Swimming

Here is a typical conversation I regularly find myself taking part in.

Me:  “I’m heading to my swimming lesson.”

Them:  “Oh, you don’t know how to swim?”

Me:  “Well, I can stay afloat and can move about 10 yards in the water using way too much energy to get way too little distance and doing way too much splashing. So, if that’s considered swimming then, yes, I guess I know how to swim.”

I have been upping my physical care and well-being lately, including being much more active. I’m in the gym 5 or more times each week. Some days I even go twice - before and after work. When I joined my current gym I wanted to get the most out its wide variety of equipment, classes and other facilities (racquetball courts, pool). For years I’ve wanted to learn to swim better and to use swimming as a fitness activity. Now that my current gym provided the facility, I signed up for swimming lessons on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7:00AM with the goal of getting a better understanding of proper form and technique which I would then use to become a more efficient swimmer. My goal was to use swimming as a regular part of my exercise routine.

So far I'v learned a lot about all the individual elements that go into optimal swimming: head position; arm movement; hand form; kicking; ankle flexibility; proper breathing; and a strong and solid core. I work with my swimming coach on each of these and I’ve seen improvement in all. With each passing week I am able to do a little more, I am able to go a little further without resting and my internal drive to be a better swimmer increases.

Then a funny thing happened on the way to the pool. I started with the intention to swim as a regular part of my fitness routine but now I find myself tailoring my fitness routines to improve my swimming. Swimming has become the driver with the rest of the fitness routine geared to becoming a better swimmer.

My short term goal is to swim 5 pool lengths without touching the bottom or stopping to rest by my 50^th birthday, less than three weeks away. On my last swim I did three lengths straight and thought that I could have gone for four or possibly even five. This gave me the confidence to know that I will make my goal. From there I want to try flip turns. And then I want to swim from Cuba to Key West without a shark cage. (OK, I really have no intentions of that last one. I’m just fine settling with chlorine sting over a jellyfish sting.)

It’s interesting how we take more diligently to hobbies and personal pursuits as we get older. They are no longer something to try out or to do because our friends are doing them. We do these things because they hold a special interest or attraction for us as individuals. Perhaps it is a goal that has eluded us for years. Perhaps it is something we never before afforded ourselves the time to enjoy. Perhaps the “embarrassment” of learning and making mistakes has a natural way to fade away as we get older. (See my flip-turn practice for the definition of embarrassing actions that no longer bother me.) Perhaps it is a combination of these and more.

In any case, the hobbies and activities we chose as we get older become more of a personal quest. We strive for personal achievement measured only by ourself,  not by any peer, coach, recruiter, boss or anything else else external.

Perhaps I’ll learn how to ice skate next.

Ohhh, You Doesn't Has to Call Me Johnson...

[caption id="attachment_322" align="alignright" width="320"] Ohhh, you doesn't has to call me Johnson![/caption]

My girlfriend, Grace, has three major aspects of her career, one of which is being a motivational speaker. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing one of her talks on video but not in person yet. One of the things she speaks about is developing your personal network. During this part of her talk she has a very memorable line about the difference between a network and a support group. (I won’t give away the punchline here.) One day when she returned from a speaking trip I asked her if she used her networking punchline. “Heck yes!” she replied explaining that it was a key part of her talking points.

I teased Grace that if she kept using the line it could become the one part of her schtick that she would be known for forever, sort of like Raymond J. Johnson, Jr.

If you’re under 50 chances are you don’t have any clue who the zoot-suited, cigar-smoking, mustachioed Raymond J. Johnson, Jr. is. If you’re 50 or older and hated 1970s variety shows like Tom Jones, Sonny and Cher and Redd Foxx you may not know who Johnson is either. Johnson???

[dciframe]http://www.youtube.com/embed/qoYsfbq3vMc,420,315,0,auto,align:center;float:right[/dciframe]

Ooohhhh…. You doesn’t has to call me Johnson.
My name is Raymond J. Johnson, Jr.
Now you can call me Ray.
Or you can call me “J.”
Or you can call me Johnny.
Or you can call me Sonny.
Or you can call Junie.
Or you can call me Ray J.
Or you can call me R.J.
Or you can call me R.J.J.
Or you can call me R.J.J. Jr.
But you doesn’t has to call me Johnson.

