Jyte Does Social Networking Right

Being the resident web geek in my immediate circle of friends, I quite often get people coming and telling me: “you should totally check out SITE-SO-AND-SO because it is the best way to meet people.” These comments often make me shudder, because many times the sites they mention are nothing but blatant spam-harvesting applications, or even worse: Friendster knock-offs.

Now, I know it may sound snobby of me to be preferring some social networking applications — and subsequently valuing the opinions of users of such applications — over others, but there is a cardinal rule I discovered rings true to all great social networking sites: networking for the sake of networking is pointless. Give people something to do. In fact, some of the best social networking applications on the web do not actually have ‘networking’ at their core. Flickr, for example, is a photo sharing application which allows people to build connections based on photography. Last.fm, similarly, connects people through their music tastes. The important thing about both those sites is that users do not have to connect with others to enjoy the application; instead, it is through their interaction with ‘stuff’ (photos, music, etc.) that they end up interacting with others.

All that to say that recently, I’ve been playing around with a new application called Jyte. On first inspection, it really doesn’t seem like much: basically, you sign in with your OpenID (a post on how much I love OpenID to come soon) and then you vote to agree or disagree with the claims people make on the site. You can even make your own claims, and comment on other claims as well. Simple, right?

Well, the genius of Jyte is in its simplicity. Because of the simple action of agreeing or disagreeing with something, I can then easily find out that Jonathan Rascher and I seem to agree on many different things (quite possibly because we’re both stand-up agreeable guys) but there are a few things we don’t quite see eye-to-eye on. I can then engage with Jonathan Rascher based on our interests, ideas, and opinions, and also do this with a variety of like-minded and different-minded users. In essence, I’m interacting with a person’s jytes (or opinions on claims) instead of just simply with them for no reason at all.

Interacting with people through ‘stuff’ like photographs, music, events, and jytes is much more cerebral and intuitive than interacting with someone for the sake of social networking. And for that reason, Jyte has entered the social networking realm as a valid and effective player, and will probably hang around for quite some time.

Review: 300

I’ve read all the reviews and heard all the criticism saying that Zack Snyder’s 300 is over-the-top, tiresome, and overly-dependent on its visuals. Sure, that’s what film critics are paid to say for movies that aren’t Oscar contenders. As for me, I’m not getting paid to write this review, which means I can say what’s really on everyone’s mind after leaving the IMAX theater screening of 300: “that movie was frickin’ awesome.”

What most people fail to realize is that 300 isn’t just any other movie, or even just any other adaptation of a comic book. Instead, Snyder’s sophomore film is based on a Frank Miller graphic novel, which means the whole experience of going to the cinema becomes more like an invitation to a visual smorgasbord than simply going to see a movie. Like Robert Rodriguez’ Sin City before it, watching 300 is more like turning the pages of a intricately drawn graphic novel than it is watching a film, and Snyder, with the guidance of Frank Miller — arguably the greatest crafter of the graphic novel in history — does not disappoint in capturing the very essence of every illustration in this film. In fact, many of the shots in the movie feel as if they were taken from the book itself, more like exquisite paintings of glorified gore than simply scenes in a fluff movie.

The story is historically inaccurate, of course, and it would be a crime if Snyder did try to reflect history instead of fiction. The dialog is unrefined, of course, but the witty banter and rousing war cries are perfect for a film based on a book that reflected conversations through narrative boxes. The gore is excessive, of course, but the remarkable visual poesy of each battle scene is almost awe-inspiring. The misogyny is unnecessary, of course, but hey…this is Frank Miller, and this is Sparta after all. It is impossible to refute that visually, there have been few films as stunning as 300 and that the effects used for battle in this film are revolutionary. It is, in essence, a visual masterpiece.

So to those critics who are quick to dismiss 300 as piece of violent and pointless cinematic excess, I ask you please to first read, understand, and appreciate the tradition of the graphic novel it is meant to emulate. I then ask you to get off your high horse and realize that sometimes, you just want to see a movie with some serious ass-kicking, and 300 is the best one we’ve had in years.

Myndology Ring Bound

I’ve been known to push products here on my site from time to time, so please forgive me if I do it again. This time, however, I’m pushing not a product I have purchased, but instead, plan on purchasing (as soon as I pay off my credit card bill for the month) in the next short little while. And that product is the Myndology Ring Bound.

