Christmas Cards give way to E-cards - sort of

As I start to send out Christmas Cards e-cards, having mailed the paper Christmas Cards, I wondered if the same online rush to read, buy, and even try products online had severely impacted the card industry at Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

Unfortunately, it has, but not in any way to as great a degree as I suspected.

One of so many cool aspects of Christmas is shopping for cards and laughing at selections, sometimes with people you don't even know. But Christmas Card shopping is more and more an online process. The Toronto Sun reports that Canadians buy about 6 percent to 7 percent of their greeting cards online, and in America the purchase of traditional cards has slowed, but not by much.

But while the e-card market is not growing so fast that paper cards are a thing of the past, the number of makers of e-cards has grown. AsiaOne.com reports that where there were 80 companies making e-cards seven years ago, there are 250 today. I attribute that to the ease of online product-making that software allows. Special and inexpensive hosting platforms and graphic software programs form a great foundation for an online card-making business.

On top of that, we can add Facebook. Now, you can send Christmas e-cards over the popular social network. And with over 350 million people on Facebook, chances are you can cover all of your friends in one card-sending session.

If there's any other reason for a slight drop in traditional card-giving it's the bad mood this terrible economy has put the collective nation in. The Seattle Times reports this season's shaping up as a "ho-hum year" for cards in general. A number of retailers, including Walmart and Target, are seeing drops in card buying.

Still, I think the reason traditional Christmas Card buying has not fallen off as much as I thought it would have is that it's still a part of the Christmas shopping rush. Buying cards just goes with shopping at stores, so the fun, social aspect of Christmas Card shopping will be with us for years to come.

Thank God.

Dems Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins split - political power couple

When I read that Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins separated after 23 years together, my thoughts immediately turned to their two decades of liberal political activism. The Democratic power couple was particularly active during the 2008 Presidential Campaign.

Here's Susan Sarandon talking about Sarah Palin at Boston University in September 2008, when she says that Palin's views are "worrying" and would set the woman's movement back. She also quoted actor Ed Harris, who said Palin "would be a really large footnote in the annals of moose hunting". Saradon also expresses her thoughts on the media's coverage of politics.



Tim Robbins was no less involved in political commentary and activism. In this video originally provided by CrooksandLiars.com, Robbins appears on Real Time with Bill Maher and really gets after Steve Hayes, who tried to claim a connection between al-Queda and Saddam Hussein. Tim Robbins got the best of him:

Robbins: "You're partly responsible, you could start with an apology. You wrote a book saying there was a connection Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda."

Hayes: "You want to know why I wrote that book? Because there was a connection Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda."

Maher: "No there wasn't.

Robbins: "You can lie a thousand times—it doesn't make it true."

But when I think of Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins, this photo comes to mind. It says it all. I saw it in January 2008 during the New Hampshire Primary and added it to Zennie62.com.

Tim Russert on the primary trail in NH, 2008, originally uploaded by headshotsphoto.

I found this photo on Flickr, with this explaination:

Tim Russert died on June 13, at the age of 58. He was photographed while covering a house party for presidential primary candidate, John Edwards, in Bedford NH on the eve of the NH primary in January 2008. Elizabeth Edwards speaks to Tim Russert. Also pictured are Matt Lauer, Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon.

He really enjoyed getting out there it seems. Russert will be missed.

This is sad news. I really enjoyed seeing them in action, together.

A Festivus For The Rest Of Us (Video Bloggers) at Mediaite

YouTube,
Yahoo, MySpace,
Metacafe, DailyMotion, Blip.tv, Sclipo
and Viddler


Mediaite's one of my favorite online destinations as they take an interesting look at media and the movers and shakers that shape the formation of news today. Mediaite's Festivus on "Media Influencers" caught my eye today, because we're in a unique and fascinating period in media where New Media is not just replacing but outright destroying Old Media.

But Mediaite's take on who's doing the influcing was missing some key names and the photo's one hint. I shared my view with Mediaite Editor-at-Large Rachel Sklar and she encouraged me to offer my video-blog-based view.

Here it is: A Festivus For The Rest Of Us (Video Bloggers)

Richard Heene - Balloon Boy dad and wife should not be jailed

Richard Heene, the Balloon Boy Dad, and his wife, have been sentenced to 90-days in jail for what was really a stupid hoax of a stunt of having the industrialized World believe his six-year-old son was trapped in a weather balloon far in the sky. Wrong, of course. Bad, totally. But jail time? Nuts.