That was pretty much it. Raymond J. Johnson, Jr.’s entire schtick, right there, all in one monologue. He was one of those comedians known for one thing. Sort of like Foster Brooks’ drunk character, Minnie Pearl’s price-tagged hat, Charlie Callas’ head and vocal spasms, Steve Martin’s “Excuuuuussse Meeeeee!”

Wait a minute. That’s not right. Steve Martin is multi-talented by just about any definition. His comedy is multi-faceted. He’s an author and a  playwright. He’s a fantastic banjo player. Steve Martin is no one trick pony. Any yet, I’m sure there are a lot of people, like me, who think of “Excuuuuussse Meeeeee!” when they first think of Steve Martin.

And that’s OK. Having a single schtick that people associate with you doesn’t mean you’re necessarily a one-trick pony. While Raymond J. Johnson, Jr. was a one-trick act, Steve Martin certainly isn’t. And that takes me back to the beginning... Grace Killelea is certainly not a one trick person either. Ask any graduate of the Betsy Magness program who has worked with Grace. Or ask any of her Half the Sky Leadership Institute matriculants. Or ask any of her executive coaching clients. (Uh oh, now I'm starting to sound a little like Raymond J. Johnson, Jr.) Clearly Grace has many dimensions.

As much as I joke about her networking line, the truth is she understood the value of a network far more than I ever did before I met her. And the value of her network was demonstrated to me just yesterday, Friday May 24, 2013. You may have heard about the awful airport shuttle bus accident that happened in Atlanta. In the afternoon she received an email from a friend, Laurie who had multiple family members on that shuttle, some of whom were seriously hurt. Laurie was stuck in a city she did not know with family members having been taken to different hospitals.

Hearing this, Grace leapt into action. She pursed her lip, furrowed her brow and raised her eyes in deep thought mumbling “Atlanta… Atlanta… Who is in Atlanta??” Bingo! She had it. She picked up her phone and called another friend, Teasa, who is an Atlanta resident. Explaining the situation briefly, Teasa took less than the blink of an eye to respond and she was on the case. No questions asked. No bargaining. She was on it. Next was a phone call to Grace’s friend Judy was was in Atlanta visiting friends. One more eye blink and a second branch of the network was in action. Within minutes two kind, gentle, caring women reached out to another woman in need, offering to escort her around the city, to assist or to provide advice in any way they could. There were no connections between these three women except Grace. And all all it took was an email and two quick phone calls. That was the power of the network in action.

It was also a clear demonstration  of the very core of Grace’s “network vs. support group” punchline. No further metrics needed. I am in awe of the network of friends and associates Grace has built over the years. If I achieve only a small fraction of what she has built I’ll be far better off than I ever expected.

Grace Killelea knows how to build a network. Can you do that, Johnson?

Ooohhhh…. You doesn’t has to call me Johnson... 

 

Will the Real Batman Please Stand Up

Most people know I'm a Batman fan, perhaps even a Batman fanatic. I tell people the TV room of my house is decorated in Early 20^th Century Batman. And it is. Really. (Actually, I’m even more of a Robin fan, but there’s another post brewing on that topic.) So I inevitably get the question “Why do you like Batman so much?”

One appeal of Batman is that he's a “regular guy" without super powers... assuming you consider having enough money to create your own arsenal of military-grade vehicles to be within the realm of “regular guy.”  However, Batman being a regular guy is not why I like Batman so much.

The cape is great too. Not sure why I like capes so much but I do. Batman. Zorro. Dracula. These are guys who knew how to rock a cape like nobody’s business. I think its definitely time for capes to make a fashion comeback. Yes, capes are cool, but I’m not a huge Batman fan solely for the cape.

There are probably dozens of reasons why I like Batman so much, but one sticks out over all the others. The reason I like Batman so much is that there is not just one Batman. Batman has more variability than any other comic here, perhaps more than any other fictional character. There are dozens, perhaps hundreds of incarnations of Batman. Let’s take a look at a few of the many Batmen that have been introduced to pop culture over the years:

[caption id="attachment_291" align="alignright" width="150"] Bob Kane's original Batman[/caption]

First there was Bob Kane's Batman. He had no problem carrying a gun and shooting the bad guy. It's interesting that Batman's premier incarnation is very different than the Batman we know today.

There was Dick Sprang's Batman, a much more kid-friendly variant with a Batcave full of trophies like a giant penny. If you have an image in your head of the comic Batman saying something to Robin like “Good work, old chum” then that’s probably the Dick Sprang Batman.

In the early 70s Neal Adams and Denny O’Neil started the trend toward making Batman a grittier, darker detective.