Now, the whole concept of notecards attached by a single ring may not be super innovative or ground-breaking, but it certainly fills a need for people like me. Sure I carry my Moleskine everywhere, but sometimes, all you need is a small piece of paper to jot down a quick thought. And seeing as how I don’t have a keychain on my keys right now, the Muse Short seems to be a perfect fit. Plus, my Moleskine gets bulky sometimes.

Most of my friends already know me as the kind of guy that’s always scribbling little notes to myself on the palms of my hands. This way, I could keep and collate those notes and ideas, and also avoid the possibility of ink poisoning. Good deal. Now if only they made a tiny little pen that attached to the ring and matched the notecards, it would be perfect.

Review: The Namesake

When I first was in line at the Toronto International Film Festival to pick up press materials for Mira Nair’s newest film, a lady in line in front of me turned around and said, “you must see this movie, it changed my life.” Now that is definitely a good way to talk up a movie. So, going in with extremely high expectations, I’m happy to report that The Namesake — although not particularly life-altering — is an excellent film.

Based on the popular novel by Jhumpa Lahiri (who happens to be one of my favorite authors), The Namesake tracks the journey of an American-born Indian boy who grows up to learn that he has a lot to discover about himself and his enigmatic name, Gogol. The screenplay does justice to Lahiri’s fantastic novel, and Nair crafts the film deftly, but there are two real standout reasons why this movie, opening in theaters across North America tomorrow, is so particularly poignant: the score and the acting. If you’ve ever met me in person, you’ve undoubtedly heard me rave about Nitin Sawhney’s music, and his particular style of blending contemporary music with traditional Indian flavor is perfect for The Namesake’s score. I’ll admit that often I found myself getting carried away by the music rather than the images on the screen, and this is in no way an insult to Nair’s lyrical camera-work, but instead a tribute to Sawhney’s brilliance.

For a movie that has to be held together by a character that grows up from a boy to a man all while learning about who is, it is evident that Nair took a big chance in casting Kal Penn as Gogol Ganguli in The Namesake. Penn, best known for his work in Dude Where’s the Party?, Harold & Kumar, Van Wilder, and most recently 24, has proven his skill at comedy, but was yet to prove himself as a serious dramatic actor. The Namesake will change all that; Penn is not only remarkably believable in his role, but he proves that he has the talent and wherewithal to carry a film on his intensity and command of the screen. Bollywood actress Tabu puts in a memorable performance as Gogol’s mother (even though she is barely seven years older than Penn in actuality) but it is Kal Penn who shines in The Namesake, establishing himself as not only an excellent actor, but as a flag-bearer for South Asian men in American cinema.

The Namesake may have its moments where is more cinematic fluff than substance, but even that fluff is endearing. This might be a big weekend in the cinemas with the release of 300, but I’m hoping Nair’s wonderful independent film doesn’t get lost in the commotion; it definitely deserves a larger audience than it undoubtedly will get.

GTA Bloggers March 2007 Meetup

This is essentially a post where I can give “mad props” to Rannie for starting the GTA Bloggers social gatherings again, because I hadn’t been to any in the past. Needless to say, I was missing out.

Last night, over thirty members of the blogging community here in Toronto got together at the Duke of York pub in the Annex to relax, chat, and have a few drinks. And unlike the Flickr meetups (which I absolutely adore, don’t get me wrong) that I’ve been to, I didn’t feel awkward pulling out my little point-and-shoot camera at this event. So I took a few photos.

Eva was definitely the most photographed person of the night, most probably because of that fantastic t-shirt she was wearing. I’ve got a few more photos up on my Facebook account and a few after the jump here, if you want to take a look. I do want to say it was a pleasure meeting so many people whom I have only known through their photos and words on the web. Can’t wait for the next one.

The Most Important People on the Web

Earlier yesterday morning, PC World came out with a list of the 50 most important people on the web, trying to gauge who exactly is “making the biggest impact online.” Now, I’m all for curated lists and rankings, but I had an issue with a list that puts Tila Nguyen ahead of people like Evan Williams and Jason Kottke, unless it is a list of gorgeous Asian women. Because then Ev and Kottke don’t quite make the cut.

