Prop 8 and DOMA, What are we really arguing about?

1st Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion

Everyone giving a religious reason to why the law should be a certain way, in my opinion your argument is invalid.

Church does not make laws. They did at one point - and even through force gave the world the crusades...not exactly a highlight for humanity. The church (and religion in general) can be a beautiful thing (and in many cases, proves this daily - especially in Oklahoma), but when it comes to making/setting/influencing laws history has told us that is not smart. That is why those smarter than most decided we were to have a separation in Church and State.

Considering the idea of marriage as an official sanction derived from the Church/religion I have absolutely no problem in the Church standing behind their beliefs - stand behind them 365 days a year - you have the freedom to and that's what makes America great. Shout it from the Church rooftops that you want marriage to be a man/women union as it relates to your congregation. But from a legal standpoint, let America do its thing.

What this should be is a discussion on what the country deems acceptable as it relates to citizen equality and the benefits (taxes included) that should be given to those who choose to love each other and provide for each other throughout the rest of their lives - it does not take religion to tell us that is a wonderful thing.

Maybe the problem is in the wording. Maybe the government should stop calling it marriage - and continue to harp on branding it a Civil Union - as that actually is MORE of what it truly is from a legal standpoint.

I am not smart enough to break down the tax system of the United States government, but I do know that I am smart enough to know that if I can be recognized as being united in a Civil Union by my government (and receive financial benefits from my government) and my friends (and your fellow Americans) are not legally allowed to do so - that is wrong. I think it's time we officially stop making our neighbors drink from separate water fountains.

Who Saved Whom? Blog vs. Micro-blogs

It was 2004 and unless you were in your 20s (or an enormous geek in your 30s), you considered blogging to be solely an online diary for those wanting attention. How did bloggers get the attention? Through their Juno or AOL accounts? Word-of-Mouth ("Hey, checkout my blog on the Interwebs! It's http://www.ILikeToSparkle.geocities.com! It's the greatest!) - Not too effective.

Time Magazine 2004 Best Websites List

A look through Time Magazine's 2004 Complete List of Best Websites, you'll find sites of Christmas Past like Mojam.com, Noggi.com and Yoox.com - a look through the "Communities" list and you'll probably only recognize 2 or 3 from the 8 listed (Craigslist, of course and maybe Friendster).

What was the future of Blogs (or "Web logs" as Time Magazine helpfully points out)? What would have happened if that Zuckergeek hadn't been coding his college experience away during those long nights in 2004? Thankfully, we'll never know. What we do know, is that sites like MySpace, Facebook and eventually Twitter would come to not only change the world offline - but online as well.

Blogs now had a separate community and audience to say "Hey, checkout my views on why Bush deserves a second term!" or "Here's my movie review on why the new Tom Hanks film, Ladykillers, will be his best ever!"

People no longer had to ask what blogging platform someone was writing on and then use non-helpful search boxes to search for a specific Web log. They would go to Facebook and see it posted on their friends' Facebook accounts as most of you have undoubtedly done today. Thus, blogs live on. They give the microsites, that you're now more familiar with, content and people to truly be personal journalists. Which begs the next question...who will save whom next?

Will micro-blogs save or hurt professional journalism? Only Time (Magazine) will tell.

Facebook 2004

How to Dominate NYC in 3 Days or Less

I recently went to a B2B Conference in NYC by the American Marketing Association - led by Dana VanDen Heuvel  - for a few days. I was lucky enough to have a few things happen: 1. The Thunder dominated the Knicks and I was able to see it, and 2. I got to see NYC covered in snow.

To catch everything in between, checkout the blog from that wonderful wife of mine: Marek's Musings.

The feeling of finally closing on your home

Top 10 comments/questions I hear when speaking about Social Media

1. "I'm really good at Linkedin."
   - That sentence doesn't make any sense.
2. "Why should I care what everybody else had for breakfast?"
   - Sounds like you follow the wrong people.
3. "My employer won't see that post because I have my account set to private."
   - riiiiiiight.
4. "When will Facebook have a 'Dislike' button?"
   - Never. Advertisers would hate it.
5. "I really could just 'pin' stuff all day..."
   - Me, too.
6. "But, it only takes me 5 min. to write a good blog."
   - You're doing it wrong.
7. "How do I get more followers?"
   - Stop being boring.
8. "You tweet a lot."
   - You should hear what I don't tweet...
9. "But, we're a non-profit. None of this really applies to us."
   - I'm about to come head-butt you.
10. "Are you a social media guru?"
    - Don't ever ask me that again.