Folks I’m on vacation staycation.

If you’re in the central Florida area, shoot me a line we’ll get some BBQ or something.

I have absolutely no plans and will be taking the next 10 days one at a time.

My staycation is from July 4th thru the 13th. You can probably expect a crap load of blogging during that time too.

Well folks, I finally grew a pair and decided it was time to pursue my dream.

I’ll be starting classes later this month at CSB School of Broadcasting to train for my dream career in radio.

It’s funny how things work, 4 months ago I requested information and I really loved everything about the school. Especially how classes are taught by industry professionals who are out there doing this everyday, and how the equipment is modern, and many other great deciding factors. Then, they disclosed the price of admission. It’s nearly $ 12,000 for the 16 weeks worth of courses. Needless to say, I put my dream on the back burner again, as there was/is no way I can afford to shell out that type of money at one time. I put all the paperwork away, and would read through the e-mails they sent out then delete them.

Well, a couple weeks ago I got an e-mail about a ‘Free’ Podcast Seminar open to the public. I knew that free meant I’d have to go through a tour and sales pitch for the school, but didn’t mind because I wanted to learn more about podcasting since I recently started the UI Podcast, and it wouldn’t hurt me to learn about the school. For whatever reason, that day I told myself mid-way through the seminar that this was where I belonged. This was the industry I needed to be in, and my dream career was the path I needed to take.

Long story short, things have worked out (yes, even financially) and my dream is going to become reality. It’s funny Anne was talking about how Nashville, where she and her husband (who consequently has some pretty serious musical talent, you can listen to his stuff by checking out his myspace) recently moved is a place where people go to chase their dreams. In talking about those dreams she said “most of the time, those dreams take sweat, blood and tears to achieve. it requires living simply, working wherever and whenever you can so that in the few hours you have left, you can spend them working out whatever that dream is.” That was actually the topic of the essay I wrote in order to get the scholarship I received which covers the other half of my tuition.

I can’t wait to pour my blood, sweat, and tears in to this dream. I can not wait to work my butt off, and start as low as a human being can start in this industry and work my way up. I can’t wait to get my first job in the industry that is completely unrelated to what I actually want to do (which by the way, my goal is to be a show producer, or board operator and eventually work my way up to having my own show). I can’t wait to have to work 8 hours a day during the day, or night and pour the 12 hours a day into a job that starting out is going to pay absolute crap.

You know why I can’t wait?

Because it’s my dream. It has been for as long as I can remember. And I’m finally living it.

I get asked on numerous occasions why I immerse myself in the online world of blogging, social-network services, online chats and the like.

Carlos posted a great entry that sums it up, please check it out.

I commented back with this (I’m posting, so you’ll have a better idea of why this entry resonated with me):

Well written and I couldn’t agree more.

I feel like what was once my small, semi-dedicated circle of friends has expanded through this vast world of online relationships. I’ve “met” people that I wouldn’t have otherwise had the opportunity to meet, that have let me in to their lives and who I’ve let in to mine. To me it’s not a “network” of people whose names I can drop, it’s a family. It’s people who are willing to lend a hand from 900 miles away even if it’s through an AIM chat.

Thank you for this concise and poignant statement. It resonated with me immensely.

I know that there are many out there who say that online relationships are unhealthy. I’ve always, and will continue to beg to differ. I think it is very possible to maintain a very healthy lifestyle, and maintain very healthy relationships even if a large number of those are online. Let’s face it, we’re living in a new world.
I could go on for quite a while telling you how Alex has inspired me with his dedication to his ministry and to the people of his community and to his family, or how without thinking twice he answers my e-mails when I have questions that in the grand scheme of things are completely a waste of his time. Or I could tell you how both Carlos and Heather have given me not only a sound biblical example of parenting, but a realistic “We don’t have all the answers but dang it we love our kids and we’re trying our hardest to be the best, Godly parents ever” example of what a parent should be. I could tell you how Anne and Crystal have reminded me on numerous occasions that the only way you’re going to get anywhere in life is to remain transparent, and to constantly be on guard when it comes to matters of the heart. I’d probably also mention how Chris, reminds that you do not have to agree with someone to know that they are right, that they are wise, and that they are thinking about things well outside the realm of anything you could possibly grasp. (Consequently, I’ve met Chris in real life, and he does the same in real life as he does online.) I’d probably even tell you about Pete who reminds me continually that life DOES indeed come at you fast, and the only way you can deal with it is to fully embrace what is thrown at you.