[caption id="attachment_294" align="alignleft" width="150"] Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns Batman[/caption]

In the 1980’s Frank Miller single-handedly reshaped Batman with his iconic works The Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One. In my opinion, these are not only two of the most seminal Batman works, but also two of the top 5 comics of all time. I was in awe when I read the Dark Knight Returns during its initial 4-part premium format release. It is one story I re-read on a regular basis. In Miller's stories Batman is dark and brooding. He is a one-man war on crime. He battles a lot of internal demons - scars of his fractured childhood. And he is no friend of Superman.

The series Legends of the Dark Knight contained a number of issues about possible Batman incarnations that were out of continuity from the regular comics. These out-of-continuity tales are referred to as “Elseworlds” stories. Among the more popular storylines are Gotham by Gaslight’s Victorian-era Batman, In Darkest Knight’s Batman as a member of the Green Lantern Corps, and Red Rain’s vampire Batman. The Elseworld’s concept showcased the potential for all sorts of different Batman instances.

[caption id="attachment_295" align="alignright" width="150"] Adam West's Batman says "Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb!"[/caption]

On TV, we had Adam West's Batman, a truly iconic portrayal for the lasting influence it had on pop culture. A lot of Batman purist will turn their nose up at this 1966 camp Batman incarnation. Not me. It remains a wonderful piece of Americana and portrait of the world at that time. I strongly believe that, if not for the popularity of Adam West's Batman series, Batman would be nowhere near as large of a pop culture icon as he is today.

In the world of animation Batman: The Animated Series put a darker detective Batman on TV for the first time and also led the path for a whole new style of comic book animation that continued with Batman Beyond, Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League. Then two decades later Batman: The Brave and the Bold strove to make Batman fun again.

[caption id="attachment_293" align="alignleft" width="150"] Batman from the "Batman: The Brave and the Bold" cartoon[/caption]

Once again, a lot of  Batman purists dislike Batman: The Brave and the Bold  because Batman does un-Batmanly things in it like time and space travel. But I loved it. It paid homage to many different forms of Batman throughout the years, it never took itself too seriously, but it also never strayed from the Batman mythos.

[caption id="attachment_296" align="alignright" width="150"] Michael Keaton brings Batman to the movies in 1989.[/caption]

And, of course there are the cinema portrayals of Batman by both Michael Keaton and Christian Bale. Both were terrific performances for their times and both gave new dimensions to the Batman character.

So, you see, there is no one Batman. The list I used here could easily be expanded 10-fold, if not more. And the best thing is that every Batman fan has "their" Batman. Who Batman is to me is shaped by the major Batman influences in my life. This is not going to be the same for other Batman fans who's image of Batman was shaped by separate influences. There are a few consistent attributes of all Batmen (e.g., rich guy whose parents were killed in front of him making him dedicate himself to a life of crime fighting) but the rest is open for interpretation. And there have been a lot of wonderful interpretations over the years.

And this, is why I love Batman so much - because what he is to me is probably not what he is to anyone else. And that's the whole beauty of it.

Top 10 Personal Technology Influences – #10 GPS and Navigation Applications

When I think back on preparing for road trips when I first started driving, I think about how I'd open the bottom drawer of my family’s desk unit, pull out the proper map, determine a route, and write down the instructions on how to get to my intended destination. Then, in the late 90’s there was a website called Mapquest became popular. With Mapquest, you entered your starting point and destination, pushed a button and in a few seconds you had a complete set of instructions and route map that you could print out and take with you. The software did all the work.

Technology continued to evolve and as the population strived to become paperless, so did our navigation aids. The global positioning system (GPS) of earth-orbitting satellites evolved over the course of decades from a military asset created by the Department of Defense until it was eventually made available for civilian use. A series of moderately-priced GPS pocket-sized devices that communicated with this satellite system hit the market and the GPS revolution was born. And it is still evolving today which is why I, for my final technology influence I have settled on...

Technology Influence #10: GPS and Navigation Applications

As dedicated GPS devices became more popular a common complaint about new technology was repeated: I love my <insert favorite technology device here>, but its yet another device I have to carry." Personally, my first GPS device was a dedicated TomTom unit and my complaint was less about carrying the device and more about not having enough charging outlets in my car. I’d often want to charge my iPod and GPS and cell phone while I was in the car - three devices, two outlets. What’s a techie to do?

