another small change.

I've changed my twitter account from @brokengentleman to @joncrowley.

Just a quick FYI.  Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

housekeeping note.

brokengentleman has been stagnating somewhat, and I've decided a bit of a change of pace is necessary to keep it interesting and relevant.

I'm keeping the site (and the name), but I'm going to do my best to restrict it to longform, more considered content.  The shift of the last year, though rewarding intellectually, wasn't particularly consistent with what had been here previously.  As well, the platform has been far from encouraging when it comes to posting snippets, images, etc.

I have nothing but respect for Blogger, and for the things I've posted here, comments they've garnered, and things that will continue to be posted here.

For sporadic, theory-laden, longform content, this is still my home.

For something shorter, punchier, and (I sincerely hope) more regularly updated, you can visit attentionindustry.com.  I'm going to be doing my best to 'live' my ideas over there, while making sure the root theories get the attention and consideration they deserve from me over here.  It's still very much a work in progress, but I thought I should explain the silence at brokengentleman.  I know there isn't a comment structure (and I'm still not sure I won't change that) but feel free to contact me through the twitter / email information posted there, or the information posted here, and I will respond and/or address the point/concern publicly.

Exciting times ahead.

just for the record.

There's someone out there on answerbag who also goes by the broken gentleman, although he seems to prefer capitalization.  I am in no way affiliated with him, other than getting many, many google alerts related to his answerbag postings.

Carry on.

ugh.

In the last week, I had a (decidedly positive) change in my employment situation, spent a weekend away with friends, and fell into a pile of new clients this monday.

Expect a post tonight or tomorrow, but sometimes work will crush me.

sad admissions.

I am probably going to go to the Fido store nearest work on monday, to see what my options are in procuring an iPhone.

Mock away.

explaining the coming radio silence.

I'm off to British Columbia tomorrow morning for a work event.  So, it's unlikely I'll have anything new up until Tuesday, although I'm trying to put something together for tonight.

Sorry for the interruption in service.  I'm sure the weekend will result in another torrent of inspiration.

state of the blog update.

This is just acknowledging some changes, but recently, beyond the increased post volume, I've updated links, added my LinkedIn account to the sidebar, written new About Me / About BrokenGent blurbs, etc.

Welcoming suggestions for other links / information / etc. that anyone feels I should attend to.

Many thanks.

on depressing news.

Paul Arden is dead.  He was a brilliant ad man, and hell of a thinker, but, for me, he was the author of 'It's not how good you are, it's how good you want to be', probably the only non-fiction work intended to inspire that actually inspires me.

You can buy it here, and I suggest you do.

Paul Arden died at 65.  The former Saatchi & Saatchi creative director, and titan, will be missed by anyone who appreciates good ideas, and the shameless fight to do and be better.

addressing my laziness.

For once, my radio silence isn't about looking for work. I'm currently putting in some intern time, and as such, haven't really had as much time as I'd like for things like brokengent.

But, I'm still posting when I can, and readying a few comments and statements about Pownce (hint; I compare it to livejournal).

Still, I want to draw your attention to two things.

One, is a post of the Freakonomics blog, asking a simple and powerful question, 'How well would the concept of libraries go over today?'

This is an important question to ask, because to me, the library is one of the low-tech examples of the kind of freedoms that digital information isn't really allowed to have, at least according to some corporations and representative bodies that push hard for tighter copyright laws. Is the library a good thing? I hope most people would argue yes. Is it an example of societal benefit being put before the concerns of an industry? Obviously. (This is the part where you wonder why that is supposedly a bad thing.)

Thing two is a company called 'Subvert & Profit', who's raison d'etre is selling influence on the Digg community, and trying to get advertisers on the front page.

I was listening to the CBC yesterday, and someone pointed out that there had been definite tension between market supporters, and those who were, if not anti-market, than pushing for an alternative to total market dominance. Obviously, the market won. This is why revolutions are so consistently profitable; the concept of revolution only exists within the market. Every revolution is really just a new product that changes the status of old products when it is introduced.

Social networks, user generated content, the blogosphere, whatever. It's revolutionary, yes, but it is also, at core, a new paradigm in a market framework. Everything is a medium through which to create a product. Everything will be, at some point, made into an attempt to turn a profit.

[To anyone who thinks this sounds dystopian, you are living in the wrong civilisation. Try harder next time.]

short one.

I managed to receive a Pownce invite (thanks, Brian) and am currently playing around with it. Clean interface, everything has been easy, and works as well online as it does as a desktop client.

But, I need a wider network to really test it out. So, anyone who wants an invite, let me know. And anyone who takes one, add friends, people I might know if possible.

I have a feeling the features will become clearer if I widen my net.

begging.

the broken gentleman wants a Pownce invite.

(And yes, I know I wanted an 8apps invite, and got one, and didn't really write about it, but that was mostly because I saw potential, but didn't feel I had either enough experience, or enough connection with the suite to judge. Frankly, it seemed like it would be good in the future, but at the time, felt rather Beta. So, I'm waiting, mostly because the potential there is enough that I refuse to write it off until I've seen anything resembling failure, rather than just a slow build to full functionality.)

But yes. Pownce. Ignoring the Digg / Kevin Rose connection, this is the first thing I've seen that gave me any indication that I would ever make use of Twitter. Then, about 3 seconds later, I decided that Twitter was weak in comparison, and so I'm holding out for Pownce.

Someone help a gentleman out.

things to address.

1) I know I haven't been posting lately, but I have my reasons, including a move, finishing undergrad, looking for work, a fairly involved renovation, and a quarter life crisis.

2) I haven't actually addressed all of the above yet, but I recognise that at least a little consistency in my life will probably be a good thing.

So, I'm going to be aiming for at least three posts a week, for the forseeable future. I can't expect people to read if I post every ten days (which seems to be the current trend) and I can't exercise my writing muscles if I don't write something at least every other day.

This was a fairly meaningless PSA. Also, any leads for work that would suit someone with my interests would be greatly appreciated. Yes, I have finally reached the brand new low of asking for work on my meager blog.

More Soon.

domain move.

So, we've moved. As such, I'm not sure what still works, and what's broken. This is mostly a test post.

Carry on with your lives.

a kind of update.

A notable amount of my spare time, at the moment, is being spent on something loosely called the artificials manifesto.

More on this will follow, but in a lot of ways, it relates to last posts points on crowdsourcing as the solution to the attention arms race. I'm also hoping that the artificials concept will translate into at least one upcoming project for school. If not, I like it enough that it will continue to eat time that otherwise would be used to prepare for midterms, or job-hunt.

I'm back to working in / on my favourite medium, and the oldest one. Also the least utilised. It's both excessively cerebral and overwhelmingly engrossing.

Anyway, more updates soon enough.