I was browsing through the congressional record — I paid for those bytes, dammit! — when the similarities to Digg, Reddit, and their ilk smacked me in the face:

• Popularity contest: Popular submitters fare better on social news (SN) sites, popular congressmen get more attention in Congress
• Low initial signal-to-noise ratio: Lots of crap gets submitted to SN sites, lots of crap gets introduced in Congress
• Voting: Stories on SN sites live and die by votes, and Congress — duh
• Categorization: SN sites have categories, Congress has committees
• Éminence grise: SN sites have admins, Congress has lobbyists

(This post is part of the 100/100/100 challenge)

So, what happened today? Well:

• I’m a woman! OK, not really. But this blogger seems to think so (admittedly, the Gender Genie fails me on the post in question)
• Tyler’s My Friendly Fox eBay toolbar got Slashdotted
• I hit the driving range for first time this year, with Vince

Good times.

(This post is part of the 100/100/100 challenge)

With apologies to xkcd:

Ah… something that’s almost a sport.

(This post is part of the 100/100/100 challenge)

If we know that the outcome will be rewarding, needed, or otherwise enjoyable, why do we procrastinate?

(This post is part of the 100/100/100 challenge)

Last evening, I was in the grocery store and feeling pretty good, having just found a new source for my favorite cereal. That happiness was shattered by a proposition by a Britt World Wide “IBO.” While not technically a pyramid scam, BWW/Amway/Quixtar is pretty close.

That was my third encounter with a BWW rep. Based on those experiences, my guess is that they teach a certain recruitment technique:

1. Locate a person wandering alone in a store
2. Feign recognition and/or familiarity
3. Find a work/school connection
4. Appeal to the target’s sense of entrepreneurship

If you ever have a similar encounter, tell them off.

(This post is part of the 100/100/100 challenge)