Peter King is easily one of my favorite sports writers. His Monday Morning Quarterback column is simply some of the best writing out there. Perhaps the best part of his column is a section called 10 Things I Think I Think.

He’s been on vacation the past few weeks, leaving Monday Morning Quarterback in the hands of guest writers. They’ve all taken their crack at filling the void, but none have really nailed it.

With that in mind, I got the inspiration earlier this week to write my own 10 Things I Think I Think column. So hear it goes…

1. I think I’m ok with TechCrunch posting all the “secret” and “confidential” documents. TechCrunch is only slightly above the National Enquirer, so it’s not like they have journalistic integrity. Their decision to post didn’t surprise me and the voyeur in me was fascinated to see the inner workings of a company clearly struggling with their own success.  I also think it was nice to see the folks at twitter realize they weren’t gods.  Sometimes you just need to be knocked down a peg or two.
2. I think Google is the ultimate frenemy. You need them to succeed, but you clearly don’t trust them. I think this distrust of Google is exactly why twitter decided to partner with Microsoft to create Bing Tweets even though Google would have given them even more exposure.
3. I think I’m just not all that interested with Posterous.  It could just be that I’m stubborn, but I don’t see the value in the platform over what WordPress, tumblr, etc. already offer.
4. I think the best aspect of the social web is that it’s helped me meet new people in person. Through twitter alone, I’ve made 6 new “real” connections. These are people that I now call upon for advice or just to talk shop. That’s the real power of social media. It’s not the technology and the platforms; it’s the people.
5. I think in the next 3 years, we’re going to see a quantum shift in the cell phone business. Consumers will be able to buy their phone and then be able to use it with any service provider they choose. This will change the face of mobile in the United States and force service providers to rethink their business model.
6. I think expectations are a good thing, but ridiculous expectations are completely silly.
7. I think the term “partnership” is overused and generally misunderstood. True partnership means more than 1 person/team/company/etc. working together for the greater good. It means give and take is expected. It means you look out not only for your own interests, but also the interests of your partners.
8. I think the whole green movement is a fad and that when put to a choice between a green product that costs 40% more than a non-green product, the non-green product will always win with consumers. When I was looking at houses in Minnesota, I explored so called green houses. The concept was cool and the payout was supposed to be fantastic because of how energy efficient they were. Sure, they are…but they also cost nearly 60% more than a non-green house and the payback happens after roughly 15 years of being in the house. Not exactly what I’d call an exciting return on investment.
9. I think as video game systems advance, I’m finding them less exciting. The wii doesn’t do it for me and if Microsoft is serious about the next generation in gaming being a controller free world, I’m done with gaming.
10. I think I’d rather work with passionate people that want to be better than smart people who are devoid of emotion. It’s not even a question.

I enjoy writing. I enjoy sharing my thoughts. The self publishing capabilities that have launched in the last 3 years have made my life infinitely easier and brought me closer to all of you out there. That’s the beauty of an always on, easily connectable, and simple to use internet. I think I’m really thankful for that.

You know that scene in every action movie where someone says, “you know, it’s so crazy, it might work.” Well, this is one of the scenes. Tools like WordPress, Blogger, and Drupal have empowered everyone to be a potential publisher. That’s right, YOU, can make and report on the news…or just about anything for that matter.

News networks like CNN have even created programs that let the public create the news.  The day Google News started including blogs with traditional news publications (eg WSJ and NY Times), it was clear something was changing…or maybe it had changed. Individuals were now being given near instant credibility by Google. Very cool.

The media outlets like Fox, MSNBC, and Tribune Co. continue to have their journalistic credibility questioned. This happened throughout the 2008 presidential election. Hell, it’s still happening if you listen to the jokes at the White House Correspondence Dinner.

OK so we have:

1. Technology enabling people to become self publishers
2. New networks leveraging people for stories
3. Individuals being given near equal credibility to long established publications
4. A certain level of public mis-trust of the media

So what am I missing? Oh, two other things:

1. The concept of personal branding is at an all time high
2. Newspapers are closing down left and right

This is the part now, where I lean in, and almost with a whisper say, “I’ve got an idea so crazy, it might just work.”

I want to turn the publishing model upside down. I think people would pay publishers to let them have a daily, weekly, or monthly column. Yeap, that’s right I think people would pay the NY Post to have their name seen in ink. REAL INK. Not just digital ink, but real ink on paper.

