I wear many hats along my chosen career path: writer, live streamer, speaker and mentor. The best part of what I do, though, is to help build our community. Make no mistake, it is our community, not mine. I simply provide the various tools to bring all of you together.

Tonight, I was reminded why it is that I do this. Kat pointed out that it is now (today, October 1st) one year since we lost long-time community member Cory (Gimpi) Carrier. I have already seen many of you commenting in various places about Cory, how much you miss and love him. He was a driving force behind what we did back in the beginning… providing comic relief, different perspectives and fresh ideas. He left a large mark in our hearts and lives.

Kat and Cory were very close friends, and I know how much her heart is breaking again today. As she and I were talking earlier, she explained what he meant to her:

He was such a vibrant and important part of our community – and of my life. He taught me things about the way the world looks at others. He opened my eyes to new ways of thinking about things. He showed me what type of person I only wish I could be on the inside. And most of all… he became MY hero.

THIS is why I do what I do. Connecting people together to create change, connections and lasting friendships is what it’s all about. The bonds that can be made when people join together due to a common thread are amazing to watch as they grow and strengthen. I am humbled to be a part of it. Thank you – all of you – for being a part of our community.

• Google is proposing a new image format.
• What game did you play the most often when growing up?
• Do you use a tool to sync your bookmarks?
• Playing video games prepares your brain for bigger tasks in life.
• Do you know how to spot wire transfer fraud schemes?
• Teenage suicide is preventable.
• How would you decorate a new office space?
• How can heating our homes help to reduce climate changes?
• Why are so many Yahoo! staff members jumping ship?
• Customize your Finder sidebar.
• Does GIMP even begin to compare to Photoshop?
• How energy-efficient is your computer?
• Some Android apps are sending covert GPS data.
• Can the Xmarks service be saved?
• Have you ever given or received love letters or mixed cassette tapes?
• Why won’t my custom Favicon show up?!
• Have you taken a look at the Google Phone Gallery?
• Put GIMPbox back in the oven.
• Are all computer speakers made the same?
• Do you own a solar backpack?
• Windows Live Essentials is finally out of beta!
• Make yourself some ice cream in the blender!
• Which classic movies have you never bothered to watch?
• Do guys (especially geeky ones) even care about fashion?
• Is it 30M or 300K, Microsoft? Who is counting the Live Spaces?
• Use your smartphone to accept credit cards.
• What tabs are open on your screen right now?
• Do you recommend computer fans that glow?
• Although Steve Jobs said that Internet tethering wouldn’t be coming to the iPad, the beta 2 of iOS 4.2 for iPad shows us differently.

Please take the time to visit our software center today.

Why Do We Build Community?

Found her in the middle of the crosswalk. Her phone sucks when taking pictures – even at SXSW. Forgive the quality! Keep in mind that the smiles were more than real! Liz is great!

Thanks to AMD for making this moment possible!

I Found Me Some @LizMoney

I meet up with many people on a regular basis, thanks to things like Tweetups and conferences. Not everyone is so lucky, though. Often, deep and lasting friendships are formed online, but the people involved never have a chance to meet face-to-face. Many people maintain that it’s easier to make a strong connection with someone online, since you don’t have the fears and anxieties associated with how you look, or how you come across in person. Also, people tend to be more open about themselves when they are behind a computer screen, instead of hiding who they really are – and what they really think.

Have you ever met any of your online friends? How did it go? Was the friendship and connection as strong in person as it was while you were on the Internet? I’d love to hear your experiences and thoughts on this. I know that we have community members who met online, and later ended up engaged or married. I’m interested in seeing how many real friendships have sprung up, as well!

• A three-billion-dollar Amazon shopping trip is priceless.
• What did you think of the Microsoft keynote at CES earlier today?
• Command and Conquer Red Alert is now available in the App Store.
• What are the pros and cons of the new Nexus One phone?
• Why do leaders insist on making the same mistakes over and over again?
• Dell is in the phone market now?!
• Do you tune out social networking sites?
• Wireless, Bluetooth HDTV By Vizio – This Is The Future Of TV – Just Add 3D.
• Global Warming is a hot issue!
• Why are people putting colors in their Facebook status area?
• What is needed to make a viable touch-screen device?
• An experimental drug shows a lot of promise in treating brain and prostate cancer.
• Windows 7 may be easier to use than previous versions, but is it all thanks to Microsoft?
• The power of video vs text-based content – who wins?
• Lexmark gets it! We’re still coming out of a Depression.
• Few Americans with major Depression symptoms get the proper treatment.