In the late 2000s Apple solved this problem for me by adding GPS capability to the iPhone 3G. A phone, iPod and GPS unit all in one device. At first Apple did not allow turn-by-turn navigation applications to be included on the iPhone but eventually this changed and I purchased a highly-rated navigation application named Navigon. To be honest though, I really couldn’t abandon my dedicated GPS unit until I bought my iPhone 4. The iPhone 3G was really not powerful enough to handle the processing demands of the Navigon navigation app.

Today my iPhone has 4 separate navigation applications in its library. In addition to Navigon I also have three free navigation apps, Waze, Google Maps, and Apple’s Maps. I mostly use a combination of Navigon and Waze, although I am starting to move to Waze more and more. Waze contains the capability to analyze traffic notices and set optimal routes based on delays in traffic in real time. Navigon has a similar feature but it’s a paid add-on. Like Navigon, Waze gets it feed from online traffic sources but unlike Navigon Waze supplements its traffic data with crowdsourced information. Crowdsourcing is “the practice of obtaining… services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people, and especially from an online community.” While I’m using Waze if I am in heavy traffic or see a broken-down car or a police trap, I can report it with the push of a button, letting other Waze users know what I’ve seen. Conversely, if I’m traveling down the highway Waze may tell me that other Wazers have reported a police car hidden off the road in the next 1/2 mile. As Waze becomes more popular so does its wealth of crowd-sourced data making it increasingly more useful over time.

Other popular navigation application features include reporting the location of traffic cameras, integration with your personal contact list for addresses and integration with other online services such as dining sites and social networks.

I love having navigation capabilities with me always. Nothing is ever “too hard to get to” and any wrong turn is immediately corrected. GPS is one of those military technologies that eventually went on to change the lives of all people for the better.

The End of the Series

OK folks, this is it. The final segment of my 10 part series of technologies that have an influence on my daily life in 2013. I’ve enjoyed detailing each of these and hope you have equally enjoyed reading about them. One thing I’ve learned from doing this list is that Top 10 lists are OK if they are contained within a single article or maybe separated out across a couple articles but 10 articles is too long. My site statistics  show me that people are generally not interested in a list like this going on over the course of a month. There will be more Top N lists in the future, but I doubt I will handle them over so many different posts. To those of you who have followed along, I thank you and hope you have enjoyed this series.

Here is a final list of this top 10.

All Posts in the Top 10 Technology Influences Series

• #1 Cloud Data & Dropbox


• #2 Cross-platform Applications


• #3 The iPhone and iOS


• #4 The Macbook Air


• #5 Audio Books and eBooks


• #6 Cutting the Cord


• #7 Online Shopping and Amazon


• #8 Blogs and Custom Newsfeeds


• #9 Quantified Self Technology


• #10 GPS and Navigation Applications

 

Next: Time to talk about Batman

Image credit: iqoncept / 123RF Stock Photo

 

Top 10 Personal Technology Influences – #9 Quantified Self Technology

People track a lot more information today than ever before. Thanks to our computers, cell phones and other specialized electronic devices recording and analyzing all types of information is easier than ever.

Some of the data we create reflects our own well-being… our bodies, our heath, our moods. About 3 year ago I developed a broader interest in tracking information about my own body and well-being. Being a "gadget guy" I was, in part, influenced by the release of a number of new hardware and software platforms to help one track their personal information. It wasn't until a year or so ago that I learned the proper term for these type of hardware and software products...

Technology Influence #9: Quantified Self Technology

Quantified self technology is a fancy term referring to tracking one’s personal well-being data using technologies such as wearable sensors. I started using quantified-self technology to assist me with weight loss in 2010 and have increased my inventory of assistive devices and applications ever since. But, I’m guessing that for most people the concept of quantified self technology is still a bit vague so let’s take a look at some of the devices.

My first quantified self device was a Withings WiFi Body Scale and to this day it remains one of my favorite gadgets of any kind. Every time I step on the scale it shows me my weight, my body fat percentage and my body mass index and it also records that information to an Internet account via a wireless connection. After I step off the scale I can use an iPhone app and see my weight statistics plotted over time and review the trends. Seeing a graphic chart of weight loss over time is a great motivator.