Think I’m crazy? Ok, walk with me for a second. Companies are always pitching publications for a chance to have a featured column. Really. Companies kill themselves trying to get 1,000 words. You know why? Because their name and their company in a publication carries clout with the industry, analysts, clients, etc.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s a mutual exchange taking place when it actually happens. AdAge for example gets great content from Steve Rubel, that their readers want to read. In exchange Steve is able to build his brand and Edelman’s. Seems like a fair exchange.

I think this could work. It’s a win-win. People build their personal brands, the publications/newspapers/etc. get fresh content and a revenue stream, and the public hears from real people.

So that’s my plan. Wall Street Journal – I’ll pay you $12,000 annually for a weekly column. You game?

I switched up the blog design today. It took me about 2 hours to do.  I opted for the very powerful and highly customizable Atahualpa theme.  There’s a few minor settings I’m still playing with, but for all intents and purposes it’s done.  Let me know what you think.

2008 was a big year for innovation. New sites were launched. New products came to market. And, I stumbled upon several things that I should have been on top of from the beginning. See, there are lot’s of things that I’ve overlooked…I’m not on top of everything. It was really hard to limit this list to 10, but here we go.

1. AllTop – Guy Kawasaki was brilliant for concepting this idea. Alltop aggregates all the top stories/pieces of content from the best websites…so you don’t have to. Talk about a time saver. The site covers topics from fishing to poker.
2. Hulu – Great video content served up in HD. Lot’s of solid older (aka canceled) shows. They let you be in charge of what type of advertising you see. The only thing they don’t let you do is download the video.
3. MadMen – How did I miss the boat on this one? I ignored the show when it launched. Didn’t pick up on it, after the first season. But, then I decided to tune in 1 night and after the first episode I saw, I said to myself, “why wasn’t I watching this earlier?”
4. Red Bull Cola – Passed on trying it in Vegas. Then went on a mission to find it. Finally I found a can. Drank it…and was blown away. It’s a GREAT drink.
5. Internet Activity Index – I pride myself on being on top of a lot of different online measurement tools. How it is I never knew about the Internet Activity Index is beyond me. The index measures what people do online and segments the behaviors across 5 categories.
6. Twitterific & Twitterfon – Both are iPhone application that let you interact with Twitter. I’ve found that I need them both. They both rock.
7. WordPress – for years, my site was built in Flash. It was sexy, but it was a pain to update. Someone recommended I try WordPress and I’ve never looked back. From the plugins to the themes, the community does a great job of making WordPress fantastic.
8. What If Sports – This site let’s you simulate games between sports teams from different eras. Want to see how the 2007 Celtics would do against the 1992 Jordan lead Chicago Bulls? This site will let you do it. This site has helped me end so many sports arguments quickly and painlessly.
9. Twitter Grader It’s not perfect, but it’s the best tool out there for measuring how good of a tweeter someone is. Twitter Grader is addictive too. I find myself checking my score weekly. It’s another great tool from the folks at HubSpot.
10. Amazon MP3 Store: Should have gotten on this wagon/bus/train a while back.  When you consider my hatred for DRM music, it just makes sense.  Since discovering Amazon MP3, I’ve stopped buying music from iTunes.  In fact, I’ve refused to purchase music from iTunes until it becomes DRM free.

Just completed another WordPress upgraded.  As usual I nearly screwed it up.  Thank god for backups!

Literally blogging right now from my iPhone. Downloaded the WordPress application from the iTunes App store. It took about 2 minutes to configure. As cool as the app is, it still doesn’t make typing on iPhone any easier.

I really do love WordPress. It’s simple, flexible, and makes my life easier. It’s everything a “service” should be. Today I changed my theme 6 times, edited the templates each time, updated the CMS each time, and when applicable revised the home page header images. Not too freaking bad at all; especially when you consider I did this all in an hour.

I’ve given up trying to get Slideshare to integrate into WordPress…I’ve literally spent 2 hours now trying to get this to work. Unfortunately, you’ll have to click here to view this great presentation.

Get your shit together WordPress and Slideshare.

So finally abandoned the old Thekmiecs.com site template and Blogger. Needed a way to consolidate everything into a simpler and easier to use tool. Should be really interesting.

David Armano put together a great presentation that says everything that’s in my head better than I could. I’d embed it here, but Slideshare doesn’t seem to like WordPress. Oh well. You can view it here.