Jason Toney

Dreaming about Design

"Remember the time, on the phone, you and me. Till dawn. Two or three." - Michael Jackson, Remember the Time

Yesterday I resolved to commit to my vacation but I'm finding it difficult.

Last night I had dreams of being in college and learning about Human-Computer Interaction and User Experience Design. I was in class with some of my favorite IAs arguing about patterns and simplicity and the like. I kept having to make presentations but every time I presented, I didn't show wireframes, I kept presenting scripts. Like movie and tv show scripts.

I'm not sure what that says about me.

Anyway, my interest in user experience has increased exponentially over the last six months (as my job has demanded it of me) and the root of this dream, I'm sure, came from me adding the following to my amazon wishlist yesterday:

• Sketching User Experiences: Getting the Design Right and the Right Design by Bill Buxton
• Designing Interactions by Bill Moggridge
• The Design of Everyday Things by Donald A Norman
• The Art of the Idea: And How It Can Change Your Life by John Hunt

SXSW 2006 03.12 - Blogging While Black Revisited: Reloaded

"Could you ever find the love that you would not place yourself above?" - 22-20s, Shoot Your Gun

We had a well stacked audience again. I hope we shut up more this year. Last year, we talked a lot. It was our first time on stage and we felt like we had a whole lot to say so there wasn't much room for questions or interaction. This year, we wanted to let people talk to us, talk with us, talk at us if need be. It worked. I still worry that I might have talked too much and that my college diversity programming leadership training kicked in and I tried to lead the discussion instead of letting the amazing Lynne D Johnson do her thing. If I was a blabbermouth, I apologize.

There's an unedited transcript by Liz Henry at badgerbag (Liz was awesome by the way on her panel today and I want the chance to talk to her more about tags, folksonomies and other "softly viral" tools that bloggers can use to become more accessible) and a wonderful write up by Kevin Lawver at ultranormal. I won't hold it against him that he likes the negrophile seemingly more than this old negro because he talks about feelings and when does a man ever really do that?

No one asked me about my "Shut up, Honky" shirt or Tiffany about her "I *heart* black people" baseball tee. I kind of wanted to have that conversation.

We did, however, talk a lot about language and audience and voice and the importance of identity online. Last year, I was on the fence about the importance of identity on the web. As I said today, I have privacy concerns. In the offline world, I'm a very private man and have struggled with what my verbosity online means for my personal & professional relationships in the "real" world. I've come to grips with that, though. I don't want a job that would be uncomfortable with the content of my blog. I'm willing and ready to defend or talk about things I've written about my family and friends on this blog and if i'm not, please read the blogger's disclaimer and cram to understand.

There were great questions about how knowing who my audience is might now change the way I write and about Black vernacular English. There was discussion of angry words and online beef and the differences in responsibility and protection between the citizen journalist and the media professional. Aaron Hawkins's name was invoked again and I was honored to be able to speak loudly and proudly about his voice, spirit and uppitiness in the presence of Dru and Irina Slutsky (who eulogized Aaron at Red Herring) .

I have to admit that when I met Dru yesterday, I was caught a little off guard. My connection to her, which has waned since his death, will forever be linked to him and a lot of "stuff" came rushing back. It has been a pleasure to be able to see her and get to know her more offline and to begin to build a new relationship that moves past Aaron.

Bonus: Dru has a great liveblog of the panel as well.

But anyway, I still have pretty much a whole week here in Austin but I've already started to think about some things differently. I want to do a lot more for web professionals of color. Blogher and it's power and presence has really inspired me. I want similar tools, resources and community for those who look like me but don't show up here or at eTech or CES or at barcamps or the other places where smart folks like us should be. Not only for the professional connections it affords us but simply because it is a good time, it is an opportunity to collaborate and learn and because I'm guessing, based on a lot of the conversations I've had this year, we afrofuturists/black geeks don't often get the chance to interact with like minded folks.

And we need more opportunities like tonight where we all can get together and dance to our favorite jams, laugh and be comfortable in our own skin.

And to have the opportunity to share with others who don't look like us, make and further those connections and have honest discussions about culture and technology.

We need more time to stop. collaborate. and listen.

startingovertv.com

"Don't watch me, watch TV." Juelz Santana, Mic Check 1, 2

I forget that my department had a presence online as the moderation team of the startingovertv.com message boards. Hilarious to see crazy headlines on the summer boards that say stuff like "Starting Over Fires Web Staff!". Bwahahahahaha.

I don't know what is going to happen to the boards and moderation but for clarity's sake:

1. The site as a whole is currently under redesign and is going to look fresh and lovely come the fall season.
2. I have no idea who will be maintaining the site in the fall.
3. What that means for the boards is anyone's guess.

Is it too early to go to the Standard and drink mojitos poolside?

Friday Saturday Random Ten - No Name, No Theme Edition

"I know you better than you think I do." - Handsome Boy Modeling School, The Truth Hurts (featuring Roisin & J-Live)

Apparently I can only post lists now. Maybe I'll actually do a real post later today. Anyway, just do what Rox and Lauren do.

