shawn farner

I received an email earlier tonight from the IRS…

OR SO I THOUGHT.

It actually was not from the IRS, and I knew that almost immediately. However, there are some people out there who are pretty gullible and they might not pick up on the clues as easily. So I’ve cropped some images from my experience to help you out. (click to view full image)

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Of course, a lot of me wants to say yes.  Scobleizer interviews some pretty high-profile people in the world of technology.  He also gets to fly all over creation.  He has a multitude of eyes and ears hanging on his every word.

Unfortunately, I feel that being fully immersed in the startup world and the ever-changing landscape of the web has put him out of touch with those who will make or break many of these ventures; the every-day guys and gals.

That isn’t a knock on Robert at all.  I’m totally envious of what he gets to do, and if things go my way, maybe one day I’ll have as many eyes and ears on me.  You can call my BS if you want, but if I had to choose between being a voice among tens of thousands of voices in the Valley or being one of just a few here, I’d choose here.

I’m located within spitting distance of a state capital that is severely lacking in web presence.  There are not many people on Twitter in Harrisburg - how else would a college student be able to chit chat with local news reporters at will?  We have very few serious bloggers, but these bloggers consistently scoop our newspaper writers on a regular basis.  There aren’t many people here who get it yet, and to me, that’s exciting.

Those few of us bloggers/early adopters that do exist here have the opportunity to do something great, something not a lot of people can say they’ve done.  We have, in our hands, the opportunity to transform an entire city.  We have the chance to completely change the way this city communicates, consumes media and sees the world as a whole.

I would guess that 97% of Harrisburg’s citizens have never heard of Twitter.  They’ve never heard of FriendFeed.  Some might think that Google is the only search engine in existence.  These people use email, AIM, Myspace and Facebook.  They read their favorite sites using bookmarks, not RSS feeds.  They find new music through the radio and word of mouth, not sites like Last.FM or Pandora.  The early adopter pace is just too fast for them to keep up.

I do not look down on these people at all.  Many early adopters seem to think highly of themselves for having been on something “first”, before it was cool.  I do not think that way.  For me, these people are not a heavy anchor holding us back.  Instead, they are the sails.  When they flock to a service, then you know you have something special.

I look foward to helping introduce them to this new world.  And Robert, next time you go to Tel Aviv, save me a seat?

Guess who’s back?

I’ve scrapped my earlier plans of taking a course on campus at IUP in favor of taking an online class and coming home early.  Not only does this mean I get to enjoy nightly volleyball, I also get to start work immediately on my various projects.  I’ll get to start posting more heavily for WebpageFX and I’ll also get to work on (re)launching Be of Service.  Even more, I’ll get to roam about Harrisburg, eat sushi with cool people, Tweet-up with my fellow Central PA Twitterfolk and write more about this area.

Sweet.

By the way, is anyone looking to hit up Blogworld in September?  Las Vegas?  Let me know.

For my Major American Authors course (ENGL 436), our final exam format is this: we’ve been given a sheet with five questions on it and told to choose three. Today at 2:45 PM, we will walk into the classroom, sit down and write the answers. On top of that, we are allowed to use one page of notes and the actual books we’ll be writing about. Why was this not a take home exam?!

I could have this done already.  I could walk in today, hand it in and leave.  It would be so much easier.

On top of that, I also have a paper due tomorrow for the same class.  This paper was not anywhere to be found on the syllabus but made a surprise showing at the end of the semester.  It’s kind of like a large woman who’s pregnant but you can’t really tell, and then one day WHOA, she’s carrying a baby.  I also have to finish my story for Bible as Lit (an apocalyptic thriller, I’ll post it when I’m done) and also find some pictures for the rest of my scripture-folio.

I’ll end with this awesome paper I wish I could turn in.

I’ve decided that every Friday I’m going to put up a mixtape (courtesy of Mixwit). Enjoy!

