What advice would you give your 22-year-old self?

I’m going to take this opportunity to share some advice I’ve been giving all my friends for years: live with your parents and pay off your debt.

It doesn’t sound all too glamorous (after all, only losers live with their parents at the age of 22, right?) but it’s one of the smartest things you can do. Allow me to share with you a quick story.

A friend of mine graduated with his accounting degree and got a job at one of the Big Four straight out of school. Needless to say, an accountant at a Big Four makes some good money. Instead of moving downtown and living the good life, he instead stayed with his parents in the suburbs until the age of 26 and commuted to work. In his four years living with his parents and not paying rent, he managed to not only pay off his student debt, but also to save enough money to buy a luxury condo by the lake — and pay off over 50% of the purchase price.

He’s now 26 years old and owns a lakefront condo with a mortgage that will be paid off in five years. In his early thirties, he’ll be mortgage-free with a six-figure disposable income and really living the life.

Now tell me, does that sound like a loser to you? Not quite.

Save your money. Pay off your debt. Living with your parents in your early 20s isn’t bad for your image: it’s a smart move.

That’s my advice Jessica. I know there may be other factors that will influence your residence options, but that’s just my two cents.

Do you have any advice to give your 22-year-old self?

There’s a reason I haven’t been blogging for over a week: I’m going through a slump.

Before you go out and tell me that slumps are reserved for professional sports players and bloggers are immune to the vagaries of hot and cool spells, let me assure you that blogging is, indeed, a very streaky endeavor.

I need to bust this slump. Other than sharing a golden thong or playing with blowup dolls, I’m not quite sure what people to do help them break out of slumps.

How do I get my blogging swing back? What do you do when you’re going through a bit of a slump, on your blog or elsewhere?

Any tips you may be able to provide will be greatly appreciated. In the meantime, I’m going to go down a can of SlumpBuster Energy Drink and then go and order me a case of BrainToniq.

(Aside: Why does nobody carry BrainToniq in Ontario? I’d be their best customer!)

My rationale to get rid of advertising was based on the fact that the money I gained from advertising wasn’t worth the time and energy I put in and impact they had on my sites.

The real reason I don’t have advertising on my site? I’m not cool enough.

Ad networks are becoming new status symbols on the web. All the cool kids are part of some network, and those sites wear their ads like badges of honor instead of an attempt to make some money.

Tight Network

I came to the realization that ad networks are the new cool kid cliques after reading a post on Jonathan Snook’s blog where he introduced SidebarAds. SidebarAds, like The Deck, is a closed, invite-only network of sites that provide advertisers a targeted and engaged audience.

The advantages to the publisher are obvious, and the monetary advantages to the publisher are clear as well. The hidden advantage, however, is the prestige that comes from being part of an elite club. Slapping an ad on your site that is “Via The Deck” or “by SidebarAds” means that your site holds a certain value, a cachet, that is not only prized by advertisers, but also fits in to the ethos of the network — a type of badge of honor, let’s say.

As much as I love the money I’ve made from them, Google Ads serve as the exact opposite indicator. While the elite ad networks serve as markers of distinction rather than cash-grabs, Google Ads seem to say, “I need to make a few quick bucks from this site. Please click on these ads as much as possible.”

Larger Reach

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying everyone needs to be part of a network and stop using Google Ads. Everyone should use the tool best suited for their needs.

I’m definitely not complaining about the existence of ad networks like The Deck or SidebarAds. I think they’re genius, actually.

What I would like to see is more of these niche advertising networks that are as well executed and tastefully implemented as The Deck and SidebarAds (and are invite-only), but reach different niches than the tech-savvy crowd. Bigger blog networks (where people can apply to become members) like BlogHer and Federated Media are great for making money and still holding some cultural cachet, but I feel that there’s more room in the market (but only a little, nobody wants market over-saturation) for the smaller, elite networks that are prestige badges as well as revenue streams.

After all, everyone likes being a part of the cool kid clique. Making some cash on the side is just a bonus.

I’m saying that Jez Burrows was robbed because this is one of the sexiest book covers I’ve seen all year:

That being said, this post is not about Jez Burrows or the fact that he was robbed. (After all, Jenna Jones’ submission was also great, as were most of the submissions that made the shortlist.) Instead, I want to congratulate Penguin for continuously pushing the envelope when it comes to cover design.

In my previous ruminations on book cover design, I gushed about Penguin’s Great Ideas series and the remarkable work they have done in fostering excellent cover art. The Great Ideas series and the Penguin Design Award are just two manifestations of the importance the publisher places on the design of their work.

What Penguin seems to understand more than many other publishers is that stories are not just told in the text of their books; cover art, typography, and even the shape and size of the published work are integral to enhancing the overall story.

Storytelling through design

A good storyteller doesn’t just tell you a tale. Instead, he or she creates an environment where you can be immersed, enraptured, and enthralled by the contents of the story. For a good storyteller, it’s not enough that you hear the story: you have to believe it, feel it, and live it.

As a publisher, Penguin Books is a phenomenal storyteller. They know that the power of the story is not in its content, but in its experience, and subsequently make all the right design choices to make that experience come alive.

