I love Twitter, I love stats. I really love Twitter stats.

A week ago, Damon Cortesi (who happens to be one rockin’ guy) wrote a little Perl script to help Twitter users create some really pretty graphs that chart their Twitter usage over the past year. In the week or so that has followed, everyone has been posting their Twitter stats on their websites or on Flickr, allowing the Twitter community to see just how the service is being used by different people.

I posted my stats on Flickr and Squandrous about a week ago, but I thought I’d share them with you here and perhaps take a closer look at them while I’m at it.

Many kudos for Damon for helping me create these really pretty charts. Now let’s take a look at what it all means.

Tweets per month

I started using Twitter towards the end of January 2007. Of course, Twitter is a richer tool when you’re following more people and you connect with other Twitterers, so it makes sense that my usage has been increasing as the year has progressed. The few dips — mainly in July, September, and November — correspond to the times of the year where I was doing a lot of traveling and didn’t have much access to the web or my mobile.

Tweets per day

I’m not surprised at all that my frequency of Twitter use drops over the weekend. After all, I’m much more likely to be away from my computer and too busy to check my SMS messages on Friday nights and during the day on Saturday. Sunday, of course, is football day, and who uses the web when the NFL is on?

Tweets per hour

The scary thing that this chart proves is that I usually go to bed around or after 1am and I’m definitely awake before 6am. Maybe I need to work on that. Also, while I’ve noticed that Twitter usage for most people peaks at lunch time, mine actually drops. This might have something to do with the fact that lunch time is the only time during my work day when I consciously get away from my computer.

Top @s

I’m not quite sure what the difference is between the two @ graphs, especially since they both contain roughly the same people. They’re all wonderful people though, so if you’re on Twitter, make sure you’re following all of them.

What it all means

That’s a silly heading, because I don’t really know what it all means. What it does indicate, however, is that if you’re not on Twitter yet, you’re seriously missing out. And if you are on Twitter, add me. Because I’m a nice guy. Sometimes.

Zombies feel love too

I know I usually share my favorite links over on Squandrous, but because I’m in a lovey-dovey mood and because this link is just too good to pass up, I’ve decided to share it here on Eloquation as well.

A few days ago, I read one of the most moving short stories I have read in months. It was written by a zombie.

Okay, so not exactly. Instead, it was written by Isaac Marion in 2006, but from the point of view of a zombie. In just over 1800 words, Isaac managed to make me feel sympathetic, disgusted, contemplative, repulsed, enlightened, empathetic, comforted, and even hopeful.

The story is titled I am a Zombie, and I feel love, and it tells the tale of a dead man who questions his existence. For a zombie story, it is remarkably insightful. Here’s a quick snippet:

I remember what love was like before, and this is different. This is simpler. Before, there were complex emotional and biological factors at work. We had long checklists and elaborate tests to be passed. We looked at hairstyles and careers and breast sizes. And sex was there, in everything, confusing everyone, like hunger. It created longing, it created ambition, competition, it drove people to leave their houses and invent automobiles, space craft, and atom bombs when they could instead just sit on the couch until they died. Animal cravings. Subconscious urges. Sex made the world go ‘round.

I never thought that the zombie version of love would be my ideal vision of affection. I never thought I could long for a zombie existence so much. I never thought I could ever be moved so much by a short story written by a zombie.

Do me a favor and read I am a Zombie, and I feel love. You’ll be smiling for the rest of the day.

Stop making excuses and just do it

For fear of sounding like I’m shilling for Nike, I’d like to share this video with you all.

I know I’m not really one to give advice on productivity and life lessons, but I do hope you all got a little something out of that video. I know I sure did.

A few weeks ago, a friend sent me an email with a contract offer for a great gig that I’m sure I would have really loved. Sadly, I didn’t feel like I was qualified enough, or had enough experience to take her up on the offer, so I emailed her back with a bunch of excuses why the position just wasn’t for me.

I made excuses for myself because I wasn’t ready to take on the challenge.

I’m not proud of that, and that’s why one of my goals for the new year is to stop making excuses. After all, why should I have to convince myself that I’m incapable when other people around me are recognizing my abilities? Instead of making excuses, I should be finding opportunities.

In 2008, I’m going to stop making excuses. What about you?

Robert Scoble can have my data any time

My apologies for not posting this sooner — after all, by now, the whole internet has had something to say about the Robert Scoble vs Facebook incident.

For those of you that are still in the dark, here’s the story in short: prominent blogger Robert Scoble used a script from Plaxo to scrape the names, birth dates, and email addresses of his Facebook contacts so that he could import them into Plaxo. His Facebook account was immediately disabled for violation of the terms of service, and after much debate in online and mainstream media, Facebook reinstated his account 24 hours later.