Out of 529 songs on the iPod Mini, we've got ourselves a

Friday Random Ten

1. Lust for Life - Vikter Duplaix
2. Blame It On the Tetons - Modest Mouse
3. Girlfriend is Better - Talking Heads
4. Once in a Lifetime - Talking Heads
5. Let's Get Lost - Tina Dico
6. Don't Say - Jon B.
7. See Line Woman (Jerome Syndenham and Kerri Chandler Remix) - Nina Simone
8. Ordinary People - John Legend
9. Drop It Like It's Hot (Remix w/ Jay-Z) - Snoop Dogg
10. Hayling - FC Kahuna

Still Gawking at Gawker

"I never thought I would compromise." - Björk, Unison

I'm sure it has to do with my own work as a "pro-blogger" now that I'm thinking a lot about this but the gawker/durst legal situation has been on my mind a lot this weekend. Yesterday, my thoughts had to do with the privacy question and the ideas of rules, checks and balances, and the kind of cowboy lawlessness that governs (or doesn't govern) blogs right now.

Today, my thoughts are about the right to distribute materials. I started thinking about The Grey Album and how the blog and online music community as a whole decided to distribute it despite not having a legal right to do so. That was a form of protest, right? That was a conscious decision made by members of the online community to circumvent the law to make a point.

As a short-lived music blogger, I wilfully circumvented the law and disclaimed the site with that information (as many music bloggers do) in order to share and promote music. I knew I was legally wrong, that I was not within my rights to do so but felt that the ends - passing on music I liked to new ears - justified the means. I also knew that I was opening myself up to legal troubles should someone with publishing and distribution rights come calling.

Thinking back on it, it's a stupid risk to take, but I believe in the idea of sharing music to increase its exposure and I also think that record labels are going to see how this helps their product more than it hurts it.

That said, I had no right to distribute that music. I didn't create it. I might own my copy but putting it on the internet on a public site is distributing to a mass audience. The most massive of audiences and I don't have the right to do so.

Which brings me to the Durst video. The sites that have/are hosting the video don't own the video, don't have the right to distribute it, and, if it is stolen, are in posession of stolen material. And again, we might make light of it because the video is funny or disturbing or features people we generally don't like but it is not as if gawker media created the video or are seeking to say something by hosting it.

There's no question of free speech here.

The question is do we, as personal publishers (and, in particular, as "pro-bloggers") have the right to publish anything to our sites just because we can whether or not it is our original material?

I think not.

Gawking at Gawker

"You think you've got it all figured out" - Ann Peebles, I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down

I find it interesting that just a little over a week ago, Felix Salmon argued that with the hosting of the Fred Durst sex video Gawker had jumped the shark, and now, Gawker Media is getting sued by Durst for exactly that.

I'll be curious to see how this all plays out. As The Daily Show satired of the "new journalism" this week there seem to be no rules in our new media world of blogging and it is this kind of situation that will set those standards.

I hate to be on the side of Durst, and maybe I'm not really on his side at all, but I see the merit of the case. It is one thing to link to something on the internet; it is quite another to host it on your own servers. The case seems overzealous but my guess is that it is to make sure that the defendants never host the material again or profit from it.

If I was in the same situation, I might respond in a similar fashion. The erosion of privacy as a right is a big concern for me. That Durst and Hilton before him are generally unliked doesn't make those invasions of privacy any more okay. Even more than that, forget the celebrities in each situation, there is another person in the video who isn't famous but who is being pimped across the internet and there are all those people in Paris's phone book who didn't ask to have their information shared with the world.

It is the same problem I have with people hosting and watching the R.Kelly Sex tapes. There is an underage girl in the video. Fuck R. Kelly but what about her rights? Traditional media is checked and balanced in that regard. News programs and newspapers follow the protocols set out to protect victims by the court. What protections, what rules, what laws are blogs abiding by?

And what rights do people have for retribution when they feel violated? Particularly by professional blog magazines that profit from page views and ad revenue?

I think this is a great test case.

Friday Random Ten - Post-Nap Still Sick Edition

"I'm not coming out till this is all over." - The Postal Service, We Will Become Silhouettes

Lauren is in limited play mode and Rox brought it back to her site this week and it's a weekend when I'd bet on a lot of posts on Negro Please so what better way to start than with a

Friday Random Ten

1. All is Full of Love - Death Cab for Cutie
2. Here for Now - Ani DiFranco
3. Clark Gable - The Postal Service
4. Drop it Like it's Hot (remix featuring Pharrel and Jay-Z) - Snoop Dogg
5. K.O.S. (Determination) - Black Star
6. It Never Rains - Raphael Saadiq
7. Get Off My Spaceship Bitch - RJD2
8. Morning Glory - Jamiroquai
9. How I'm Livin' - Pete Rock & Deda
10. My Life - Erykah Badu