Countdown to 2011, Part I: Jumo?

Well, I set a goal back in November of publishing more posts in 2010 than the whopping 4 that went live in 2009. Today, I woke up to find the final day of 2010 upon us and my yearly total sitting at an underwhelming 2. D'oh! Looks like I have some work to do, and fast. Brace thee for a fast and furious barrage of thought-provoking nuggets, all of which will be teasers for themes to be developed more extensively in the New Year...

Let's start with this story that caught my eye a month ago. It describes the launch of "Jumo", a new social media site focused on social change. I was intrigued by this site for two reasons. The first is my general exploration of the potential and limitations of social media in general. As I posted not long ago, I recently (and somewhat hesitantly, not to mention almost inexplicably) began some low-key dabbling in the word of Twitter (a place I once swore I would never venture...). Of course, I also shared Malcolm Gladwell's poignant piece from The New Yorker on the limits of social media in really changing the world. It will be interesting to see how far Jumo can push the envelope, although I can't see any way that Galdwell's central premise will be disproven by the new site. Action will always ultimately require standing up from the keyboard, walking out the door, and engaging the world...

My second interest lies in the potential for Jumo to help my goal of keeping Facebook personal. I rather like Facebook. But I want it to be something fun, and something first and foremost about re-connecting and keeping up to date with family and friends, and not something for work, politics, and other less light-hearted matters. Sure, I've been know to post a status update addressing matters of policy, etc., not to mention commenting when others do the same. And I do show support for various organizations and such through my page, although most of those are groups that friends work for and my support is more for the person than the organization. However, I've avoided any sort of social, political, or other less personal action through Facebook, but might get more active in those arenas through Jumo.

So far, I've gone to the site, looked at the home page...and done nothing more. Early in the New Year, I plan to set up an account, poke around a bit, and report back to the RO faithful with my take on the site. Stay tuned!