultimately slow paced and perhaps too faithful to the book.
9. Some of the suits were too rubbery. I thought we collectively agreed as a society to place a permanent ban on plastic molded nipples on super-hero costumes after the Batman and Robin debacle?
   
10. This film is ultimately an examination of "what if super heroes really existed in our world?" how would history play out? what sort of lives would they lead? what would motivate them to fight in costume? how would they interact with each other privately and with the world at large?
11. Each character story shows a tragic figure with deep problems that is worth watching.
12. There is a lot of male nudity in this film. Some real, some CGI, some blue. I'm just saying... not that there is anything wrong with that.

My favorite lines in the comic/film:

1. Dr Manhattan: I can change almost anything, but I can't change human nature.
2. Ozymandias: We can do so much more. We can save this world... with the right leadership.
3. Rorschach: Never compromise. Not even in the face of Armageddon. That's always been the difference between us, Dan.
4. Rorschach: You people don't understand. I'm not locked in here with you, you're locked in here with me!
5. Silk Spectre II: I used to be a masked avenger too remember? I’m used to going out at 3 in the morning and doing something stupid.