Jia Lin’s Weblog

Just transfer from blogger, leaving comments and images behind.

Any one knows how to move comments from Haloscan over?

Site is still under construction.

The posts after this one are from old site: lmeimei.blogspot.com

Links reminder

Alexa Web Search Platform (free web crawler) via Alex

Touchgraph (ego-centric network) via inforsthetic

brandimensions (marketing intellegience) via Datamining

Does Your Company Belong in the Blogosphere? via Kevin

Higlights:

**a Euro RSCG Magnet and Columbia University Survey of the Media in 2005 found that 51 percent of journalists view blogs regularly.

**Have a distinct focus and goal. For a (corporate) blog to deliver value, it has to be created with a specific purpose in mind.
“You need to set expectations very carefully as to what a corporate blog is going to be about. People will expect you to discuss everything about your company, but you need to stay on topic as explained and introduced,” says Michael Wiley, the director of new media at GM.
Robert Cox, a blogging consultant in New York, says that a company should carefully identify the corporate marketing objectives of any blog. “You need to ask: Are you trying to showcase your employees? Are you using the blog as a recruitment tool as Monster.com does with their blog? Or is it more of a product support tool? You have to determine what it is you are trying to get done.”
**”Don’t let the PR department write your blog. Bloggers will sniff it out, and when they do, you will lose all credibility”
In your blog, express your enthusiasm and passion for your work and your company’s product, with occasional asides on topics that reflect your personal interests. The latter will keep your voice authentic and increase the linkability of your blog.
**Permit both positive and negative posts on your blog, and reply to comments made on other blogs pertinent to your area of focus. Respond in a professional and businesslike way. If you don’t want to hear from your customers and critics in a public environment, don’t blog.

Da Vinci ain’t get no Ph.D

History channel is playing a documentary about Da Vinci. I thought he was most famous for his painting, but hack, that�s something he�s got so bored that he would rather be sued by his patrons than finish his commission. To escape the boredom he left for Milan and started his phase of military design for Duke Sforza. This is one of his designs that were so beyond his time that it was not realized until 400 years later. However, Duke Sforza was more interested in using Da Vinci�s artistic talent to serve his own pleasure and build his own legacy. So poor Leonardo had to paint such uninteresting objects as the Duke�s Mistress (The lady with the ermine) or the �last supper�. Because he tried to experiment some news painting material which turned out not that successful, �Last Super� had been dampened and disintegrated within the first decade of its completion. Sforza horse, the tribute to Sforza was destroyed by French while it�s still a clay mold. Fleeing from Milan, his military innovation, including the Diving suit, paddle boats, or semi-submersibles on water was not particularly interest to Duke of Venice neither. Finally appointed by Cesar Borgia as the Chief General Engineer (sounds not very artistic), Da Vinci however was repelled by his cruelty and left for Florence to explore gentle side of human nature. While Mona Lisa forever a work in progress, he switched his interest again to designed wings for human being, which by the way was the prototype of today�s airplane. And of course he did not make one it because he develop another new profession-autopsy�

As a tribute to the Great Da Vinci, I left this post unfinished� Poor Leonardo, he could�ve never get his Ph.D becourse he had nothing complete for his committee. Have I mentioned that he was blogging too (kinds of, he kept 15000 pages of notes, whose contents ranges from his design and the laundry he�d done) and they were in �mirror writing�?

A MIX OF MASH-UPS via Seattle Intelligence Post Intelligencer

wash-up:” Web sites combine ingredients from different online sources to create intriguing hybrids.”

SAMPLE SITES
www.analygis.com (census data + maps)
www.aytozon.com (Amazon.com + eBay)
www.celebrity-maps.com (celebrity homes + maps)
www.cellreception.com (cell phone towers + maps)
www.fboweb.com (flight location + maps)
www.homepricerecords.com (home sales prices + maps)
www.housingmaps.com (maps + housing listings)
www.simplyhired.com (job listings + social networking + salary info + maps)
www.trachtenberg.com/emgm (eBay motors + maps)
www.weatherbonk.com (weather + Web cams + maps)
SITES WITH LISTS OF MAPPING MASH-UPS
www.googlemapsmania.blogspot.com
ws1.inf.scd.yahoo.com/maps/applications.html

20-years of �Pride and prejudice� complex

I could not remember what was the last movie I saw in theater, which means it must be long long time ago. But since long long time ago, I�ve been looking forward to seeing this �Pride and Prejudice�. I can�t wait to see a young and perky Elisabeth Bennet (that doesn�t mean I don�t like BBC version and the one with Laurence Olivier). I was so excited with the approaching of its� opening, that I felt I was back to the 13-year-old girl again, whose heart bouncing so fast when turning every page of the book (in Chinese at that time). For a very long time, I don�t know, or believe in any love other than the one between Darcy and Elisabeth, the one built on the parallel of two similar spirits, as well as the enjoyment of intellectual clash. I read and again all the chapters where two of them fight so hard to outwit each other buth underneath the conflict it was such intellectual satisfaction. I remember the sunny Saturday afternoon when my best girlfriend and I read together �if your feeling still are what they were last April, tell me so at once. My affection and wishes are unchanged, but one word from you will silence me on this subject for ever�. It sounds like Bach. We sighed and laughed at her small bed, dreaming about the days when someone will speak the same words to us.