Be sure you visit our downloads center every day, so that you don’t miss out on great deals!

Have You Met Your Online Friends in Person?

Do you remember that song? If you’re as old as I am, then I know you’re singing it in your head now, simply from reading the title. It’s true, you know. We ‘get by’ with the help of our friends. Sometimes, they may not even realize they are helping us, yet they do – simply by being there. Life is full of unexpected surprises, both good and bad. We can’t always be superman (woman!) and just handle everything on our own.

It’s ok to reach out to someone when you’re hurting/mad/confused/pissed off. It’s ok to need someone to talk to. It’s ok to need your friends! After all, they need you, too!

So why am I writing about this, anyway? It’s not some deep thought, nor a cry for help, I promise! I just happened to hear the song on the radio a bit earlier, and it made me remember how thankful I am to have such an awesome circle of friends surrounding me. I hope that you have that in your lives, as well!

One great way to make new friends is to reach out to like-minded people on social networking sites, like both Lockergnome and Geeks. Search through titles of posts and read things that interest you. Here, let me make it easy on you!

• Fear the penguin!
• What effects does passive smoking have on your health?
• Have you heard about T-Mobile and the YouPhone?
• Do you have your head in the Cloud?
• Facebook has improved their iPhone App.
• iPhone Apps aren’t suitable for business use after all?!
• Take a peek at Fences, a free app to organize your desktop!
• Bing is continuing to have a problem with fake referrers.
• Br.st is attempting to pop the URL-shortening bubble.
• Yahoo makes videos bigger, okay?
• SEO remains the same.
• Your weight problems are easily solved!

I Get By With a Little Help from my Friends

Surely by now, you’ve come to realize that it’s the little things in life that matter the most: a hug from a good friend, a word of support from someone you respect, thanks from a boss or co-worker. These things can certainly make your day much easier to get through. Taking time out to do things that are important to no one other than yourself are also some of those “little things” that can make life so much more bearable at times when things are tough.

I’m just as human as the rest of you. I get so caught up in the things I have to get done, that I sometimes forget those little things. I don’t remember to stop and smell the proverbial roses as often as I should. I may not always be able to respond to each email I get (I DO read them all!). My schedule may be full, not allowing me to attend something you’ve invited me to. That’s the way life goes, eh? We can’t have it all, we can’t do it all, and we certainly can’t BE it all.

Think about how good you feel when someone supports or thanks you for something out of the blue. Remember what it’s like to be the recipient of a hug, phone call or email for no reason other than to say “hey, how ARE you?”. Reflect for a moment about how much easier life can be when you take time to do something you love. Now… here is my challenge for the day: go forth, and spread the cheer. Call someone up you haven’t talked with in awhile. Tell that person who may really need to hear it “hey – thanks – you ROCK!”. Send your Mom some flowers to thank her for putting up with your butt (note to self.. call florist!).

Once you’ve spread as much happiness to others as you can, sit down and make yourself calmer and happier. Do something for even a half an hour a day that will make YOU feel better. What is it you’d do with 30 whole minutes to yourself, to do as you please? You know my answer… I spend my extra time reading through what all of you are up to. Why don’t you try it out for yourself? You may learn something new, get a few laughs, or make a new friend… starting the circle over again.

• Could explosives help protect you from Technology Theft?
• Yes, Virginia, you can get your iPhone Apps refunded!
• What should come next for Google Voice?
• Is there any one console gaming system that truly stands out above the others?
• Build your own Intruder Alert System.
• Could the iPhone change your life?
• The Pirate Bay is launching a new Hulu-type of video service.
• What happens when you are able to have online conversations in complete anonymity?
• Google is taking on SMS.
• How much do you think that iPhone 3G S is worth?
• Pound for pound – the Mini is a good buy.
• Is there more to a story than just the article?
• How can you keep up with all of the Twitter users?

What Little Things are You Missing out On?

