"SpogBlot? HashTastic!"

OR:  THIS IS A WORDY RAPPINGHOOD.

Tom Tom Club: Wordy Rappinghood

I am #hashfogged.

There is a real function for the lowly pound symbol [#] on the internet.  It relates to categorizing and quantifying words. Then those words can be further quantified in regard to their ability to make a buck. The hashtag has taken on a life and power that has far-reaching implication for the hashfogged.  I know I need to stay on top of this.  I just don't really know why.  Not yet.

One of the nicer things about engagement on the internet is that it favors people like me, who have a facility with words.

Those algorithm-spouting coders have their place in the food chain.  I have mine.  We need each other.

#FriendsofMalachiMaxwellGlass

Words are what separate humankind from the beasts of the field.  The hostile and insensitive among us are urged to "Use your words," instead of using your fists.  

Followers of Christ believe He is the Living Word.

 Google AdWords support entire careers. Semantic search is the next next thing.  Social Psychology is the new Pop Psyhcology. So what does it all mean?  Personally, I think that having every word weighed and weighted and assigned a monetary value is a terrifying concept.  What if you cain't spell?  What if you are given to expressing yourself in the vernacular of your life experience, just to spice things up?  Is cain't  destined to become a more valuable commodity than can't, just because I always use it to personalize my posts and my persona on this here internet?  If all sorts of people engage with my posts, is the way I turn a phrase a valuable commodity?  You betcha!  +John Kellden 's conversations convinced me of that.

I am destined to become an Information Entrepreneur.

Selfie shows are sprouting on The Plus like mushrooms after rain.  Followings are being built.  Credibility is being established and maintained.  Partnerships are forming.  Collaboration is happening.  Where do I fit in?  

How do I get in where I fit in?  

I must engage, like Jean-Luc Picard firing up the Enterprise--to go boldly where no Hamptons' house-sitter's child has gone before!  In order for my son to get where he needs to go, I have to blaze a trail out of my own limitations.  I have to look beyond what I have and what I know, and look forward to what I want and what I have yet to discover.

www.PeopleToPeople.com

You may be wondering why this blog has so little to do with Malachi, People To People, or Italy, Sicily, and Greece.  Well, 

BLOGGING IS ORGANIC!

Originally, a web log was something a techie updated at intervals to keep track of the health of the mainframe.  Now a blog is something that causes feckless twenty-somethings to make a boatload of money saying and doing things I cannot fathom, and capturing the output on devices I can only scroll past on The Plus.  I'm old-school.  A blog is an electronic diary.  As such, my humble musings will accumulate, and these, that have the least to do with my stated goal, will be at the bottom of the stack.  At present, my desire is to stay true to this facet of blogging.  This is a diary of the journey from hapless to helpless to happening!

There are innumerable distractions on the internet. There are distracting people.  There are distracting pictures of people and animals and landscapes and tourist attractions.  There are distracting issues, causes, videos, memes, jokes, podcasts and blogs.  

How does one speak above the cacophony?  One does not.  One cannot.  I know that I must patiently build relationships with people.  I need to be genuine.  I must conduct myself with integrity and always be authentic.  This is what is known in many circles as "keeping it real."  'Keeping it real' has quickly and irretrievably become a trite turn of phrase.  But like every other hackneyed expression, it expresses a complex concept succinctly.  I keep it real.  I know you need to get to know me.  You need to know that I am who and what I say I am.  If I'm here consistently, then you can begin to know what to expect from me.  It is always more beneficial to be worthy of trust than to be trustworthy.  Trustworthiness can be subject to shifting ethical perspectives--such as upon which side of the bread the butter resides.  Being worthy of trust is a constant that does not fluctuate over time.  If I am worthy of trust, raising the funds for Malachi's trip to Europe can be accomplished in short order.  What requires painstaking patience is establishing the online me that is a clear and transparent reflection of the flesh-and-blood me.

"A man's word is his bond."  This is one of the two concepts I believe that a woman can teach a boy about manhood.  the other is "Real men keep their commitments."  The only way to teach this is to be this.  Welcome to my world.  It's okay to be hashfogged.  At least you'll be in the right place when the sun breaks through.

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog.

#FriendsofMalachiMaxwellGlass

What Are You Doing?

"What are you doing?"

It's a simple question, one we ask all the time--when we call a friend or loved one to catch up, when your kids are making a racket in another room, or when we catch someone doing something we'd rather they did not--the ramifications are plenty.

Today, I've chosen to ask myself, "What are you doing?" If the answer is not "Something that will advance me in some form or fashion!"  Then I'll check myself, and get back to what matters.  There are a myriad of distractions available to the person who works from home.  I do not turn on the television during the day, not even for morning news.  If my kids have to get up and make that bus every morning, then omitting tv and its distractions is one thing I can do to advance their future.  The answer to "What are you doing?"  is never "Just watching television," during business hours.  Anyway, by the time news hits the network, I've already seen it here on the internet, nine times out of ten.  But then, there's lollygagging, woolgathering, daydreaming, and waiting for the next new notification on G+ readily on hand to eat up one's workday.  There's uploading, downloading, plussing, YouTube-ing, ranting, and a 5th Dimension of other stuff to keep one inconsistent and scattered.

I've been wondering what would happen if I chose to write a post for this blog at a set time each day and stuck to it.  Admittedly, I've been listening to the cheap little voice in my head that whines, "At least you're doing it every day.  Haven't missed a day yet!"  Why not congratulate yourself just a little, you say?  Because doing so is the on-ramp to complacency and its concomitant irresponsibility for me, and I know it.

I sincerely hope that reading my blog entries will edify you.  I know the content is not yet what I would have it to be.  If you are asking yourself, "What am I doing, reading this blog?"  I am happy to tell you that you are supporting me in my efforts to give my son a trip to Europe next summer, and you are giving me the validation that I am on the right track.  Thank you so much for using some of your valuable time to read this entry.  "What are you doing?"  You are using the internet in its highest and most worthy capacity: to change and uplift the life of someone you've never even met in person. You are a part and parcel of a quantum leap onto higher ground.  You are the leverage that makes the paradigm shift.  Thanks again, hear?