Wherein we discuss Pop.

We think a lot about defaults. What should they be? How do they elicit particular responses? What form should they take (pull-downs, checkboxes, opt-ins and outs)? But taken away from screens, what do we assume about defaults? And more, how might we be more mindful of our own default behavior?

Hell yeah!

Holy carp, another lovely review on Amazon from @davmendels:

My gosh, so honored by this lovely review from @ttscoff:

Available starting today!

The details of how I managed to write an entire book on my iPad — About Writing Enough:

"You can­not fight dark­ness by resolv­ing to erad­i­cate dark­ness. Instead you must com­mit to gen­er­at­ing light. You can­not fight the cold by resolv­ing to erad­i­cate the cold. Instead you must com­mit to gen­er­at­ing heat. Sim­i­larly, con­sump­tion can­not be fought by resolv­ing to erad­i­cate con­sump­tion (as I had), but only by com­mit­ting to cre­ation, to the cre­ative act (which I hadn’t)."

"If the “social” web can only rep­re­sent arbi­trary facts about people’s beliefs and inter­ests, then it’s not social."

"For the next thirty days, I am exclu­sively com­mit­ting to what I call “pro­duc­tive con­sump­tion.” That is to say, the only things I will con­sume will result directly in the com­ple­tion of goals and the acqui­si­tion of valu­able knowledge."

"On my first run without technology, I remember noticing the discomfort was gone. I was several miles into the run and feeling fine. I let my mind wander to any thought that entered it and I explored those thoughts without limits. I was aware of the nature surrounding me and I was in tune with my breathing."
Distance didn’t matter. Pacing didn’t matter. Alternatively, my experience during the journey mattered. Process mattered.

Saying no to say yes to other things…Practically Opaque:

Get ready to listen to an incredibly pen and paper nerdy discussion because @dowdyism was this weeks guest on Enough:

To quote a single sentence of this would be a disservice to you, J.D., and the web as a whole. This is a must read.

Just in case there was any question who Facebook's real customers are:

"I am getting to the point where I want to stop everyone but people I know and work with from emailing me. I don’t want people calling me on my phone to sell me stuff or inform me of things that they think I should know. My email is rapidly becoming that way. No more newsletters, advertisements, or enticements."

"In addition to refocusing on my own path of growth in 2012 and closing the door on daily social networking, I’d like to reorient my social life to spend more time connecting with others who have similar priorities when it comes to pursuing growth experiences. I had hoped I might meet such people through the social networks surrounding my work, but that didn’t happen. One reason is that such people would rather engage in growth experiences than in discussions about growth. They’d rather travel than talk about travel… would rather speak than discuss speaking… and would rather start a business than talk about starting one."

All products have a philosophy. When we use them we are subject to it. The only sure fire solution to having products perfectly aligned with your philosophy is to opt out and build your own.

"Electronics are our talismans that ward off the spiritual vacuum of modernity; gilt in Gorilla Glass and cadmium. And in them we find entertainment in lieu of happiness, and exchanges in lieu of actual connections."

"Let me guess: check the incoming. Check email or traffic stats or messages from your boss. Check the tweets you follow or the FB status of friends.

You've just surrendered not only a block of time but your freshest, best chance to start "something new.

Kind words about me.

Abundance may seem to be antithetical to the idea of enough. But it is not in every case. It is only so when one is not doing enough with the abundance they have. When they are not allowing it to provide for others or being judicial custodians of the gifts they have.

Some good tips.

Excited for this book.

" I'm going to stick with building writing, reading and presentation tools around open formats, each component replaceable. I'm fairly sure that's what the open system of sharing ideas and media will look like. From there, let's try out lots of ideas."

"I like to say that RSS doesn't have a fail whale."

Today's episode of the Enough Podcast is one of my favorites so far.

Clearly, there are as many new and wonderful things this season as there are each year, all that's missing is an anointed toy of the year. The masses want to buy what the masses have chosen as the winner, because then the purchase isn't their fault.

I love this commentary on community on the reblog of a link I posted to Minimal Mac:

Have more, own less. Share.

Healthy.

"It would be hypocritical for us to work for environmental change without encouraging customers to think before they buy. To reduce environmental damage, we all have to reduce consumption as well as make products in more environmentally sensitive, less harmful ways. It’s not hypocrisy for us to address the need to reduce consumption. On the other hand, it’s folly to assume that a healthy economy can be based on buying and selling more and more things people don’t need – and it’s time for people who believe that’s folly to say so."

I try lots of crazy stuff but there is always a MacGuffin

"I wasn't expecting the other side effect. Since I returned from vacation, the quality of email I receive has improved, and the quantity I receive has dropped. I still enjoy interacting with all the people I need to interact with, and I still get to answer all the questions that need answering. It just seems that my inbox is somehow more focussed."

One does not have to leave to be away.

This stuff is not binary. Not zero sum. It is always about balance. This is a good take on that fact.

Personal RSS:

"It sure is a different time. When I was a kid, my father came home from work at 5:30 and that was that. No more work until the next morning. Today, the opportunity to “log on” and “check just one more thing” is ever present, and we must make a concerted effort to punch out and stop. Even if it’s just for four hours. Stop."

In On The Brink we discuss the past, present and future of connectivity with a mix of people including David Rowan, chief editor of Wired UK; Caterina Fake, founder of Flickr; and Eric Wahlforss, the co-founder of Soundcloud. Each of the interviewees discusses the emerging opportunities being enabled by technology as we enter the Networked Society. Concepts such as borderless opportunities and creativity, new open business models, and today's 'dumb society' are brought up and discussed.

http://ericsson.com/networkedsociety

"I made a collection of 52 things from my notebooks, of lessons, notes, observations and conversations I’ve had around the way as I travel through life. There’s a note for each week: a collection of wisdom, inspiration, and joy that I’ve found, heard, listened to or gathered from meeting so many incredible people. This is just a smattering of the genius I’ve encountered along the way: a bevy of brilliant minds, an assortment of awesome adventurers. Thank you, all of you, for making this year phenomenal."

"Let’s acknowledge the irony: the functional difference between “reposting” something versus clicking a Like button is rather minuscule: both actions ultimately rebroadcast the content to others. But the irony here is further amplified because the idea itself being “rebroadcasted” is that Like fails to engage in any literary exchange of substance, feeding a 'narrow range of thought.'"

I'm proud to be a part if this. — RT @imyke Please welcome,
The 70Decibels Podcast Network

"Mark Pilgrim’s work was inspiring. His departure should be equally inspiring."

I believe the mini-bubbles above are different ripples in what might call the surface of a superbubble: an opulence bubble

It feels like Twitter is aimlessly running with two general goals right now:

Make money!
Get more users!