Rowan's Future of Choice

Where all the blog posts are above average

Something I wrote was voted "best post of the week." It is here. Woo Woo! Thanks very much to Political Calculations for the recognition, and to Laura for using my post in her Carnival of Courage.

Tagged: Top 8 Reasons I Blog

Laura Young, at The Dragon Slayer's Guide to Life, tagged me last week at her own tagged post. Tagging is a little viral game bloggers play with one another where they ask, Why do you blog?

You really should explore Laura's various web "venues." She is a good person and trustworthy resource on a wide variety of subjects. (Not that common in the wild wild web.) Plus, she takes stunning photographs which you can see here.

I must admit this is my first time being tagged, and I am feeling a mixture of emotions. 

Really.

This is my 397th blog post. Why do I do it?

1. I blog because 25 35 million bloggers must be on to something.
2. I do not blog because I want to; I blog because I have to. (Thank you, Somerset Maugham)
3. I blog so my friends and family can say they know a blogger.
4. I started blogging because my selfish gene needed the exercise. (Thank you, Richard Dawkins)
5. I blog because if I don't say it, it won't get said.
6. I started blogging, in part, to show my kids I am a little cool. (I will continue until I succeed.)
7. I blog to prove that the world still needs professional journalists, and finally...
8. I blog to get the google gods' attention.

Who is telling stories: bloggers or the old media?

Getting unbiased 'decider' information continues to be difficult. It seems that every source of information is trying to influence the decisions we make for their benefit, not necessarily ours.

The major news and entertainment outlets have led us to believe that bloggers are a rabid group of politically motivated journalists.

According to a new Pew report, this is not true. Or maybe the Pew report is not true. At least it is based on real data and a research methodology.

___

Source: Pew Internet study, "A portrait of the internet’s new storytellers."

Tag: Shameless promotion

I am writing a non-fiction book on decision-making. I would be grateful if you would vote for my proposal, titled, You Decide: I Can't Deal With It Now, by clicking on this link at the really cool site called ChangeThis.com. Check out lots of good writing and bold thinking while you are there.

You can also forward my proposal to someone else.

Thanks!

New name for this weblog

By "choice" I mean "pick an option, make a selection, determine which way to go." The future part is about change, because our options and selections are changing, as well how we will make decisions. Then there is the double entendre of the future I would choose, or we would choose, and the question of how much choice our society will want/need/tolerate as tools and techniques get more sophisticated (more on that later).

Graphic

New tagline: Update

Thanks to all of you who submitted ideas for the new blog tagline.  Thanks especially to reader Joe, who nearly overwhelmed me with possibilities. How did I deal with so many good choices? My method balances speed with a little thought.

1. Put the list of possibilities into a blank spreadsheet. (You can also use paper and pencil or Post-it® Notes.)
2. Make up 2-3 simple criteria. (I chose "clear and simple," and "clever like me.")
3. Choose a 1-5 rating, where 5 is best, 1 is worst.
4. Moving quickly, compare the first item with the second item. (Think no more than 3 seconds on each pair.) Type a number between 1 and 5 next to each item. Compare the next item with the previous item, and so on.
5. Sort the items in descending order. (Data/Sort/Sort By/Descending)
6. Hide or cut all items with a rating below 4 or 5. Think of new items to add, re-rate, and re-sort.
7. Keep cuting and re-rating until you are down to 2-3 items.
8. Take a break. Come back, pick one, act on it, and listen to what others think.

Malcolm Gladwell begins blog

"mea culpa

In the past year I have often been asked why I don’t have a blog. My answer was always that I write so much, already, that I don’t have time to write anything else. But, as should be obvious, I’ve now changed my mind. I have come (belatedly) to the conclusion that a blog can be a very valuable supplement to my books and the writing I do for the New Yorker."

Link to blog

Photo credit

New banner

I am thinking about changing the tagline for this blog. What do you think? Leave a comment below, or email. Thanks.

Rowan on Decision Making

Making meaning from mass

What do you think?

What direction would you like to see this blog take? Leave a comment, email, or Skype chat or call (richardrowan). Thanks.

The mind map below was made using MindJet's MindManager software, which I have started to use to help me think.