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A milestone of sorts just passed as I was typing this blog: 11:11:11 on the little clock on my computer, and 11/11/11 on my calendar. I sort of expected the earth to move or something, and I DO think that I felt some sort of rumbling from deep within my soul - or maybe that was the bag of extra crunchy cheetos that I washed down a bit too quickly with an entire can of diet coke.

Over the past few weeks, the Occupy Wall Street movement – or #OWS if you’re following along on Twitter – has spread like wildfire. According to the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ page on Wikipedia, as of October 9 approximately 900 demonstrations have taken place in over 95 cities across 82 countries.

As one of the resident geeks here at ZeroDivide, an integral part of my job is to cultivate and spread tech joy – a term we learned from organizational consultant extraordinaire, Rolando Brown of Grow MVMT. Because my job involves staying on top of technology trends, I’m often asked by casual acquaintances and friends alike which technologies they should adopt or build to improve lives and organizations.

"...be able to take back all of the photos that you ever posted onto Facebook?"

That was the rueful question I overheard uttered by a dejected-looking woman at Bluestem Brasserie the other night. Which elicited a cackle from her dining partner, and then the somewhat unkind response, "For what YOU've been posting? Thousands of dollars!"

That punchline to a really old, somewhat (well, okay, very) tasteless joke kept running through my head the other day as I was driving to work.   The 20-something year-old guy in the brand new gunmetal grey Porsche convertible in front of me had earbuds in his ears (listening to his iphone, which was shoved up into the sunvisor), and was driving with one hand while alternating between the blackberry and the ipod on his passenger seat with the other.

A picture is worth . . .

. . .at least a thousand words. Sometimes, it¹s worth an entire congressional career. Just ask Anthony Weiner.

Newark, New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker is determined to use that gift from Facebook founder Marc Zuckerberg to, as he put it, join with Mr. Zuckerberg in, "pricking the moral consciousness of a nation" to invest in inner-city school and education systems. 

"Welcome aboard.  My name is Stacey, I'm your flight attendant tonight, and I'm going to be pointing out the emergency exits on this CRJ200 aircraft.  And if I decide to pull the escape slide and jump out of the plane, I'm not going to settle for two beers.  I'm taking the whole liquor cart with me!"

We hear it every time we go to a movie, watch a play, attend a concert, listen to a lecture, attend a conference.  Just as the lights go down, an omnipotent voice from the soundsystem redminds us, "Please turn off all cell phones, pagers, and other noise making devices.  And remember, the taking of any photographs or video is strictly prohibited at all times."   And perhaps no where in San Francisco has this admonition been more strictly enforced than in the hallowed space of Marion Davies Symphony Hall, home of the world-renowned San Francisco Symphony. 

The line of ticket holders stretched for more than two blocks.  The "will call" line was longer.  It was the Season Opener of the Bay City Bombers co-ed roller derby team, in their much-hyped match agaisnt the Brooklyn Red Devils.  It was also a testament to social media in action.  As I walked towards the throng of people milling about outside, it seemed that most of the faces were glowing from . . .