Monthly Archives: February 2010

(Community Matters) I just read Steven Tomlinson’s play – conversations, analogies & metaphors.  The  meaning of Wall Street? A single-minded race for wealth? Or an MBA affliction?   dates & ticket information here

(Community Matters) Very sad to hear our friend Myra McDaniel, former Secretary of the State of Texas under Governor White, passed away this morning.  News per St. James Episcopal bulletin.  Condolences to her husband, Professor Ruben McDaniel and their children.

(Community Matters) Seriously, what kind of planet are we on? I recommend this video (hat tip: Towleroad)

Vodpod videos no longer available.

(Community Matters) Denham Fouts, I’d never heard of him – evidently a most popular hustler of the 30s and 40s.

Hat Tip: Towleroad

(Community Matters) A reporter films the streets one month later

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(Community Matters) That time of the year again, Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneurs of the Year awards.  We had an advisory board lunch meeting today.   Nominations are due by March 19.  Business entrepreneur nominations here and by emailing Courtney.Story AT ey DOT com.  More information on the Silverton Foundation sponsored Social Entrepreneur of the Year award here. The latter’s nonprofit will receive a $100,000 grant from the Silverton Foundation.

(Community Matters) Our friend Rachel Feferman pointed this one out.

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(Community Matters) Marfa Public Radio Spring Rendezvous on March 20 – it’s a bash at the Capri featuring entertainment by Webb Wilder, proceeds benefit the West Texas NPR affiliate.  Marfa wouldn’t be the same without ’em. I’ve agreed to go on their board at a meeting that weekend.

Join Steven and me –  great road trip! 

tickets and more information here

(Community Matters) So, I’m trying to understand the fundamentals of Twitter stats.  At Ross Garber’s insistence, I’ve now been tweeting for five weeks.  Feel like a total slacker with only 199 followers to date, though relative to my tweets (124%), maybe I’m not doing so bad.  I do, however, have a really high percentage following to followers (93%) which I’m told is important to building up followers – not to metion informative, ie., the purpose, right?

I crunched some numbers (totally unscientific since not randomly selected nor a valid sample size) – nevertheless, among many of the most active tweeters in Austin, the average following to followers is 56% and average [corrected] followers to tweets is 56%.  I segregated new media journalists – their numbers 27% and 159%, respectively.  And, the super stars (in this case: Barack Obama, Lance Armstrong and Doug Ulman) yield 9% and over 200k%, respectively – the President in the mid 6 figure range, Lance & Doug in the low and medium five figure range on followers to tweets.

Wanna help me out – follow me here 🙂

@EugeneAustin

(Community Matters) Watch Austin Kleon’s interpretation of TEDxAustin on sticky notes – brilliant. btw, Austin was one of our favorites at last week’s Pecha Kucha

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(Community Matters) Feels like I’ve gone from being the relatively quiet one in the room or at the table (I know, I know, but it’s all relative and we hang in a pretty outspoken crowd) to consuming too much air time and oxygen.  I was thinking about dinner last night.  We heard from Deborah Hay about her early career as a dancer with Merce Cunningham & John Cage, about the Judson Dance Theater and about her work in Amsterdam and Australia.  From Margaret Keys – in collaboration with Steven and Nancy Graves – working with the New York editor last week on a book which I am especially excited about (not only for the art but you gotta love mailbox money).  Joe Christie, Margaret and I had lots to say and share about TEDxAustin and Petch Kucha.  I admit eating it up and basking in glowing reviews of ADL and my bit to do with TED this weekend, plus I’m nonstop talking about HelpHaiti, yesterday about Reggie’s sermon, lots and lots to say – this feels unlike me.  A better sign of my mental health and well-being when, on average, I’m more of a listener.  We sorta drowned out Tana Christie and Michael Mitchell last night.  If I hadn’t spent personal time with each recently, I wouldn’t know what’s most important in their days/weeks/months.  Isn’t that a sign of being a good listener, a good friend?  – knowing what’s important to your friends today

(Community Matters) This morning at St. James Episcopal, our new rector delivered a controversial sermon – per my interpretation anyhow.

According to Rev Reggie Payne-Wiens, but for some failure to accept Jesus any of us could be Tiger Woods, Amy Bishop or Joseph Stack.  He cited how even Amy Bishop’s and Joseph Stack’s friends didn’t consider them crazy – Tiger being pigeon-holded by the media as arrogant rather than crazy. He noted he’d read Stack’s manifesto – which I read too – and agreed with a lot of it.  Agreed with a lot of it – are you kidding me???

Well, problems with the primary arguments of his sermon: Continue reading →