It’s been the topic du jour around the internet these days.  And, like any topic, it’s starting to reach it’s saturation point, our attention is beginning to lapse, and we will go find a new shiny object to play with.  That is the life cycle of internet memes.  It’s a beautiful thing – this permanent temporary nature of our attention – that most of us can’t help but watch and argue as someone publicly unravels.

Take a moment though and read this: 51 Hours Left to Live

Like a meme, it will be just temporary:

On Tuesday I’ll finally end my battle with cancer thanks to Oregon’s Death with dignity act. As part of my preparations I’ve ended my pain medication and am trying to regain what little dignity and clarity I can.  Who I was doesn’t matter. I’m in pain, I’m tired and I’m finally being granted a small shred of respect. Feel free to AMA if you’re so inclined.

The responses shine as what true #winning is about.  The responses are beautiful, motivated by compassion and that fragile thing we all hold close to our hearts: hope.  This anonymous person has thousands of people participating in a eulogy – not to this person’s life, but to life itself.  It’s a sobering counter point to the happenings at Sober Valley Ranch.  This person – who as far as I can tell remains anonymous – has brought together people and has gone on a virtual “world tour” with thousands upon thousands messaging them goodbye wishes and celebrating a singular life and life in general.  There are many moments of tear inducing poignancy – like this one on regrets:

“Yes, one. I bought my high school sweetheart an engagement ring and never gave it to her. Life happened, meaning in was dumb. I went in the military after a dumb fight and…. Yeah just one”

On taking chances:

“My question tonyounwould be this, what long term risk is there in saying hello? I can’t find any. Worst case, is you get some possessive asshole that thinks your hitting on his sister and you get a black eye. Total pain and shame lasts maybe a month. Meeting the right girl though lasts forever.”

On moments:

“Go to Key West Florida. I was there once and saw the sun rise and set in the same day. Was really peaceful and sharing it with her would be more then I deserve”

and on life:

“I would tell him that it’s not living that’s failed him, it’s life. We can always change our life as long as were living. He’s addressing the wrong issue.”

So – while so many of us, myself included, have spent energy focusing on #winning or whatever childish meme was created by a floundering star – there are super novas of beauty getting extinguished around us at this very moment.  I want to take pause and acknowledge this moment and the tears of empathy that let me know that I am alive…

1) You’re not cool: It doesn’t matter how many parties you go to, whether you’re VIP or not, if you’re discussing something that has to do with SXSWi – you’re not cool.  This is for the geeks.  And, even if you’re the king of the geeks, you’re still a geek.  You can still have fun and a great time, but remember to be humble – the cool kids don’t arrive until SXSW music starts.

2) No One Cares About Your Panel: SXSW is an amazing time and there are amazing people that are totally worth learning from.  But sadly, panels are secondary – sometimes even tertiary – in the tier of things.  Not only that, there are almost 200 different panels.  Seriously – that’s too many.  So – speaking at SXSW isn’t that big of a deal.  So stop trying to make it seem that way.  So stop telling everyone to come to your panel.  Just worry about putting on something good for the people that do show up.

3) Your party is lame: Parties are a big part of SXSWi.  I have seen more eventbrites invites than anything during the buildup to SXSWi.  If you’re sponsoring one, that’s awesome – I am glad you understand the culture of SXSWi.  You get bonus points for that.  However – your party is lame.  Why is it lame?  Because no one really cares that it’s YOUR party.  All they care about is two things: Open Bar and/or whether or not there is an open bar.  A few parties will have a chance for non-lame success – “Maybe I’ll meet Pete Cashmore at the Mashable party.”  ”Dennis Crowley is dreamy in his gap ad, maybe I’ll meet him at the Foursquare party.”  Other than that, your party is probably lame.  Deal with it.  Have fun.  Try not to do anything that I wouldn’t do.

