Bottle Cap from the Future

My husband often leaves bottle caps lying around. It's something we used to argue about, and now, after more than a decade of marriage, joke about. I've given up trying to break him of the habit and just throw them away myself.

This morning I picked up a Stone IPA bottle cap off the kitchen counter and was going to throw it away, but paused, struck by what was printed inside it.

I know exactly what every one of those icons and symbols mean. I know exactly what Stone Brewing is trying to tell me and how to get in touch with them, should I desire to do so.

But how would this bottle cap look to someone from 20 years ago?

In 1995, I had already built my first web page, but the internet was still in its infancy. Enough people were familiar with Windows 3.1 and Mac OS 7 that these logos might remind them of computer icons, vaguely. But they'd have no idea what the symbols stood for. They might interpret it as meaning something like "Please do good and protect nature by recycling this metal object." (Anyone else remember the dolphin icons on cans of tuna from back then?)

What if this bottle cap traveled back in time 30 years?

A person from 1985 might be impressed by the quality of the printing. They might think these symbols were some sort of nifty logos or decorations that the brewing company put there as branding. Or they might think they were some kind of instructional relic from the bottling plant, telling the bottle cap quality inspector where this cap was made, which beer it should go with, and how much pressure to use on the capping machine. Like laundry symbols for manufacturing.

If I traveled back in time with this bottle cap, what would people from the past think if I told them that these four symbols and this one string of letters were enough to find out everything there was to know about the beer company, to see pictures, learn how the beer is made, find every variety made and discover where to buy it? The closest analogue from back then would be a 1-800 number, and that really doesn't even come close.

I think if I told people from 20 or 30 years ago about how we communicate today, it would blow their minds. They would really think we're living in the future.

#VoteTag

A Ridiculously Simple Nonpartisan Social Media GOTV Effort

photo by Tim Ebbs

 Here's how it works:

1. On Tuesday, November 4, vote as early as possible
2. After you've voted, take a picture of yourself outside the polling place 
3. Share it on the social media of your choice, along with this message:

   Twitter

   #VoteTag I just voted! @tweep1 @tweep2 @tweep3 it's your turn! Vote then tag 3 ppl

   Facebook

   #VoteTag I just voted! Friend1, Friend2, Friend3 it's your turn! Vote, take a pic, & tag 3 more people.

Can we surprise and shock the jaded political class with a record turnout? Here's hoping!

FAQ

Q: What if I voted early or absentee?

A: Then you're ahead of the game! You can tag 3 people as soon as you wake up on November 4.

Q: What do I take a picture of if I voted early or absentee?

A: An envelope, a "V" for victory or voting... Be creative!

Q: What if I don't know 3 people I'm willing to tag?

A: Then just tag one.

Q: Can I tag 20 people?

A: Please don't, that's kind of spammy. Keep it small and personal so people are more likely to respond.

Q: Can I use Instagram/Vine/ello/Google+/Yammer instead of Facebook or Twitter?
A: Sure!

Q: Why do you say to take a picture outside the polling place?
A: In some states, it's illegal to take pictures inside. Better safe than sorry!

Q: What if I can't vote until 6pm or later?

A: You can still tag your friends who live in a later time zone.

Q: What if I'm voting at 6:55pm in Hawaii?

A: Then you have to be "it" until November 2015. Sorry!

Have any questions not answered here? Ask them in the comments.

Revisiting Resolution No. 6

The rhetoric around the Interwebs is getting heated. Some days, the quantity of vitriol pouring out of my screen makes me despair. How can the world contain so much hate, fear, and anger?

This question has been weighing on my mind. But the thing is, I knew at the beginning of the year that it would be like this. That's why, in my list of New Year's Resolutions, number six states that I resolve "To face the hate and anger in the world with love and prayer. To love my neighbor and trust in God and pray for mercy and love with compassion toward all."

Many people have pointed out that Facebook is part of the problem. But I think that it's also part of the solution.



Yes, Facebook is where a lot of heated opinions get aired. But behind every one of those angry memes and cartoons and petitions is a friend. It's not some anonymous idiot posting those words, it's a person I've known and liked for years. When I look at that person's name, it conjures a flood of memories. If I click on their name, I might even see pictures of our shared experiences.

I have friends who are opinionated and passionate and intelligent and funny. That's part of what made me like them in the first place. If my friends are fearful, I want to be a reassuring presence. If they are angry or hurt, I want to listen to their troubles. I want them to know that, whatever madness is going on at the moment, at least they have a friend they can count on. It's what I'd want them to do for me.

I'm just one person and I can't stop all the anger on the internet. But I hope that by loving and praying and just being a friend, I can help create a small island of sanity in this crazy world.

Best Practices for Responsible Pinning

With its usage numbers exploding, social image-sharing site Pinterest has recently come under more scrutiny. Just this week, I read about a lawyer and photographer deleting all her Pinterest boards because she was leery of the legal implications of the way images are posted and re-pinned.

It's true that Pinterest makes it easy for users to share images that don't belong to them without crediting or linking to the original source. If enough of this continues, Pinterest risks a backlash from photographers, bloggers, and other content creators. So for those of us who like Pinterest (or are hopelessly addicted) and want to keep using it, it behooves us to post and re-pin images responsibly.

After a few months of using Pinterest, here's the list of best practices I try to follow:

Check Links Before Re-Pinning

Don't just use the "re-pin" button that appears when you hover over a thumbnail on the Pinterest homepage. Before you re-pin something, click on it to see the full post, then click again to see where the original link goes. If it's just an image with no context or goes someplace shady, don't re-pin it.

Give Credit in Your Captions

When you pin something, tell your followers a little bit about what it is and where it's from. The sites you're linking to will appreciate your giving their image context and credit, and your fellow pinners will appreciate the extra information.

You can change a caption when you're re-pinning, so you can add context and credit info missing from the original pin. 

Unfollow the Worst Offenders

If someone you follow regularly pins pictures that don't link anywhere without giving any credit, just unfollow them. The more good pinning behavior is encouraged and bad behavior discouraged, the more Pinterest can be seen as a positive influence on the social media landscape. 

Mea Culpa

I admit that all of my pins don't necessarily follow these guidelines, particularly those made right after I joined the site. This is a list of best practices I've only adopted recently, inspired by all the attention brought to Pinterest by tech bloggers and others concerned about the legality of the site's business model. I like Pinterest and I don't want to see it crippled or sued out of existence, so I feel that I should do my part to avoid the problems that could bring the site down.