[dciframe]http://www.withings.com/en/utils/graphwidget?userid=28144&publickey=6c5644c992abe476&massUnit=lb,300,425,0,auto,align:center;float:left[/dciframe]As a demonstration of one of the many things the Withings scale can do, I published on this page, a widget of my current body weight. This is a live feed from the most recent reading of my scale. It will change every time I get weighed. For those of you saying “I would never want that!” don’t be alarmed. You can only see this data because I have explicitly provided its access to you. Withings does not publish this data to the general public by default. The truth, is, I'm not crazy about posting it here, given where the number currently sits. But one thing I learned in 2010 is that transparency demonstrates intent.

All the high-tech stuff aside, the Withings scale is also a very good scale. I’ve owned a number of scales where my weight would fluctuate as much as 5 pounds just by stepping off and back on the scale. Not the case with the Withings. It’s consistent and accurate.

Withings also produces an iPhone-connected blood pressure cuff. Connect this device to your iPhone it monitors your blood pressure and sends the results to your Internet account for monitoring over time.

A popular class of quantified self devices are what I like to call “pedometers with an attitude.” Step counting pedometers have been around for a while. These newer device kick the pedometer concept up notch by electronically tracking and recording to your personal Internet account additional features such as calories burned, flights of stairs taken and even monitoring how deeply you slept. A sampling of the more popular variants of these devices include the wrist-worn Nike FuelBand and Jawbone Up and the clip-on FitBit One. I’ve used an older FitBit clip-on model, the Fitbit Ultra, in the past and I’m now waiting for delivery of my new wrist-worn Fitbit Flex.

Also in my array of quantified self devices is a Polar electronic heart rate monitor that I wear at the gym (which has not been very often of late).

Most of the previously-cited hardware devices have companion applications for the Web and/or a mobile device. But there are other software-only tools that are effective quantified self assets without being hardware codependent. Weight Watchers Online and LoseIt.com and their respective companion iOS app are excellent tools for food intake tracking and diet management. I'm also about to start trying a new app called "My Fitness Pal." There are countless apps for tracking your runs and gym workouts. I’m not a runner but I’ve tried a bunch of different gym companion iOS apps and I’m still looking for one I can really get behind.

Despite having had a pretty bad year-and-a-half with respect to my weight and fitness, I still consider quantified self technology to have a strong influence on my life.

Next: We finish up the Top 10 Technology Influences series with Technology Influence #10 - GPS and Navigation Applications.

Previous Posts in the Top 10 Technology Influences Series

• #1 Cloud Data & Dropbox


• #2 Cross-platform Applications


• #3 The iPhone and iOS


• #4 The Macbook Air


• #5 Audio Books and eBooks


• #6 Cutting the Cord


• #7 Online Shopping and Amazon


• #8 Blogs and Custom Newsfeeds

Image credit: Krisdog / 123RF Stock Photo

Weight and Management

LeonardArmstrong.net is not my first blog. In 2010 I went on a major weight loss effort and blogged about it at the now-defunct www.lensweightloss.com. (Don't bother trying. You're not going to get anything from that URL any more.) I went very public with my weight management effort. I wrote about it, I posted pictures, I even had my scale automatically publish my weight onto my blog each time I stepped on the scale. (More on that next week.) I was completely transparent with my efforts. I think it may have been part of my success… that time around.

You see this was the third time in my life I lost a significant amount of weight - 80 lbs. or more. While I am proud of the achievement, I am also frustrated that weight management was and continues to be a source of struggle and frustration for me. In 2010 I lost just over 100 lbs. Since then I’ve gained 50 back. That’s not an easy thing to say, but it is true.

Some people battle alcohol demons. Some tobacco. Others narcotics. With me it has always been food. I make no excuses for my love of food. I love cooking. I love baking. I love eating. I’ve taken lessons at The Culinary Institute of America, Johnson and Wales University, Sur La Table, and others. I think of well-prepared food as the one art that can simultaneously touch all five senses. In 2010 I learned that love of food and weight loss are not mutually exclusive. I did a lot of cooking that year and learned to make some very tasty and varied healthy dishes. Over time I lost the way of success and now need to readdress the problem.

I’m trying again. It's not easy. It’s never easy. But each time around I find something new, something different about the process that betters my overall understanding of life. Sound heavy? (Pun intended.) Well, having taken a new career position recently I’ve been thinking about the similarities between weight loss and business success.

1. There needs to be a clear measurable metric of success that is directly tied to our goal. Sometimes the metric is simple to evaluate. (Weight loss: pounds; Business: revenue). Other times it is more complex or subjective (Weight loss: body image; Business: customer or employee satisfaction).


