I have decided to go back to the “I wonder who will find me” model of personal publishing, instead of forcing it onto your screens. I’ve been pushing stuff to Twitter long enough, so you know it’s all here. Now to see if you keep coming back.

To be a little more clear, anything that I post here, on dbmini, w(t)f, Vimeo or Viddler will no longer automatically get posted to Twitter, which also no longer automatically posts to Facebook.

I will be putting everything back into Friend Feed if you want a one-stop-shopping experience for everything I share online, but that’s as far as it goes.

If you are one of my Facebook or Twitter followers and want to be able to keep up with my shit, might I recommend taking the time now to discover the absolute brilliance that is RSS and Google Reader. Everything I do has an RSS feed and it’s a great way to keep up. Bonus is that there are a ton of sites out there that also have RSS feeds, so you can easily subscribe to them to get the latest updates.

If you are one of my Twitter or Facebook followers that is tired of reading duplicate posts or seeing links from me, you won’t any longer. You’re welcome.

Finally, I will be removing FB Connect from donburnside.com and reset the Wordpress comment rules appropriately.

As always, thank you for your time.

• Is this Social Media? Re-tooting content that someone else made?
• Is Social Media making lists of tips, tricks, rules and recipes about Social Media?
• Is Social Media collecting followers?

I don’t think so.

I’m no social media powerhouse. At least not yet anyway. But I am doing the social media thing, and pretty well I like to think. And I’m doing it by not making lists, not collecting followers or even talking about it.

I’m doing it.

Instead of taking time to regurgitate what other people are saying, I’m putting my own thoughts out there. Instead of collecting followers by using bots or other means, I’m providing my followers with a reason to follow me. And, if I don’t gain followers, it is for no other reason than they don’t want to, and I’m ok with that.

Social media isn’t about the list above. It’s about being Social. It’s about being part of the ‘community’. It’s about interacting with your fans, keeping them engaged and giving them reason to continue to be your fan.

Stop making lists. Stop re-tooting unless it’s something made with 100lbs. of awesome. Start thinking for yourself and trying to be part of what you are building.

If you can’t, then stop calling yourself a social media expert because you aren’t. Just because you can use Facebook or Twitter means nothing more than you can use Facebook or Twitter. Show me something original that you did on your own and I’ll leave you alone.

I decided to split my words up. bought some domain names. Started playing with different blogging platforms. One of those domains was windthefrog.net. It was fun, quirky, and inspired to me to write more, and not just the odd, or not so odd, rant. And, if I can be so bold, it was good.

Fast forward 6 years.

I no longer use windthefrog.net for daily blogging chores, instead keeping it over at Tumblr, performing the work of a link blog plus a few other things. I was ready to let it go.

In comes GoDaddy. There were reminders. And more reminders. But, alas, I forgot to uncheck the ‘auto-renew’ box there.

And so, at least for the next 2 years, w(t)f lives! And, for now, as nothing more than a lowly link blog. If you want to see what I’m diggin’ on the intertubes, that’s the place to check.

The Sound of Young America

via from this.

I aspire to one day to be half as smart as Merlin. And, if you listen to this 27 minute talk you’ll know why.

That doesn’t mean you can’t criticize my work or provide feedback. On any of the items I post you are more than welcome to scrape, grab, hotlink or download any of it and post it to your site. Or link back to my stuff. Or, and this is new, friend me up at Facebook.

I have setup a new FriendFeed account and have linked up only the sites that don’t have comments (including the tumblr). I have also activated the FriendFeed app on Facebook so everything I post will go right into my news feed.

I think for now this is a pretty good solution. Of course, if you would like to add your 2-bits, go right ahead.

UPDATE: If you are a facebook user, you can login using the button on the right to post a comment as well.

You all know that I appreciate criticism, good or bad. I welcome any and all feedback, always have, and always will. I know most of you enjoy the stuff I do, even if you don’t say anything. Then there are the few out there living in their mother’s basement with her 12 cats that don’t know any better. The ones that never learned how to be nice.

I also take great pride, and ownership, of everything I do. If I make a mistake, I admit it. If I do something that isn’t particularly good, I admit it.

Then what’s the problem?

Let’s say I put something on a page on the internet, like a video at youtube or a post at Motoringfile. Those have my name on it. If you are asked who’s stuff you are watching or reading, the answer would be Don Burnside’s.

Then let’s say you decide to leave a comment on my video or my post. It’s your comment, with whatever name you have choosen to use this particular day. Good or bad, there it is.

Attached to something that I created.

Suddenly, the thing that I have spent a fair amount of time creating has been lowered (or raised) to the level of the new content tacked on. Those comments, good or bad, have become part of my content.

The problem is not that I can’t handle the comments, the problem is that every negative comment, I feel, degrades the quality of my content.

While I could delete the comments that I think are the most damaging, I also, really, can’t. As much as I think it’s not fair for you to come along and say something that I have done sucks or that I was wrong (ahem, anonymously, ahem), it’s just as unfair for me to censor what you say.

Quite a pickle to say the least.

I have removed all of my videos from YouTube. I have closed my Vimeo account. Hidden my flickr photos as much as I can without removing that account and will be shutting down my friendfeed account this week. There are other things that I will be doing, or have done, that are equally drastic.

All of this while I regroup and figure out the best way for me to display the stuff I make in a way that is easy for you to get it, while at the same time keeping full control over how it is displayed. Criticize all you want, but it’s time for you to find a new place to do it.

This might seem silly to many of you. Over the top? I’m too sensitive? Maybe. But when was the last time you saw a comment form at the movie theatre? Or at the end of a song on your iPod? Or on a painting in a museum?

It’s time for me to regain control over the stuff I own. This might seem anti-internet, and maybe to an extent it is. But how many times do I have to paint over the graffiti on the walls before doing something about it?

This won’t be a process that I will be sharing with you or look for your input on. It is something I feel I have to do and when it’s done it will be done and that’s when I’ll be back.

As I type this, my arms are pretty sore. But that good sore. The one that tells you that you have actually done something. The one that makes things look different in a couple of days.

All because I changed my intensity.

Intensity is such a fancy word. Let’s change that to work harder and see how it reads.

All because I worked harder.

There, that’s more like it.

I work pretty hard. But if my trip to the gym on Sunday is any indication, I don’t work hard enough. If it’s something that you like, something that you are trying to be good at, then it should hurt, if only just a little bit, right?

Like I said, I work pretty hard. But starting this week, I am going to try to work a little bit harder.

In that new section you will find the latest episodes of White Roof Radio, the MINI Cooper Podcast and The Hollywood Car Show.

It still requires a bit of tweaking, much like the photo gallery, but it does work now.

Feedback, as always, is appreciated.

I’ve also made a few minor changes around here to make navigating the posts a little easier. You will notice there is now next and previous links on each post. Great way to waste some time if you ever need too.

Finally, check out the front page where you can see excerpts from the last 2 posts and the latest video. Remember, I can do this for you too! All you have to do is ask.

More changes will be coming in the next few weeks. Keep an eye out!