Hard to predict where we are headed as far as web-based communications are concerned, but this got me thinking: An article in the Washington Post online about Time Capsules, and how people’s infatuation with the web is not so much about community, but about themselves. See "Back From the Future: Messages to Yourself."

"Indeed, the Web lets us speak with the global community much in the way that a lunatic minister with a bullhorn has a dialogue with passengers trapped on a Greyhound."

Contrary to this kind of thinking, however, is Evelyn Rodriguez’ blog, as she revisits tsunami-ravaged countries in Asia, looking at community. She says she’s "collecting stories of resiliency, growth, faith, and grassroots action – and whatever unfolds once actually there."

My prediction? Blogging, often described as the epitome of navel gazing, (and even podcasting) is probably going to to see some refreshing changes in 2006. The web is ripe for colloboration, as the tools get more sophisticated. 2006 just might be the year when we create and plug into communities like never before. Happy New Year!

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Someone sent me this. Wish I knew the source. If you’ve been through the marketing sausage factory, you’ll enjoy this.

10. You lecture the neighborhood kids selling lemonade on ways to improve their look-to-buy ratio.

9. You get all excited when it’s Saturday so you can wear casual clothes to work.

8. You refer to the tomatoes grown in your garden as "deliverables."

7. You find you really need PowerPoint to explain what you do for a living.

6. You normally eat out of vending machines and at the most expensive restaurant in town within the same week.

5. You wear gray to work, instead of navy blue, to make a bold fashion statement.

4. You know the people at the airport and hotel better than your next-door neighbors.

3. You ask your friends to "think out of the box" when making Friday night plans.

2. You think Einstein would have been more effective had he put his ideas into a matrix.

1. You think a "half-day" means leaving work at 5 o’clock.

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I just read Constantin Basturea’s post about how the word ‘integrity’ is the most looked up word at Merriam-Webster’s. There are some 160 million references in Google (but these also index brokers, insurance companies and management firms etc)

But here’s a related topic: The fake Wikipedia post about the Kennedy assassination.

This isn’t the first time someone has played a Wikipedia prank. The BBC created a page on Wikipedia about a fictional star for a game that involved sms and email.

If you’re into podcasting, you’ll be shocked to hear that its so-called ‘podfather,’ Adam Curry, was recently in an controversy over editing a Wikipedia entry. He later apologized.

So what does this do for an open source encyclopedia? Let’s not get too upset with pranks and games that may discredit it. Like other sources of information that could be inaccurate at times, Wikipedia is just one source (albeit a damn good one) among hundreds we could turn to. How many times have we spotted inaccuracies and ‘plugs’ in newspapers and magazines? Yet, these are still around, in spite of the shoddy reporting and outdated facts that creep in. I will still use Wikipedia, in spite of the attacks on it by folks like Unencyclopedia.

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We know this for sure: The revolution will not be televised –it will be spread by cell phone.

If you’ve never heard of riot tones, you soon will. It’s part of something called open source ring tones, that will be taking on the ring-tone economy.

But there’s more to it than free distribution of tones. These are supposedly ways to make a statement. Check out this backgrounder. Also the story of using ring tones in the Phillipines, where two words (‘Hello Garci’) were turned into a viral campaign spread via mobile phones. See TxtPower.org

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I have occasionally jotted down notes on how to reach the impossible-to-reach customer service rep at banks, airlines, and Amazon.com who typically make you cycle through menus of menus.

A smart guy, Paul English, has come up with an expanded list. This cheat sheet’s worth printing out and keeping handy. Find it here: http://www.paulenglish.com/ivr/

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Inmarsat today announced its global broadband service called BGAN (Broadband Global Area Network) in London. 4 satellites will cover Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa initially.

The Americas will get the service in 2006.

This is a truly global broadband product since it will cover 85% of the world’s landmass.

Check it out here. www.inmarsat.org

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Thanks to my cousin, Kumar Pereira, for this reference about a campaign in Australia. Carlton Draught Beer’s web experience called "It’s a Big Ad." Hard to describe this, because it’s so funny and watchable. Find it here. It was a viral marketing campaign, spread via blogs.

Another great idea: Virgin Mobile offers what it calls a PressurePoint Presentation. For kids. It is part of an Enlightenment Kit they offer teens who are trying to persuade parents they need a cool new phone.

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