Richard Heene

I'm not at all saying he shouldn't have been punished. Not at all. But ordering Richard Heene to do jail time is too simple, stupid, and wasteful of tax dollars. The judge who laid down the sentence didn't give the matter a moment of creative thought. He just bent to mob rule. Reminds me of Frankenstein, where the screaming masses of bubble-headed town folks wanted nothing but the burning-at-the-steak of the so-called "Monster."

Nuts. And if you're angry or thinking of writing some weird comment at this point, then you're part of the horde I'm complaining about. Richard Heene should have been sentenced to make a reality TV show about a non-profit organization helping battered women recover from domestic violence assaults and violent relationships.

Yep.

My point is if Richard Heene wants to be a star, so what. Let him become one in the process of helping others rather than himself. See? There are scores of domestic violence prevention programs and organizations that go unnoticed except when a star like Nicole Kidman goes to Congress to talk about the problem.

Richard Heene could have put his considerable skills to work in getting those organizations publicity and funding.

I'm personally sick and tired of seeing people like Lil Wayne or Richard Heene punished for the sole reason of saying "They're just like anyone else." Why is that important? It's not true to start with. Moreover, expressing that point of view is the byproduct of many an unhealthy ego. But it does nothing to improve society. Moreover, it may not even curb Richard Heene's desire to be on TV.

It'll just delay it 3 months.

Geez.

BART - a plug for the wifi service much needed in Oakland

I read at SFGate.com where the new BART Transbay Tube wifi service is off to "a weak start" but I'm really happy the system's being expanded in that way. I use BART Wifi to upload my videos on the go; it's that powerful.

In fact, it's so strong I've uploaded a 350 mgb video in less than 10 minutes. That's a video of about 20 minutes in length. Frankly that kind of power is expensive to obtain so BART's a really useful tool for this vlogger. That written, I've figured out a way BART can use this to its revenue advantage.

An Internet Cafe at Embarcadero and Montgomery Street stations, and Oakland City Center, 12th Street Station.

There's a huge expanse of unused space in the very front of the platform at the Embarcadero BART Station, and similar areas in Montgomery and Oakland City Center. They're perfect for small, four table, Internet cafes where people can have coffee or tea.

I know BART currently doesn't want you to have drinks on the train but they need to get rid of the rule in favor of this cafe approach. For one thing it helps create jobs and allows people who work online to have one more great place to hang out.

Such a plan means expanding wifi to Oakland. Even station agents in downtown Oakland say such a service is long overdue. Moreover, BART should work some kind of deal with the City of Oakland and the Oakland Chamber to help spearhead a fund to pay for the wifi service.

The 21st Century workplace is mobile; BART can earn revenue and become the place of choice for online workers.

Tiger Woods PGA Player of The Year

A quick note of congratulations to Tiger Woods for being named "PGA Player of The Year" but in light of this current scandal-plagued episode of his great life, I think the PGA should have renamed the award "Golfer of The Year".

Player of The Year

Or perhaps the PGA was engaging in a cruel joke on Tiger Woods.

The term "player" has several meanings in American culture today. According to The Free Dictionary, they are:

1. One that plays, especially:
a. One who participates in a game or sport.
b. A gambler.
c. One who performs in theatrical roles.
d. One who plays a musical instrument.
2. An active participant: a major player in world affairs.
3. The mechanism actuating a player piano.
4. A machine that reproduces recorded audio or audio-visual material.
5. Slang One who actively seeks out sexual partners and carries on a number of sexual affairs at the same time.

Guess which of the definitions applies to Tiger Woods? Hint: more than one.

Regardless, Tiger Woods is The World's Greatest Golfer. Period.

NY Times picks Utah over Cal in Poinsettia Bowl - Grrr...

I just read the NY Times' take on this evenings Poinsettia Bowl matchup pitting 9-3, 23rd-ranked Utah against Cal. Most of their team of bloggers picked Utah to win because of Cal's poor performance in, as one blogger put it, some games.

He forgot the Big Game, where Cal, not given a chance against the Tiger Woods-backed Stanford Cardinal, beat the Cardinal 34-28 at Stanford Stadium and kept Stanford from a trip to The Rose Bowl.

That game plan Cal used was its best of the year. All Cal has to do is avoid falling in love with the deep pass. A varied short passing game, play action using Running Back Shane Vareen, and occasional gadget plays, combined with Vereen runs off-tackle will move the chains.

But Cal Head Coach Jeff Tedford and Offensive Coordinator Andy Ludwig must show they have the discipline to execute that kind of game plan. They got away from it against Washington and the result was a pasting by the Huskies.

I certainly hope Tedford does this.

GO BEARS!