This is Finlay Craig’s submission for the HP Magic Giveaway. Feel free to leave comments for this article as you see fit – your feedback is certainly welcomed! If you’d like to submit your own how-to, what-is, or top-five list, you can send it to me. Views and opinions of this writer are not necessarily my own:

1. Consideration. Putting the feelings of your friends before your own is something which many people find difficulty doing. But if you can, makes you feel better about who you are and will make you better friends. No matter how big or small, people greatly appreciate when they are considered. It makes people feel more important and can bring a smile to a friends face.
2. Loyalty. Remaining loyal to your friends can easily be forgotten when you have many friends. You may find yourself in the situation where one friend does not like one of your other friends. If they express there dislike and you disagree, what should you do? Standing up for a friend who is not there could make a situation awkward, but being disloyal to your friend, just to be with the consensus at the time, just means you’re lying to both your friends, but most of all yourself. Time should not be a test of loyalty either. There may be many different reasons why you don’t see someone for a long time, but this shouldn’t mean these people don’t matter to you anymore. If your still thinking of them, then they are probably still thinking of you. A day, a month or even a year, you are still friends, and thats what counts.
3. Dependability. It’s a great feeling when you know you can always rely on a friend. Being able to give that dependability back to your friend is something you should enjoy. Giving your friend the security of knowing they have someone they can rely on, is a gift which few truly receive. If your friend knows that you are there for them, then your friendship will be always be strong. Dependability is especially important in times of great hurt and sadness. Losing someone close to you can make you act erratically and irrationally. Knowing you always have a friend there, no matter how low you get, is the rock that will help you over come these situations and help you come out stronger on the other side.
4. Generosity. Being generous is not about giving people expensive gifts. Generosity is about giving thought to a friend and expressing that you are thinking about them. An easy way to show generosity may even be just to make time to see your friends and family. Helping those less fortunate than you is also very generous. Be it giving to a charity, lending a hand in your community, or simply teaching someone a skill you know.
5. Acceptance. Life is all about decisions. Inevitably, people close to you will not always agree with you. However, if you can accept your friends for who they, who they want to be, and what they want to do, you can give them the freedom to be happy with their life. Worrying about what people think can often stop someone doing what they really want, leaving them feeling as if they are not leading the life they wish they were. If however you can be happy for them, whatever they choose, then your friend will enjoy their life more, and you will be even better friends.

Five Ways to Be a Better Friend

My “online” friends are just as awesome as my “offline” friends. Why do some people discount them just because they’re not “in the flesh”?! To me, it doesn’t matter if I ever see someone in person. If we connect on some level, and share similar interests, how are they NOT my friend? Believe me, there have been people in my ‘real life’ I can say I wish I hadn’t met in person. I put this question to others, to gauge their reactions.

What are your thoughts about this? Do you consider your online friends to be just as real as those you have met in the flesh? Why or why not?

Are Your Online Friends Real?

Okay, I got bored – and now you can learn about my boredom any time I care to tell you about my boring life! Seems silly to do, but… I’m a silly guy. Silly people know me, too (as evidenced by today’s twitterpations):

• Kitta Not really amazed that Anna Nicole Smith is dead, she was pretty much a walking talking pharmacy and a bad soap opera all-in-one 6 minutes ago from web
• bbrooks IMAP + RDP + backed UP PST FTW 7 minutes ago from web
• P_Dilly back from lunch, logging into Second Life to check out an idea I had. 8 minutes ago from web
• NickStarr @Shooby Is it fast enough to support ReadyBoost? If so, I say take it. 8 minutes ago from im
• Bwana Forgetting how to embed quicktime movies 9 minutes ago from web
• rael Moving offices… Yay! 14 minutes ago from im
• fraying At dinner with the museum folks. There is much French. 19 minutes ago from mobile
• cvp putting together a temp site for the design firm.. until our backend is done anyway 19 minutes ago from twitterrific
• wisequark Merlin on TWiT? Wow, Dvorak might go wackadoo…er 25 minutes ago from twitterrific
• arstechnica [Infinite Loop] MacTech to publish “VBA to AppleScript” guide for Office developers – http://tinyurl.com/22m9w5 25 minutes ago from web
• leolaporte TWiT This Week: Dvorak, Wil Harris, Tom Merritt, and Merlin Mann 26 minutes ago from im

Have you been twitterpated? It’s the non-sequitur social center of the universe! I’ll be your random friend, sure.

The Deal with Twitter

Ponzi and I flew down to SF for the weekend to hang with the Scobles – Robert and Maryam. We just went out for sushi in Half Moon Bay (although I contend that Seattle sushi is infinitely better than Bay Area sushi). Right now, we’re enjoying Maryam’s coffee and sitting around the living room – each on our respective laptops. We’re not saying a single word to one another, although every other minute someone will pipe up with “Hey, so-and-so is doing this.” I’m peeking over Robert’s keyboard and watching him populate his linkblog. So, I guess this kind of silent friendship activity is called scobleizing? Ponzi just sent me an IM a few seconds ago. This is… quite… an exciting Friday night.

Scobleizing