2. Roadblocks are everywhere so we must learn to plan for risks from the start and with each passing day. In weight loss we need to prepare for how to handle food intake when we go to parties, restaurants, etc. In business we develop contingent plans to ensure business continuity and project success.


3. Mistakes can happen, but the causes, not just the symptoms, of those mistakes have to be addressed and corrected.


4. Investment is required to achieve success. That might not be obvious for weight loss, but it is true. Investment in the right kinds of food. Investment in education and/or weight loss programs. And, if we’re lucky, investment in new clothes as we have success.


5. Success requires constant diligence and ownership of the problem and its solution. Asking questions like “what is the minimum expected of me to achieve success” won’t cut it.


6. Achieving the goal is the start, not the end. Success comes both from achieving the goal but also in proving sustainability of the goal over time. Quick fixes in business or fad diets in weight loss often achieve a result in the short term, but are not sustainable in the long-term.

We are all in control of our own destiny. Weight loss, like any worthy goal, takes time, effort, ownership and most importantly, constant diligence. Weight loss is easy. There are plenty of techniques to achieve it. But long-term weight control, that is a much more difficult goal to achieve. I won’t stop trying.

Next: Back to the Technology Influences Top 10 with Influence #8: Quantified-self Technology. (Something closely related to the topic of this post.)

Image credit: swalwellj / 123RF Stock Photo

Top 10 Personal Technology Influences – #8 Blogs and Custom News Feeds

The next personal technology influence that has an effect on my daily life is something that helps me keep track of the world around me, on my time and my schedule and without the "noise" of information I don't care about. It is...

Technology Influence #7 - Blogs and Customized News Feeds

If you're reading this article, chances are, you already know what a blog is. After all, what you are reading is a post on my personal blog, leonardarmstrong.net. But, if you're still unclear I’ll make this simple. Let’s define a blog as someone’s online journal where the author (i.e., blogger) can comment on any topic (s)he so chooses. However, in many cases blogs are theme-specific so the commentary is often centered around a certain topic or theme. Some popular themed blogs include http://perezhilton.com/ (Entertainment industry gossip), http://www.engadget.com/ (Consumer technology) and http://www.politico.com/ (Politics), just to name a few.

Blogs can be read by going directly to the webpage mentioned or by using a blog reader application such as Reeder or NetNewsWire. (Both of which have cross-platform versions available.) These applications retrieve new blog posts when they are available and provide a structured interface for you to skim them or read them in detail. They work with a technology called RSS which stands for Really Simple Streaming. (The orange part of the image at the top of this post is the common RSS news feed symbol.) But its not just blogs that feed their updates through RSS. Most popular new sites feed their breaking stories through RSS feeds as well.

[caption id="attachment_203" align="alignleft" width="600"] Reeder Blog and News Feed Reading Application[/caption]

If all that techno-babble makes your head spin, fear not. In simple terms, what it means is that I can use one application, such as those listed above, and have a custom set of stories tailored to my personal interests all in one place. See the screenshot of Reeder to get a more tangible feel for what I'm talking about. On the left are categories for organizing the blogs I read. If I just want to catch up on technology I can click on the "Tech" category and the stories shown to me will be filtered accordingly. The second column shows a snippet of the the stories that are available. If one catches my eye I can click on it and the main window will show the whole story. This way I can quickly peruse available topics and drill in for more detail on only the stories that are of interest.

Its not just blogs that use RSS feeds but also most news sites as well. There's not really much difference between a blog and a news organizations's feed of breaking news stories. Both are combinations of text and other media (pictures, videos) that are produced on an on-demand schedule and that the producers want to publish to the world in a convenient and direct form. The line between a blog and a news feed is murky and from a technology standpoint there is no difference. Most major news companies like CNN, Fox and even The Huffington Post have RSS feeds available.

I no longer turn to sources like TV, radio or newspapers as a first source for news. To capture the latest information that is important to me, blogs and news feeds have changed my model for information consumption.

Next:  One more break from the Top 10 Technology Influences with a conversation on "The Struggles of Weight Control"

Then: Down the home stretch on the Technology Top 10 with Influence #9 - Quantified Self Technology.

Previous Posts in the Top 10 Technology Influences Series

• #1 Cloud Data & Dropbox


• #2 Cross-platform Applications


• #3 The iPhone and iOS


• #4 The Macbook Air


• #5 Audiobooks and eBooks 


• #6 Cutting the Cord


• #7 Online Shopping and Amazon

Image credit: Image credit: coramax / 123RF Stock Photo