That’s just SOME of the many people I follow, you can always check them out in my blogroll, and in time I’ll be adding some more of the blogs I read either via their feeds or online that are not currently up there.

The point I’m trying to make with this, is that I’ve grown physically, mentally, emotionally, relationally and spiritually as a result of the blogosphere. I’ve also done a lot of growing as a result of my “real life” relationships, but I can not and will not allow others to write off relationships formed via the internet as if they lack substance, because, well they clearly do not.

Thanks again Los for sharing your heart.

The latest edition of the Unobjective Intelligence podcast (The Will Young show) is ready for your listening pleasure.

This week I discuss:

• Medical Tourism and why it bothers me so much.
• Why book smarts aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.
• A campaign update.

As always if there is something you’d like to hear please shoot me an e-mail.

You can download it using Apple’s iTune’s using the link on the right, or for those who don’t use itunes, simply click the button that says ‘RSS Podcast’ and download the latest episode.

Enjoy and have a great week!

I do not believe that there is such a thing as “useless trivia” or “useless facts” or “useless knowledge”, heck I don’t think anything that engages your mind, or allows you to learn something is useless.

A co-worker placed a list of “Things you should know, but probably do not” on my desk this morning and I figured I’d share some of those with you.

Like for instance did you know that if you dropped a raisin in a glass of fresh champagne it will bounce up and down continuously from the bottom of the glass to the top?

Or how about, everyday an average of 12 newborns will be given to the wrong parents!

Here’s something I’m positive you probably didn’t know: a tiny amount of liquor on a scorpion will make it instantly go mad and sting itself to death.

Those are just a few interesting things you should know, here are some more:

• The decleration of independence was written on hemp paper.
• The dot over the letter ‘I’ is called a ‘tittle’. (I know you English majors knew that)
• Susan Lucci is the daughter of Phyllis Diller.
• Warren Beatty and Shirley MacLaine are brother and sister.
• There are no clocks in Las Vegas gambling casinos.
• The name Wendy was made up for the book Peter Pan; there was never a recorded Wendy before.
• Because metal was scarce, the Oscars given out during WWII were made of wood.
• Upper and lower case letters are named ‘upper’ and ‘lower’ because in the time when all original print had to be set in individual letters, the ‘upper case’ letters were stored in the case on top of the case that stored the smaller, ‘lower case’ letters.
• If you have 3 quarters, 4 dimes, and 4 pennies, you have $ 1.19. You also have the largest amount of money in coins without being able to make change for a dollar.
• Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying!
• The glue on Israeli postage stamps is certified kosher.

But, if you refer to my previous post, you won’t take my word for it. Do some research, determine if these are true or not!

Wednesday night my good pal Catie, shot me a text to invite me to join her in indulging in all there is to indulge in at Seffner’s finest, and probably one of the top 4 BBQ restaurants in the Tampa Bay Metro area, Hungry Harry’s. Well, being a fan of BBQ, especially Hungry Harry’s BBQ, there was absolutely no way for me to turn down the invite.

During the course of our over-indulgence we started conversing about how people learn what it is they know. Specifically how it is that some folks only believe what they’ve been taught, mostly by books, or in the majority of cases what has been spoon-fed to them in a manner that keeps them sheltered, if you will, from reality. It’s almost as if they’ve set up a barrier from that which is “real-life” and that which they choose to see as real-life: the text book version of life, or the version their parents have told them they need to be a part of.

This bothers me for many reasons. I don’t think it’s possible for someone to attain a significant amount of knowledge from books. Also, while I do believe it’s possible to gain a greater knowledge from other people than you might from books, I still do not believe that it’s possible for you to still gain a significant amount of knowledge from other people (teachers, pastors, celebrities, friends, family, etc.) either. I’m positive those avenues for learning do play a role in the formation of your mindset, but if those are the ONLY items that play a role in the formation of your mindset, then you’re not really in touch with reality. Lets face it, text books are outdated, furthermore, I know many college graduates who have told me that they abandoned the principals learned in their textbooks in favor of what actually works, which is in most cases the opposite of what the textbook said. Our world moves too fast for you to only live off of the words in a textbook, or the words of someone else.