Now back to the movie, I think it�s doing very well on such love-fight relationship and the chemistry is real between the two; some sexual energy is just right, except at the end the audience burst into laughter when Mr. Darcy showed his bare feet. Talking about the audience, the late show at a rainy night (So Seattle!) was surprisingly sold out and the room was so crowded which only reminds me the audience size for �Fahrenheit 911� or �Lord of Ring�. (Maybe people read more in Seattle?)

It�s very interesting to see the director moved the setting of some important conversation from living room out to the wild. It adds a nice romantic touch and infuses more nature of force to the love in a very conservative era. Some of the scenes feel so �Wuthering Heights�, another favorite book of mine. It�s such a imaginative and bold move to ahve Lizzy standing at the edge of cliff with long hair blowing in the wind, and Darcy and Lizzy kissing against the morning sun in the prairie. I don�t remember too much wild sprit, which is quite typical in Bronte, in Austin’s books. But the movie pulls it out very well. Darcy in the movie was presented convincingly as someone incapable of socializing and small talk, which is very charming (where to find a rich and handsome young man who doesn’t flirt with othe women?). Kightly�s Lizzy is close to Lizzy I envisioned, with crooked teeth though, which looks very naughty. I only wish them were in nicer costumes, and it would’ve fulfill perfectly my fantacy of the perfect love (God, how shallow I am!)

When I was 13, I could not wait to grow up to have my own Darcy-Lizzy story in real life. When I am 30 something now, I wanted go back to a younger years, when love is much simpler thing-an exchange of witty words, a brush of love one�s hand, an evasive glance and an unexpected encounter can lighten the day up like in heaven. I guess I am very old fashioned in heart.

Better than never

Google finally launched blog search engine (not fair, it’s two months ago). I asked the Google research director after her talk two years ago in San Jose when google would have search engine for blogs, since my blog often got readership referred by google; a lot of search terms are amusingly strange and total irrelevant to my blog . She was not quite prepared for that question and told me they did not have such plan since Google tried to include as many WebPages as possible in their search results. hmm, I wonder if I could get credit for the reminder.

I’m worried, for I’m a lady…

(So that’s what happens when you mind is not creative-blogging turns into some reading notes-or in a more fashionable term ‘knowledge management’.)

Now, this one is from newsweek-an interview with Robert Leahy, a psycologist writing a book called ‘the worry cure’.

Why do women worry more than men?
Because, simply put, women are better human being!

“Worriers tend to be more concerned about how other people feel and are better at empathy than nonworriers. Worriers also overempathize, and I think women are more likely to do this than men. In other words, they are concerned with the effect a particular action might have had on another person. Women also tend to ruminate a lot. They tend to go over something over and over again to be sure it�s the correct decision. Men are more willing to fail–or perhaps men have more of an illusion that they�re not failing. ”

Does worry get worse for women with aging?
good news!-and how wonderful to get old: ” Anxiety and depression are most common in women between the ages of 18 and 33. …There are a lot of life changes, a lot of uncertainty and unrealistic expectations about what you have to look like, what your job has to be, what your romance has to be. As people get into their 30s, 40s and 50s, they have adjusted their expectations and have stabilized in terms of work and friendship. You wouldn�t have �Romeo and Juliet� for people in their 50s; it would be called �The Honeymooners.�

learn a new term (or two):
Amygdala-’where all your anger, anxiety and arousal come from’.
agoraphobia -’the fear of being in open or crowded public spaces’

Flashback & Snapshot

I could not blog too often recently. Work is always lagging behind (housework and schoolwork..dissertation is a kind of homework too I assume). On top of that, I started an internship with a PR company in Bellevue. Since I am working with the research group, it doesn’t feel too different from graduate school. I think that’s pretty good combination of my research skills and my interest in business world. Driving is a constant headache; traffic is always slower than 20 miles on 520, from 4 :30 to 7:30 pm, kind of frustrating. In my opinion, there is nothing more than being stuck in endless traffic that makes you feel the hardship of life. Glad the company has this flexible work plan available.

Went to Chicago for AOIR 6.0 earlier this month and presented my paper on blog links within American cities. Staying in the 42nd floor at Marriott Downtown Chicago, I felt I was in a different planet from my cabin deep in the woods at Seattle when I looked down upon the giant and bright city (on iron shoulder?)every night.

I lost my Cannon powershot s400 on the plane back to Los Angeles for Pavoratti’s concert. I bought a SD410 later, and found none of my old accessories, from battery to charger, from memory card to leather case, compatible to this new little thing. That makes me not very happy about Canon. I would bought the exact same S400 should they continue the model, which, I believe, is like only 2 years old. I don’t see the huge difference of these two models, but nothing work together. That’s ridiculous. Quoting Bin’s favorite words-Capitalism is sucking my money.

Why blogging?

Edelman PR has a survey on bloggers. for the first question: what is the primary reason you blog?” I wonder if they forgot to add an option for me: Blogging for writing practice-in foreign language. Anybody out there?

but of course- the survey is for PR popurse. Other intersting findings: bloggers trusted other bloggers most (62%) when looking information about a product-another good reason for corporate to hire some professional bloggers to talk about their companies or products; however, blogs are not that trustworthy if endorsed by a company (only 6.68% say it’s VERY trustworthy).

And, Surprise!- about 60%(!) of bloggers interviewed have been contacted by PRs. Now I can’t help wondering if the blogger samples are kind of skewed to those top bloggers.