A lot of good things have happened lately. I even remembered to blog about some of them.

I pulled out my list of goals for 2009, and while I didn’t accomplish most of them, I have accomplished (with a lot of help) the two that were the biggest, most ambitious and most time consuming:

1. Establish a coworking space. Viola: The Urban Hive
2. Facilitate/host a creative retreat. Viola: Freelance Camp Sacramento

Still. For some reason I find myself decidedly uninspired lately. Why is that? And how do I fix it?

The first question I should probably ask is, what inspires me?

Ideas. Talking and dreaming about possibilities recharges my batteries and makes me want to zoom off into action. But that’s the key — I can only talk about ideas so much before I get antsy. If people just sit around and talk all the time, well, then, nothing happens. And that drives me nuts. Get up and go DO something. What is the thing that gets people to act on ideas? Is there A thing? Or is it hardwired inside a person’s brain? For me, a stimulating conversation gets me fired up to go work on my ideas, develop them, make them better, and fine tune them until they are ready to present to the big wide world.

Creativity. I almost labeled this one art, but it isn’t really art that inspires me. Besides, art is so subjective. We just had a conversation about this very topic last week at CinemaSpeak — how do you determine if a motion picture is a film or a movie? Some folks said there’s a definite answer to this question, but others argued that there’s no way to know the creator’s true intent. But anyway, the point is that regardless of the product or end result, it’s the creativity of others that inspires me. The process of taking an idea from abstract to birthing it into a tangible manifestation. It relates back to ideas and possibility, because creativity in others gives me hope for the possibility of my own creativity.

Organization. This may sound crazy, but organization inspires me in the most nerdy way. Some nights, I would rather stay home to rearrange my books than go out for dinner. That doesn’t mean I actually stay home to organize, but the desire is definitely there. A lot. It works for me on a couple of levels. First, it’s something of a challenge: how much can I get rid of? How can I rearrange my closet to make the most use of the space? And who doesn’t love a good challenge? Second, organizing is oddly calming. There is something about quietly putting away laundry, folding socks just the way I like them, making sure all the tank tops are systematically folded and stacked in order of color from dark to light. It’s a routine and it’s comforting. Third, putting things away in their rightful spot moves my mind from chaos to order. It’s like after you’ve been wine tasting all day and you have to clear your palette if you want to keep tasting and distinguish new flavors. So organizing clears my mind and I come up with some of my best ideas as a result.

Now back to the original question: why am I uninspired and how do I fix it? (Side note: I think I just came up with my next blog post.)

In the meantime, what inspires you?

Warning: Long post to follow. (I have been stewing on this for some time now.)

A new problem has come up for me, and I’m calling it Webosphere Overload. What is it? Well, firstly, I invented the word “webosphere.” (If you don’t believe me, see my post from yesterday.) The meaning of the word is all things Web 2.0/social media — that is: Twitterville, bloggerville, Google apps, Google docs, Google reader, Google groups, online communities/discussion boards/forums, LinkedIn, Facebook, social networking sites all lumped into one huge World Wide Webosphere.

When you work on your computer pretty much all day long like I do, The Webosphere can be simultaneously totally AWESOME and utterly annoying. Awesome because without The Webosphere, my Google calendar wouldn’t sync with my iPhone. Awesome because without the Webosphere, most of the freelance editing work that I’ve been doing lately wouldn’t exist — I have several clients with high-traffic blogs, not to mention that Twitter has resulted in multiple project leads and so far one new client.

The simultaneously annoying side: Twitter is so damn distracting when I’m trying to work. So is Google reader — because right at the top it tells me how many unread items I have (839?!). So is Google groups (sometimes), because that is a whole host of other unread items, most of which require a response of sorts if the group is to be the least bit useful.

There are very specific aspects of The Webosphere with which I am currently annoyed: tools, trade and (for lack of a better word) Twitter.