I’ve even said the goal of this blog is for the reader to leave here thinking about something, even if your only thoughts are “Man, that guy is a complete idiot.” The reason I say that is because if that’s the only thought you leave here with then I hope that will get you thinking about why you thought that, which will get you thinking about why you think what you think…and do you see what I’m getting at? The underlying goal is to get you using that thing at the top of your skull in a healthy, productive manner. If you read something on here, and the first words out of your mouth, are “He’s right.” Then I’ve screwed up. You see, I believe that if ones words, whether those words be spoken or written are extremely powerful, obviously with power comes great influence which isn’t necessarily a bad thing unless that influence is the only influence that one has in their life. You’ve got to form your mindset, your knowledge of life on a variety of things including, but not limited to people, news, current events, life experiences (both of you and the people around you), your morals and ethics have to also play a role in this definition of what you “know.” You can’t hear something, read something, or see something and your first thought be “That’s right.” Inevitably you’re wrong!

So my challenge to you, my “call to action” is that you would think about all it is that you know, and think about ways that it can be impacted by recent events, even if those events do not seem to directly impact you. Now understand me folks, I’m not telling you to completely forget everything you’ve ever been taught by your textbooks, parents, pastors, teachers, friends and family. I’m merely suggesting that perhaps you could think about ways that you can challenge yourself to confirm that what you think you know is indeed what you really know.

I’m confident through the process you’re going to realize that you thought you knew, but you really had no idea.

Ex animo,

Will

I do not normally do this, however North Point has started, or is starting a new series called Letters to the Next President. They have a website to go along with it where you can “write a letter to the next president.”

I’m not a fan of those types of things, as most of you know however, I am a fan of politics and enjoyed reading what people have posted thus far. As we go deeper into the election season it is beneficial to the candidates and those involved in campaigning for them to know what it is people are desiring out of the next leader of their country.

So go check it out.

Thanks to Crystal I discovered the worth of my blog this morning.

Apparently, my blog is worth more than I’ll probably ever be worth.

Ladies and gentleman the Unobjective Intelligence Podcast is back and better than ever! (**NOTE** Because I’m hosting the podcast myself now, I have to go through the iTunes store submittal process all over again. Once the podcast has been approved there will be a button on the right for you to subscribe via itunes, and have the podcast downloaded to your iPod. Also, I’m not sure why, but this episode seems bassy to me, that’s not on purpose, just so you know.)

In this episode:

• Where I’ve been.
• A campaign 2008 (or Obama) update.
• Do you watch a lot of television, or spend a lot of time with the internet? Well you may be emotionally and relationally stunted. I’ll tell you why.

 

 The Unobjective Intelligence Podcast June 22, 2008 [32:01m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The Links I promised in the podcast:

Evidence that lack of social contact stunts you relationally and emotionally.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21210531-2703,00.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_torture
http://hoder.com/weblog/archives/008389.shtml
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/22/AR2006062201763.html
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/DETOC/putnam1/putnam.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowling_Alone
http://www.bowlingalone.com/

Have something you want addressed in next weeks podcast? Shoot me a line.

Recently a church that I am loosely affiliated with started a social network service. Initially I joined in part to keep in touch with people who, since the beginning of this church’s whole ‘planting process’ have seemingly forgot I exist, merely because I’ve chosen to not be fully involved in the church. Of course, and with little surprise to me most of them have still forgotten I exist even while I am a part of their “social network.” I’ve had to tell myself the folks who haven’t kept in touch do not matter, and be content with the few that have (who coincidently, have actually kept in touch outside of the realm of the social network, if that says anything).

It has been very interesting to me to see the ghetto that this church has created through their social-network. They have in many ways, whether intentionally or not isolated themselves from that which is reality. To me this is somewhat expected since the church is in the birthing stage, and the network is being used primarily as their bulletin in many ways. It’s going to be interesting to see how this social network service develops and adapts as the church develops and adapts.

I have a few concerns about a church sponsoring a social network.

