My First Meme: Media Consumption

I've always watched memes wave through the blogosphere with a teeny bit of envy. Like the high school geek observing the popular kids from afar, I was never tagged to join the party.

Then, a few weeks ago, Nancy White tagged me for the media diet meme. After eating my heart out for so long, you would think I would have jumped at the chance to participate. And I did start a post right away. And then, the excitement wore off and the draft post got buried, and the party was nearly over before I joined!

So here I am today, listening to the strains of the last song at the party and helping to clean up the chip bags and confetti . . .


Web
I live online. The first time I saw the Web was on Todd and Kathy's computer in 1994. They were AI (artificial intelligence, not appreciative inquiry) researchers, and they showed me an online art museum site - it might have been the Louvre, I don't remember. I was bowled over, and I fell in love with the possibilities of this new technology. So, with all those years of weblust behind me, you'd think I'd be a truly sophisticated user, right? Oddly, I'm not. I love the access to content (just like that first glimpse of that online art museum), and the underlying tech is just the means to my end of finding great content. So I use the basics.

• Browser - Internet Explorer
  
  
• Email - Gmail
  
  
• Bookmarks - del.icio.us
  
  
• Aggregator - Bloglines (83 feeds)
  
  
• Wiki - No. I have yet to find an intuitive wiki interface, or a wiki with content to which I felt compelled (or qualified!) to contribute. So shoot me.
  
  
• Groups - Yahoo. I've recently joined a couple of Google groups, and boy-oh-boy am I struggling with those.
  
  
• Blog Platform - Blogger. I tried Wordpress and couldn't make heads or tails of the interface. I have serious typepad-envy.
  
  
• IM - Sametime at work. I used AIM when there was a reason - during school Pam and I would IM while we were studying and writing papers. (I sound like a 14-year-old, don't I?)
  
  
• Skype - Just skyped for the first time a few weeks ago. Had been invited to set up accounts before, but had no built-in hardware (microphone), so I didn't bother.
  

Radio
NPR news during the weekday drivetimes, and music programs in the evenings (we especially like The World Cafe). NPR and PRI features on the weekend. Starting on Saturday morning at 10, it's Car Talk, Whad'ya Know? Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, and A Prairie Home Companion.

Music
Hubby is the family DJ. He plays an eclectic mix of rock and jazz. We like Radio Paradise online.

TV
Broadcast only. It's on a lot with sound off and closed captioning on. The sound comes up for The Office and severe weather alerts.

Books
If we stopped buying books, the local B&N would go out of business within a month. I'm sure of it.

Podcasts
I download and actually listen to a number of podcasts.

Movies
"Family" movies on DVD. We just watched Mirrormaskfrom the Jim Henson Company.

Communication
Not so much voice comm. Mobile phone. Landline is used for dialup access. I just bought a mobile broadband card for my laptop, and I'm in high-speed heaven.

Magazines
None for me, but I read the kids' Muse on occasion, and I've thumbed through Makemore than once.

Newspapers
Nope. Never. I hate the smell and feel of newsprint.

Now, who to help mop up the stale beer? How about Dave, Maureen, Connie and Steve, Professor Piderit, Cheri, and Starbucker. They're all good sports.

Tag: media consumption diet