Tools (Why can’t I streamline my calendar and to-do list??)
Google calendar: I use it religiously. Even though I work on a Mac, I have never used iCal because I wanted to access my calendar from any computer, hence the genius that is Google.
Google tasks: My to-do lists are always by day of the week — I look at what all I have to do for the week and divvy it up by what I’ll do each day. So when Google tasks integrated with Google calendar, I threw a party. No other task app that I have found does this, except for Remember The Milk (which I will get to next). It’s fabulous when I am on my computer. Not fabulous when I am on my iPhone.
Remember The Milk: I used RTM before Google tasks integrated with Google calendar, because, yes, it syncs with Google calendar. But not as efficiently as Google tasks, of course. It gives you a little blue check mark that you have to click on for your task list to show. I would rather have the task showing all the time so that it is right in front of my face when I look at the calendar. Alas, RTM does not do this. On the other hand, RTM iPhone app rocks. BUT it will not sync with my Google tasks.

Why is there no good app that syncs with Google tasks? And if someone knows of one, why have you not told me about it??

Trade (Are any of these sites really worth my time??)
Guru.com: One of my coworkers at The Urban Hive says that he uses Guru.com to hire freelancers all the time. So I checked it out, and it just seems like the same deal as any other social networking site: you create a profile (let me copy and past my summary/overview/resume for the ONE-thousandth time), and you’re off into this special portal of The Webosphere. Except if you want full access to this special portal, you have to pay. It took me a full half-day to create my profile (and it’s not even finished) before I found out about the paying part. And I can’t for the life of me figure out what is so very special about this one portal.
Elance.com: Basically the same rant as above, except I don’t know anyone with personal experience using the site.
Sutie101.com: What do you know? I applied and was approved as a contract writer. But the contract terms require you to write 10 articles every 3 months and you get paid per click on the ads relating to your articles. How much will that be? There is no way to know.
Constant Content: It’s similar to Suite101.com in that probably anyone can submit content, but it is not an “online magazine.” It is more of an archive of content that anyone can buy if/when the need arises. At least with this site writers set their own rates, and I do know someone who has used it and recommends it. But, again, is it worth my time?

Twitter (How many damn social media profiles does a person really need??)
Social Media: This section really should be titled “social media,” but then I would lose the alliteration, wouldn’t I?
Twitter: I joined somewhat begrudgingly and got quickly addicted. Slowly, I am becoming less addicted and am on the verge of un-following everyone.
Facebook: What would happen if I deleted my profile?
LinkedIn: I am never on it. What is the point?
Brazen Careerist: Can I say what a huge fan I am of Penelope Trunk without sounding like a kiss-ass? Maybe not, and that’s OK. Brazen Careerist is the newest of my myriad Social Media Alter Egos, and it has the potential to be the best. But right now it just feels like one. more. thing. to. maintain. I don’t have time to read all the comments and forum posts. I can’t keep up with all the new people who join the freelancing group that I created, let alone participate in the other groups that I joined.

See? Webosphere Overload.

So here I am vacillating in Webosphere Overload and so beyond frustrated because isn’t the World Wide Web supposed to make life easier and more fun? Isn’t social media supposed to help me be more connected to people? Isn’t the iPhone supposed increase my productivity AND solve all my problems?

Too many choices. Too many decisions. O.ver.whelmed.

When I wrote last that an event like Social Media Weekend is exactly the type of stuff that Sacramento needs if it’s going to propel to the next level of legitimate metropolitan cultural hub, I really had no idea what I was talking about. I mean, how can you honestly predict the way something will turn out when it’s a first time event?

It was a statement based on one part intuition, one part knowing Alejandro’s track record, and one part sheer hopping for the best. No, sheer hoping that the event would exceed my expectations.

It did.

It was two days of keynote speakers and panel discussions featuring some of Sacramento’s finest in the webosphere. To name a few: Jessica Smith of Jessica Knows spoke about the need for humility in business and how to apply humility to social media. Gordan Fowler from 3 Fold Communications spoke about using social media to interact with different demographics. Some of our very own Urban Hivers (Jeff Marmins and Jason Michaels) were panelists, speaking to their area of expertise in relation to social media. I had the honor to sit on a panel with one of The Urban Hive partners, Brandon Weber, along with Colleen Belcher from Sac Press and CJ Alvarado.

Sacramento SXSW, here we come!