4) Your startup is dumb: Unless your last name is Zuckerberg, Crowley, whatever Naveen’s last name is, the Tumblr people and a very few others – your startup is probably dumb.  So stop pitching your startup to every one and their mom.  It’s dumb.  You want to know the real reason that those names and start ups are successful – because they built something fucking cool.  The best thing you can do for your start up is to make it cool before you tell everyone about it. No, you can’t say you’re working on a secret startup.  That’s lame.  Furthermore, people will just assume you’re unemployed even if you really ARE working on a super secret startup.  Not good branding.  If you just try to connect with people, you’ll get further.  And then you can get what’s really cool. (but probably not because your startup is dumb).

5) The Person that wrote this is an asshole: Okay – what I wrote above may seem like it’s mean spirited, but that’s because I’m an asshole.  My entire point is that SXSWi should never be about you.  It’s about a community of people – all geeks – that get together and can make some great things happen.  The cream rises to the top and in a few weeks, we’ll have a new shiny toy/app/site to play with.  And that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t hustle – but learn to hustle with humility.  Learn to get people to ask you your passions instead of vomiting them all over every unsuspecting person that walks by.  You’ll find out the people that you engage with in real conversations will turn out to be your biggest advocates.  Except me.  I’m an asshole.  I give you carte blanche to punch me.

1) He will spend a lot of time on the internet

If you look at the 5 year trends, George G Smith Jr has seen his time spent on the internet grow by at least 5% year over year. The jump between 2009 and 2010 was no different – his data consumption grew by 8%. We see this trend growing even more so in 2011 and estimate a growth of at least 6%.

2) Much of that time spent on the internet will be mobile.

Desktop/Laptop consumption of online properties continued a declining trend in 2010. In fact, from 2009-2010, George G Smith Jr’s online consumption fell 10% when taking into account only Desktop and laptop usage. It was, however, the mobile device where George G Smith Jr was able to make up considerable ground. We see this trend continued – especially if the rumored iPad 2 comes out this spring.

3) Alcohol consumption will be on the decrease in 2010.

While the trends would indicate otherwise, we see a couple motivating factors that will decrease the amount of alcohol that was consumed in 2010. The top factors: Early Morning Wake Ups, Long-Term Relationship, and an expressed desire to get in shape. The latter is too transient, however, the first two will have significant impacts on the amount of alcohol consumed. We do see a significant decrease in beer consumption, but would anticipate a large uptick in the amount of wine consumed. We don’t think the increase in wine will compensate for the beer, which is why we see this as a downward trend.

4) There will be more blogging in 2011

Hard to think that there could be less blogging than in 2010 – a 8 year low – and it would appear in 2011, it won’t be. Already 6 days in, there has been more activity on his personal blog and an added interest to start co-blogging with some partners. It would appear that blogging will be more consolidated this year – focusing on one or two sites rather than the plethora of Tumblr, Posterous, and other blogs that represented 2010′s stunted year.

5) More Travel for Personal Pleasure

After a strong year packing on the miles for business, a renewed emphasis on personal travel will dominate the travel landscape in 2011. Q2 and Q3 seem ripe for personal travel – from weekend trips to perhaps something more, we’re looking to see frequent smiles from the frequent flier this year

These trends cover the basics, but what other trends do you see on the horizon for George G Smith Jr? Do you see any trends for yourself? Leave a comment – or better yet – write a blog post responding to this one!

All that’s missing is a little video from me doing the Just Dance Game and we’ll have ourselves a nice recap.

I’m sure that’s coming. I’m pretty sure I saw a few people with their cameras out for that….

What they never see is what happened today. My friend Anissa Mayhew had a stroke last night. Watching from work, I fought back tears every time a read a blog post about all the people in the blogosphere that Anissa touched in some way. I never had the pleasure to work WITH her, but I’ve had the pleasure of hearing her laugh, say something off color and hilarious, and just bring joy to the people around her. As I read these funny stories and heard all the tweets coming through the stream, I couldn’t help but be amazed at what was happening. It’s a beautiful thing – to realize that through social media, we’re not alone.

Ultimately, it’s the community. The community is amazing. We saw it with Maddie. I saw people support me after BlogHer. We’re seeing it now with Anissa. In small and large ways, so many of us have been touched by the power of Social Media and community. It’s an amazingly beautiful thing and I can’t help but be humbled by its power.