Not to dismiss the accomplishments of the people on the list, but there were some seriously contentious choices made when PC World was compiling the list. People like Tila and Perez Hilton (or even Ron Wyden and DVD-Jon) are surely making an impact on the web, but privileging them in a top-50 list over people like Heather Champ and Ze Frank just rubs me the wrong way.

In an effort to see some justice, here are a few people that dominate in my spheres of the web, and that the PC World article seem to have missed out on:

Scott Kveton, CEO of JanRain
If OpenID is the future of identity management on the web (and I strongly believe it is), the best ambassadors to bring it to the general world are Scott and his team at JanRain. Not only are they strong supporters (and leading developers) of the OpenID protocol, they also have created one of the most addictive social web apps out there: Jyte.

Jason Kottke, Blogger extraordinaire
For years, bloggers all around the world have striven to be as good as Jason Kottke, all to no avail. The true king of the blogosphere, Kottke produces fantastic content, insightful commentary, and the best links anywhere on the internet. Without Kottke, the web would be a much less interesting place.

Tim Shore, Publisher of the FreshDaily network
Let’s call Tim Shore the Jason Calacanis or the Nick Denton of Canada. He is the publisher of three of the most engaging and interesting weblogs in the country, employs a large stable of fascinating and astute writers in three different cities, and may be almost single-handedly responsible for the rise of the cityblog in Canada. Plus, I used to write for blogTO.

Heather Champ, Community Manager at Flickr
Flickr has long been known as a wonderful web application, but it is worth remembering that Flickr is not simply a photo hosting application; it is, instead a photo sharing site. Sites with such a strong emphasis on the social network need people to keep that network vibrant and effective, and that’s where Heather Champ comes in. Not only is she a fantastic photographer, but Heather has a pulse on the Flickr community which she then uses to create stronger and more meaningful social relationships for everyone on the site.

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook
Forget about MySpace, all the cool kids have a Facebook account. Nobody emails anymore, the Facebook wall takes care of that. Events are organized, links are shared, opinions are discussed, and people hook up all through Facebook, and its pervasiveness seems to be growing every minute. Mark has created a killer app, and the fact that new (albeit small) innovation happens on the site every day means that the people that work with Mark truly care about their application.

Felix Miller, Martin Stiksel and Richard Jones, Founders of Last.fm
Radio on the web has gone through many phases, and though I used to be a big fan of Yahoo!’s Launch, Last.fm is the one place where internet radio comes to life. Part social networking tool and part recommendation engine, Felix, Martin, and Richard’s application is connecting people across the world and bringing some much needed exposure to new and coming artists. And it also provides me with hours of new music to listen to every day.

Frank Warren, Creator and curator of PostSecret
I’ve sent in two postcards to the site, and even bought the book. And can you blame me? Frank Warren’s postcard project is a cultural sensation, blending art and creativity with confessions and personal catharsis. And the premise is so simple, you can’t help but wonder why nobody had thought of this before Warren: get people to write their secrets on postcards and send them in anonymously, then post them on a free Blogger blog. Warren proves that sometimes the most genius of ideas are the most obvious ones.

Evan Williams, Founder of Obvious Corp
Part of the team that created Blogger, Odeo, and Twitter, Evan Williams has been coming up with the most interesting and productive ways for me to waste my precious time for years. And for that, I thank Ev — except for the whole wasting time bit. Constantly someone that is willing to think outside the box (I hate using that phrase, but its true), identify needs on the web, and create products that meet those needs, Ev has changed the way people interact with technology and people online.

Gina Trapani, Editor of Lifehacker
She may just be the editor of a blog in Nick Denton’s stable, but Gina leads up a blog that not only has a loyal following, but can actually change your life — most of the time for the better. Capitalizing on the Getting Things Done phenomenon, Lifehacker shows people how to live more effectively and efficiently, all under the guidance of Gina’s astute knowledge of tech and time.

Ze Frank, Creator and host of The Show
We will all be sad when Ze Frank records the last episode of The Show later this month, but I know for sure that whatever this man does next will be equally as innovative and intriguing. Attaining surprising popularity with his videocast about…well, anything going on in the world, Ze Frank has been creating humor videos for years and has been inspiring other people around him to do the same.