In my first encounter with Google Notebook, I’ve compiled a list of links for almost all the plays we’ve covered in class.  There are also some of the time periods and genres thrown in for good measure.  The links all point to a plot summary of some kind, so you can do what I’m going to do and give them all one more lookover before the test.

Without further ado, the glorious link to ENGL 217 final exam nirvana.

I suppose we’ll find out in due time.  It allows you to send money back and forth without fees tacked on.  Pretty sweet.

If you sign up before May 15, they’ll add $25 to your account for free.  You are free to then transfer that money to your bank account or request a check.  If you’ve ever wanted to make $25 in two minutes, this is your chance.  Sign up using the link below.

So, I’m thinking tonight I’ll be pulling an all-nighter.

I want to get a quick update in here before I start researching and writing my first blog post for WebPageFX.  I got an email from the big cheese there asking me to write about a specific topic (social networking for traditional businesses), so there’s a sneak peek at what to look forward to.  It’ll actually be nice to get that written and posted since it’ll get me on payroll for the week.  Keep an eye out for that post to be published sometime tomorrow.

Now, to answer the question you’ve probably had since you started reading this post - why will this weekend own my soul?  I’m booked SOLID.  I have to write a paper for African American literature.  Unfortunately, my weekend is also jammed full of Alpha Phi Omega activities (a fundraising project, walkout, Relay for Life and the initiation of our pledges).  Next week I’ll get a bit of a breather (four days) until I have another final.  Not sure how my schedule worked out that way, it just did.

I hit the $10 mark on CashCrate for the month, which is sweet.  Next month I’ll get a check for whatever amount I end up making by April 30.  Right now it’s at $10.25.  Pretty cool for not really doing much.

I’m still trying to figure out what to do with a lot of the web property I’ve staked my claim to.  I suppose this summer I’ll have more time to figure that out, but I really feel like I’m neglecting a lot of sites I was really excited about when I first launched them.  I’m thinking I might just do complete relaunches and keep myself on a schedule to juggle them all - maybe two or three posts a week for each.  We’ll see.

Okay, I should get started on paid work! :-P  Until next time, keep your tech glasses on.

Last week of classes!  Well, for most of us.  I’ll be hanging out at IUP until May 30 to take a LBST class about Iraq.  So in the “summer vacation” sense, I don’t have much of a reason to be excited yet.  I am, though, and I’ll tell you why:

I landed an internship!

It’s with a web design company in the Harrisburg area (Carlisle, to be more specific).  Basically, my job is this; blog about web design, internet marketing and social media.  Yes, I already do that, and that’s all the more reason to be excited.  To me, it isn’t even a job!  It’s a hobby I’ll be getting paid for.  So, here are two links to check me out on pretty soon:

WebpageFX
Keystroke Marketing

I have some conferences I’d like to attend over the summer, mainly Internet Week New York, Web Content 2008 and the New Media Expo.  I might try to drop a subtle hint to my new internship employers (pssst.. you should send me to those!).  The dates for those are June 3-10, June 17-18 and August 14-16, respectively.  If you’d like to keep tabs on me trip-wise, DOPPLR is the place to do it.

And please, please, join and follow me on Twitter.  And friendfeed.

Til next time…

I feel like the majority of the world’s citizens care WAY too much about what other people think.  Worse yet, most of these people act like the most confident people in the world; that is, until things get a little rocky.  These are the people who go immediately on the defensive and attack, attack, attack.  To me, that is a sign of weakness.

Whatever happened to taking a joke?  If it’s at your expense, so what?  Laugh it off, or joke back, playfully.  Who cares if there are a ton of people around?  Make a fool of yourself.  Why anyone would want to go a day being anything but themselves totally eludes me.  Those worth knowing will accept you for who you are, and those who write you off don’t deserve a second of your time.

Surround yourself with like-minded people; people who know what it means to “chill out”.  If you can joke back and forth and still be friends at the end of the day, you’ve found the right type of person.  If you joke with someone and they retaliate with a remark that’s meant to cut you down or embarrass you, you and that person are not on the same page.  Chalk it up to a lack of confidence and move on.