The fact that Scoble violated Facebook’s Terms of Service is inarguable, and for that, he deserved to have his account disabled. What Scoble did do, however, is expose the ludicrousness of the TOS itself. I’ve written a lot about the problem with Facebook’s closed nature before, but Scoble himself sums it up quite nicely:

It’s ironic that you can import your Gmail address book into Facebook but you can’t export back out.

This is why projects like the movement for standardized data portability are so important. If they existed, Scoble and Facebook wouldn’t have had this falling out in the first place. (Check out DataPortability.org if you’re looking for more information on this front.)

It’s also clear that the only reason that Scoble was reinstated in less than 24 hours was because of his relative web celebrity status. I know of many people who have had their accounts deactivated (seemingly without reason) who are still waiting to receive a reply from Facebook two months after the original appeal. Is this just a case of Facebook saving PR face?

But I’m not here to comment on the power of web celebrity; instead, I want to comment on some of the thoughts by people on the web that Scoble was essentially “stealing” their data.

What a lot of people forget to realize is that they gave their data to Scoble in the first place by adding him as a friend. Using a script to scrape your name, birth date, and email address is no different than Scoble sitting there and doing it by hand — just faster. If you’ve already given him permission to have access to that data, why is it all of a sudden stealing when he uses a script to access that data instead of typing it out himself?

Again, Robert Scoble is not an identity thief, because he is not stealing anything that wasn’t already given to him in the first place. He simply automated the process. Sure, I don’t agree with him populating all those contact details into Plaxo, but as someone who granted him permission to my data, he has the right to scrape it whenever and however he wants.

And on a final note: Scoble, can you send me that script? I need a way to import my 1,500 contacts into my desktop address book!

The 10 best films of 2007 (and more)

I watch a lot of movies. It’s true. It’s a bit of an addiction, really. But how else would I be able to make such an extensive list of the best films, performances, and moments in cinema for you all if I didn’t slave away in movie theaters all year?

Without further ado, my best films of 2007, and more.

Cream of the Crop

1. Ratatouille: Pixar has proven that animated films aren’t only for kids — Ratatouille is one of the most brilliantly-crafted films I have ever seen, and Brad Bird continues to do what he does best: tell compelling stories.
2. No Country for Old Men: The new Coen Brothers film is gripping and hard to stomach and will keep you on the edge of your seat. You barely ever know what to expect, and even when you do, it’s never exactly how you expected it. Sheer genius.
3. Juno: Jason Reitman builds on his Thank You For Smoking success by making a comedy so hip it hurts. Big kudos to Diablo Cody’s script and Ellen Page’s fantastic performance.
4. Persepolis: There are some stories that are meant to be told through images, and Persepolis is one of those stories. The animation is impressive, the story is engaging, and the message it conveys is one that needs to be heard.
5. There Will Be Blood: Who needs a soul when you’ve got money, power, and respect? Paul Thomas Anderson’s most recent film tracks the American dream to the extreme: where success comes through hard work, effort, and a whole lot of ruthlessness.
6. The Savages: Indie to the core, Tamara Jenkins’ film has fantastic performances, but it was her witty script brought me to hysterics and tears. Never has a sibling drama been so entertaining.
7. Zodiac: Easily forgotten because it was released so early in the year, David Fincher’s most recent film takes all the tension and confusion from Se7en and Fight Club and puts it in an intriguing police drama.
8. Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead: It’s impossible to doubt Sidney Lumet’s skill with cinema, even at the age of 83, after watching this brilliant film where lies and deceit bring turmoil to best of people.
9. Once: John Carney uses music to tell a bittersweet love story better than most directors can do with extensive dialog. The story is beautiful and tugs at your heart-strings, but it is really the music that is the magical element of this film.
10. Atonement: Despite Joe Wright’s lackluster directing of the film, the stunning art direction and inspired performances (particularly by James McAvoy and Saoirse Ronan) definitely elevate this film to one of the ten best of the year.

Notable Mentions

It was incredibly difficult to narrow down the list of top ten films this year, particularly since I had to omit some gems like Ben Affleck’s surprisingly powerful Gone Baby Gone, Tim Burton’s madly maniacal musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and the legendary Werner Herzog’s Rescue Dawn, which featured a stellar performance by Christian Bale.

Best Foreign Films

I’ll admit that it is odd that my top ten list only contains one (Persepolis) foreign film, but such was the strength of this year’s crop of films. Clearly a standout from abroad was The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Julian Schnabel’s wonderfully-crafted film about the strength of human resolve. Ang Lee’s Lust, Caution was more intense and thrilling than I was ever expecting. Daniele Luchetti’s My Brother Is An Only Child had me laughing and crying all at the same time.