You know all those predictions that say that the “book” as a format for consuming text is going to disappear? What they forget is that the book is not just a format for consuming text; instead, it is a physical artifact that serves as a reminder of a personal experience, a story lived. The book isn’t going to die anytime soon.

And I thank Penguin and their design team for helping to ensure the medium’s longevity.

On a total side note, the website for the Penguin Design Awards is gorgeous. Yet another example of great Penguin design.

Why is the love story between EVE and Wall·E so effective?

Because in the end, with all the technical prowess and intricate animation that is evident in the film, the most important thing about Pixar’s newest hit isn’t in the complexity of its craft, but instead in its simplicity.

Don’t worry, I won’t be posting any spoilers here. (Though judging from the money it made this weekend, I’m surprised there are still people out there that haven’t seen the film.)

Wall·E’s love for EVE is not one that is based on looks or sexual desire or even the need for self-validation through the eyes of another. It’s not selfish or wrought with unnecessary drama.

Instead, it focuses on the simple, basic, and wholesome need for companionship. It is centered upon the simple notion that we, as humans or as robots, need to be reminded that we are not alone, that there is someone out there that wants to dance and watch Hello, Dolly with us on our iPods.

Our lives are filled with work and commitments (directives?) that often distract us from simple and honest human interaction. Wall·E — both the character and the film — reminds us that these raw and unfiltered personal connections are what really drive us to (as perfectly noted by the Captain) live, and not just survive.

Pixar’s amazing focus on simplicity in its love story is most evident in the guiding premise of the film: through all the trials and tribulations, all Wall·E really wants to do is hold EVE’s hand. It’s hard to argue that that isn’t the most simple, basic, but beautiful expressions of love possible.

I only have one core message today, so I’ll keep today’s post short.

The library needs to go from a place where you access collections to a place where you access connections.

Sure, there is immense value in housing books and videos in one big building, and then letting people browse that physical media when they are in the building. There is, however, more value in letting those buildings be places where people connect with people, rather than simply the books and other titles.

The library should be a place where I can have a coffee and conversation with people who are engaging with the same ideas — and subsequently, same titles from the collection — as me. It should be a place where conversation is encouraged and not shushed, where debate flourishes, where innovation happens.

Having a meeting for a small community group? Have it at the library. Looking for someone that knows something about cooking Thai food? Meet them at the kitchen in the library. Having a wine and cheese reception for your local design awards? Have it in the foyer at the library.

Once the library opens up and starts allowing people to use it in multiple ways rather than just being a repository of information, it becomes a focal point of your community. So push the shelves aside, and start creating spaces for collaboration and creativity.

These days, that same information is on my screen, available at the click of a mouse button. And Brenda is nowhere to be seen.

The librarian is dead.

(For the record, I’m mainly referring to public libraries here, but these thoughts also apply to academic libraries to a certain extent. I’m not sure how it applies to private and corporate libraries, as I’m not too familiar with that area.)

It’s easy to call out the death of the librarian. Google makes searching for information simple, Wikipedia provides an excellent starting point — and I emphasize starting point, because too many people use it as an authoritative source rather than a place to begin inquiry — for research, and getting an answer to a question is as easy as writing 140 characters on Twitter.

If I can get good, extensive, and personalized information in a few seconds using the internet, what good is the librarian?

Aside from being the keeper of the physical institution of the library (more on that later this week), the librarian’s other roles of conducting reference interviews (to help navigate information) and sorting through collections (to help manage information) seem to be waning. Collaborative tools on the web are taking their place, with social recommendation engines and direct access to a large group of people doing most of the work that was formerly in the domain of the librarian.

So why, in my eyes, is the librarian still one of the most important players in society? The answer is simple: capacity.

Long live the librarian.

If the in-person reference interview is losing relevance because of the ubiquity of online resources, it is the librarian — a person uniquely trained in sifting through data deluge — that is best poised to be at the center of the online recommendation resources.

Librarians, after all, have a lot going for them:

• They are trained in critical analysis of good information.
• They have experience in filtering and searching information.
• They are employed (read: paid) to work with information.
• They have access to more information than simply what’s online.
• They know how to work with people and ideas at the same time.

If anyone is ready to embrace the online world and use social tools to help others access information, it’s librarians. A librarian, by tagging and annotating online, print, and other resources, can create a massive wealth of information that can then be sorted dynamically for many uses. The reference interview, which used to benefit one person, can now be reshifted to be a reference repository where data can easily be sorted, sifted, filtered, and used for anyone’s benefit.

Ascending the throne.

What libraries need to do now is make it easier for librarians to share their work on the wider web and not just hide them behind a library login. Instead of publishing bookmarks with “cool reading lists for this month” or putting big signs on their shelves indicating good reads, libraries should instead feature librarian online resource lists as their primary offering.

One day, when people are looking for help finding and filtering information, they will turn to a librarian — whether that librarian is using Twitter or Yahoo! Answers or the library website — because of the breadth of the resources at their disposal and the depth of their experience in processing those resources.