Anissa – you have the entire internet pulling for you. We love you and we’re here for you.

A lot has happened in the last two and a half years in Colorado. I’ve grown and matured. I’ve found a career I truly love (and I’m pretty good at it too). I made some amazing friends. A lot of these things may have happened in any other city in the country – I was in a ripening stage of maturity and locale was not the sole factor to success – yet, that can’t take away from the fact that it did happen here in Boulder, Colorado.

Boulder is an exceptional town full of exceptional people. From the fitness buffs to the tech scene, I have never felt people that continuously stimulated me to improve like I did in this front range city. The friendships that I’ve procured through the years are ones that will stick with me – even when the inevitable gravity of time pulls those relationships apart. The mentors I acquired, the peers that inspired – so much credit in my life is owed to Boulder that I can’t even begin to encapsulate the time here with words. I even will refrain from naming names because I don’t want to leave anyone out – because there was so many people whose friendships never blossomed completely yet still effected my development. So take this as a universal thank you to everyone who I engaged with in this mountain town. I’m taking a piece of you to New York. My success is, ultimately, your success. I will always remember that.

When I first arrived in Boulder, I emailed my mailing list and expressed myself as “speechless” – so it’s only fitting that I feel the same emotional tug as I leave this town. In that email, I talked about how before I ventured out west the palette of colors I used to describe my world was a Crayola 8 pack – and the green grasses of Kentucky, rolling hills of Kansas, and the imposing figure of the Rockies turned that 8 pack into a 64 and then 120 pack of crayons. I take that palette of colors back to New York with me – hoping that my experiences here will color new shades in the often gray shadows of those concrete canyons. I return east transformed by the west – at peace with many personal demons, at ease with the timbre of my life. I have never been more excited for the career opportunities before me and have very little fear to what lies ahead. I know, in the end, that it will work out – powered by my talent and the people out there that read this blog, that call me with words of encouragement, that wish kind thoughts my way. I will color my world and live outside the lines with the reckless abandon of an imaginative child – thinking about only that which is possible; not the things that are not.

This is all because of Boulder. This is all because of you. Thank all of you for reading my blog. I hope you stay along for the ride.

My time at Crocs was an eventful one.  The last two and a half years of my life were perhaps the happiest I have ever had.  I enjoyed the sun and fresh air of Colorado.  I met some amazing friends.  And I was able to create something I am very proud of for a company that I will always hold dear to my heart.  I finally was able to work in Social Media and use my passion for this form of communication to build a true community around a very well known brand.  It was something that I received great kudos for – whether through official channels or pats on the back at conferences – and for that, I am forever indebted.  The opportunity I have at R/GA would probably not be here if it wasn’t for Crocs.

Photo by @greeblemonkey

Crocs, however, is bigger than I am and I leave behind a social media program that will be in very capable hands.  It’s bittersweet to have to walk away from something I built – knowing that I will no longer have a say in how things are handled – but I feel that the passionate consumer base that I helped organize will be there for whomever takes the reigns.  I’m excited to watch things from the sidelines, to simply be a member of the Crocs community, and to watch the brand, my colleagues and my friends grow.

The personal and professional pressures that I felt really made this decision an easy one.  I simply felt the tug of the city – watching the Yankees win the World Series, listening to Jay-Z and Alicia Keys belt out ballads to the boroughs – I couldn’t help but want to return back to the only place that felt right for me.  Professionally, I loved my time at Crocs but wanted new challenges – I wanted to apply my skill sets in new ways and R/GA provides a greater stage for me to shine.  Agency life will be vastly different.  It will test me in so many different ways.  Yet, in this crucible, I feel I will become a better professional.  I’m excited and I’m glad all of you will be around for the ride.

