Very good post. I told Scoble in that piece that I wouldn't want the ads, and he told me I would "love" them if the ad was for Half Moon Bay BrewCo and said that he was there. That was cheating. But the idea of receiving ad messages from my friends, like through Ad.ly or even Twitter itself, repels me. Ah-ha! Lightbulb goes on. Twitter will monetize by charging money for ad-free (premium) content:-)

Oh, Warner, you are exactly right. And by the way, I was being sarcastic. Of course the community we have built on Friendfeed, with all Robert Scoble's time, etc., is not "just" business. But that's how the guys around the table always think.

I'm coming!!!!!!!Guess I can't bring @BuppythePuppy, although he tweets.

I've never stopped blogging, but that's because I define myself as a writer. I'm not always just out to dip my toe into the river of lifestreams, or to engage in provocative conversation. Sometimes I want to explain something, tell a story, or teach. So that's blogging. I can always send my blog post to Twitter if I want people to discuss and comment on its title without really reading it:-)

I've been to Rwanda. My photos are still in the archives of my blog: http://blog.stealthmode.com/2005/03/03/flowers-on-the-mass-graves/ http://blog.stealthmode.com/2005/03/03/momma-gorilla-and-her-baby/ And here's what I thought, in March 2005 t's so sad to realize I'm in Kigali International Airport on the way home from Africa. On balance, I think I was drawn as much to Rwanda as to Uganda in the end. I was able to overcome the hotel without (hot)water and electricity, the absolutely miserable food, and the inevitable dust because Rwanda, like Uganda, can teach us so much about the power of family, community, and the human spirit. After driving through some of the most beautiful farmland I have ever seen, all of it terraced and under cultivation because the country is densely populated and small in area, we entered the capital city of Kigali. You can see the influence foreign aid ( let's call it guilt) from the developing nations has had on Kigali: there's lots of new construction, both commercial and residential. We went immediately to the Genocide Museum, which was (of course) financed by the Belgian Goverment and the Clinton Foundation among others. The Belgians were the colonial power that promoted the differences between Hutus and Tutsis in the first place, issuing identity cards in 1932 that demarcated them by caste. Tutsis were taller, so the Catholic colonial government thought they would make better leaders. Unfortunately, they were a minority, and didn't fare too well after Rwanda gained independence in 1962. It was a pretty big mess even before the 1994 genocide, but when a million Tutsis were murdered in 100 days --with little interference from Kofi Annan OR Bill Clinton--we hit a new low in civilization. The Museum showed us mass graves, faces of slaughtered children, videos of tortured survivors, and memorial gardens all at once. Every one of us emerged crying. No wonder Bill Clinton has financed this memorial. I think of him as a very compassionate person, and I suspect he was just too new on the job to understand what was really happening in a little country so far away. In 1994 in America it was still "the economy, stupid." If you have not seen " Hotel Rwanda,"you must. It is based on the true story of the Hotel Mille de Collines in Kigali, whose manager savewd 1000 people by hiding them inside the hotel. Paul Rusesabegina was (and still is) a Hutu married to a Tutsi, a hero to his people. As a people, Americans have traditionally turned a blind eye on events in Asia and Africa until they hit us in the face. After all, pre-Internet they were pretty far away unless you like big animals or fine rugs.Asia now has our attention because of its growing economic power and its ability to make nuclear weapons. Africa will get our attention, too, and I just wonder how that will happen. I know that it will, because I sat next to many young people in Internet cafes across the countries I visited who were writing letters to friends across the world. The message is getting out.

As a foster mom, I heard more about pimps and hos than any geek ever will, and as an older woman in a male workplace I don't get offended. I just thought it wasn't a very good way to make your point, and I know it did offend others. The apology is cool. Now, how about that Bing?

First: great seeing and hearing you yesterday. You are one smart dude. Second: Great post. I have been on this geek-to-human translation rant myself for years. Faces humanize technology for the mainstream we are all trying to reach. Third: I hope there's (still) a difference between my butt and my face, and I think your butt image is both a stretch at a pun and likely to offend where you mean to educate. No excuses that you aren't a designer. We already knew that:-)

I think Wolfram Alpha has been incorrectly positioned and messaged. From the early reviews (Tech Crunch, RWW, Mashable), I heard it would be a "Google killer," so I asked it a few Google type search questions to no avail. Now I'm trying to figure out what to ask it that's appropriate. It's like trying to feed a picky eater.

I wish either of you were my mother. She thought I was some kind of dysfunctional failure. But I must admit, I thought I was cool even at the time. You can see pretty quickly when you are having an exciting life and no one else is:-)

I am hoping you will get some comments from iPhone app developers who are working on this issue.