Best Canadian Films

For the second year in a row, my favorite Canadian film of the year is a short instead of a feature-length work. Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski have created some of the most compelling seventeen minutes of animation of the year in Madame Tutli-Putli, which is a shoe-in for accolades come awards season. Richie Mehta’s Amal shone as a top Canadian film, and Rupinder Nagra’s starring performance was a shining breakthrough in acting in this country. And of course, Cronenberg continues to impress us all, this time with the mobster flick Eastern Promises.

Best Animated Films

With two of my top five films (Ratatouille, Persepolis) of the year being animated, I really don’t have to comment on the best animated films of the year. Animation really did rule the year, with my third-favorite animated film also being my favorite Canadian film, Madame Tutli-Putli.

Best Documentaries

There are few films that made me smile as much as The King of Kong, a documentary about one of my favorite video arcade games growing up. While it was great to hear from retired astronauts, the photography in In the Shadow of the Moon made it one of the more compelling documentaries of the year. My Kid Could Paint That showed that the intrigue behind talented children can make for a fantastic and interesting movie.

Best Performances

My top male performances of the year:

• Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
• Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
• Don Cheadle, Talk To Me

My top female performances of the year:

• Cate Blanchett, I’m Not There
• Ellen Page, Juno
• Laura Linney, The Savages

Most Overrated

It’s always hard to choose overrated films. While most of them are still quite good, by listing films like A Mighty Heart — which featured great performances but not much soul — and Away From Her — which was a stunning first feature from Sarah Polley that tugged at my heartstrings but wasn’t earth-shattering at all — in this category, I’m only saying that they perhaps do not deserve all the kudos they have been receiving. Case in point: I’ll admit that I’m Not There was a good film, but for us non-Dylan-fanatics, it surely wasn’t among the best movies of the year.

Most Underrated

Wes Anderson’s The Darjeeling Limited wasn’t his best film, but it was still meticulously put together and featured Anderson’s signature humor. Tarantino and Rodriguez’ Grindhouse might have flopped at the box office, but in their own special way, Death Proof and Planet Terror both brought back the best and worst of the grindhouse genre. Sure, Julie Taymor’s Across the Universe was psychedelic and disjointed, but it was a lot more fun than anyone would have expected from a Vietnam-era musical.

Pleasant Surprises

Sure it was a cookie-cutter romantic comedy, but the faux-80s soundtrack in Music and Lyrics made it one of my favorite guilty pleasures of the year. Similarly, Hairspray had such an infectious soundtrack and color palette that it was impossible not to enjoy it. Of course, the biggest surprise of the year was Transformers: I’m not a Michael Bay fan at all, but giant robots and explosions surely are that man’s forte.

That’s all for this year folks. Hopefully some of you will join me for some movie-watching in 2008!

My 10 newly-discovered must-visit websites of 2007

Happy New Year everyone! On today, the first day of 2008, I want to thank you all for coming back and reading Eloquation and the many other places I write on the web. I also want to thank the people behind the following websites that I discovered this year and just had to visit every day.

I don’t have time to write much, but here’s a quick taste of my ten newly-discovered must-visit sites I frequented in 2007:

• Ill Doctrine: Jay Smooth is not only a natural in front of the camera, but he’s also one of the most insightful video-bloggers I have ever seen. And he’s a really nice guy too.
• xkcd: By now, everyone is reading Randall Munroe’s hilarious web comic, so there’s not much more I can say than it is definitely good for a laugh even on the darkest days.
• Sufficient Thrust: Marina Martin knows efficiency and knows the web, and she shares her thoughts on both of them on her blog. She’s also one of my favorite Twitter buddies.
• tumbl.us: There are so many tumblelogs that I completely adore, but I can always count on Matt McInerny to share the most exciting links.
• Do You KNOW Clarence: Clarence writes articulately, but the true gem of his site is the podcast where he shares life experiences in his smooth and captivating voice.
• Indexed: Jessica Hagy has managed to spin her amazing index card blog into a book, and I’m really glad that her creativity is being rewarded.
• Reel Fanatic: Keith Demko watches as many movies as I do, he’s just a lot more eloquent and interesting when he writes about them.
• The Serif: This site presents design inspiration that isn’t just limited to the web, allowing all of us to appreciate beautiful design of all types.
• Spacing Wire: There isn’t a single site that deals with urban issues, politics and public space in Toronto better than Spacing.
• WTFCNN?: You can always count on CNN to make some gaffes on their front page. This site finds those hilarious mistakes and highlights them for all of us.

There were a ton of other great sites I visited regularly (over 500 in my Google Reader right now!) so I want to thank all of you that are constantly creating fantastic content for the web. Keep up the fantastic work in 2008, and if you know of a great site I’m not reading yet, let me know!