Not quite sure what’s going on here. I’m certainly not THAT important, am I?

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I knew I was good, but I had no idea I was this good

How is this even possible?

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Check out this screenshot I grabbed from CNN.com today. I’m not taking sides on the creation vs. evolution debate, but you have to admit this is odd.

263,124,707,113,654 extraterrestrials can't be wrong?

How does this happen? Either:

• The Facebook social plugin on CNN.com is wonky.
• The Facebook social plugin on CNN.com is being manipulated.
• Votes from other galaxies prove that Hawking is right.

What do you think?

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I was going to write some more website spring cleaning tips for 2010 but got sidetracked while thinking about the variety of plant life in my backyard. I started thinking about trees, which I have a lot of, and weeds, which I have even more of.

You didn’t know I was into gardening, did you?

Without going too far out on a limb (pun intended), I started thinking about my clients’ businesses in terms of plants and trees that I could see fro my patio. Most seemed to fall into one of the following two categories.

Oak Trees

Oak trees are strong, stable, predictable and sturdy. Their massive trunks can weather fierce storms that would wash away or knock over less established plants. Their growth potential is nearly unlimited but it’s so slow that hardly anybody notices at first.

However, they take a long time to grow, are difficult to move and not very adaptable to new or extreme conditions. Their foliage is utilitarian and not very showy.

Dandelions

Dandelions, on the other hand, are highly adaptable and can survive in a wide variety of conditions. Their ability to grow and spread quickly allows them to adapt and survive in sub-optimal soil or even between the cracks in a sidewalk. Plus, they evolved to be interactive! Their seeds are meant to be spread when the wind whips up to scatter them far and wide.

Life’s not easy for a dandelion though. Their slender stalks are fragile and easily trampled underfoot. They don’t live long in one place and have been known to appear and disappear without anybody noticing.

Life at the Extremes

Sure, these are extreme examples but I’ve found most of my clients exist closer to one end of the spectrum or another. Neither business model is right or wrong, just suited to meet different needs in different ways.

How would you classify your business? Am I missing an entire category?

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“There’s no such thing as work-life balance. There are work-life choices, and you make them, and they have consequences.”

- Jack Welch (WSJ)

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How do you pick your Super Bowl “Big Game” favorites*?

I’m putting my money on the New Orleans Saints. No, not because I’m an NFC fan or because their win would somehow make me feel better about their thrashing my Atlanta Falcons repeatedly, but because we, the people, have spoken.

According to Google Insights for Search, search volume for the New Orleans Saints more than doubles that of the Indianapolis Colts. When in doubt, go with the wisdom of crowds.

*The game that shall not be named is heavily protected by trademark laws and vigorously enforced.

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I’m glad I’m not the only one that has some questions about the growing relationship between Google and the government. This week’s FORTUNE magazine’s cover story is titled “Obama & Google (a love story)“.

Again, I’m not saying it’s necessarily a bad thing to have one of the world’s smartest technology companies helping the government (federal, state, and local) get up to speed on all things digital, but it certainly does raise some questions. If nothing else, the developing relationship requires a little extra oversight.

You know, just in case the machines become sentient and start to turn on us

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