Hi Folks.Ryze was the first social networking service I used. The content here is now about 2 years out of date except for these opening remarks. This was an important part of my web presence and I learned a lot here. Now, I've moved away somewhat from social networking services. My current favorite that I still use with some frequency is Flickr. You can find my more current content, mostly photos with some annotation, there. I started on Ryze about 2-1/2 years ago and, at this point, only come back once in a while.

When I was more active with it, I liked the surfing for interesting people and new friends. I made several online friends whose friendship, though very casual by real world standards, is something I value. I'm still interested in social software and social networking. The Small World Phenomenon, network effects, emergence, KM, blogging - all of it is fascinating.

I'm a blogger now. Since starting with Ryze, I've become a blogger and have 4 weblogs. My main blog is - Tech Ronin. I'm spending almost all of my networking energy these days blogging and reading blogs. I have an RSS web news reader, NetNewsWire, that lets me *suck* the recent posts from my favorite blogs into a convenient desktop tool and subscribe to about 50 sources - mostly blogs.

Ryze. Ryze is special because of its free-form HTML home pages and guestbooks and because its evolved into a friendly approachable place on the Net. Spending time on Ryze and actively engaging in its possibilities by participating in a forum or two, searching for interesting people and then engaging them via their guestbooks and private messaging is an excellent form of network marketing and just plain social networking.

The perfect Ryzling is probably a little shy, like most of us. Shy or not, we still yearn to be heard and seen. Ryze can be a simple vehicle for that. And, we all enjoy connecting with people who share our interests. Ryze gives you a little platform and it gives you great tools to help you find like-minded souls.

Why did I get involved with Ryze? I've realized that the kind of marketing I believe in is a combination of connection and contribution. Marketing or even living is about being a partner to the people and other beings on this planet. I'm on a sort of quest to connect with like-minded people for our mutual benefit. I like having fun so that's a priority too. Ryze proved to be a great starting point for me. Actually, an intermediate point because, in my case, I had already developed my own website, the first version of which came online in 1995. But Ryze is much more social and sociable than simply sticking a website out in cyberspace waiting for someone to find you. So, it was a neat interim step that lead me to blogging which is now meeting even more of my needs to be expressed and communicate.

My Tech Ronin blog. This blog is a new writing venture for me. My biggest unfulfilled passion in life is to get my ideas out into the world. I'm a voracious learner and creative thinker. And I don't like keeping all these thoughts in my head - they get lonely in there. If you aren't familiar with weblogs, they are more dynamic than webpages. Mini-articles called "posts" are added every day or two. Weblogs or "blogs" for short, tend to be more current and responsive to what's happening right now. Also, there are special tools like TypePad to make this easy - you don't have to fire up a full-blown web-tool like Dreamweaver to post your thoughts of the day. I write about life in the 21st century, free agent nation, working from home, the death of the good job, social networking, social software and personal technology. Come and check out tech ronin and see what you think.

Professionally, I am a software developer and consultant (FileMaker Pro) for small businesses and corporate work groups. My target market is creative services businesses who need to quickly and accurately estimate project costs, work to deadlines and stay on top of job time and expenses and then get their bills out fast.

My Software Product. I have a hot software product called Studio Manager that helps designers run their businesses. It's based on FileMaker Pro, is cross-platform and designed for easy customization. Marketing Studio Manager globally via the Net has generated in me the desire to create connections all over the world with people who (1) should be using my product or (2) could offer their FileMaker expertise to my clients - installing, training and customizing it. You can download a free Studio Manager demo so you can check it out. Screenshots and brief descriptions are there too.

Business Philosophy. Connecting IS marketing. On my blog and commenting on forums and especially other peoples' blogs, I'll share passions with you and let the rest take care of itself. Speaking of *follow*, I like the *Do What You Love and the Money Will Follow* school of thought. Don't forget to sprinkle in a dash of commitment and resourcefulness - since money doesn't always *follow* in tidy and continuous streams. Of course, I'm talking about a new kind of resourcefulness that leverages six degrees of separation. The American meme of the lone, tough gunslinger exemplified by someone like Steve McQueen needs an update!

Gifted Adults. I've got some degrees in people studies (see above), participated in the certification curriculum at the Coaches Training Institute and did some serious work with Landmark Education. I'm not currently coaching, but when I did, my specialty was working with gifted adults. Three characteristics distinguish you: intensity, complexity and drive. I got this definition from the book: The Gifted Adult, by Mary-Elaine Jacobsen, Ballantine Books. I highly recommend this book to you if you even suspect you may be a gifted adult. "They are not a tiny group of rocket scientists or profoundly brilliant prodigies, nor are they all former straight-A students. They are real people of unusual vision who share one overarching characteristic: They push progress forward." Reading this book brought many tears to my eyes and brought me new hope and determination to contribute and express myself in the world. My passion for the predicament and possibility of gifted adults is still profound. I'm now simply a committed advocate for you. It's part of what I bring to the party wherever I go.

Rest Stop. You can make an entry in my guestbook here. Thanks.

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GOOD BOOKS

The Rise of the Creative Class, Richard Florida.
Excellent social observation and storytelling. According to Mr. Florida, this new Creative Class comprises 30% of Americans. What's happened is the desired lifestyle and values once the province of the small number of artists and scientists among us has infiltrated our society. Certain regions - probably the strongholds of Ryze such as San Francisco - are the preferred locations for the creative class. The great thing about the increase in this group is that we tend to be liberal, activist, environmentalist and in favor of diversity. I like this trend!

We've got Blog. Perseus Publishing and Essential Blogging. O'Reilly
I started my weblog - tech ronin in April 2003. We've Got Blog is full of insightful comments from some of the first successful bloggers. Essential Blogging gave me the nuts and bolts information I needed to pick a suitable blogging tool and get started. Together, these books got me over the hump of starting a weblog and I'm loving it! However, I think you could probably skip Essential Blogging if you go with TypePad which allows you to do lots of cool stuff without programming at all.

GOD and the Evolving Universe, James Redfield, Michael Murphy and Sylvia Timbers.
OK, I admit to being an optimist and human potentialist (just made that one up) and just a little susceptible to woo-woo. I enjoyed The Celestine Prophecy a lot! This big picture view of human potential and spirituality gets me thru the night. I know there's a ton I don't know and this book points there and basks in it.

Leadership and Self-Deception, the Arbinger Institute.
For connoisseurs of personal growth literature - among the best.

The Hidden Connections, Fritjof Capra
Capra is a good writer and this is my cup of tea... big picture on complexity theory, social systems and sustainability.

A General Theory of Love. Thomas Lewis, M.D. and Fari Amini, M.D. and Richard Lannon, M.D.
Cool stuff about how much we mammals need each other. Covers a wide spectrum from Freud to Einstein to neural networks and the limbic brain where all our emotional smarts (and blind spots) are. Written by three top guys at UCSF Psychiatry Dept.

Smart Mobs, Howard Rheingold.
Great stories about the power and emergence of text messaging and mobile communications from one of my favorite science writers. I track his weblog regularly and it's great too!

Whistle While You Work: heeding your life's calling, Richard J. Leider & David A Shapiro. Well? Wouldn't you rather?

GO TO, Steve Lohr. -- History for Geeks.

Please sign my guestbook. I hope you enjoyed your visit.

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