First, let me just say that I’m an strong advocate of open forums that entice discussion and the exchange of ideas. I believe that any society that list the freedom of speech and expression as the first amendment to their constitution demands a certain level of open discussion in all arenas. So you would think then, that I’d advocate a church sponsored social network site for the sole purpose of it’s ability to provide an open forum for the church and the community to hold discussion. However, in my experience in dealing with Christians, or the church I’ve found that open discussion is not something that the church is entirely too comfortable with. Actually, in all truthfulness I’ve found that the church is not very open to discussion at all in most instances. So, I feel that if a church is going to sponsor a social network service then they need to be clear on the fact that it is going to in part be used to create an open forum for civilized discourse and discussion, not just talking about your favorite movie, restaurant, book or Christian musician. The church has to understand that this forum has to exist for the community outside the church to be able to create discourse and discussion too, and has to respond appropriately to that discourse and discussion. They have to realize that discussion is not limited to the social network sites bulletin boards, or forums. On occasion a member of the site may post a blog entry, or make a change to their profile page that might create discussion. The church has to be prepared for this, and respond in a manner that’s not confrontational, or assume that the party inciting the discussion is making an attempt at confrontation either. I can tell you, as a member of the community served by the church whose social networking site I’m a part of they have not been prepared for discourse or discussion. It’s almost as if they thought they were creating themselves a fantasy land to talk about stuff that is really insignificant. Sure, they’ve got threads on their forums for prayers and praises and needs of members of the church and community, but conversation outside of the realm of “church talk” is sort of unheard of.

That brings me to my second point. There would be no problem with just having “church talk” on your social network site, if you marketed it as simply a virtual fellowship hall. This particular church certainly doesn’t market their social network service as that, and I’m fairly certain the leadership of the church does not want it to be that. Take for instance this scenario: I’ve been engaged in conversation with an individual based on a blog entry they wrote (of which I do not have permission to reproduce, so please do not ask for it). This particular individual made a statement that I felt needed to have some sort of concrete evidence. It was, in my opinion, a very loaded, over generalized, judgmental statement about a topic that I had a vague understanding of. So, to better understand the topic I asked for some sort of research or evidence to back up their statement. Well, good night folks, you’d think I asked the individual to step outside so I could kick their ass, at least that is what they’d have you to believe. It turned into a mud-slinging contest, and for a moment, I thought I was on a campaign trail. I was not harassing, rude, insulting or derogatory in my requests. Nor was I any of those things in the many comments that followed my initial request. I simply wanted information that backed up what the individual was saying. They eventually provided some evidence, most of which wouldn’t even be considered valid in even a high-school research paper, but I digress. However, they didn’t provide those resources until they took a few personal jabs at me, including calling my manhood in to question and referring to me as a coward. The individual did eventually apologize however, I’m sure if you ask them they’d tell you that I’m no different then the six girls who beat up the girl in Polk County then posted it online for the world to see. All because I wanted what many of you have asked me for in the past: PROOF. The point of all that was that the individual assumed that I was making an attempt at some sort of confrontation. I would assume that they thought since we were both part of a church sponsored social network service that holding intelligent, civil discourse that wasn’t some how related to God, Jesus, the Bible, or the Church was inappropriate. My conversation, the words that I typed, and the thoughts that I provided were all well within the social network service terms of service and in my opinion well within the two paragraph blurb on the main page about why the church created their social network service.

Which swings me into my third concern. If the intent of your social network site is to be a virtual fellowship hall, or church lobby then there will be a need for an extensive terms of service notice as well as, policing. Quite frankly I’m a HUGE fan of social networking services. I am probably connected to the majority of the services that are readily available. I comply to each services terms of service, and expect those who use the service with me to do the same. If a blurb that states “We’re here to connect, and share about yada yada yada” is all you are planning to use to guide the use of your network, then there will be folks who will come along and push the boundaries. You must clearly define what those boundaries are or you can not be surprised when they’re pushed to the limit or if they are even crossed.

In closing, I have a feeling that as a result of this latest incident I’m probably going to be asked to not use the network any more. Which won’t bother me that much, since like I said the entire reason I’m a part of it has sort of been in vain.

I’m interested in what you think though.

• Do you think that churches should have social network services? What about corporations? As that seems to be the latest trend in the business world too.
• What should a church or corporations social network service terms of service look like? What are some key elements you’d be sure to include in it?
• What would you do for the folks in your church who do not have internet access, thus eliminating their ability to be a part of this vital part of your ministry?
• What other feedback do you have to provide on this subject?

If you’re uncomfortable commenting publicly please feel free to shoot me a line at will|at|willyoungband|dot|com, as I am really interested in what your opinion is on this subject.