In the end, like with all social media, I couldn’t have done it without the crowd.  With out all of you out there who read my tweets, my blog posts, who followed my every move on the social web – thank you so much.  It was all of you that made the 12 hour days easy.  It was all the smiles we made together that made this job fun.  You were there for me through everything.  It was your enthusiasm to listen to me that made me who I am.  There is an African proverb that says that the path to greatness is paved by giving thanks to the great that came before you.  You, all those readers and people that follow me, are the greatness that has come before me.  Whether you’re a friend I made in Boulder, contacts I made through the industry, or random pixels of an avatar of someone I never met – I am truly thankful.  Leave a comment below so I know who is out there and who made this past two and a half years the greatest of my short lifetime.

That brings me to the main crux of my answers on to the three questions: relationships.  While I know Elaine in the real world – social media allows people to be brought together to form a collaborative atmosphere.  Seeing how people who, in many other businesses, would be deemed competitors help each other out is why I love to be involved in social media.  If I make any mark in my career, I want it to be that I helped everyone I could as much as I could.  That’s how the best relationships are built…

I wouldn’t be where I am in life if it wasn’t for friends.  Friends have pushed me through high school, prodded me during college, and inspired me during my career after.  Since moving to Boulder, I’ve met so many great people that do so many great things.  In fact, it seems that lately – everyone I know is off doing something that is truly inspiring.  I wanted to take a moment and give shout outs to all the things that are going on with friends and acquaintances that I admire:

Andrew Hyde is putting on a conference in Boulder.   After a great summer at Techstars, a bunch of really great Ignite Boulders, and all the other things that Andrew is up to – the conference is called BoCo.  I, unfortunately, won’t be able to attend the conference but I’m sure it will be a good time and embody all the things that I love about Boulder.  (blog: AndrewHyde.net )

My friend Elaine Ellis is actually embarking on a personal journey – forgoing the conventions of job and home to journey the European countryside.  This is something that makes me extremely jealous and sad.  Jealous because I would kill for a reason to go out to Europe with her.  Sad that I will miss having her around, even if I don’t see her enough. (Blog: The Art of Awkard)

Alli Worthington launched her “Smart Girl’s Guide to Twitter” the other day.  Alli is, hands down, one of my favorite people in the world.  I mean, she tried to set me up on a date during BlogHer – I can’t complain about that.  (Blog: MrsFussypants.com and BlissfullyDomestic.com)

Vikas Reddy and Occipital are really kicking some butt.  Just the other day, they released (with Daily Burn) an awesome Food Scanner for the iPhone.  As someone that struggles with dieting, this could be the perfect techy addition to my arsenal to get me on the right track.  Congrats Vikas!  (In addition to Occipital, Vikas has a hilarious Blog called Awkward Rules)

While Boulder may have lost Jeffrey Kalmikoff, I’m excited for him joining Digg.  I didn’t get to know Jeffrey that well, but whenever I was able to talk to him – I was always impressed at his intelligence.  Digg (and San Francisco) just gained a really big asset.  Congrats, Jeffrey!  (Blog: CallMeJeffrey.com)

The ubiquitous Micah Baldwin has left Lijit to join a yet-to-be-named start up.  I’m eagerly awaiting the next installment of his adventures and wish him the best of luck.  (Blog: LearntoDuck.com )

I’m probably missing a lot more.  Friends like Jessica Smith Lucretia Pruitt and Ef Rodriguez have all started new jobs this year.  Kit Seeborg launched her start up Bumpertunes.  Heather Capri and Rachel Ryle are working on TweetyGotBack.com.  Chris Brogan and Tamar Weinberg recently released books that you NEED to buy.  Jason Keath always keeps me on my toes with the great things that he works on – like Social Fresh.  Gwen Bell and Wayne Sutton are spreading love teaching Social Media to the masses.  Jyl Johnson Pattee is kicking butt with Mom It Forward and Office Max’s A Day Made Better Campaign (which will help so many of my friends that are teachers).  It seems like everywhere I turn, people in my network are doing things that I need to tell everyone about.  Unfortunately, I’m not the greatest at doing that so I hope this helps catch me up on the a lot of the biggest things in my friends lives.  Congrats to everyone and I’m so happy to know all of you.