Ryan North, Creator of Dinosaur Comics
I often hear that the best comics are the ones where the writing and storytelling is wondrous, and not the drawings themselves. This is perfectly proven in North’s Dinosaur Comics, where he uses the exact same panels every day to tell a new story. Drawing from his conversations in real life, North keeps you laughing with T-Rex’s philosophical banter and the sheer hilarity of a comic that seems fresh every single time, despite looking the same.

There’s so many more to mention, so I’ll just stop here because I’m getting tired of typing. In the end, what I’m trying to say is that those top-50 lists, even when they are compiled by reputable sources like PC World, are entirely subjective. The web is what you make it, and the people that are important on your web are definitely not the same people that are important to me.

Review: Zodiac

It’s hard not to enter the theater for a David Fincher movie with extremely high expectations. After all, Fincher did direct two of the best films of the 1990s (Se7en and Fight Club) and is a prolific music video and television ad director. Known for his particularity in his film-making process — yes, that’s me putting it nicely — Fincher retains full control over his projects, crafting each one intricately and meticulously. This attention to detail is what makes his work so startlingly impressive, and is definitely what makes Zodiac a fantastic film that you do not want to miss.

Zodiac, in short, is a film about the Zodiac killer that terrorized California in the 1970s. But more than all of that, Fincher’s movie is about the atmosphere of fear, mystery, and suspicion that permeated the police corps and the media at that time. Given that the Zodiac runs at almost three hours long, Fincher is able to pace the film perfectly to create a sense of foreboding gloom and heightened hysteria at the right moments. He is helped along by some fantastic performances by all three of his principal actors — Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, and a particularly amazing Robert Downey Jr. — and a script that is funny and scathing all at the same time. Sure, it may be a long film, but it definitely doesn’t feel like it could be cut any more.

You won’t read this much in reviews of the film, but Zodiac is an absolute aural masterpiece. The way that Fincher uses ambient noise to set the mood and the tone is genius, and the sound editing in general is miles ahead of most people in film are doing right now. Couple this auditory brilliance with a tight script, masterful performances and inspired directing, and it is clear that it was definitely worth waiting five years for Fincher’s newest film. I hope the next one comes much sooner, but after the film-making wonder that is Zodiac, I’ll wait in anticipation as long as it takes.

Overheard at Heathrow

While waiting for my return flight to Toronto yesterday, I decided to grab a snack and sit down at a table in the main lounge and observe people. That, and check my email at the same time. After a while, I started hearing some really odd remarks by some of the people passing by, so I decided to hop on Twitter and chronicle a few of the interesting quotes I heard in 1.5 hours while at Heathrow Airport.

You can find all the updates on my Twitter account, but here they are just for preservation sake:

“Um, so where are we flying to again? And why? Because I have a manicure scheduled for tomorrow.”

“Wait, we’re going on a plane? I thought you said we were flying there?”

“Look honey, he’s using his computer here. I didn’t know computers worked at airports!”

“Is there a place to sleep here? Because my flight doesn’t leave for another 3 days.”

“See, they even have Facebook in England.”

“This country is so backwards. I can’t even find a copy of the San Francisco Chronicle in this shop.”

“Hot pink pants aren’t for everyone, but that guy really pulls it off well.”

(Man about to approach departure gate, after checking in long ago.) “S**t, I forgot my luggage in the taxi.”

“Sixty pounds for a raffle ticket? That’s like, fifty American dollars!”

“Is there a bathroom here? Because I’m about to explode, and I know explosions are not allowed on planes.”

“I’m so glad I fly first class. The other people here are all so … normal.”

“Do they have the AC on? It’s colder than Canada in this terminal!”

“Imagine if that guy’s Mac and that lady’s PC had a wrestling match, WWE style? That would be too cool.”

“Qantas is a wonderful airline. They let you get drunk on the plane for free.”

(at 2:20pm) “Yum, fried chicken for breakfast. The best way to start my day. Want some?”

“Is this Starbucks owned by same man that owns the one in Hong Kong? I think he steal that man’s logo.”

(Man on mobile) “Hey honey, where are you?” (Woman aloud) “Sitting in the chair directly in front of you. Look up.”

“They shouldn’t have shops in an airport. People might buy stuff.”

“I’m too tired to just be sitting here doing nothing.”

“Why did I have to go through security? It’s not like I’m insecure or something.”

My Twitter friend booyaa responded best with his short message: “And to think some of these people maybe in positions of power… *shudders*”.