OK, so Sacramento will probably never compete with the awesomeness that is SXSW, but that doesn’t mean that this city can’t (or shouldn’t) have it’s own unique something that provides not just a central location, but a common theme for people to rally around.

When I say “something,” I envision an event of sorts that takes place over a period of time (not simply a one-day thing). Something of similar ilk to Austin’s SXSW or San Francisco’s Lit Quake, among others. It has to be multi-faceted and multi-media, appealing to cross-sections of multiple demographics — see a common thread here? MULTI-fill-in-the-blank.

Of course it won’t appeal to EVERYone. Anything that is successful can never appeal to everyone, because then it’s trying to do too much and be too much to too many people. Then it just gets convoluted and confusing and NO one is interested, because NO one can figure out what the heck is going on.

That is why SXSW is so successful. I think. I’ve never been to SXSW (though I hope to go for 2010). But I read about it and I talk to a lot of folks who have gone. I also know the caliber of person that appears there as talent — whether that be as keynote speaker, panelist, performer, whatever. The point is that the main focus of the festival is technology, music and film. At first glance, those three things might seem wildly unrelated. But stop and ask yourself: how has technology affected both music and film? The answer is obvious.

The focus is very specific, but there is a lot of freedom within that narrow focus. It allows things like non-stop music in every venue imaginable, even on the street corner, to create one of the coolest experiences that is exclusively unique to Austin, Texas. (Who knew that Texas could be so cool?)

Another aspect that (I assume) makes SXSW such a success is that the CITY is on board. And by “city,” I do not mean the city government. I mean the people who make up the city — its residents and business owners. These are the people who have to be willing to support the event because they are directly affected by the influx of people for 10 days. Imagine the traffic and parking nightmare. Your favorite local hangout is all of sudden packed to capacity for 10 days straight. And if you live in the central city (i.e. Sacramento’s Midtown), drunks and party-ers parade up and down your block all. night. long.

But there is a trade off. The locals put up with such mayhem for 10 days because they must recognize the benefit that comes as a result. Can you fathom what something like this does for the local economy? We are talking hotels booked (equals hotel tax revenue), parking (parking fee revenue), eating out (patronizing local restaurants), souvenir shopping (patronizing local boutiques), partying (patronizing local bars).

Social Media Weekend is a good place to start. But what else, Sacramento?

Speaking of forgetting to blog about important stuff, here’s something important: I’m on a panel tomorrow as part of Sacramento’s first ever Social Media Weekend. (Crazy, right?)

It’s an event put on by Alejandro Reyes, an Urban Hive resident and Sacramento’s original Success Fool and social media rockstar. Even he won’t pass up the opportunity to tell you how awesome he is (all in good fun, of course).

But seriously, Social Media Weekend. What a great concept, huh? THIS is the kind of stuff that’s going to move Sacramento in the right direction — the direction of becoming more than a government town, of maturing past its derogatory cow town reputation into a destination for culture and learning.

The panel I’m on is called Growing Local Community, and I’m honored to share the spotlight with one of the Hive’s founding partners, Brandon Weber, and Colleen Belcher from The Sacramento Press.

Stay tuned for a recap over the weekend…

Who knew that one day this modest little blog would be quoted in the SN&R?

I sure didn’t.

I did know that Jenn Kistler was writing the article. She interviewed me, came to FreelanceCamp a few weekends ago, and even called me last week with a some follow-up questions (as any good reporter does). And then a photographer came out.

But when I picked up the paper yesterday afternoon and raced to find the article before James, reading the lead quote — from this very blog — something I wrote more than a year ago — I…well, I …I didn’t even know what to say other than, “I’m glad it was a good writing.”

Truthfully, though I’m good at hiding it most of the time (see above comment), I’m kinda camera-shy. That’s why I’m a writer. Because I can say what I want to say behind the veil of my work, like this blog. I can get it just right before anyone sees it, and I don’t have to look anyone in the eye or experience their reaction — their judgment. And even still there are things I am afraid to say. Because of certain people who (might) read and judge.

It’s a good thing you can read this blog and the article that quotes it without me being there to see your reaction. That’s probably why I’m (almost) famous.