After all, everyone needs their own personal Brenda to help you navigate the content-rich and information-dense world. The only difference is that now she’s on your screen and available at the click of a mouse.

(Photo: Another Dead Librarian by DouG!!)

Okay, so maybe that was uncalled for. (But true.)

Being a Keynote user for years, I’ve been known to throw a snide remark to PowerPoint users from time to time. After all, if Edward Tufte (read: genius) doesn’t like the tool, then why would anyone really want to use it?

Little did I know that it wasn’t the tool (PowerPoint) that was creating the horrible presentations, but it was the tools (clueless executives) using the tool (Powerpoint) that created the presentation atrocities.

Sleeping with the enemy

In my new day job, I sit in a cubicle and stare at a machine that uses Windows 2000 and a (very buggy) install of PowerPoint 2000. So when I recently found out that I had to make a presentation at a meeting, I was tempted to drag my Macbook Pro to work and use that instead.

I ended up using PowerPoint to make my presentation. And while it wasn’t as easy to do as it is with Keynote, I managed to create a presentation that had a narrative embedded into its images and information.

The presentation went well. I had immediate buy-in and the discussion focused on the essential message of my content rather than the specifics — mainly because I hadn’t put many specifics in the presentation but instead circulated them later in a handout.

I had used PowerPoint, and I had won. Sure, it was a bit of a battle, but using PowerPoint for another purpose than creating bulleted lists is not only possible, but the right thing to do.

If PowerPoint is not the enemy, why are so many presentations still so horrible? (Hint: the answer has everything to do with the people creating these presentations.)

Friends. Enemies. Same thing.

If you’re in a work environment that requires you to use bulleted lists in your presentations, and requires you to post all your content in your slide deck, maybe you need to ask yourself if that’s the right work environment for efficient communication.

In the end, it’s all about making that emotional impact, whether using Keynote, PowerPoint, or a whiteboard. As Seth Godin says it:

You put up a slide. It triggers an emotional reaction in the audience. They sit up and want to know what you’re going to say that fits in with that image. Then, if you do it right, every time they think of what you said, they’ll see the image (and vice versa).

It doesn’t matter what you use. Just use it right. (Get some tips on how to do that over on the amazing blog Presentation Zen.)

Of course, if you use Keynote (or 280 Slides?), chances are you’ll get it right more often than not.

Got some examples of great Powerpoint presentations? Please share them! (Because it’s much too easy to find examples of bad PowerPoint presentations.)

This story isn’t about pregnancy. It’s not about contraceptives or sex education or Catholic sensibilities. It’s about self-worth.

I asked a few friends whether they had ever considered going out and getting pregnant just for the sake of having a child. Some of them said yes. What’s telling is that those thoughts entered their minds at the times in their lives where they felt the most alone and the most marginalized and unconnected.

The pregnancy pact problem in Gloucester is really an issue of teenage girls not having a place in their culture where they feel as though they are valuable. For them, their value now comes from being part of a group that is going through a shared experience: having a baby.

I’m not saying teenage pregnancy is wrong all the time, but I am saying that if these girls were given options, activities, and communities where they felt like they were important, their self-worth may have been at a point where joining (or even thinking of) a pregnancy pact would not be appealing.

How do we create those communities and environments?

Now, some of you may be thinking that this behavior is unhealthy. Those of you that are thinking that, of course, are night owls. See, it’s 6:30am and I’ve already showered, shaved, made and eaten breakfast, and chatted on the phone with a friend of mine across the ocean in London.

I’m an early riser.

A night owl in a world of morning people

I wasn’t always an early riser. One of my most vivid memories from high school is heading back to my dorm room as the sun rises and sleeping in until noon. College was no better. It wasn’t until I left school and started working that I realized that the most productive hours of my day were the hours before lunch.

My shift from night owl to early riser wasn’t some laborious task like Deepa Ranganathan believes it can be. Instead, I went to bed early one night having made the conscious decision to wake up early the next morning. I woke up at 6am the next day and haven’t looked back.

These days, I’m up at 5:30am and in the office by 7am. My secret for going from night owl to morning person has nothing to do with fancy alarm clocks or caffeine intakes or melatonin pills or exercise regimes. It has everything to do with intent.

The only way to really wake up early in the morning is to truly believe in your conviction to become a morning person. If you can convince yourself that you really want to wake up before the light of dawn, you will. The body is remarkable in that way.

Oh, and start going to bed earlier.

A morning person in a world of night owls

And therein lies the problem.

Waking up early and staying healthy is almost impossible when you live in a world where all the fun stuff starts at 11pm at the earliest.

I need to be in bed by 11:30pm at the latest in order to make sure I get my optimal amount of sleep. When you ask me to go dancing at midnight or go catch the late screening of a movie, please don’t be offended when I say no.

Unlike you, I’ve been up for 18 hours. I’m too tired to go out tonight.

So for those of you who are considering making the jump from night owl to morning person, heed my warning: your productivity may go up, but your social life will suffer.

Until, of course, 8pm becomes the new midnight. Then we’re golden.

For now, I’m heading out to work. After all, it is just before 7am.