Yakiji (Yah-key-jee)

I did it. I signed up for SXSW (Interactive) last week. Registration, hotel, and flight – all taken care of. So why is this news? Well, after getting all hyped up about it I realized I had one problem – I couldn’t find anybody else to go with me. At best, I have a friend who might be living in Austin, Texas at the time of SXSW, but he has warned me that it’s possible he may be deployed for the Army. With that in mind, I had every reason not to go – why would I want to throw myself in there alone. I knew SXSW meant being in the presence with some of the best interactive minds in the world of the web. People who inspire and innovate. In addition to that, it’s about going to the great SXSW parties in Austin where you get to know the people and network. While I’m a social person I am not the type that can go up to anybody and introduce myself. In fact that is my biggest shortcoming. With that as my barrier, I had accepted defeat. Then, all of the sudden something amazing happened, I took a deep breath and went to SXSW.com…and I registered.

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This last year has ushered in a new era for the web and at the helm is the social groundswell. Social Media has clearly become a hot topic in the world of web marketing. Articles, blog posts, white papers are all covering the latest crazes and tactics around social media. There’s so many questions to answer and so much information to absorb. And yet everyone has an opinion and everyone is a social media expert. It’s hard not to get a little annoyed by this wave of interest and yet I’m guilty of the fascination with it. So why are we so captivated by social media?

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Google launched a new microsite today called “Google Internet Stats” in their UK division. It provides bite-sized stats organized into 5 different categories – Macro Economic Trends, Technology, Consumer Trends, Media Consumption, and Media Landscape. The stats come from well known sources ranging from BusinessWeek to Nielson to YouTube. While these sources have clearly earned their stature in providing these facts and stats, Google has opened up the opportunity for users to submit relevant facts and stats as well. This looks like it could be a neat initiative and I took it for a spin.

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It was an interesting week that brought with is some funny links to share. Here are some of the things that cracked me up this week.

• The People of Walmart – a collection of all the creatures that grace us with their presence at Walmart, America’s favorite store.
• Craigslist: Clowns for Kicks – anybody looking for a side job? Whether it’s real or not, this is one of the funniest Craigslist postings I’ve seen.
• Hitler Discovers He’s on Youtube – Hitler finally gets an Internet connection and he is none to happy to find out he’s been made fun of all this time.
• Brett Favre Sears Commercial Outtakes – at least Favre can make fun of himself.
• Stuff My Dad Says – one of the hottest viral sensations right now, Justin (a 28-year-old who moved back home with his dad) tweets everything his dad says. Let’s just say that his dad says some pretty vulgar but funny stuff which could be considered “synonymous with human waste that is unsuitable for a family publication”.